THE MOURNER'S COMFORTER
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"He will swallow up death forever! The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces!" Isaiah 25:8
Come, all you sorrowful, mourning souls — and see what a wondrous pearl of promise your God has brought to light for you, out of the very depths of your sea of affliction. Here is an assurance so inexpressibly tender, a fact so blessed and joyful — that you can hardly regret the weeping which is to enlist such Divine sympathy and consolation.
Come, and we will together — for I also am a mourner — look into this precious Word of our God. We will dwell upon its unspeakable love, we will think upon its gentle pity — until our tears catch its soft radiance, and glisten with the beauty of the "rainbow around about the throne."
I have sometimes wondered whether that glorious arch, encircling the very throne of God, can be typical of the transformation of earth's sorrows into Heavenly joys — a lovely symbol of the shining of God's pardoning love upon the rain of tears from mortal eyes — for sin, and suffering, and death. There can be no rainbow without showers — and certainly there can be no weeping in Heaven; so, may it not be, that the Lord has put this rainbow in His high and holy place, as a token to us, that all the tears we shed on earth — are reflected up in Heaven, and gleam there in fair colors, as the light of His love to us in Christ Jesus falls tenderly upon them.
"I have seen your tears," He says, "they shall all be wiped away some day." How often are we constrained to cry, "My eyes fill with tears" — for the sin which still rises up with terrible force in our heart, and how constantly have we to weep over the evil which is present with us! Such tears are mute but eloquent witnesses of our repentance towards God, and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. No jewels can be so lovely and precious in His sight — as the tears of a sinner for his sin. Yet these tears shall all be wiped away some day!
The salt drops which steal down our cheeks through physical suffering — wrung from our eyes by mortal pain and weakness — are all seen by our loving Lord. They are put into His bottle, His purpose concerning them shall be manifest when their mission is accomplished, and then the source from whence they sprang shall be forever dried up. "God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes!"
And with what inconceivable tenderness, shall the bitter tears caused by bereavement be wiped away, when we get home! Here, the deep waters of our sorrow seem to be assuaged for a little while, only to burst forth again with greater power to deluge our hearts with the memory of past anguish; but how completely will all traces of grief vanish there! When we see for ourselves the glory of that land where our beloved ones have passed before us, our wonder will be that we could have sorrowed at all at sparing them from life's woes — to enter into the "fullness of joy" at God's right hand.
"The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces!" There is not the shadow of a doubt about this, poor sighing soul. Not only did our Father inspire His prophet Isaiah to speak thus assuredly, but, twice repeated, He gave the same sweet message to the apostle John at Patmos: "God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes!" As a fond mother hushes her child, as a tender husband solaces his spouse — so, weeping one, shall your God comfort you when He brings you home, and your consolation shall be so complete that you shall "no more remember your sorrow."
Yes, the world is full of weeping; even Paul spoke of "serving the Lord with many tears." Every heart knows its own bitterness — and every heart has a bitterness to know. Sin must bring sorrow — tears are the inheritance of earth's children. But in the city where we are bound, "God will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain — for the old order of things has passed away."
Blessed be Your dear Name, O Lord, for this "strong consolation" — this "good hope through grace." Tears may, and must come; but if they gather in eyes that are constantly looking up to You and Heaven — they will glisten with the brightness of the coming glory!
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