The Blessed Appointment Unto Them That Mourn in Zion (Part 3 of 4)

OUR BLESSED APPOINTMENT

"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified."

Everything that God does manifests who He is. In fact, the same can be said of us. But through this blessed appointment we can see that God is a comforter. He is the Father of mercies and God of all comfort. Our experience here is one of suffering, trial, dwelling in an evil world, housed in a vial body, surrounded by enemies within and without. In this we are tempted to despair and perceive ourselves destroyed. But then these glad tidings ring clear. God has appointed for those that mourn in Zion…comfort!

Mourning, Ashes, and the Spirit of Heaviness. Mourning, ashes and a spirit of heaviness are outward expressions produced by an inward experience. This is also true of praise and joy. There really is no pretense in the kingdom of God. God is not mocked. The kingdom of God is one of truth and the true worshippers worship God in spirit and in truth, not in pretense. We are not speaking of paid mourners, or self pitying gloomers. We are speaking of those who out of a sincere love for God and zeal for His house find themselves distraught over the condition of His creation. 

All of these expressions speak of sorrow, distress, and weariness. They are not owing to weakness but of discontentment. Those who are hardened by sin never mourn over it. But those who know the guilt of sin will cry out over it. They will be distraught over their own sins and the sins of the people. They will mourn, they will cover themselves in ashes as those in Nineveh, they will be clothed with a spirit of heaviness until the burden of sin is removed. David noted that as a result of his sin the joy of salvation was gone and he coveted it’s return.

Mourning among the people of God is produced when holy things are defiled, when God is blasphemed, and when sin is celebrated. The tolerant, the lukewarm and the indifferent will never experience mourning but those sensitive towards God will. Jeremiah mourned over the condition of the holy city and of the unrepentant people. Jesus wept over Jerusalem. Moses even sought death because of the waywardness of the congregation. All those who mourn in this way find themselves in the fellowship of all saints and God Himself. God has appointed comfort for such people. 

Sighing and Crying in ZIon. Ezekiel chapters 8 and 9 record a vision that the prophet was given to see as he peered into the holy temple. But in that vision the prophet beholds a most grievous sight, "even the great abominations that the house of Israel had committed there that caused God to go far off from His sanctuary (Ezek 8:6). The Lord then told Ezekiel that he would see even greater abominations that these. There was idolatry and sin taking place to the north, south, east and west. The people of God had defiled the holy temple and God had determined to destroy them and it. However, in chapter nine the prophet beholds a man clothed in linen with an inkhorn by his side that would go and mark are particular group of individuals that were not to be destroyed. Who are these blessed people? Hear the account:  “Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof” (Ezek 9:4). While the world despises those that cry out against sin, the Lord Himself has determined to take not of such people and deliver them from the wrath to come. 

Consider Paul’s Experience. The apostle Paul recorded his experience of both mourning and comfort in his walk with the Lord. Mourning in Zion might sound like this: “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death” (Rom 7:24). But then the comfort of the gospel brings joy and rejoicing “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:1). 

Mourning in Zion might sound like this: "I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh" (Rom 9:2-3) and again, "my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved" (Rom 10:1). But then the comfort of the gospel might sound like this: "And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, 'There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: for this is My covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins'" (Rom 11:26-27).

The confession of mourning in Zion might sound like this: "Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is offended, and I burn not?" (2 Cor 11:28-29). But the comfort of the gospel might sound like this. "Yea, [they] shall be holden up: for God is able to make [them] stand" (Rom 14:4).

Beauty, Garment of Praise, Oil of Joy. Those who put ashes on their heads in mourning and sorrow and even repentance shall be clothed with beauty. Their appearance shall not be that of one who needs comfort but one who has been comforted. The appointment that they have before them will be evidenced on the other side. They will be adorned with beauty. They will have cause for praise on account of their blessing. They shall be praising the Lord and the they shall be praised. Our entrance into the fulness of this appointment involves participation in the heritage of the Lord. In other words, this appointment is a promise to forever dwell in the courts of the Lord, as it is written, “Thou wilt shew me the path of life; in Thy presence is fulness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps 16:11).