My Weblog: The Gospel Preacher.

In Job 16:16, it is written, "16 My face is ¹foul with weeping, and on my eyelids is the shadow of death. " Job ( see verse one ) teaches, here, that weeping affects the appearance of one's face. Solomon ( see Ecclesiastes 1:1 ) wrote ( see 12:9, 10, for example ) in 3:4, "4 A time to ^aweep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance. "

What is the benefit of weeping or mourning? In Ecclesiastes 7:1-3, it is written, " 7 A ^agood name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one's ^bbirth. 2 It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will ¹lay it to his ^aheart. 3 ¹Sorrow is better than laughter: ^afor by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made ²better. " The phrase " ^afor by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made ²better, " in verse three, has a cross-reference to 2 Corinthians 7:10: verses eight through eleven read as follows, namely: "8 For though I made you ^asorry with a letter, I do not ¹repent, ^bthough I did ¹repent: for I perceive that the same epistle hath made you sorry, though it were but for a ²season. 9 Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry ¹after a godly manner, that ye might ²receive damage by us in nothing. 10 For ^agodly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be ¹repented of: ^bbut the sorrow of the world worketh death. 11 For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly ¹sort, what ²carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what ^aclearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what ³revenge! In all things ye have ⁴approved yourselves to be ^bclear in this matter. "

Thus, going to the house of mourning brings sorrow, which leads to repentance. This godly sorrow will result in a zeal for what is right ( see 1 Peter 3:13, for example; RSV, for example ), for example. The death of one of God's covenant people will result in sinners obeying the gospel message ( see Exodus 20:13; 24:1-8 ( especially verse 8, for example ); Judges 13:1-16:31; Psalm 50:5 ( KJV, for example ); Matthew 1:16; 16:13-20 ( especially verses 16-18, for example ); 26:36-46 ( especially verse 45, for example ); Luke 22:14-23 ( especially verse 20, for example; KJV, for example ); 23:26-49 ( especially verse 33, for example; KJV, for example ); Acts 15:1-21 ( especially verse 7, for example ); Romans, chapter 6 ( especially verses 1-4, and 11, for example ); 13:9; 15:1-4 ( especially verse 4, for example ); and 2 Thessalonians, chapter 1 ( especially verses 7-10, for example ), for example ).

Sadness of countenance makes one's heart better ( as we learn from the verse three quoted in the second paragraph, above ). Solomon also wrote that the heart of fools is in the house of mirth ( see Ecclesiastes 7:4 ). A fool does not have the proper frame of mind which lends itself to repentance ( see Luke 13:1-9 ( especially verse 3, for example ), for example ).

Weeping, in the appropriate context, is not to be discouraged. In John 11:35, it is written ( and please read all of this chapter to get the immediate context ), "35 ^aJesus wept. " Men do cry ( see also 1 Timothy 2:5, for example ). 🕮