Different Kinds of Tears

Not every shedding of tears comes from one feeling or one virtue. One kind of weeping comes when the stings of our sins strike our heart. Of this we read: “I have labored in my groaning; every night I will wash my bed; I will water my couch with my tears.” And again: “Let tears run down like a torrent day and night; give yourself no rest, and do not let the apple of your eye cease.” Another kind arises from contemplating the good things that are eternal and from longing for the glory to come. From it even richer springs of tears burst out, from delight we cannot hold back and from boundless joy, while our soul thirsts for the mighty, living God and says, “When shall I come and appear before the presence of God? My tears have been my food day and night.” With daily crying and lament it declares, “Woe is me, that my sojourning is prolonged,” and, “Too long has my soul been a sojourner.” Tears flow in yet another way when a person is not aware of any deadly sin, and yet they come from the fear of hell and the memory of that terrible judgment. The prophet was struck with terror of it and prayed to God, saying, “Do not enter into judgment with your servant, for in your sight no one living will be counted righteous.” [a]

There is also another kind of tears, caused not by knowledge of oneself but by the hardness and sins of others. So Samuel is described as weeping for Saul, and both the Lord in the gospel and Jeremiah in earlier days wept for the city of Jerusalem. Jeremiah says, “Oh, that my head were water and my eyes a fountain of tears! And I will weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people.” Or there are tears like those we hear of in the hundred and first Psalm: “For I have eaten ashes for my bread and mingled my cup with weeping.” These were certainly not caused by the same feeling as the tears in the sixth Psalm, which come from the penitent who speaks there. They came from the anxieties of this life, its troubles and its losses, which weigh down the righteous who are living in this world. This is shown clearly not only by the words of the Psalm itself but also by its title. The title is written in the character of that poor person of whom the gospel says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” It runs: “A prayer of the poor man, when he was in distress and poured out his prayer to God.”