When a sinner understands his own spiritual bankruptcy and sorrows over his sinfulness, he is suddenly in the place to become meek. The basic point of this beatitude in the greater context of Jesus' sermon is that meekness is also an indispensable mark of the true Christian.

Poverty in spirit yields contrition of heart. The first beatitude inevitably brings us to the second; understanding our spiritual bankruptcy leads us to mourn our spiritual condition. In this study we examine the kind of mourning which receives God's comfort.