The Joy of the Church

This psalm is a thanksgiving song for those who have been delivered. We will never be able to explain this psalm in a right way unless our eye is vested upon the great Surety and Mediator of the Covenant, upon the Servant of the Father, who was ordained to that end in the stillness of eternity. He is the great Deliverer and the Redeemer of the Lord. He did not come upon this earth for Himself, nor did He enter into death for Himself.

Everything which He suffered and strived against proceeded out of the power of the will of the Father and served to the glorification of His attributes, not only to the accomplishing of His adorable counsel but also to the deliverance of His people, of that people who were given unto Him in eternity. “The zeal of Thine house hath eaten Me up.”

For the deliverance of His own, He was cast into the sea of God’s wrath which burned and raged as a fire. He has experienced in the fullest sense of the word, “Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of Thy waterspouts: all Thy waves and Thy billows are gone over Me” (Psalm 42:7). In Psalm 69:1&2, He sighed, “Save Me, O God; for the waters come in unto My soul. I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow Me.” He suffered the entire time of His life here upon earth, but especially at the end of His life He has carried the weight of the eternal wrath against the sins of the entire human race. The bodily suffering was heavy, but the suffering of His soul was immeasurably heavier.

His godly nature has sustained his assumed human nature, but also the Father from heaven has sent His Angel in Gethsemane to strengthen Him. His suffering reached its highest point during the three hours of darkness upon Golgotha. Both friend and companion were far from Him. Yea, there the Surety of the Covenant was forsaken of God; it seemed as if the Mediator would succumb to the flood of God’s wrath, but no, He has triumphed upon the cross, and in Christ’s death the waves were calmed, and the roaring sea became still.

The Father was satisfied in the finished work of His Son and gave testimony of that by His resurrection from the dead. He causes the storm to be stilled so that the waves are quiet. Oh, how great the rest, how great the quiet; the sea which earlier raised her waves up to heaven is now become as smooth as a mirror.

God in Christ is pleased with His people. From heaven it is now heard, “For this is as the waters of Noah unto Me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee” (Isaiah 54:9).

When it is written in our text, “Then are they glad,” that means that Christ as Surety was glad first of all. The Surety was beset and oppressed of God. He has roared by reason of the disquietness in His heart, but now it may be fully applied to Him:

With joy the meek shall see my soul restored,
Your heart shall live, ye saints that seek the Lord;
He helps the needy and regards their cries,
Those in distress the Lord will not despise.

Who will ever be able to express the joy which has filled the heart of the Surety upon the completion of His work? God is reconciled, Satan’s head is bruised, and the salvation of the Church is eternally secured.

That joy shall be increased when He will ascend up into heaven full of majesty and glory, when in His ascension the gates and the everlasting doors will be opened for the King of glory. When the Son returns again to His Father, the King to His throne and the Ruler to His residence, He takes with Him His Church, and the Father has made Him most blessed forever, and hast made Him exceeding glad with Thy countenance (Psalm 21:6).

See, beloved, upon that foundation of Christ’s humiliation and exaltation, according to the good pleasure of the Father, the Church here below becomes joyful when through the Holy Ghost the fruits of Christ’s merits are applied to the hearts of the elect insofar as they may accept this benefit on this side of the grave with a believing heart. In saving conviction they come to deal with God. The rest wherein they lived before, whether it be in the world or in religion, is taken away. It is as if they come upon the ocean; they begin to do business in great waters.

They try to satisfy God with what they do and do not do. A person will try everything to try to preserve life. God’s justice is revealed to them from heaven. The curse of God’s law is pronounced in their soul. They must meet God, but, oh, how will that ever be possible? God’s justice demands, the Law condemns, and sin, both actual and original, testifies against them. Satan also oppresses and accosts them. He tries to drive them into the arms of despair. “There is no salvation for you with God.” They pine away in anxiety and fear. It becomes reality, the ground is removed from under their feet, their wisdom is consumed. They have had times that they could still consider their condition, but that also comes to an end. Nothing else remains but to call unto the Lord, and He delivers them out of their distresses. With the Lord there is deliverance, even from death. He alone can silence the internal storm.

There are times that they are encouraged, yet through it all there remains a disquietness in their soul. Rest can be found only in God. Oh, when God’s wrath is turned away, the peace of God through the blood of the Lamb fills their soul, and Christ is applied with His merited righteousness, then that people is glad. Only rest and peace give gladness. When there is no longer anything between God and their soul, when their guilt has been reconciled and their unrighteousness is taken away, and they are justified by a reconciled God who testifies, “Fury is not in Me,” then a joy fills their heart which the world does not know.

There are times that they are encouraged, yet through it all there remains a disquietness in their soul. Rest can be found only in God. Oh, when God’s wrath is turned away, the peace of God through the blood of the Lamb fills their soul, and Christ is applied with His merited righteousness, then that people is glad. Only rest and peace give gladness. When there is no longer anything between God and their soul, when their guilt has been reconciled and their unrighteousness is taken away, and they are justified by a reconciled God who testifies, “Fury is not in Me,” then a joy fills their heart which the world does not know.

There is joy because God has sought out such a way— joy not only because Christ has entered the sea for them but also because He came out of it as the great Victor—joy because the Holy Spirit has applied and confirmed that precious work in their heart, granting them the faith to accept it—joy because God Himself has led them to that desired haven.

The desired haven is the rest of faith which God grants His people when they might find peace in their heart in that finished work. That haven is also especially for God’s children the heart of God the Father. “They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of Thy house; and Thou shalt make them drink of the river of Thy pleasures” (Psalm 36:8).

Oh, as long as they have not returned there, there can be no enduring peace in their heart. There were times that they were glad, but when they missed the fruits of it in their life, the joy would also go away. They had torn themselves out of the heart of the Father; for them all avenues of escape were cut off, and see what grief and sorrow this had caused in their life. They sometimes feared that they would perish in their oppression, but now, God has restored them and brought them back in a stately manner. What joy now fills their soul.

It is a godly, spiritual, heavenly joy, a joy that will be complete only when they have finished God’s counsel here upon earth. As long as the Church is upon this earth, the storms will remain. Sometimes they are internal, and at other times external, but the strife will remain until the end. The Lord has determined that His people must live out their life as strangers. Even though they have received a homecoming, they are not yet eternally home. Time and again they become aware of that, but certainly, the waves will not go over their head.

For them it is no longer a questionable matter. “For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance” (Romans 11:29). Their joy here, however, is often mixed with grief. There is so much up and down in their life, but that will all come to an end. When death comes nigh, God will give complete deliverance. In heaven there will no longer be any storms; there will be no more troubles, and there is nothing which will draw them away from God, which is so often the case here below.

People of the Lord, could it be that you would make your calling and election sure. Oh, do not grant any rest to your soul before you have found rest in God. Could it be that the discontent of all which is outside of Christ was recognized, and that your soul would be filled with holy concerns to find that rest. Continually take your place under such preaching where you are pointed to the rest which can be found only in God. May God’s dear Spirit, above all else, sink down into your heart. For you, my unconverted fellow traveler, it will storm continuously if you remain estranged from God’s justice and the application of Christ’s perfect righteousness by the Holy Spirit.

Longing people, do not lose courage. God is on His way to give your restless soul rest in God. May He assure you of eternal life by His Spirit. What will it be, oh saints of God, when one day all the waves will be made calm! Here it is a bobbing up and down upon the sea of life, and you are tossed to and fro from all sides. What will it then be to land in that desired haven of eternity and to disembark, to say farewell to all unrest, and to enter that land where righteousness lives, a city where you will eternally enjoy God’s favor.

Rev. W.C. Lamain (1904-1984)

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