THE JOYFUL SOUND, AND WHAT IT IS TO KNOW IT

Here we have a people alluded to, their character described, and God’s gracious promise to them. First, as to the people; they are the Lord’s own, they are indeed blessed, chosen before the foundation of the world: God’s Blessed Spirit given to every one of them, to make them willing to accept of salvation as a free gift of God’s sovereign grace, their sins are all washed away in Jesus’ blood; their eternal inheritance is earned for them by the perfect life of the Lord Jesus; they have their Saviour’s gracious assuring declaration, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me, and I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand. My Father which gave them Me is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of My Father’s hand.” They have their heavenly Father’s promise “I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.” But were we to attempt to describe all the present and future blessedness of this favoured people, tongue and pen would fail us, for “Eye hath not seen nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.”

But now we come to the second part of our subject, and a very important part it is, namely, the chief characteristic of this blessed people, They”know the joyful sound.” It is not said that they hear it, but they know it; they have a personal interest in it. Now in all probability David, when he wrote this Psalm, was thinking of the sounding of the trumpet at the year of jubilee, which was the year of freedom for all slaves, and the year also of redemption for the lost inheritance; and the Holy Spirit, speaking by the pen of David, uses this most expressive figure to denote the sounding of the trumpet of the everlasting Gospel, which proclaims liberty to those who are in far worse condition than any earthly slavery, we mean the bondage of sin and Satan, which also proclaims thal Jesus has redeemed us, and has redeemed for us our forfeited inheritance; forfeited by the fall of the first Adam, and restored by the blood and perfect righteousness of Jesus the second Adam.

But, to return to the character of this blessed people, they “know the joyful sound.” What an important truth is here. It is not enough to hear the Gospel, to read of it, or even to think of it; it must be known, received into the heart. Alas! how many are contented with a mere head knowledge of the Gospel; but before we can truly know and feel that we are among that people, we must “know the joyful sound.” As the Lord Jesus says in the beautiful prayer for His people, “This is life eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ Whom Thou hast sent.” To know the joyful sound” means (we believe) to rest on Jesus as our only ground of hope for salvation; to trust to Him and Him alone, to fix our hopes for eternity on Jesus: to come to Him as poor miserable sinners, and to trust for salvation to Him, and Him alone. Now, none can do this without being born again of the Spirit; for until we are regenerate our souls are dead. And it is just as possible for a dead man to make himself alive, and to breathe, speak, eat, or do anything else, as for a dead soul to believe in Jesus or to be anxious about his soul’s safety. The moment a soul begins to feel alarmed, and to feel its sinfulness, and to ask for some way of escape, that very anxiety is a sure evidence that the soul is alive; and when once the Holy Spirit of God begins to work, be sure that He will finish that work. No one is ever willing to give up all trust in themselves, and to trust in Jesus, and Him alone, until the Holy Spirit of God makes him willing. And here is a sure criterion for all who wish to know whether their anxieties and convictions of sin come from the Holy Spirit of God or not; if these feelings lead the soul to Jesus, be sure that they are the work of the Spirit, for the chief part of His work is “to take of the things of Jesus and to show them to us.

But now we must turn to the third part of the promise to the Lord’s own chosen people, “They shall walk, O Lord, in the light of Thy countenance.” What a precious privilege this is: what a glorious walking it is, when we have the light of God’s countenance to guide us. Oh, what a sad thing it is when that light is withdrawn, and we are in darkness. But even in the dark we have our covenant God’s promises to lay hold of: for instance, in the 43rd chapter of Isaiah, from the latter clause of the first verse, the Lord says to His own people, “Fear not; for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art Mine. When thou passeth through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee. Since thou wast pracious in My sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life.” And then when this dark life is over, and we see Jesus face to fact, then we shall indeed “walk in the light of God’s countenance.” Not as now, when our sense of it is so often dimmed and obscured by our own sinfulness; and when the Lord sometimes, for His own good and wise purposes, withdraws it for a season from us. No, then “We shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” Nothing will then come between us and Him. “In His presence there is fulness of joy, and at His right hand there are pleasures for evermore.”

Deze tekst is geautomatiseerd gemaakt en kan nog fouten bevatten. Digibron werkt voortdurend aan correctie. Klik voor het origineel door naar de pdf. Voor opmerkingen, vragen, informatie: contact.

Op Digibron -en alle daarin opgenomen content- is het databankrecht van toepassing. Gebruiksvoorwaarden. Data protection law applies to Digibron and the content of this database. Terms of use.

Printen