Joy, Joy Forever
A SERMON DELIVERED ON LORD'S-DAY MORNING, MAY 25, 1890,
BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.
"But let all those that put their trust in You rejoice: let them always
shout for joy, because You defend them: let those also that love Your
name be joyful in You." Psalm 5:11.
"THE Lord does put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel."
There is an ancient difference which He has made in His eternal purpose
and this is seen in every item of the Covenant of Grace. "The Lord has
set apart him that is godly for Himself." But it is also written, "The
foolish shall not stand in Your sight: You hate all workers of
iniquity." You that have believed are of the house of Israel and heirs
according to promise, for they that are of faith are the true seed of
faithful Abraham. See that you make manifest this difference by the
holiness of your lives. "Come out from among them and be you separate,
says the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing."
Display this difference always by the joyfulness of your spirits. Let
not noisome cares invade you, for we read, "I will sever in that day
the land of Goshen, in which My people dwell, that no swarms of flies
shall be there." Fear not that the wrathful judgment of God will fall
indiscriminately, for we read, "Only in the land of Goshen, where the
children of Israel were, was there no hail." The servants of the Lord
should wear the royal garments–those garments are made of the fine
cloth of holiness, trimmed with the lace of joy! Take care that you
exhibit both holiness of character and joyfulness of spirit, for where
these two things are in us, and abound, they prove that we are not
barren nor unfruitful.
To us there should be joy to strikingly contrast with the unrest of the
unbeliever. Over all the land of Egypt there was darkness which might
be felt, even thick darkness, for three days–"They saw not one
another, neither rose any from his place for three days–but all the
children of Israel had light in their dwellings." If it is so with you,
that the Lord has given you the light of joy, let your faces shine with
it! If you walk in the light as God is in the light, go forth and let
men see the brightness of your countenances and take knowledge of you
that you have been with Jesus and have learned of Him His gracious calm
as well as His holiness. "Rejoice in the Lord always." Your Lord
desires that your joy may be full. He gives you a joy which no man
takes from you–it is His legacy. "Peace I leave with you, My peace I
give unto you: not as the world gives, give I unto you."
The subject for this morning is joy, the joy of faith, the joy which is
the fruit of the Spirit from the root of trust in God. May we not only
talk about it at this hour, but enjoy it now and always! It is pleasant
to read and hear and think about joy–but to be filled with joy and
peace through believing is a far more satisfying thing! I want you to
see not only the sparkling fountain of joy, but to drink deep drafts of
it–yes, and drink all week and all month, and all the year– and all
the rest of your lives, both in time and in eternity! "Let the children
of Zion be joyful in their King."
I. First, let us speak a little upon THE KIND OF JOY WHICH IS ALLOTTED
TO BELIEVERS–"Let all those that put their trust in You rejoice: let
them always shout for joy, because You defend them: let those also that
love Your name be joyful in You." Note, first, concerning this joy,
that it is to be universal to all who trust– "Let all those that put
their trust in You rejoice." This is not only for the healthy, but for
the sick–not only for the successful, but for the disappointed. It is
not only for those who have the bird in the hand, but for those who
only see it in the bush. Let all rejoice!
If you have but a little faith, yet if you are trusting in the Lord,
you have a right to joy. It may be your joy will not rise so high as it
might do if your faith were greater but still, where faith is true, it
gives sure ground for joy. O you babes in Divine Grace! You little
children! You that have been newly converted and sadly feel your
feebleness–rejoice, for the Lord will bless them that fear Him–"both
small and great"! "Fear not, you worm, Jacob." "Fear not, little
flock."
There is a joy which is as milk to nourish babes–a joy which is not as
meat with bones in it–for the Lord adds no sorrow to it. The little
ones of the flock need not vex themselves concerning the deep things of
God, for there is joy in
those shallows of simple Truth where lambs may safely wade! The joy of
the Lord is softened down to feeble constitutions lest it overpower
them. The same great sea which floods the vast bays also flows into the
tiny creeks. "Let all those that put their trust in You rejoice." You,
Miss Much-Afraid over yonder, you are to rejoice! You, Mr. Despondency,
hardly daring to look up–you must yet learn to sing. As for Mr.
Ready-to-Halt, he must dance on his crutches and Feeble-Mind must play
the music for him. It is the mind of the Holy Spirit that those who
trust in the Lord should rejoice before
Him.
This joy, in the next place, is to be as constant as to time as it is
universal as to persons. "Let them always shout for joy." Do not be
content that a good time in the morning should be followed by
dreariness in the afternoon! Do not cultivate an occasional
delight–aim at perpetual joy! To be happy at a revival meeting and
then go home to groan is a poor business. We should "feel like singing
all the time." The Believer has abiding arguments for abiding
consolation. There is never a time when the saint of God has not great
cause for gladness–and if he never doubts and worries till he has a
justifiable reason for distrust he will never doubt nor worry! "Rejoice
in the Lord always and again"–what? "Always" and yet does the Apostle
say, "and again"? Yes, he would have us rejoice and keep on rejoicing
and then rejoice more and more! Brothers and Sisters, go on piling up
your delights! You are the blessed of the Lord and His blessing reaches
"unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills."
Next, let your joy be manifested. "Let them always shout for joy."
Shouting is an enthusiastic utterance, a method which men use when they
have won a victory–when they divide the spoil, when they bear home the
harvest, when they tread the vintage–when they drain the goblet.
Believers, you may shout for joy with unreserved delight! Some
religionists shout and we would not wish to stop them–but we wish
certain of them knew better what they were shouting for. Brothers and
Sisters, since you know Whom you have believed and what you have
believed and what are the deep sources of your joy, do not be so
sobered by your knowledge as to become dumb! Imitate the children in
the Temple, who, if they knew little, loved much and so shouted in
praise of Him they loved. "Let them shout for joy."
A touch of enthusiasm would be the salvation of many a man's religion.
Some Christians are good enough people– they are like wax candles–but
they are not lit. Oh, for a touch of flame! Then would they scatter
light and thus become of service to their families. "Let them shout for
joy." Why not? Let not orderly folks object. One said to me the other
day, "When I hear you preach I feel as if I must have a shout!" My
Friend, shout if you feel forced to do so. [Here a Hearer cried,
"Glory!"] Our Brother cries, "Glory!" and I say so, too. "Glory!" The
shouting need not always be done in a public service, or it might
hinder devout hearing–but there are times and places where a glorious
outburst of enthusiastic joy would quicken life in all around. The
ungodly are not half so restrained in their blasphemy as we are in our
praise! How is this? They go home making night hideous with their
yells. Are we never to have an outbreak of consecrated delight? Yes, we
will have our high days and holidays and we will sing and shout for joy
till even the heathens say, "The Lord has done great things for them."
This joy is to be repeated with variations. One likes, in music, to
hear the same tune played in different ways. So here you have it. "Let
them rejoice. Let them always shout for joy. Let them be joyful in
You." There is no monotony in real joy. In the presence of mirth one
grows dull, but in living joy there is exhilaration. Commend me to the
springing well of heavenly joy–its waters are always fresh, clear,
sparkling–springing up unto everlasting life! Joy blends many colors
in its one ray of light. At times it is quiet and sits still beneath a
weight of glory. I have known it weep, not salt drops, but sweet
showers. Have you never cried because of your joy in the Lord?
Sometimes joy labors for expression till it is ready to faint and
others it sings till it rivals the angels! Singing is the natural
language of joy, but oftentimes silence suits it even better. Our joy
abides in Christ whether we are quiet or shouting, whether we fall at
our Lord's feet as dead, or lean on His bosom in calm delight.
This joy is logical. When I was a child and went to school, I remember
learning out of a book called, "Why and Because." Things one learns as
a child stick in the memory and therefore I like a text which has a
"because" in it. Here it is: "Let them always shout for joy, because
You defend them." Emotions are not fired by logic and yet reasons
furnish fuel for the flame. A man may be sad though he cannot explain
his sadness, or he may be greatly glad though he cannot set forth the
reasons for his joy. The joy of a Believer in God has a firm
foundation–it is not the baseless fabric of a vision. The joy of faith
burns like coals of juniper and yet it can be calmly explained and
justified. The joyful Believer is no lunatic, carried away by a
delusion–he has a "because" with which to account for all his joy–a
reason which he can
consider on his bed in the night watches, or defend against a scoffing
world! We have a satisfactory reason for our most exuberant joy–"The
Lord has done great things for us; thereof we are glad." Philosophers
can be happy without music and saints can be happy despite
circumstances. With joy we draw water out of deeper and fuller wells
than such as father Jacob dug. Our mirth is as soberly reasonable as
the worldling's fears.
Once more, the happiness is a thing of the heart, for the text runs
thus–"Let them that love Your name be joyful in You." We love God. I
trust I am speaking to many who could say, "Lord, You know all things;
You know that I love You." Is it not a very happy emotion? What is
sweeter than to say, with tears in one's eyes–"My God, I love You,
too!" To sit down and have nothing to ask for, no words to utter, but
only for the soul to love–is not this heavenly? Measureless depths of
unutterable love are in the soul and in those depths we find the pearl
of joy. When the heart is taken up with so delightful an object as the
ever-blessed God, it feels an intensity of joy which cannot be rivaled.
When our whole being is steeped in adoring love, then Heaven comes
streaming down and we rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.
I feel I am talking in a poor way about the richest things which are
enjoyed by saintly men. Many of you know as much about these matters as
I do, perhaps more. But my soul does even now magnify the Lord and my
spirit does rejoice in God my Savior. Although I feel unworthy and
unfit to speak to this vast throng, yet I have a great sympathy with my
text, for I am "glad in the Lord."–
"Oh, what immortal joys I feel,
And raptures al divine
For Jesus tells me I am His,
And my Belo ved mine!"
If you sit before the Lord at this time and indulge your souls with an
outflow of love to God and His Son Jesus Christ– and at the same time
perceive an inflowing of heavenly joy–it will not much matter how the
poor preacher speaks to your ear, for the Lord Himself will be heard in
your soul and Heaven will flood your being!
II. Now I come to the second head, where we will consider THE GROUND
AND REASON OF HOLY JOY. I am bound to speak upon this matter, for I
have told you that the joy of the Believer is logical and can be
defended by facts and so, indeed, it is. First, the Believer's joy
arises from the God in whom He trusts. "Let all those that put their
trust in You rejoice."
When, after many a weary wandering, the dove of your soul has at last
come back to the ark and Noah has put out his hand and "pulled her in
unto him," the poor, weary creature is happy. Taken into Noah's hand
and made to nestle in his bosom, she feels so safe, so peaceful! The
weary leagues of the wild waste of waters are all forgotten, or only
remembered to give zest to the repose. So, when you trust in God your
soul has found a quiet resting place, a pavilion of repose! The little
chick runs to and fro in fear. The mother hen calls it home. She
spreads her soft wings over the brood. Have you ever seen the little
chicks, when they are housed under the hen, how they put out their
little heads through the feathers and peep and twitter so prettily?
It is a chick's Heaven to hide under its mother's bosom! It is
perfectly happy. It could not be more content. Its little chick nature
is full to the brim with delight. This is your joy, also–"He shall
cover you with His feathers and under His wings shall you trust: His
Truth shall be your shield and buckler." My Nature gets all its needs
supplied, all its desires gratified when it rests in God. Oh, you that
have never trusted God in Christ Jesus, you do not know what real
happiness means! You may search all the theatres in London and ransack
all the music halls, clubs and public-houses, but you will find no
happiness in any of their mirth, or show, or wine! True joy dwells
where dwells the living God and nowhere else. In your own home with
God, even though that home is only a single room and your meal is very
scanty, you will see more of Heaven than in the palaces of kings! Have
God for your sole trust and you shall never lack for joy!
Our joy arises next from what the Lord does for us. "Let them shout for
joy, because You defend them." God always guards His people from
whomever may attack them. "The Lord is your keeper." Angels are our
guardians, Providence is our protector–but God Himself is the
Preserver of His chosen. "You shall not be afraid for the terror by
night; nor for the arrow that flies by day; nor for the pestilence that
walks in darkness; nor for the destruction that wastes at noonday." No
fortress guards the soldier so well as God guards His redeemed. The God
of our salvation will defend us from all evil. He will defend our
souls. "Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not
fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident."
Further, our joy arises out of the love we have towards our God. "Let
them that love Your name be joyful in You." The more you love God, the
more you will delight in Him. It is the profusion of a mother's love to
her child which makes her take such delight in it. Her boy is her joy
because of her love. If we loved Jesus better, we should be happier in
Him. You do not, perhaps, see the connection between the two
things–but there is a connection so intimate that little love to
Christ brings little joy in Christ–and great love to Christ brings
great joy in Christ. God grant that in a full Christ we may have a full
joy!
Do you see what I mean? When a man comes to God in Christ and says,
"This Savior is my Savior. This Father is my Father. This God is my God
forever and ever," then he has everything and he must be joyful! He has
no fear about the past–God has forgiven him. He has no distress about
the present–the Lord is with him. He is not afraid about the future
for the Lord has said–"I will never leave you, nor forsake you." If
you understand my text and put it into practice, you possess the
quintessence of happiness, the essential oil of joy! He that has joy on
his barn floor may see it bare! He that has joy in his wine vats may
see them dry! He that has joy in his children may bury that joy in the
grave! He that has joy in himself will find his beauty consume
away–but he that has joy in God drinks from "the deep which lies
under"–his springs shall always flow, "in summer and in winter shall
it be."
I have pointed to the deep sources from which the joy of the Believer
wells up, but I must also add, it is by faith that this joy comes to
us. Faith makes joyful discoveries. I speak to those of you who have
faith. When you first believed in Christ you found that you were saved
and knew that you were forgiven. Some little while after that you
discovered that you were chosen of God from before the foundation of
the world. Oh, the rapture of your soul when the Lord appeared of old
unto you, saying, "Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love:
therefore with loving kindness have I drawn you"! The glorious doctrine
of election is as wines on the lees well-refined to those who by faith
receive it. It brings with it a new, intense and refined joy such as
the world knows nothing of.
Having discovered your election of God, you looked further into your
justification–"for whom He called, them He also justified." What a
pearl is justification! In Christ the Believer is as just in the sight
of God as if he had never sinned! He is covered with a perfect
righteousness and is accepted in the Beloved. What a joy is
justification by faith, when it is well understood! What bliss, also,
to learn our union to Christ! Believers are members of His body, of His
flesh and of His bones. Because He lives we shall live also. One with
Jesus! Wonderful discovery, this! Equally full of joy is our adoption!
"Beloved, now are we the sons of God," "And if children, then heirs;
heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ." Faith thus heaps fuel on
the fire of our joy, for it keeps on making discoveries out of the Word
of the Lord!
The more you search the Scriptures and the nearer you live to God, the
more you will enjoy that great goodness which the Lord has laid up in
store for them that fear Him. Though "eye has not seen, nor ear heard
the things which God has prepared for them that love Him," yet, "He has
revealed them unto us by His Spirit" and thereby He puts gladness into
our hearts more than increasing corn and wine could bring!
Furthermore, faith gives cheering interpretations. Faith is a Prophet
who can charmingly interpret a fearsome dream. Faith sees a gain in
every loss, a joy in every grief. Read aright and you will see that a
child of God in trouble is on the way to greater blessing. Faith views
affliction hopefully. Sorrow may come to us, as it did to David, as a
chastisement for sin. Faith reads–"Whom the Lord loves He chastens and
scourges every son whom He receives." Better to be chastened with God's
children, here, than to be condemned with the world hereafter! Faith
also sees that affliction may be sent by way of discovery to make the
man know himself, his God and the promises better. Faith perceives that
affliction may be most precious as a test, acting as does the fire when
it shows what is pure gold and what is base metal.
Faith joys in a test so valuable. Faith spies out the Truth of God that
affliction is sent to develop and mature the Christian life. "Ah,
well!" says Faith, "then, thank God for it. No trial for the present
seems to be joyous, but grievous; nevertheless, afterwards it works out
the peaceable fruit of righteousness in those that are exercised
thereby." Faith sees sweet love in every bitter cup. Faith knows that
whenever she gets a black envelope from the heavenly post office, there
is treasure in it. When the Lord's black horses call at our door they
bring us double loads of blessing.
Up to this moment I, God's servant, beg to bear my unreserved testimony
to the fact that it is good for me to have been afflicted. In spiritual
life and knowledge and power, I have grown but little except when under
the hand of trouble. I set my door open and am half-inclined to say to
pain and sickness and sadness, "Turn in here, for I know that you will
leave a blessing behind. Come, crosses, if you will, for you always
turn to crowns." Thus faith glories in tribulations, also, and in the
lion of adversity finds the honey of joy.
I have said that trial comes to us as chastisement, as we see in the
case of David–as a discoverer of Divine Grace, as we see in
Abraham–or as a test, as we see in Job. It can also be a preventive,
as in the case of Paul, who wrote, "Lest I should be exalted above
measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me
a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me." In every
tribulation God is moved by love to His people and by nothing else. If
He cuts the vine with a sharp knife, it is because He would have fruit
from it. If He whips His child till he cries, like David, "All the day
long have I been plagued and chastened every morning," it is for his
profit, that he may learn obedience by the things which he suffers. All
things work together for the Believer's good–and so faith interprets
sorrow itself into joy.
Moreover, faith believes great promises. This opens other wells of joy.
I cannot stop to quote them to you this morning, but the Book of the
Lord is full of them. What more can the Lord say than He has said? The
promises of God are full and as varied as they are full, and as sure as
they are varied and as rich as they are sure. "Exceedingly great and
precious promises." When I wrote "The Check Book of the Bank of Faith"
I was at no loss to find a promise for every day in the year–the
difficulty was which to leave out! The promises are like the bells on
the garments of our Great High Priest forever ringing out holy
melodies. When a man gets a promise fairly into the hand of faith and
goes to God with it, he must rejoice! The children of the promise are,
all of them, worthy to be called Isaac, that is, "Laughter," for God
has made him to laugh who lives according to promise. To live on the
promises of man would be starvation–but to live on the promises of God
is to feed on fat things full of marrow!
Above all, faith has an eye to the eternal reward. She rejoices in her
prospects. She takes into her hands the birds which to others are in
the bush. To be with Christ in Glory is the joy of hope, the hope which
makes not ashamed. Our hope is no dream–as sure as we are here today,
we who are trusting in Christ will be in Heaven before long–for He
prays that we may be with Him where He is and may behold His Glory! Let
us not wish to postpone the happy day! Shall our bridal day be kept
back? No, let the Bridegroom speedily come and take us to Himself. What
a joy to know that this head shall wear a crown of glory and these
hands shall wave the palm branch of victory! I speak not of myself
alone, my Brothers and Sisters, but of you, also, and of all them that
love His appearing. There is a crown of life laid up for you which the
righteous Judge will give you. Therefore, have patience a little while.
Bear, still, your cross. Put up with the difficulties of the way, for
the end is almost within sight–
"The way may be rough, but it cannot be long: So we'll smooth it with
hope, and cheer it with song." May the Lord give us the ears of faith
with which to hear the bells of Heaven ringing out from afar over the
waters of time!
Faith has always reason for joy since God is always the same, His
promises are the same and His power and will to fulfill are the same.
In an unchanging God we find unchanging reasons for joy! If we draw
water from the well of God, we may draw one day as well as another and
never find the water abated. But if we make our joy to depend in part
upon creatures and circumstances, we may find our joy leak out through
the cracks in the cistern. Last Sunday morning I cried out to you,
"Both feet on the Rock! Both feet on the Rock!" and the words led one
poor heart to try the power of undivided faith in God. This is the road
to joy and there is no other!
Drink waters from your own fountain and do not gad abroad after others.
Is not the Lord enough for you? Is it not sufficient to say, "All my
fresh springs are in You"? Neither life, nor death, nor poverty, nor
sickness, nor bereavement, nor slander, nor death, itself, shall quench
your joy if it is founded in God alone!
III. We will look, for a minute or two, into a third matter which is
THE FAILURES REPORTED CONCERNING
THIS JOY. I think I hear somebody say, "It is all very well for you to
tell us that Believers are joyful and have logical reasons for
gladness, but some of them are about as dull as can be and create
dullness in others." I am obliged to speak very carefully here, for I
am afraid that certain Christians give cause for this objection.
Let me say to some of you who love to raise objections, What do you
know about this joy? Are you unbelievers? Well, then, you are out of
court–you are not competent to judge. The griefs of Believers you do
not know and with their joy you cannot intermeddle. You have no
spiritual taste or discernment and what judgment can you form? A
genuine Believer may be as happy as the angels and yet you may not know
his joy because you are not in the secret. You have not a
spiritual mind and the carnal mind cannot discern spiritual things. I
would have you speak with bated breath when you talk on this matter.
When a blind man goes to the Royal Academy, his criticisms on the
pictures are not worth much, but they are quite equal in value to yours
when you speak of spiritual things! You cannot know what joy in the
Lord means for, alas, you are a stranger to such heavenly things.
Alas, some professors of religion are mere pretenders–these have no
joy of the Lord. To carry out their presence, these persons even
imagine that it is necessary to pull a long face and to talk very
solemnly, not to say dismally! Their idea of religion is that black is
the color of Heaven. But, dear Friends, we cannot prevent hypocrites
arising–it is only a proof that true religion is worth having. You
took a bad half-sovereign the other night, did you? Did you say, "All
half-sovereigns are worthless, I will never take another"? Of course
not!–you became more careful–and you were quite sure that there were
good half-sovereigns in currency, or else people would not make
counterfeit ones. It would not pay anybody to be a hypocrite unless
there were enough genuine Christians to make the hypocrites pass
current. Therefore do not say too much about hypocritical weepers, lest
you slander true men.
Next, remember that some persons are constitutionally sad. They cried
as soon as they were born. They cried when they cut their teeth and
they have cried ever since. Their spirits are very low down and when
the Grace of God gets into their hearts it lifts them a great deal to
bring them up to a decent level of joy. Think of what they would have
been without it! Many would have died in despair if it had not been for
faith. The Grace of God has kept them up or they would have lost their
reason. I am sorry there should be persons who have bad livers, feeble
digestions, or irritated brains, but there are such. Pity them, even if
you blame them. They must not so pity themselves as to make an excuse
for their unbelief–but we must remember that often the spirit truly is
willing, but the flesh is weak.
When you have met with Christians who are not happy, did it never
strike you that their depression might only be for a time under very
severe trial? You may go to the South of France, where the days are
sunny and you may happen to be there for a couple of days, only, and it
may rain all the time–it would be unfair on that account to say that
it is a gloomy place! So it may be that the Christian is under extreme
pressure for the time and when that is moderated he will be very
joyful. I do not excuse his loss of joy but still, there is a November
of fogs in the year of most men. Judge no man by the day, but watch his
spirit on a larger scale and see whether he does not usually delight
himself in God.
Moreover, I would like to say a very pointed thing to some people who
charge the saints with undue sadness. May you not be guilty of making
them so? There is an unkind, morose, wicked, drinking husband and he
says, "My wife's religion makes her miserable." No. It is not her
religion, but her husband! You are enough to make 20 people
unhappy–you know you are–and therefore do not blame the poor woman,
if, when she sees you, tears are in her eyes. Alas, when she thinks of
your going down to Hell and knows that she will be parted from you
forever, the more she loves you the more sad she is to think of you.
"Oh," says some wild boy here, "my mother is wretched!" I do not
wonder! I should be wretched, too, if you were my son! If any of you
are living ungodly lives, it makes your parents' hearts ache to see you
going headlong to perdition. Is it not abominable that a man should
make another miserable and then blame him for being so? If you were but
saved, how your mother's face would brighten up! If your father saw his
boy turn to the Lord, he would be as happy as the birds in spring!
Speak tenderly on this matter lest you accuse yourself!
If you say that some Christians are unhappy, must you not also admit
that many of them are very happy? I was once waited upon by an
enthusiast who had a new religion to publish. Numbers of people have a
crack which lets in new light and this man was going to convert me to
his new ideas. After I had heard him, I said, "I have heard your story,
will you hear mine?" When I talked to him of my lot and portion in the
love of a Covenant God and the safety of the Believer in Christ, he
said, "Now, Sir, if you believe all this, you ought to be the happiest
man in the world." I admitted that his inference was true and then I
said to him, which rather surprised him, "So I am. And I am going to be
more so all the rest of my life."
If a man is chosen of God from before the foundation of the world. If
he is redeemed by the precious blood of Christ. If he is quickened by
the Holy Spirit and renewed in the spirit of his mind. If he is one
with Christ and on his way to Heaven–if he is not happy, he ought to
be! Surely we ought to rejoice abundantly, dear Friends, for ours is a
happy lot! "Happy are the people whose God is the Lord." If God's
people are not happy at times, it is not their faith which makes them
unhappy–ask them. It is not what you believe that makes you
unhappy–it is your lack of faith, is it not? If a man
begins to doubt, he begins to sorrow, but as far as his faith goes, he
has joy. Oh, for more faith! Faith does create joy. We can answer all
objections by the fact that "we that have believed do enter into rest."
IV. I close by mentioning THE ARGUMENTS FOR ABOUNDING IN JOY. You
cannot argue a man into gladness, but you may possibly stir him up to
see that which will make him happy. First, you see in my text a permit
to be glad– "Let all those that put their trust in You rejoice." You
have, here, a ticket to the banquets ofjoy! You may be as happy as ever
you like. You have Divine permission to shout for joy! Yonder is the
inner sanctuary of happiness. You cry, "May I come in?" Yes, if by
faith you can grasp the text, "Let all those that put their trust in
You rejoice." "But may I be happy?" asks one. "May I be glad? May I? Is
there joy for me?" Do you trust in the Lord? Then you have your
passport–travel in the land of light!
But the text is not only a permit, it is a precept. When it says, "Let
them shout for joy," it means that they are commanded to do so. Blessed
is that religion wherein it is a duty to be happy! Come, you mournful
ones, be glad! You discontented grumblers, come out of that dog house!
Enter the palace of the King! Quit your dunghills! Ascend your thrones!
The precept commands it–"Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say,
Rejoice." We have here more than a permit and a precept, it is a
prayer. David prays it–the Lord Jesus prays it by David. Let them
rejoice, let them be joyful in You! Will He not grant the prayer which
He has inspired by causing us to rejoice through lifting upon us the
light of His Countenance? Pray for joy yourself, saying with David,
"Restore unto me the joy of Your salvation."
The text might be read as a promise–"All those that put their trust in
You shall rejoice." God promises joy and gladness to Believers. Light
is sown for them–the Lord will turn their night into day. Listen to
the following line of argument which shall be very brief. You only act
reasonably when you rejoice. If you are chosen of God and redeemed by
blood and have been made an heir of Heaven, you ought to rejoice. We
pray you act not contrary to Nature and reason. Do not fly in the face
of great and precious Truths of God. From what you profess, you are
bound to be joyful. You will best baffle your adversaries by being
happy.
"They say." "They say"–let them say! "Rest in the Lord and wait
patiently for Him." But the attack is cruel. No doubt it is, but the
Lord knows all about it. Do not cease to rest in Him. If your heart is
full of God's love you can easily bear all that the enemy may cast upon
you. Abound in joy, for then you will behave best to those who are
round about you. When a man is unhappy he usually makes other people
so–and a person that is miserable is generally unkind and frequently
unjust. It is often indigestion that makes a man find fault with his
servants and wife and children. If a man is at peace with himself, he
is peaceful with others. Get right within and you will be right
without. One of the best medicines for a good temper is communion with
God and consequent joy of heart.
You yourself, also, if you are happy, will be strong–"The joy of the
Lord is your strength." If you lose your joy in your religion, you will
be a poor worker–you cannot bear strong testimony, you cannot bear
stern trial–you cannot lead a powerful life. In proportion as you
maintain your joy, you will be strong in the Lord, and for the Lord. Do
you not know that if you are full of joy you will be turning the
charming side of religion where men can see it? I should not like to
wear my coat with the seamy side out–some religionists always do that.
It was said of one great professor that he looked as if his religion
did not agree with him.
Godliness is not a rack or a thumbscrew. Behave not to religion as if
you felt that you must take it, like so much medicine but you had
rather not. If it tastes like nauseous medicine to you, I should fear
you have got the wrong sort and are poisoning yourself! Believe not
that true godliness is akin to sourness. Cheerfulness is next to
godliness! "When you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that
you appear not unto men to fast." Weed out levity, but cultivate joy.
Thus will you win other hearts to follow Jesus. Remember that if you
are always joyful, you are rehearsing the music of the skies. We are
going there very soon–let us not be ignorant of the music of its
choirs. I should not like to crowd into my seat and hear the
choirmaster say, "Do you know your part?" and then have to answer, "Oh,
no, I have never sung while I was on earth, for I had no joy in the
Lord."
I think I shall answer to the choirmaster and say, "Yes, I have long
since sung, 'Worthy is the Lamb'"–
"I would begin the music here And so my soul shall rise: Oh, for some
heavenly notes, to bear My passions to the skies!"
With joy we rehearse the song of songs! We pay glad homage now before
Jehovah's Throne. We sing unto the Lord our gladsome harmonies and we
will do so as long as we have any being. Pass me that score, O chief
musician of the skies, for I can take it up and sing my part in bass,
or tenor, or treble, or alto, or soprano as my voice may be! The key is
joy in God! Whatever the part assigned us, the music is all for Jesus!
May some of you that have never joyed in Jesus Christ learn how to
praise Him today by being washed in His precious blood! You that have
praised Him long, may you learn your score yet more fully and sing in
better tune from now on and for evermore! Amen.
PORTIONS OF SCRIPTURE READ BEFORE SERMON– Psalms 4 and 5. HYMNS FROM
"OUR OWN HYMN BOOK"–136 (SONG I); 4; 103 (VERS. II).