Ps. Ixv. 4. Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and cansest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied loith the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple.
THE connexion between duty and happiness, though not seen by the generahty of men, is certain. It may not presently appear : but it will approve itself, at last, to all who will wait for the issue of passing events. To the ungodly man it seems a drudgery to wait upon God : but to every humble and believing suppliant it will be found a source of unbounded bliss; so at least the Psalmist afhrms in the words before us ; from which we shall take occa- sion to notice,
1. The habit of God's chosen people —
It is the dehght of every true Christian to ap- proach unto his God —
[He feels, like the Psalmist, that " iniquity has prevailed against him" to a very fearful extent: but he sees that an all-sufficient atonement has been offered for him ; and that, through the blood of Christ once shed on Calvary, '* every transgression that he has ever committed may be purged away^." Hence he approaches God with all humility as a sinner, and with all earnestness, as one that desires mercy at
his hands Nor is it on some particular occasions only
that his people draw nigh to him. They resemble the priests of old, whose apartments were in the temple, round about the sanctuary; and who therefore " dwelt in his courts:" for, in the habit of their minds at least, " they dwell in God" by meditation and prayer; and " God dwells in them" by the abiding influence of his Spirit and grace ]
And to this is he brought by the mighty working of the power of God- — »
[It is not by any natural power that the saints draw nigh unto God. Of themselves, they would flee from God, even as our first parents did in Paradise. It is " God himself who draws them^," and who from all eternity " chose them" to this high honour. They are unto the Lord " an holy priesthood*^;"
=* ver. 3. ^ John vi, 4-1, ^ 1 Pet. ii. 9.