and call upon him whilst he is near : " then, though we should not enjoy all that we may wish for here, we shall hereafter : and even, by our occasional sorrows here, be fitted for an uninter- rupted fruition of his glory to all eternity.]
THE BLESSEDNESS OF GOD"s PEOPLE.
Ps. lxxxix. 15, 16. Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound : they shall icalk, 0 Lord, in the light of thy counte- nance. In thy name shall they rejoice all the day : and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted.
EVERY man by nature desires happiness : but few know where it is to be found. The generality imagine that it will be a sure attendant on earthly
prosperity But the Psalmist points out to us
its onlv true source : u There be many that say, who will shew us any good ? Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us2/' In like manner he instructs us in the text ; " Blessed are the people that know the joyful sound."
In these words the character and blessedness of the Lord's people are fully declared. Let us consider, I. Their character —
" The joyful sound" must here import the Gospel —
[In the Gospel a Saviour is revealed, even such a Saviour as our necessities require, a Saviour who has made a full atone- ment for our sins, and who promises " salvation to all who come unto God by him." "When this Saviour was proclaimed to the shepherds, it was in these memorable terms : " Behold, we bring you glad tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people : for unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord ! "
But " the joyful sound"' refers to the sound of the trumpets under the law, when the people were convoked to come up to God in the solemn assembly b, or when the year of Jubilee was proclaimed0. On this latter occasion, in particular, it was in- deed a joyful sound : for then all persons who had sold their houses and lands, yea, and their wives and children, and their own selves too for bond-slaves, were restored to perfect liberty.
and to the full possession of their former inheritance
Suppose a person so circumstanced, what a joyful sound would that of the trumpet be to him! Such then is the Gospel
a Ps. iv. 6. * Xumb. x. 1 — 3. 10. c Lev. xxv. S — 13.