Morning, September 21
Go To Evening Reading
“I will rejoice over them to do them good.”
Jeremiah 32:41
How heart-cheering to the believer is the delight which God has in
his saints! We cannot see any reason in ourselves why the Lord should
take pleasure in us; we cannot take delight in ourselves, for we often
have to groan, being burdened; conscious of our sinfulness, and deploring
our unfaithfulness; and we fear that God’s people cannot take much delight in us, for they must perceive so
much of our imperfections and our follies, that they may rather lament
our infirmities than admire our graces. But we love to dwell upon
this transcendent truth, this glorious mystery: that as the bridegroom
rejoiceth over the bride, so does the Lord rejoice over us. We do
not read anywhere that God delighteth in the cloud-capped mountains,
or the sparkling stars, but we do read that he delighteth in the habitable
parts of the earth, and that his delights are with the sons of men.
We do not find it written that even angels give his soul delight;
nor doth he say, concerning cherubim and seraphim, “Thou shalt be called Hephzibah, for the Lord delighteth in thee”; but he does say all that to poor fallen creatures like ourselves,
debased and depraved by sin, but saved, exalted, and glorified by
his grace. In what strong language he expresses his delight in his
people! Who could have conceived of the eternal One as bursting forth
into a song? Yet it is written, “He will rejoice over thee with joy, he will rest in his love, he will
joy over thee with singing.” As he looked upon the world he had made, he said, “It is very good”; but when he beheld those who are the purchase of Jesus’ blood, his own chosen ones, it seemed as if the great heart of the Infinite could
restrain itself no longer, but overflowed in divine exclamations of
joy. Should not we utter our grateful response to such a marvellous
declaration of his love, and sing, “I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation?”