Spurgeon: September AM
* 09/22/AM
"Let Israel rejoice in him."
--Psalm 149:2
Be glad of heart, O believer, but take care that thy gladness
has its spring in the Lord . Thou hast much cause for gladness
in thy God, for thou canst sing with David, "God, my exceeding
joy." Be glad that the Lord reigneth, that Jehovah is King!
Rejoice that He sits upon the throne, and ruleth all things!
Every attribute of God should become a fresh ray in the sunlight
of our gladness. That He is wise should make us glad, knowing as
we do our own foolishness. That He is mighty , should cause us
to rejoice who tremble at our weakness. That he is everlasting,
should always be a theme of joy when we know that we wither as
the grass. That He is unchanging , should perpetually yield us
a song, since we change every hour. That He is full of grace,
that He is overflowing with it, and that this grace in covenant
He has given to us; that it is ours to cleanse us, ours to keep
us, ours to sanctify us, ours to perfect us, ours to bring us to
glory--all this should tend to make us glad in Him. This
gladness in God is as a deep river; we have only as yet touched
its brink, we know a little of its clear sweet, heavenly
streams, but onward the depth is greater, and the current more
impetuous in its joy. The Christian feels that he may delight
himself not only in what God is, but also in all that God has
done in the past. The Psalms show us that God's people in olden
times were wont to think much of God's actions, and to have a
song concerning each of them. So let God's people now rehearse
the deeds of the Lord! Let them tell of His mighty acts, and
"sing unto the Lord, for He hath triumphed gloriously." Nor let
them ever cease to sing, for as new mercies flow to them day by
day, so should their gladness in the Lord's loving acts in
providence and in grace show itself in continued thanksgiving.
Be glad ye children of Zion and rejoice in the Lord your God.