But he invisibly directs and manages their concernsHe gradually removes their difficulties, and clears up their doubts If he shut them up under the law, it is that they may enbrace the offers of his gospels------ If he prune them as a vine, it is to make them more fruitful If he refine them as with fire, it is that they may be more pure" Thus he constrains them to acknowledge with the Psalmist*-] They indeed are often ready to doubt his love-But III. His regards are permanent God did not forget his people when they were in Babylon Neither will he now "forsake" those who trust in him [He may appear for a season to have forsaken them— They may be left to complain as though he had quite forgotten them But his having made them his people is a reason why he will not recede from his gracious purposes1 The Apostle was confident that God would complete his works of graceb—] He will continue firm and unchangeable in his regards to them [The prophets declare this in the strongest terms— St. Paul abundantly confirms their testimonyd He commends this truth to us as a ground of cheerful confidence in the most trying seasons-] INFER 1. How careful should we be not to pass a hasty judg ment on the Lord's dealings! [We are too ready under trials to exclaim with JacobYet the trials we complain of may be, as in his case, the necessary means of our preservation It is the part of a believer to wait with patience for the issues-] 2. How safely may we commit ourselves to God's disposal! [God alone knows what is best for us He knows, too, how to accomplish his designs in the best manner Let us therefore commit all our concerns to himh Let us lie as clay in the potter's hand In whatever distress we be, let us follow the prophet's directionk-] h Ps. xxxvii. 5. ¡Jer. xviii. 6. k Isai. l. 10. XLI. THE BLESSEDNESS OF GOD'S PEOPLE. Ps. lxxxix. 15, 16. Blessed are the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance. In thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted. EVERY man naturally seeks his own happiness— Nevertheless, experience proves that the world cannot make us happy Nor can any thing but the knowledge and enjoyment of God That cannot fail to render us truly blessed I. The character of God's people "The joyful sound," in general terms, means the gospel [The gospel reveals salvation to a lost world To those that understand it, therefore, it must be a joyful sound The very term gospel imports glad tidings-] But the precise idea, which we are to affix to it here, is not easily ascertained— It may be understood in reference to 1. The sound of victory [In the instant of victory the joy is exceeding greatSuch joy does the gospel convey to God's people It reveals to them the Saviour's triumphs over his and our enemies] a Ps. iv. 6. c Col. ii. 15. b Isai. ix. 3. Rom. xvi. 20. 2. The sound of the trumpets at the appointed feasts [At the returning feasts the trumpets were to be soundede The godly felt strong emotions of joy on these occasions Such joy does the gospel inspire when inviting us to GodIt calls us to approach him with filial love and confidenceIn this view it may properly be called the joyful sound-] 3. The sound of the trumpet in the year of jubilee [Every fiftieth year was a year of jubilee In that year, all who had sold themselves or their inheri tance had their liberty or their possessions restored This joyous change was proclaimed by the sound of a trumpet Such a change does the gospel offer It proclaims liberty to the bond-slaves of sin and SatanIt offers heaven to those who have forfeited all title to it Thus is the gospel eminently worthy to be called "the joyful sound"-] It is the character of God's people that they "know" this gospel [They have not merely an head-knowledge, but a sweet experience of it Their feelings are such, as are awakened by the proclamation of liberty, by the call to a banquet, by the shout of a triumph-] The felicity of such people exceeds all earthly joy II. Their blessedness We cannot have a more delightful view of their bless-` edness than David has given us in the text They are happy here ["They walk in the light," &c.-in a sense of the divine favour They derive unspeakable comfort from the "name" and perfections of God The name of Jesus is peculiarly precious to them h They will be incomparably more so hereafter [They will stand before God clothed in the Redeemer's "righteousness" They will be" exalted" to thrones of glory They will be perfect both in purity and bliss for everWhat astonishing exaltation will this be, when compared with their former state!-] e Numb. x. 10. 1.Pet. ii. 7. f Ps. lxxxi. 1-3. 8 Lev. xxv. 8-10. Rev. iii. 21. This subject is of USE 1. For conviction [We need not go further than the text to learn whether we have a saving knowledge of the gospel We know it not aright, if we do not know it as “a joyful sound" Let us then examine whether we have felt our own personal interest in it The theory of it in our heads, without the experience of it in our hearts, will be of little avail-] 2. For reproof [Many, who profess the gospel, enjoy but in a very low degree the blessedness which it is their privilege to possess If this arise from the temptations of Satan, God forbid that we should "break a bruised reed" But, too generally, this proceeds from the mind being distracted by the cares and pleasures of the world No wonder that we do not enjoy God, if he be not the sole object of our affections-] 3. For instruction in righteousness [In our privilege we may read our duty-` Let us live nigh to our God in the exercises of devotion— Let us contemplate his perfections, till our hearts are inAamed with love and joy Let us live in a daily anticipation of the glory that shall be revealed This is the sure way to attain both present and everlasting happiness-] XLII. REGENERATION CONSIDERED IN ITS CAUSES AND BENEFITS. 1 Pet. i. 3—5. Blessed be the God, and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy. hath begotten us again unto a lively hope, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God, through faith, unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. THE ungodly may be patient, but are seldom joyful, in affliction- Their happiness almost entirely depends on outward circumstances But the regenerate have sources of joy peculiar to themselves Nor can they be in any state wherein they have not abundant cause to bless God-: The persons to whom St. Peter wrote, were scattered abroad, and in a state of persecution Yet he begins his epistle to them, not in terms of pity and condolence, but of praise and thanksgiving I. The causes of regeneration Regeneration is a spiritual and supernatural change of heart But the text requires us to consider it not so much in its nature, as in its causes The efficient cause of it is God [God, under the Old Testament dispensation, was the God of Abraham Under the Gospel, he appears under the more endearing title," the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ”— He is our God and Father also in and through Christ Jesus In this relation he is considered as begetting us again— And he certainly is the Father of our spirits, both in their first formation, and in their subsequent renovation3] The final cause or end is our present and eternal happiness [God begets his people to "a lively hope" hereTheir hope is widely different from the cold and carnal hope of the unregenerate He has prepared for them also an "inheritance" hereafter And this inheritance is unspeakably glorious Not corruptible, as earthly "treasures, which moth and rust will corrupt" Not defiled, like the earthly Canaan, by wicked inhabi Lants Not fading, by use, age, or enjoyment, like the pleasures of sense-] The instrumental cause is the Lord Jesus Christ [Christ is the medium of every blessing, whether of grace or glory Our blessings are generally represented as imparted through his death • Compare Heb. xii. 9. with Eph. ii. 10. |