September 10

"They joy before thee according to the joy in harvest." Isaiah 9:3.

THEY JOY BEFORE THEE. This shows

The sincerity of this joy. All men are in view of God, and they are always before him; but the wicked and the worldly never joy before him. Their joy is all show and profession; it may deceive their fellow-creatures, but it cannot impose on God. He sees through all the hypocrisy of their happiness; he knows that, in the midst of their sufficiency, they are in straits, and that they sigh and groan, though others do not hear them, over all their successes and indulgences. Their joy is for company, not retirement. They cannot partake of it till they forget God. One thought of him damps all their pleasure. Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us, we desire not the knowledge of thy ways. And hence they dislike conscience, God's deputy and secretary. They cannot relish their enjoyments till they have sent him out of the way, or lulled him to sleep, or stupefied him with an opiate, or silenced him with a bribe; one look, one word from conscience will be enough to spoil all their delights. They never taste one drop of real joy. There is no peace, saith God, to the wicked.

But the Christian's joy will bear the gaze of God. It lives and flourishes in his presence. And so far is he from shrinking back from the eye of his heavenly Father, that the thought of being near him, with him, before him, affords him relief and satisfaction. He can say with Asaph, "Nevertheless I am continually with thee: thou hast holden me by my right hand. Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee. My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever."

This reminds us of the secrecy of this joy. It is before him, and often he alone discerns it. Strangers intermeddle not with it. The world knows it not. Seeing Christians often poor and afflicted and despised, they are at a loss to conceive how they can be joyful. Therefore believers are men wondered at. Their fellow-creatures can see their burdens - these are often plain enough - but they see not their supports; they see not how underneath them are the everlasting arms, or they would not wonder that they do not sink. They see their losses and trials, but their communion with God and the comforts of the Holy Ghost are invisible. Neither are the subjects of this joy disposed to divulge it to all. They are indeed ready to say to them that fear God. Come, and I will tell you what he hath done for my soul: but were they to communicate their feelings to others, they often would not be understood by them. It would be worse than speaking of the pleasure of literature to a clown, or of the pleasure of melody and harmony to a man who has no ear for music. The joy also does not operate and discover itself like common mirth. It is not the froth, that swims and shows on the surface. It lies deep. It is not noise, but composure. It is the calm of the mind, the content of the heart, the sunshine of the soul, a peace that passeth all understanding. A man, if joyful, does not rejoice like a child. "True joy is a serious thing."

But God sees his people even when sorrowful, yet always rejoicing either in possession, hope, or desire. He sees them turning aside from the world to refresh and exhilarate their spirits alone with himself, and hears them--when no other ear hears them--saying, "How precious are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee."

"Be earth, with all her scenes, withdrawn:

Let noise and vanity be gone:

In secret silence of the mind,

My heaven, and there my God, I find."

They joy before Him. This also reminds us of the medium of this joy, not indeed exclusively, but preeminently so. It is connected with the worship and ordinances of God. And the allusion is to the three annual solemnities of the Jews when they went to appear before the Lord in Zion. For there he was considered as residing. There was his house, his table, his attendants. This, said he, is my rest for ever: here will I dwell, for I have desired it. Hence, says David, when shall I come, and appear before God? These services were called feasts. There were songs to be sung in the way to them. The people went with the voice of joy and gladness to keep holy day. And when they arrived, they were required "to rejoice before him." Is God less present in our assemblies than in those of the Jews? Has he not said, "In all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee?" And many can set to their seal that God is true. They know he is there, waiting to be gracious, and exalted to have mercy.