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THE GOODNESS OF GOD TO HIS BELIEVING PEOPLE
THE salvation of the Gospel is a present salvation: the “godliness which it inspires is profitable unto all things, having the promise of the life which now is, as well as that which is to come.” It is needless to say that the trials of life are great; and that men in every situation of life need the supports and consolations of religion to carry them through the difficulties which they have to encounter. But of the extent to which these supports and consolations are administered to God’s chosen people, very little idea can be formed by those who have never experienced a communication of them to their souls. David was highly favoured in this respect. He lived in a state of near and habitual fellowship with God; spreading before him all his wants, and receiving from him such supplies of grace and peace as his daily necessities required. Hence with devout rapture he expresses his admiration of Gods goodness to his believing people.
This is the subject which we propose for our present meditation; and which, in correspondence with the words of our text, we shall consider,
I. In a general view—
The terms by which the Lord’s people are characterized sufficiently distinguish them from all others, since none but they do truly “fear God,” or unfeignedly “put their trust in him.” They are the true Israel; in reference to whom it is said, “God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart [Note: Psa_73:1.].”
In speaking of his goodness to them, we shall notice,
1. That which is “laid up for them”—
[In the time of David the great truths of the Gospel were but indistinctly known; the fuller manifestation of them being reserved for the Apostolic age: as St. Paul, quoting a remarkable passage from the Prophet Isaiah, says; “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him;” and then adds, “But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit [Note: Isa_64:4. with 1Co_2:9-10].” To the Jewish Church therefore these things are only “laid up,” as it were, in types and prophecies: and though made known in the Gospel, they are still but imperfectly viewed by the Christian world; and may be considered as “laid up” for the Church at this time, no less than in former ages: for it is only by slow degrees that any one attains to the knowledge of them; and whatever attainments any one may have made, he sees only “as in a glass darkly, and knows only in part;” there being in it a length and breadth and depth and height utterly beyond the power of any finite intelligence to explore [Note: Eph_3:18-19.]. The “riches” that are stored up for us in Christ even in this world are altogether “unsearchable [Note: Eph_3:8.]:” what then must the glories be which are “reserved in heaven for us!” The more we contemplate the blessings which God has treasured up for us in the Son of his love — — —, the more shall we exclaim with David, “Oh how great is his goodness!”]
2. That which God has actually “wrought for them”—
[Every believer was once “dead in trespasses and sins,” even as others. But he has been quickened by the mighty energy of God’s Spirit, and been raised up to newness of life. He is “a new creature in Christ Jesus;” all his views, his desires, his purposes, being altogether changed — — — He has the heart of stone taken from him, and a heart of flesh substituted in its place. He has been “made a partaker of the divine nature,” and “been renewed after God’s image; and that, not in knowledge only, but in righteousness also and true holiness.” He is brought altogether into a new state, having been “translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God’s dear Son,” and been made “an heir of God, and a joint-heir with Christ.” In a word, he is “begotten to an inheritance which is incorruptible and undefiled and never-fading, reserved in heaven for him;” and for the full possession of which he also is reserved by the power of God, through the simple exercise of faith [Note: 2Pe_1:4.] — — — All this he has wrought for them “before the sons of men.” They are evidently “a seed which the Lord has blessed:” they are “lights in a dark world,” “epistles of Christ, known and read of all men” — — —]
But in the latter part of our text, we are called to consider the goodness of God towards his people,
II. With a particular reference to their intercourse
with the ungodly world—
Exceeding bitter are those pains which men inflict on each other by calumnies and reproaches—
[To speak good one of another affords no particular pleasure; but to hear and circulate some evil report affords to the carnal mind the highest gratification: and in such employment all the corruptions of our fallen nature find ample scope for exercise and indulgence. Who can estimate the evils arising from “pride,” and “the strife of tongues?” Some little idea may be formed from the description given of the tongue by an inspired Apostle: “Behold,” says he, “how great a matter a little fire kindleth! The tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue amongst our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell [Note: Jam_3:5-6.].” How exceedingly strong are these terms! Yet it is by no means an exaggerated statement of the evils proceeding from calumny in the world at large: but as representing the virulence and malignity with which men calumniate the people of God, they come yet nearer to the truth. In the very words preceding my text, David faintly portrays the conduct of the ungodly in relation to this matter: “Let the lying lips be put to silence, which speak grievous things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous.” In another psalm he speaks in far stronger terms: “My soul,” says he, “is among lions: and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword [Note: Psa_57:4.].” The truth is, that men can inflict, and often do inflict, far deeper wounds with their tongue than they could with the most powerful weapon. With a sword they can only wound the body: but with bitter and cruel words they wound the inmost soul. Under the former we may easily support ourselves; but “a wounded spirit who can bear?]
But against these does God provide for his people an effectual antidote—
[Though more exposed than others to the venomous assaults of slander, they have a refuge which the worldling knows not of. They carry their trials to the Lord, and spread them before him; and from him they receive such supports and consolations as more than counterbalance the evils they sustain. “In the secret of God’s presence they are hid.” When nigh to him in prayer, they are hid as in a pavilion, or a royal tent, protected by armed hosts, and furnished with the richest viands [Note: Psa_27:5-6.]. But the full import of these terms cannot adequately be expressed. Who shall say what is implied in those words, “The secret of God’s presence?” who shall declare what a fulness of joy is there possessed by the believing suppliant? How powerless are the fiery darts which are hurled at him by the most envenomed foes, whilst God himself is a wall of fire round about him, and the glory of God irradiates his soul, inspiring it with a foretaste of heaven itself! Some little idea of his enjoyment may be formed from the history of Hezekiah at the time of Sennacherib’s invasion. It was “a day of trouble, and of rebuke and blasphemy;” and the feelings excited in the bosom of Hezekiah were most distressing: but scarcely had he spread before the Lord the letter which the blaspheming Rabshakeh had sent him, than he was encouraged by God to return this triumphant answer; “The virgin, the daughter of Zion, hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee [Note: Isa_37:3; Isa_37:14; Isa_37:21-22.].” Thus, like one who saw “the heavens filled with horses of fire and chariots of fire” for his protection, he set at nought the vain boasts of his enemies, and anticipated a certain triumph. Thus, how malignant soever the believer’s enemies may be, he is hid from them as in an impregnable fortress, and looks down on their fruitless efforts with pity and contempt.]
Address—
1. Let us seek to attain the character here drawn—
[To fear God is the duty, and to trust in him the privilege, of every child of man — — — Learn then to tremble for fear of his judgments, and to rely on his mercy as revealed to you in his Gospel — — — for then only can you experience the blessings of his goodness, when you surrender up yourselves to him to be saved by his grace — — —]
2. Let us enjoy the privileges conferred upon us—
[For a fuller discovery of the believer’s privileges, we may consult the declarations of David in the Psalms [Note: Psa_91:1-4; Psa_91:9-16; Psa_55:21-22.] — — — Let us not rest in any thing short of them. Let us get such a sense of them as shall overwhelm us with wonder, and gratitude, and praise — — —]