Psalm 118:15-16 The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tabernacles of the righteous: the right hand of the LORD does valiantly.… A believer in Christ is not long without finding joy. He is in the land which floweth with milk and honey, and he will get a sip of sweetness very soon. Like Nicodemus, he comes to Jesus in the dark, but the sun is rising. This joy is in him and abounds, so that he belongs to a happy people. I. THERE IS JOY IN THE FAMILIES OF THE RIGHTEOUS. 1. To some extent, this is in proportion to the salvation that is found in the family. Many among us can say, "All my children are children of God: they go with me from my table to the Lord's table: I have a church in my house, and all nay household are in the church." Here is a picture, a pattern, a paragon, a paradise. Seek, then, the salvation of the whole of your household. 2. The joy which is here alluded to is mainly spiritual: a joy of the father, because he is saved in the Lord with an everlasting salvation; a joy of the mother, because she, too, has had her heart opened, like Lydia, to hear and to receive the Word; a joy of the dear children, as they offer their little prayers, and as they talk of Jesus, whom their soul loves. 3. This kind of joy, while it is spiritual, is not dependent upon external circumstances; it hangs not on wealth or honour. They said of old that philosophers could be merry without music, and I am sure that it is truer still of Christians that they can be happy in the Lord when temporal circumstances are against them. Our bells need no silken ropes to set them ringing, neither must they be hung in lofty towers. 4. Christian joy, whether in the individual or the family, can be abundantly justified. If God is pleased with us, we may well be pleased with Him. II. THIS JOY SHOULD BE EXPRESSED. "The voice," etc. We should put a tongue in our joys, and let them speak. The voice should be heard daily, from morn till eve, and till the silence of sleep steals over all; but it should never fail to sound forth in the daily gatherings for family prayer. It should be a happy occasion when we meet to read the Word of God, and to pray together. It is well if we can also sing at such times. Matthew Henry says, concerning family prayer, "They that pray do well; they that pray and read the Scriptures do better; they that pray, and read the Scriptures, and sing a hymn, do best of all." There will be frequent occasions for holy joy in all Christian families, and these ought always to be used right heartily. Holy joy breeds no ill, however much we have of it. You can easily eat too much honey, but you can never enjoy too much delight in God. Birthdays and anniversaries of all sorts, with family meetings of various kinds, should find us setting life to music right heartily. Moreover, it would be well if our houses more generally resounded with song. It drives dull care away, it wards off evil thought, it tends to a general exultation, for the members of a household to be accustomed individually and collectively to sing. If you really cannot sing at all, yet the voice of rejoicing and salvation may be in your tabernacles by a constant cheerfulness, bearing up under pain and poverty, losses and crosses. God give you more and more of this spirit in all your households! The whole Church shall be blessed when every family is thus made happy in the Lord and in His great salvation. III. This joy of holy households is A JOY CONCERNING WHAT THE LORD HATH DONE. 1. How we should joy in God, in our families, when we think of all that He has done in conquering sin and Satan, death and hell! Christ hath led captivity captive; therefore, let us sing unto the Lord, for He hath triumphed gloriously. 2. Then let us think of what the Lord has done for each one of us individually. 3. Since then, the Lord has helped us in providence, and delivered us from fierce temptations, and made us to stand steadfastly when the adversary has thrust sore at us that we might fall. 4. And when you see great sinners converted, when the drunkard leaves his cups, when the swearer washes out his filthy mouth, and sings the praises of God, when a hardened, irreligious, sceptical man bows like a child at Jesus' feet, should not our families as well as ourselves be made acquainted with it, and should it not be a subject for joy at the family altar? ( C. H. Spurgeon.) Parallel Verses KJV: The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tabernacles of the righteous: the right hand of the LORD doeth valiantly. |
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