For the LORD takes pleasure in His people; He adorns the afflicted with salvation. Sermons
The Peculiarity of religion is that it gives us pleasure in the thought of God, by removing the fear of him which is common to sinful men. This is seen in the joy-songs of the psalmists. When we cherish the thought of God, we find our hearts are incited to praise him (1) for what he is in his own glorious nature; (2) for what he is in the ordering of his gracious providences; (3) for what he is in covenant relations with his people. Whether we are finding pleasure in the thought of God is one of the surest and best tests of our religion. In the verse before us, our joy in God and praise of God are demanded on two very sufficient and suggestive grounds. I. GOD'S PRESENT PLEASURE IN HIS PEOPLE. That ought to be a constant pleasure and joy to us. It is not only that he cares for us - that may be but a cold consideration. It is not only that he loves us - we may feel almost lost among the many whom he loves. It is that he finds pleasure in us, and that necessarily involves some form of personal relations. But what can there possibly be in us in which God can find personal pleasure? 1. We are to him as children. 2. We are the objects of his great redemption. (Illustrate by the interest of a doctor in his patient.) 3. We may reflect his image. There is a strange pleasure in discovering our characteristic self in another person. 4. We may lean upon his grace. And there is great pleasure felt by the good man in simply being relied on. What gave Christ his pleasure in his disciples? Take home the thought of God's pleasurable interest in us, and then see under what obligations we lie never to spoil his pleasure, but do all we can to increase it. II. GOD'S FUTURE PURPOSE FOR HIS PEOPLE. HIS pleasure in them makes him work for them. And those for whom he works are indicated by their chief characteristic-meekness. "I will beautify the meek." For such God has: (1) Salvation in its fullest, deepest senses. (2) Help for every emergency, constant as their need, and adapted to it in its ever-varying forms. (3) Final emancipation from the evil which has been all along marring and spoiling our beauty. Illustrate how beauty returns when encroaching and enfeebling disease is at last mastered and dismissed. It is important to dwell on the point - that the salvations of God which are going on in us and for us, because he takes pleasure in us, are adornments to the Christian. God's grace to him and in him tends to "beautify him." It may be shown how they tend to beautify (1) his very face; (2) his character; and (3) his relationships. What, then, will be our beauty in the sight of God when his salvation work in us is fully complete? - R.T. For the Lord taketh pleasure in His people. I. THE PEOPLE REFEREED TO. 1. They bear the Lord's name. They are His disciples, subjects, servants, soldiers. 2. They bear the Lord's image (2 Peter 1:4). 3. They possess the Lord's Spirit. He directs, comforts, and sanctifies them. 4. They are zealous for the Lord's glory. II. THE LORD'S DELIGHT IN HIS PEOPLE. 1. In their persons. 2. In their graces. 3. In their services. 4. In all their concerns. 5. At all times, and in all circumstances. () them: — I. THE DELIGHT WHICH THE LORD HAS IN HIS SAINTS. 1. Who are the Lord's people? "The meek."(1) As it respects God, it implies poverty of spirit; humiliation of heart arising from a sense of guilt, and a feeling of corruption; submission and resignation to His will; silence and patience under His rod, and a surrender of our own natural desires and inclinations to His overruling appointments.(2) As it respects man, it comprehends lowliness of mind, and a readiness to prefer others before ourselves; gentleness of disposition and behaviour; forbearance under provocations. 2. Why does He take pleasure in them? Because they are His people, purchased by His blood, renewed by His Spirit, redeemed by His power. 3. In what respects does He take pleasure in them? (1)He delights in the exercise of their graces towards Him.(2)In their services.(3)In their prosperity.II. HIS GRACIOUS DESIGNS CONCERNING THEM. 1. The happy effects of religion even in the present life. 2. They are "predestinated to be conformed to the image of the Son"; and when they awake up in another world, it will be after His likeness, without any remaining blemish, defect, or spot. () 1. The title they bear. "His people" — (1)By Divine choice,(2)By regenerating grace.(3)By personal dedication.2. The spirit they evince. A humble, contrite spirit, softened by the power of Divine grace, and melted by the love and compassion of Christ. II. THE EXTENT OF PRIVILEGE ENJOYED 1. As the objects of Divine complacency. 2. As the subjects of the Divine munificence.(1) The inestimable blessing — salvation. This consists in a deliverance from evil, and the enjoyment of all good — pardon, peace, joy, hope, heaven.(2) The manner of its application. "Beautify." How beautiful does the believer appear, arrayed in the garments of salvation, clothed with the robe of righteousness, and bringing forth the fruits of the Spirit — worshipping God in the beauty of holiness — going to the sanctuary to behold the beauty of the Lord. How beautiful, with the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit. How beautiful, laden with the fruits of righteousness, and resigned to the will of God under trials. How beautiful in death! () I believe that every true sculptor can see in the block of marble the statue that he means to make. I doubt not that the artist could see the Laocoon of the Vatican after he had chipped for a little time the figure of the serpent, and the father, and the sons all standing out in that wondrous group, long before anybody else could see it. And the Lord takes pleasure in His people because He can see us as we shall be. "It doth not yet appear what we shall be," but it does appear to Him. In the case of His mind and the shaping of His eternal purpose He knows, dear sister, though you are now struggling with your fears, what you will be when you shall stand before the blazing lamps of the eternal throne. He knows, young man, though you have but a few days turned from sin, and begun to struggle with vice, what you will be when, with all the blood-washed host, you shall cast your crown before His throne. Yes, the Lord takes delight in His people as knowing what they are yet to be.() He will beautify the meek with salvation. I. THE CHARACTER TO BE AIMED AT.1. Towards God. Entire submission to — (1)His teaching.(2)His chastening.(3)All the influences of His Spirit.2. Towards men — gentleness. 3. In themselves — lowliness. II. THE FAVOUR TO BE ENJOYED BY THEM. 1. Peace of mind. 2. Delightful contentment. 3. Great joy. 4. Holy character. As men and women, who are what they ought to be in Christ, grow old, their temper mellows, and their whole spirit ripens. III. THE GOOD RESULTS TO BE EXPECTED. 1. God will be glorified. 2. By our meekness Christ is manifested. 3. This meekness makes a Christian attractive. If we want to draw others to Christ, we must let them see how sweetly blessed is the Christian life, and how a man can be sternly upright, and yet at the same time be blessedly cheerful, — how he can be dead against sin, and yet full of holy love to the sinner, — how he would not, to save his life, budge an inch from that which is right and true, and yet would give his life away if by blessing another he might bring glory to the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord beautify us thus with salvation, and great good will come of it! () I. THEIR CHARACTER. "Meek" —1. Towards God. (1)Under the Word of God — its threatenings, commands, truths and doctrine.(2)Under the dispensations of His providence.2. Towards man. The Christian knows that others have as much or more to bear with him than he has to bear with from others; this tends to humble him, and to keep him meek. He endeavours to "show all meekness to all men"; "in meekness instructing them that oppose themselves." II. BEAUTIFIED WITH SALVATION. 1. The garment of salvation. It was wrought out by the Son of God, and, like Himself, is "holy and without spot." 2. The graces of salvation (Galatians 5:22, 23). 3. The glory of salvation. How beautiful will he be with the palm of victory in his hand, and the crown of glory on his head, and sitting down, with the wedding-garment wrought by the Son of God Himself, at the marriage-supper of the Lamb! () To be religious is just to be like Jesus, and salvation, in the text, means religion; the meek there spoken of are persons who are gentle, and sweet, and kind. Now, there is something beautiful about the gentle, and sweet, and kind, although they may not be religious. How much greater, then, must be the beauty of such persons when they have, with their good qualities, religion also, with all its heavenly sweetness! Religion is not equally beautiful in all who profess to have it; a disagreeable temper may mar that beauty. The chief beauty of religion is found in the gentle, and sweet, and kind. And this beauty is seen in the face of religious people and also in all their kind acts. Bad tempers and unkind dispositions make the faces of people ugly, while sweet tempers and kind dispositions make them pretty. It is very hard to beautify some people even with religion. Some are sweet in temper and some are sour. It is a difficult thing for an artist, out of a piece of wood that is tough, and crooked, and knotted, to carve a beautiful image. And so it is not an easy task, out of some one in disposition very much like that piece of wood, to make a religious person beautiful in face and in action. But this can be done. Now, if the heathen man in old times, without any one helping him, learned to be gentle and sweet and kind, there is no one, surely, no matter how bad the disposition may be, who cannot, with God helping, learn the same lesson. I am sure that you all want to be beautiful. How can you become so? Some people think that any one can be made beautiful by wearing rich clothes and nice ornaments; but this is not what the Bible teaches us. It says (1 Peter 3:3, 4). Every child can have such adorning by getting and keeping a sweet religious disposition, and by doing kindly religious acts. We have seen such beauty as this. At first, may be, we thought that some one had not a bit of beauty, but we found in that one a lovely soul and saw a lovely life; and then the plain face changed at once, and, in our sight, it became, like the soul and life, lovely too.() Sunday Circle. One of the most beautiful sights in the world is the Bay of Naples. No one who has ever seen it on a quiet summer evening, and watched it as the night gathered and through the darkness the flashes of fire from the summit of Vesuvius, like some torch of God, lighted it, can ever forget the scene. But scientific men tell us that that lovely Bay of Naples is the crater of a worn-out and flooded volcano. In the early morning of the world's history it was perhaps the greatest volcano on earth; it belched forth from its heart floods of seething lava. At last it sank down and down, its fiery heart was quelled, the lava ceased to flow, and in from the Mediterranean, perhaps first in some glorious day of storm, swept the white caps of the sea and overflowed the crater and filled it full, and to-day the beautiful waters lie in peace and mirror back the shining heavens above. So many of our lives are like the crater. Passions have swept over us and left us worn out. But God's grace can fill our empty lives and make them sweet and beautiful and peaceful.()
People PsalmistPlaces JerusalemTopics Adorneth, Adorns, Afflicted, Beautifieth, Beautify, Crown, Crowns, Delight, Gives, Humble, Meek, Ones, Pleased, Pleasure, Poor, Salvation, Spirit, Takes, Taketh, VictoryOutline 1. The prophet exhorts to praise God for his love to the church
5. And for that power which he has given to the church
Dictionary of Bible Themes Psalm 149:4 1210 God, human descriptions
5013 heart, divine
5334 health
5830 delight
5918 pleasure
7155 saints
8149 revival, nature of
8276 humility
8305 meekness
8460 pleasing God Psalm 149:2-5 8288 joy, of Israel Psalm 149:4-9 1070 God, joy of Library The Dance
Heinrich Suso Ps. cxlix. 3 To praise Him in the dance! O glorious day! The pilgrim journey done-- No more press forward on the weary way, For all is reached and won! His Hand at last, the Hand once pierced for me, For ever holdeth mine; O Lord, no songs, no harps of heaven wil be Sweet as one word of Thine. Lord, altogether lovely! then at last High shall the guerdon be, Thy kiss outweigh the weary ages past Of hearts that brake for Thee. ...... Yet now I know Thee as the hidden Bread, The living …
Frances Bevan—Hymns of Ter Steegen, Suso, and OthersThe Millennium in Relation to Sin.
In spite of the fact that Satan will have been removed from the earth, and that Christ reigns in person over it, yet conditions here will not be perfect even in the Millennium. Unregenerate human nature will remain unchanged. Sin will still be present, though much of its outward manifestation will be restrained. Discontent and wickedness will not be eradicated from the hearts of men, but will be kept beneath the surface by means of the Iron Rod. Multitudes will yield to Christ nothing but a "feigned …
Arthur W. Pink—The Redeemer's Return St. Malachy's Apostolic Labours, Praises and Miracles.
[Sidenote: 1140, October] 42. (23). Malachy embarked in a ship, and after a prosperous voyage landed at his monastery of Bangor,[576] so that his first sons might receive the first benefit.[577] In what state of mind do you suppose they were when they received their father--and such a father--in good health from so long a journey? No wonder if their whole heart gave itself over to joy at his return, when swift rumour soon brought incredible gladness even to the tribes[578] outside round about them. …
H. J. Lawlor—St. Bernard of Clairvaux's Life of St. Malachy of Armagh Wisdom and Revelation.
"Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him: the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness …
W. H. Griffith Thomas—The Prayers of St. Paul Psalms
The piety of the Old Testament Church is reflected with more clearness and variety in the Psalter than in any other book of the Old Testament. It constitutes the response of the Church to the divine demands of prophecy, and, in a less degree, of law; or, rather, it expresses those emotions and aspirations of the universal heart which lie deeper than any formal demand. It is the speech of the soul face to face with God. Its words are as simple and unaffected as human words can be, for it is the genius …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Psalm 149:4 NIV
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