Psalms 89:15

Psalms CONTINUAL SUNSHINEPsalm 89:15 . The Psalmist has just been setting forth, in sublime language, the glories of the divine character-God’s strength, His universal sway, the justice and judgment which are the foundation of His Throne, the mercy and truth which go as heralds before His face. A heathen singing of any of his gods would have gone on to describe the form and features of the god or goddess who came behind the heralds, but the Psalmist remembers ‘Thou shalt not make unto thyself any . . . likeness of God.’ A sacred reverence checks his song. He veils his face in his mantle while He whom no man can see and live passes by. Then he breaks into rapturous exclamations which are very prosaically and poorly represented by our version. For the text is not a mere statement, as it is made to be by reading ‘Blessed is the people,’ but it is a burst of adoring wonder, and should be read, ‘Oh! the blessedness of the people that know the joyful sound.’ Now, the force of this exclamation is increased if we observe that the word that is rendered ‘joyful sound’ is the technical word for the trumpet blast at Jewish feasts. The purpose of these blasts, like those of the heralds at the coronation of a king, was to proclaim the presence of God, the King of Israel, in the festival, as well as to express the gladness of the worshippers.

Thus the Psalmist, when he says, ‘Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound,’ has no reference, as we ordinarily take him to have, to the preaching of the Gospel, but to the trumpet-blasts that proclaimed the present God and throbbed with the gladness of the waiting worshippers. So that this exclamation is equivalent to ‘Oh! how blessed are the people who are sure that they have God with them!’ and who, being sure, bow before Him in loving worship. It is to be further noticed that the subsequent words of the text state the first element which it indicates of that blessedness of a devout life, ‘They shall walk, O Lord! in the light of Thy countenance.’ I. We deal first with the meaning of this phrase. Of course, ‘the light of Thy countenance’ is a very obvious and natural symbol for favour, complacency, goodwill on the part of Him that is conceived of as looking on any one. We read, for instance, in reference to a much lower subject in the Book of Proverbs, ‘In the light of the king’s countenance is life, and his favour is as a cloud of the latter rain.’ Again we have, in the Levitical benediction, the phrase accompanied in the parallel clauses by what is really an explanation of it, ‘The Lord cause His face to shine upon thee and be gracious unto thee.’ So that the simple and obvious meaning of the words, ‘the light of Thy countenance,’ is the favour and lovingkindness of God manifested in that gracious Face which He turns to His servants.

Psalm 89:15 . Blessed are the people, &c. — Next to the praises of Jehovah, is declared the happiness of those who have him for their God, who are his worshippers and servants, living under his righteous and merciful government; that know — That hear, from time to time, acknowledge and obey; the joyful sound — “The sound of the trumpet, by which the festivals of the Jewish Church were proclaimed, and the people were called together to the offices of devotion;” that is, who have God’s word and ordinances among them, and are favoured with his presence, and with the tokens of his mercy and grace, in and by these means; they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance — Being blessed with the light of truth, and being enabled to walk therein, they shall live under the comfortable influences of thy love and favour. Remember, reader, “these blessings are now become our own; the evangelical trumpet hath sounded through the once heathen world; the Sun of righteousness hath risen upon all nations. Let us attend to the joyful sound; let us walk in the glorious light.” — Horne.

15 Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance, 16 In thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in thy righteous shall they be exalted. 17 For thou art the glory of their strength: and in thy favour our how shall be exalted. 18 For the Lord is our defence; and the Holy One of Israel is our king. Psalm 89:15 "Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound." He is a blessed God of whom the Psalmist has been singing, and therefore they are a blessed people who partake of his bounty, and know how to exult in his favour. Praise is a peculiarly joyful sound, and blessed are those who are familiar with its strains. The covenant promises have also a sound beyond measure precious, and they are highly favoured who understand their meaning and recognise their own personal interest in them, There may also be a reference here to the blowing of trumpets and other gladsome noises which attended the worship of Jehovah, who, unlike the gods of the heathen was not adored by the shrieks of wretched victims, or the yells and outcries of terror-stricken crowds, but by the joyful shouts of his happy people. "They shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance." For them it is joy enough that Jehovah is favourable to them; all day long this contents them and enables them with vigour to pursue their pilgrimage.

Only a covenant God could look with favour upon men, and those who have known him in that relationship learn to rejoice in him, yea, to walk with him in fellowship, and to continue in communion with him we give God our ear and hear the joyful sound, he will shew us his face and make us glad. While the sun shines, men walk without stumbling as to their feet, and when the Lord smiles on us we live without grief as to our souls. Psalm 89:16 "In thy name shall they rejoice all the day." And good cause they have for so doing, for to the soul which, in Christ Jesus, has entered into covenant with God, every attribute is a fountain of delight. There is no hour in the day, and no day in our life, in which we may not rejoice in the name, person, and character of the Lord. We need no other reason for rejoicing. As philosophers could make merry without music, so can we rejoice without carnal comforts; the Lord All-sufficient is an all-sufficient source of joy. "And in thy righteousness, shall they be exalted." By the Lord's righteous dealings the saints are uplifted in due time, however great may have been the oppression and the depression from which they may have suffered. In the righteousness which the covenant supplies, which is entirely of the Lord, believers are set on high, in a secure and blessed position, so that they are full of sacred happiness.