_NATIONAL BLESSEDNESS_
"_Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound._"
--PSALM lxxxix. 1-18.
Blessed is the people who love the sound of the silver trumpet which calls
to holy convocation! Blessed is the people who are sacredly impatient for
the hour of holy communion! Blessed is the people "in whose heart are the
highways to Zion." And in what shall their blessedness consist?
In illumination. "_They shall walk, O Lord, in the light of Thy
countenance._" The favour of the Lord shall shine upon them when they walk
through rough and troublous places. There shall always be a sunny patch
where the soul is in communion with its Lord.
In exultation. "_In Thy name shall they rejoice all the day._" There is
nothing like sunshine for making the spirits dance! Light is a great
emancipator, a great breaker-up of frozen bondages. It thaws "the genial
currents of the soul," and the stream of life sings in its progress.
In exaltation. "_In Thy righteousness shall they be exalted._" They will
be lifted up above their enemies. In elevation they will find their
safety. God lifts us above our passions, above our cares, above our little
fears and tempers, and we find our peace upon the heights.