THE JOYFUL SOUND

Psalms 89:14-16 (KJV)

Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face.

Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of thy countenance.

In thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted.

Everyone wants to be happy, don’t they?

I mean, have you ever met anyone who looked you in the face and, with honesty, conviction and passion, told you that they tried to be unhappy?

There are, no doubt, unhappy people.

And judging by the number of people who are interested in

• DVD’s
• CD’s
• Podcasts
• Websites and even still
• Books

That claim to tell people how to find and hold on to happiness, I would guess that there are far more unhappy people in our world than we wished there were.

I’d like to go on record today as insisting that the reason so many people are unhappy is because they pursue happiness in the wrong places.

Have you ever seen these memes:

• “Money can’t buy happiness, but it can but it can make you awfully comfortable while you are being miserable.”
• “Money can’t buy happiness, but it can buy a jetski. Have you ever seen anyone sad on a jetski”
• “Money can’t buy happiness, but it can buy ice cream, which is pretty much the same thing”
• “Money can’t buy happiness but it’s much more comfortable to cry on a Mercedes than a bicycle”
• “Whoever said money can’t buy happiness doesn’t know where to shop”

The average person you know believes happiness is to be found in:

• Property
• Possessions
• Money
• Materials
• Things and
• Treasures

Because of that, he or she is going to spend the greatest majority of his or her time, pursuing those things.

It’s not true everywhere in the world, but it is pretty much universal in America that we earn much more than we have to have to exist and spend the rest of our time earning so we can increase our treasures.

Our text this morning tells us exactly where happiness is to be found.

Psalms 89:15

Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound….

Bible students tell us that this Psalm was written during a very difficult time in the history of Israel, possibly even after David’s family had been “dethroned” in the Babylonian captivity.

What I find interesting about that is they were still writing about blessedness and rejoicing – happiness in the midst of this trial.

A person can be happy in the middle of very hard times, if he pursues his happiness in the right places.

We will concentrate our message on verses 14-16 where we will see:

I. AN OBSTACLE

Psalms 89:14 (KJV)

Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne:

Justice and judgment are God’s habitation

- where He lives

What I am going to suggest to you is that God lives is where we would all rather be.

Allow me to use a fairly broad brush for a moment and call God’s habitation our fellowship with Him.

Adam and Eve lived on the earth, but they lived here during a time of free access and fellowship with God.

• That is what was lost because of sin
• That is what robs us of joy and happiness
• That is what we must have restored in order to have real happiness

If we can get to God. If we can have access to Him.

But there is a problem.

That access has been denied.

Genesis 2:15-17 (KJV)

And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:

But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

God told Adam that the day he ate the fruit God commanded him not to eat, he would die.

But he did not die – at least in the way we generally think of it.

He lived to be nearly 1000 years old.

What did happen that day is that he no longer had fellowship with God.

Genesis 3:23-24 (KJV)

Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.

So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

He wasn’t just “kicked out” of the Garden, he was “locked out.”

He couldn’t get back in.

Isaiah 59:2 (KJV)

But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.

The obstacle to heaven and happiness is the justice and judgment of God – His holiness demand that we can’t enter where He lives.

We find this obstacle presented in the New Testament in verses such as,

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 (KJV)

Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,

Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

Ephesians 5:5 (KJV)

For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

Revelation 21:27 (KJV)

And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.

Do you see the problem?

The justice and judgment of God looks at sin and forbids it from entering His habitation. And who among us hasn’t sinned?

Romans 3:23 (KJV) sums it simply,

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

But it’s worse than that.

Those who do not enter into His habitation do enter into eternal damnation.

Revelation 21:8 (KJV)

But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

I hasten then to take you back to the Psalm and point out

II. AN OPPORTUNITY

Psalms 89:14 (KJV)

… mercy and truth shall go before thy face.

Mercy and Truth (Jesus Christ) are who God is

-His attributes

When Adam and Eve sinned, God drove them out of the Garden and put Cherubims with a flaming sword to keep them forever out.

In effect God closed and locked the door to His habitation.

But consider John 10:1-9 (KJV)

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.

But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.

To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.

And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.

And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.

This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them.

Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.

All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.

I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.

If you will allow me the illustration, Christ opened that locked door.

Jesus removed the obstacle to our entering into the habitation of God.

Because of Christ,

I have access to God today through prayer

Hebrews 4:15-16 (KJV)

For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

And through Christ

I have a promise of going to His Father’s house

John 14:1-3 (KJV)

Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

I did say it is an opportunity not a certainty.

Opportunities only become realities when they are:

• First recognized and
• Second grabbed

This brings me to the final point for the message, please notice

III. AN OUTCOME

Psalms 89:15-16 (KJV)

Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of thy countenance.

In thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted.

Happy or blessed are those people who:

A. Hear the gospel - joyful sound

Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.[1]

B. Meet mercy through the truth

Romans 6:23 (KJV)

For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

God mercifully opened the door of salvation and into His habitation through the death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

C. Find light to walk the strait way and

The huge error of modern American Christianity is the idea that a person can be blessed and a happy Christian without knowing and living the Bible.

I question whether the person who doesn’t learn and at least strive to live the Bible is a Christian at all.

I am sure it is impossible to be a happy Christian without having a growing walk and relationship with the Lord.

D. Are exalted in the righteousness of God

The word exalted means to be lifted or raised up.

Remember Romans 3:23

For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

When this thing is all said and done God is going to receive us to Himself in the glory of heaven.

My contention, and the conclusion of this message is this, the person who pursues these truths is happy all the time, even in the middle of really terrible trials.

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[1] Romans 10:17