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"God hath chosen the weak things of the world" (I Cor. 1: 27).
"He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world" (Eph. 1: 4).
"The purpose of God according to election . . . . . not of works, but of Him that
calleth" (Rom. 9: 11).
(2) "Blessed is the man whom Thou . . . . . causest to approach unto Thee."--Those
who were chosen before time began, were chosen in order that, in time, they might
draw near to the Lord Who chose them for Himself. Eph. 1: 4 speaks of our election;
Eph. 2: 18 speaks of our approach:--
"But now, in Christ Jesus, ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood
of Christ" (Eph. 2: 13).
"For through Him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father" (Eph. 2: 18).
It is of the utmost importance that we observe the order here. We are made nigh by
the blood, before we draw nigh by the Spirit. Those whom the Lord "caused to
approach" in Psa. 65: were those who knew something of "prevailing iniquity" and of
"covered transgressions":--
"For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring
us to God" (I Pet. 3: 18).
"Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus
. . . . . let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith" (Heb. 10: 19-22).
Once again we must draw attention to the order here. We have no full assurance of
faith, unless we have boldness by the blood. The blessings of Psa. 65: 4 must be
preceded by the blessing of covered sin in verse 3. So must it ever be with regard to all
the blessings that shall be enjoyed in whatever sphere; we must all start as sinners saved
by grace.
(3) "Choosest . . . . . causest to approach . . . . . that he may dwell in Thy courts."--
Just as true home life is at the centre of all national life, and largely the gauge of its
stability and purity, so we find that the conception of home is an integral part in the
purpose of grace. Soon after Israel were delivered from Egypt, the Lord planned the
tabernacle in order that He, the Holy One, might be able to dwell with His people: "Let
them make Me a sanctuary: that I may dwell among them" (Exod. 25: 8). The Psalmist,
when he wrote, "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want" had in mind the goal: "I
will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever" (Psa. 23: 1, 6). All the intervening verses
are but steps that lead to home.
When at length the apostle sees the new heaven and the new earth he also hears a
voice which says:--
"Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them" (Rev. 21: 1-3).
Whether we think of the Lord God walking with man in the garden of Eden, the
tabernacle in the wilderness, the temple of Solomon, the words of John 14: concerning
the "many mansions", the indwelling of Christ by faith in Eph. 3:, the "Shepherd