My God and My Country

A Study of Psalm Thirty Two

Verse Eleven

11 Be glad ye righteous, and rejoice in the Lord, and be joyful all ye, that are upright in heart.

Related Scriptures:

Psalm 64:10, 66:3, 68:3, 97:12

GNV Study notes:

“He [the psalmist] showeth that peace and joy of conscience in the holy Ghost, is the fruit of faith." 

Brethren:

As both the Apostles Paul and James wrote, to take joy in all tribulations, (Read Romans 5:3-5; James 1:2-4; respectively), for through them we find our strength, and through that strength comes the perfect trust in God. Henceforth, let us, therefore, be filled with joy in all things. As is written by Solomon in Ecclesiastes, there is a season for all things. (Read Ecclesiastes 3:1-8) For it shows us not to be grieved by the perpetual change and challenges in this world. For all things are transitory. Let us also not take too much joy in them as well for on the morrow, they themselves, but also be gone. Be at peace with all things, and let all things be for your comfort, yet do not count on them to be of ultimate comfort, for that only comes through the love of Christ, and by our love of Him.

“The antithesis of "wicked" and "he that trusteth in Jehovah" is significant as teaching that faith is the true opposite of sinfulness. Not less full of meaning is the sequence of trust, righteousness, and uprightness of heart in verses 10 and eleven. Faith leads to righteousness, and they are upright, not who have never fallen, but who have been raised from their fall by pardon. The psalmist had thought of himself as compassed with shouts of deliverance. Another circle is cast round him and all who, with him, trust Jehovah. A ring of mercies, like a fiery wall, surrounds the pardoned, faithful soul, without a break through which a real evil can creep. Therefore the encompassing songs of deliverance are continuous as the mercies which they hymn, and in the centre of that double circle the soul sits secure and thankful. The psalm ends with a joyful summons to general joy. All share in the solitary soul’s exultation. The depth of penitence measures the height of gladness. The breath that was spent in 'roaring all the day long' is used for shouts of deliverance. Every tear sparkles like a diamond in the sunshine of pardon, and he who begins with the lowly cry for forgiveness will end with lofty songs of joy and be made, by God’s guidance and Spirit, righteous and upright in heart.” - Expositor's Bible Commentary