How Pleased And Blest Was I

How pleased and blest was I
To hear the people cry,
“Come, let us seek our God today!”
Yes, with a cheerful zeal
We haste to Zion’s hill,
And there our vows and honors pay.

Zion, thrice happy place,
Adorned with wondrous grace,
And walls of strength embrace thee round;
In thee our tribes appear
To pray, and praise, and hear
The sacred Gospel’s joyful sound.

There David’s greater Son
Has fixed His royal throne,
He sits for grace and judgment there:
He bids the saint be glad,
He makes the sinner sad,
And humble souls rejoice with fear.

May peace attend thy gate,
And joy within thee wait
To bless the soul of every guest!
The man that seeks thy peace,
And wishes thine increase,
A thousand blessings on him rest!

My tongue repeats her vows,
“Peace to this sacred house!”
For there my friends and kindred dwell;
And since my glorious God
Makes thee His blest abode,
My soul shall ever love thee well.

Written in the 1700’s by the famous hymn writer Issac Watts, this particular song reflects the Psalmist David’s words found in Psalm 122 – “I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go into the house of the Lord.”

There was in David’s time, and still should be today, an earnest desire to go to the Lord’s house.  To meet with God and His people in Church.  To worship together.  To encourage one another.  There’s just something about God’s people coming together in unity and brotherly love.  There is an unfortunate trend in the church in America today.  It is a desire to go to church less and less.  We can get good preaching from sermon downloads.  We can be at home or at the beach or on vacation and we can “stream live” the sermon on our tablet devices.  We can get all the benefits of Church without even being there, right?  I don’t think this is what the writer of Hebrews was talking about when He wrote “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”

Issac Watts, in my opinion, had the right perspective of Christians gathering together.  It should be a blessing.  We should recognize that Church is not just a meeting of acquaintances but it is a meeting of friends and kindred (brothers and sisters).  We are family.

Couple of comments on the lyrics:

• “With cheerful zeal” – Have you ever woken up on Sunday morning and your kids asked you “Are we going to church today?” and your response is a half-hearted “Well, I guess so.”  I am not being judgmental because I have been there.  But I know that this kind of attitude is not right.  My girls have convicted me in this area.  They are extremely excited about going to Church.  Every week.  When we plan a vacation, they ask me “We aren’t going to miss church, are we Daddy?”  Lord, give me a cheerful zeal about going to your house.  Every week.  All the time.  Because You are there, and your people are there.

• “And there our vows and honors pay” – I recognize that a “vow” can be a dirty word in light of verses that say “Let your ‘Yes’ be Yes, and your ‘No’ be No.”  But I believe the author here is talking about Church being a place where we make a commitment to one another.  A commitment to love the Lord.  To serve Him.  To study His Word.  To seek a greater relationship with Him, and Church should be the kind of place where we hold each other accountable.  If left to myself, I will not “stir up love and good works” on my own.  I need brothers and sisters to help me recognize my commitment to the Lord and to my family.  And Church should be that kind of place.

• “He makes the sinner sad” – At first this seems like a harsh word about the Lord.  “He makes the sinner sad.”  Surely Jesus would not make a sinner feel sad, would He?  He wouldn’t cause a sinner to feel guilt or remorse or sadness, would He?  Isn’t He inclusive, tolerant and accepting?  I do believe that Jesus wants to make people glad.  That He wants to have a people that rejoice.  But not everyone who encountered the Lord came away feeling happy.  The rich young ruler went away sorrowful.  He was confronted with the cost of the Gospel, and for him, it was too costly.  There are times when Church will be a place where sinners will leave sad.  Not because they can’t be forgiven, but because Jesus has asked them to do a hard thing.

I heard one of the lines from this hymn while listening to a sermon from Alistair Begg.  He was preaching from the book of Acts on Paul’s final arrival in Rome.  Paul’s journey to Rome had been filled with challenges.  Violent storms.  Shipwreck.  Snake bites.  Healings.  Grumblings.  When the group arrived in Rome, here’s what Luke writes:  “And from there, when the brethren heard about us, they came to meet us as far as Appii Forum and Three Inns. When Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage.”

I wondered.  Who was there to greet Paul? Did the group include some of the people found in Romans 16?  This is probably the most extensive list of “greets” found in Paul’s letters.  The names are just too many to list – Priscilla and Aquila and many, many others.  I have a picture in my mind of this encounter.  I see Paul welling up with tears because he is encouraged by his brothers and sisters in the Lord.  They haven’t abandoned him.  They haven’t forgotten him.  They aren’t ashamed of him because he is now a convict, a prisoner, or an inmate.  They have traveled a long distance just to see his face and hug his neck, and when he sees them, he thanks God and is encouraged.

Do you know that each of you can have the same impact on your own pastor?  Do you know that your mere presence in Church on Sunday morning is an encouragement to your pastor?  You don’t have to pat him on the back every week and say, “Good sermon.”  You don’t have to shower him with accolades about his message or give him love offerings to show your appreciation for him.  Just being there is an encouragement to him. 

And yet, the opposite is also true.  Your absence is a discouragement to him.  Your absence can negatively impact him, because he is concerned about you and because he is your shepherd.  He is concerned about your relationship with the Lord, and your relationship with other believers in the church.  When you are not there, it is disheartening for him.

Can I challenge you today?  Can I challenge you to make Church a priority?  To resist the urge to find something better to do.  To avoid the temptation to lay out of church.  Can I encourage you to pray for the mindset that says “I was glad when they said unto me – Let us go into the house of the Lord.”  It will be a blessing to you, your pastor, and your brothers and sisters in the Lord.