The Smile of God

The world is asking this question of the saint. The saint finds the answer in the words of the remainder of the text. “LORD, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us.”* (Psalm 4:6) The smile of God is the chief good. Nothing in all this world is good except it has God’s good pleasure upon it. Let that alone, dear soul, upon which God will not smile. It is heaven upon earth to stand continually in the smile of God. That is the essential good. Pluck no rose that does not have the radiance of light from the countenance of God upon it. It will prick you if you do. Nothing will take God’s place in man’s life. Men have tried to manufacture artificial sunlight, but they have not yet succeeded in inventing something that will melt the snows of winter, paint the flowers with beautiful colors, mantle the fields with coverings of green, and shoot life through all nature. It is only God that can bring light, peace, and health to the soul. The pleasures and riches of the world will never do it. You may have the applause of the world, its riches, and its pleasures if you wish them, but let me stand in the light of God’s countenance. God’s smile will bring a bright spot into life’s darkest hours.