“The glory of the Lord shall endure for ever: the Lord shall rejoice in his works.” Psalm 104:31
The precise linguistic distinctions between joy and rejoicing is a matter this article will leave for others to detail. Nonetheless, it is fair to say that joy is most often understood to be an inward response of the spirit, a feeling we may or may not have. Thus, David can say in Psalm 51:12, “Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation”; David rightly recognized that a full and trusting reliance on God ought to produce an inward joy, a joy which sin had muted. Thus in the New Testament, we read in Romans 15:13, “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.”
Christian Joy
In contrast to that inward and perhaps quiet joy of salvation which is to be the hallmark of all Christian endeavor, Scripture speaks often of rejoicing: a joy that has been lingered upon and magnified beyond the bounds of the unobserved inner life. The word used for rejoice in the New Testament means “full of cheer”; rejoicing is what happens when joy has filled us entirely.
Of course, when something has filled us entirely and continues to increase, it overflows. Rejoicing then is usually joy in action, joy that finds expression in word or deed and has spilled out of a full inner life. Throughout a reading of both Old and New Testaments, we find many references implying action, references like Zephaniah 3:14: “Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem.” A joy properly appreciated should produce outward effect—singing and shouting in this case.
It’s hard to imagine a better picture of rejoicing, of joy made full and then overflowing, than that of the once-lame beggar we find in Acts 3:8—a man who literally jumped for joy.
We do well to note here the injunction of 1 Thessalonian 5:16: “Rejoice evermore!” Certainly that’s a short enough verse to commit to memory quickly and easily, but despite its brevity and simplicity, it remains a verse that is rarely applied with any consistency. We are instructed to rejoice in every circumstance and at all times; instead, we grumble easily. The world, and perhaps, more importantly, our own Christian family, should instead see a visible and consistent manifestation of gratitude to God in our daily lives regardless of trials we may face. Rejoice always.
The Lord’s Joy
Of course, that is exactly the example we have in our Savior. Scofield has noted that while the Lord Jesus was well spoken of in the early days of His earthly life, He had virtually nothing to say on the subject of joy. But on the night of His betrayal and in the sure knowledge of His impending crucifixion, He spoke clearly and frequently about joy. His request in the upper roomthat night was that His joy would fill His disciples too, a joy that He held even in the face of multiple betrayals and His own impending death. Psalm 19 speaks of the strong man “rejoicing to run his race” which eloquently describes our Lord on the night He was betrayed.
We are enjoined to rejoice evermore. We have been provided the best possible example of remaining joyful in the life of the Lord Jesus. It should not surprise us then to find that Scripture often speaks of God the Father rejoicing.
It was certainly the case with His people Israel. Deuteronomy 30:9 reads in part, “the Lord will again rejoice over you for good, just as He rejoiced over your fathers.” The suggestion is not that God will be simply satisfied or content, or even that He will be mildly pleased. The idea is that God will be so filled with joy over His people that His joy will find expression: He will “abundantly prosper” the work of their hands. A similar thought is found in Jeremiah 32:41 where we are again told that the Lord will rejoice over His chosen people, and the result of that rejoicing will be their planting in the chosen land. However, God neither simply rejoices over Israel nor does He confine rejoicing to the Old Testament.
The parables of Luke 15 feature a lost sheep and a good shepherd, a lost coin and a diligent searcher, and, finally, the lost son and a waiting, forgiving father. There are many wonderful lessons within these parables, but if we’ll pause for a moment, we’ll notice that all three end in shared joy: “rejoice with me” is the repeated idea. The words of Luke 15:7 are almost too wonderful to be believed, but no matter how often I read the text, they remain, and so I simply take them at face value: “joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth”; it is a shared joy, a rejoicing in the presence of the angels. It is God’s joy over people just like us.
Eternal Joy
Groucho Marx famously quipped that he would never want to belong to any club that would have him as a member. The quote is repeated so often because it is universal—it speaks directly to a sense of our own inadequacy. Once while traveling, tired, and facing a long wait, I was providentially ushered into the airport’s first-class waiting area by a helpful baggage clerk. The amenities were wonderful and the rest was appreciated, but the coach-class ticket in my pocket was a constant reminder that I did not really belong there and was not truly welcome.
Often in the grip of conviction about some recent lost battle with sin, I have imagined that heaven will be just a little like that feeling: it will be a wonderful place, but I will slink about with downcast gaze—like the prodigal imagined himself—constantly aware that I do not belong. Those sorts of thoughts do a grave injustice to a Shepherd who carries home the lost sheep, the diligent Searcher who wouldn’t stop searching, the Father who waits hopefully for the worst of sons, and to the God who rejoices over repentant sinners.
Due to an unfortunate choice of chapter break, we lose the context, but in John 14:2, the Lord Jesus is speaking to Peter—the same disciple who would shortly deny Christ three times in rapid succession with an oath. When Peter later reflected on his own failure and guilt, how comforting must the words of Jesus have been to him: “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.” For you. Even for those who deny, there is a place—there are, after all, many mansions; mansions reserved for sinners and failures who have repented.
We often dwell on that lovely phrase from Matthew 25: “Well done, good and faithful servant.” We emphasize that opening phrase and make it our goal to be faithful stewards. However, the closing phrase of that passage is worth consideration too: “Enter thou into the joy of thy lord.”
Finally, among the closing sentences of Scripture, we find these words in Revelation 19:7: “Let us rejoice and be glad and give glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.” What makes God rejoice? Repentant sinners fill the heart of God with joy—so much so that He wills to share that joy with us. Repentant sinners are exactly who heaven was made to house, and we are not unwelcome guests there, even for a moment. We will spend eternity with the One who rejoices over us and has carried us to the best of all possible homes.
Uplook Magazine, September 2012
Written by Mark Anderson