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"Rejoice in the Lord" ...

It's an easy thing to say, it's an easy thing to sing ...
... but what does it mean?

The theme of rejoicing is common in both the Old and the New Testaments.

The Old Testament, particularly the Psalms, has a great deal to say about rejoicing in the Lord. If you trawl through a concordance looking at all the examples of rejoicing in the Lord, you are able to flesh out what it actually means.

In the Old Testament ...

• You'll find examples of those who rejoiced in God's character.
  (1 Samuel 2 v 1 -10, Psalm 33, 47, 96)

• You'll find examples of those who rejoiced in God's activity.
  (Psalm 33, 47, 68, 149)

• You'll also find those who rejoiced in God's future purposes.
  (Isaiah 61, Jeremiah 31, Zechariah 9)

In the New Testament, when Paul commands us to "Rejoice in the Lord always" - he's saying just the same:

Rejoice in the Lord because of His character ...

We can rejoice in the Lord because we trust in a God who is holy, almighty and sovereign. We have no need to fear or be anxious because we know our God to be just and merciful. He is our loving, heavenly father.

Rejoice in the Lord because of His activity ...

Just as God was at work in Old Testament Israel, so our God is at work in the world today.
He is "sustaining all things by the word of His power". (Hebrews 1 v 3)
Yet he knows us by name, provides for us and has promised to "meet all [our] needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus". (Philippians 4 v 19)
We can rejoice in the Lord always because our trust is in a God who is at work in the world, in the church and in us, and we know that His purposes will be accomplished.

Rejoice in the Lord because of His salvation ...

Old Testament Israel rejoiced in the hope of a future Messiah.
We rejoice because that hope of a Messiah was perfectly and wonderfully fulfilled in Christ. We can rejoice whatever our circumstance because we have a saviour:

• A saviour who has dealt with our sins.
• A saviour who has taken us from darkness into His wonderful kingdom of light.
• We have been given new life in Him.
• We have union with Him.
• We will reign with Him.

Rejoice in the Lord because of His promises ...

We also have the promise of a future hope. The OT saints looked forward to Christ's first coming. We look forward to Christ's second coming - when His kingdom will, at last, be complete. 1 Peter 1 tells us that we have: "an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade - kept in heaven for you."

To come back to the original question ...

'What does it mean to rejoice in the Lord'?

When we recognise and delight in the character of God,
When we delight in His activity, His salvation and His purposes,
When we consciously centre our affections, our thoughts and our minds on these truths ...
... we are rejoicing in the Lord.

And we do this ...
… not just once a week when we go to church
… not just once a day when we have our quiet time
BUT ALWAYS …

"Rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS, I say it again rejoice".

(taken from a talk given in September 2008)

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