Joy & Joy of Salvation

¹⁰Then Nehemiah told them, “Go and eat what is rich, drink what is sweet, and send out portions to those who have nothing prepared, since today is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

⁸I have set the LORD always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. ⁹Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will dwell securely. ¹⁰For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol, nor will You let Your Holy One see decay. ¹¹You have made known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand.

¹⁰Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. ¹¹Cast me not away from Your presence; take not Your Holy Spirit from me. ¹²Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and sustain me with a willing spirit.

¹In that day you will say: “O LORD, I will praise You. Although You were angry with me, Your anger has turned away, and You have comforted me. ²Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. For the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and He also has become my salvation.” ³With joy you will draw water from the springs of salvation, ⁴and on that day you will say: “Give praise to the LORD; proclaim His name! Make His works known among the peoples; declare that His name is exalted. ⁵Sing to the LORD, for He has done glorious things. Let this be known in all the earth. ⁶Cry out and sing, O citizen of Zion, for great among you is the Holy One of Israel.”

¹³Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

³Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, reserved in heaven for you, ⁵who through faith are shielded by God’s power for the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. ⁶In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in various trials ⁷so that the proven character of your faith—more precious than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ⁸Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and rejoice with an inexpressible and glorious joy, ⁹now that you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

¹⁷Though the fig tree does not bud and no fruit is on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though the sheep are cut off from the fold and no cattle are in the stalls, ¹⁸yet I will exult in the LORD; I will rejoice in the God of my salvation! ¹⁹GOD the Lord is my strength; He makes my feet like those of a deer; He makes me walk upon the heights! For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments.

⁹As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. Remain in My love. ¹⁰If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love. ¹¹I have told you these things so that My joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.

⁴Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! ⁵Let your gentleness be apparent to all. The Lord is near. ⁶Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

¹⁶Rejoice at all times. ¹⁷Pray without ceasing. ¹⁸Give thanks in every circumstance, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

²Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of many kinds, ³because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. ⁴Allow perseverance to finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

¹¹But let all who take refuge in You rejoice; let them ever shout for joy. May You shelter them, that those who love Your name may rejoice in You. ¹²For surely You, O LORD, bless the righteous; You surround them with the shield of Your favor.

⁴Sing to the LORD, O you His saints, and praise His holy name. ⁵For His anger is fleeting, but His favor lasts a lifetime. Weeping may stay the night, but joy comes in the morning. ¹¹You turned my mourning into dancing; You peeled off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, ¹²that my heart may sing Your praises and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks forever.

¹⁰Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but loving devotion surrounds him who trusts in the LORD. ¹¹Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, O righteous ones; shout for joy, all you upright in heart.

⁵My soul is satisfied as with the richest of foods; with joyful lips my mouth will praise You. ⁶When I remember You on my bed, I think of You through the watches of the night. ⁷For You are my help; I will sing for joy in the shadow of Your wings. ⁸My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me.

¹A Psalm. A song for the Sabbath day. It is good to praise the LORD, and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High, ²to proclaim Your loving devotion in the morning and Your faithfulness at night ³with the ten-stringed harp and the melody of the lyre. ⁴For You, O LORD, have made me glad by Your deeds; I sing for joy at the works of Your hands.

¹Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout to the Rock of our salvation! ²Let us enter His presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to Him in song. ³For the LORD is a great God, a great King above all gods. ⁴In His hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to Him. ⁵The sea is His, for He made it, and His hands formed the dry land. ⁶O come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD our Maker. ⁷For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, the sheep under His care. Today, if you hear His voice,

¹A Psalm. Sing to the LORD a new song, for He has done wonders; His right hand and holy arm have gained Him the victory. ²The LORD has proclaimed His salvation and revealed His righteousness to the nations. ³He has remembered His love and faithfulness to the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. ⁴Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth; break forth—let your cry ring out, and sing praises! ⁵Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre, in melodious song with the harp. ⁶With trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn shout for joy before the LORD, the King.

¹A Psalm of thanksgiving. Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth. ²Serve the LORD with gladness; come into His presence with joyful songs. ³Know that the LORD is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture. ⁴Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and bless His name. ⁵For the LORD is good, and His loving devotion endures forever; His faithfulness continues to all generations.

¹A song of ascents. When the LORD restored the captives of Zion, we were like dreamers. ²Then our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with shouts of joy. Then it was said among the nations, “The LORD has done great things for them.” ³The LORD has done great things for us; we are filled with joy. ⁴Restore our captives, O LORD, like streams in the Negev. ⁵Those who sow in tears will reap with shouts of joy. ⁶He who goes out weeping, bearing a trail of seed, will surely return with shouts of joy, carrying sheaves of grain.

¹The wilderness and the dry land will be glad; the desert will rejoice and blossom like a rose. ²It will bloom profusely and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon. They will see the glory of the LORD, the splendor of our God. ³Strengthen the limp hands and steady the feeble knees! ⁴Say to those with anxious hearts: “Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance. With divine retribution He will come to save you.” ⁵Then the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. ⁶Then the lame will leap like a deer and the mute tongue will shout for joy. For waters will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert. ⁷The parched ground will become a pool, the thirsty land springs of water. In the haunt where jackals once lay, there will be grass and reeds and papyrus. ⁸And there will be a highway called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not travel it—only those who walk in the Way—and fools will not stray onto it. ⁹No lion will be there, and no vicious beast will go up on it. Such will not be found there, but the redeemed will walk upon it. ¹⁰So the redeemed of the LORD will return and enter Zion with singing, crowned with everlasting joy. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee.

¹The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners, ²to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of our God’s vengeance, to comfort all who mourn, ³to console the mourners in Zion—to give them a crown of beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and a garment of praise for a spirit of despair. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified. ¹⁰I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, my soul will exult in my God; for He has clothed me with garments of salvation and wrapped me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom wears a priestly headdress, as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. ¹¹For as the earth brings forth its growth, and as a garden enables seed to spring up, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations.

¹⁰But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid! For behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: ¹¹Today in the city of David a Savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord! ¹²And this will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” ¹³And suddenly there appeared with the angel a great multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying: ¹⁴“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests!”

¹⁷The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in Your name.” ¹⁸So He told them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. ¹⁹Behold, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy. Nothing will harm you. ²⁰Nevertheless, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

⁴“What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the pasture and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? ⁵And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders, ⁶comes home, and calls together his friends and neighbors to tell them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my lost sheep!’ ⁷I tell you that in the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous ones who do not need to repent. ⁸Or what woman who has ten silver coins and loses one of them does not light a lamp, sweep her house, and search carefully until she finds it? ⁹And when she finds it, she calls together her friends and neighbors to say, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my lost coin.’ ¹⁰In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who repents.”

²⁰Truly, truly, I tell you, you will weep and wail while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. ²¹A woman has pain in childbirth because her time has come; but when she brings forth her child, she forgets her anguish because of her joy that a child has been born into the world. ²²So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. ²³In that day you will no longer ask Me anything. Truly, truly, I tell you, whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you. ²⁴Until now you have not asked for anything in My name. Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.

¹Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ²through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. ³Not only that, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.

¹⁴And you shall rejoice in your feast—you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levite, as well as the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widows among you. ¹⁵For seven days you shall celebrate a feast to the LORD your God in the place He will choose, because the LORD your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that your joy will be complete.

¹At that time Hannah prayed: “My heart rejoices in the LORD; my horn is exalted in the LORD. My mouth speaks boldly against my enemies, for I rejoice in Your salvation. ²There is no one holy like the LORD. Indeed, there is no one besides You! And there is no Rock like our God.

²⁷Splendor and majesty are before Him; strength and joy fill His dwelling. ²⁸Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the nations, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. ²⁹Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His name; bring an offering and come before Him. Worship the LORD in the splendor of His holiness; ³⁰tremble before Him, all the earth. The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved. ³¹Let the heavens be glad, and the earth rejoice. Let them say among the nations, ‘The LORD reigns!’ ³²Let the sea resound, and all that fills it; let the fields exult, and all that is in them. ³³Then the trees of the forest will sing for joy before the LORD, for He is coming to judge the earth. ³⁴Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His loving devotion endures forever.

⁴³On that day they offered great sacrifices, rejoicing because God had given them great joy. The women and children also rejoiced, so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard from afar.

⁶Many ask, “Who can show us the good?” Shine the light of Your face upon us, O LORD. ⁷You have filled my heart with more joy than when grain and new wine abound. ⁸I will lie down and sleep in peace, for You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.

¹For the choirmaster. To the tune of “The Death of the Son.” A Psalm of David. I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart; I will recount all Your wonders. ²I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.

⁵But I have trusted in Your loving devotion; my heart will rejoice in Your salvation. ⁶I will sing to the LORD, for He has been good to me.

⁶Blessed be the LORD, for He has heard my cry for mercy. ⁷The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. Therefore my heart rejoices, and I give thanks to Him with my song.

²⁰Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield. ²¹For our hearts rejoice in Him, since we trust in His holy name. ²²May Your loving devotion rest on us, O LORD, as we put our hope in You.

⁹Then my soul will rejoice in the LORD and exult in His salvation.

³Send out Your light and Your truth; let them lead me. Let them bring me to Your holy mountain and to the place where You dwell. ⁴Then I will go to the altar of God, to God, my greatest joy. I will praise You with the harp, O God, my God.

³But the righteous will be glad and rejoice before God; they will celebrate with joy. ⁴Sing to God! Sing praises to His name. Exalt Him who rides on the clouds—His name is the LORD—and rejoice before Him.

¹⁵Blessed are those who know the joyful sound, who walk, O LORD, in the light of Your presence. ¹⁶They rejoice in Your name all day long, and in Your righteousness they exult.

¹⁴Satisfy us in the morning with Your loving devotion, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.

¹¹Light shines on the righteous, gladness on the upright in heart. ¹²Rejoice in the LORD, you righteous ones, and praise His holy name.

³³I will sing to the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. ³⁴May my meditation be pleasing to Him, for I rejoice in the LORD.

¹⁴The LORD is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation. ¹⁵Shouts of joy and salvation resound in the tents of the righteous: “The right hand of the LORD performs with valor! ²⁴This is the day that the LORD has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

¹Hallelujah! Sing to the LORD a new song—His praise in the assembly of the godly. ²Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; let the children of Zion rejoice in their King. ³Let them praise His name with dancing, and make music to Him with tambourine and harp. ⁴For the LORD takes pleasure in His people; He adorns the afflicted with salvation. ⁵Let the saints exult in glory; let them shout for joy upon their beds.

²⁸The hope of the righteous is joy, but the expectations of the wicked will perish.

²⁴Nothing is better for a man than to eat and drink and enjoy his work. I have also seen that this is from the hand of God. ²⁵For apart from Him, who can eat and who can find enjoyment? ²⁶To the man who is pleasing in His sight, He gives wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner He assigns the task of gathering and accumulating that which he will hand over to one who pleases God. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

²The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned. ³You have enlarged the nation and increased its joy. The people rejoice before You as they rejoice at harvest time, as men rejoice in dividing the plunder.

⁸He will swallow up death forever. The Lord GOD will wipe away the tears from every face and remove the disgrace of His people from the whole earth. For the LORD has spoken. ⁹And in that day it will be said, “Surely this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He has saved us. This is the LORD for whom we have waited. Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation.”

¹²You will indeed go out with joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. ¹³Instead of the thornbush, the cypress will grow, and instead of the brier, the myrtle will spring up; this will make a name for the LORD, an everlasting sign, never to be destroyed.”

¹⁷For behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. ¹⁸But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; for I will create Jerusalem to be a joy and its people to be a delight. ¹⁹I will rejoice in Jerusalem and take delight in My people. The sounds of weeping and crying will no longer be heard in her.

¹²They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion; they will be radiant over the bounty of the LORD—the grain, new wine, and oil, and the young of the flocks and herds. Their life will be like a well-watered garden, and never again will they languish. ¹³Then the maidens will rejoice with dancing, young men and old as well. I will turn their mourning into joy, and give them comfort and joy for their sorrow.

²¹Do not be afraid, O land; rejoice and be glad, for the LORD has done great things. ²²Do not be afraid, O beasts of the field, for the open pastures have turned green, the trees bear their fruit, and the fig tree and vine yield their best. ²³Be glad, O children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God, for He has given you the autumn rains for your vindication. He sends you showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before.

¹⁴Sing for joy, O Daughter of Zion; shout aloud, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O Daughter of Jerusalem! ¹⁵The LORD has taken away your punishment; He has turned back your enemy. Israel’s King, the LORD, is among you; no longer will you fear any harm. ¹⁶On that day they will say to Jerusalem: “Do not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands fall limp. ¹⁷The LORD your God is among you; He is mighty to save. He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you with His love; He will rejoice over you with singing.”

⁹Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your King comes to you, righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

¹¹Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. ¹²Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets before you.

⁴⁴The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and in his joy he went and sold all he had and bought that field.

⁴⁶Then Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord, ⁴⁷and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior! ⁴⁸For He has looked with favor on the humble state of His servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed. ⁴⁹For the Mighty One has done great things for me. Holy is His name.

²²But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. ²³Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let us feast and celebrate. ²⁴For this son of mine was dead and is alive again! He was lost and is found!’ So they began to celebrate. ³¹‘Son, you are always with me,’ the father said, ‘and all that is mine is yours. ³²But it was fitting to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”

⁵⁰When Jesus had led them out as far as Bethany, He lifted up His hands and blessed them. ⁵¹While He was blessing them, He left them and was carried up into heaven. ⁵²And they worshiped Him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, ⁵³praising God continually in the temple.

¹³But now I am coming to You; and I am saying these things while I am in the world, so that they may have My joy fulfilled within them.

¹⁹It was the first day of the week, and that very evening, while the disciples were together with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them. “Peace be with you!” He said to them. ²⁰After He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.

⁴⁶With one accord they continued to meet daily in the temple courts and to break bread from house to house, sharing their meals with gladness and sincerity of heart, ⁴⁷praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

⁴¹The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.

³¹They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and your household.” ³²Then Paul and Silas spoke the word of the Lord to him and to everyone in his house. ³³At that hour of the night, the jailer took them and washed their wounds. And without delay, he and all his household were baptized. ³⁴Then he brought them into his home and set a meal before them. So he and all his household rejoiced that they had come to believe in God.

¹²Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, persistent in prayer.

¹⁷For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.

¹⁰sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.

²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

¹¹being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have full endurance and patience, and joyfully ¹²giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light.

⁶And you became imitators of us and of the Lord when you welcomed the message with the joy of the Holy Spirit, in spite of your great suffering.

¹Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off every encumbrance and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with endurance the race set out for us. ²Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

¹²Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial that has come upon you, as though something strange were happening to you. ¹³But rejoice that you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed at the revelation of His glory.

³We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And this fellowship of ours is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ. ⁴We write these things so that our joy may be complete.

²⁴Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you unblemished in His glorious presence, with great joy— ²⁵to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority through Jesus Christ our Lord before all time, and now, and for all eternity. Amen.

⁶And I heard a sound like the roar of a great multitude, like the rushing of many waters, and like a mighty rumbling of thunder, crying out: “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. ⁷Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him the glory. For the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready.

⁴⁷Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joy and gladness of heart in all your abundance, ⁴⁸you will serve your enemies the LORD will send against you in famine, thirst, nakedness, and destitution. He will place an iron yoke on your neck until He has destroyed you.