By Grace: Everlasting Joy
Isaiah 51:9-16;
Hebrews 12:18-24
"The ransomed of the LORD will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away."
(Isaiah 51:11)
Do you recall the old poem, "Casey at the Bat"? Remember that the Mudville team was behind when the mighty Casey stepped to the plate in the ninth inning, runners on second and third. The crowd cheered! But then the terrible final stanza: "Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright; the band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light, and somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout; But there is no joy in Mudville – mighty Casey has struck out."
That's the way "joy" is in this sinful world - fleeting and often based on heroes who aren't as mighty as we'd like to think. But ours is a forever joy; it comes by the sovereign, loving grace of Almighty God. We have not come to applaud a hero who strikes out. "But [we] have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. [We] have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven" (Hebrews 12:22-23a).
INSIGHT
For the Christian, joy isn't based on circumstances, but upon the Sovereign LORD's promise that our names are written in heaven (Luke 10:20).
READ THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR
Exodus 3-4
Psalm 27
Mark 7
Isaiah 51:9-16;
Isaiah 51:9-16
New Living Translation (NLT)
9 Wake up, wake up, O LORD! Clothe yourself with strength!
Flex your mighty right arm!
Rouse yourself as in the days of old
when you slew Egypt, the dragon of the Nile.[a]
10 Are you not the same today,
the one who dried up the sea,
making a path of escape through the depths
so that your people could cross over?
11 Those who have been ransomed by the LORD will return.
They will enter Jerusalem[b] singing,
crowned with everlasting joy.
Sorrow and mourning will disappear,
and they will be filled with joy and gladness.
12 "I, yes I, am the one who comforts you.
So why are you afraid of mere humans,
who wither like the grass and disappear?
13 Yet you have forgotten the LORD, your Creator,
the one who stretched out the sky like a canopy
and laid the foundations of the earth.
Will you remain in constant dread of human oppressors?
Will you continue to fear the anger of your enemies?
Where is their fury and anger now?
It is gone!
14 Soon all you captives will be released!
Imprisonment, starvation, and death will not be your fate!
15 For I am the LORD your God,
who stirs up the sea, causing its waves to roar.
My name is the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.
16 And I have put my words in your mouth
and hidden you safely in my hand.
I stretched out[c] the sky like a canopy
and laid the foundations of the earth.
I am the one who says to Israel,
‘You are my people!’"
Footnotes:
a. Isaiah 51:9 Hebrew You slew Rahab; you pierced the dragon. Rahab is the name of a mythical sea monster that represents chaos in ancient literature. The name is used here as a poetic name for Egypt.
b. Isaiah 51:11 Hebrew Zion.
c. Isaiah 51:16 As in Syriac version (see also 51:13); Hebrew reads planted.
Hebrews 12:18-24
18 You have not come to a physical mountain,[a] to a place of flaming fire, darkness, gloom, and whirlwind, as the Israelites did at Mount Sinai. 19 For they heard an awesome trumpet blast and a voice so terrible that they begged God to stop speaking. 20 They staggered back under God’s command: "If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death."[b] 21 Moses himself was so frightened at the sight that he said, "I am terrified and trembling."[c]
22 No, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to countless thousands of angels in a joyful gathering. 23 You have come to the assembly of God’s firstborn children, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God himself, who is the judge over all things. You have come to the spirits of the righteous ones in heaven who have now been made perfect. 24 You have come to Jesus, the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks of forgiveness instead of crying out for vengeance like the blood of Abel.
Footnotes:
a. Hebrews 12:18 Greek to something that can be touched.
b. Hebrews 12:20 Exod 19:13.
c. Hebrews 12:21 Deut 9:19.
There are two ways to live. We all default to control and fear, but by the grace of Jesus Christ it is possible to live by trust and hope. This is a program of powerful encouragement!
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