Living Joyfully

Living Joyfully

Psalm 98:4 (NKJV) Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth; Break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises.

Introduction:

A couple of weeks ago I preached a message from the text in Psalm 16, which reads as follows, “…in your presence is fullness of joy, at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” We tried to convey the point that God desires to be the source of joy for every believer. He is fully capable of satisfying our souls and giving us a deep source of joy that cannot be duplicated or provided by any other source. Today, I would like to complement that previous message with another message on the topic of joy. My focus today will be concerning the responsibility we have as believers to intentionally rejoice in God and about all His wonderful attributes and His works.

We are going to be using Psalm 98 as the primary guide for our thoughts (Psalm 96 and other passages closely mirror the same message). As I was reading this Psalm and meditating on it, I detected three ideas the author expresses about rejoicing. Let us examine the verses in this Psalm to discover the command to rejoice, the means to rejoice and the reasons to rejoice.

I.    The Command to Rejoice

A number of years ago a couple of respected Christian authors wrote a book with the title, “Happiness Is a Choice.” (Minirth & Meier)

One of the authors wrote this comment in the book’s introduction, “In this book we will do the best we can to summarize ... and offer guidelines... for obtaining lasting inner happiness---if you choose it.”

Although I haven’t read the book, the general premise seems to be that there are factors which tend to lead to unhappiness and even depression, and there are other factors that tend to lead to happiness and peace. It is up to each individual to choose which factors they will allow to fill the largest role in their lives. In this same vein, joy, which we talked about two weeks ago, is a condition that has its roots and its foundation in a relationship with our Creator. When that relationship is strong and healthy, then joy can be experienced even in adverse circumstances.

In addition to this status or condition of joy, the Bible gives us various commands or instructions to purposely rejoice (express joy). Several times throughout Psalm 98 we find that the author uses verb forms that indicate imperatives (commands) to express joy.

See: v.1 – sing unto the Lord; v. 4 – make a joyful noise (shout joyfully); make a loud noise (break forth in song)

With these direct commands, the Psalmist is teaching us the importance of giving vent to joy and expressing our praises to the Lord.

I have often said that one of the best ways for a person to begin to feel happier and more joyful is to intentionally express thanks, praise and joy over who God is and what He has done. There definitely are times when a person doesn’t feel joyful or feel like praising the Lord. But if we do it anyway because it is the right thing to do then it isn’t long before our feelings begin to change. I believe that there is a direct connection between practicing praise or practicing joy and the feeling of joy. The more one practices rejoicing, the more one will feel happy and joyful.

There are plenty of reasons for us to rejoice, which we’ll talk about a little later. But we also need to rejoice because God has instructed us to do it.

1 Thess. 5:16 Rejoice evermore.

II.  The Means to Rejoice

There are three general means that are mentioned here for rejoicing and praising God.

A. With the voices (singing/shouting)

Ps. 98:1a (NKJV) Oh, sing to the LORD a new song!

Ps. 98:4 (NKJV) Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth; Break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises.

Ps. 98:5a (NKJV) Sing to the LORD with the harp,

If anyone asks, I would admit that it is possible to just live a life of rejoicing by the general attitudes we display as we go about our daily responsibilities, which doesn’t necessarily require saying anything with words. However, these verses indicate that the Lord wants us to use our voices, either in making music unto the Lord, or in making a “shout” or “noise” unto the Lord. Some commentators indicated that these references to singing correspond to the assignments that King David gave to the Levites to sing to the Lord in their service at the temple.

See 1 Chron. 16:7-10

Also compare 2 Chronicles 5:11-14 (KJV)
 And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place: (for all the priests that were present were sanctified, and did not then wait by course:  Also the Levites which were the singers, all of them of Asaph, of Heman, of Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, being arrayed in white linen, having cymbals and psalteries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them an hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets:)  It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of musick, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD;  So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of God.

The classic NT example of people using their voices to sing praises to God is probably…

Acts 16:25 (KJV) And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.  

These men of God are following the commands given in Ps. 98. They are rejoicing and shouting praises to the Lord in spite of their circumstances and their suffering.

B. With instruments

Ps. 98:5b With the harp and the sound of a Psalm,

Ps 98:6  With trumpets and sound of cornet make a joyful noise before the LORD, the King.

Just like the appointed singers, David also appointed people to praise the Lord with various instruments.

1 Chr.16:4-6 (KJV) ⁴ And [David] appointed certain of the Levites to minister before the ark of the LORD, and to record, and to thank and praise the LORD God of Israel: ⁵ Asaph the chief, and next to him Zechariah, Jeiel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Mattithiah, and Eliab, and Benaiah, and Obededom: and Jeiel with psalteries [probably lyres] and with harps; but Asaph made a sound with cymbals; ⁶ Benaiah also and Jahaziel the priests with trumpets continually before the ark of the covenant of God.

Also verses 37-43

It appears from these Scriptures that the Lord delights in hearing all kinds of instruments making melody and beautiful music for the glory of God.

C. Through Nature

Ps. 98:7-8 (KJV) Let the sea roar, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. ⁸ Let the floods clap their hands: let the hills be joyful together

In poetic terms, the Psalmist portrays the world of nature joining in the chorus to praise and rejoice over all that God is doing. The Psalmist appears to be overwhelmed with the joy of the Lord and he is urging everyone and everything to get involved in praising God and rejoicing in His blessings.

III. The Reasons to Rejoice

Ps. 98:1-3 (KJV) O sing unto the LORD a new song; *for he hath done marvelous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, *hath gotten him the victory. ² The LORD *hath made known his salvation: his *righteousness hath he openly shewed in the sight of the heathen. ³ He *hath remembered his mercy and his truth toward the house of Israel: *all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

Ps. 98:9 (KJV) Before the LORD; for he cometh to judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity.

v.1 – marvelous things = victory; salvation; righteousness; mercy & truth; and justice

victory = salvation

righteousness = demonstration of mercy & truth (v.3); and judging with equity (v. 9)

If we meditate and think about each of these qualities of God, we can begin to understand why we are to rejoice. God is constantly at work carrying out His divine purposes and accomplishing His sovereign will. That may be in the form of securing victory over the enemies of His people, or it may be in executing justice and equity against the wicked and in favor of the righteous.

Sometimes people find fault with God’s actions as they interpret circumstances from our human point of view. But there is coming a day when every person will fully comprehend the righteous character of God and will agree that God’s justice is true and holy; without error or fault.

Salvation in the ultimate sense has already been accomplished and will be carried out to its final scene. For that He deserves the highest praise.

The words of this Psalm are very similar to some of the words uttered by the Prophet Isaiah.

Is. 44:23 (NKJV) ²³ Sing, O heavens, for the LORD has done it! Shout, you lower parts of the earth; Break forth into singing, you mountains, O forest, and every tree in it! For the LORD has redeemed Jacob, And glorified Himself in Israel.

Is. 52:9-10 (NKJV) ⁹ Break forth into joy, sing together, You waste places of Jerusalem! For the LORD has comforted His people, He has redeemed Jerusalem.
¹⁰ The LORD has made bare His holy arm In the eyes of all the nations; And all the ends of the earth shall see The salvation of our God.

It doesn’t matter whether we are talking about God’s miraculous deliverances in Israel’s history or God’s miraculous deliverances in the future, God is all-powerful, without limitations in His strength, His knowledge, or His abilities.

Conclusion:

Dear friends, we may not completely understand all of the circumstances of life, but we can have a faith and confidence in God and in His righteous government over this creation. We may not understand what all is happening or why, but by faith we can still rejoice in our God and give Him the praise for who He is and all He is doing. And, I believe if we continue to honor Him by singing, shouting and playing instruments in continuous praise, then our hearts will fill with joy regardless of what our outward circumstances may be.

Let us conclude this service by singing a hymn of rejoicing: Rejoice the Lord Is King