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VERSES ABOUT JOY
Think about it: the joy of the Lord doesn't just fill you with strength, it brings us all together. It's a joy that's not meant to be kept to yourself; it needs to be shared. Just like the Israelites were instructed to celebrate and share what they had with each other, you can spread the joy of the Lord with everyone you know.
This joy challenges you to love your neighbor and share the Gospel. When your heart is joyful in God, you are strong and empowered to spread that joy throughout your community. It's a lasting joy, something no one can take away.
Psalm 98:4-6 says, "Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music; make music to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing, with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn— shout for joy before the Lord, the King." You can find so many verses like this that talk about the joy of our God.
“I will make you into a great nation. And I will bless you. I will make your name great. You will be a blessing to others.
The Lord who rules over all is the God of Israel. He says, “I will bring them back from the place where they were taken. Here is what the people in Judah and its towns will say once again. ‘May the Lord bless you, you successful city. Sacred mountain, may he bless you.’
The Lord will love you and bless you. He’ll cause there to be many of you. He’ll give you many children. He’ll bless the crops of your land. He’ll give you plenty of grain, olive oil and fresh wine. He’ll bless your herds with many calves. He’ll give your flocks many lambs. He’ll do all these things for you in the land of Canaan. It’s the land he promised your people of long ago that he would give you.
Then Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people. He gave them a blessing. He had already sacrificed the sin offering, the burnt offering and the friendship offering. So he stepped down from the altar.
Stay there for a while. I will be with you and give you my blessing. I will give all these lands to you and your children after you. And I will keep my word that I gave to your father Abraham.
On that day, Jacob gave them his blessing. He said, “The people of Israel will bless others in your name. They will say, ‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.’ ” So he put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.
I will bless those who bless you. I will put a curse on anyone who puts a curse on you. All nations on earth will be blessed because of you.”
Their children after them will be famous among the nations. Their families will be praised by people everywhere. All those who see them will agree that I have blessed them.”
Joseph, your father’s God helps you. The Mighty God blesses you. He gives you blessings from the sky above. He gives you blessings from the deep springs below. He blesses you with children and with a mother’s milk.
I’m commanding you today to love the Lord your God. I’m commanding you to live exactly as he wants you to live. You must obey his commands, rules and laws. Then you will live. There will be many of you. The Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to take as your own.
“Comfort my people,” says your God. “Comfort them.
The Lord and King is coming with power. He rules with a powerful arm. He has set his people free. He is bringing them back as his reward. He has won the battle over their enemies.
He takes care of his flock like a shepherd. He gathers the lambs in his arms. He carries them close to his heart. He gently leads those that have little ones.
Who has measured the oceans by using the palm of his hand? Who has used the width of his hand to mark off the sky? Who has measured out the dust of the earth in a basket? Who has weighed the mountains on scales? Who has weighed the hills in a balance?
Who can ever understand the Spirit of the Lord? Who can ever give him advice?
Did the Lord have to ask anyone to help him understand? Did he have to ask someone to teach him the right way? Who taught him what he knows? Who showed him how to understand?
The nations are only a drop in a bucket to him. He considers them as nothing but dust on the scales. He weighs the islands as if they were only fine dust.
Lebanon doesn’t have enough trees to keep his altar fires burning. It doesn’t have enough animals to sacrifice as burnt offerings to him.
To him, all the nations don’t amount to anything. He considers them to be worthless. In fact, they are less than nothing in his sight.
So who will you compare God with? Is there any other god like him?
Will you compare him with a statue of a god? Anyone who works with metal can make a statue. Then another worker covers it with gold and makes silver chains for it.
Speak tenderly to the people of Jerusalem. Announce to them that their hard labor has been completed. Tell them that their sin has been paid for. Tell them the Lord has punished them enough for all their sins.”
From that time on, the Lord blessed Potiphar’s family and servants because of Joseph. He blessed everything Potiphar had in his house and field.
Judah and Israel, in the past you have been a curse among the nations. But now I will save you. You will be a blessing to others. Do not be afraid. Let your hands be strong so that you can do my work.”
Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion. They will always be secure. They will last forever.
Like the mountains around Jerusalem, the Lord is all around his people both now and forever.
The Lord will keep you from getting sick. He won’t send on you any of the horrible sicknesses you saw all around you in Egypt. But he’ll send them on everyone who hates you.
Give praise to the Lord God, the God of Israel. Only he can do wonderful things.
Give praise to his glorious name forever. May his glory fill the whole earth. Amen and Amen.
You too will send for nations you do not know. Even though you do not know them, they will come running to you. That is what I will do. I am the Lord your God. I am the Holy One of Israel. I have honored you.”
Enemies will rise up against you. But the Lord will help you win the battle over them. They will come at you from one direction. But they’ll run away from you in every direction.
They were happy to do it. And of course they owe it to them. The Gentiles have shared in the Jews’ spiritual blessings. So the Gentiles should share their earthly blessings with the Jews.
The Lord rules over all. His angel says to Israel, “The Glorious One has sent me to punish the nations that have robbed you of everything. That’s because anyone who hurts you hurts those the Lord loves and guards.
Long ago, Scripture knew that God would make the Gentiles right with himself. He would do this by their faith in him. He announced the good news ahead of time to Abraham. God said, “All nations will be blessed because of you.” (Genesis 12:3; 18:18; 22:18)
Jerusalem, if I forget you, may my right hand never be able to play the harp again.
If I don’t remember you, may my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth so I can’t sing. May it happen if I don’t consider Jerusalem to be my greatest joy.
You had only a little before I came. But that little has become a lot. The Lord has blessed you everywhere I’ve been. But when can I do something for my own family?”
The mountains might shake. The hills might be removed. But my faithful love for you will never be shaken. And my covenant that promises peace to you will never be removed,” says the Lord. He shows you his loving concern.
The Lord remembers us and will bless us. He will bless Israel, his people. He will bless the priests of Aaron.
The Lord will bless those who have respect for him. He will bless important and unimportant people alike.
All nations on earth will be blessed because of your children. All these things will happen because you have obeyed me.”
They will be like the dust of the earth that can’t be counted. They will spread out to the west and to the east. They will spread out to the north and to the south. All nations on earth will be blessed because of you and your children after you.
The Lord your God will put all these curses on your enemies. They hated you and hunted you down.
But God chose you to be his people. You are royal priests. You are a holy nation. You are God’s special treasure. You are all these things so that you can give him praise. God brought you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
There shouldn’t be any poor people among you. The Lord will greatly bless you in the land he is giving you. You will take it over as your own.
The Lord and King continues, “I will call out to the nations. I will give a signal to them. They will bring back your sons in their arms. They will carry your daughters on their hips.
The Lord has chosen Zion. That’s the place where he wants to live.
He has said, “This will be my resting place for ever and ever. Here I will sit on my throne, because that’s what I want.
Our enemies took us away from Zion. But when the Lord brought us home, it seemed like a dream to us.
Our mouths were filled with laughter. Our tongues sang with joy. Then the people of other nations said, “The Lord has done great things for them.”
Tell them, ‘The Lord and King says, “I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them together from all around. I will bring them back to their own land.
There I will make them one nation. They will live on the mountains of Israel. All of them will have one king. They will never be two nations again. They will never again be separated into two kingdoms.
Jerusalem, I have stationed guards on your walls. They must never be silent day or night. You who call out to the Lord must not give yourselves any rest.
And don’t give him any rest until he makes Jerusalem secure. Don’t give him any peace until people all over the earth praise that city.
May nations serve you. May they bow down to you. Rule over your brothers. May the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed. And may those who bless you be blessed.”
God’s blessings are like a river. They fill the city of God with joy. That city is the holy place where the Most High God lives.
“ ‘ “I will take you out of the nations. I will gather you together from all the countries. I will bring you back into your own land.
I will sprinkle pure water on you. Then you will be ‘clean.’ I will make you completely pure and ‘clean.’ I will take all the statues of your gods away from you.
I will give you new hearts. I will give you a new spirit that is faithful to me. I will remove your stubborn hearts from you. I will give you hearts that obey me.
“Make a large area for your tent. Spread out its curtains. Go ahead and make your tent wider. Make its ropes longer. Drive the stakes down deeper.
You will spread out to the right and the left. Your children after you will drive out the nations that are now living in your land. They will make their homes in the deserted cities of those nations.
The Lord has built his city on the holy mountain.
He loves the city of Zion more than all the other places where the people of Jacob live.
City of God, the Lord says glorious things about you.
“I will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on David’s family line. I will also send it on those who live in Jerusalem. They will look to me. I am the one they have pierced. They will mourn over me as someone mourns over an only child who has died. They will be full of sorrow over me. Their sorrow will be just like someone’s sorrow over an oldest son.
I will make them and the places surrounding my holy mountain of Zion a blessing. I will send down rain at the right time. There will be showers of blessing.
The trees will bear their fruit. And the ground will produce its crops. The people will be secure in their land. I will break the chains that hold them. I will save them from the power of those who made them slaves. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
May the Lord give you many children. May he give them to you and to your children after you.
May the Lord bless you. He is the Maker of heaven and earth.
The Lord and King continues, “I will call out to the nations. I will give a signal to them. They will bring back your sons in their arms. They will carry your daughters on their hips.
Their kings will become like fathers to you. Their queens will be like mothers who nurse you. They will bow down to you with their faces toward the ground. They will kiss the dust at your feet to show you their respect. Then you will know that I am the Lord. Those who put their hope in me will not be ashamed.”
“Listen to my message, you nations. Announce it on shores far away. Say, ‘He who scattered Israel will gather them. He will watch over his flock like a shepherd.’
May God rise up and scatter his enemies. May they turn and run away from him.
God, your people made their homes in it. From all your riches, you provided for those who were poor.
The Lord gives the message. The women who make it known are a huge group.
They said, “Kings and armies are running away. The women at home are dividing up the things the army took from their enemies.
Even while the soldiers sleep near the sheep pens, God wins the battle for them. He gives the enemy’s silver and gold to Israel, his dove.”
The Mighty One has scattered the kings around the land. It was like snow falling on Mount Zalmon.
Mount Bashan is a majestic mountain. Mount Bashan is a very rocky mountain.
Why are you jealous of Mount Zion, you rocky mountain? That’s where God chooses to rule. That’s where the Lord himself will live forever.
God has come with tens of thousands of his chariots. He has come with thousands and thousands of them. The Lord has come from Mount Sinai. He has entered his holy place.
When he went up to his place on high, he took many prisoners. He received gifts from people, even from those who refused to obey him. The Lord God went up to live on Mount Zion.
Give praise to the Lord. Give praise to God our Savior. He carries our heavy loads day after day.
May you, God, blow them away like smoke. As fire melts wax, so may God destroy sinful people.
My name will be great among the nations. They will worship me from where the sun rises in the east to where it sets in the west. In every place, incense and pure offerings will be brought to me. That’s because my name will be great among the nations,” says the Lord.
In the last days the mountain where the Lord’s temple is located will be famous. It will be the highest mountain of all. It will be raised above the hills. All the nations will go to it.
People had made some statues of gods out of silver. They had made others out of gold. Then they worshiped them. But when the Lord comes, they will throw the statues away to the moles and bats.
Those people will run and hide in caves in the rocks. They will go into holes in the cliffs. They will run away from the terrifying presence of the Lord. They will run when he comes in glory and majesty. When he comes, he will shake the earth.
Stop trusting in mere human beings, who can’t help you. They only live for a little while. What good are they?
People from many nations will go there. They will say, “Come. Let us go up to the Lord’s mountain. Let’s go to the temple of Jacob’s God. He will teach us how we should live. Then we will live the way he wants us to.” The law of the Lord will be taught at Zion. His message will go out from Jerusalem.
In this way all Israel will be saved. It is written, “The God who saves will come from Mount Zion. He will remove sin from Jacob’s family.
I’m calling for the heavens and the earth to be witnesses against you this very day. I’m offering you the choice of life or death. You can choose either blessings or curses. But I want you to choose life. Then you and your children will live.
You and your children will return to the Lord your God. You will obey him with all your heart and with all your soul. That will be according to everything I’m commanding you today.
And you will love the Lord your God. You will obey him. You will remain true to him. The Lord is your very life. He will give you many years in the land. He promised to give that land to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Tell how powerful God is. He rules as king over Israel. The skies show how powerful he is.
How wonderful is God in his holy place! The God of Israel gives power and strength to his people. Give praise to God!