The Shepherds and the Angels
Luk 2:8 Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.
Luk 2:9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.
Luk 2:10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.
Luk 2:11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
Luk 2:12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”
Luk 2:13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:
Luk 2:14 “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”
Luk 2:15 So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.”
Luk 2:16 And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger.
Luk 2:17 Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child.
Luk 2:18 And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds.
Luk 2:19 But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.
Joh 17:12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
Joh 17:13 But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves.
Joh 17:14 I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
Neh 8:10 Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”
Act 20:24 But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.
Pro 17:22 A merry heart does good, like medicine, But a broken spirit dries the bones.
Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
Gal 5:23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
Make a Joyful Noise to the Lord
Psa 98:1 A Psalm. Oh, sing to the LORD a new song! For He has done marvelous things; His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory.
Psa 98:2 The LORD has made known His salvation; His righteousness He has revealed in the sight of the nations.
Psa 98:3 He has remembered His mercy and His faithfulness to the house of Israel; All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
Psa 98:4 Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth; Break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises.
Psa 98:5 Sing to the LORD with the harp, With the harp and the sound of a psalm,
Psa 98:6 With trumpets and the sound of a horn; Shout joyfully before the LORD, the King.
Psa 98:7 Let the sea roar, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell in it;
Psa 98:8 Let the rivers clap their hands; Let the hills be joyful together before the LORD,
Psa 98:9 For He is coming to judge the earth. With righteousness He shall judge the world, And the peoples with equity.
Heb 12:1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
Heb 12:2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
The Lord Is My Strength and My Song
Isa 12:1 And in that day you will say: “O LORD, I will praise You; Though You were angry with me, Your anger is turned away, and You comfort me.
Isa 12:2 Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; ‘For YAH, the LORD, is my strength and song; He also has become my salvation.’ ”
Isa 12:3 Therefore with joy you will draw water From the wells of salvation.
Isa 12:4 And in that day you will say: “Praise the LORD, call upon His name; Declare His deeds among the peoples, Make mention that His name is exalted.
Isa 12:5 Sing to the LORD, For He has done excellent things; This is known in all the earth.
Isa 12:6 Cry out and shout, O inhabitant of Zion, For great is the Holy One of Israel in your midst!”
Php 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!
Jas 1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,
Jas 1:3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.
Jas 1:4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
Christ the Hope of Jews and Gentiles
Rom 15:8 Now I say that Jesus Christ has become a servant to the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers,
Rom 15:9 and that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy, as it is written: “FOR THIS REASON I WILL CONFESS TO YOU AMONG THE GENTILES, AND SING TO YOUR NAME.”
Rom 15:10 And again he says: “REJOICE, O GENTILES, WITH HIS PEOPLE!”
Rom 15:11 And again: “PRAISE THE LORD, ALL YOU GENTILES! LAUD HIM, ALL YOU PEOPLES!”
Rom 15:12 And again, Isaiah says: “THERE SHALL BE A ROOT OF JESSE; AND HE WHO SHALL RISE TO REIGN OVER THE GENTILES, IN HIM THE GENTILES SHALL HOPE.”
Rom 15:13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
1Pe 1:8 whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,
1Pe 1:9 receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.
1Pe 1:10 Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you,
Joh 16:22 Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.
Joh 16:23 “And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you.
Joh 16:24 Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
Pro 10:28 The hope of the righteous will be gladness, But the expectation of the wicked will perish.
Est 8:16 The Jews had light and gladness, joy and honor.
Est 8:17 And in every province and city, wherever the king’s command and decree came, the Jews had joy and gladness, a feast and a holiday. Then many of the people of the land became Jews, because fear of the Jews fell upon them.
Isa 35:10 And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, And come to Zion with singing, With everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness, And sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
Rom 14:17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Psa 16:11 You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Psa 94:19 In the multitude of my anxieties within me, Your comforts delight my soul.
Psa 30:11 You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness,
Psa 30:12 To the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever.
Jer 15:16 Your words were found, and I ate them, And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; For I am called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts.
Psa 16:8 I have set the LORD always before me; Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.
Psa 16:9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will rest in hope.
Joh 15:9 “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.
Joh 15:10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.
Joh 15:11 “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.
Isa 61:10 I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
Isa 61:11 For as the earth brings forth its bud, As the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth, So the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.
Act 13:47 For so the Lord has commanded us: ‘I HAVE SET YOU AS A LIGHT TO THE GENTILES, THAT YOU SHOULD BE FOR SALVATION TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH.’ ”
Act 13:48 Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.
Psa 51:12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.
Psa 118:24 This is the day the LORD has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.
Psa 28:7 The LORD is my strength and my shield; My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart greatly rejoices, And with my song I will praise Him.
Ecc 2:26 For God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy to a man who is good in His sight; but to the sinner He gives the work of gathering and collecting, that he may give to him who is good before God. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.
Psa 4:7 You have put gladness in my heart, More than in the season that their grain and wine increased.
Psa 4:8 I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; For You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.
The Year of the Lord’s Favor
Isa 61:1 “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
Isa 61:2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn,
Isa 61:3 To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.”
Psa 132:16 I will also clothe her priests with salvation, And her saints shall shout aloud for joy.
Isa 55:9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.
Isa 55:10 “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater,
Isa 55:11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
Isa 55:12 “For you shall go out with joy, And be led out with peace; The mountains and the hills Shall break forth into singing before you, And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
Isa 56:7 Even them I will bring to My holy mountain, And make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices Will be accepted on My altar; For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.”
Pro 12:20 Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil, But counselors of peace have joy.
Pro 21:15 It is a joy for the just to do justice, But destruction will come to the workers of iniquity.
Isa 29:18 In that day the deaf shall hear the words of the book, And the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness.
Isa 29:19 The humble also shall increase their joy in the LORD, And the poor among men shall rejoice In the Holy One of Israel.
Psa 105:43 He brought out His people with joy, His chosen ones with gladness.
Psa 63:1 A Psalm of David When He Was in the Wilderness of Judah. O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water.
Psa 63:2 So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, To see Your power and Your glory.
Psa 63:3 Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips shall praise You.
Psa 63:4 Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name.
Psa 63:5 My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips.
Psa 63:6 When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches.
Psa 63:7 Because You have been my help, Therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice.
Zec 9:9 “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.
Joy is the serious business of heaven. – C. S. Lewis
“Everything if given to God can become your gateway to joy.” —Elisabeth Elliot
“Man cannot live without joy; therefore when he is deprived of true spiritual joys, it is necessary that he become addicted to carnal pleasures.” —Thomas Aquinas
“Man is more himself, man is more manlike, when joy is the fundamental thing in him, and grief the superficial. Melancholy should be an innocent interlude, a tender and fugitive frame of mind; praise should be the permanent pulsation of the soul.” —G.K. Chesterton