Justification also engenders joy. “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness” (Isa 61:10); “Bless the Lord, O my soul … who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases” (Ps 103:1-3); “And the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick: the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity” (Isa 33:24).
Man was created to rejoice; to be joyful is his life and health. Sorrow is contrary to his nature, and if man had not sinned, he would not have been sorrowful for one moment. A young child shows its joy by laughter and skipping around; all that man does, he does to be happy. Sorrow grips, presses, oppresses, and brings pain to the heart, whereas joy enlarges the heart and causes one to be refreshed by leaping for joy. This is true in the natural, and also in the spiritual realm.
Joy is the pleasure, delight, and rejoicing of the heart. It is the expression of a spirit set at liberty (or enlarged), generated by a present blessing or due to the anticipation of a future blessing. The Holy Scriptures, the best and infallible chronicler of nature, expresses joy by the verb rejoice: “… my heart rejoiceth in the Lord” (1 Sam 2:1); by the verb enlarge: “… when thou shalt enlarge my heart” (Ps 119:32); by the verb delight: “Delight thyself also in the Lord” (Ps 37:4); and by the verb cheer: “… let thy heart cheer thee” (Eccles 11:9).
Since man is not all-sufficient within himself, he must seek all his delight and joy elsewhere, that is, outside of himself. An unconverted person does perceive that he is empty within, but he does not know where his true and complete joy is to be found. Nevertheless, he must have joy, or else his heart will succumb. Thus, he seeks joy in creature delights, as everyone seeks that toward which he is most inclined and that which is most opportune. One person thinks that money will yield joy, whereas another person expects it from costly apparel, homes, furnishings, and gardens; another thinks that food and drink will yield this; again, others seek it in high positions and governmental offices, and some expect it from love and wisdom. Thus, every person labors for his own gain and with his own objective in view. However, this does not yield satisfaction. The heart even grieves when it laughs, and all such laughter ends in eternal sorrow and weeping.
The Lord, however, causes His favorites to see that all this is nothing but vanity, sin, and sorrow, and that all joy and happiness consist in having communion with Him. This is the spiritual joy which we shall now discuss. In considering this joy we shall deal with 1) the nature of this joy, 2) the opposite of this joy, 3) that which resembles this joy, and 4) the parameters of this joy.
The Nature of Spiritual Joy
We shall first of all consider the nature of this spiritual joy.
This spiritual joy consists in a delightful motion of the soul, generated by the Holy Spirit in the heart of believers, whereby He convinces them of the felicity of their state, causes them to enjoy the benefits of the covenant of grace, and assures them of their future felicity.
The seat of this joy is the soul or the heart. “Thou hast put gladness in my heart” (Ps 4:7); “… your heart shall rejoice” (John 16:22). This happiness is not one of appearance only, but is in truth; it does not consist in external display, but rather in possession. It is not something external which delights the external senses, but it penetrates to the internal, that is, to the innermost recesses of the soul, the intellect, the will, and the affections.
However, the heart of all men does not partake of this joy, but only the heart of believers. “Behold, My servants shall sing for joy of heart, but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall howl for vexation of spirit” (Isa 65:14); “Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous” (Ps 33:1); “Let all those that seek Thee rejoice and be glad in Thee” (Ps 70:4).
No one can manufacture this joy himself, but it is an inexpressible work of grace by God the Holy Spirit. “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy” (Rom 15:13); “For the kingdom of God is … joy in the Holy Ghost” (Rom 14:17); “Make me to hear joy and gladness” (Ps 51:8). For this reason David calls the Lord, “God my exceeding joy” (Ps 43:4). If someone desires this joy, let him be sensibly convinced that he cannot manufacture this himself and that he is also unworthy to receive it; let him thus come through Christ to the Father and pray in His Name, “Make us glad according to the days wherein Thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil” (Ps 90:15); “Rejoice the soul of Thy servant: for unto Thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul” (Ps 86:4).
This joy pertains to being reconciled with God—to their being the recipients of His grace, goodness, love, and benevolence, He being their God and Father, their portion, delight, rest, keeper, and felicity, and Jesus Christ being their Savior. This is manifested by the expression of rejoicing in the Lord. “Let Israel rejoice in Him that made him: let the children of Zion be joyful in their King” (Ps 149:2); “I will be glad and rejoice in Thy mercy” (Ps 31:7); “Be glad in the Lord” (Ps 32:11); “Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation” (Isa 25:9); “And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour” (Luke 1:47). This joy is generated whenever they perceive and believe that God has bestowed a blessing upon them in His favor. Also the preciousness of the gospel, the benefits of the covenant of grace, and temporal deliverances and blessings bring forth this joy. They do so because they perceive that in all these things the Lord is manifesting His favor toward them. “Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever: for they are the rejoicing of my heart” (Ps 119:111); “… Thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart” (Jer 15:16); “Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of Thy countenance. In Thy Name shall they rejoice all the day: and in Thy righteousness shall they be exalted” (Ps 89:15-16).
In addition to the benefits which believers may enjoy here, they also have the promise of joy in heaven which is inexpressibly more excellent. Oh, how great is that treasure! How blessed is such a man who has been chosen, who is led for this purpose; what reason such a person has to rejoice! Therefore, rejoice in hope (Rom 12:12).
From that which has been said, it is evident what the nature of true spiritual joy is. This will be all the more evident when we consider the opposite of spiritual joy, as well as that which resembles and qualifies it.