#DailyDevotion Rejoice In The LORD Always! Rejoice!
Introit Ps. 85:1–2, 6, 8; antiphon: Phil. 4:4–5
4Be happy in the Lord always! I’ll say it again: Be happy! 5Everyone should know how gentle you can be. The Lord is near. 1You have been gracious to Your country, O LORD; You have brought back Jacob from captivity. 2You have taken away Your people’s wrongs and covered all their sins.6Will You not restore our lives again so Your people can delight in You? 8I want to listen to what God the LORD says, because He promised His people and His godly ones that they will be happy. But they mustn’t go back to foolishness.
The antiphon is from Philippians, “4Be happy in the Lord always! I’ll say it again: Be happy! 5Everyone should know how gentle you can be. The Lord is near.” Although I have to say I prefer the translations that say “Rejoice!” here a bit better. I guess our English language has devolved to where we can only be happy and not rejoice, but that is a conversation for another day. In the midst of violet repentance during Advent we get a bit of reprieve where the colors of darkness are removed from a candle to where we get rose. So why rejoice or be happy?
The LORD is near. Now some chicken little Christians may fear because they don’t understand prophesy and unbelievers should fear because it is a day of judgment which will end in their punishment in the Lake of Fire, but fearing the LORD’s day is not for us believing Christians. It is a day of rejoicing. The introit brings out some aspects of that day for us from Psalm 85. The LORD has been gracious to his country and brought back Jacob from captivity. All who put their trust in Jesus the LORD are Jacob and Israel. We were captive to sin and the fear of death all our days, but Jesus has delivered us from both of these. On the Last Day, Jesus will rescue our bodies from the grave.
Rejoice! The LORD Jesus Christ has taken away our wrongs and covered all our sins. He has done this by offering up his body as an atoning sacrifice. His blood has been poured out upon the mercy seat of the LORD in the heavenly Holy of Holies. The horns of the altar of the cross have the blood from his head, his hands and his feet covering them. His blood has been sprinkled on our hearts in baptism. His blood covers, atones for, all our sins, wrongs, trespasses, iniquities and rebellions.
So we are called today to listen to what the LORD Jesus Christ says because he speaks peace to us. Our sins removed from us we are reconciled to God the Father and He to us. In this reconciliation we know the peace of Christ for we know that whatever happens to us, in Christ is it is not his anger but his discipline which is for our good and the mortification of our sinful flesh. Let us not return to our old ways of life which were in slavery to sin and the fear of death which is folly. We have eternal life now and the resurrection of our bodies on the day of his return. We hear the report of John’s disciples from Jesus, “5The blind see, the lame walk, lepers are made clean, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor hear the good news, 6and happy is anyone who doesn’t turn against Me.” Indeed happy are we who don’t turn against Christ but remain faithful to him all our days until his return.
Merciful God and Father, give us your Holy Spirit that we may rejoice in the salvation of Christ Jesus our Savior from sin, death and the grave and always have our ears attentive to your promises. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.