We Will Be Glad and Rejoice

In this week’s Come, Follow Me lesson on Christmas, one of the sections is titled “I rejoice in my Redeemer.” Several passages from the Old Testament are referenced which express the joy the ancient prophets felt towards the Lord and His work. I love this verse from Isaiah: “Sing, O ye heavens; for the Lord hath done it: shout, ye lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein: for the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel” (Isaiah 44:23). This reminds me of the words of the Prophet Joseph as he wrote to the Saints, rejoicing over the salvation of the Lord available to them and their dead: “Let the mountains shout for joy, and all ye valleys cry aloud; and all ye seas and dry lands tell the wonders of your Eternal King! And ye rivers, and brooks, and rills, flow down with gladness. Let the woods and all the trees of the field praise the Lord; and ye solid rocks weep for joy! And let the sun, moon, and the morning stars sing together, and let all the sons of God shout for joy! And let the eternal creations declare his name forever and ever!” (Doctrine and Covenants 128:23) The mountains and forest, the valleys and seas, the rivers and brooks, all figuratively shout for joy for their Creator who hath redeemed all mankind. It also makes me think of the Savior’s words as He entered triumphantly into Jerusalem amidst a people who were rejoicing and praising God. When the Pharisees saw the celebration they protested with these words, “Master, rebuke thy disciples.” The Savior responded, “I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out” (Luke 19:39-40). Even the inanimate elements of creation testify of the Eternal King and “declare his name forever.”

                Another passage that is referenced in the lesson this week is from Zephaniah. That prophet, looking forward to the Millennial day, declared, “Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. The Lord hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy: the king of Israel, even the Lord, is in the midst of thee: thou shalt not see evil any more.” In a future day the Lord will literally be in our midst again, just as He was when He came the first time. Zephaniah rejoiced in that time when the Savior would come: “The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.” He and we will rejoice in that great Millennial day when we can rest from evil and dwell in His love. In our trials now we should hold on to this hope: “Behold, at that time I will undo all that afflict thee: and I will save her that halteth, and gather her that was driven out; and I will get them praise and fame in every land where they have been put to shame” (Zephaniah 3:14-20). That is indeed a beautiful promise: He will undo all things that afflict us now. Whatever burdens we are afflicted with now, He will one day undo those, just as another passage from this section in Come, Follow Me testifies: “He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it.” If we are indeed His people, then whatever tears we shed today, He will wipe them away; whatever rebuke we have now, He will take that away in a coming day. At Christmas time Isaiah’s words should be each of ours as we celebrate His life and victory over sin and death: “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” (Isaiah 25:8-9).