“Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and joy are in his dwelling place. Ascribe to the Lord, all you families of nations, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering and come before him. Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness. Tremble before him, all the earth! The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved. Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!” Let the sea resound, and all that is in it; let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them! Let the trees of the forest sing, let them sing for joy before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth.” (I Chronicles 16:27-33)
Every good story brings its characters to moments of decision. Something is at stake and everything depends upon the next move. Readers feel shortchanged if consequences are ameliorated of a character is led unwittingly to the only option that will work to resolve a conflict. The last page may get turned but the story will get panned.
This text directs the reader to worship. But it does not command worship. The families of nations, the sea, the heavens, the fields, the trees — all are to resound with joy. Let them resound, be glad, be jubilant, sing for joy.
There is another option – the opposite of joy. Many there are who fill those ranks. What makes the difference?
Joy is not always a choice. Sometimes it erupts as we are plunged into experiences that bypass our cognitive minds. We just “react” with jubilation when a child scores a goal in a game, when we encounter a wonder of nature, or when we hear longed-for good news. We don’t think. We just act. Sometimes we embarrass those around us. It can happen when a certain piece of music stirs us or we see a toddler and are reminded us of the life we share with our own children or we look out an airplane window as sunshine blazes off a bank of snow hanging on a mountain peak after the storm has passed. It is like a wave of the ocean that catches us and we delight in it as far as it carries us.
Joy is often a choice. It has to be a choice because human beings live in a hard and hurtful world and quickly develop calluses of guardedness and wariness over their hearts. Coming to expect trouble, they craft survival strategies that minimize the pain. Wonder and praise are replaced by care-full-ness and, if all else fails, grief.
But the choice remains. Joy can be chosen over fear and dread. It all depends upon what is seen. King David and his chief minister Asaph drafted a song to remind the people of what is most deeply real about their lives. The One that they worship dwells eternally in splendor and majesty, strength and joy. The world that this One created is not chaotic nor absurd. It will not be shaken as long as the LORD reigns.
But what of all the tragic and wrong things that happen to us and around us? Even when these things happen, for those who know the LORD joy can be the bottom line. Why? Because “He comes to judge the earth.” Joy rests upon a certainty that all things will be set right at last. This is the meaning of “judge.” Judgment is not mere retribution and punishment for an offense. This would not be enough to create a path back to joy. Plaintiffs in court want more than payment for crimes. They want things to be made right again. Because of limited human wisdom and ability, this usually not possible in this world. There are some things that get broken that cannot be fixed here. But in at the end of the ages, the LORD will “judge the earth” and set things right. The nations need to hear that “the LORD reigns!” Those who believe possess an anticipatory joy that keeps their heads up and amazes those who do not understand.