Psalm 98:4 instructs "all the earth" to make a joyful noise to the Lord. Essentially, the joy that goes out into the world because of the great King is then given back to Him in joyful noise and praise. Psalm 48:2 has made me ponder about the awe and wonder of what it deeply means that God is with us and the implications personally and for all the earth. We have a yearly reminder of what God the Father did for the world during the Christmas season, but I wonder how often we think deeply on this overwhelming truth. God the Father sent His perfect Son, incarnate, to redeem the world. When we surrender to the Son's lordship, His Spirit indwells within us … we are with Him and He is with us forever. We are then agents for joy to go out into the world and to give that joy back to the King in joyful praise. In John 15:9-11, Jesus ties the completion of our joy to obedience to His commandments as we abide in Him and He abides in us. These verses come from a passage where Jesus teaches the importance of abiding in Him, and those who abide in Him will be pruned to bear much fruit. This pruning is the hardship we experience. In the abiding, in the pruning, we are called to keep His commandments. These commandments are not circumstantial based on our situation, emotions, or desires. Yet, even in the hard, that close obedient relationship with the great King completes our joy.
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