1 Thessalonians 5:16
uRejoice evermore.
Rejoice evermore.
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Matthew 5:12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
Luke 10:20 Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.
Romans 12:12 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;
2 Corinthians 2:14 Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.
2 Corinthians 6:10 As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.
Philippians 2:18 For the same cause also do ye joy, and rejoice with me.
Philippians 3:1 Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe.
Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.
1 Peter 4:13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
James 1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
Romans 5:2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
Romans 5:11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.
Psalms 149:1 Praise ye the LORD. Sing unto the LORD a new song, and his praise in the congregation of saints.
Psalms 149:2 Let Israel rejoice in him that made him: let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.
Here the apostle adds more Christian duties, briefly expressed, and set close one to another; and they seem to have a mutual connection, but not so relative to others as those before mentioned, but personal to themselves. He begins with the duty of rejoicing. Joy is an affection of the soul springing from the hope or possession of some suitable good. And it is either natural, which is common to men with beasts, arising from that good that is suitable to their several natures; or spiritual, which is joy wrought by the Spirit, and exercised upon spiritual objects.
And this the apostle here means, and is called rejoicing in the Lord, Php 4:4, and joy in the Holy Ghost, Rom 14:17; arising either from what spiritual good we already possess, or hope to possess, exhibita et promissa, Bernard; which is thereupon called a rejoicing in hope, Rom 5:2 12:12. The apostle speaks here of the duty indefinitely, only requires it to be evermore; so Php 4:4. Though God sometimes calls to mourning, yet it is no where said: Mourn evermore, because rejoicing ought to be in a more constant practice, and all spiritual mourning tends to it, and will end in it; and he commends it as seasonable to these Thessalonians, to support them under their present sufferings.
The grounds of a Christian’s joy always abide, and he is not only to retain it in the habit, but to mix it with all his sorrows and sufferings, as 1Pe 1:6: Ye greatly rejoice, though for a season, in heaviness: whereas carnal mirth is mixed with sadness, Pro 14:13. So that a Christian ought to rejoice in every condition, not only in prosperity but adversity, and especially when called to suffer for righteousness sake; as Mat 5:12 1Pe 4:13. It is not only allowed but commanded. This joy is one great part of God’s kingdom even in this world, Rom 14:17; much more in the world to come. And therefore the apostle speaks of rejoicing evermore, whereas mourning is but for a time, and ends to the saints in this life.