Be Ye Glad

In these days of confused situations
In these nights of restless remorse,
When the heart and the soul of a nation
Lay wounded and cold as a corpse
From the grave of the innocent Adam
Comes a song bringing joy to the sad.
Oh your cry has been heard and the ransom
Has been paid up in full, Be Ye glad

Chorus:
Oh, be ye glad, oh, be ye glad.
Every debt that you’ve ever had
Has been paid up in full by the grace of the Lord.
Be ye glad, be ye glad, Be Ye glad

From the dungeon a rumor is stirring.
You have heard it again and again.
But this time the cell keys are turning,
and outside there are faces of friends.
And though your body lay weary from wasting,
and your eyes show the sorrow they’ve had.
Oh the love that your heart is now tasting
has opened the gate, Be Ye Glad.

So be like lights on the rim of the water
Giving hope in a storm sea of night
Be a refuge admist the slaughter
Of these fugitives in their flight
For you are timeless and part of a puzzle.
You are winsome and young as a lad.
And there is no disease or no struggle
That can pull you from God, Be Ye glad

I am not exactly sure how long ago this particular song was written.  I remember hearing it the first time in the 1990’s and I have attached a link to the video for those not familiar with this song by the Christian group appropriately titled “Glad”:

As we end 2011, I am confident we will hear the phrase “Happy New Year” over and over again.  Does the calendar changing somehow automatically make us happy?  Does a person’s wish for a Happy New year change our circumstances?  I wondered about what the Bible had to say about gladness and the source of true happiness.  Here are some wonderful “glad” Scriptures:

Psalm 4:7-8   Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased. I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.

Psalm 9:2 – I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High

Psalm 30:11 Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness;

Psalm 32:10-11 Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the LORD, mercy shall compass him about. Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.

Acts 2:46 – And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,

Couple of comments on the lyrics:

• “Oh your cry has been heard” – Many times in the Psalms you will find the phrase “Hear my prayer” or “Hear me when I call” or “Hearken unto me.”  The Psalmist often times starts with a request that his petition be heard by God.  But one of the great promises in Scripture is that He does hear our cries and He does answer prayer.  I like the confidence found in Psalm 6:9.  The Bible says “The LORD hath heard my supplication; the LORD will receive my prayer.”  It is a confidence based upon what God has done in the past (hath heard) and the assurance of what He will do in the future (will receive).  We can be glad because the Lord has heard and will hear our cry.

• “You are… part of a puzzle” – I have heard it said that our lives are often like a tapestry.  Yarn woven together that doesn’t make alot of sense until you step back and see the entire tapestry.  I like the analogy here to our lives being part of a puzzle.  Maybe we are the corner pieces that find our place early on and we anchor the rest of the puzzle.  Maybe our puzzle piece is one of those with a clear picture, and we know exactly where it goes once the pieces around it are put together.  Or maybe we are one of the final pieces to the puzzle.  We wait and wait and wait to be put in our appropriate place.   But we don’t need to be discouraged by the piece of puzzle that we are.  We can be glad in the fact that God made us unique and is fitting us together.  Each person is an important part of the body of Christ.  Each person is a unique puzzle piece that is essential in completing God’s great puzzle.

“There is no disease or no struggle that can pull you from God” – I like the reminder in this phrase that although sickness and disease and struggle can impact our lives in a lot of ways, there is one thing that they cannot do.  They cannot pull us from God’s hand.  John 10:27-29 tells us “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:  And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.”  We can be glad and confident in the fact that God will not let anything pluck us from His hand.

As we end 2011 and begin a New Year in 2012, my prayer for you is that you are glad.  Not a temporary happiness that comes and goes.  Not a feeling you get that ebbs and flows and changes with the weather.  No, a true gladness of heart because He has made us glad.  He has redeemed our life from the pit.  He has satisfied us with good things.  May you have a “Glad New Year” in 2012 and beyond!!!!