Everett Harrison’s wrote an article on Glory in The New International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. This article happens to be a summary of his Ph.D. thesis on “Glory” and one of the richest resources in print on the glory of God. Harrison points to the connection between glory and joy, he writes:

“Quite naturally glory is closely associated with joy. The two elements mingle in the experience of the shepherds at the birth of Jesus (Luke 2:9f, 20) and in the acclaim given Him at the triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Luke 19:38) as well as the Savior’s expectation of return to the Father (Hebrews 12:2). Likewise the prospect of future glory evokes in the saints the response of joy (Romans 5:2; 1 Peter 4:13; and Jude 1:24).” (NISBE, Volume 2, 1982, p. 482.)

Glory and joy

Glory may seem to be some glimmering light from the Holy of Holies or the shouts and songs of the redeemed in Heaven. But to see glory as the source of great joy in those who experienced the presence of Christ in his day during the joyful entry of Christ into Jerusalem, and by the future glory that shall be experienced together with all those who are redeemed, and, furthermore, to know that the joy of Christ before the Father is part of the renewal of the glory of the Son and the reunion of the Trinity in the Heavenly place, all prove the wonderful and God-filled principle that glory always brings joy.

Glory is the root and foundation of all the joy we experience in Christ. It is the glory of God that celebrates the victory of Christ. It is glory that brings us to study and then to appreciate the person of God. It is glory that presses the work of salvation into our human hearts and makes them alive and able to praise and worship God. And it is glory that assures us of the truth of Christ’s rule both in us and soon over all persons and things and so we know that our future is to be filled and absolutely defined by the glory of God.

The joy we experience in Jesus Christ is a glorious joy because it is rooted in what God has done and in who he is. We are doxological (glory-centered) in all our worship. By glory we remember that our joy is not generated within the heart of man, but from God. It is not something that we possess in ourselves at all, but by Jesus Christ we are filled, as if by miracle, with the glory of God.

True joy is always linked to the actions of God; it is derived from what God has done and what he will do. By the work of glory there is absolute confidence in the work of Christ in the past, so we sing with the shepherds and angels, “Glory to God in the highest …” And we look at the work of Christ on the Cross and with much greater appreciation and far more insight that those shouting “Hosanna,” we who believe now know who the Savior is and we see that his coming to redeem was the most glorious act in all of eternity.

How can we not have joy when we read of his coming to redeem us? We understand more of his work and we now see with far greater detail the implication of his death for our salvation, and we are driven by its importance and glory to shout for joy at the display of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, especially as it shined forth in the Redeeming Cross of Christ. The Cross was the grandest display of the glory of God and therefore it is the most precious and articulate source of our joy in God. Nothing exceeds it.

The question then could be raised, If we have little joy, what do we lack? The answer is: We lack glory. If our joy is failing or fading, the way to remedy that joylessness is to study the glory of God.

When glory is grasped and when our minds understand and our hearts retain even small aspects of the glory of God (which is all we can contain), glory changes how we see everything. When glory is seen by faith we are filled so much with the work and the person of God that glory’s child — the joy of God — comes with inexpressible fullness to overwhelm our lives with a glorious joy. We cannot experience true joy apart the glory of God entering into our lives. Glory and joy are inseparable.

We fail to be joyful when we neglect or ignore the glory of God. Joylessness is a deficiency of glory. But remember, it is not joy that we seek. It is glory. It is glory that brings us joy. When we study the glory of God, we do not need to be reminded to be more joyful. We are given joy as an overflow of all that makes God glorious.

Seeing the glory of God makes us joyful. And it is always so. Glory brings us to joy.