◄ Isaiah 65:18 ►
But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; for I will create Jerusalem to be a joy and its people to be a delight.
Study Bible
But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create;

This phrase calls for perpetual joy and gladness, reflecting the eternal nature of God's new creation. The command to rejoice is a common biblical theme, seen in Philippians 4:4, where believers are encouraged to rejoice in the Lord always. The use of "forever" indicates the everlasting nature of God's work, contrasting with the temporary joys of the world. This creation is not just physical but spiritual, pointing to the new heavens and new earth prophesied in Revelation 21:1. The emphasis on God's creative power recalls Genesis 1, where God creates the world, underscoring His sovereignty and ability to bring about His promises.

Rev 21:5 And the One seated on the throne said, “Behold,…
Isa 43:19 Behold, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming.…
2Co 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.…

for I will create Jerusalem to be a joy

Jerusalem, historically the center of Jewish worship and identity, is here promised a future transformation. This prophecy looks beyond the physical city to a spiritual renewal, aligning with the vision in Revelation 21:2, where the New Jerusalem descends from heaven. The city's future joy contrasts with its past sufferings and captivities, such as the Babylonian exile. Jerusalem's joy is not just for its inhabitants but for all nations, fulfilling the Abrahamic covenant in Genesis 12:3, where all peoples on earth will be blessed through Abraham's descendants. This transformation is a type of Christ, who brings joy and salvation to all who believe.

Jer 33:9 So this city will bring Me renown, joy, praise…
Isa 60:15 Whereas you have been forsaken and despised…
Psa 48:2 Beautiful in loftiness, the joy of all the earth,…

and its people to be a delight.

The people of Jerusalem, representing God's chosen, are promised to be a delight, indicating a restored relationship with God. This echoes the covenantal language found in Exodus 19:5-6, where Israel is described as a treasured possession. The delight in the people signifies their holiness and righteousness, achieved through the redemptive work of Christ, as seen in Ephesians 5:25-27, where the church is presented as a radiant bride. This transformation is both individual and communal, reflecting the unity and purity of God's people in the eschatological vision. The delight also points to the joy of the Lord in His people, as seen in Zephaniah 3:17, where God rejoices over His people with singing.

Psa 149:4 For the LORD takes pleasure in His people;…
Zep 3:17 The LORD your God is among you; He is mighty to save.…
Mal 3:17 They will be Mine,” says the LORD of Hosts…

Persons / Places / Events
1. Isaiah
A major prophet in the Old Testament, Isaiah is the author of the book that bears his name. He prophesied during a time of great turmoil and change for the nation of Israel.

2. Jerusalem
The capital city of Israel, Jerusalem holds significant religious and historical importance. In this context, it symbolizes the future hope and restoration promised by God.

3. God's Creation
The act of God creating a new Jerusalem and a new people, symbolizing renewal and divine intervention in the world.

4. The People of Jerusalem
Representing the faithful remnant who will experience God's promised joy and delight.

5. The New Heavens and New Earth
This event refers to the eschatological promise of a renewed creation where God's people will dwell in eternal joy.
Teaching Points
Joy in God's Creation
Embrace the joy that comes from God's creative work in our lives and the world. Recognize that God is continually at work, bringing about His purposes.

Hope in Restoration
Hold onto the hope of God's promise to restore and renew. This hope should inspire us to live faithfully, knowing that God will fulfill His promises.

Living as a Delight to God
Strive to live in a way that brings delight to God, reflecting His love and joy to others. Our lives should be a testament to the transformative power of God's grace.

Eternal Perspective
Maintain an eternal perspective, focusing on the joy and delight that await us in God's future kingdom. This perspective can help us navigate present challenges with faith and hope.

Community of Joy
Foster a community that reflects the joy and delight of God's people. Encourage one another in faith, celebrating the work God is doing among us.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the promise of a new Jerusalem in Isaiah 65:18 encourage you in your current circumstances?

2. In what ways can you actively participate in God's creative work in your life and community?

3. How does the theme of joy in Isaiah 65:18 connect with the joy described in Revelation 21?

4. What practical steps can you take to live as a delight to God and others?

5. How can maintaining an eternal perspective influence your daily decisions and interactions with others?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Revelation 21
This chapter describes the new heaven and new earth, echoing the promise of a renewed Jerusalem where God dwells with His people.

Zephaniah 3:14-17
These verses also speak of rejoicing and God's delight in His people, emphasizing the theme of restoration and joy.

2 Corinthians 5:17
This verse speaks of becoming a new creation in Christ, paralleling the theme of God creating something new and joyful.

Psalm 126:2-3
These verses describe the joy and laughter of God's people when He restores their fortunes, similar to the joy promised in Isaiah 65:18.
Sermons
God Rejoicing is the New CreationIsaiah 65:17-25
New Heavens and a New EarthProf. J. Skinner, D. D.Isaiah 65:17-25
The New CreationE. Johnson Isaiah 65:17-25
The State of the Church During the MillenniumA. Somerville.Isaiah 65:17-25
People
Gad, Isaiah, Jacob
Places
Jerusalem, Sharon, Valley of Achor
Topics
Behold, Create, Creating, Creator, Delight, Forever, Glad, Gladness, Jerusalem, Joy, Making, Rejoice, Rejoicing
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Isaiah 65:17-19

     6227   regret
     8145   renewal, people of God

Isaiah 65:17-20

     4906   abolition

Isaiah 65:17-25

     1335   blessing
     5006   human race, destiny
     7125   elect, the

Isaiah 65:18-19

     5830   delight

Library
'The God of the Amen'
'He who blesseth himself in the earth shall bless himself in the God of truth; and he that sweareth in the earth shall swear by the God of truth.'--ISAIAH lxv. 16. The full beauty and significance of these remarkable words are only reached when we attend to the literal rendering of a part of them which is obscured in our version. As they stand in the original they have, in both cases, instead of the vague expression, 'The God of truth,' the singularly picturesque one, 'The God of the Amen.' I. Note …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

God Rejoicing in the New Creation
THIS PASSAGE, like the rest of Isaiah's closing chapters, will have completest fulfillment in the latter days when Christ shall come, when the whole company of his elect ones shall have been gathered out from the world, when the whole creation shall have been renewed, when new heavens and a new earth shall be the product of the Savior's power, when, for ever and for ever, perfected saints of God shall behold his face, and joy and rejoice in him. I hope and believe that the following verses will actually …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 37: 1891

Early Lessons in the Life of Faith
"I love the Lord, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications."--Psalm 116:1. WHEN a very little child, so young I can remember nothing earlier, a severe thunderstorm passed over our home. Terrified, I ran to my mother, who placed my hands together, and pointing upward repeated over and over again the one word "Jesus." More than fifty years have passed since that day, but the impression left upon my child-mind, of a Being invisible but able to hear and help, has never been effaced. * …
Rosalind Goforth—How I Know God Answers Prayer

Baptism of Kallihirua
We now come to an important event in the history of Kallihirua; his Baptism, which took place on Advent Sunday, Nov. 27th, 1853, in St. Martin's Church, near Canterbury. "The visitors present on the occasion," said an eye-witness[6], "were, the Rev. John Philip Gell (late Warden of Christ's College, Tasmania), accompanied by Mrs. Gell, daughter of the late Sir John Franklin; Captain Erasmus Ommanney, R.N. (who brought Kallihirua to England), and Mrs. Ommanney, Captain Washington, R.N., of the Admiralty, …
Thomas Boyles Murray—Kalli, the Esquimaux Christian,

Why Has Only one Apocalypse Been Able to Keep Its Place in the New Testament? Why not Several --Or None at All?
In answering this question [104] we may suitably take the Muratorian Fragment as our starting-point. At the close of its positive section occurs a paragraph which may be paraphrased as follows: "We also accept Apocalypses, but only two, those of John and Peter; yet the latter is rejected by a minority among us. The Shepherd of Hermas ought not to be spoken of as a part of the Canon either now or at any future time; for it was written only lately in our own times in Rome under the Bishop Pius, the …
Adolf Harnack—The Origin of the New Testament

The Sun Rising Upon a Dark World
The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon then hath the light shined. C ontrasts are suited to illustrate and strengthen the impression of each other. The happiness of those, who by faith in MESSIAH, are brought into a state of peace, liberty, and comfort, is greatly enhanced and heightened by the consideration of that previous state of misery in which they once lived, and of the greater misery to which they were justly exposed. …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1

Parable of the Pharisee and Publican.
^C Luke XVIII. 9-14. ^c 9 And he spake also this parable unto certain who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and set all others at nought [It is commonly said that this parable teaches humility in prayer, but the preface and conclusion (see verse 14) show that it is indeed to set forth generally the difference between self-righteousness and humility, and that an occasion of prayer is chosen because it best illustrates the point which the Lord desired to teach. The parable shows that …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Book ix. Epistle i. To Januarius, Bishop of Caralis (Cagliari).
To Januarius, Bishop of Caralis (Cagliari). Gregory to Januarius, &c. The preacher of Almighty God, Paul the apostle, says, Rebuke not an elder (1 Tim. v. 1). But this rule of his is to be observed in cases where the fault of an elder does not draw through his example the hearts of the younger into ruin. But, when an elder sets an example to the young for their ruin, he is to be smitten with severe rebuke. For it is written, Ye are all a snare to the young (Isai. xlii. 22). And again the prophet …
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

Another Wonderful Record of 25.
A Christian minister, living in Northern Indiana, was in want, and knelt in prayer again and again before his Father in heaven. His quarterly allowance had been withheld, and want stared him in the face. Constrained by urgent need, and shut up to God for help, he pleaded repeatedly for a supply of his temporal wants. Now see how extraordinary was the plan of the Lord to send relief. "In one of the lovely homes of Massachusetts, while the snow was falling and the winds were howling without, a lady …
Various—The Wonders of Prayer

The Scriptures
Q-II: WHAT RULE HAS GOD GIVEN TO DIRECT US HOW WE MAY GLORIFY AND ENJOY HIM? A: The Word of God, which is contained in the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him. 2 Tim 3:16. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God,' By Scripture is understood the sacred Book of God. It is given by divine inspiration; that is, the Scripture is not the contrivance of man's brain, but is divine in its origin. The image of Diana was had in veneration …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

Election Confirmed by the Calling of God. The Reprobate Bring Upon Themselves the Righteous Destruction to which they are Doomed.
1. The election of God is secret, but is manifested by effectual calling. The nature of this effectual calling. How election and effectual calling are founded on the free mercy of God. A cavil of certain expositors refuted by the words of Augustine. An exception disposed of. 2. Calling proved to be free, 1. By its nature and the mode in which it is dispensed. 2. By the word of God. 3. By the calling of Abraham, the father of the faithful. 4. By the testimony of John. 5. By the example of those who …
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion

Exposition of the Moral Law.
1. The Law was committed to writing, in order that it might teach more fully and perfectly that knowledge, both of God and of ourselves, which the law of nature teaches meagrely and obscurely. Proof of this, from an enumeration of the principal parts of the Moral Law; and also from the dictate of natural law, written on the hearts of all, and, in a manner, effaced by sin. 2. Certain general maxims. 1. From the knowledge of God, furnished by the Law, we learn that God is our Father and Ruler. Righteousness …
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion

Divine Support and Protection
[What shall we say then to these things?] If God be for us, who can be against us? T he passions of joy or grief, of admiration or gratitude, are moderate when we are able to find words which fully describe their emotions. When they rise very high, language is too faint to express them; and the person is either lost in silence, or feels something which, after his most laboured efforts, is too big for utterance. We may often observe the Apostle Paul under this difficulty, when attempting to excite …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 2

Question Lxxxiii of Prayer
I. Is Prayer an Act of the Appetitive Powers? Cardinal Cajetan, On Prayer based on Friendship II. Is it Fitting to Pray? Cardinal Cajetan, On Prayer as a True Cause S. Augustine, On the Sermon on the Mount, II. iii. 14 " On the Gift of Perseverance, vii. 15 III. Is Prayer an Act of the Virtue of Religion? Cardinal Cajetan, On the Humility of Prayer S. Augustine, On Psalm cii. 10 " Of the Gift of Perseverance, xvi. 39 IV. Ought We to Pray to God Alone? S. Augustine, Sermon, cxxvii. 2 V. …
St. Thomas Aquinas—On Prayer and The Contemplative Life

How Christ is Made Use of for Justification as a Way.
What Christ hath done to purchase, procure, and bring about our justification before God, is mentioned already, viz. That he stood in the room of sinners, engaging for them as their cautioner, undertaking, and at length paying down the ransom; becoming sin, or a sacrifice for sin, and a curse for them, and so laying down his life a ransom to satisfy divine justice; and this he hath made known in the gospel, calling sinners to an accepting of him as their only Mediator, and to a resting upon him for …
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life

Covenanting Predicted in Prophecy.
The fact of Covenanting, under the Old Testament dispensations, being approved of God, gives a proof that it was proper then, which is accompanied by the voice of prophecy, affording evidence that even in periods then future it should no less be proper. The argument for the service that is afforded by prophecy is peculiar, and, though corresponding with evidence from other sources, is independent. Because that God willed to make known truth through his servants the prophets, we should receive it …
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting

Difficulties and Objections
"Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel; Is not My way equal? are not your ways unequal?" (Ezek. 18:25). A convenient point has been reached when we may now examine, more definitely, some of the difficulties encountered and the objections which might be advanced against what we have written in previous pages. The author deemed it better to reserve these for a separate consideration rather than deal with them as he went along, requiring as that would have done the …
Arthur W. Pink—The Sovereignty of God

Jesus' Feet Anointed in the House of a Pharisee.
(Galilee.) ^C Luke VII. 36-50. ^c 36 And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. [We learn from verse 40 that the Pharisee's name was Simon. Because the feast at Bethany was given in the house of Simon the leper, and because Jesus was anointed there also, some have been led to think that Luke is here describing this supper. See Matt. xxvi. 6-13; Mark xiv. 3-9; John xii. 1-8. But Simon the leper was not Simon the Pharisee. The name Simon was one of the most common among the Jewish …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

In Judaea
If Galilee could boast of the beauty of its scenery and the fruitfulness of its soil; of being the mart of a busy life, and the highway of intercourse with the great world outside Palestine, Judaea would neither covet nor envy such advantages. Hers was quite another and a peculiar claim. Galilee might be the outer court, but Judaea was like the inner sanctuary of Israel. True, its landscapes were comparatively barren, its hills bare and rocky, its wilderness lonely; but around those grey limestone …
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life

Meditations of the True Manner of Practising Piety on the Sabbath-Day.
Almighty God will have himself worshipped, not only in a private manner by private persons and families, but also in a more public sort, of all the godly joined together in a visible church; that by this means he may be known not only to be the God and Lord of every Singular person, but also of the creatures of the whole universal world. Question--But why do not we Christians under the New, keep the Sabbath on the same seventh day on which it was kept under the Old Testament? I answer--Because our …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

Meditations against Despair, or Doubting of God's Mercy.
It is found by continual experience, that near the time of death, when the children of God are weakest, then Satan makes the greatest nourish of his strength, and assails them with his strongest temptations. For he knows that either he must now or never prevail; for if their souls once go to heaven, he shall never vex nor trouble them any more. And therefore he will now bestir himself as much as he can, and labour to set before their eyes all the gross sins which ever they committed, and the judgments …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

The Creation
Q-7: WHAT ARE THE DECREES OF GOD? A: The decrees of God are his eternal purpose, according to the counsel of his will, whereby, for his own glory, he has foreordained whatsoever shall come to pass. I have already spoken something concerning the decrees of God under the attribute of his immutability. God is unchangeable in his essence, and he-is unchangeable in his decrees; his counsel shall stand. He decrees the issue of all things, and carries them on to their accomplishment by his providence; I …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

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