When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
The verse describes the laying of the foundations of the earth at creation, when the world lay fair and unblemished under God's smile, and the morning stars and sons of God are the angels of the heavenly host who already existed before man was made. Their united singing and joyful shouting as they beheld God's completed work was universal rejoicing filling heaven and earth, for praise is the atmosphere of heaven. The Sabbath was instituted in Eden at that time amid their song, and is therefore as old as the world itself, resting on divine authority and not on human tradition. God's law and the first marriage were likewise ordained in Eden when the world was founded, to stand firm as God's guarded order. Those same heavenly beings sang with still deeper gladness over Christ's sacrifice bringing redemption, and their rejoicing will be fulfilled again over the renewed earth when there is no more sin and no more death.
Creation Setting in Poetry
The verse describes the laying of the foundations of the earth at creation, when angels witnessed and rejoiced with admiration over God's beautiful completed work. Above the newly created world, still fair and unblemished under God's smile, the morning stars sang together and the sons of God shouted for joy in praise. That joy greeted an earth original in beauty and complete and very good, still free from sin and death before either marred creation.
The verse belongs to a majestic poetic address in which God questions Job about creating and ordering the world. It is part of Scripture's earliest and most sublime poetry, presenting God's work as beyond human knowledge and power. The questions to which it belongs reveal deep mysteries of God in nature and the limits of human wisdom. They are not given for finite beings to answer, but to direct attention to what lies beyond human understanding.
The creation setting includes the breaking of the first day's dawn, when light answered the call of divine power amid the joy of the morning stars and the sons of God over the heavens and the earth. The laying of earth's foundation to their united song also underscores the stability of what God founded. Read alongside the creation account, the verse shows creation was God's work, not humanity's, for man was made last and could claim no part in making the world or anything living.
Angels Who Sang Together
The morning stars singing together and all the sons of God shouting for joy are angels, the heavenly host, already in existence when the foundations of the earth were laid. They were present before man was created, singing together and shouting for joy over the laying of those foundations. Since no human being had yet died when they thus rejoiced, angels cannot be the disembodied spirits of dead men.
The morning stars are the brightest and most exalted of these heavenly beings. The sons of the morning heralded Christ's glory at creation with joyful song. Those same brightest ones later announced His birth with songs of gladness.
At creation the angels worshiped Jesus as Commander of the angel hosts. As He sat upon His throne they veiled their faces before Him, cast their crowns at His feet, and sang His triumphs as they beheld His greatness. This same glorious Being who received such adoration from the heavenly throng loved poor sinners and left His station of high command to take the form of a servant, accept a life of hardship on earth, and die a death of shame to show how much God loves us.
The loyal angels rejoiced deeply when God created the world and its sinless inhabitants, shouting for joy over the creation of humanity's first parents who would inhabit it. They rejoiced over the first human beings before witnessing their fall. Their joy stands in contrast to Satan, who took no pleasure in the creation of Adam and Eve because of his pride and jealousy of Jesus.
Those shouting angels are the same angels who fought on God's side and triumphed when Satan sought supremacy in the heavenly courts. They are the same angels, the heavenly family, who witnessed the fall of man and his expulsion from his Eden home and who shouted for joy when they saw the display of God's power, goodness, and glory. Though invisible, these very heavenly messengers are now most intensely interested to work in union with the fallen, redeemed race for the salvation of human beings perishing in their sins. They cooperate with visible human agencies, employing human hands in practical ministry, and share their higher education and experience as humans unite with them.
Praise Filling Heaven and Earth
Praise with its melody is the atmosphere of heaven. When heaven comes into touch with earth there is music and song, with thanksgiving and melody. This was heard above the new-created earth as it lay fair and unblemished under the smile of God.
The morning stars sang together and all the sons of God, the heavenly host, shouted for joy over the Creator's work in making the heavens and the earth. As they contemplated and admired His beautiful, completed work their united singing and joyful shouting was a universal rejoicing filling heaven and earth. That heavenly response set the pattern followed by human hearts in sympathy with heaven, responding to God's goodness with notes of praise, so that many events of human history have been linked with song.
Sabbath Instituted at Creation
The Sabbath was instituted in Eden at creation, when the foundations of the world were laid amid the singing of the morning stars and the shouting of the sons of God. It is therefore as old as the world itself, more ancient and widespread than Sunday-keeping, bearing the sanction of angels and of God. It was ordained by no human authority and rests on no human tradition or custom, but on divine authority and God's eternal word, and for that reason it demands reverence. God created the world in six days and then rested on the seventh day, and gave that rest to the world and to the beings He had created. That giving was so that man would ever remember Him as the true and living God and remember His work as Creator.
He rested satisfied and refreshed, blessed the seventh day as His day of rest, sanctified it, set it apart as holy, and gave it to humanity to be kept holy for all time. It stands as His memorial of creation, placed in the Decalogue as the fourth commandment. When He finished creating and looked with satisfaction on the work of His hands, He pronounced all things very good, and the finished creation was met with universal rejoicing that filled heaven and earth. That rejoicing of heavenly beings over the completed work at the first Sabbath marked a world at peace and in harmony with heaven, establishing the Sabbath as a day of joy. That joy among the angels at creation is renewed now when man observes the Lord's day of rest, so keeping the Sabbath of creation causes joy among the angels of heaven again.
The Sabbath remains a continuing witness that one omnipotent Creator infinite in goodness and mercy made all things, directing minds to Him so that knowing Him gives life and peace. It is a memorial of God's love and power by which to remember Him as Creator, the only true and living God, Teacher, Redeemer, and Saviour. He is the Author of Christianity and of all truth, and the Sabbath preserves knowledge of Him and serves as a sign of loyalty to Him. It was given even in Paradise as essential for humanity's spiritual and physical health, and upholding its holiness exposes Satan's treason. Diligent investigation of vital doctrines concerning the salvation of the soul will bring glory to Him as supreme, until even judges and kings in courts of justice, parliaments, and councils acknowledge Him.
All nature bears testimony as designed for the illustration of the Word of God. Sabbath-keeping houses of worship, memorials honoring the Sabbath, and churches established by His people proclaim its holiness and bear witness to the Sabbath established in Eden. Teaching children that God created the natural world in six days, rested on the seventh, and hallowed that day proclaims its genuineness. Its setting at the laying of the earth's foundations will be vividly brought before every mind, both commandment keepers and transgressors. Although the Sabbath commemorated the completion of a good creation, God's life-giving work of upholding and sustaining creation and the universe did not cease on the Sabbath.
Law and Marriage Ordained
God's law was established when the foundations of the world were laid amid the singing of the morning stars and the shouting of the sons of God. The commandments were instituted in Eden at creation, before there was any people distinguished as Jews. They are the old commandment heard from the beginning. The Ten Commandments given then were the will of the Father in heaven, and like the heavens and the earth they are enduring. The joy of the verse belongs to that giving in Eden.
Christ made the precepts of the law known to humanity in Eden, and the harmony of the created world depends on obedience to them. The same law already governed the angelic family in heaven at creation, and the angels obeyed it then as they do now. That law given to man in Eden was afterward proclaimed in grandeur from Mount Sinai. The proclamation from Sinai with an audible voice was the same law first given at creation, restated after sin had entered the world. It was restated after the children of Israel had lost sight of the commandments during their years of bondage.
The first marriage was instituted in Eden at creation, when God's creative work was met with the song of the morning stars and the joyful shout of the sons of God. It belongs to God's original holy and sacred order of creation. At the close of the creation week, when God had finished the work of creation, He rested on the seventh day and blessed the day of His rest, and the singing and shouting for joy was the rejoicing of heavenly beings over the finished creation at the time of the first Sabbath. In that setting the Sabbath law with the marriage law was plainly defined in Eden as God's guarded order for humanity. Since the marriage institution was also made in Eden, marriage stands before people as firm and binding as the Sabbath of the fourth commandment also made in Eden. Christ came to restore marriage to its original sanctity and elevation.
Redemption and Renewed Earth
The same heavenly beings who sang together with joy when the earth was founded sang with still deeper gladness when they understood that the sacrifice of Christ would bring redemption and a renewed world where sin and sinners would be gone forever. Their song and shout over the redemption of the world surpasses even the joy of the new creation.
That scene of heavenly rejoicing also pictures the future happiness and unity of the redeemed, who praise God in a world without sin or death. It will be fulfilled again over the renewed earth after the final conflict is over and the earth is restored. The joy known at creation will be repeated at the end of the great conflict after the battle has been fought and the victory won, when the kingdom of peace and joy and everlasting righteousness is established. Then the morning stars will again sing together and the sons of God will again shout for joy over the saved world restored.
In that restored world the will of God is done on earth as in heaven and the nations own no other law than the law of heaven. All will be a happy, united family clothed in Christ's righteousness and clothed with praise and thanksgiving. All nature in surpassing loveliness will offer praise and adoration to God. The world will be bathed in the light of heaven in light and beauty, with greatly increased light, the light of the moon as the light of the sun and the light of the sun sevenfold greater, and the years moving on in gladness. God and Christ will unite in proclaiming that there shall be no more sin and no more death, while the morning stars singing together and the sons of God shouting for joy celebrate that victory.
When the earth is purified from sin it will be restored to its original loveliness and become the home of the saints. Then God's renewed creation will be filled with heaven's light and beauty and with praise and joy.
The verse describes the laying of the foundations of the earth at creation, when the world lay fair and unblemished under God's smile, and the morning stars and sons of God are the angels of the heavenly host who already existed before man was made. Their united singing and joyful shouting as they beheld God's completed work was universal rejoicing filling heaven and earth, for praise is the atmosphere of heaven. The Sabbath was instituted in Eden at that time amid their song, and is therefore as old as the world itself, resting on divine authority and not on human tradition. God's law and the first marriage were likewise ordained in Eden when the world was founded, to stand firm as God's guarded order. Those same heavenly beings sang with still deeper gladness over Christ's sacrifice bringing redemption, and their rejoicing will be fulfilled again over the renewed earth when there is no more sin and no more death.
Creation Setting in Poetry
The verse describes the laying of the foundations of the earth at creation, when angels witnessed and rejoiced with admiration over God's beautiful completed work. Above the newly created world, still fair and unblemished under God's smile, the morning stars sang together and the sons of God shouted for joy in praise. That joy greeted an earth original in beauty and complete and very good, still free from sin and death before either marred creation.
The verse belongs to a majestic poetic address in which God questions Job about creating and ordering the world. It is part of Scripture's earliest and most sublime poetry, presenting God's work as beyond human knowledge and power. The questions to which it belongs reveal deep mysteries of God in nature and the limits of human wisdom. They are not given for finite beings to answer, but to direct attention to what lies beyond human understanding.
The creation setting includes the breaking of the first day's dawn, when light answered the call of divine power amid the joy of the morning stars and the sons of God over the heavens and the earth. The laying of earth's foundation to their united song also underscores the stability of what God founded. Read alongside the creation account, the verse shows creation was God's work, not humanity's, for man was made last and could claim no part in making the world or anything living.
Angels Who Sang Together
The morning stars singing together and all the sons of God shouting for joy are angels, the heavenly host, already in existence when the foundations of the earth were laid. They were present before man was created, singing together and shouting for joy over the laying of those foundations. Since no human being had yet died when they thus rejoiced, angels cannot be the disembodied spirits of dead men.
The morning stars are the brightest and most exalted of these heavenly beings. The sons of the morning heralded Christ's glory at creation with joyful song. Those same brightest ones later announced His birth with songs of gladness.
At creation the angels worshiped Jesus as Commander of the angel hosts. As He sat upon His throne they veiled their faces before Him, cast their crowns at His feet, and sang His triumphs as they beheld His greatness. This same glorious Being who received such adoration from the heavenly throng loved poor sinners and left His station of high command to take the form of a servant, accept a life of hardship on earth, and die a death of shame to show how much God loves us.
The loyal angels rejoiced deeply when God created the world and its sinless inhabitants, shouting for joy over the creation of humanity's first parents who would inhabit it. They rejoiced over the first human beings before witnessing their fall. Their joy stands in contrast to Satan, who took no pleasure in the creation of Adam and Eve because of his pride and jealousy of Jesus.
Those shouting angels are the same angels who fought on God's side and triumphed when Satan sought supremacy in the heavenly courts. They are the same angels, the heavenly family, who witnessed the fall of man and his expulsion from his Eden home and who shouted for joy when they saw the display of God's power, goodness, and glory. Though invisible, these very heavenly messengers are now most intensely interested to work in union with the fallen, redeemed race for the salvation of human beings perishing in their sins. They cooperate with visible human agencies, employing human hands in practical ministry, and share their higher education and experience as humans unite with them.
Praise Filling Heaven and Earth
Praise with its melody is the atmosphere of heaven. When heaven comes into touch with earth there is music and song, with thanksgiving and melody. This was heard above the new-created earth as it lay fair and unblemished under the smile of God.
The morning stars sang together and all the sons of God, the heavenly host, shouted for joy over the Creator's work in making the heavens and the earth. As they contemplated and admired His beautiful, completed work their united singing and joyful shouting was a universal rejoicing filling heaven and earth. That heavenly response set the pattern followed by human hearts in sympathy with heaven, responding to God's goodness with notes of praise, so that many events of human history have been linked with song.
Sabbath Instituted at Creation
The Sabbath was instituted in Eden at creation, when the foundations of the world were laid amid the singing of the morning stars and the shouting of the sons of God. It is therefore as old as the world itself, more ancient and widespread than Sunday-keeping, bearing the sanction of angels and of God. It was ordained by no human authority and rests on no human tradition or custom, but on divine authority and God's eternal word, and for that reason it demands reverence. God created the world in six days and then rested on the seventh day, and gave that rest to the world and to the beings He had created. That giving was so that man would ever remember Him as the true and living God and remember His work as Creator.
He rested satisfied and refreshed, blessed the seventh day as His day of rest, sanctified it, set it apart as holy, and gave it to humanity to be kept holy for all time. It stands as His memorial of creation, placed in the Decalogue as the fourth commandment. When He finished creating and looked with satisfaction on the work of His hands, He pronounced all things very good, and the finished creation was met with universal rejoicing that filled heaven and earth. That rejoicing of heavenly beings over the completed work at the first Sabbath marked a world at peace and in harmony with heaven, establishing the Sabbath as a day of joy. That joy among the angels at creation is renewed now when man observes the Lord's day of rest, so keeping the Sabbath of creation causes joy among the angels of heaven again.
The Sabbath remains a continuing witness that one omnipotent Creator infinite in goodness and mercy made all things, directing minds to Him so that knowing Him gives life and peace. It is a memorial of God's love and power by which to remember Him as Creator, the only true and living God, Teacher, Redeemer, and Saviour. He is the Author of Christianity and of all truth, and the Sabbath preserves knowledge of Him and serves as a sign of loyalty to Him. It was given even in Paradise as essential for humanity's spiritual and physical health, and upholding its holiness exposes Satan's treason. Diligent investigation of vital doctrines concerning the salvation of the soul will bring glory to Him as supreme, until even judges and kings in courts of justice, parliaments, and councils acknowledge Him.
All nature bears testimony as designed for the illustration of the Word of God. Sabbath-keeping houses of worship, memorials honoring the Sabbath, and churches established by His people proclaim its holiness and bear witness to the Sabbath established in Eden. Teaching children that God created the natural world in six days, rested on the seventh, and hallowed that day proclaims its genuineness. Its setting at the laying of the earth's foundations will be vividly brought before every mind, both commandment keepers and transgressors. Although the Sabbath commemorated the completion of a good creation, God's life-giving work of upholding and sustaining creation and the universe did not cease on the Sabbath.
Law and Marriage Ordained
God's law was established when the foundations of the world were laid amid the singing of the morning stars and the shouting of the sons of God. The commandments were instituted in Eden at creation, before there was any people distinguished as Jews. They are the old commandment heard from the beginning. The Ten Commandments given then were the will of the Father in heaven, and like the heavens and the earth they are enduring. The joy of the verse belongs to that giving in Eden.
Christ made the precepts of the law known to humanity in Eden, and the harmony of the created world depends on obedience to them. The same law already governed the angelic family in heaven at creation, and the angels obeyed it then as they do now. That law given to man in Eden was afterward proclaimed in grandeur from Mount Sinai. The proclamation from Sinai with an audible voice was the same law first given at creation, restated after sin had entered the world. It was restated after the children of Israel had lost sight of the commandments during their years of bondage.
The first marriage was instituted in Eden at creation, when God's creative work was met with the song of the morning stars and the joyful shout of the sons of God. It belongs to God's original holy and sacred order of creation. At the close of the creation week, when God had finished the work of creation, He rested on the seventh day and blessed the day of His rest, and the singing and shouting for joy was the rejoicing of heavenly beings over the finished creation at the time of the first Sabbath. In that setting the Sabbath law with the marriage law was plainly defined in Eden as God's guarded order for humanity. Since the marriage institution was also made in Eden, marriage stands before people as firm and binding as the Sabbath of the fourth commandment also made in Eden. Christ came to restore marriage to its original sanctity and elevation.
Redemption and Renewed Earth
The same heavenly beings who sang together with joy when the earth was founded sang with still deeper gladness when they understood that the sacrifice of Christ would bring redemption and a renewed world where sin and sinners would be gone forever. Their song and shout over the redemption of the world surpasses even the joy of the new creation.
That scene of heavenly rejoicing also pictures the future happiness and unity of the redeemed, who praise God in a world without sin or death. It will be fulfilled again over the renewed earth after the final conflict is over and the earth is restored. The joy known at creation will be repeated at the end of the great conflict after the battle has been fought and the victory won, when the kingdom of peace and joy and everlasting righteousness is established. Then the morning stars will again sing together and the sons of God will again shout for joy over the saved world restored.
In that restored world the will of God is done on earth as in heaven and the nations own no other law than the law of heaven. All will be a happy, united family clothed in Christ's righteousness and clothed with praise and thanksgiving. All nature in surpassing loveliness will offer praise and adoration to God. The world will be bathed in the light of heaven in light and beauty, with greatly increased light, the light of the moon as the light of the sun and the light of the sun sevenfold greater, and the years moving on in gladness. God and Christ will unite in proclaiming that there shall be no more sin and no more death, while the morning stars singing together and the sons of God shouting for joy celebrate that victory.
When the earth is purified from sin it will be restored to its original loveliness and become the home of the saints. Then God's renewed creation will be filled with heaven's light and beauty and with praise and joy.