In the verses leading up to these, Lehi has been carried away in a vision. He has been told to read a book and as he does he is filled with the spirit.
The first thing it talks about him reading is "Wo, wo, unto Jerusalem, for I have seen thine abominations!" That is 2 wo's and an exclamation point at the end. Pretty serious. Lehi spent all his days in Jerusalem and now it is going to be destroyed. Many people who Lehi probably knew were going to "perish and be carried away captive into Babylon."
Two verses later in 15 we read that "his soul did rejoice, and his whole heart was filled..." So now, what exactly did Lehi read or see that made him so happy even though his home town was destined for destruction.
Verse 14 mentions him reading and seeing "many great and marvelous things." We are not told what all those many things were. We know from verse 13 that he read of Jerusalem's coming destruction. That would likely cause Lehi's heart to sorrow, not to rejoice.
At the end of verse 14 we have an indication of what would cause Lehi to rejoice despite the apparent bad news from the previous verse. Lehi praises God saying, "and, because thou art merciful, thou wilt not suffer those who come unto thee that they shall perish!" Another exclamation point. That is the good news of the Gospel. That is what can bring peace and joy to the heart.
We are like Jerusalem sometimes. The Lord sees our abominations and knows when we are on the way to perishing spiritually, and being carried off into Babylon (worldliness and sin). Yet, the Lord won't let us perish if we come to him. He won't allow it. We just need to come unto him.
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