Joy to the World

 

From the Pastor:

Psalm 98

A Psalm.

Oh, sing to the LORD a new song!

For He has done marvelous things;

His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory.

The LORD has made known His salvation;

His righteousness He has revealed in the sight of the nations.

He has remembered His mercy and His faithfulness to the house of Israel;

All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth;

Break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises.

Sing to the LORD with the harp,

With the harp and the sound of a psalm,

With trumpets and the sound of a horn;

Shout joyfully before the LORD, the King.

Let the sea roar, and all its fullness,

The world and those who dwell in it;

Let the rivers clap their hands;

Let the hills be joyful together before the LORD,

For He is coming to judge the earth.

With righteousness He shall judge the world,

And the peoples with equity.

 

The Psalm above was the main the text used by Isaac Watts when he penned his famous hymn, “Joy to the World.” A hymn celebrating the coming of the one true King of the nations. We mostly associate this hymn with the Christmas season, but that is not believed to be Watts’s original intent. However, the hymn certainly strikes the right tone and tenor when we think of the Christmas season and the hope, joy, and love that the coming of Christ stirs us in the hearts of those who know him to be their savior and Lord. From the very first verse of his hymn, Watts states that “Let every heart prepare Him room.” In other words, it is the duty of all men and women and everywhere to submit their hearts to the Lordship of Christ because He alone posses the authority to sit on the throne of our hearts. Christ is the one and only King, and it is the obligation of all men to receive him as such. From there Watts also follows the Psalmist in prompting us to sing with joy the amazing revelation of the coming of the King. We should indeed celebrate that Christ has come, and not only in this season, but in all seasons. That’s why the third verse of Watts’s great hymn is probably my favorite…

No more let sins and sorrows grow,

Nor thorns infest the ground;

He comes to make His blessings flow

Far as the curse is found,

Far as the curse is found,

Far as, far as the curse is found.

Why is it that Christ should be celebrated and praised as our one true King? Because He alone has removed the curse that condemned sinners from the very moment our first parents fell in the Garden. Christ came and became a curse for us, so that the effects of the fall could be overcome, and one day the results of the curse will be totally reversed. When Christ comes again He will not only our fleshly bodies, but He will also renew the earth and everything in it. Nor more will the creation suffer from sins reign. Christ will rule and reign on the new earth as all peoples from every tribe, tongue, and nation sing praises of joy and adoration to the King.