JOY To the World - A King To Come

Preliminary:

Invite to: Psalm 98

We have been exploring and discovering the different aspects of Advent

Waiting, Expectancy Hope

Peace

Today I want to talk to you about JOY

While really don’t know what prompted the Psalmist to write Psalm 98, no doubt a deliverance of some sort - but Psalm 98 is a great beginning place to explore Joy

Lets read it:

Psalm 98 KJV 1900

A Psalm. 1 O sing unto the Lord a new song; For he hath done marvellous things: His right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory. 2 The Lord hath made known his salvation: His righteousness hath he openly shewed in the sight of the heathen. 3 He hath remembered his mercy and his truth toward the house of Israel: All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. 4 Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: Make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise. 5 Sing unto the Lord with the harp; With the harp, and the voice of a psalm. 6 With trumpets and sound of cornet Make a joyful noise before the Lord, the King. 7 Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof; The world, and they that dwell therein. 8 Let the floods clap their hands: Let the hills be joyful together 9 Before the Lord; for he cometh to judge the earth: With righteousness shall he judge the world, And the people with equity.

Introduction:

Most of us regularly lose things: keys, wallets, remotes, glasses, and phones.

Some of us are more prone to misplacing things than others. It’s not surprising that men are twice as likely to lose their phones than women.

One study concluded that the average person misplaces nine things a day and spends an average of fifteen minutes looking for lost items.

Why does this happen? What is the psychology and science behind it?

It comes down to a breakdown of attention and memory.

When we misplace our belongings, "we fail to activate the part of our brain responsible for encoding what we're doing."

The hippocampus part of our brain is responsible for taking a snapshot and preserving the memory in a set of neurons that can be activated later.

We lose things when we do not have a clear reference point of when or where we put down objects like our keys or glasses.

One of the ways we can improve our memory is through practicing mindfulness. We do this by stepping back and calming our thoughts, focusing on being present in the moment.

I probably don’t have to tell you, though, We can lose more than our physical possession!

We can easily misplace joy.

Advent is a season where we can refocus and become mindful of what we have received in Christ's coming.

Ryan Fan, “Why Do I Always Lose Things?” Medium (7-19-20)

The Psalmist introduces us to joy in the first verse:

Now he does it slyly

Somewhat as Chesterton says, ‘Joy, which was the small publicity of the pagans, is the gigantic secret of the Christian’.

Castleman, R. (2005). The Last Word: Joy, the Gigantic Secret. Themelios, 30(3), 74.

In fact it was this Psalm (Psalm 98) that inspired Isaac Watts in 1719 to pen that tremendous Christmas Carol - probably the one we sing the most here - JOY TO THE WORLD!

Watts wrote Joy to the World! as the second part of a two-part rendition of Psalm 98 and it celebrates God’s saving work.

We have a tendency to have tunnel vision - we only see our little world and our problems, heartaches, pains, troubles, sorrows, stress, anxiety, sadness, sickness - you fill in the blank with whatever I may have missed

But it is partly due to this tunnel vision - that our joy is misplaced.

We have a hook by our back door - where theorotically we hang our keys as soon as we come in from wherever we have been.

But sometimes in our chaos of getting in, putting the groceries away, or whatever urgent need is there - that the keys get set on the table, put on the counter, tossed on the couch, or even at times left in the door.

Can I draw the parallel for you - that we have a place in our heart and life for joy - but we let so many other things take its place on the hook of our heart.

Watt’s penned “Joy to the World!” during a time of persecution for his family’s branch of the faith. He was a Nonconformist (They were members of a Protestant church in England that dissented from the established Anglican Church - Church of England) they suffered hardship and loss of income and status.

But still instead of hanging discouragement, bitterness, self-pity, on that hook -

Watts didn’t let his “Joy” be misplaced. In fact he attempted to spread it by

“Making a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth:”

Chesterton wrote that “Man is more himself, man is more manlike, when joy is the fundamental thing in him, and grief the superficial. Melancholy should be an innocent interlude…praise should be the permanent pulsation of the soul.” Orthodoxy

While I know pain, grief, sickness is real and I would never want to speak of them flippantly - realize they are not the last words

If we are in Christ we have access to the greatest joy in the world

Joy is listed second in the fruit of the Spirit. Gal 5:22-23 The Old Testament writer said - “With joy shall ye draw from the wells of salvation”

The Psalmist prays - “Restore unto me the joy of salvation”

We find Joy sprinkled all through the Christmas story:

JOY WAS COME TO THE WORLD.

1. The angels rejoiced at His coming; Luke 2:13, 14.

2. The shepherds rejoiced at His coming; Luke 2:20

3. Simeon rejoiced at His coming; Luke 2:28–32.

Preach the Word (7. Christmas: What the Birth of Christ Means to Mankind (Galatians 4:4))

But even that time was a dark and dismal time for the Jewish nation - and in that darkness the Joy of the Lord - which is our strength - burst through in the glorious gospel of a babe in a manger.

It is in times of uncertainty that songs of joy are most needed.  During the second World War, American corporations were challenged to produce goods that the military deemed critical…or close their doors.  Metal, for instance, was needed to make guns, tanks, and artillery, so the manufacture of less essential items—like musical instruments—was halted.   Piano makers Steinway & Sons had to choose to help the war effort or shut down. Steinway, for the good of the country, decided to manufacture parts for troop transport gliders. Eventually the US Military saw a deficiency that needed attention and granted Steinway a contract to make heavy-duty military pianos. Steinway’s workers designed a small upright piano, 40 inches wide and weighing 455 pounds. It was light enough to be carried by just a few soldiers with only a tenth of the metal used in a typical piano. These novel instruments were packed into wooden boxes and dropped by parachute.

An estimated 2,500 “Victory Verticals” were delivered to soldiers fighting on three continents.  And why?

Singing is critical for victory.

Whether by the Red Sea (Exodus 15:1-21),

on a perilous biblical battlefield (2 Chronicles 20:21-23),

or in a Jerusalem dungeon (Acts 16:25),

songs of praise—like “Joy to the World!”—have enabled the faithful to focus on the greatness of God, providing the uplift necessary for holy resolve regardless of the daunting challenges believers have faced.  (https://www.victoryvertical.com/contact-me-to-schedule-a-concert)

Dr. Matt Friedeman said, “People of faith have always known it and Psalm 98 (and a lot of other Psalms of praise) prove it—we sing for joy because of the God who sings to us from Scripture. “

We may never have the privilege of writing such an impactful hymn as Joy to the World but we do have the privilege of having joy and spreading that joy every where we go - even in the midst of a crazy Christmas season, busy lives, don’t loose sight - don’t forget where its at

Joy is come because Christ is come

Come to the world

Come into your heart

Because of that:

Make a joyful noise unto the Lord

Let your joy find an outlet in your life