Joy (Joy to the World)
Notes
Transcript
Introduction: The following information comes from an on-line source called hymnary.org.
In Psalm 98, all of creation is called upon to make a joyful noise before God, for the Lord has come to “judge the earth,” and restore His Creation. We should not fail to see our own hand at work in the destruction of creation, in our sins of waste and decadence. This “judgment of the earth” is, in some part, a judgment of us as caretakers. But God is merciful and full of grace, and rather than leave everything in our hands, He gives us the Life-giver. In this beautiful hymn, Isaac Watts makes the connection between the coming of Christ into this world and the beginning of that restoration. Christ brings “joy to the world,” a light where there is darkness, growth where there is decay. And we, along with all Creation, respond with a song of praise.
Here’s information about the Text:
Surprisingly, this hymn was not written for Christmas. Rather, Isaac Watts wrote the hymn as a paraphrase of the last five verses in Psalm 98 for his 1719 publication, The Psalms of David Imitated. In this hymnal, Watts rewrites many of the psalms using a Christological lens. His versification of Psalm 98 is no different. Verse nine of the psalm reads, “…let them sing before the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity.” Watts unapologetically interprets this as a reference to Christ. The theme of “Christ coming” made it an apt hymn to be sung at Christmastime, and it has since become one of the most beloved Christmas carols.
Albert Bailey writes, “It is one of the most joyous Christmas hymns in existence; not in the sense of merry-making but in the deep and solemn realization of what Christ’s birth has meant to mankind”. Watt’s text has almost been left untouched by editors, with one exception. The line “far as the curse is found” is left out of many hymnals, since there is no reference to this “curse” in the actual psalm. However, when seen through the eyes of the New Testament and Gospel message, the reference to Genesis 3:17-18 becomes quite clear.
Here’s information about the Tune:
There are multiple theories as to where this melody came from. Some believe that Lowell Mason was the arranger; others believe he only changed four notes of an existing tune. What is quite clear, however, is that the tune, ANTIOCH, is derived from various melodies found within Handel’s Messiah. The opening phrase sounds like “Glory to God,” and the last four measures, with the text “heaven and nature sing,” sound like the beginning of “Comfort ye my people.” The tune is thus often attributed to Handel, with Mason as the arranger and combiner of text and tune.
Now let’s sing The Carol together: Congregation will sing.
Joy to the world! the Lord is come;
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare him room,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven, and heaven, and nature sing.
Joy to the earth! the Savior reigns;
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat the sounding joy.
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.
He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders, wonders, of His love.
Transitional Sentence: So what theology is hidden in this hymn?
Verse 1:
Joy to the world! the Lord is come;
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare him room,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven, and heaven, and nature sing.
Line 1 says: Joy to the world! the Lord is come;
This line is proclaiming two truths. Joy has come into the world and the Lord has come into the world.
Joy…
Joy is closely related to gladness and happiness, although joy is more a state of being than an emotion; a result of choice. One of the fruits of the spirit. Having joy is part of the experience of being a Christian.
The world…
Lexham Theological Wordbook World or Cosmos
The world refers to the place created by God to host the rest of God’s creation. The cosmos is the universe, the totality of all things. The world is the earthly realm—as distinguished from heaven—on which all of humanity inhabits and exists.
Because the Lord has come into the world, we can experience joy. The world can experience something that was lost when mankind fell from grace. Because the Lord stepped down from heaven and came into this earthly realm we can experience true joy. Joy that goes beyond emotional happiness. Joy that can be experienced no matter what is happening in our lives. This Joy, as a fruit of the spirit is permanent, unlike the emotion of happiness which is fleeting and based on how we feel from moment to moment.
Joy has come into the world because He gives us joy. John 15:11 says:
11 “These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.
His joy is complete. When you know Him you will have His joy in you. So live in the joy that He provides.
Line 2 says: Let earth receive her King
For the earth to receive her king, people must accept and surrender to Jesus Christ as their rightful ruler, both personally and spiritually. People must embrace his teachings, trust Him to lead their lives and acknowledge Him as the supreme authority who will eventually reign physically on earth. It involves making a conscious choice to submit to God’s will and allow him to rule in one’s heart.
To receive Him there must be acceptance and surrender. Every person must open the door of their heart and let Him enter.
20 ‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.
He’s knocking. Open the door and let Him in. There’s no one better to dine with then the Prince of Peace and King of Kings. He’ll even provide the banquet.
Line 3 says: Let every heart prepare him room
Jewish homes, especially in the 1st century had an upper room. Often it was the upper story of the house and was used for gatherings, guest quarters or prayer. The most famous upper room is the one where Jesus and His disciples partook of the passover feast which we know of as the last supper. To prepare room for him then would have meant to prepare the upper room of your own home for him to stay in.
To prepare room for Him now you need to open your heart. You can give Him a little bit of it, while hanging on to the rest, or you can let go of all of it and let Him have control. So don’t just prepare the upper room for Him. Prepare the whole place. Oh yeah, don’t worry about cleaning, He’s got a guy, the Holy Spirit who does a good job of cleaning house - if you let Him.
Line 4, 5 and 6 says: And heaven and nature sing, X2, And heaven, and heaven, and nature sing
Heaven sings because the angels sing. Heaven sings because the joy of the Lord fills heaven in it’s entirety.
And Nature sings because it knows God’s glory? God’s invisible attributes are His fingerprints all over creation. Paul expressed this idea in his letter to the Romans.
20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.
What about you? Are you going to sing along? Are you going to sing His praises?
Verse 2:
Joy to the earth! the Savior reigns;
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat the sounding joy.
Line 1 says: Joy to the earth! the Savior reigns;
Now we are singing for the Earth to experience joy where as in the last verse it was for the world to experience joy. So what’s the difference? Generally the word World is used to describe the people and systems that occupy the earth. People have a lot of systems, our systems of government, our system of casts that put people in different boxes and our systems of religion that can either enslave people or free people. The word Earth generally correlates to the natural.
And the Savior reigns! Acts 5:30-32 says:
30 “The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a cross.
31 “He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.
32 “And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.”
Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father as a Prince, a position of power and authority. He has the authority to grant repentance and forgiveness of sins. He is the Savior. He purchased us with His blood and can save us from sin and death. Turn to Him, for there is no other name under the sun by which to be saved.
Line 2 says: Let men their songs employ
To employ something in this way is to use it? So this line is encouraging us to use songs and music for God’s glory. We have a hymnal full of songs that we can employ. But not only that there are literally thousands of songs available that glorify God. Traditional hymns, contemporary, rock, bluegrass, country and what ever kind you might like.
Those songs can be used to glorify God, teach doctrine, encourage hearts, strengthen resolve and lead people into all righteousness. They can even strengthen a calling on one’s life or send someone on a whole new walk with God that ends in a foreign country. So don’t under estimate the power of a song.
Line 3 says: While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains
This is the earth, this is nature. They do what they were created to do and they repeat the sounding joy.
Line 4, 5 and 6 says: Repeat the sounding joy, X2, Repeat, repeat the sounding joy
All of nature cries out for the return of the King. It cries out and worships the creator in their own way. In a way that too many of us are unable to see or hear. But Jesus Himself said that in the absence of mankind’s worship, creation, will worship or cry out in such a way as to make us hear.
40 But Jesus answered, “I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!”
These were the people crying out “BLESSED IS THE KING WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD;
Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” If they didn’t cry out the stones would.
Verse 3:
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.
Line 1 says: No more let sins and sorrows grow
Sins grow. They go from bad to worse. The darkness grows deeper within the hearts of men. As the sins grow worse the sins become right and acceptable while truth and holiness become wrong. Romans 1:24-25 says:
24 Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them.
25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
As sin grows, Sorrow grows. The deeper the darkness and distance from God the greater the pain and sorrow. Can you see it all around you? Before Jesus came into my life I couldn’t see it and my own pain and sorrow was pretty strong although I didn’t realize it, until, it was washed away by the blood of Jesus. Now I can see and feel others pain and sorrow.
The mess that we make of our lives and the world is pretty great when we don’t know Jesus. But it all changes when we do.
Line 2 says: Nor thorns infest the ground;
The infestation of the ground with thorns and thistles is a product of the curse because Adam and Eve ate the fruit which God told them not to eat.
17 Then to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it; Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it All the days of your life.”
18 “Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you will eat the plants of the field;
19 By the sweat of your face You will eat bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return.”
Before the fall, man could look up, he could pull the produce of the plants provided by God and eat. He lived in harmony with his surroundings and could walk with God in fellowship.
Now we toil and work for what we need. Digging in the dirt and working for our daily bread requires us to look down. It requires us to contend with the earth. It draws us away from God and we no longer live in harmony with creation or walk with God in fellowship.
Line 3 says: He comes to make His blessings flow
But God made a way. Jesus’ death on the cross and the power of His blood brings great blessings. His blessings overshadow and push away the curse, the sins and sorrows. His blessings flow freely over all those who call upon His name. His blessings flow over all who believe just as His blood flowed over the cross and soaked the ground.
Line 4, 5 and 6 says: Far as the curse is found, X2, Far as, far as, the curse is found
His blessings go as far as the curse is found. The curse is found everywhere. From the hearts of man to the very ends of the earth. Nothing was left untouched by the curse and nothing is left untouchable by His blessings. There is no sin or sorrow to great for the healing power of Jesus to overcome. So no matter what you have done or how far away from God you believe you have traveled you haven’t gone far enough to exceed His reach.
Verse 4:
He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders, wonders, of His love.
Line 1 says: He rules the world with truth and grace
John 1:17 says:
17 For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.
He is the King of Kings and is seated at the right hand of God. He rules with two of His greatest attributes! Truth and Grace.
Truth being conformity to reality or actuality; often with the implication of dependability. His word is truth, His actions are truth, He cannot lie.
Grace is goodwill freely disseminated by God; especially to the benefit of the recipient regardless of the benefit accrued to the disseminator. In short it means you get something you don’t deserve. Like forgiveness of sins and eternal life instead of what you do deserve which is condemnation and eternal separation from God.
Line 2 says: And makes the nations prove
In this instance to “prove” means to test and witness something, similar to a proving ground. Ultimately all people will face and recognize God’s grace and righteousness. Christ’s salvation and the wonders of his love are not just for one group but are meant for the entire world. It suggests that every nation will, in some way, have to confront and acknowledge these divine attributes, with joy or rejection.
9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name,
10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Do you know the story about Nebuchadnezzar? He put up a 60 foot tall statue of himself and made everyone bow before it. Well, when it comes time every knee shall bow and every tongue will confess Jesus as Lord.
Line 3 says: The glories of His righteousness,
Pocket Dictionary of Theological Terms Righteousness
Righteousness is an attribute of God’s being; God’s right and just character, actions and judgments. God’s righteousness as understood in a covenantal context includes God’s right judgment of both God’s own people and those who oppress them, as well as God’s salvation and mercy extended to those to whom the covenanting God has promised to be faithful
This is what the nations will prove. This refers to the magnificence of God’s perfect justice, moral perfection, and truth. Through the work of Jesus Christ God’s righteousness is known to all nations, compelling them to acknowledge his character and love.
Line 4,5 and 6 says: And wonders of His love, X2, And wonders, wonders, of His love.
There are many wonders associated with God’s attributes. One of His attributes is His righteousness and another is His love.
The wonders of God’s Love are His greatest. So much so, that God is described as Love.
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
8 The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
One wonder is how His Love is manifested in His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. A second wonder of His love is that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him will have eternal life. A third wonder of His love is that He raised His only begotten Son from the dead and seated Him at His right hand with power and great glory.
Exit: In Genesis 3, one of the great tragedies in all of Scripture occurs. Adam and Eve sin against God, and are banished from the garden as God puts a curse upon the ground. It is a heartbreaking rupture in God’s perfect creation, and it is hard not to read this story without feeling a twinge of despair. And yet, before the curse comes a promise. God declares that the woman shall bear offspring that will crush the head of the serpent. Jesus, the Son of Man and Son of God, will come to break the curse, to renew the creation, to make whole what is now broken.
That which is broken in you can be made new through faith in Jesus Christ. That faith brings reconciliation and peace with God. That peace allows you to have hope that God’s promises that have not yet been accomplished will be. Through Jesus Christ we have joy to carry us through the rest of our days as we walk in step with Him and seek to do His will.
The joy we have through Jesus is like a life ring. When we are sinking and going under from the trials and troubles of this life we will have something to hang onto so that we don’t go under. Hold on to your Joy.
Here’s a quote from D.L. Moody on the subject of joy:
Happiness is caused by things that happen around me, and circumstances will mar it; but joy flows right on through trouble; joy flows on through the day; joy flows in the night as well as in the day; joy flows through persecution and opposition. It is an unceasing fountain bubbling up in the heart; a secret spring the world can’t see and doesn’t know anything about. The Lord gives his people perpetual joy when they walk in obedience to him.
Dwight Lyman (D.L.) Moody
Seek to be happy because of what is going on in your life, but when the tough times come remember that it is joy that will flow through the trouble - from one day to the next. This hymn is a reminder that joy is in the world. It is a reminder that He brought joy into the world and gave it to us so that our joy may be made complete. Let the joy fill you and carry you through this holiday season and into the new year.
And remember Jesus has never failed you and He never will. He will prove Himself faithful every day, so you can count it all joy when you run into trouble and count it all good when the bad days come. He is always working, and He still isn’t done so lift your praise through the trial and don’t let a storm stop your voice.
Count it all joy.
Pray:
