Christmas in church is not Christmas without singing Joy to the World at least once. Few carols are as popular, yet none is as misunderstood.
In fact, Joy to the World is not a Christmas carol at all.
Isaac Watts, a pastor in London, was meditating one day on Psalm 98. Watts was tired of Psalms being sung in a repetitive manner without any indication of spiritual enthusiasm, and he felt inspired to write a new hymn based on this Psalm. And so Joy to the World was born.
It had nothing at all to do with Christmas. It’s actually about the Lord’s return. Read the words carefully and you’ll see:
Joy to the world, the Lord is come;
Let earth receive her King….
No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessing flow
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…
As a Reformed pastor who wanted nothing to do with the established church or its liturgical year, Watts probably had little time for any special observance of Christmas. And this has a lesson for us.
Christmas has little meaning unless it is viewed through the lens of Calvary. The manger without the cross is nothing but religious sentimentality.
The manger will never cause offence. The cross often causes little but offence. The manger comes across as a nice story. It is at the cross that the sinfulness and rebellion of humanity is judged and redeemed.
And this plan of salvation is completed at Jesus’ return. We must proclaim the return of the Lord as an integral part of the gospel message, as Paul told the Athenians in his evangelistic address: “He has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness.”
It is an enormous grief to me that Christians get so caught up in fruitless self-serving speculation about the Lord’s return. We spend far more time analyzing news reports from the middle east than we do telling our unbelieving friends, neighbours and co-workers about what his coming back means for them.
It’s wonderful to sing Joy to the World as a carol. Christmas would hardly be Christmas without it. But when we do it next year, let’s take time to explain what the hymn really means.
Contrary to the Left Behind mythology, the last book of the Bible tells us relatively little about what to expect as signs of Jesus’ return. Jesus himself said no one would know the day or the hour. But it says a lot about the fact that he is returning, and what will happen as a result.
Joy to the world, the Lord is come;
Let earth receive her King.
A blessed Christmas to you all.
CONSIDER PARTNERING WITH DAVID & ELAINE CAMPBELL IN HELPING TO SUSTAIN THEIR ACTIVE MINISTRY.
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Foundation of Faith Project is strengthening generations in faith and bringing beautiful changes to the communities around them. Through teaching, mentoring and coaching, many are finding out who they are and who they are destined to be. They are bringing more to their world. David Campbell is the key leader in this initiative and you can support him financially directly through Awakening Ministries.
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