Joy to the World

“Joy to the world, the Lord has come!” This Christmas carol is very familiar to the peoples of the English speaking world. In fact it is the most published Christmas carol in North America. Most of us have sung the words of this familiar tune every Christmas season of our lives. Its melody and its direct, poetic simplicity is so beautiful and rich with meaning. The stanzas are simple and contain repeated refrains making it easy to memorize. This beautiful Christmas carol expresses the real, ineffable joy that the birth of Jesus brings to our hearts and minds at this holy time of the year.

A little history behind this carol might be helpful here. The lyrics were written by an English minister and writer by the name of Isaac Watts. The words were inspired by his reading of Psalm 98, “Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth;/ break into song; sing praise…Before the Lord who comes,/ who comes to govern the earth,/ To govern the world with justice/ and the peoples with fairness” (vs. 4 & 9). While it has become a familiar Christmas carol, Watts actually had the Second Coming of our Lord in mind when he penned these words. And that coming we are also to prepare for by living our lives in joyful anticipation in accord with his will.

Joy to the world, the Lord has come! And what greater joy can there be than this? With the birth of Jesus, we can sing like Mary did, pregnant with Jesus, on her visitation to her cousin Elizabeth’s house, “My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my savior…for He has remembered his promise of mercy, the promise that he made to our fathers, to Abraham and his children, forever” (Lk. 1:46 & 55). And we can sing like Zechariah did, too, when his newborn son was brought to the Temple and named, John: “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has come to his people and set them free. He has raised up for us a mighty savior born of the house of his servant David” (Lk 1: 68-70). Yes! Joy to the world, our savior has come!

We sing again and again each Christmas with great joy, for Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, the only begotten Son of God came down into his creation, taking on human flesh in the womb of Mary and in doing so lifted our humanity up to its proper and infinite dignity. Yes! Joy to the World, the Lord has Come…And will come again! We are challenged every day of our lives to live in joyful anticipation, to prepare the way for him to enter into our hearts, just as he entered into Mary’s womb. Like her, we, too, need to respond to him just as Mary did to God’s Messenger, Gabriel, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord, may it be done to me according to your word” (Lk. 1:38).

Yes! “Joy to the world! The Lord has come…Our Savior reigns…No more let sins and sorrow grow…He rules the world with truth and grace.” This Christmas, and every day of our lives, let our hearts sing with great joy. With the birth of Jesus, heaven and earth, and each one of us, have great reason to sing! For He will come again, bringing a new heaven and a new earth, and sin and death will be no more.