Joy to The World
Picture by Erin McGinn
“O sing unto the Lord a new song; for he hath done marvelous things…The Lord hath made known his salvation…” Psalms 98:1-2
Today, December 19th, I celebrate 49 years. I am the eighth of nine children, and of course, because there were so many of us, I had the awesome privilege of celebrating my birthday with the day we celebrate Jesus’ Birth. Furthermore, one of my sister’s birthday was December 21st, and my dear Mother’s birthday is December 22nd. My birthday present was always my Christmas present, and my Christmas present was always my birthday present. The crazy thing about it, as I reminisce, is that I didn’t mind. We did not have birthday parties in our home; my mother always said, "Everyday is a party; we always have cake, and you’re always surrounded by the people you love. What more do you need?” We did not put up a Christmas tree, but it was not for any particular reason, except we were so busy making unforgettable memories. The Spirit of Christmas was all over our home. My mother was the Queen of Homemaking AND the Queen of Christmas Programs. December was filled with preparation for the Christmas Programs, Christmas Giving especially Thanksgiving, and Christmas Baking. My mother did it all - costumes and directing. We had so many speeches, parts, and songs to memorize. I can still remember the first stanza of a speech I learned when I was only eight - “ When Jesus came to Bethlehem that night so long ago, the angel brought the glorious news to the shepherds far below….” I remember this speech because it was sooo long; it had about ten stanzas. I remember telling my mother it was too much, but she convinced me I could do it; I had a good memory. Memorizing so many speeches, songs, and parts allowed the true seeds (meaning) of Christmas to be planted in my heart. There was something about wearing white robes, carrying candles to form the Christmas star, dressing up as Bible characters, and memorizing so many verses to Christmas carols that was so very special and so much fun. There was always excitement - what would our mother dream up this year to honor our King? “Joy to the World” and “Jesus, Oh What a Wonderful Child” became my favorite Christmas songs. These songs were exciting and fun to sing, and it allowed us to express our true feelings about His coming and purpose. Lyrics from both songs include, “Joy to the Word the Lord is come, let earth receive her King….New Life, New Hope, New Joy He brings; Listen to the angels sing; Glory, Glory, Glory to the New Born King”. Giving my King glory and making room for Him in my heart became a part of who I was and still am today.
“Joy to the World” was written by English hymn writer Isaac Watts and is based on Psalm 96:11-12, 98, and Genesis 3:17-18. The song was first published in 1719 in Watts’ collection: The Psalms of David; Imitated in the language of the New Testament, and applied to the Christian state and worship (Wikipedia - Joy to the World). Watts was inspired to write the timeless tune while meditating on Psalm 98. Verse 4 gripped him: “Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises!” And this is precisely what Watts set out to do (Article Joy to the World: A Christmas Hymn Reconsidered from The Gospel Coalition). What a beautiful work of art!
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.
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.
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.
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.
As I read the lyrics of this song, my heart is filled with so much joy in that The One True Eternal God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob came down to us and robed himself in human flesh. He became as one of us, made himself of no reputation, took on the form of a servant, became obedient to the death of the cross, and was given the name that is higher than any other. The Name of Jesus; and one day EVERY knee will bow down to Him and confess that He is Lord to the Glory of God the Father (Philippians 3:7-11). This song is the fulfillment of Christ’s overall purpose for coming to this earth; His mission and His agenda is fully stated in this song - (Verse 1). This is a command to everyone with joy to receive and make room in their hearts for the King. (Verse 2) In ancient time, to say “Long Live the King” is a submission to his kingship and lordship, his laws and his commandments; “Our Savior reigns” would be equivalent to “Long Live the King.” (Verse 3) God’s ultimate purpose in coming to this earth is to destroy the works of the devil - this curse of sin, sorrow, and thorns (Genesis 3:15-18). “He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil” I John 3:8. (Verse 4) He rules the world with truth and grace speaks of His Second Coming when He will make all nations subject to Him. We who have received Him in this life have experienced the wonders of His Love, Truth, Grace, and Righteousness, but one day He will rule over everyone making this earth brand new.
My dear mother always admonished us to “esteem the other better than ourselves” (Philippians 2:3); and of course, this would be a needful characteristic in a home with so many siblings. As I began to study Scriptures for myself, I wanted to know what this esteeming was all about; thus I began my study of Philippians 2. After studying this chapter, I chose verses 3-11 as “My Life Scriptures.” The part that stuck out the most was that while Jesus was God in the flesh, He “made Himself of no reputation.” The phrase, “make of no reputation” is one Greek word, kenoo (Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon, 2758) which means “to empty.” That’s it!!!!! The mind of Christ; that is what I want!!! The beginning of Philippians 2 and those words that were always ringing in my ears while living at home became very clear to me. In Philippians 2:2-3, Paul stated, “Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves”. Can you imagine the extreme joy, delight, and pleasure that is experienced by God when one makes themselves of no reputation, and we, his children can bind together as one and change this world? We become empty of ourselves to be filled with all of Him to be poured out into the world. Can you imagine the joy this dark world filled with so much sorrow, pain, and sin would experience when individuals would truly empty out themselves for the sole purpose of being filled by Him to reach others? This Christmas season more than ever before should these words ring out in the ears of whoever will listen, “Joy to the World; the Lord is here living in me.” Make room for Him in your heart, and let your light shine; let men see with their own eyes the Glory of God in your life. Tell them as the Black Gospel Christmas song, Jesus, Jesus, Oh, What a Wonderful Child” states that He came to bring “New Life, New Hope, New Joy He Brings; Listen to the angels sing; Glory, Glory, Glory to the New Born King.” God is calling you today to be that voice.
GO G.R.E.E.N.
Tonda Loyd Henry