Most people think of “Joy to the World” as a Christmas song. And why shouldn’t we? It’s been one of the top hymns sung at Christmastime for decades. Based on Psalm 98 the hymn celebrates the reign of the Christ our King and Savior of the world in the present tense. However, an aspect of this hymn often overlooked is its forward-looking celebration of Christ’s final coming.
While we see this Kingdom inaugurated by the initial coming of our Messiah, the fullness of the hymn’s celebration points ultimately to the day when he will return, and every knee will indeed bow and every tongue will indeed confess that Jesus is Lord (Phil. 2:9-10; Is. 45:23). Come, Lord Jesus, come!
Oh, what a day that will be! Oh, what a kingdom we have to look forward to, where sins and sorrows no longer grow, when thorns no longer infest the ground, and the spring of the water of life will flow his blessings eternal! Christ’s final coming will usher in the consummation of him making all things new, and our full inheritance in union with him (Rev. 21:1-7).
May a hymn that celebrates these truths never be confined to one month of the year. May we never grow so content with the “already” of the kingdom, that we yearn not for the “not yet.” May we sing this hymn of praise, knowing that what we do is but a prelude to eternity.
No doubt, this coming Kingdom is great cause to rejoice today! We live in light of our true King, who has borne our sin, died our death, raised to life, and sits on high. But what a sound it will be with the Lord Jesus Christ comes to usher in the fullness of His Kingdom in the new heavens and the new earth. Joy to the world, set free from the power and decay of sin, and to His people, in perfect eternal communion with him, for the Lord is come!
- Jonathan
Joy To The World
Words by Isaac Watts (1719), Tune by George Frideric Handel, Arr. By Lowell Mason
Lyrics:
Joy to the World, the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King!
Let every heart prepare Him room
And Heaven and nature sing
Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns!
Let men their songs employ
While fields & floods, rocks, hills & plains
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
He rules the world with truth and grace
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness
And wonders of His love