Advent Devotional: December 4

"Joy to the World" is probably one of the world's most familiar Christmas hymns of all, and it's certainly among the church's favorites. It is based on Psalm 98 - a majestic psalm of praise that anticipates the Lord's return, so "sing to YHWH a new song, for He has done wonderful things" (vs. 1). By "new song," the psalmist doesn't mean "new" as in "novel," "contemporary," or something recently composed. Rather, the idea is that because of God's magnificent gift of salvation, we are to sing continually without ceasing - our hearts overflowing with gratitude. Even so, our joy will not be realized until we see Him fully when He returns, and Psalm 98, just as today's hymn, looks beyond the advent of Christ at His birth to His second when He gloriously returns to establish His kingdom. That means even though we sing "Joy to the World" at Christmastime, it's really not a Christmas carol at all! We only began singing it as a Christmas hymn in the mid-19th century after a man named Lowell Mason put the words to the tune we're currently familiar with, which borrowed from two sections of Handel's "Messiah," about the birth of Christ. Even so, it is still fitting for us to sing at Christmas, considering that every reference to the birth of Christ in the NT looks to Christ's future work in His second advent (cf. Matt 1:21; Lk 1:32-33; 2:11, 34-35; Phil 2:7-11). Similarly, "Joy to the World" reflects on the work and ministry of Christ, past, present, and future.

It was originally written by Isaac Watts in 1719, who wrote many more of our favorite hymns we still sing today, including, "Jesus Shall Reign Where'er the Sun," "Our God, Our Help in Ages Past," "When I survey the Wondrous Cross," "Alas! and Did My Savior Bleed," "How Sweet and Awful is the Place," and "I Sing the Mighty Power of God."