Advent Devotional: December 21

"Joy to the World" is one of our most popular Christmas hymns, written by one of our most popular hymn-writers, Isaac Watts. Actually, "Joy to the World," Christmas or otherwise, is one of the most published hymns in North America. However, it wasn't so much the story of Christ's birth as described in the NT Watts had in mind when he wrote the hymn. For that matter, he didn't even intend "Joy to the World" to be a song! He was instead writing a collection of poems based on the Psalms, which he published in 1719 as "The Psalms of David." "Joy to the World" wouldn't be put to music for another 100 years. In addition, you might have noticed that "Joy to the World" makes no reference to a child in a manger, the virgin birth, or anything else related to the nativity. Watts only notes, "The Lord is come..." in reference not to Jesus' first advent, but His second. That is why both heaven and nature "sing," unlike Christ's first advent in which He was the stone rejected (Acts 4:11). That is the theme of both the first and second verses, based on Psalm 98. Then, in the third verse, Watts refers back to Gen 3:17-19, reflecting on Christ's glorious victory over sin, "far as the curse is found." Watts then looks forward to that time when Christ will rule over the nations (verse 4) and calls on all the nations to celebrate God's gift of salvation to the world.

"Shout joyfully before the King, the LORD" (Ps 98:6)!