AT CHRISTMAS, WE CELEBRATE THE JOY OF OUR ETERNAL KING
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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. –
Christmas is a time of rejoicing. A time when joy fills our hearts as we celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. All heaven and earth rejoiced at the blessed first Christmas. For God entered His creation, out of His deepest love for us, to pay the ultimate price for our freedom.
“Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises!” – Psalm 98:4
“Joy to the World” is a beloved Christmas carol. Written in 1719 by Isaac Watts, an English minister, this song celebrates the joy of Jesus. Disillusioned by the lack of joy amongst his parishioners, Watts chooses to write hymns of triumph and rejoicing. He bases his lyrics for “Joy to the World” on this verse from Psalm 98… creating a song of jubilant praise and exaltation to the King of Kings.
Although this hymn is most popularly sung in the Christmas season, it actually describes the return of our glorious Savior. Our King Jesus comes again in all His glory to set up His eternal kingdom. Every heart makes room for Him… and all nature sings its joy.
Joy to the world! 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.
Jesus is the hope of the world. Our true joy rests in this hope… our Living Hope. All creation has been awaiting His return. All nature rejoices, for the King has come. He will live and reign forever.
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.
In Christ’s eternal kingdom, there will be no more sin or sorrow, pain or tears. The curse is forever broken. For the King has triumphed over all evil and His blessings flow to all.
“We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” – John 1:14
The Righteous One lives in glory… and He brings us into glory to be with Him for all eternity.
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.
The Sovereign One rules over all with righteousness, grace and truth. We are awed by the wonders of His love… His love that spans eternity and will never diminish.
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” – Revelation 22:13
This is the blessed Savior whose birth we celebrate at Christmas. He is the Promised Messiah… the Light of the World… the Victorious One. He is the Son of God… our Redeemer… our Living Hope.
Jesus Christ is King of Kings and Lord of all. He is our only source of true joy. This Christmas, we glorify Him… for He is the joy of our world.
