The Hope of Salvation Has Come
By AJ Pearson
Joy to the World
Isaac Watts (1719)
Joy to the world; the Lord is come;
Let Earth receive her King;
Let ev'ry Heart prepare him room,
And Heav'n and nature sing.
Joy to the Earth, the Savior reigns,
Let men their Songs employ,
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and 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.
“Joy to the world, the Lord is come!” We often sing these words at Christmastime, as we celebrate the birth of Christ. But interestingly this song is about the second coming of Christ, not His first. More on that later. This song is still fitting to sing at Christmas as we celebrate the birth of Christ. We are filled with joy when we reflect on the first coming of our Lord and Savior, and we are joyful as we look forward to His return.
Think about the wise men from the Christmas story. They rejoiced when they saw the star and followed it until they came to the place where Jesus was born, where they fell down and worshiped Him and presented Him with gifts (Matthew 2). The shepherds in the fields were told by an angel that Jesus was born, so they went to see the baby and gave glory to God for what they saw (Luke 2:8-20). Why is Jesus’s birth the cause of such joy? Why does it merit awe and adoration? Why do the wise men worship this baby?
One reason is God providentially and miraculously brought this birth about as He promised long ago. Mary the mother of Jesus was a virgin. That alone brings about some awe. A virgin birth simply does not happen, and yet we know that Jesus was born of a virgin (Matthew 1:18). What makes this even more amazing is God said Jesus was going to be born of a virgin seven hundred years before it happened (Isaiah 7:14), and then again just prior to the conception of Jesus (Luke 1:31). Think back to week one of this Advent study and the prophecies of the coming Messiah. God declared long before Jesus’s birth many of the specifics of it, including the virgin birth and what He would be called (Isaiah 7:14 and Isaiah 9:6), as well as where He would be born (Micah 5:2). God declared that all of these things would happen through his prophets to his people long before they happened. And guess what? He brought all of these things to pass. Praise be to God that He is in control of all things.
Another reason we respond in joy, awe, adoration and worship is because of who was born. That is what we celebrate at Christmas: the birth of Christ:
The “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6).
The “Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29).
The “bread of life” and the “light of the world.” (John 6:35, 8:12).
The Great “I am” (John 8:58).
Immanuel; God with us. (Isaiah 7:14).
The “good shepherd” and the “resurrection and the life.” (John 10:11 and John 11:25).
“The way, and the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6).
The “true vine” and “the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.” (John 15:1 and Colossians 1:15).
The “Holy One of Israel.” (Isaiah 52:13).
“Our great high priest” and “the Son of God.” (Hebrews 4:14).
The “radiance of the glory of God.” (Hebrews 1:3).
The “King of kings and Lord of lords.” (Revelation 19:16).
God incarnate (John 1:1,14).
We respond to the good news of Christ’s birth in inexplicable joy because it is the arrival of God’s promised Messiah to save us from our sins. We respond in worship because Jesus is worthy of our worship. And we respond in awe and adoration because of who He is and what He did.
Our Hope
As believers in Jesus, our hope is not in the world. Jesus came to save those who would believe in Him, and our hope is in Him. Our hope is not in the temporal things of this world, but in eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord. 1 Corinthians 15:19 says “If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.” While there are certainly things we hope and work for in this life, we know that this is not all there is. Our faith in Christ is not to gain us worldly comforts but rather it gives us ultimate peace in knowing where we are going to spend eternity and who we are going to spend it with.
I briefly mentioned above that Joy to the World is about the second coming of Christ. In the Christmas season we focus on the birth of Christ, but I think it would be appropriate to spend a little bit of time appreciating the hope we have in Christ’s return as well. When He returns all things will be made right. “Let earth receive her King!” This is a line we sing that makes sense at Christmas time as well as in anticipation of His return. Christ certainly has authority today and is “King of kings and Lord of lords” right now, but this will be more fully known at His return.
“No more let sins and sorrows grow, nor thorns infest the ground.” Genesis 3 says that thorns and thistles are a result of the fall, but Revelation 22:3 says there will be a day when the curse is over. There will be a day when we will know sin no longer and there will not even be thorns and thistles on the earth. What a day that will be! As we celebrate the birth of Christ, we rejoice in what Jesus has done, will do, and who He is. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8).
REFLECTION:
What makes you joyful?
Does slowing down and thinking about who Jesus is impact how you see His birth?
Choose 1 or 2 of the titles of Jesus quoted above and go read them in context. What does the title mean?
Read Psalm 96 and 98. Do you see any similarities between these Psalms and Joy to the World?
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: