Joy to the World, Always

I am writing this in the afternoon of December 24^th.  In a few hours I will be singing in the bass section of the choir for the Christmas Eve Candlelight Services at our church.  One of the extreme blessings of being part of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church – Carrollton, Texas, is the opportunity to sing in the vocal ensemble once a month and be part of the festival choir that sings for holidays.  Tonight the choir will join the church orchestra to again celebrate the birth of the Christ Child.  An added blessing is the opportunity to work under the direction of our daughter, Katie Seale, who serves as director of worship and the arts at Prince of Peace. 

Tonight the hymn Joy to the World serves as the bookends of the service.  We are doing it as a choral anthem as a call to worship and again at the close of the service as a congregational hymn. 

I recently learned that Isaac Watts who composed the lyrics never intended for the song to a Christmas carol.  In 1719, Watts published a book of poems in which each poem was based on a psalm. But rather than just translate the original Old Testament texts, he adjusted them to refer more explicitly to the work of Jesus as it had been revealed in the New Testament.  Psalm 98 was the basis for one of those poems. Watts intended to focus on Jesus’s role as King of both his church and the whole world. More than a century later, the second half of this poem was slightly adapted and set to music of George Frederic Handel. Since that time it has become one of the most famous of all Christmas carols.

The fourth verse especially delivers a message we need not just at Christmas but every day of the year.

He rules the world with truth and grace,

And makes the nations prove

The glories of His righteousness,

And wonders of His love.

What a powerful reminder at a time when the world needs God’s truth and grace more than ever.  May the message of the hymn keep us focused on our calling to be messengers of grace, peace, mercy and truth not just during this season but throughout 2020 and beyond.