Christmas Carol: Joy To The World

Joy To The World

Artwork:
Christ Pantocrator, (12th C.) is a Deësis mosaic in the imperial enclosure and south gallery of the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey. In this depiction of late Byzantine naturalism, Christ as Pantocrator (Almighty) sits enthroned in heaven at the center while Mary the mother of Jesus and John the Baptist (not shown) are positioned looking down toward Him on each side creating the Deësis (entreaty). This is a masterwork of very small glass tesserae (1-2 mm) used for the faces and hands which deliver an exceptionally broad range of colors and hues that add to the naturalism.

Carol Text: Isaac Watts, 1719;
Carol Melody: George Frederick Handel
Piano accompaniment by Lezlie Taguding

Joy to the world the Lord is come
Let earth receive her King
Let every heart prepare Him room
And heav’n and nature sing
And heav’n and nature sing
And heav’n and heav’n and nature sing

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 and wonders of His love

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

Joy to the earth 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

“Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.”

- Revelation 1:4-6

Advent Devotional


Let Earth Receive Her King! These exuberant words, stem from Psalm 98, and are magnified here in the New Testament’s Revelation. “Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things”, announces Psalm 98:1. Then, “Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth, burst into jubilant song”! (v. 4); and again, “Shout for joy before the LORD, the King”! (v. 6). So Psalm 98 can be read as prophecy for both Christ’s birth and His second coming, when even inanimate objects will rejoice!

One of the most published Christmas hymns in North America, this carol is a celebration of God’s sovereignty and the gift of Jesus Christ to all humanity. Isaac Watts included these words in his 1719 book of poems each based on a psalm, adjusting each Old Testament text to refer more explicitly to the work of Jesus as revealed in the New Testament. “Joy to the World” shouts the unfolding of God’s plans, and His transformation of all creation. Our lives can manifest this change that Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit working us, carrying the impact of that joy of God as “far as the curse is found.”

One Christmas morning found me in a hospital delivery room giving birth to a baby girl. Somehow I was wearing my pin that proclaimed, “let every heart prepare Him room.” That morning God manifested His work in our lives, and His new creation in our daughter de- livered on His Son’s birthday. Welcoming her to our family with this hymn on our hearts, tongues, and hospital gown “repeated as sounding joy!”

Prayer

Dear Father,
may our very lives manifest
powerful and penetrating joy
to all around us!
Amen.

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Lynne Marie Kohm

Professor

Lynne Marie Kohm serves as the John Brown McCarty Professor of Family Law at Regent University School of Law. She is the author of the books Estate Planning Success for Women and The Christian Guide to Wills, Living Trusts and Estate Planning. Her professional affiliations include and have included the Virginia State Bar Family Law Section Board of Governors, Virginia Bar Association Domestic Relations Council, Christian Legal Society, American Bar Association, Eagle Forum, Alliance Defense Fund, Concerned Women for America, and Bethany Christian Services. She and her husband have two children.

 
COPYRIGHT: This is a publication of the C.S. Lewis Institute; 8001 Braddock Road, Suite 301; Springfield, VA 22151. Portions of the publication may be reproduced for noncommercial, local church or ministry use without prior permission. Unless otherwise noted all material is copyright of the C.S. Lewis Institute or in the public domain.

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