3) a time of persecution for the Christian faith. ", 15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.". Joy to the World Good News of Great Joy. But the psalms also speak of Christ, and Psalm 98 is an appropriate one to look at for Christmas because this psalm was the basis for the Christmas carol, “Joy to the World.” (Read Psalm 98:1-9 and pray.). 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. He poured himself into the ministry and his writing, and he never did marry. He wants us to know His joy. As a church family, we want to pause as we approach Christmas and consider what is being […] Here the whole earth is instructed to shout for joy to the Lord. I share my joy with you, I expect you to rejoice and share your joy with me. He is King over all the earth; let us rejoice in him! – Psalm 98:3,9; John 1:17. In the Book of Ruth we see the story of the kinsmen redeemer, and here God has sent one closer to us than kin, he has sent creator/redeemer, for he made us and now redeemed us.. Isaac was also a poet and a wordsmith. And the angel came with a message for them this day, a message that would forever change this world. I think of Solomon as he dedicates the Temple and prays to God, and that very night God appears to Solomon and reminds him that He has heard his prayer and will allow His presence to come to the temple.. – Psalm 98:7-8; Luke 2:11. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. One day we’re winning at life, and the next day, we can’t get anything right. Here in the song the whole world is encouraged to rejoice that Christ has come and to receive him as their King. The first stanza teaches: THERE IS JOY WHEN THE KING IS RECEIVED--"Joy to the world! He will make all things right – including the beautiful creation that he made by the power of his word. As sure this monster Satan will deceive me. Psalm 98 is one of the Royal Psalms (Psalms 93-100), so called because they all emphasize God’s royal kingship in various ways. For before the boy knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be deserted. Why? Families had been torn apart and there was much poverty and economic uncertainty. Take your Bibles and let’s go there this morning…. He was a royal leader, God’s anointed leader who would restore his people, birnging them back into a right relationship with Him through the cross he would die upon as a sacrifice for sin. Christmas is special, but it’s not because of the trees, or the wreaths, it’s not because of Santa or even those even all the gifts we like to give… Christmas is special because of the name it bears.. Christ. He attracted one fan, Elizabeth Springer, who proposed marriage to him by mail! 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And finally verses 7-9 tell us to rejoice in God as Judge over all the nations. So this day the people should be happy for God has seen their sin, He has seen there oppression and their hurt and He has acted on their behalf. Come, therefore, Lord, from Satan’s claws relieve me. You can also check out the Top Posts page to get a feel for the site. And He wants us to know an extraordinary kind of joy. This corresponds to the first two verses of Psalm 98 which speak of God making his salvation known to all the nations. Joy to the world! INTRODUCTION: You might be wondering why we are turning to the psalms for a Christmas message this morning. The stringed instruments join the song in verse five, and the wind instruments join the song in verse six. If you were to ask anyone on the street what is the most joyful time of the year? In the town of David, the location is disclosed at the town of Bethlehem, the house of Bread and there they would find the child who was both Savior and Christ the Lord. On this particular night, the Bible tells us that shepherd have got their flocks settled down for the night all is well and calm, for them they thought it was a night like any other... And suddenly it was a night like no other… when suddenly they are visited by an angel. And Joy to The World, as you already know, is Isaac Watts’ rendering of Psalm 98. There is Joy because Christmas is for All Man-Kind..... For Everyone! as, I want us to go back and look at a passage that reminds us of the joy that other felt as God allowed His Son to be born into flesh and walk with men. In verse one of the carol Watts called Christ “Lord” and “King.” Here in verse two of the carol he calls him “Savior.” This ties in with Christmas through the angel’s announcement in Luke 2:11: “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11), C. Verse 3: “No more let sin and sorrow grow!” here refers to all people, tribes and nations. So let’s begin with Isaac Watts, the composer. The story of the Inn that had no room for them and how they made their way to the simple stable.... a place for the animals to be kept through the night. Verses 4-6 tell us to rejoice in God as King over all the earth. Isaac Watts saw this as a reference to the return of Jesus at the end of time when he comes to judge the earth And this is what he was talking about when he … I think about Moses there on the back side of the desert, God appears to him and tells him, I have seen and heard the affliction of my people Israel and I am come to help them.. He shall eat curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. The difference between the 1st and 2nd commandments, Scriptures on Living Together Before Marriage, “The ordinary so extraordinary” by Madeleine L’Engle. “Joy to the World” was first published in 1719 but with a different melody than the one we know today. By Ray Fowler. But there with the simplest of creation, God’s Son entered the world. B. Rejoice in God as King over all the earth (4-6). Isaac Watts also wrote such well-known hymns as: “Alas and Did My Savior Bleed,” “Jesus Shall Reign Wherever the Sun,” “O God our Help in Ages Past,” and “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross.”, Watts often wrote paraphrases of the Psalms for his hymns, and “Joy to the World” was inspired by his study of Psalm 98, especially verse 4 which reads: “Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music.” (Psalm 98:4). For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. If we try to fill it with anything besides God, we will be forever unsatisfied. JOY TO THE WORLD 1. Feel free to hit the comments button on any post and join the discussion. That’s why the 1st stanza of JOY TO THE WORLD teaches: 1. Christmas is a time to worship. And just as the season we celebrate is available for everyone, the message that came to the shepherds was for everyone. And wonders of His love. I wish we could have a white Christmas.... it seems to make it so beautiful on the outside of this world. Joy to the World Johnny Hunt Luke 2:8-20 INTRODUCTION: Joy to the world! Then, the baby was born, the Messiah himself came forth from heaven through his mother’s womb. Because Jesus is returning as Judge over all the nations. 4 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music; 5 make music to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing, 6 with trumpets and the blast of the ram's horn—shout for joy before the Lord, the King. In the same way God worked our salvation for us through Christ on the cross. Luke 2:10–11 ESV. Joy in all circumstances is possible because Jesus has come (Psalm 98:1-9). What a wonderful day this is… it is Christmas eve.. And as the old song says.... It’s the most wonderful time of the year...”. They raised the sheep that the own country depended upon, these animals were bought, sold and even traded at times for a variety of items and needs. Isaac took him up on the challenge, and that afternoon wrote his first hymn based on Revelation 5:6-12. And say to him, ‘Be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands, at the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria and the son of Remaliah. So Isaac Watts lived during a time of uncertainty, a time of great pressure to conform, and a time of persecution for the Christian faith. The Lord is come; Let earth receive her King; Let every heart prepare Him room, And heaven and nature sing. B. Verse 2: “Joy to the world, the Savior reigns!” Sounds a little bit like our times, doesn’t it? Isaac Watts–in his own day most people sang psalms in their worship services, and in England where he grew up, he didn't think that the metrical psalms that had been arranged for singing were very good. And makes the nations prove Joy to the world…The Lord is come! The entire Bible and indeed all of human history is a record of how God is glorified in all the earth through the salvation of his people. We have looked at Isaac Watts, the composer of “Joy to the World,” and we have looked at Psalm 98 which is the source for “Joy to the World.” Finally let’s take a brief look at the song itself and see how Isaac Watts brought it all together. Harps and voices and trumpets and horns rise together in jubilant song as the whole earth rejoices in God as King. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And now here in verses 7 and 8, all creation is told to rejoice in the Lord. But that really isn’t what is important, what is important is the truth that the Angel came bearing good news. Think about how you are going to spend Christmas this year, you will send cards, you will buy gifts, you will make phone calls and talk to old friends… by because you want to wish them a Merry Christmas, …. But if you look closely, you will see it is also an acrostic. We also live in a time of uncertainty, great pressure from the world to conform, and increasing persecution for Christian faith. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity. With bow and arrows a man will come there, for all the land will be briers and thorns. Isaac’s poetry was so good that his mother didn’t believe it was all his, so one time when he was seven years old she sat him down at the table and told him to wrote her a poem right then and there. And heaven and nature sing. . To her astonishment, he immediately composed the following ten lines: I am a vile polluted lump of earth; "I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete" (John 15:11). The first stanza tells us to rejoice in God as Savior of his people. Let earth receive her King! Over a hundred years later, in 1836, the composer Lowell Mason would combine several themes from Handel’s Messiah to create a new melody which he called Antioch. And they will all come and settle in the steep ravines, and in the clefts of the rocks, and on all the thornbushes, and on all the pastures. Surrounded by other students and exposed to learning at an early age, Isaac had a distinct advantage when it came to academic studies. I share that with you because it would be easy to think that Isaac Watts lived in simpler times in which it would be easy to write a hymn such as “Joy to the World.” But Watts wrote “Joy to the World” not because he lived in easy times, but because he read the scriptures and had faith in the God of the Bible. In that day the Lord will shave with a razor that is hired beyond the River—with the king of Assyria—the head and the hair of the feet, and it will sweep away the beard also. You see God has always delivered messages to his people during times of great need. Psalm 98 especially emphasizes our joy in the face of God’s kingship over all the earth. Click here to return to the Sermons page. This is not a forced joy, but rather a joy that is so full that it forces its way out of us. Do you know Jesus, Are you walking with Jesus, do you have him today. But God can and the message is one has finally come to help us with the greatest needs of our life. We read in Romans 8:21: “The creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.” (Romans 8:21), D. Verse 4: “He rules the world with truth and grace!” Joy to the world! For us, we do not have the opportunity to be the mother or surrogate father of Jesus, but we do have the invitation of the gospel to let Christ live his life in us and to bring the good news of … (Psalm 98:1-3). The message was for everyone. Thanks for visiting! Isaac Watts grew up in a family that was part of a group of churches that were actually called Nonconformists. Ephraim will be shattered from being a people. 13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests. These shepherds, often never had a permanent home, but their homes traveled with them. The angel’s announcement to those frightened shepherds was intended to produce great joy. Christmas: Joy to the World! The words ‘good news” is where we get our word evangelize, it was something so special it was worth telling just like our faith is. One of our familiar Christmas hymn says, "Joy to the world, the Lord is come, Let earth receive her King;” Let every heart prepare him room, And heaven and nature sing. (Psalm 98:4-6). I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. And at that joy, we should praise God like the angels praise him that night…. Why? – Psalm 98:4-6; Luke 2:7. So lets begin with this first thought today.... One of the greatest joys that we come across in the Holy Scriptures is the truth that the angels came and brought wonderful messages to the people. Even in the midst of the very worst... Joy to the World. Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. May 17, 2021 This is the sermon I preached at Grace Lutheran Church on Sunday, May 16, the Seventh Sunday of Easter. © Ray Fowler. 8 Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy; 9 let them sing before the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth. Psalm 98 December 29, 2019. We are commanded to rejoice. The Anglican Church put great pressure on everyone to conform to their order of worship. Nor thorns infest the ground. Joy is Watts went on to compose more than six hundred hymns and hundreds of poems before he died in 1748. It is because of Jesus, and with Christmas we celebrate the both of our Lord. Watts was born and raised during a time of plague and uncertainty. His father was so impressed, he brought it with him to church that evening and they sang it as part of the service. and because of the abundance of milk that they give, he will eat curds, for everyone who is left in the land will eat curds and honey. Hello and welcome to RayFowler.org. We only have to watch the news for about 30 seconds to know that our world, in its struggles, its sorrows, and its sin, is longing and crying out for a Savior to come. Which is appropriate because the poem’s theme is the author and his need for Christ. And he said, “Hear then, O house of David! We can experience joy, regardless of our situation, because the birth of Jesus and the salvation He provides is good news. Joy To The World. Description A history of “Joy to the World” and what it mean for us today. I bring you good news of great joy, today a Savior has been born to you…. The Lord is come! While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains "Joy To the World," is an exhortation to rejoice at the coming of Christ into this world; and we are given three reasons to rejoice in the birth of our Savior. And then we see the phrase Christ the Lord, which means the anointed Lord, the Messiah Lord, God’s chosen one who has been given power and authority. Isaac Watts wrote that great Christmas hymn based upon Psalm 98, so I thought that it may be helpful to meditate on that psalm so that we understand why we can truly and rightly sing, “Joy to the World.” This psalm portrays God as the victorious warrior, bringing salvation for the whole world, but conquering and judging all who oppose Him. In that day a man will keep alive a young cow and two sheep. ", The angel told the shepherds “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.”. In chapter 4, verse 4, “Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I will say, rejoice.”. Then we will do a brief study of Psalm 98. Every voice is summoned. This morning as we continue with the theme of Christmas, I want us to go back and look at a passage that reminds us of the joy that other felt as God allowed His Son to be born into flesh and walk with men. Let every heart prepare Him room, Mason then looked for three years to find just the right words to go with his melody and finally settled on Isaac Watts’ hymn “Joy to the World.” It was a perfect match, and it is still the way we sing “Joy to the World” at Christmas today. 10 But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. They willl have peace because He is the Prince of Peace. This is one of the most joyous and loved Christmas carols during the Christmas celebration, because it makes so real what Christ’s birth means to all mankind. As we mentioned earlier, “Joy to the World” is based on Psalm 98. The message, the joyful event was meant for the whole world. So I’ve continued since my birth; Because it is worth telling, because it is worth letting others know what we have inside of us…, It was something worth telling to the whole world both them and now my friends…, The message of Christmas has so much joy in it, that God didn’t with hold it from the world and we shouldn’t with hold it from those around us either…, Share the message with someone around you this year…, And then finally today, just one last thought as we think about the joy of Christmas…. The Savior reigns; Let men their songs employ; While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains Repeat the sounding joy. Christ is what truly makes Christmas….. so the joy of Christmas is found in Christ.. The season is a tremendous one, for the message tells us of the greatest gift of all. Albert Barnes writes about Psalm 98: “One cannot read this Psalm without being a happier man; without lofty views of God; without feeling that He is worthy of universal praise; without recognizing that he is in a world where the mind should be joyful; that he is under the dominion of a God whose reign should fill the mind with gladness.”. will whistle for the fly that is at the end of the streams of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. The Joy, the true Joy of Christmas is contained in the Child of Christmas…. The preaching texts were John 17:6-19 and Psalm 1. (Luke 2) Mark O. Wilbanks. Joy to the world! The poem is amazing not only for its meter, imagery, vocabulary, rhyme scheme, depth of meaning and theology. His parents and grandparents also wrote poems, but Isaac’s habit of always rhyming things annoyed his parents so much that at one point his father told him no more rhyming in the house. The next stanza tells us to rejoice in God as King over all the earth. They put in long days to care for the sheep and I am reminded that all people, no matter what place in our society are created in the image of God. The angels sing forth praise, glorifying God… in the highest referring to the place where he dwells, heaven.. He comes to make His blessings flow A. Verse 1: “Joy to the world, the Lord is come!” The Greek word. Rulership and Responsibility for Creation. Isaac accepted, but when she met him in person she jumped on the train and went back home. There’s a world of difference between happiness and joy. She later described him: “He was only five feet tall, with a shallow face and a hooked nose, prominent cheek bones, small eyes and a deathlike color.” Isaac’s loss was our gain. When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden, God put a curse on all creation. The Bible tells us it was night time, the shepherd has got their flocks settled down for the night all is well and calm, when suddenly they are visited by an angel. Jesus’s birth was not Luke’s final word about our joy. The same thing Psalm 98 is all about, but now applied to Jesus coming into the world. That is what makes Christmas so special to me today, for I am reminded that before the cross there had to be a coming and Christmas reminds us of God’s great love for us and he proved it by sending Jesus into our world that we might have hope. This was also a time of persecution for the Christian faith. God's missionary heart inspires joy and gladness that overtakes sorrow. The line “Let every heart prepare Him room” may be a subtle reference to Luke 2:7: “She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” (Luke 2:7) It may also be one of the reasons this song became known as a Christmas carol to begin with.
Balloon In Dominican Spanish, Fulton Hogan Careers Australia, Bic Ez Reach Lighter Canada, Apartments For Rent In Jersey City, Nj Under $1000, Speckle Park Cattle For Sale Uk, Evelyn Nesbit Calendar, Houses For Sale In Aurora, Il 60505, Most Liveable City 2021, Gmc At4 Interior,
Leave a Comment