Exegeting the Hymns #21 - Joy to the World

Joy to the World
w - Isaac Watts / m - George Frederick Handel

Joy to the World, the Lord has 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

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

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

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

In a world where “Christmas music” usually conjures up visions of a fat bearded guy who “sees you when you’re sleeping”, a bullied reindeer with a red nose, or a pile of snow that plays with kids, we as believers sing songs that tell a different story. It is the story of the second Person of the Godhead taking human form and being born of a virgin. One of our favorite songs to sing at this time of year is Joy to the World… a song that is NOT about the second Person of the Godhead taking human form and being born of a virgin. Confused?

Well, Joy to the world, written by the cutting edge songwriters of their day, Isaac Watts (with music by George Frederick Handel) is not a Christmas song. We sing it during the Christmas season because of the first line Joy to the World, the Lord has come! Sounds like Christmas… but when one exegetes the rest of the lyrics, we clearly see that the song is not about the FIRST coming of Christ, but the SECOND.  

The song is written from a future perspective. While told as if it has happened already, it points to a time in the future when Jesus will return as King and rule the earth. Joy to the World, the Lord has come! Let earth receive her King. Let every heart prepare Him room. And Heaven and nature sing. Note that the whole earth is receiving Christ as King. When Jesus came the first time, He was only recognized by a few shepherds, the Magi, His parents, and Herod who wanted to kill Him. When Christ comes again to set up His Kingdom, He will separate the sheep from the goats and start His Kingdom with “Every heart that has prepared Him room.”  

The second verse makes this picture even more clear… Joy to the World, the Savior reigns. Let men their songs employ while fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains repeat the sounding joy. The Savior is actually reigning on the earth here. Yes, Jesus reigns today as the Sovereign Lord and His Kingdom is real, but His Kingdom also has a future fulfillment. Here, the whole earth sings in praise. Psalm 98:4 says “Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises!”

The third verse shows that it is unmistakably future… 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. It is clear that sins and sorrows continue to grow in this current age. Thorns still infest the ground. One day, when Jesus returns, He will make a new heaven and new earth in the Millennial Kingdom (Isaiah 65:17ff speaks of a new heaven and earth where a “youth will die at the age of one hundred”). His blessings will flow and turn back much of the damage of the sin curse on this earth. Then, at the end of the 1,000 year Kingdom reign, there will be an eternal Kingdom free from the curse and sin.

He rules the world with truth and grace and makes the nations prove the glories of His righteousness and wonders of His love. We long for the day when Jesus will rule this world with truth and grace. As the church, we will be a part of that. Now, what does it mean that the “nations prove”? To prove means to test something and see if it is reliable. Jesus will demand and compel obedience in His Kingdom and all the nations will give Him their allegiance and prove the glories of His righteousness and wonders of His love.  

So why do we still sing this song for Christmas? It’s because Jesus didn’t only come the first time. He is coming again, and in celebrating the birth of the Savior, we must never forget His death and resurrection, as well as His future Kingdom. The Gospel Coalition says it this way, “This song is all about the fulfillment of what Christ came to do in the first place. Christmas is not only a time to look back at the grace accomplished in the past. Christmas is also a time to look forward to the grace that was accomplished for our future.”

---