Christmas is still almost a month and a half away. That, however, doesn’t stop stores from setting out aisle after aisle of Christmas wrapping, decorations, cards and other holiday paraphernalia. Why should Half Air be any different? Just because it’s not even Thanksgiving doesn’t mean I can’t post an article about Christmas.

Joy to the world! 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.

Joy to the World is a popular Christmas carol and a favorite of Christmas Eve services held in churches worldwide. Interestingly, however, the author, Issac Watts, did not have the birth of Christ in mind when he wrote the words to this song. Instead, he was looking forward to Jesus’ eventual return. Watts’ main inspiration for Joy to the World was Psalm 98. The Psalm praises God’s victory over ancient Israel’s enemies but also points to God’s future glory when he overcomes sin once and for all. At that time, there will be such rejoicing that even nature itself will lift its “voice” in praise. Psalm 98 instructs us to “sing to the LORD a new song,” “Make a joyful noise to the LORD,” and to “sing praises to the LORD.” It goes on to tell us that the rivers will “clap their hands” and the hills will “sing for joy.”

Joy to the earth! the saviour 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.

Verse 3 was inspired by a different passage in scripture, Genesis 3: 17-18. Here, God is addressing Adam after he has eaten the forbidden fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. As a consequence of Adam’s sin, God curses the ground which, up until that point, willingly produced its food for mankind. From then on, however, weeds and thorns would choke the ground making it more difficult for fruits and vegetables to thrive, forcing man to work long and hard to grow and harvest the crops necessary for life. Watts’ song looks forward to when Christ returns and finally removes the curse that was imposed in the Garden, allowing Earth to once again blossom into the paradise it originally was.

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.

Verse 4 brings us back to Psalm 98, specifically the last verse, “He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity.” The Hebrew word translated “judge” also means to govern. Therefore, Watts equates governing with righteousness and equity to ruling with truth, grace, and love.

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.

This Christmas Eve you will probably attend church, hear the Christmas story and sing carols. When you sing Joy To The World to herald in Jesus’ birth and celebrate the life and death which removed the penalty of sin from those of us who trust in Him, I hope you will also recall Psalm 98 and remember that this same carol points to Christ’s triumphant return when the presence of sin will be removed from us forever.