Sermon Tone Analysis
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Joy to the World
Written by Issac Watts in the early 1700’s
It wasn’t intended to be a Christmas carol, but as a hymn of praise for the savior who was born and will once day rule over all creation.
Watts’ desire was to lead us to rejoice in all that Jesus was and is and will be.
Over the years the hymn became a staple Christmas Carol as it declares the coming of the KING
It reminds me of the Shepherds from
Shepherds’ Joy
Shepherds’ Joy
Shepherding was not the most glamorous job.
Actually it was one of the least glamorous.
They were with sheep all day and all night.
They had to protect the sheep, make sure they had food and water, and tend to the needs that may arise.
Because they were around sheep all the time they smelled bad, were around people as much, and had a bit of a reputation because of those thing.
Shepherds were considered untrustworthy and their work made them ceremonially unclean.
That’s what makes so interesting.
God announced the birth of His son to a group of lowly shepherds on a hillside late at night.
Perhaps the reason God did this was to put on display the joy Christ brings can overcome whatever circumstance we may find ourselves in.
We often base our happiness/joy on our circumstances and the shepherds would have had some trouble finding joy in their lot in life.
But the angels have come to give them a reason to REJOICE!
The Message of the Song
The difference is rooted in the direction of our focus.
Difference between Circumstantial Happiness and Eternal Joy
The difference is rooted in the direction of our focus.
When my happiness/satisfaction/pleasure is found in temporal, circumstantial, and fragile things
Money, health, a person, a family, a job, a lifestyle...
When you buy a new car, get a new job, start a new relationship… your circumstances lead to happiness.
But when the new wears off or things get rough so goes the source of our happiness and the search begins for the new source.
But when our joy is rooted in things that NEVER change and things that are truly satisfying then our search can be over.
When our joy is rooted in eternal truths it outshines every circumstance of life.
Because regardless of what that person said, or the test results read, or the balance on your bank statement; there are REASONS FOR REJOICING.
Shepherds were considered untrustworthy and their work made them ceremonially unclean.
THAT IS THE MESSAGE OF THE SONG
Shepherds were considered untrustworthy and their work made them ceremonially unclean.
Shepherds were considered untrustworthy and their work made them ceremonially unclean.
Shepherds were considered untrustworthy and their work made them ceremonially unclean.
We have eternal reasons for rejoicing!!
The Reasons we Rejoice
The Reasons we Rejoice
1) Jesus is King ()
Joy to the World , the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;
Let earth receive her King;
Let earth receive her King;
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven and nature sing,
tells us to “make a joyful noise to the Lord…before the King”
Rejoice because the King has come
This is good news, but it is often hard for us to see it as good news.
Jesus is the benevolent, loving King (aka ruler) of my life.
He calls the shots.
He has authority over all kings and rulers of this world.
He has authority over our lives
In our world of self-centrality, where we are the kings of our own lives, it is counteractive to REJOICE in Jesus being King
We tend to
Shouldn’t we be pursuing autonomy (being in charge of our own lives)?
Isn’t there freedom in not being under the rule of another?
George MacDonald, a famous author and preacher, famously said “The central conviction of hell is ‘I am my own’”.
Did you know that “Joy to the World” was not written as a Christmas carol?
In its original form, it had nothing to do with Christmas.
It wasn’t even written to be a song.
Isaac Watts was one of the great hymn writers in church history, and I guess nothing shows that better than the fact that he wrote one of his most famous hymns by accident.
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.
MacDonald is saying that the shared conviction of those in hell is my life is MINE to live and I will not answer to any one.
One of those poems was an adaptation of Psalm 98. Watts interpreted this psalm as a celebration of 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 to give us what has become one of the most famous of all Christmas carols
It is a conviction that leads to destruction all around us.
Isn’t “I am my own” the conviction of much of the destruction caused in the world.
Failed marriage- I am my own
Most crimes committed- I am my own
Broken relationships- I am my own
So Watts wrote “Let earth RECEIVE her KING” and “Let every HEART prepare Him ROOM”
Rejoice this Christmas that the one who rightfully calls the shots was born.
Prepare Him room in your heart as you RECEIVE him as KING.
2) Jesus is Savior (, )
Joy to the World, the Savior reigns!
Let men their songs employ;
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy,
The image given in the Psalm and in the song is of creation rejoicing over Jesus because He has saved them.
When we think of salvation we think of it as a transaction, Jesus paid for my sins.
It very much is this, but it is also MUCH MORE
Jesus reversed the destruction sin caused
He reversed the power of sin over death
He reversed sin’s power over us
But He also reverse sin’s curse on the earth
Jesus’s miracles are not David Blaine magic tricks, but declarations of His saving work in all of creation.
One day He will return and complete what He started.
That is why we, and all creation, rejoices over our Savior!!
3) Jesus is Redeemer ()
No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
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