Sermon Tone Analysis

Joy to the World!

Why should the world be joyful?

Because the King has come.

We sang The King is Coming which tells the the King is coming in the future.

So which is it?

Has the King come or is the King coming?

Advent is a season of double anticipation.

First, we anticipate the celebration for our King’s first coming as a babe in a manger; born to die on a cross to pay the penalty for our sins and set in motion the unfolding of the Kingdom of God.

Second, we anticipate Jesus’ Second Coming as the the King of Glory to reconcile all things to God and to completely establish God’s sovereign and righteous Kingdom on earth.

We’ve already anticipated his second coming in song.

As we begin our reflection on God’s word this morning, let’s take a moment to celebrate his first coming in Song.

Let’s joyfully sing together the first stanza of . . .

Joy to the World

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

Our carol, Joy to the World, is Issac Watt’s paraphrase of Psalm 98

This psalm is a Royal Psalm because it emphasizes Yahweh as King.

However, Watt’s Joy to the World does not celebrate King Yahweh, but rather King Jesus.

Was Issac Watt’s right in seeing Jesus in this Psalm?

While there are many ways to illustrate that this view is appropriate, I will do so by briefly answering the question . . .

Did Jesus see himself in the royal saving role as expressed in Psalm 98?

Specifically, did he see himself as King Yahweh in the flesh?

I will highlight only two stories that indicate Jesus did see himself as Yahweh in the flesh.

The first occurs in the calling of the disciple Nathanael in John chapter 1.

Many of you will recall the story.

When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.”

“How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.

Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”

Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.”

Here I image Jesus cracking a huge smile and responding with a bit of a chuckle in his voice, . . .

“You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree.

You will see greater things than that.”(John

1:46–50, NIV)

The point I want to make here is that Jesus completely accepted Nathanael calling him the Son of God and the King of Israel, even though Jesus’ response implies that Nathanael’s understanding of how Jesus would fulfill those roles was not complete.

The second story occurs in John chapter 8. Jesus is confronting the Pharisees on a number of issues.

Finally, the Pharisees ask “Are you greater than our Father Abraham?” Jesus replied, “Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad . .

.. Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!”

At this, they picked up stones to stone him . . .

.” (John 8:57–59, NIV) .

Your will recalled that . . .

“Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’

Then what shall I tell them?”” (Exodus 3:13, NIV) God said to Moses, “This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.

When Jesus said “before Abraham was born, I am.

The Pharisees knew was clearly saying, I am God, I am Yahwah, I AM who I AM.

That’s why the Pharisees were ready to stone Jesus for blasphemy.

Taking these two stories together, I propose that Jesus saw himself as King of Israel and as Yahweh himself.

In John 12:47 Jesus said, “I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.

Combing this with Jesus’ understanding of his identity as Yahweh on earth it seems evident that Jesus pursued his first advent as Yahweh’’s mission to save the world.

Consequently, Watt’s interpretation of Psalm 98 from the point of view that the saving work of King Yahweh and the saving work of King Jesus are the same thing appears consistent with Jesus’ own assertions concern his identity and his mission.

Viewing the Psalm, as Watts did through the lens of Jesus, we see these two royal identities merging together through the Psalm.

We will spend the balance of our time together considering how those roles unfold within the Psalm and the responses the King Yahweh and King Jesus require of us individually and as a Church Family.

Slide: Sing a New Song to the Savior

Sing to the LORD a new song!

The first thing to notice is that statement is a command it.

It is not a wish or a suggestion.

A new song is commanded response to the marvelous things that the Lord has done.

The psalmist points out three marvelous divine saving actions.

The first of these actions is that

“ . . .

his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.”

John Calvin points out that this simple means that the salvation that God created for his people is completely from within himself, without the use of anything or any process that is outside of himself.

His right hand and his holy arm both are symbols for God’s own power.

Therefore, God’s salvation flows completely from his initiative and his power alone.

We are more helpless than we think.

The Scriptures make it clear that we are totally dependent on God for our eternal salvation.

Jesus said, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day.”

(John 6:44, NIV).

Likewise, we totally dependent on God’s daily deliverance.

Psalm 68:19 says, Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.

(Psalm 68:19, NIV) We think we can save ourselves in our daily life, but if it were not for our Savior who daily bears our burdens we would be lost.

The Hebrew word translated salvation here means to “save from ruin, destruction, or harm.”

It can also be translated as victory.

Our salvation the victorious salvation of King Jesus.

The Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, “Death has been swallowed up in victory, Where, O death, is your victory?

Where, O death, is your sting . . . .

But thanks be to God!

He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Through Jesus, the Father victoriously saves us from eternal death.

And, as we obey his commands of Jesus, we are victoriously save on a daily basis from the things that seek our ruin, destruction, or harm.

The apostle John wrote in his first letter, “In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands.

And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world.

This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.

Who is it that overcomes the world?

Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.” (1 John 5:3–5, NIV) .

In his second divine act . . .

“The Lord has made his salvation known.”

The Hebrew word translated salvation in this verse means to preserve from harm, “rescue from any intolerable situation or great danger from which the person is unable to save himself or herself”[1] The Hebrew translated made know means to make information known to someone particularly by instruction.

The prophet Micah speaking of the future rule of the Messiah wrote, “Many nations will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the temple of the God of Jacob.

He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.”

The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”

(Micah 4:2, NIV) God made his salvation known first through the Law, then through Jesus in his first coming, and finally it will be fully known when King Jesus returns and completes that instruction.

The third marvelous divine actions is that the Lord . . .

“. . .

revealed his righteousness to the nations.”

The Hebrew translated “revealed” means to reveal in the sense of making information public that was previously secret or known to a few.”

Jesus fulfills King Yahweh’s plan to make his salvation known.The Apostle Paul captured this in letter to the church in Ephesus when he wrote, “In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets.

This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.”

(Ephesians 3:4–6, NIV)

Why did King Yahweh show work this marvelous, victorious salvation?