Joy to the World…the LORD is come!

Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.

Psalm 98:1

It’s the beginning of December ladies, and the carols are ringing out loud and clear. “Joy to the World” keeps running through my head: 

“Joy to the world! The Lord is come;
Let earth receive her King!”

In 1719 Isaac Watts was so moved by Psalm 98 and its call for all creation to make a joyful noise to the Lord that he wrote the lyrics for what would become the most published carol. The original intent of David, the psalmist, was prophetic and builds on Psalm 95:1, Come let us sing for joy to the LORD and Psalm 96:1, Sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth. 

There definitely is a song in David’s Psalm 98. Listen to its poetic rhythm:

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth,

 burst into jubilant song with music; 

make music to the LORD with the harp,

 with the harp and the sound of singing, 

with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn…

Let the sea resound, and everything in it,

 the world and all who live in it. 

Let the rivers clap their hands,

 let the mountains sing together for joy.

 —Psalm 98:4-8 

Watts zeroes in on the now: “Joy to the world! The Lord is come”. “Is come” becomes of interest to me. By using “is”, Watts captures the eternal nature of Psalm 98: for he has done marvelous things (98:1) in the past; has made his salvation known (98:2) which encompasses the prophetic; comes to judge (now) and will judge the world in righteousness (98:9), future. Layers of meaning pile on one another. The perpetual “I Am” of God inhabits that simple “is come”; the birth of Jesus opens our eyes to eternality. Wow!

Sing with me:

“Joy to the world! The Savior reigns;
  Let men their songs employ;
  While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
  Repeat the sounding joy.”

Nancy P

All Scripture quotations are from the NIV 1973,1978,1984, unless otherwise noted.