Joy To The World!

I love Christmas music. I'm the type who starts listening to it in October and begrudgingly puts it away in January. On top of the holly-jolliness of it all, I love to listen to the words. To digest the meaning of each song.

This is especially true for me of old Christmas carols.

This season I've been captivated by "Joy To The World" originally written in the 17th century by Isaac Watts. He started writing music out of boredom with what was sung each Sunday at church. His father challenged him to write something better if he didn't like what was being offered.

Isaac did just that.

He penned many hymns but it is "Joy To The World" we are most familiar with. It was written after the last half of Psalm 98:

"Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth; make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise. Let the floods clap their hands; let the hills be joyful together before the Lord; for He cometh to judge the earth; with righteousness shall He judge the world, and the people with equity."

My favorite part of Isaac's carol is "Joy to the world, the Lord is come..."

The Lord is come.

Isn't that the truth?

Our Christ is continual. He is come.

When our hearts are broken.

When redemption is needed.

Where restoration is offered.

Where wholeness is without limit.

He is come.

To free the captives.

To bind the broken.

To proclaim good news.

To release prisoners from darkness.

To bestow beauty instead of ashes.

As we celebrate the birth of Christ, His coming to earth, it is my prayer we would joy with all the world...with all of creation...

that our Lord is come.

And He will come again.

Revelation 1:8

"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty."

Merry, Merry Christmas!




Kristen is the daily author of {dancing} in the margins, her personal blog. She welcomes you to stop by!