Joy to the World | Psalm 98
The number one question that drives people is, “How can I be happy?” The world is constantly trying to tell us how to find it. Many are searching for it and trying to fill the voids of their lives with it. But few seem to find it and when they do it does not last. There is a difference between joy and happiness. Happiness depends on what happens or the circumstances of life. It is short lived needing another high to keep it going; like a balloon filled with air. Joy is much deeper. The secret to the Christian life is joy. Christians can have joy in a broken world filled with pain; they can celebrate when others are afraid, we can trust when others doubt. How? Because joy comes from a right relationship with God through Jesus.
In 1719, the British Pastor Isaac Watts wrote a book of hymns based on the book of Psalms called, “Psalms of David Imitated” for the church he pastored in London. One of his most famous songs in that book is “Joy to the World.” The irony of this song is that may not have been written with Christmas in mind. It was written about the Second Coming of Christ. It is the most unlikely of the Christmas songs that is ironically one of the most sang songs of the Christmas season. Watts’ hymn traces the story of redemption throughout history, from the promise in the garden to Christ’s glorious return with the call for Joy. Watts took Psalm 98 written with Messianic expectation and gave it a Christian perspective based on Jesus’ fulfillment of it. The Psalm and the song teach us that we can have Joy when we know Jesus because He is the Savior who has come, the King who Reigns, and the Judge who is Coming.