Real Hope: O Come Let Us Adore HimMuestra

Joy To The World

Joy to the world! The Lord is 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.

‘Joy to the world! The Lord is come’, is a lyrical, triumphant way to trill what we read in the second chapter of Luke’s Gospel. When the angels visited the shepherds to proclaim Jesus’ birth, they told them to be not afraid. Why? Because these messengers of God brought ‘good news of great joy that will be for all the people’ (Luke 2:8-10).

Nothing to be scared of; everything to be joyful about.

I love how ‘Joy to the World’ expresses what we too often forget. The birth of the world’s Saviour – Messiah – is a cause for ongoing rejoicing. Unceasing and universal.

Heaven, nature, and all of us should sing with gusto about the one who rules the world with truth and grace. However, in the slog and grind of our lives, it can be easy to drown out the joy of Jesus. In comes the woes, fears or distractions; out goes our marvelling at the wonders of His love.

My favourite phrase of this beautiful Christmas carol is ‘repeat the sounding joy’. It conjures an inspiring image of everything bonded by a never-ending note of thanks and delight. To put that another way: Joy to the world – in Jesus. Forever.

Written by BEN MCEACHEN

Want more? Check out the Real Hope Conversations Podcast and delve deeper into the meaning behind some of our favourite Christmas carols. Available wherever you listen to podcasts.