What Does “Joy to the World”
Mean to the world?
Definition of Joy:
the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying; keen pleasure; elation
What Does Joy to the World
look like in the Bible?
"Joy to the World"
by Isaac Watts
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 Savior reigns!
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy
Repeat the sounding joy
Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy
No more let sins and sorrows grow
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found
Far as the curse is found
Far as, far as the curse is found
He rules the world with truth and grace
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness
And wonders of His love
And wonders of His love
And wonders, wonders, of His love
Psalm 98
1 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.
2 The Lord has made his salvation known
and revealed his righteousness to the nations.
3 He has remembered his love
and his faithfulness to Israel;
all the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God.
4 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth,
burst into jubilant song with music;
5 make music to the Lord with the harp,
with the harp and the sound of singing,
6 with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn—
shout for joy before the Lord, the King.
7 Let the sea resound, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it.
8 Let the rivers clap their hands,
let the mountains sing together for joy;
9 let them sing before the Lord,
for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
and the peoples with equity.
Verses 1-3:
Point back to the salvation from God for Israel through sacrifice, and point forward to the salvation from God for us through Jesus Christ.
Verses 4-6:
Talk about worship exploding out of us because of the joy of knowing our God.
Verses 7-9:
Explain that the WHOLE WORLD is affected by the joy He brings.
Ultimately, this passage in Psalms, and the song Joy to the World both point to one thing… The gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus came as a baby in order to bring salvation and TRUE JOY to His people. He came to set us free from slavery to sin, from the promise of death and destruction, and even to set us free from depression, anger, hatred, and sadness. He came to give us the opportunity to find Freedom in Him!
What Do We Do about it?
John Piper:
“Christian joy is a good feeling in the soul, produced by the Holy Spirit, as he causes us to see the beauty of Christ in the word and in the world.”
Rick Warren:
“Joy is the settled assurance that God is in control of all the details of my life, the quiet confidence that ultimately everything is going to be alright, and the determined choice to praise God in every situation.”
1. We focus on Jesus and base our joy on Him.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-22
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not treat prophecies with contempt 21 but test them all; hold on to what is good, 22 reject every kind of evil.
2. We have confidence in God to be in control of our lives.
Romans 15:13
13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
3. We choose to praise God in every situation, and CHOOSE Joy regardless of our circumstances.
Galations 5:19-21
19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.
Galations 5:22-23a
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control.
