Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen. (Revelation 1:7, ESV)
Have you sung “Joy to the World” yet this Advent season? It’s one of the recommended songs from our church prayer team that we should sing this week. It’s a wonderful hymn that we sing to celebrate the Son of God coming into our world.
But did you know that “Joy to the World” was written not to celebrate the birth but the second coming of Jesus? Isaac Watts, the author, wrote many of the hymns we love, such as “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross,” and “Alas, and Did My Savior Bleed?” When Watts wrote “Joy to the World,” he didn’t intend it to be a song but a poem based on Psalm 98. How thankful I am, though, that his rich poetry was accompanied with music so we can celebrate the coming of our Lord.
How is this song better suited for the second advent of our Lord? Consider these words:
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!
When the Lord Jesus came as a baby, grew into manhood, took our place on the cross to die, then rise again, He did not at that time invade all areas where the curse of sin is found. He did not at that time replace all curse with grace. We feel the effects of the curse still. We hurt with others suffering. We ourselves suffer the sting of physical pain, even the brokenness caused by sin. But there is a time when Jesus will come again, and at that time… at that time He will spread His blessings as far as the curse is found. And sin, pain, suffering, brokenness will be no more!
The Lord Jesus Christ stood in front of the Apostle John, recorded in Revelation 1:8, and said, “I am the Alpha and the Omega… who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” Amen. And when we sing “Joy to the World,” remember that Jesus came once, and He is coming again soon with power.