Brian McLaren has a wonderful article on "The Politics of Joy". I read it and it indeed brought me a little yule time merriment during the end of this Advent season.
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.
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.
- Isaac Watts, 1719
2 comments:
go isaac, go isaac,
it's Jesus' birthday, go isaac!
I heard a sermon on the radio a few years ago, by Mark Rutland. He spoke about how in many parts of the world, "Joy to World" is not a Christmas Hymn, it is commonly sung all through the year.
I have tried to remember that and practice it. I remember a few times in the dead heat of summer, I'd be out cutting the grass and humming the tune in my head as I went.
For me, it does put the hymn in a whole new meaning when you intentionally disassociate it from Christmas.
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