Scripture: Psalm 98
Sermon Series: Carols of Christmas – Sermon 05

This morning along with our Mortgage Burning, we’re concluding our sermon series, Carols of Christmas. It seemed fitting to end with Joy to the World. For those of you who grew up in the 70s it’s not the Three Dog Night one. It was written by Isaac Watts back in the 1700s in England.

Though it’s one of the popular Christmas songs, Isaac Watts never intended it to be a Christmas song. Instead, he was writing about the coming of the Lord at the end of the world, not Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem. It’s why when you sing it, you’ll notice there’s no direct reference to Christmas in the song.

Joy to the World was the favorite Christmas song of the 2^nd American president, John Adams. Because it showed that Jesus will reign, it was outlawed by the Nazis. It’s also the last Christmas Carol sung by the children in the Charlie Brown Christmas.

Watts began writing hymns at the age of 15. He did so after his father challenged him to write better songs to sing in church because Isaac thought the songs at church were boring. So, with more than 750 hymns to his credit, Isaac Watts is known as the father of English hymnody.

Watts was a small man standing barely five feet tall. Elizabeth Singer a known poet, fell in love with his music. She was so impressed by his written work that she continually wrote to him and quickly established herself as his biggest fan. She even proposed marriage through the mail. When he accepted, she anxiously raced to his side. Rather than cementing a lifelong love, once she actually met him, she broke off the proposal, writing: He was only five feet tall with a shallow face and hook nose, prominent cheek bones, small eyes, and a death like color. Unable to look at Watts and see the genius of his music that was underneath, she returned home. Heartbroken, Watts poured himself into writing more music. There was no happy ending to this Beauty and the Beast tale.

Joy to the World is based loosely on Psalm 98. Watts captures the spirit that the Lord of the universe has come has to set us free. Psalm 98 is one of what are known as the Royal Psalms (Psalms 93-100). They all emphasize God’s royal kingship. Psalm 98 especially emphasizes our joy in the face of God’s reign over all the earth.

Presbyterian pastor, Albert Barnes, writes of Psalm 98: “One cannot read this Psalm without being a happier man; without lofty views of God; without feeling that He is worthy of universal praise; without recognizing that he is in a world where the mind should be joyful; that he is under the dominion of a God whose reign should fill the mind with gladness.” This morning let’s work through Psalm 98 on which Joy to the World is based. If you’re taking notes…

1. Rejoice that Jesus is the Savior. 

This carol says, “Joy to the world! the Saviour reigns.” Psalm 98:2, “The Lord has made known His salvation.”

What do you need today? There are so many ways we could answer that question. Some might say, “I need a vacation. I need a break.” Others might say, “I need safety and health.” Still others might say, “I need help with my finances,” or “I need a new job,” or “I need something to lift my spirits.” But let me ask you to consider: What is it that we truly need today?

Now, this is church and I’m a preacher, so you might expect the answer I’m going to suggest. “What we most need right now is Jesus.” That comes right out of a very simple Scripture we often read at Christmas from Matthew 1, where an angel appears to Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus. She will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21)

Let me tell you why it’s true that what we most need today is Jesus. I am not here to argue about the value of a vacation, or a new job, or good health. Those are incredibly important. However, I do believe that what we really need, before everything else, is Jesus.

You may remember the story of Louis Zamperini, an Olympian who later served in World War II. During his service, Zamperini was shot down over the Pacific. He survived 47 days at sea, was interned in several prisoners of war camps and survived to come home at the end of the war. Zamperini’s story was told in the 2014 movie, Unbroken.

One would have thought that what Zamperini most needed was rescue from his terrible conditions. He did need that, but it wasn’t enough. After returning home, he struggled with PTSD and began drinking heavily to cope with it.

His wife, Cynthia was a strong Christian and eventually asked him to attend an evangelistic meeting led by Billy Graham. In 1949, at that meeting, Zamperini turned away from alcohol and gave his life over to Jesus. Eventually, he changed so much that he was able to forgive his captors. What Zamperini really needed wasn’t just rescue and relief, but a total transformation that only Jesus could provide. That’s true not just for Louis Zamperini in his situation but for all of us in all our situations.

One of the reasons we truly need Jesus is that He is the only One who can save us from our sins. What does it mean that Jesus saves us from sin? That requires us to understand what sin is. According to Scripture, sin describes both our actions that violate God’s commands but also our state of alienation from God Himself. We have this amazing capacity to do what is wrong, even when we know it’s wrong. But we also have a total inability to change who we are. Jesus came to deal with this.

Sin is much more than a short or long-term problem. It is a cosmic problem, something bigger than us that we can’t solve. Notice that when the angel mentions sin, he doesn’t stay in the realm of the general. He gets specific. The angel says Jesus’ name means He will save His people from their sins.

We’ve all had someone tell us that when we point our finger at someone, we have three fingers pointing back at us. The point of that illustration is to remind us to be aware of our own problems or contribution to the problem, or our own wrongdoing, not just focusing on someone else.

When we start talking about sin, we often want to point our finger at someone else…the really bad, really sinful people. But the angel doesn’t do that because Jesus is here to save everybody because we’re all sinners.  We’re not good people. We all do things at odds with God’s ways. We’re all in one way or another in a state of relational rupture or alienation from God. Sin is a personal problem for all of us.

The wonderful gift of Jesus that we celebrate at Christmas is that we are not left in our sins or in alienation from God. Jesus is the Savior we truly need. Like Louis Zamperini, even if we get the rescue we want, we still must deal with the people that we are. Thank God for Jesus, the Messiah, whose birth leads to the Cross, where Jesus, the sinless sin-bearer, brings salvation for everyone who reaches out to Him.

Jesus is not just a Savior; He is the only Savior. I’m not the one making the exclusive claim about salvation—Jesus is. He’s the one who said, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me (John 14:6). I’m simply trusting His authority to know these things.

It’s like going to my doctor. If he tells me my cholesterol is too high and that I need to cut down on sweets, I believe him. He’s an expert. Sure, there are plenty of other voices I could listen to about my health, including celebrities, infomercials or tabloid articles. To the extent that these voices disagree with my doctor, they’re most likely wrong. My physician has made the “exclusive” claim that his patient, me, has a certain malady that requires a certain treatment. I’m just an amateur who believes him.

2. Rejoice that Jesus is the Great Healer.

The carol says: “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.”

Jesus is the ultimate fixer of broken lives. He goes behind enemy lines to restore order and bring healing. No matter how chaotic or broken our lives may seem, Jesus has the power to bring peace and healing.

In the account of the demon-possessed man in Mark 5, Jesus encounters a man living among the tombs, isolated and self-destructive. Despite the man’s dire condition, Jesus’ mere presence compels the demons to beg for mercy, demonstrating His supreme authority. This encounter shows that Jesus is willing to go to the darkest places to bring light and healing.

Jesus’ power is not just about cosmic battles; it extends to personal, intimate healing. He restores human dignity and personhood, making us capable of healthy relationships and a purposeful life. This transformation signifies not just physical healing but a complete restoration.

Jesus’ power is sufficient to overcome any darkness in our lives. He invites us to bring our brokenness to Him for true healing. Isaiah 61:1-2: “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to bring good news to the poor; He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn.”

The entire universe was created for God’s glory. When we rebelled, the universe fell under the weight of our sin, yet God did not give up on us.

God has never given up on His original creation. Somehow we’ve managed to overlook an entire biblical vocabulary that makes this point clear. Reconcile. Redeem. Restore. Recover. Return. Renew. Regenerate. Resurrect. Each of these biblical words begins with the re- prefix, suggesting a return to an original condition that was ruined or lost.

For example, redemption means to buy back what was formerly owned. Reconciliation means the restoration or re-establishment of a prior friendship or unity. Renewal means to make new again, restoring to an original state. Resurrection means becoming physically alive again, after death. These words emphasize that God always sees us in light of what He intended us to be, and He always seeks to restore usto that design.

3. Rejoice that Jesus is the King. 

This carol says, “Let earth receive her King” and “He rules the world with truth and grace.” Psalm 98:6, “With trumpets and the sound of the horn, make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord!”

We aren’t used to thinking in terms of kings and monarchies because we’ve been brought up in a democracy where we elect our leaders. The Founding Fathers were wise. As they framed the constitution what was uppermost in their minds was the separation of power. So, they split the government into three equal but separate branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. The idea is that each branch keeps the other’s power in check. They built a balance of power into our constitution because they knew firsthand that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

In a true kingdom, kings have absolute power and authority. But ultimately the earth isn’t a democracy, it’s a monarchy. In fact, the Bible says that all creation – the earth, the universe, and heaven is a monarchy with one true King and it’s God.

God’s heart has always been for humanity and for the nations. The gospel is for all people, all nations. Jesus came as king, but a suffering king, allowing Himself to be rejected by His own people so that His saving work could reach to the ends of the earth and can save anyone.

God is an awesome God and a great King over all the earth! Yet, the question needs to be asked, if God is such a great king and king over all the earth, why is the world so messed up? If God reigns over the nations, why is there so much that’s wrong with the world?

Very simply, since Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the garden, the world has been in a state of rebellion against the rule of God. There are two kingdoms at war in this world: God’s and Satan’s. All the evil we see – wars, murders, abuse, trafficking, racism, cheating, lying and stealing is not just the result of Satan’s rule, it’s his goal. Destruction and death are the sphere of the kingdom of darkness. While we don’t like to think in terms of kings and kingdoms, all the world’s problems are directly linked to what king we serve.

Today it’s popular to want to resist authority and be our own man or woman. It’s a deception because when we’re our own man or woman we’re really Satan’s man or woman. The Bible teaches that anyone who isn’t in God’s kingdom and submissive to His rule, is in Satan’s kingdom. The path to God’s kingdom is narrow: trust and obey Jesus. The path to Satan’s kingdom is broad: everything else. We serve God or we serve Satan. Nobody is their own king, and Satan is an evil king.

An insightful verse in the Bible is found in John 18:6 when Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane the night before He was crucified. He was there praying all alone and here comes Judas the betrayer with all these soldiers with swords and torches to arrest an innocent man, Jesus. In the darkness they’re not sure where Jesus is. As they approach it says in this verse Jesus said, Who are you looking for? And they stopped and said, We are looking for Jesus of Nazareth. and I think Jesus gave them a little preview of what it’s going to be like at the end of the age as we find in Revelation 19, because this is what it says in John 18:6, Jesus said, I am.

If you know anything about the Bible, you know there is great power in that confession! Only God can say that! The Bible says when Jesus spoke those words, those men were knocked backwards! It was as if some physical force came against them and knocked them down. I can’t do that, can you?

Sometimes you feel like you can, after you’ve had garlic or something pungent, so when you speak you repel people. That’s not what happened with Jesus. The Bible has always prophesied that the Messiah would have this authority to speak. Isaiah 11:4 says, But with righteousness He will judge the needy, with justice He will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth; with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked! So, the only weapon that is going to be used at the end of the age is the word Jesus speaks, and the battle will be over.

Jesus is the King, but He laid aside all of the glories of heaven to come to this earth as a man to die for us, to die for our sins. He did it out of love.

4. Rejoice that Jesus is Judge. 

Psalm 98:9, “He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity.”

What’s one of the greatest problems in our world today? Injustice. Someday all injustice will be dealt with. God’s Word is the greatest answer to the injustice of this world. Bishop Desmond Tutu recognized that: “There’s nothing more radical, nothing more revolutionary, nothing more subversive against injustice and oppression than the Bible. If you want to keep people subjugated, the last thing you place in their hands is a Bible.” The Bible is a book of justice because it’s Author, God, is the God of justice.

Someday all wrongs will be made right. God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you (2 Thessalonians 1:6). The justice of God will often not be obvious in this world. People who do good often suffer, and people who do evil often prosper. But God is just, and even though His justice may be hidden now, it will become obvious when Jesus is revealed. There is coming a day when God will balance all of the books. 

The justice of God is a central truth in the Bible. God never acts out of vindictiveness. He always acts with justice. You can have absolute confidence that no one will be punished for a sin he or she did not commit. Yet, no one will escape from the justice of God. God knows all things. Nothing is hidden from Him. No one intimidates Him. No one has leverage against Him. Power, wealth or fame don’t count with Him. That means you can have confidence in the absolute justice of God.

That sustains our faith in a suffering world. If you’ve suffered at the hands of other people, or if someone you love has suffered, you often face this  question: How can I really believe that God is a loving God and God is a just God when good people suffer and those who do evil seem to prosper? God’s answer is that there is a day coming when Jesus Christ, the righteous judge will settle all of the accounts. All the world will see the full measure of God’s justice and the full measure of His love. 

That truth helps us understand what happened at the cross. Jesus came into the world because there is a future catastrophe that we all need saving from.

During His three years of ministry, Jesus did so much good—healing the sick, feeding the hungry, proclaiming the greatest teaching that this world has ever heard. He did so much good in three years of ministry. Just think what He could have done in thirty years! Yet He tells His disciples repeatedly that He came to die. What could Jesus accomplish by dying that He couldn’t accomplish by living? He died as a sacrifice, the payment for our sin. In the great love and mercy of God, our sins were placed on Him. As Isaiah says, The Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53:6). Jesus took all the punishment for sin. That’s what was happening at the cross. On the cross, Christ was punished for our sins. He endured everything that hell is on the cross. He took our hell so that you would never have to know what it is like. That’s the heart of the gospel. This is the Son of God! God’s Son’s suffering on the cross was able to atone for all our sins forever.

Conclusion

Joy to the world! The Lord is come. So, what is the Christmas carol “Joy to the World” really about? The same thing Psalm 98 is all about but now applied to Jesus coming into this the world.

Joy to the world! Why? Because God sent Jesus into the world to be our Savior. Joy to the world! Why? Because Jesus is the good and righteous King. Joy to the world! Why? Because Jesus is returning as Judge over all the nations. He will judge all sin and wickedness. He will make everything right. Joy to the world! The Lord has come! Let earth receive her King!

Pastor Wayne Cordeiro tells the story about his three-year-old daughter, Amy. She was in her preschool Christmas concert.

About 30 preschoolers came on stage and filled all the risers. A teacher had an old nylon string guitar that she probably hadn’t played since the Christmas program the year before. She was leading them in singing of “Joy to the World!” But the children were only three-years old. They could barely speak in complete sentences, let alone sing full measures of music.

Undaunted, the teacher began, “Joy to the World!” But the children were more interested in finding their parents: “Hi, Dad! Hi, Mom!” The teacher kept singing, “Joy to the World!” Then, Amy saw her Dad. He took a picture of her. The teacher kept singing, “Joy to the World!” Just then one of the boys in the back of the risers began to fall backwards and he took four others with him. Bang! The teacher kept singing, “Joy to the World!”

It was absolute chaos! When the song was done, all the parents jumped to their feet and gave the children a standing ovation.

After it was all done, Wayne thought, “We just gave a standing ovation to the worst concert we’ve ever heard. I just took pictures of the worst concert I’ve ever heard.” Why? Because Wayne’s daughter Amy was singing. He applauded not because of her performance but because of their relationship.

Jesus came so that you and I can have a relationship with Him. That’s why we sing Joy to the World. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).