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…

Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns, Let all their songs employ, While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains, Repeat the sounding joy…

He rules the world with truth and grace, And makes the nations prove The glories of his righteousness, And wonders of his love…

The Advent & Christmas season has arrived! And with it comes the opportunity once again to sing all those great Christmas carols. Many of them we know by heart – if not all of it, at least the first verse! Singing these great carols is something we look forward to every year. However, do you know the history behind some of our great carols? You no doubt know the above Christmas carol, but let’s take a closer look at it.

“Joy to the World” was written by Isaac Watts (1674-1748), a minister, theologian, and hymn writer. He is credited with over 700 hymns. The story goes that the teenage Watts complained to his father about the “dreadful” psalms that were being sung in worship. His father gave him a nudge, telling him if he didn’t like the songs they were singing, that he should write better ones. He did, and the result is this great Christmas carol. But, did you know that this isn’t actually a Christmas carol? Yes, it is nestled in the Christmas section of all denominational hymnals (LSB #387), but it is actually a paraphrase of Psalm 98. It makes no reference to Bethlehem, angels, shepherds, wise men, or even a little drummer boy! What it does is remind us of the JOY we have from being baptized, forgiven, and redeemed children of God. This JOY also gives us the strength and determination we need to live as God’s people, no matter what challenges we encounter along the way.

We experience JOY when we worship together, when we pray together, when we hear God’s Word together, and when we SING together. Singing is not an option for people of God. Music shows up in over 1,100 verses of Scripture, with 400 direct references to singing, and 50 times where “sing” is a direct command. Singing is a natural response to JOY, and joy is, quite simply, a gift from God.

Speaking of JOY and singing together, please make sure that Sunday, January 12, at 3:00 pm is on your calendars! We will be celebrating the return of our refurbished organ, as well as giving thanks to God for the gift of music and the ability to sing and make music, with our Dedication Recital & Hymn Festival. This will be one of the largest musical events at St. Peter’s, and we want to see a packed sanctuary. The first part of the event will be a solo organ recital, where I will perform works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Cesar Franck, Felix Mendelssohn, & Louis Vierne. The second part of the event will be a Hymn Festival, where we will have the opportunity to sing some of the great hymns of faith together. St. Peter’s Adult Choir and Brass Choir, as well as St. Peter’s School’s Junior Choir will participate in the Hymn Festival. We are planning to expand the Adult Choir into a Festival Choir for this event, so I am looking for singers who want to sing with us. If you are interested in joining the choir for this one event, please contact me, or the church office, and we will get details to you. Whether you sing in the choir, or attend as a congregation member, please come on January 12 to lift your voices in praise with our new instrument!