The Joy of Advent - Monday Devo
Thinking about Advent and the Christmas time of year, there are a lot of important themes for us to ponder. This can be seen in traditional things like the Advent candle wreaths, where the four outside candles represent hope, love, joy and peace. These words are core themes in the majority of religious Christmas songs, which I’m sure you could think of a lot off the top of your head.
“Joy to the world, the Lord has come, Let earth receive her King”
One in particular that comes to mind is Joy to the World, and much of it, like many traditional Christmas songs, pull directly from Scripture. Psalm 98 in particular comes to mind:
1 Oh 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 known his salvation;
he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations.
3 He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness
to the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God.
4 Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth;
break forth into joyous song and sing praises!
5 Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre,
with the lyre and the sound of melody!
6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn
make a joyful noise before the King, the LORD!
7 Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
the world and those who dwell in it!
8 Let the rivers clap their hands;
let the hills sing for joy together
9 before the LORD, for he comes
to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness,
and the peoples with equity.
Thinking about this passage, it’s easy to see connections in the verses of the song, such as verse 1
Joy to the world, the Lord has 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
And verse 4
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
It’s clear, even in the Old Testament, that God’s intended mission was to conquer the nations, ultimately through the worship and enthusiastic praise of His people among the nations (Psalm 67:1-2). Through the words and actions of a redeemed people, the Lord is magnified and given praise. Not only us, but all creation joins in the chorus of praise of the mighty King who has brought salvation to the nations.
It can be funny explaining things like this to curious children. I’ve been asked recently by my kids, if the animals in the stable when Jesus was born were aware of who He was and what was happening. The Bible doesn’t say specifically in the birth narrative, and it would be missing the point to put such conjecture on the story, even though many kids books and shows will use the animals as plot devices and characters for a Christmas story. Even so, God spoke through a donkey in the OT, and even Jesus said if the people didn’t give Him praise “the very stones would cry out” (Luke 19:40).
Ultimately, all creation does and will shout for joy at the coming of the King of Creation. That’s why Joy is an integral part of the Advent season.
Joy, regardless of our circumstances, causes us to sing praises to the Messiah who came humbly to meet us in our brokenness to redeem us, and who is coming again to make all things new.
“Oh 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. ”