Worship Preparation Guide for Sunday, January 31

As I sit at my desk working on the sermon and service for this Sunday, the verses of a hymn keep running through my mind.  “Joy to the world, the Lord has come, let earth receive her King”.  We sing this hymn by Isaac Watts at Christmas, and fittingly so.  But the lyrics find their origin in Psalm 98, and look forward to the same scene we see in Isaiah 11, the final triumphant rule and reign of King Jesus, the “shoot from the stump of Jesse” (Is 11:1).       

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.

The LORD has made known His salvation;

He has revealed His righteousness 

in the sight of the nations. (Ps 98:1-2)

Isaiah 11 gives us another view of this same sweeping vision:

for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD 

as the waters cover the sea. (Isaiah 11:9)

Another verse of Joy to the Word declares, “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….”.  Watts’ verse looks forward to sin’s curse being forever broken.  He might have found his inspiration for these words in these lyrics from David: 

Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; 

the world and those who dwell in it!

Let the rivers clap their hands; 

let the hills sing for joy together before the Lord (Psalm 98:7-8)

Isaiah 11 reminds us of the same truth; when King Jesus returns the curse of Eden will be reversed and even the most hostile relationships will be restored. 

The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, 

and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat,

and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; 

and a little child shall lead them.

The cow and the bear shall graze; 

their young shall lie down together;

and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra,

and the weaned child shall 

put his hand on the adder's den.

They shall not hurt or destroy 

in all my holy mountain;  (Isaiah 11:6-9)

The final verse of Joy To The World says,  “He rules the world with truth and grace, and makes the nations prove the glories of His righteousness, and wonders of His love”.

David sung it this way:

…for he comes to judge the earth.  

He will judge the world with righteousness,

and the peoples with equity. (Psalm 98:9)

Isaiah says the same thing, but with more detail:

And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD.  

He shall not judge by what his eyes see,

 or decide disputes by what his ears hear, 

but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,

and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; 

and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, 

and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.

Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, 

and faithfulness the belt of his loins.  (Isaiah 11:3-5)

Today as you prepare for worship this vision of restoration and reconciliation seems very far away.  But the brokenness we see with our physical eyes is not the ultimate reality.  With eyes of faith we see a compelling, encouraging and motivating vision of God’s reality, of the kingdom of our Lord and King Jesus. 

When we gather with the people of God for worship we are reminded of this reality.  When we gather with the people of God for worship we get a brief and much needed reprieve from the hopelessness and hostility of the world; we celebrate and exult over the hope and peace we have in Christ our Lord.  When we gather with the people of God for worship we are given the opportunity to sing to the LORD a new song, for He has done marvelous things!

I look forward to seeing you Sunday morning!