The following was written and read by Linda at Trinity URC on 13th December 2020

At the start of Advent or even earlier in the shops now days, we begin to hear carols that are very familiar to us. In some instances, so familiar that we sometimes forget to listen to the message they contain. So to end our festival of carols and readings today, we are going to focus on the message of one such carol that has been sung for over 300 years “Joy to the World”.

As my colleague Anna says when we need an answer to anything we don’t know – google it, so google has assisted me here and I would like credit the following authors of articles I have read to help me prepare this message.

Ray Fowler
Jonathan Powers
Matt Boswell
Keith Getty
The High Calling

Joy to the World was written by Isaac Watts in the 1700. When Isaac was a young man he was frustrated with the music in church. He felt that the hymns had old fashioned language and were full melodies that failed to inspire. Isaac shared his frustration with his father, who was a church pastor. His father who challenged him to write different hymns for the church, so Isaac took up this challenge and started a lifelong practice of composing more than 600 hymns.

Isaac was inspired to write Joy to the World, by Psalm 98 particularly verse 4

“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth burst into jubilant song with music”.

Incidentally Isaac didn’t write the song as a Christmas Carol but as a hymn to be sung all year around and it was not originally sung to the music we have come to know and love. So why is “Joy to the World” such a popular Christmas Carol and what is the message that Isaac Watts is conveying to us in this hymn?

The first verse of Joy to the World is based on verses 4 to 6 of psalm 98, and for those of you who are unable to see the screen the words are:

Joy to the World – Rejoice and Sing No 135
Joy to the World!
The Lord is come
Let earth receive her King
Let every heart prepare him room
And heaven and nature sing

Psalm 98 NRSV 
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

The first verse of Joy to the World announces the birth of Christ and is one of the reasons this song has been come a popular Christmas Carol.

The line “let every heart prepare him room” is believed to be a reference to Luke chapter 2 verse 7 “ And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn”

The second verse corresponds to verses 7 and 8 of psalm 98

Joy to the World – Rejoice and Sing No 135
Joy to the world! The Savior reigns
Let men their songs employ
While fields and floods
Rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy

Psalm 98 NRSV 
Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
the world and those who live in it.
8 Let the floods clap their hands;
let the hills sing together for joy

This second verse of “Joy to the World” reminds us that we should always sing God’s praise.

In verse one Isaac refers to Christ as Lord and King, however here in the second verse he refers to Christ as Saviour, which ties in with the Christmas theme, through the angel’s announcement in Luke chapter 2 verse 11 “to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah, the Lord.”

Another reference in hymn to make this a popular Christmas Carol is the line “Let all their songs employ” which remind us of the 4 specific songs in Luke’s gospel that delight and proclaim the birth of Jesus.

• Mary magnifies and rejoices in the mercy of God (Luke 1:46-55);
• Zechariah’s sings a song of prophecy that Jesus would fulfil God’s promise (Luke 1:68-79);
• The angels ‘sing’ the pronouncement of the coming of Christ (Luke 2:14);
• and Simeon sings a prayer declaring that he can depart in peace now that his eyes have seen the coming of the Christ (Luke 2:29-32).

The original lyrics of the 3rd verse of may not be that familiar as the words have been changed in some hymn books including the URC Rejoice and Sing. I was unable to establish why the words were changed, however the original words that Isaac wrote were

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

Whereas today we sing about pain and death instead of a curse.

Joy to the World – Rejoice and Sing No 135 
No more let thorns infest the ground
Or sins and sorrow grow
Whereever pain and death are found
He makes his blessing grow

Psalm 98 NRSV
O sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done marvelous things.
His right hand and his holy arm
have gotten him victory.
2 The LORD has made known his victory;
he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations.

The sins and curses being referred to in this verse is when Adam and Eve sinned in the garden by eating fruit from the forbidden tree and God put a curse on all creation, the verse goes on to say that when Christ comes a second time, the curse will be eliminated.

Moving on the last verse of Joy to the World, which correspondences to verses 3 and 9 in psalm 98

Joy to the World – Rejoice and Sing No 135 
He rules the world with truth and grace
And makes the nations prove
The glories of his righteousness
And wonders of his love

Psalm 98 NRSV
3 He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness
to the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the victory of our God.

9 at the presence of the LORD,
for he is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness,
and the peoples with equity

In this final verse of “Joy to the World”, we are telling those around us that God judges the world in truth and fairness and yet he also gives us grace through Jesus Christ, who paid the penalty for sin at the cross.

So when we sing "Joy to the World" we are not only look backing to the first coming of Christ and celebrating his birth. At the same time, the words encourage us to look forward to the day when the impact of sin will be erased, and all nations will prove the glories of God's righteousness and the wonders of his love.

As we look forward to celebrations of the birth of Jesus Christ and to a new year - 2021, I would ask you today to look back at 2020 and think of the joys of this very different and in some cases a difficult year, for me a few of these are

• Full time employment throughout both lockdown’s when many have lost their jobs and will struggle this Christmas
• For good health, the NHS, the researchers and scientist working on COVID 19 vaccination’s and treatments
• For finding nature literately on my doorstep – Rainham Marshes
• For the sunrises I have seen on my walks that remind me what an amazing world we live in. 

The lectionary readings for today are as follows: Isaiah 56. 1, 6-8, Psalm 67, Romans 11. 1-2a, 29-32, and finally the reading I will be looking at today. Mathew 15. (10-20), 21-28

Mathew 15. (10-20), 21-28
“At first glance the two sections of this passage seem unconnected. But read together, the second story (from v.21) takes on a different hue. It all starts with the Pharisees criticising Jesus’ followers over their hygiene (v.2), to which Jesus replies that what makes people unclean does not come from what they put into their mouths, but from what is in their hearts. His disciples tell him that he has upset the Pharisees with this answer, and he tells them that he does not care – because they are blind guides. When Peter asks Jesus to explain the parable, its unclear what he is referring to – is it verse 11 or 14? Jesus explains his saying about food, and goes on to say that people demonstrate they are unclean by what they say and how they treat other people.”

This tells me that quite often we listen, we hear but we don’t understand, one of the many reasons for carrying out Bible Study is to attempt to dig deep and by doing so understand, when moved from the Vine Ilford in the mid-sixties I was a very young Junior Church assistant, I had I thought covered all bases – I had listened to all those that taught me about the Bible, but how wrong I was our head of Junior Church at the time showed me other ways of reflecting on our Bible stories it was a major thing for me it I think set me on the correct path, over the following years there have been many who guided me on the path of understanding.

“The story of Jesus’ encounter with the woman shares the thematic link of food and belonging. Indeed, the whole of chapter 15 can be seen as a collection of stories that have to do with the basis of inclusion in God’s people.

So, a Canaanite – and we might recall that there are two such women, Rahab and Tamar, in Jesus’ family tree (Matthew 1.3-4) – seeks healing for her daughter. Jesus is silent. But the woman must have persisted because his disciples implore Jesus to send her away because of her incessant shouting. Jesus tells her he has come only for those born in the house of Israel – perhaps one of the disciples had suggested that if Jesus did what she wanted, she’d leave them alone. But she persists, kneeling before him, imploring him to help. Jesus reiterates his previous answer, injecting it with typical Jewish anti-Gentile invective – ‘dogs’ – suggesting that what is meant for Israel should not be given to outsiders.

Generally, use of the term ‘dogs’ in the Old Testament is a derogatory one, a metaphor for people who are beyond the pale. It sounds like a ​​final rejection of the woman’s request. Yet, it could be seen as a proverbial saying that offers an invitation to respond. And this the woman does, giving as good as she gets, concluding the proverbial statement by suggesting that the children, of course, are fed first – but the house dogs then get their share.”

Do we sometimes disapprove of someone because of the way they look or sound, do we pigeonhole people by their appearance even by their accent, and are we as fair minded as we should be, especially in the times we are living through. How do we feel about the person refusing for instance to wear a face mask, to not maintain social distancing. We have to always attempt to understand but as with the disciples sometimes it’s very hard.

“Jesus is amazed. Peter, listening to this, was told a short time ago that he was a man of little faith; now he hears Jesus saying that this woman has great faith. The contrast is obvious, and not just with Peter but also with the leaders of the house of Israel (15.1-9). Although Jesus has primarily come as Israel’s Messiah, his ultimate goal is to reach the nations with his saving grace.”

they will remain on the Heath & Havering Website so can be re-looked at any time going forward. I thought that the title of this week’s Blog was very relevant I don’t know how many of you have dipped into any of these Blogs if you have I truly hope that you have got something from them, even if that’s a prayer that you liked, a picture that you felt was relevant, ​​a group of words that meant something to you. We that is Nelmes United Reformed Church have decided to complete two Zoom services in August, lots of other churches are doing the same or similar, including our own Western Road Church, we have been opening Nelmes on a Monday night (7-8pm) for individual prayer, as a warden on duty every other week I have been surprised and delighted at the conversations I have had on those evenings, from people actively wanting to have some quite time to those who just want to talk & those that ask what is going on, once explained those that I have spoken with appreciate the thinking behind the idea. They have listened and hopefully understood.

Sometimes we & I include myself in that number assume we listen and understand as a general rule of thumb, but do we listen properly if we don’t then how can we understand.

“Don’t be afraid to listen, don’t be afraid of what you might hear, as it says in Psalm 50: “ Our God is coming, but not in silence; a raging fire is in front of him, a furious storm is around him.” We must be always alert so we can listen and understand!”

We have heard in our first talk [see previous article] how, often unwittingly, the way was prepared for the coming of Christ into this world, and I would like to continue from there.

During the days of His childhood His path, like ours, was smoothed by loving parents, but the time soon came when, to fulfil the plan and to do the work for which God has sent Him, He had to take the hard way. He left the smooth path and took the unmade road which led Him to Calvary, and although He Himself took that way, it was ordinary people like you and me, who were responsible for the conditions of His path through life. The friends, His disciples, who worshipped their Master, did everything in their power to make His road happy and comfortable. So many small incidents in the Gospels show of their concern for Him, when He was tired or when they thought the people were worrying Him. Yes, they tried to show their love in a practical form, as did those who opened their homes to him, where He gladly partook of the hospitality offered. Then there were the people who prepared Christ's way into Jerusalem by spreading in His path palm branches and even their own garments. What joy these little acts of devotion must have brought to our Saviour's heart. But, alas, those who were concerned about Him were few compared with those who, to put it into modern, idiom, "Couldn't have cared less" what sort of path He trod. Then, worst of all, there were those who hated Him and deliberately prepared that awful road to Calvary. 

Since those days Christianity has spread all over the world, and yet how little His way has changed. There are still the friends, still the indifferent, and still the hostile, and I think each one of us here should search our hearts and ask ourselves the question: "What am I doing to Prepare the Way of the Lord and make His path straight?"

My first job on leaving school was in the drawing office of a big engineering works in Manchester. It was in the days when Crystal Sets were the wonder of the age, and the 2LO station was still in its infancy. There was great excitement everywhere when the news got round that the first provincial broadcasting station was to be in our grounds, and that Royalty was coming for the opening day and would also inspect our works. Perhaps some of you know Trafford Park, Manchester, but for you who do not I will tell you that it consists of miles and miles of factories, bordering the famous Ship Canal, and the road that ran right through the Park (why they called it that I can't imagine, because anything more unlike a park does not exist) was cobbled and in a very bad condition through the continuous heavy traffic, but immediately it was known Royalty was coming, gangs of road repairers appeared and that long road right to the gates of the works, and through them for a further half mile up to the doors of the New Station, was made straight for the coming of a man who was one day to be an earthly king. That was not forced labour. It was done joyfully and all the energy that they possessed was put into it, and yet we give so little thought to the coming of Christ and the way He has to tread.

I wonder into which category, on thinking about it, we have had to put ourselves.

Have you had to admit that you are one of the hostile, again crucifying Christ? One of the saddest things about Christ's death was that it was Judas, who had one time loved Him and lived in daily contact with Him, who first put Him on the direct road to the Cross. There are still many Judas's in this world, who are still willing to sell the Lord they once loved, and all He stands for - for thirty pieces of silver. 

But perhaps you are just one of the very large crowd who are indifferent.

The majority of people nowadays wouldn't harm Him, but they don't even notice Him. If you ask them they call themselves Christians, yet they never give Christ a thought. There is no way prepared for Christ to enter their hearts, and because He is not there they cannot prepare the way in the hearts of others. For instance, it is impossible for those who do not know Christ to make His way plain in the hearts of their children. I was horrified to read, the other day, that in an Australian school a class was asked the question, "Does God really exist?" and ninety-six per cent answered "No." I hope this would not be the reply if put to a class in England but the Australians are a people of our race, a Christian - not a heathen land. How sadly the parents and teachers of those particular children have failed in the preparation for Christ's coming.

Perhaps in answer to the question we have asked ourselves, we, here, can all truthfully say "I do love the Lord, and I am trying to prepare His way." But how hard are we working? Trade Union hours and no more? Or are we like those workmen in Manchester, prepared to work long hours, joyfully, so that the work shall be done to time?

Do we go to church on Sunday and then go home feeling that we have done all that is required of us, and pleased that we are not among those dreadful people who never think of going to church? Or perhaps we teach in Sunday School and then say, "Ah, well, I've done my bit until next Sunday." How easy it is to slip into the self-righteous state.

At our church meeting recently we had a discussion on the methods a Christian should use to win people for Christ, and many seemed to think that living a good life before men was sufficient, but I felt that this was not enough. There are so many people who never give a thought to God whose lives compare very favourably with the lives of many Christians. There are thousands of these people who spend there lives in service for others, and so a Christian living a life of love and service is just classed with the others as a "good sort". 

How then are we to Prepare the Way? By our everyday lives, certainly, but we must endeavour to teach as well as live our religion. Can I give you an illustration of what I mean? Perhaps you have read it already in your daily paper. Some months ago, in North London, quads were born, one of whom died soon after birth, but the other three thrived. It soon became apparent, however, that they were all blind, and the parents were persuaded that the kindest thing to do was to let them go to a home for blind children where they would be cared for, and they knew that if they agreed it would mean that their children would one day be able to make a living for themselves, but can you imagine having to make that decision, and the desolation in the home afterwards? How fortunate for them that their doctor was a Christian. Up till now she had shown to that family all the kindness and service that a Christian should, but she went further. She brought them a Bible and asked them to read it every night, and then pray for their babies' sight, even though the specialists had said that it was hopeless. She also taught a little prayer to the seven-year-old boy. The sequel - a few weeks ago one baby was noticed reaching out for a spoon. An examination was made it was found that the baby could see. It was restored to its parents, and the doctor came round and led the prayers of gratitude to God. She could have been a sincere Christian and yet left behind in that home nothing more than the reputation of being a kind doctor, but she not only lived her Christianity, she taught it, and in that home joy and hope were born, and the Way was prepared for the coming of Christ. 

Such grand opportunities do not often present themselves, but if they did, would we avail ourselves of them? It takes courage and endurance, this road-making, but shall we each pray for these qualities so that when He comes our bit of road shall be well done and His Way straight?

Who was it that first expected the Saviour of the world to come? It has been suggested that to answer that question we must turn back practically to the beginning of things to that other story which is, I suppose, just as well known as the Christmas story itself. I am, of course, referring to the story of Adam and Eve. They had committed the great sin of disobeying God. They had done their own will instead of God's will, and when they did that, they brought misery upon themselves and upon all who were to come after them. Adam and Eve had listened to the voice of Satan instead of to the voice of God, and they thought that they would be in Satan's power for ever. It was then that God made them His wonderful promise that gave them hope. They would not always be in the power of Satan. The Son of God would come into the world to set everyone free who wanted to be free.

Well, so much for just one idea of where the promise of a Messiah originated. But we do know that for some two thousand or more years before that very first Christmas, the work of preparation for the coming of the Messiah had been going on, and as we look back now we can see how the actions of the Israelites had a part in that preparation even although at the time, perhaps, it might not have been quite so obvious. Some of them were chosen by God to play an important part in the work of preparation and, having been chosen, they played their part without hesitation. 

What a wrench it must have been for Abraham, the "father" of the Chosen Race, to leave his own home and country-folk at Ur of the Chaldees in Southern Babylonia, in the centre of what was at that time quite an advanced civilisation, and journey first northwards to Haran and then southwards to the land that was "to be shown to him", a country about which he must have known but very little. What faith he must have had to even attempt the journey, but no doubt his faith was strengthened by those great promises God made to him: "I will make of thee a great nation and make thy name great. In thee shall all families of the earth be blessed." And so the "father" of the family into which ultimately the Saviour was to be born made his way to the country which was to be our Lord's home during His short stay on earth. A great deal of preparation, however, was still needed before the land or the people were to be ready to receive their Messiah. About another two thousand years were to pass before all was ready, and during this time the people were to suffer set-backs which doubtless sorely tried their patience. How far off the coming exile in Babylon, yet Isaiah was there adding his part to the preparation by his words of comfort: "Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain ... Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand ... He shall feed his flock like a shepherd; he shall gather the lambs with his arm and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young."

Even Cyrus, King of Persia, had his part in the preparation,  for by his capture of Babylon in the year 538 B.C. he opened the way for the return of the Jews from exile and gave permission for the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem, a task which took considerably longer that it need have done, but which was completed eventually about eighteen years later. Another seventy-five years passed before the city of Jerusalem had its walls rebuilt by the people under the guidance of Nehemiah. 

The people whose names I have mentioned are but a few of those who prepared the way for the coming of the Messiah. Each one, so to speak, had his own particular task to do, a task for which he had been chosen by God. Some of those chosen may perhaps have seemed a little unsuited for their job, yet however unsuitable they may have been, God had work for them to do. To quote just one example, there is the story of the two brothers, Esau and Jacob. On the one hand, Esau, the hunter, a frank, open, impulsive, generous man with the much more attractive character of the two, and on the other hand, Jacob, who was crafty, deceptive, selfishly scheming and ever ready to gain a personal advantage. Yet it was Jacob, whose name was changed by God to "Israel", who was chosen by God to be one of the corner stones of the Hebrew family, to lead that family one step nearer to the time when all would be ready for the coming of the Messiah.

So the work of preparation went on. Some of it was done by those who led the nation with whom Christ eventually was to come and live; some of it was done by those who organised the building or rebuilding of the places which were to become so familiar to Him during his journeying and teaching, and some of it was done by people like John the Baptist, who made the final preparation, by speaking words of encouragement when needed, or by preaching and exhortation: "Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make His paths straight."

The book of the Acts of the Apostles, as its name implies, is chiefly concerned with the work of the early Christian leaders - men called and chosen by God and endowed with special insight into the meaning of the Gospel. Without them there could have been no Christian Church. They are as essential to it as the prophets were to Israel. 

But Christianity did not spread rapidly across the world only through the preaching of the Apostles. There must have been thousands of laymen too, their names now lost, who carried the message everywhere. The success of the Gospel in its encounter with pagan society was as much due to this hidden and unrecorded work as to anything.

The message which the anonymous lay Christians took with them was probably a very simple one, lacking in theological subtlety. Perhaps it could be summed up in the three words, "Jesus is Lord". And yet it was this message which had the power to turn the world upside down. 

For the Jew, oppressed with a legalism he could not fulfil, hedged about with regulations and dominated by an ecclesiastical authority, the message brought a sense of joyous freedom. In the name of One who had declared Himself Lord even of the Sabbath the converted Jew dropped a religion which had become a burden for him to carry and in exchange found a faith which carried him.

Men who lived in terror of evil spirits found in the message One who was stronger than they. Millions who had been taught that the stars in their courses determined life, and who therefore felt themselves to be helpless victims of fate, learned that Jesus is Lord of the heavens no less than of the earth. The cold state of religion of the Roman Empire, which could satisfy no human heart, was undermined, because Jesus had claimed lordship over every earthly power, and taught that a man's conscience did not belong to Caesar. And the sad dignity of the Stoic was transformed into the courage of the martyr, willing to give his life not as a lonely illustration of virtue in the face of adversity, but as a triumphant vindication of the truth that Jesus is indeed the Lord. 

Our situation to-day is very different from that in which the early Church found itself. Behind us are centuries of Christianity, and this constitutes both an advantage and a disadvantage. Many feel that Christianity has been weighed in the balance and found wanting, and this makes our task doubly hard. But there are points of similarity between our world and that ancient world into which Christianity came. Like the men of those times we are conscious of an increasing pessimism. Like them we are conscious, too, of a prevailing moral and spiritual decay. And like them we feel as though something massive and inhuman were weighing upon us - in their case the Roman Empire, in ours the growing power of modern industrial states which it seems no man can direct or control.

Our world knows no Imperial cult, but it knows nationalist self idolatry. It does not know physical slavery, at least in the West, but it knows desperate poverty and economic slavery. The Roman arena has gone, but much of modern life is equally vicious and unhappy. 

The need today is for the same message - "Jesus is Lord". And the method for releasing the transforming power which that message contains must be the same too. It is not enough to leave the propagation of the faith to parsons and professional religious teachers. For one thing there are not enough of them. For another their work only touches a tiny fringe of life. What is needed is for every Christian to shoulder part of the responsibility for evangelism which is laid upon the whole Church. Not all are called to preach sermons. But all may do something to influence others with the truth that Jesus is Lord.

This should be felt with special force by Congregationalists at the present time. For we have now been called to enter the next phase of the Forward Movement, and this means that every Congregational Church is invited to undertake an evangelistic Mission during the coming year. 

Such a task should not be entered upon lightly. It involves much more than a series of meetings conducted by special speakers. What is required is that the Church as a Church should earnestly seek to win others for the Christian faith, and every member should ask himself how best he can take a share in this.

If you are in sympathy with these aims, will you make a point of attending Church meetings during the next few months, especially if you are one who seldom comes? We need some sign that the Church has been touched in its heart by the need for evangelism. A sudden and substantial increase in attendance at Church meetings would be one way of giving a silent witness that this is so, and would be an encouragement to us all.

Nothing can be done now, however, without personal preparation and dedication, and each member is soon to be asked to subscribe to the following covenant, which will be published with our new Constitution. Let us use it as a starting point for a missionary enterprise.

"The members of Romford Congregational Church desire to live in absolute dependence upon the grace of God in Jesus Christ, and own in Him their only Lord, Saviour, and Mediator. Praying for strength to stand by the covenant into which Almighty God has graciously entered with the whole Church of Christ, they solemnly bind themselves to strive to love and serve Him with all their hearts, and to walk in unbroken Christian fellowship with one another."