Joy to the World

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Today's scripture reading is from the Psalms, chapter 98, verses 1 to 9, as printed in the liturgy.

Psalms 98 · chapter mention

A reading from the Psalms.

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 his salvation known and revealed his righteousness to the nations.

He has remembered his love and his faithfulness to Israel.

All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.

Burst into jubilant song with music.

Make music to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing,

with trumpets and the blast of the ram's horn.

Shout for joy before the Lord, the King.

Let the sea resound and everything in it, the world and all who live in it.

Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy.

Let them sing before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth.

He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity.

This is the word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Thank you, Maddie, for that scripture reading.

Good morning, everyone.

My name is Andrew.

I'm one of the pastors here.

And will you join me in prayer as we come to listen to God's word?

Our Father, we ask that you would fill us with your joy.

And not just us, but this world.

And that that would be our heartbeat.

That would be our song.

Joy to the world.

In Christ, in his name we pray.

Amen.

So in case you missed the past two weeks, we've been doing this thing during Advent.

We're going through some famous Christmas carols, and we're looking at the passages of scripture that have inspired them.

And a big reason that we're doing this is because, in case you've also missed the past few months,

our church is in a season of transition, right?

We are without our past worship director of 14 years.

We're in search of a new one, and Jonathan and I wanted to use this interim season to shape our culture of worship here at Christ Church,

particularly in our singing.

We want to be a singing church.

And, you know, though it's been extra work for me as the interim worship director,

and though it's made me feel quite vulnerable and self-conscious,

having to lead all of you with my limited musical abilities,

I have to say it's actually been quite a pleasure and very rewarding engaging in this role for this season.

Many of you may not know this, but if you asked me as a ninth grader or a tenth grader what my dream job was,

I would have told you that I wanted to be a worship leader, like full time.

I would have told you I wanted to be the Asian American Chris Tomlin, all right?

And if you don't understand that joke, that just means that you were way cooler than me in high school, all right?

I had a, we had a worship band, me and my buddies.

It was called DHB, all right?

And it stands for Don't Hold Back, all right?

Because we wanted the people to worship freely, to express themselves, not feel self-conscious.

And, you know, like, as embarrassing as it is for me to share that with you,

it's also a reminder to me of the way that God was shaping me, like, 20 years ago,

for ministry, to pastor here at Christ Church in this particular season.

And, you know, as your pastor leading you in worship over these past few months,

to be able to look out upon all of you, like, this congregation that God has entrusted to me,

and to see you lift up your hearts, to see you lift up your hands in praise,

it's been a special, special season to me.

And I've often gotten, you know, choked up up here, like, even unable to sing when I'm supposed to sing,

because of how moving it is to watch you, the people of God, worship Him.

I remember my first Sunday after Eric had left, my first Sunday leading worship here,

and I'll never forget the joyful sights and sounds of that day.

We were singing,

We sang,

All glory be to Christ, our King, all glory be to Christ, His rule and reign will ever sing.

All glory be to Christ.

And, man, there is nothing, nothing more that a pastor could desire than to see his own flock, you.

A congregation for which I will one day give an account before God,

to see you give glory to Jesus Christ, right, with resolute reverence, jubilant joy.

Anyway, you know, this season has actually reminded me that this is the reason why I wanted to be a pastor in the first place, actually.

I mean, partly because of my limited musical abilities,

but mostly, mostly because as much as I loved, you know, using music to draw people into worship,

to draw out the praise of God's people,

it dawned on me late in high school that, you know, it's not so much my music,

more than the music, it was God's truths that elicited His praise.

Truths about who God is, what He's done, what He's doing, what He's going to do,

especially for undeserving and often ungrateful people like you and me.

That's what got me fired up about being a pastor and a preacher in the first place.

I wanted to lead people into worship, into deeper encounters with Christ.

I wanted to preach the good news of Jesus, the greatest story ever told,

the one-of-kind message of God's costly yet beautifully redemptive grace.

And that's still what gets me out of bed today.

Because full disclosure, every Sunday that I come up here and get behind this pulpit,

I've got an agenda. I do.

I've got an agenda.

And it's not primarily to give you information, to make you laugh, to make you cry,

or to make you even feel like you're at peace, or to have some kind of joy or happiness.

No, my primary objective, every time I get behind this pulpit,

is that people here would taste and see something worth responding to in worship and in song.

My agenda is to preach in such a way that all of you would lift up your heads,

lift up your hearts, physically lift up your hands to the Lord in worship.

That's my aim.

That's my aim, to preach something, and not just anything,

but to preach something so real, so incomparably good and glorious.

Something so worth singing and shouting about at the top of our lungs that this place shakes.

And our earnestness reverberates throughout the Bay Area and throughout the world.

Even up to the heavens.

This is my heart as your pastor.

This is my heart for Christ Church East Bay.

That this truly would be a sacred place that exalts Christ, filled with joy.

Thank you.

Now, I understand that this is also a place where some of us aren't ready for that,

aren't ready to exalt Christ, aren't ready to lift up our voices, lift up our hands.

And I want you to know that this is also a safe place to examine and explore Christ at the same time.

And so if, you know, you're here today and maybe singing is your least favorite part of worship here at Christ Church,

maybe it makes you feel uncomfortable to see grown men and women, like, closing their eyes,

lifting up their hands, making a joyful noise,

singing about their feelings of adoration toward this God that you're not even sure exists.

That's you.

Well, we want to personally thank you so much for stepping into such, like, an awkward place.

Like, if that's you, that's totally awkward that you've come here.

I can totally see how it's uncomfortable to be in a place like this.

Because, yeah, if you're not sure that God exists or if Jesus is worthy of all the glory and honor and praise that's in this world,

then, yeah, totally, what we do here in church is super weird, all right?

And it makes complete sense that you'd feel that way.

But you are here, right?

You are here for some reason, probably because you're open-minded enough

to at least entertain the possibilities that God might be real and that Jesus might be worthy.

And so the question I have for you is if God isn't real and if Jesus isn't worthy,

well, is there anything that you have found to be worth singing about?

Like, for the rest of your life?

Again, not just once in a while, like singing your alma mater's, you know, fight song at a football game,

but is there anything in your life that has so moved you that you cannot help but sing about it?

And regularly, not just because it's got some nice tune,

but you put it into your calendar to every Sunday come and gather with hundreds of other people

to sing the same things every single week,

this great thing that's happened in your life through Jesus Christ.

And is there any particular song that you find yourself humming repeatedly or returning to frequently?

Do you have a song, do you have multiple songs that can express your uncontainable joy and hope and comfort

even through the hardest moments of your life?

And these questions aren't just for people who aren't Christians in this room.

Whether you're a Christian or not, have we found anything worth singing joyfully about for the rest of our lives?

That's the question.

And if so, do we have the songs to adequately express ourselves?

Or to put it differently and tie it to, you know, our Christmas carol that we're looking at this morning,

do we have a reason to sing joy into the world and unto the world?

Have we found something so joyful it makes our hearts sing?

Like with unabashed gratitude and earnest invitation and bold confidence,

do we have a song like that worth singing anew for hundreds and hundreds of years?

This morning, as we take a magnifying glass to this famous Christmas carol,

Joy to the World, and the biblical text that inspired it, Psalm 98,

what I hope to show you is that to sing joy to the world, to sing Psalm 98 for all they're worth,

is to sing loud and bold songs of gratitude, invitation, and hope.

Gratitude, invitation, and hope.

That's what these songs place upon our lips.

Gratitude, invitation, and hope.

Or more specifically, commemorative gratitude for the past,

a commanding invitation for the present, and confident hope for the future.

Those are our three points.

So let's start with point number one.

To sing joy to the world for all it's worth,

we have to sing with commemorative gratitude for the past.

Now, Joy to the World was written in 1719.

That's over 300 years ago, all right,

by this English minister named Isaac Watts,

who is regarded as the father of English hymnody.

He wrote, Our God, Our Help, in Ages Past.

He wrote, When I Survey the Wondrous Cross.

Very, very famous hymn writer.

But something you should know about him

is that when he first started writing these hymns,

like Joy to the World,

he was actually being quite provocative and even disruptive.

He was even accused by some of being a heretic.

You see, in Isaac Watts' church's tradition,

they only sang psalms,

and they pretty much just sang word for word

in a kind of very wooden and rigid way.

And so from his early years as a teenager,

Watts would complain to his dad,

who was also a pastor,

about how dry and monotonous and dispassionate

the congregational singing was in their church.

And so his dad, you know,

he got tired of hearing all these complaints,

and he challenged him, like,

Okay, you do better then.

And that's how we got Joy to the World, all right?

And the result has been that

while very few people can recite Psalm 98,

Jonathan, do you know Psalm 98?

I don't think so, man.

I knew it, all right?

Many English speakers, though,

can recite to you Joy to the World, right?

Now, at first, this opened up Isaac Watts

to a lot of criticism

for supposedly playing fast and loose with Scripture.

But, you know, when he penned these hymns,

he was actually doing exactly what this psalm

was telling him to do.

Look with me at Psalm 98, verse 1.

Psalms 98:1

Sing to the Lord, what?

A new song.

And this doesn't mean stop singing the old, timeless psalms,

but it did mean to sing God's timeless truths

always with freshness.

Always with freshness.

For just as God's mercies are new every morning,

they never go stale,

especially for those of us who depend on them daily,

so also must our songs be new each day,

even the same songs we sing.

As we experience God's goodness and grace anew each day,

Watts wanted to give fresh expression to God's fresh mercies.

That's what Joy to the World and Psalm 98 calls to do,

to sing with fresh, commemorative gratitude

for all the kindness that God has lavished on us

throughout our lives,

acts of kindness and mercy and grace

that should never, never grow old to any of us.

Now, look at the psalmist's reasons for worship

in verses 1 to 3.

Sing to the Lord a new song for,

he has done marvelous things,

he has worked out and he has put his salvation on display

and he has remembered his chesed,

his steadfast love and faithfulness.

When we worship, what are we doing?

We look to the past

and we remember the way that God has remembered us.

That's what we're doing in worship.

The ways that God has been faithful to us,

the ways he's kept his covenant love

and saved us from ourselves

and our addictions and our troubles

and our oppressors in marvelous fashion.

For some of us, that's liberation from our alcohol

and drug and sex addictions

or the transformation of certain relationships in our lives.

For others of us, it's this newfound peace

we've experienced through the love, acceptance

and forgiveness of God.

When we sing joy to the world,

just as God's people of old sang Psalm 98,

we're to let our minds wander

to these various ways that he's shown up for us,

that he's come into our lives.

When we sing joy to the world, the Lord is come,

we're to remember the ways he's broken into our lives,

the ways he's come into our lives for our good.

When we sing joy to the world, the Savior reigns,

we're to celebrate and meditate upon the signs

of his kingdom in our lives and all around us.

We're to remember the things that formerly ruled

and dominated us individually and collectively

as a whole people, the systems and the structures

that once oppressed us and all others in our world,

whether the stronghold of pornography on you

as an individual or the stronghold of slavery

and supremacy on whole people groups in history.

The coming of Christ has had an undeniable,

transformative influence upon countless individuals

and even upon all of world history.

Ever since the kingdom broke into history,

it's been releasing people from strongholds.

Like, honestly, come at me if you disagree,

but I don't think you can deny

that apart from the coming of Jesus Christ into history,

there is no abolitionist movement like we know it.

Nor is there any widespread consensus

that many of us take for granted

around human equality and inhuman dignity.

The king has come and the world's never been the same.

And for that, we can and we must sing

with commemorative gratitude.

Now, secondly, to sing joy to the world

for all its worth, we also have to sing it

as a present commanding invitation.

All right, stick with me here.

Present commanding invitation.

If you look at this entire psalm,

it is full of commands.

All right, verse one, sing a new song.

Verse four, shout for joy, all the earth.

Burst into jubilant song with music.

Verses five and six, make music,

and again, shout for joy.

Full of commands.

But you also get the sense that these aren't just,

like, authoritative, domineering commands.

Like, you know, when I tell my daughters,

hurry up and finish your breakfast,

we gotta get to school, because I'm late.

No, these aren't, like, power play commands.

At the same time, what they are

is they're invitational imperatives.

Like, yes, they're commanding imperatives,

but there's also this sense that the psalmist

isn't just trying to tell you what to do,

but the psalmist is inviting you to join them

in something wonderful and life-giving.

Like, when I say, hey, come to my house,

let's have dinner.

That's a command.

That's an imperative.

And what is that?

It's an invitation.

It's an invitation into deeper togetherness

and relationship and shared experience.

And man, I just want us to look at the earnestness

of this invitation.

The psalmist is so earnest here,

so earnest that this command and invitation

is extended to all the earth,

all the nations.

It's a radically inclusive invitation,

even as it's an invitation

into a radically exclusive worship, right,

of the Lord, Yahweh,

the maker of heaven and earth,

the only king.

And it's not just radically inclusive

to every kind of person,

but to every kind of creature as well.

Like, the psalmist can't contain himself

and the extensiveness of his invitations.

Even inanimate creation

is invited to join in praise

and worship and celebration.

Verse seven, let the sea resound,

let it reverberate,

and not just the sea,

but everything in it.

That's dolphins and whales,

turtles and tilapia,

oysters and anemone,

every coral reef,

every inch of seaweed,

the whole world

and all who live in it,

everything that has breath,

and even everything

that doesn't have breath,

let it all praise the Lord.

Verse eight,

let the rivers clap their hands,

let the mountains sing together

for joy.

The psalmist is saying,

let all that is made

make much of its maker.

Let all that is made

make much of its maker.

And this is incredibly profound

if you think about it,

that all creation

is created for the glory of God.

Every square inch of it,

even inanimate objects

like rivers and mountains,

that they too can glorify

and exalt God

and sing his praise.

In fact, I would say,

they're probably better at it

than we humans are, right?

Do you remember what Jesus said

when he arrived in Jerusalem

on Palm Sunday?

People were praising him.

The Pharisees said,

tell your people

to stop praising you.

And Jesus said,

you can't contain

the praise of God.

Creation will not be silenced.

Even the stones will cry out.

The stones will cry out.

The stones worship.

The stones are doing

what they're meant to do.

Us humans,

we're the ones who don't.

We're the ones who often

silence ourselves

or each other.

We're the ones who often

withhold our worship.

We fail to submit

to God's laws

in ways that rocks and trees

and mountains and oceans

would never dare to disobey.

It's crazy but true

to think that while humans

are far more glorious creatures

than rocks,

actually rocks have been

far more faithful

to God's intention for them

than humans have been

for God's intentions for them.

And this is what the psalmist

is recognizing.

As he commands

and invites all people

and all nature

to sing and shout God's praise.

And this is what we do

when we sing,

let earth receive her king.

Let earth receive her king.

Like all of it,

every square inch of it,

let earth receive her king

and especially humanity

made in the image of God,

made to glorify God

and enjoy him forever.

Let us not be like

that little town of Bethlehem

that had no room

for their king.

but let every heart

prepare him room.

And let heaven and nature sing,

let all of nature

join the songs of heaven

in worshiping God,

our king.

When we sing,

let all their songs employ.

Fields and floods,

rocks, hills,

and plains,

let them repeat

the sounding joy.

We are commanding the cosmos

to do what it was made to do.

We're inviting the inanimate

to join us

in animated worship.

And man,

if you stop to think about

that for a second,

man,

it's like,

who are we

to invite

all the rest of creation

to join us in worship?

You know,

like,

what authority do I have

to tell a mountain

to worship,

to tell the sea

to worship, right?

These massive,

majestic,

uncontrollable forces

of nature

that remind us

of how small

and insignificant

and temporary we are.

But remember what Jesus said.

He said,

if we have faith,

we can tell the mountain

to be thrown

into the sea

and it will be done.

So how much more

will God be pleased

to draw a song

out of the lips

of a mountain

if we command them

and invite them

to do so

in his name?

I mean,

is this not what

God meant for us

to do when he made us

in his image

and he gave us dominion

over the earth

to exercise his authority

upon it?

See,

Psalm 98,

to sing Psalm 98,

to sing Joy to the World

is to step into

our God-given

authority and faith.

It's to unashamedly

call all of creation

to do

what it was meant

to do.

And not in an oppressive way

but in an invitational way.

When we sing Joy to the World,

we're evangelists.

We're missionaries.

When we make a joyful noise

in this place,

we are inviting the world

to come join us

in our worship.

And did you know

that that's actually

happened here?

People walked in

from cedar and walnut

in the middle of our singing,

in the middle of us

declaring to the world

that God is our king

and that there is nothing

greater than his

steadfast covenant love.

People have been drawn in

because our singing

was always meant

to be an invitation

to each other,

to our neighborhood,

to the world,

to join in our celebration.

Like, think about that.

It was you that I was

thinking about, Chris.

You're the one who came in, right?

Amen!

We're glad you're here.

But think about that.

If Psalm 98

and joy to the world

place on our lips

a commanding invitation

to the mountains

and to the sea,

imploring them,

begging them

to worship our God

with us,

how much more

should we extend

this commanding invitation

to the people

in our lives

who have yet

to join our song?

People who are living

apart from God

and pursuing

other lesser joys

than Jesus.

People who can't find

a good reason

to sing something

so ridiculous

as joy to the world.

Do we realize

what a unique gift

we have to offer

the world

in the name

of Jesus?

So when we sing

joy to the world,

we aren't just

singing as grateful

worshipers,

but we're singing

with God-given authority

as missionaries

and as evangelists.

We're singing

as emcees to the world

crying out,

make some noise

for Jesus.

That's what we're doing

when we sing

joy to the world.

And not only that,

but we're singing

as prophets.

Not just with

commemorative gratitude,

not just as a

commanding invitation,

but with a confident

hope for the future.

Now if you've been

paying attention

to Psalm 98,

if you've been paying

attention to the song

Joy to the World,

maybe it's raised

some question marks

because Psalm 98

is a little bit,

it's pretty vague,

right?

Like what is the

psalmist actually

singing about

in the history

of ancient Israel?

What marvelous

things had God done?

What was he referring

to?

What salvation

had been accomplished

and seen by the nations

and did the divine

king really come

and if so,

in what way?

Did Israel

ever really see

so great a salvation

to match the triumph

and the victory

and the tone

of this psalm?

You know,

even for those of us

who believe

that this salvation

was fulfilled

not in the nation

state of ethnic Israel

but in the coming

of Christ

and in his wider kingdom,

I think a lot of us

still struggle

to sing Joy to the World

in a deeply authentic way

because how are we

supposed to sing

Joy to the World

to our neighbors

seeking asylum

and refuge

from violence

in their home countries?

How are we supposed

to sing Joy to Gaza

and to Ukraine

and to North Korea

and to Sudan?

I mean,

many of us

probably feel like

we can't even sing

Joy into our own hearts,

into the darkness

of our own depression

or the despair

we feel about our jobs,

our relationships,

or the whole of our lives.

And you know,

this time of year,

this is a super important

question for us

with all the commercialization

of Christmas

and all the manufactured

merriment around us.

We have to be asking,

how can I sing Joy

to the World

with authenticity

rather than superficiality?

And is there really

such a thing

as Joy

to the World?

This world

is so broken, right?

It just seems so broken.

Joy can seem like

such a far-off dream.

So who do we think

we are to command

this broken world

into joy?

How could Isaac Watts

be so bold,

so brash

to write a verse

like verse 3?

No more let sin

and sorrows grow,

nor thorns

infest the ground.

How can he expect us

to sing such a thing?

I mean, sure,

Jesus has come,

but man,

I still got plenty

of thorns in my yard,

plenty of sin

in my life,

plenty of sorrow

in my family,

let alone the rest

of this world.

How can we sing

this song

without being superficial

and sentimental?

How can we sing

Joy to the World

with depth

and authenticity?

Well, if you notice

in verse 9,

verse 9 of Psalm 98,

it says,

let them sing

before the Lord

for he comes,

or it can be translated

for he is coming

to judge the earth.

He will judge,

or that word

can also be reign.

He will reign

in righteousness

and the peoples

with equity.

Did you notice

the tense change,

the change in the tense?

Verses 1 to 3

had us looking backwards

to the marvelous things

that God had done.

Verses 4 to 8

have us looking

to the present,

calling upon creation

to join us

in our present worship.

But verse 9

at the end,

it ends

in the future tense.

He is coming.

He will judge.

He will reign

as king

over the world.

You see,

ancient Israel

could have sang this song

in reference

to any number

of salvation events.

Deliverance from Egypt,

the establishment

of David's throne,

return from exile

in Babylon,

but no matter

when they sang this,

no matter what salvation

they'd experienced,

there was always

a greater future salvation

to come.

When God would finally come

as their king.

Which means that Psalm 98

was always intended

to be sung prophetically.

Prophetically,

with eyes toward

a future hope.

And you know what?

So was joy to the world.

Fun fact,

did you know

that Joy to the World

actually is a part

of a collection

of hymns

that Isaac Watts wrote?

And the collection

is not entitled,

you know,

Best Christmas Hits

by Isaac Watts.

No.

It's entitled,

simply,

The Psalms of David.

It wasn't intended

to be a Christmas song.

It's actually

a perfect Advent song

if you think about it,

longing for the coming

of the Messiah,

the king.

See,

Isaac Watts,

he saw

the prophetic nature

of Psalm 98

as ancient Israel

awaited their Messiah.

And then he looked

at our own present age

and saw that

though Christ has come,

thorns still infest

the ground.

Right?

And so like the prophets

of old,

we wait for the return

of our king.

And so just like

Psalm 98,

Joy to the World

is a song that was

meant to be sung

prophetically,

in faith,

and with confidence

in our future hope,

hope that our king

will come.

So you see,

when we sing

Joy to the World,

we are confessing

our faith.

We are prophetically

declaring our great hope

and what we know

God will do

in the future

for our good,

for the good of the world.

With the eyes of faith,

we declare this vision

of the king

that we have

who comes to make

his blessings flow

as far as the curse

is found,

and that's super far.

With the eye of faith,

we look upon a world

with no more sin,

no more sorrow,

no more thorns

infesting the ground,

and we live as prophets

and priests,

princes and princesses,

as signposts

and witnesses

to this vision

of the king.

As prophets,

we sing Joy to the World,

declaring and inviting

the world

into a better,

more glorious future.

As priests,

we sing Joy to the World,

offering up our sacrifice

of praise unto God,

and as a tender reminder

to one another

of our greatest

and only comfort

in life and in death.

We remind each other

that our sorrows

and our sufferings

are not forever,

and that in Christ

we have a deep joy

that can never,

never be taken

away from us.

You know,

there are some of us

here in this room

who have experienced

very recent,

incredibly tragic loss.

I'm thinking particularly

of losses of sons,

losses of daughters.

I think of Elizabeth Poore.

She would have been

five years old

this week.

I think of Isaac Lee.

He'd be on his way

home shortly

from his first semester

at college.

And we groan,

don't we?

We groan.

As the Apostle Paul says,

we groan

with all creation,

awaiting the final redemption

of Elizabeth's body,

of Isaac's body,

of our bodies,

of this broken world

that we inhabit.

But you know,

when Lori and Peter Poore,

and when Brian and Sam Lee

come faithfully here

to this place,

this sacred place,

to worship every week,

and when they sing

from their hearts,

Christ our hope

in life and death,

when they sing

joy to the world,

when they sing

he is worthy,

along with us,

into our ears,

let it come into our hearts

as well.

This is powerful.

That is a powerful,

prophetic,

priestly testimony

to the hope

and the joy

that we all share

in Christ,

and in Christ alone.

Like royal children,

we sing joy to the world

with confidence

in our triumphant Father,

who is the King.

One Old Testament scholar,

Derek Kidner,

he said that the psalms,

the psalms we sing now

are a rehearsal,

and God's presence

among his worshipers

is a prelude

to his appearing

to the world.

You see,

we rehearse

what we believe

to really be coming,

even when it hasn't

happened yet,

even when we haven't

seen it yet.

And honestly,

it's more than a rehearsal

because God is here.

Christ is here

in our midst

by his Spirit

even as we await

his final consummate

return in the flesh.

So my only

concluding exhortation

this morning,

Christ Church,

is to sing.

And to sing

with all our hearts

joy to the world.

Sing as a kingdom

of priests

with our eyes

fixed on Jesus

with commemorative

gratitude to God.

Let us sing

as a commanding invitation

to one another

and to the world

to join in our song

and let us sing

with confident hope

in God's good

new creation promises

to us in Christ.

Sing to the Lord

a new song,

even if it's 300 years old.

Sing to the Lord

a new song

for our King

has come.

He's come

wearing a crown

of thorns

and he has done

truly marvelous things

and in marvelous ways

too.

Look upon his right hand,

the hand that accomplished

salvation for us

and see that it is pierced

straight through.

Look upon his holy arms

spread wide upon

a cross

in our place.

This is the kind of king

that we worship.

It's a king who rules

the world

in truth

and grace

at the same time.

Uncompromising truth

and costly

yet abundant

grace.

A God

who made a way

for us

through the cross.

A God

who's come to us

to go to a cross

that we might both

glory in his righteousness

and at the same time

wonder at his love.

It's my prayer for us

that we would sing

as a people

glorying

in the high standard

of righteousness

that Christ has set

before us

and at the same time

who has loved us

unto death

on a cross

and met us there.

Let us wonder

in this season.

So let's do that now

as we sing

joy to the world.

Will you pray with me?

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Lord God

two wonders

now that we

confess

our worth

and our unworthiness.

Christ has paid it all.

Our ransom has been paid.

He's come to give us joy.

Father

many of us

feel like we cannot

taste that joy.

What do we taste

in our encounter

with Christ

here in this sacred place

even as we long

for the fullness

of that feast

at the last day.

Make us a prophetically

singing people of God

inviting the nations

to join in our joy.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.