“Joy to the World,” ELW 267 and LBW 39
1 Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her kin;
let ev’ry heart prepare him room
and heav’n and nature sing,
and heav’n and nature sing,
and heav’n, and heav’n and nature sing.
2 Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns!
Let all their songs employ,
while fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
repeat the sounding joy,
repeat the sounding joy,
repeat, repeat the sounding joy.
3 No more let sin and sorrow grow
nor thorns infest the ground;
he comes to make his blessings flow
far as the curse is found,
far as the curse is found,
far as, far as the curse is found.
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.
Devotion
It is time to sabbath. It is time to stop and remember. It is time to sing.
Every summer we engage our gathered worship community in singing favorite hymns. Someone in the community always selects “Joy to the World.” When we sing it in our liturgy, some worry that we’re doing something wrong by singing hymns out of season. Some smile at the thought of Christmas in July. Others just listen to the sabbath sounds and think about the joy of God entering our own lives, the lives of our families and neighbors, to the ends of the earth.
The hymn reminds us to take sabbath – work stoppage – and return to the significance of our living and all living things.
Earth tends to do joy better than our own voices. So when we stop, look, listen, smell, taste, touch and sense, we become filled with joy.
Prayer
Dear joyous God, we raise our voices in joy to the earth and all your living beings. We lift your name above all names because it is life itself. Our voices say thanks. Amen.