Truth and grace

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.

- Joy to the World (Isaac Watts)

We sang this great song at church today, one of my favorite songs of the season. I wrote about it in this space last year. But as we sang this verse, it hit me how much we need its message today.\

Truth and grace. Jesus came into the world to bring us both (John 1:14), and as the Word made flesh, he brought them in perfect balance. If we are to be followers of his, both are vital. But oh, how hard it is to keep them in balance.

Some of us - those who have been hurt by words where truth was proclaimed without any grace - want everyone just to shut up about truth, especially unpopular truth.

Others - those who see the truth being watered down by the new tolerance (all views are equal) - long to remind everyone at every opportunity that there is objective truth that does not change with the wind of popular opinion.

All of us need to go back to Jesus. All of us need to ask him to restore our balance. To season our proclamation of truth with a healthy dose of grace. Or to fortify grace with the rock of truth.

As Paul wrote in Ephesians 4:15, "…(S)peaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in very respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ."

Both. Truth and grace. Joy to the world!

What Child Is This?

How can one birth in a remote corner of the world change the world? What kind of child was it who lay in an animal's feeding trough in Bethlehem? One of my favorite Christmas carols asks that question..and gives one of the best answers I've read:

If you look at the lyrics on the page above, you'll see that they are probably not quite the same ones in the same order as you are used to singing. Most of our hymnals have taken the second half of verse 1 and made it a chorus, and used it to replace the the second half of the other two verses. So we sing that three times and miss some key lyrics.

That is a shame.

The miracle - the mystery - of the Messiah's mission is that the God of everything there is entered his creation, and launched a kingdom. He is the King, but he claimed his crown in a surprising way - through suffering. When you sing this carol with all the lyrics, this is the story it tells…and it is magnificent.

The first verse asks the question, What is it about this baby? Why did angels proclaim his birth and why did shepherds come to see him? 

What Child is this, who, laid to restOn Mary's lap is sleeping?Whom angels greet with anthems sweet,While shepherds watch are keeping?

Answer…because he is the Messiah, the King of the universe, and deserves all our praise:

This, this is Christ, the King,Whom shepherds guard and angels sing:Haste, haste to bring Him laud,The Babe, the Son of Mary.

Well, if he's the King, the nest question is, Why wasn't he born in a palace? Why would he be born in such an insignificant, smelly place?

Why lies He in such mean estate,Where ox and ass are feeding?Good Christian, fear: for sinners hereThe silent Word is pleading;

How will he plead on our behalf? What will be his plan for announcing that the Kingdom of God has come? The answer is surprising, and one of the biggest mysteries of history:

Nails, spear shall pierce Him through;The cross be born for me, for you:Hail, hail the Word made flesh,The Babe, the Son of Mary.

So was he defeated? What is the result of the nails and spear piercing him? Victory over sin and death! And so the last verse returns to the manger, and proclaims joyfully - along with the Magi who brought him gifts - that the babe of Bethlehem is the King of all...and it explodes in worship.

So bring Him incense, gold, and myrrh,Come peasant, king, to own him.The King of kings salvation brings;Let loving hearts enthrone Him.Raise, raise the song on high,The virgin sings her lullaby:Joy, joy, for Christ is born,The Babe, the Son of Mary.

Lowly birth…to death on a cross…to coronation as King. What a story.

This is Christmas - not just warm fuzzes about a cute baby born in a manger. But the coming of the King.

What child is this indeed!

Christmas music

Like so many of us, I love the Christmas season. I love the lights, the glitter, the food, the parties, the time with friends and family, and the music. All the music, both meaningful and silly. But mostly I love the mystery that we celebrate in this season - the mystery that the God of the universe would wrap himself in flesh and come to be with us. And not just be with us, but through his death and resurrection would bring about a kingdom that would supersede all the kingdoms of men, and that he is working through us to bring about his reign through the whole earth. No wonder so many Christmas songs refer to "the newborn King."

Christmas music has some of the most powerful expressions of this theme that I can imagine - just one of the reasons I love the music of the season. This month, I want to once again highlight songs that have reached deeply into my heart and mind to show me the eternal purposes of God in the incarnation.

Before I begin though, here are links to posts where I highlighted some songs during past Decembers. So, if you have a few minutes, check these out. And then we'll move on to a new song in a couple of days.

Enjoy:

Merry Christmas (Third Day)

Labor of Love

Someday at Christmas

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing  

Joy to the World

In 1719, Isaac Watts published a set of hymns based on the Psalms. Of all the hymns in that collection, this one is probably the best known:



It was pointed out to me recently that Watts really wrote this song about the expectation of Jesus the Messiah's triumphant return at the end of history rather than about his entry into the world as a baby in Bethlehem. After all, there are no mentions of mangers. Or shepherds. Or wise men. Or Mary. Or reindeer. (Just checking whether you're paying attention, ha!)

He did base the song on the last half of Psalm 98:

Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth; make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise. Let the floods clap their hands; let the hills be joyful together before the Lord; for he comes to judge the earth, with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity.

But to me the wonderful thing about the song is that it is a near perfect expression of the mystery of the Kingdom of God. Throughout the Hebrew scriptures (AKA the Old Testament) the story of redemption was wrapped in a paradox. YHWH promised that he would rescue the whole earth from their sin and rebellion, and he would do so through his people Israel - not just for them but through them. And it also was filed with a promise that the God would one day exercise his right as King over everything. But...the promise contained interwoven passages of a triumphant reign and the fact that the Messiah would suffer to bring it about.

Israel's king but also king of the world (no Titanic jokes please)? Coming in power to rule but also coming in humility to suffer? Huh?

But both were (and are) true! God entered the world in a tiny town as a little baby. He lived, taught, and suffered in order to rescue his people from sin and begin the reign of God's kingdom. And he will come again to bring heaven and earth together, setting everything right once and for all.

So, as I read it, there is no reason to separate Christmas from his future Glorious Appearing. It's all part of one wonderful story that we are privileged to participate in. To insist on Watts' hymn being about one or the other is to make the same mistake the religious leaders of Jesus' time did; to do so is to miss the fact that the triumphal return in dependent on the mission of Jesus. It's one unified plan.

So joy to the world! The Messiah has come to initiate his kingdom, through his suffering and death. He reigns today through the subjects of his kingdom and he will come again to set everything right. Psalm 98 is not about just one part of that, and neither is the hymn.

The Savior reigns! Let heaven and nature sing with joy! Let men their songs employ. He does rule the world with truth and grace. And - in today's world - he does make the nations prove the glories of his righteousness.

Joy to the world!