1. Welcome to Baptist Board, a friendly forum to discuss the Baptist Faith in a friendly surrounding.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to all the features that our community has to offer.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon and God Bless!

Joy to the World - doctrinal view????

Discussion in 'Baptist Theology & Bible Study' started by agedman, Dec 26, 2011.

Top Posters
  1. agedman

    agedman Well-Known Member
    Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Nov 4, 2011
    Messages:
    11,023
    Likes Received:
    1,108
    Faith:
    Baptist
    Normally a post about music would take place in another part of the forum.

    However, this is about doctrine set forth in one of the most famous and sung songs.

    Is "Joy to the World" a song that would embrace the Pre-teristic thinking?

    Is the a song sung by the modern church because it sounds so good, and feels so nice, but has no place until the Millennial reign and therefore is an example of either gross misapplication or the assemblies' lack of discernment?

    Is this song teaching heretical doctrine and therefore should be publicly banned from Godly assemblies?

    Perhaps you have another opinion that is divergent from the questions. If so, state and support your thinking.

    Look carefully and see if you can find anyplace that it can be applied to the church in this age.

    Here are the words:

    Joy to the World, the Lord is come!
    Let earth receive her King;
    Let every heart prepare Him room,
    And Heaven and nature sing,
    And Heaven and nature sing,
    And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing.

    Joy to the World, the Savior reigns!
    Let men their songs employ;
    While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
    Repeat the sounding joy,
    Repeat the sounding joy,
    Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy.

    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,
    Far as the curse is found,
    Far as, far as, the curse is found.

    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.
     
    #1 agedman, Dec 26, 2011
  2. Aaron

    Aaron Member
    Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Sep 4, 2000
    Messages:
    20,253
    Likes Received:
    1,381
    Faith:
    Baptist
    It is an eminently Scriptural and doctrinally sound carol. Christ does reign.
     
    #2 Aaron, Dec 26, 2011
  3. 12strings

    12strings Active Member

    Joined:
    Feb 10, 2004
    Messages:
    2,743
    Likes Received:
    0
    [
    Describing Jesus' birth, no problems here.

    Jesus Does reign over the earth now, but it is a reign that for a time allows satan and sin to run its coarse. Jesus anounced his kingdom had come back in the first chapters of the Gospel of Mark. He simply wasn't describing a physical kingdom just yet, even though his disciples thought he was.

    -We should pray that sins and sorrows diminish.
    -This verse also looks foward to a time when Jesus will completes his reversal of the curse, a task which he started when he came to earth the first time.

    -Jesus does rule, as noted above, in an "already, but not yet" way. The nations prove his righteosness and love NOW in the spread of the gospel to every nation, and IN THE FUTURE will be made to completly bow before him.
     
    #3 12strings, Dec 26, 2011
  4. Aaron

    Aaron Member
    Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Sep 4, 2000
    Messages:
    20,253
    Likes Received:
    1,381
    Faith:
    Baptist
    They also prove His righteousness in the judgments they suffer now for disobedience.
     
    #4 Aaron, Dec 26, 2011
  5. Iconoclast

    Iconoclast Well-Known Member
    Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Mar 25, 2010
    Messages:
    21,242
    Likes Received:
    2,305
    Faith:
    Non Baptist Christian
    The words and lyrics of the old Christmas carol 'Joy to the World' were written in 1719 by Isaac Watts (1674-1748). Joy to the World is a popular Christmas carol which is based on Psalm 98 in the Bible. The father of John Watts was a Non-conformist and so extreme were his views that he was imprisoned twice.




    Psalm 98

    1O sing unto the LORD a new song; for he hath done marvellous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory.

    2The LORD hath made known his salvation: his righteousness hath he openly shewed in the sight of the heathen.

    3He hath remembered his mercy and his truth toward the house of Israel: all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. 4Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.

    5Sing unto the LORD with the harp; with the harp, and the voice of a psalm.

    6With trumpets and sound of cornet make a joyful noise before the LORD, the King.

    7Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.

    8Let the floods clap their hands: let the hills be joyful together

    9Before the LORD; for he cometh to judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity.


    It speaks of the gospel going worldwide in scope....Jesus ruling in the midst of His enemies.Jesus rules over believers and unbelievers right now.
     
    #5 Iconoclast, Dec 26, 2011
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 26, 2011
  6. agedman

    agedman Well-Known Member
    Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Nov 4, 2011
    Messages:
    11,023
    Likes Received:
    1,108
    Faith:
    Baptist
    Well, this is a good start.

    The posters have shown the song is doctrinally sound, BUT they have also shown it doesn't apply fully to the present church age. That it is futuristic in thinking.

    Issac Watts used Psalm 98, but I don't know that he held to a literal millennial reign of Christ.

    I do know that some of the Psalms are specific to that age, but that some would take them and make them applicable to the present period of Grace.

    Am I correct then that the song would be not sung by the Pre-teristic thinker, the amellennialist, and even some covenant holders?

    How would they engage in singing a song that was an affront to their doctrine?
     
    #6 agedman, Dec 26, 2011
  7. Iconoclast

    Iconoclast Well-Known Member
    Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Mar 25, 2010
    Messages:
    21,242
    Likes Received:
    2,305
    Faith:
    Non Baptist Christian
    In postmillenal ,and amillenial teaching...the gospel goes worldwide ...and is victorious.....even in the midst of the heathen...98:2...it is still going forth as we speak......we could still be the early church!

    it sounds as if Watts...like many of us was a confused blend of ideas....but saw it winding up as victory in Christ. futurists like what he says....but so do others....what watts thought is secondary to what scripture says.....

    psalm on sing psalms exclusively....because of this kind of thing.
     
    #7 Iconoclast, Dec 26, 2011
  8. Aaron

    Aaron Member
    Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Sep 4, 2000
    Messages:
    20,253
    Likes Received:
    1,381
    Faith:
    Baptist
    Not this poster. God is governing the affairs of man now. Some He judges, some He delivers. But God is governing and making the nations prove the glories of His righteousness--not their own.
     
    #8 Aaron, Dec 27, 2011
  9. Jkdbuck76

    Jkdbuck76 Well-Known Member
    Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Jan 8, 2007
    Messages:
    2,322
    Likes Received:
    71
    "Joy to the world, the Lord has come" is a CLEAR reference to 70 A.D.

    :tonofbricks::tonofbricks::tonofbricks:

    Just kidding! Amazing the theology that is packed into GOOD Christmas carols.

    I mean, I had to listen to my older sister go on and on and on about how great J--yce M--yer was at Mom's house on Christmas Day. I'm certain if somebody said "supralapsarianism" to Joyce or to my sister, they'd curl up into a ball and never come out. The consumerist "christianity" on TV has no room for 2,000 year-old theology.

    So this is why I love good Christmas carols that have theological content and also why Frosty the Snowman makes me wanna' rage-vomit.
     
    #9 Jkdbuck76, Dec 27, 2011
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)
Loading...