Whose Child is This?

Whose Child Is This?
Faithful
December 6, 2020

It’s one of the most exuberant, popular, and beloved of traditional Christmas carols. And yet, it’s not actually a carol at all. In fact, though we sing and treat it this way, it’s not even a song about Christmas; at least, not as its author intended.
 
Isaac Watts was born in 1674, in South Hampton, England. If the father of medicine was Hippocrates and the father of the telephone was Alexander Graham Bell, then the father of English hymns was Isaac Watts. He composed a huge collection of more than 750 hymns, which are still being sung by Christians around the world.
 
The opening line of Joy to the World is sometimes incorrectly sung as, “Joy to the world! The Lord has come.” That is not what Isaac wrote. He wrote, “The Lord is come.” He wasn’t describing a past event (the birth of Jesus) but looking forward to a future event (the return of Jesus). He based this carol on Psalm 98, which is about Christ’s triumphant second coming, not his birth in Bethlehem! And that’s precisely what the song is about. It speaks of Jesus’ final coming to earth when “the Savior reigns” and when “He rules the world with truth and grace.” Watts longed for that glorious final day when the “nations (will) prove the glories of His righteousness and wonders of His love.”
 
The phrase in this song that stands out most to me this year is, “let every heart prepare Him room.” What does it look like to prepare room for Christ? In our homes, our schedules, our priorities? Everything about the holiday season feels wonky this year. But Christ has come, and is coming. That alone, regardless of any of the temporary mess we live in, is cause for celebration! Will you make room for Him this week?
 
We’re looking at the Christmas story from a little different perspective this year: through the eyes of Joseph, the man God chose to be His Son’s earthly father.