sovereign grace

Joy to the World - July 2020

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Most people think of “Joy to the World” as a Christmas song. And why shouldn’t we? It’s been one of the top hymns sung at Christmastime for decades. Based on Psalm 98 the hymn celebrates the reign of the Christ our King and Savior of the world in the present tense. However, an aspect of this hymn often overlooked is its forward-looking celebration of Christ’s final coming.

While we see this Kingdom inaugurated by the initial coming of our Messiah, the fullness of the hymn’s celebration points ultimately to the day when he will return, and every knee will indeed bow and every tongue will indeed confess that Jesus is Lord (Phil. 2:9-10; Is. 45:23). Come, Lord Jesus, come!

Oh, what a day that will be! Oh, what a kingdom we have to look forward to, where sins and sorrows no longer grow, when thorns no longer infest the ground, and the spring of the water of life will flow his blessings eternal! Christ’s final coming will usher in the consummation of him making all things new, and our full inheritance in union with him (Rev. 21:1-7). 

May a hymn that celebrates these truths never be confined to one month of the year. May we never grow so content with the “already” of the kingdom, that we yearn not for the “not yet.” May we sing this hymn of praise, knowing that what we do is but a prelude to eternity.

No doubt, this coming Kingdom is great cause to rejoice today! We live in light of our true King, who has borne our sin, died our death, raised to life, and sits on high. But what a sound it will be with the Lord Jesus Christ comes to usher in the fullness of His Kingdom in the new heavens and the new earth. Joy to the world, set free from the power and decay of sin, and to His people, in perfect eternal communion with him, for the Lord is come!

- Jonathan

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Joy To The World

Words by Isaac Watts (1719), Tune by George Frideric Handel, Arr. By Lowell Mason

Lyrics: 

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

Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns!
Let men their songs employ
While fields & floods, rocks, hills & plains
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

He rules the world with truth and grace
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness
And wonders of His love

Jesus Your Mercy - June 2020

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“You don’t think you’re as bad as you really are.” 

This is from the testimony of my friend during the time of his conversion. In college he’d been attending a campus ministry that consistently included confession of sin in its weekly worship gatherings, as well as preached about sin and our need for forgiveness in Christ. Turned off by the “negativity” of this ministry, he stopped going until another friend boldly, but lovingly, approached him and challenged him, saying: “Brother, your real problem is not with our ‘negativity’, your problem is that you don’t think you’re as bad as you really are.”

See, the roadblock for my friend surrendering His life to Jesus was that he didn’t think he needed to. In the grand scheme of things, he wasn’t that bad, right? I mean, some people do some really bad things, but he hadn’t robbed a jewelry store, killed anyone, or cheated his way through school. He lacked a Biblical view of total depravity and a truthful examination of his own heart.

Through the loving and patient ministry of those around him, my friend slowly began to see his need for Christ. And in God’s grace, he’s now a minister who relentlessly quotes Tim Keller’s short definition of the Gospel: “We are more sinful and flawed than we ever dared believe, yet more loved and accepted in Jesus than we ever dared hope.”

Our goal as a church is to proclaim the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27). That is why every week when we gather for worship we read, preach, pray, sing, and see (Sacraments) the Word. If we’re going to be serious about God’s Word, then we must be honest with what it says about the human predicament: “None is righteous, no, not one” (Rom 3:10).

This is why Jesus came, to “seek and save the lost” (Luke 19:10). The Gospel of Christ will only taste as sweet as our understanding of our need for it. Consider Luke 7:36-50: the Pharisee mocks Jesus for allowing a sinful woman to wash His feet. Cue Jesus’ rebuke. In a parable He explains that it is those who have a greater awareness of their debt who will appreciate it most when it is forgiven. And such was this woman who visibly threw herself on the mercy of Christ in a beautiful act of love and worship. In this context that Jesus says, “I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little” (v. 47).

This is why we seek to curate a song repertoire that proclaims the whole counsel of God. Rather than shirking away from difficult truths, we want to sing about our brokenness and our deep need for the mercy of God. As we declare the truth, our hearts are softened and grow in love and appreciation for Christ. Let us sing of His mercy!

- Jonathan

Jesus Your Mercy

Music and words by Bob Kauflin, Jordan Kauflin, and Nathan Stiff

Lyrics: 

Verse 1

Jesus, Your mercy is all my plea
I have no defense, my guilt runs too deep
The best of my works pierced Your hands and Your feet
Jesus, Your mercy is all my plea

Verse 2
Jesus, Your mercy is all my boast
The goodness I claim, the grounds of my hope
Whatever I lack it’s still what I need most
Jesus, Your mercy is all my boast

Chorus
Praise the King who bore my sin
Took my place when I stood condemned
Oh how good You’ve always been to me
I will sing of Your mercy

Verse 3
Jesus, Your mercy is all my rest
When fears weigh me down and enemies press
A comfort I cling to in life and in death
Jesus Your mercy is all my rest

Verse 4
Jesus, your mercy is all my joy
Forever I’ll lift my heart and my voice
To sing of a treasure no pow’r can destroy
Jesus, your mercy is all my joy

© 2019 Sovereign Grace Worship, Sovereign Grace Praise, Jordan Kauflin Music, Getty Music Publishing, Sovereign Grace Music