The Song of the Angels. Christmas Eve Worship: December 24, 2024

One of the great pleasures of the Advent and Christmas season is the singing of hymns and carols associated with the nativity of our Lord. Many of the texts of these well-loved songs were written specifically for services in the Christmas season; others were not. “Silent Night, Holy Night” (LSB 363) was written to be first sung at a Christmas Eve service in Austria in 1818, and “O Little Town of Bethlehem” (LSB 361) was initially included as part of a children’s Christmas program at Holy Trinity Church in Philadelphia in 1868. But another well-loved hymn associated with Christmas was not originally a Christmas song. “Joy to the World” (LSB 387) was written as a paraphrase of the second half of Psalm 98 by the English hymnwriter Isaac Watts in 1719. When the text was printed as part of a collection of Psalms in English verse, he gave the song the heading “The Messiah’s Coming and Kingdom.” Our celebration of the coming to earth of Jesus as our Messiah and Lord gives us a great “resounding joy” that lasts all through our years as we await the fullness of His kingdom yet to come!