“He hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: Many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.”
—Psalm 40:3
Christmas is all about newness. It is an annual celebration of the newness of life found in a newborn “babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger” (Luke 2:12). The Messiah. In honor of Jesus and His first coming, we give new gifts, bake new goods, often make new friends, and frequently sing new songs.
As far as the latter is concerned, we will always enjoy singing along with Christmas classics—those perennial favorites of sound, like "Silent Night," "Hark! the Herald Angels Sing," "Away in a Manger," and countless others. And it does take some time for a new song to widely be regarded as a NEW Christmas classic. But this doesn’t seem to deter a number of contemporary artists from writing, recording, and releasing new Christmas tracks each year in the hopes of accomplishing that which is seemingly unlikely, if not altogether impossible! In fact, it has become quite a seasonal trend to do so.
This Yuletide trend of musical creativity got its start around the turn of the 18th century with a young man named Isaac Watts (1674–1748). If it wasn’t for Watts’ discontent with the status quo of hymnody in his era we wouldn’t have the timeless Christmas carol “Joy to the World!” to sing today.
At the age of 18, a young Watts complained to his father about the tacky and graceless songs being sung in the church. His father answered, “If you don’t like the hymns, write better ones!” Isaac did just that! As a minister of Christ’s gospel, he presented a new hymn to his congregation each Sunday morning for two hundred and twenty-two consecutive Sundays. "Joy to the World!" was among them. As well as "Slumber, Holy Angels Guard Thy Bed," which became a children’s Christmas favorite.
Like Watts resolve to sing a new song this Christmas season in celebration of a new life offered through Jesus! But, don’t stop at Christmas. Allow your new and “joyful noise” to ring throughout the New Year, and into the years to come! Jesus's birth is not just a past event with no significance; Jesus changed the course of history and even now, two thousand years later, can change the course of your life.
“Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns!
Let men their songs employ.”
Isaac Watts—
FURTHER READING: Revelation 5:9–13
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