Day 46 - Joyful, Joyful, We Adore You

https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=RDTXsBp16hsL0&v=TXsBp16hsL0

Joyful, joyful, we adore You,

God of glory, Lord of love;

Hearts unfold like flow'rs before You,

Op'ning to the sun above.

Melt the clouds of sin and sadness;

Drive the dark of doubt away;

Giver of immortal gladness,

Fill us with the light of day!

In the heart of Advent's waiting, Henry van Dyke's exuberant hymn "Joyful, Joyful, We Adore You" might seem slightly previous — a song of triumphant celebration when the season calls for patient expectation. Yet perhaps this is precisely why it speaks so powerfully during these weeks of preparation. The joy van Dyke proclaims is not mere happiness dependent on circumstances, but the deeper gladness that springs from knowing God's faithful character.

Written in 1907, van Dyke crafted these words to match Beethoven's soaring "Ode to Joy" melody. The pairing is significant: Beethoven composed his Ninth Symphony while completely deaf, creating transcendent beauty from a place of profound loss. Similarly, Advent joy emerges not from our present perfection but from our hope in God's promised future. We rejoice not because all is well, but because God is faithful.

I love the line from the opening verse: "Hearts unfold like flowers before You, opening to the sun above." This botanical image captures Advent's most important message — a turning toward the Light even before its full dawn. The anticipation itself becomes worship. We crane our necks toward the horizon not in desperation but in confident expectation, like flowers that know instinctively which direction the sun will rise.

Whilst this hymn can be used at any time of the year, it seems particularly relevant at Advent. The hymn places our Advent vigil within the grand sweep of universal worship. We are not the first to wait for God's coming. From creation's dawn, all things have been moving toward the fulfilment we anticipate. The angels who sang at Bethlehem were joining a song already ancient, and we who wait today add our voices to the same eternal chorus.

Perhaps the most striking image is the hymn's insistence that "Always giving and forgiving, ever blessing, ever blest." This is Advent's great comfort: God's nature does not change with the seasons. The God we await in expectation is the same God who has been faithful through every previous waiting. Our joy is not wishful thinking but reasonable confidence based on God's proven quality.

Mortals, join the mighty chorus,

Which the morning stars began;

God's own love is reigning o’er us,

Joining people hand in hand.

Ever singing, march we onward,

Victors in the midst of strife;

Joyful music leads us sunward

In the triumph song of life.

Neil Chappell