Called to Rejoice!

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Hymn of the Day

“Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee”

Author: Henry Van Dyke
Based on Galatians 5:22-23

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness,faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”

Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee, God of glory, Lord of Love;

Hearts unfold like flowers before Thee, opening 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!

All Thy works with joy surround Thee, Earth and heaven reflect Thy rays.

Stars and angels sing around Thee, Center of unbroken praise.

Field and forest, vale and mountain, Flowery meadow, flashing sea,

Chanting bird and flowing fountain, Call us to rejoice in Thee.

Thou art giving and forgiving, Ever blessing, ever blest.

Wellspring of the joy of living, Ocean depth of happy rest.

Thou our Father, Christ our Brother, All who live in love are Thine.

Teach us how to love each other,Lift us to the joy divine!

Mortals join the mighty chorus which the morning stars began,

Father love is reigning o'er us, Brother loves binds man to man.

Ever singing, march we onward, Victors in the midst of strife,

Joyful music leads us sunward, In the triumph song of life.

Meditation

“Called to Rejoice!”

This joyous hymn is sung to an arrangement of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. There have been numerous hymnwriters who have attempted to create verse which could measure up to this music, some of the world’s greatest. It wasn’t until a few years before World War I (in 1911) that Dr. Henry Van Dyke finally succeeded in writing words that caught the true fullness of the joy of Beethoven’s music. Together, the words and music of this hymn combine to make one of the outstanding pieces of hymnody in the entire Church.

Henry Van Dyke was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania, on November 10, 1842. During his lifetime he was recognized as one of the ablest Presbyterian ministers and leading liturgy figures in the country. In addition to his fame as a preacher, he served as Professor of Literature at Princeton University from 1900-1923, was moderator of his denomination; was a Navy Chaplain during World War I and represented his country as Ambassador to Holland and Luxembourg. He was a prolific writer of devotional material with many of his books becoming best sellers. He wrote some wonderful short stories, which I commend to your reading.

This is Henry Van Dyke’s best known hymn. "Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee" is a joyous interplay between God’s created world and the manifestation of the same creative spirit in the lives of believers. The hymn is full of similes like “hearts unfold like flowers before Thee” which point toward this interplay. The second verse of the hymn serves to remind us that all of God’s creation speaks of His glory. We are directed in our worship directly to the Creator, Himself. The fourth verse provides a glorious invitation for all of God’s children to join the mighty chorus of joy begun at creation’s dawn. Job 38:7 says: “When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” (NKJ)

The hymn text was written while Van Dyke was a guest preacher at Williams College, in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It is said that Van Dyke handed the manuscript to the college president, telling him, “Here is a hymn for you. Your mountains [the Berkshires] were my inspiration. It is to be sung to the music of Beethoven’s “Hymn of Joy”. It was first included in Van Dyke’s Book of Poems, Third Edition, and published in 1911. One of the most powerful ideas expressed in the hymn is that God’s gracious love for us should create a greater “brother love” for our fellow man. With God’s help we can become victorious over strife and be "lifted to the joy Divine” as we show daily more and more love to others.

How wonderful it is to receive the invitation in Van Dyke’s words of the fourth verse, to join with all the mighty chorus which was begun by the morning stars. We revel in the Father’s love that is reigning over us and the brother love that binds us to each other under the Fatherhood of God. We can delight in being called “children” of the Heavenly Father. We are invited also to be “ever singing” as we follow where Christ would lead us, into paths of service to Him and our Father in heaven. We are told in no uncertain terms that we are “victors in the midst of strife” and that there is joyful music to accompany us along the way of our journey until we come to the place where we will sing songs of triumph forever more! Oh to be ready when He comes for me!

Prayer - Oh God, we do adore Thee with joyful hearts. We thank You again and again for coming to us through your Son, Jesus. We confess that we often fail to lead the joyous and abundant life you would have us to lead, and that joy is sometimes very far away indeed. We get busy, especially at this time of year, and we let our anxieties and frustrations bog us down. We do things more out of a sense of duty than out of joy, and we regret this. Help us to live more as you would have us to live and to do your holy will for our lives, that we might be instruments of your glory and more fully spread joy throughout the world in which we live. We pray in Jesus’ name, Amen~