What is the joy of man’s desiring?
While going through emails the other morning, I listened to the Easy Listening music channel (cable), which mainly plays instrumentals. Since it is the Christmas season, it occasionally plays a Christmas song.
One song began playing and made me stop. And think. It’s title? Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring. I love that title.
Wikipedia says it “is the most common English title of the 10th and last movement of the cantata Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben, BWV 147, which means Heart and Mouth and Deed and Life, composed by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1716 and 1723.”
I wondered: What is the joy of man’s desiring?
What is it? Is Jesus really man’s joy of desiring? Especially now, this time of year with strained relationships, hearts aching with grief and sorrow, bank balances non-existent, health issues intensified, and an assortment of other things thrown in?
What is the joy of man’s desiring? Maybe these words will help. This is the most commonly heard English version of the piece…
Jesu, joy of man’s desiring,
Holy wisdom, love most bright;
Drawn by Thee, our souls aspiring
Soar to uncreated light.
Word of God, our flesh that fashioned,
With the fire of life impassioned,
Striving still to truth unknown,
Soaring, dying round Thy throne.
Through the way where hope is guiding,
Hark, what peaceful music rings;
Where the flock, in Thee confiding,
Drink of joy from deathless springs.
Theirs is beauty’s fairest pleasure;
Theirs is wisdom’s holiest treasure.
Thou dost ever lead Thine own
In the love of joys unknown.
So, is Jesus mankind’s joy? Is He their desire this time of year, or any time of year, for that matter? Or is it to have many presents under the tree?
With all our rushing about trying to accomplish our to-do lists in time for Christmas Eve, buying gifts, making cookies, decorating the house, are we really celebrating Jesus’ birthday? What kind of birthday is it for Him?
Are our hearts filled with the joy of desiring only Him?
Is He your joy? Is He your desire? Is He your “reason for the season”?
Every morning for the past week or so, before my feet hit the floor to let the dog out, I start singing to myself in my head…
Joy to the World, the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing.
Joy to the World, the Savior reigns!
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy.
He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders, wonders, of His love.
I always forget the words to the third verse, so, uhhh, it’s missing. But this works for me. Joy fills my heart, although my (fibro-ed) body doesn’t join in.
Try it! Sing with joy, even if it’s only to yourself. It doesn’t matter what is going on around you; it matters what is in your heart.
My Christmas prayer for you, my dear reader, is that you “drink of joy from deathless springs” this season of Christ’s holy birth, and may that joy fill your heart with songs and fill your desiring with the Joy of Jesus!
Lynn writes devotionals and inspirational stories. She has one book waiting to be published in 2015 and is working on a second one. Her greatest passion is to fulfill God’s call on her life to encourage others and glorify the Lord with her writing. She currently writes for several sites and writes bi-weekly on her site, Heading Home. http://lynnmosher.com
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