Lyrics
Joy has dawned upon the world,
Promised from creation:
God’s salvation now unfurled,
Hope for every nation.
Not with fanfares from above,
Not with scenes of glory.
But a humble gift of love:
Jesus born of Mary.
Sounds of wonder fill the sky
With the songs of angels,
As the mighty Prince of Life
Shelters in a stable.
Hands that set each star in place,
Shaped the earth in darkness,
Cling now to a mother’s breast,
Vulnerable and helpless.
Shepherds bow before the Lamb,
Gazing at the glory;
Gifts of men from distant lands
Prophesy the story.
Gold, a King is born today,
Incense, God is with us,
Myrrh, His death will make a way,
And by His blood He’ll win us.
Son of Adam, Son of heaven,
Given as a ransom,
Reconciling God and man,
Christ our mighty Champion.
What a Saviour, what a Friend,
What a glorious mystery:
Once a babe in Bethlehem,
Now the Lord of history.
A modern carol telling the Christmas story
Keith Getty and I wrote “Joy has dawned” as part of a project we’ve been working on entitled “Creed” – a collection of new hymns and songs based on the themes of the Apostles’ Creed. Keith and I both share a passion to see churches singing songs full of truth, compositions that not only express our love and devotion to God, but also declare the wonderful truths of the faith – truths that form the foundation of our lives.
With that in mind, we realised that there was shortage on new material on a number of key themes – one being the Incarnation. We therefore set about trying to write what is essentially a Christmas carol, telling the story and significance of Christ’s birth, and this is the result.
There are parts of the Christmas story that are so familiar to us, we tend not to appreciate how extraordinary they are: the humble circumstances of the birth of the King of kings; His choosing to come into the world as a helpless, vulnerable baby; the prophetic significance of gifts from traveling astrologers; the list goes on…
It’s a song that lends itself to a variety of musical styles, from a worship band setting to a choral piece, perhaps even a Salvation Army band arrangement, and I hope it’s a useful addition to a church’s Christmas repertoire.
