Let every heart prepare him room.
The carol writers got it. There are no songs more dominionist than Christmas carols. Because they were written by optimistic Christians who expected Christianity to overcome the world.
Joy to the world! The Lord has 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 singJoy 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 joyNo more let sins and sorrows grow
Nor thorns infest the ground
He comes to make
His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found
Far as the curse is found
Far as, far as the curse is found.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.”“Let every heart prepare him room…the Savior reigns.”
I know this song was not originally intended as a Christmas Carol. But it has rightly become one because the writer has captured the optimistic and triumphant message of Christmas; the inauguration of the king’s reign. The Christian songs we sing at Christmas all have this emphasis, that the king is here and he reigns. They were written by Christians who rightly expected to win, because we are on the true king’s team.
May the Christianity which expected Jesus’ words that the yeast of faith would overcome the whole world and that the gates of hell would not prevail, return. And may we be soon rid of the pessimism that says Christianity is going to lose and we will be raptured out at the last minute before it gets really bad. Such defeatist theology does great harm.
There’s a reason no one sings defeatist Christmas carols. Christmas as a cultural phenomenon was produced by an optimistic Christianity. Proclaim the coming of the king, and if you are not on the Kings team you’ve still got time, but we don’t know how much, so join it soon.
Let earth receive her King!
Let every heart prepare Him room.
