Joy to the World - Verse 3

No 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.

“No more let sins and sorrows grow nor thorns infest the ground.” “Here’s an impossible task,” you might conclude. “Who can prevent sin from growing?” Remarkably, Paul echoes the same theme: “Do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires” (Rom. 6:12). So what does it mean to “not let sin reign”, or to “no more let sins . . . grow”? To the believer, the one with the new nature (2 Cor. 5:17), we have died in Christ (Rom. 6:2-11) to sin. We are putting to death the flesh (Rom. 8:13). We are no longer cultivating sin, but fleeing it. (Eph. 4:27; 1 Cor. 6:18; 10:14; 1 Tim. 6:11; 2 Tim. 2:22).

Why is this an issue? Because of the depths of sin. In Gen. 3, after mankind took up arms against God by transgressing His Law, God cursed the participants. He cursed the serpent (Gen. 3:14-15). He cursed the woman (verse 16). He cursed the man, and in it he cursed nature (verse 17-19). The thorns that mar the loveliness of the rose are a product of sin. Paul says that creation itself groans under the weight of our sin and decay, joyfully anticipating redemption (Rom. 8:19-22).

We don’t tend to use this language in our discussions. We tend to think of “sins” rather than “sin” as the problem. It is those things we have done to transgress God’s Law that we need to repent of and be saved. But the real problem is not “sins”, because these are just the result of “sin”, the natural state of the human being. Sin is the condition of the flesh into which we are born. Sin is the natural hostility we bear to the Creator. Sin is the Cosmic Treason we harbor that prods us to rebel against our Sovereign. It is this from which we need salvation.

This is in sight when the song says, “He comes to make His blessings flow far as the curse is found.” How far is the curse found? It extends to nature itself, to the thorns and thistles, to death and decay - to our very nature. In this is the great joy brought to the world. The King, the reigning Savior, is bringing release from the curse!