Did you ever catch yourself singing a familiar song and then suddenly realizing you had no idea what a particular line was saying? You’ve sung it a million times, but never really paid attention to the words. That happened to me when I was singing Joy to the World the other day. There’s a line in the second verse that goes like this…

He rules the earth, with Truth and Grace / and makes the nations prove / the glories of His righteousness / and wonders of His Love (x3)

Am I alone in not really paying attention to the meaning of those words? What exactly does that mean? How do the nations prove the glories of His righteousness and wonders of His love?

First, the word “prove” is used here the same way we use it in our everyday conversations. When you make a bold claim, another person may retort, “prove it,” forcing you to provide evidence to your claim. In this case, Jesus is glorious in righteousness and wondrous in love. We are Jesus’ people. He is our King and ruler. We tell others about how glorious, righteous, wondrous, and loving our King is. To that, someone might say “prove it,” and that’s exactly what we must do.

The phrase “He makes the nations prove…” is a reminder to us that we have been commissioned to tell the world about His goodness. We do that, not just with words, but deeds. When we tell others that Jesus loves them, we do a great work for the Kingdom, don’t get me wrong. But how much greater a work is it when we not only say it but carry it out in our own lives? As impactful as it is for a person to be told “someone loves you,” it is even more impactful for them to be given something to help them, while also being told “I’m giving you this because the One who loves me, also loves you, and wants me to give this to you.” Is that not what the Master calls for us to do (Matthew 25:35)? And then, as conversations continue with the one we’ve helped, we can talk to them about the glories of God, all the miracles He accomplished to prove His divinity, about the offering of Jesus for our salvation, and about the way in which we can wash our sins away and be saved. Through that, a soul can be added to the kingdom of Jesus.

When we do such things, we prove the glories of God’s righteousness and the wonders of His love.

~Matthew