Joy To The World

It would be hard to imagine the world of church hymns without the influence of Isaac Watts. A master poet with some 750 hymns to his credit, Joy to the World is just one of the many Watts hymns we still sing today. Published in 1719, this marks the 305th year of this hymn. It is a beautiful hymn most often associated with and sung during the Christmas season, but it wasn't based on Christ's birth. No, Joy To The World is the Christmas hymn that isn't. 

Watts wrote and published the poem in 1719 as a paraphrase of Psalm 98. At that time, it wasn't set to music. An American named Lowell Mason, regarded by many as the father of American church music (and the father of Henry Mason, who founded the Mason & Hamlin piano company - the most amazing sounding American-made pianos) borrowed some lines from George Fredrick Handel's Messiah to complete a tune called Antioch. Lowell published Joy To The World set to Antioch in 1836 at Christmas time, and the Christmas association has remained ever since.

This hymn looks more toward Christ's second coming than his birth while recognizing in the very first line that the Lord is here with us, via the Holy Spirit, right now. "The Lord is come" is the key to the rest of the hymn. There are a few writers who've posted the grammatical breakdown of this phrase, and if you do a simple Google search, you'll find them. To summarize what they've said, I'll put it this way. The use of "is come" rather than "has come" gives the reader the sense that He is here with us already and that he was sent rather than arrived on his own. One tiny little phrase can communicate so much!

Joy to the world, the Lord is come!

Let earth receive her King!

Let every heart prepare Him room,

and heav'n and nature sing,

and heav'n and nature sing,

and heav'n, and heav'n and nature sing.


Psalm 98:4-6 says, "Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises! Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre (guitar), with the lyre and the sound of melody! With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord!" (By the way, if you haven't read my earlier post about King David's modern worship band, you can find that here.) This comes from Book 4 of the Psalms, which answers the questions posed in Books 1-3 and teaches us to anchor our complete trust in our Sovereign God. 


Joy to the earth, 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.


Psalm 96:11-12 gives us some context for the second stanza. "Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it! Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy." And in Psalm 98:7-8, "Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the world and those who dwell in it! Let the rivers clap their hands; let the hills sing for joy together." These passages don't talk about people praising God at all. Rather, they give us the truth that God's creation praises Him. It's not in language unless you're reading C.S. Lewis. But it is in the simple fact that God's creation praises Him in the simple act of its created purpose. The tree grows and bears fruit and, therefore, gives praise to God as it completes its intended purpose. The rivers bring life-giving water to the soils and, in doing so, make the rushing sound that all beings recognize. It's a sound similar to that of many clapping hands. In doing what God intended them to do, He receives praise. 


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.


In Genesis 3:17-18 we find the curse. "...cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field." But Jesus came to break that curse and offer us new life. 1 Corinthians 15:22, "For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive."
Psalm 98:1-2, "Oh Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things! His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him. The Lord has made known his salvation; he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations." 

Philippians 2:9-10 clearly lays out the reason this song was written. "And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

Joy to the World! 

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