Photo by Toa Heftiba
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One of the most unlikely Christmas hymns is Isaac Watts’ Joy To The World. Why is it so unlikely? Great question! Take a look at the lyrics. Seriously, read them for yourself. Is there anything about the humble and miraculous birth of Christ, the shepherds watching their flocks by night, the angelic hosts announcing Christ’s birth, or the magi’s journey following a bright star? Possibly the first line; However, as we will examine in section 2, this song is about the second coming of Christ, not announcing His birth. So, how did this become a popular Christmas tune? Let us examine the two primary contributors.
The first contributor is English clergyman Isaac Watts, the original author of this Christmas carol. His hymn is a paraphrase of Psalm 98:4-9, which announces with song, instrument, and nature, that the judgment of the LORD has come upon the earth. This is about the second coming of Christ! Curiously, stanza three of his original hymn refers to the curse in Genesis 3. Given that I am an originalist, I will include this stanza in my full review.
The second contributor is Boston music educator Lowell Mason. He cobbled together portions of the tune of Handel’s Messiah with Watson’s lyrics to create Antioch, published in Occasional Psalms and Hymn Tunes (1836). His contribution is the thrice-repeated last line for each stanza that we all know and love today. Though his tune to Watt’s lyrics was not the only one that existed, it was (and still is) the most popular version.
Thus far, we’ve accounted for the source and popular tune. So, how did it become associated with Christmas? I don’t know. At least, I could not find any one particular person or entity responsible for the transition. If anyone has any information, can you please let me know? Until then, I can only chalk it up to a series of small, incremental steps that certain individuals took that somehow made it to our Christmas Carols list. Perhaps it was the Roman Catholic Church?
Nonetheless, I won’t hold this against Watts. It’s not his fault!
Update: After reading Agnes DeRaad’s commentary, I included Stanza 1’s possible interpretation of Jesus’ first coming as part of the review and will allow the reader to decide which is more reasonable.
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1. What message does the song communicate?
As mentioned in the introduction, Stanza’s 1, 2, and 4 are about Christ’s second coming and stanza 3 is about the fall of mankind. Watt’s intent is for us to briefly examine our starting point and look forward to that great and terrible day when Christ will finally set things right in our world, separating the wheat from the chaff, with some entering eternal life and other eternal damnation. It is also possible to interpret Stanza 1 as Jesus’ first coming.
Score: 10/10
2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?
All lyrics agree with the Bible. Since Joy To the World has no verses or Chorus, I will refer to each paragraph as a stanza associated with a number.
This song is public domain.
[Stanza 1]
Joy to the world! The Lord is come:
Ripped right out of Psalm 98:4 and Psalm 98:9. As we will later find out in Stanza 4, the joy is due to Christ’s second coming. The dead giveaway is the word “is” rather than “has”; However, it is also possible that this refers to Jesus’ first coming due to Malachi 3:1-2.
Let earth receive her King,
See Isaiah 9:6, Isaiah 11:10, John 12:15, 1 Timothy 6:13-16, Revelation 17:14, and Revelation 19:11-16.
Let every heart prepare him room,
We must prepare our hearts for Christ’s return, much like the five virgins in Jesus’ parable as recorded in Matthew 25:1-13. He will come like a thief in the night (see Matthew 24:43, 1 Thessalonians 5:4, 1 Thessalonians 5:2, 2 Peter 3:10, and Revelation 16:15).
And heaven and nature sing.
Encompasses all the various shouts, instruments, and natural phenomena in Psalm 98:4-9.
[Stanza 2]
Joy to the earth! The Saviour reigns:
Refurbishes lines 1 and 2 from Stanza 1, with a slight twist in lordship found in Revelation 17:14.
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy.
A reiteration of ideas found in Psalm 98:5-9 and Stanza 1, line 4. These are two specific praises to God, which includes song and natural occurrences.
[Stanza 3]
No more let sin and sorrow grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground:
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found.
This entire stanza juxtaposes the original curse in Genesis 3:14-24 with the curse completely removed in Revelation 21:1-7.
[Stanza 4]
He rules the world with truth and grace,
Notice that this is present tense. Rules. Not “will rule”. This is why stanza 1 cannot be about Christ’s birth! We know that Jesus is the Truth (John 14:6, gracious, and compassionate (Exodus 33:19, Exodus 34:6, Numbers 14:18, Nehemiah 9:16-17, Nehemiah 9:30-31, Psalm 86:15, Psalm 103:8, Psalm 116:5, Psalm 145:8-9, Joel 2:13, Jonah 4:2, Romans 9:15, and James 5:11). Therefore, we can expect these qualities as part of Christ’s reign.
And makes the nations prove
The glories of his righteousness
And wonders of his love
Isaiah 60:1-22 is a great passage that paints a picture of the ideas Watts offers here.
Score: 10/10
3. How would an outsider interpret the song?
If unbelievers took the time to examine these lyrics, they may come to the same conclusion as I, that this is not a Christmas song, unless Stanza 1 is interpreted to mean Jesus’ first coming. Though it may confuse some people to disseminate regarding its non-Christmas status, the rest of my interpretation should be obvious to anyone not following Jesus.
Score: 10/10
4. What does this song glorify?
It lifts high the authority and rulership of Jesus, as we look forward to spending eternity with Him.
Score: 10/10
Closing Comments
This popular Carol has been around a long time. Its basis in Psalm 98 and Genesis 3 is sound, finding biblical accuracy in other areas along the way without error. Outsiders should come to the same conclusion regarding its meaning, glorifying Christ in the process.
By the way, I’m not a big fan of the modern version, with an added Chorus. I think it’s distracting and takes away from the intent that Watts intended.
Final Score: 10/10
Artist Info
Track: Joy To the World (listen to the more famous version by John Rutter and the Cambridge Singers)
Artist: Isaac Watts
Album: N/A
Genre: Christmas, Hymn
Release Year: 1719
Duration: N/A
Agree? Disagree? Don’t be shy or have a cow! Calmly and politely state your case in a comment, below.
Comments
racefangurl
For churches that distinguish Advent and Christmas hymns, this is an Advent hymn I read. It came from a Second Coming poem and Second Coming oriented songs are used as Advent hymns by the churches I site.
Agnes DeRaad
For some time I have shared your opinion about this song being about the second coming of Christ. However, while recently reading the Old Testament prophecies regarding Messiah, and noting the fact that the prophets did not clearly distinguish the separation between Christ’s first and second comings (see Malachi 3:1-2, for example), I wondered if perhaps this song does the same: rejoices in both His first and His second comings. Verse 1 is in the present perfect tense showing something that happened in the past that has present consequences: “The Lord has come.” That sounds like His first coming, with the call to every heart to prepare Him room. Verses 2 and 4 sound like the reality of His second coming: He reigns and He rules in the world. And yet, in the present, because of His first coming, He is already the king of those who accept Him as their Savior and He already rules and reigns in their lives. With His second coming, He will rule and reign over the whole earth, and all knees will bow to Him. And the sin that has already been defeated for those who believe in Him now will finally be defeated in the entire creation and all will be restored. So might we consider that, like the Old Testament prophecies, this song celebrates both comings of Christ?
Vince Wright
Agnes,
Thank you for your challenge! I suppose it’s possible that Stanza 1 refers to Christ’s first coming. I’ve updated the review and included it as a possibility.
-Vince Wright