Hymn Story: Joy to the world, the Lord is come!

Psalm 98 

Oh, sing to the Lord a new song!
For He has done marvellous things;
His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory.
² The Lord has made known His salvation;
His righteousness He has revealed in the sight of the nations.
³ He has remembered His mercy and His faithfulness to the house of Israel;
All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

⁴ Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth;
Break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises.
⁵ Sing to the Lord with the harp,
With the harp and the sound of a psalm,
⁶ With trumpets and the sound of a horn;
Shout joyfully before the Lord, the King.

 

⁷ Let the sea roar, and all its fullness,
The world and those who dwell in it;
⁸ Let the rivers clap their hands;
Let the hills be joyful together before the Lord,
⁹ For He is coming to judge the earth.
With righteousness He shall judge the world,
And the peoples with equity.

When declining health forced Isaac Watts to cut back on his preaching, he turned to another task, Christianizing the Psalms. At the age of forty-five, he sat under a favourite tree on the Abney estate-property of the close friends with whom he lived-and penned the now famous words of "Joy to the World." His 1719 hymnal, Psalms of David Imitated in the Language of the New Testament, included the words under his original title for the poetry: "The Messiah's Coming and Kingdom."

As part of his effort to bring New Testament meanings to the Old Testament psalms, Watts based "Joy to the World" on the last half of Psalm 98: "Shout for joy to the Lord all the earth, . . . Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy; let them sing before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth." (vs. 4, 8).

Psalm 98 celebrated God's protection and restoration of his chosen people. Watts' carol rejoices in the same, as it expresses praise for the salvation that began when God became man. Both the psalm and the hymn also look ahead, to Christ coming again to reign: "He will judge the world with righteousness" (v. 9)

"Joy to the World" includes references to other Bible verses as well, including Gen. 3:17, Rom. 5:20, and Luke 2:10. Yet despite its lack of reference to Mary, Joseph, shepherds, angels, wise men, or the manger, it became one of the most loved Christmas carols. In a season for celebrating our Saviour's birth, Watts' hymn beautifully expresses our joy at the coming of our Saviour.

Listen to it here: Joy to the world, the Lord is come!