“Joy to the world! The Lord is come. Let earth receive her King; Let every heart prepare Him room; And heaven and nature sing!” This exuberant Christmas carol is sung by millions around the globe each year at the Yuletide, but is it really a Christmas song? The words hardly sound as though they are trumpeting the birth of an infant, but more like an announcement of the coming of a patriarch.
Though there is some debate about whether the original intention of the composure was to celebrate the birth of the baby Jesus or announce the second coming of Christ, most can agree that the song is based on Psalm 98 found in the Bible’s old testament. One line in the psalm, “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise,” appears to be the genesis of the song’s sentiment.
According to William Studwell, co-author of the book “The Christmas Carol Reader,” the song’s author Isaac Watts is "father of English hymnody." Watts, a non-conformist pastor and prolific author of approximately 60 philosophical books and over 700 hymns, has several popular songs to his credit. “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross," and "Our God Our Help in Ages Past," are two of his better known works. Watts first published “Joy to the World” in The Psalms of David, Imitated in the Language of the New Testament in 1719 however the song was then entitled “Joy to the Earth.”
In 1839, more than a century after it was first penned, the song was set to music and published as the carol that is now a hallmark of the Christmas season. The probable composer of the music was Lowell Mason (1792-1872), a prominent American music educator, editor, and hymn writer. Controversy surrounds the music of the carol as well as the exact intention of its words. Mason is thought to have rearranged a portion of Handel’s oratorio "Messiah." It appears Mason borrowed from the Messiah numbers “Comfort Ye" and "Lift Up Your Heads," to fit the words of Watts' "Joy to the World." Referred to as the “Antioch Song,” the carol was first published with its stirring music in a collection of works by Mason, Modern Psalmist. Other well known standards in the collection include "Nearer my God to Thee," and "O Day of Rest and Gladness."
Both the writer and the composure of “Joy” seemed to share a mutual intention, to inspire the world and encourage a celebration of the tremendous news that “the Lord has come.” This pronouncement is the only reference related to Christmas and the birth of Jesus. The other stanzas could easily be appropriate for any season of the year. The song regales a benevolent Lord who brings truth, grace, righteousness, and the wonders of his love to a world that is much in need of it.