December 26 

Joy to the World! The Lord Is Come 

TEXT: Isaac Watts

b. July 17, 1674, Southampton, England

d. November 25, 1748, Stoke Newington, England

Isaac Watt’s father was a leader in the Nonconformist State Church movement, and he was repeatedly imprisoned for his views. Watts was an exceptionally bright child, learning Latin by age four, Greek at age nine, French at eleven, and Hebrew at age thirteen. Though offered free education at Oxford or Cambridge, he refused and attended the Nonconformist Academy. In 1702, Watts became pastor of London’s Mark Lane Independent Church. Although he wrote many volumes of books on theology, and there remain many books of his sermons, it is by his hymns that Watts is known today.

Watts was never satisfied with the congregational singing in churches. In his later years, he wrote, “To see the dull indifference, the negligent and thoughtless air that sits upon the faces of a whole assembly, while the psalm is upon their lips, might even tempt a charitable observer to suspect the fervency of their inward religion.”³⁹ To counter this, he determined to write hymns that elicited joy and natural fervency, with “Joy to the World” a primary example and probably one of the most recognized and commonly sung Christmas carols in the world.

TUNE: Lowell Mason

b. January 8, 1792, Medfield, Massachusetts

d. August 11, 1872, Orange, New Jersey

Lowell Mason was largely responsible for introducing music into American public schools and is considered to be the first significant music educator in the United States. But he was also a leading figure in American church music, writing over 1,600 hymns. Like Watts, Mason sought better congregational singing. At his church, Fifth Avenue Presbyterian in New York City, he fired all of the hired musicians except the organist, and his church became known for having the most excellent congregational singing in the city.

Mason attributed the tune ANTIOCH to G. F. Handel and several parts of the melody can be found throughout Messiah. ANTIOCH is the name of the city in Syria mentioned in Acts 11:26 where believers were first called Christians.

As you sing this hymn … you are singing a Christmas hymn that never mentions Christmas. Based on Psalm 98:4–9, there is no baby in a manger, no angels, no shepherds or wise men, only that He “is come.” Present tense! He reigns and rules with truth and grace, both now and in the future. Please turn to “Christmas in the Bible,” #40. This is a continuing Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany event, a song that can be sung year-round.

What is it about this song that has captured our hearts and made it is so central to Christmas music? Marshall Segal of Desiring God Ministries says of this carol: “The story of the world meeting Jesus in the flesh is a story of the world finally finding full joy in God.”⁴⁰ We live in essentially a joyless world. Everyone longs for joy. We might wonder, what do nonbelievers think when they are singing this carol? From what lasting place is their joy if they do not believe in this reigning King? Even fields, floods, rocks, hills, and plains rejoice, so Christians surely can be joyful! He rules over sin and sorrow, over thorns in our lives, and puts a stop to the curse of death that all are under. “Let every heart prepare Him room,” and pure joy will come to you. Sing for joy at the “wonders of His love.”