Joy to the World

The following was written and read by Linda at Trinity URC on 13th December 2020

At the start of Advent or even earlier in the shops now days, we begin to hear carols that are very familiar to us. In some instances, so familiar that we sometimes forget to listen to the message they contain. So to end our festival of carols and readings today, we are going to focus on the message of one such carol that has been sung for over 300 years “Joy to the World”.

As my colleague Anna says when we need an answer to anything we don’t know – google it, so google has assisted me here and I would like credit the following authors of articles I have read to help me prepare this message.

Ray Fowler
Jonathan Powers
Matt Boswell
Keith Getty
The High Calling

Joy to the World was written by Isaac Watts in the 1700. When Isaac was a young man he was frustrated with the music in church. He felt that the hymns had old fashioned language and were full melodies that failed to inspire. Isaac shared his frustration with his father, who was a church pastor. His father who challenged him to write different hymns for the church, so Isaac took up this challenge and started a lifelong practice of composing more than 600 hymns.

Isaac was inspired to write Joy to the World, by Psalm 98 particularly verse 4

“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth burst into jubilant song with music”.

Incidentally Isaac didn’t write the song as a Christmas Carol but as a hymn to be sung all year around and it was not originally sung to the music we have come to know and love. So why is “Joy to the World” such a popular Christmas Carol and what is the message that Isaac Watts is conveying to us in this hymn?

The first verse of Joy to the World is based on verses 4 to 6 of psalm 98, and for those of you who are unable to see the screen the words are:

Joy to the World – Rejoice and Sing No 135
Joy to the World!
The Lord is come
Let earth receive her King
Let every heart prepare him room
And heaven and nature sing

Psalm 98 NRSV 
4 Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth;
break forth into joyous song and sing praises.
5 Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre,
with the lyre and the sound of melody.
6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn
make a joyful noise before the King, the LORD

The first verse of Joy to the World announces the birth of Christ and is one of the reasons this song has been come a popular Christmas Carol.

The line “let every heart prepare him room” is believed to be a reference to Luke chapter 2 verse 7 “ And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn”

The second verse corresponds to verses 7 and 8 of psalm 98

Joy to the World – Rejoice and Sing No 135
Joy to the world! The Savior reigns
Let men their songs employ
While fields and floods
Rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy

Psalm 98 NRSV 
Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
the world and those who live in it.
8 Let the floods clap their hands;
let the hills sing together for joy

This second verse of “Joy to the World” reminds us that we should always sing God’s praise.

In verse one Isaac refers to Christ as Lord and King, however here in the second verse he refers to Christ as Saviour, which ties in with the Christmas theme, through the angel’s announcement in Luke chapter 2 verse 11 “to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah, the Lord.”

Another reference in hymn to make this a popular Christmas Carol is the line “Let all their songs employ” which remind us of the 4 specific songs in Luke’s gospel that delight and proclaim the birth of Jesus.

• Mary magnifies and rejoices in the mercy of God (Luke 1:46-55);
• Zechariah’s sings a song of prophecy that Jesus would fulfil God’s promise (Luke 1:68-79);
• The angels ‘sing’ the pronouncement of the coming of Christ (Luke 2:14);
• and Simeon sings a prayer declaring that he can depart in peace now that his eyes have seen the coming of the Christ (Luke 2:29-32).

The original lyrics of the 3rd verse of may not be that familiar as the words have been changed in some hymn books including the URC Rejoice and Sing. I was unable to establish why the words were changed, however the original words that Isaac wrote were

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

Whereas today we sing about pain and death instead of a curse.

Joy to the World – Rejoice and Sing No 135 
No more let thorns infest the ground
Or sins and sorrow grow
Whereever pain and death are found
He makes his blessing grow

Psalm 98 NRSV
O sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done marvelous things.
His right hand and his holy arm
have gotten him victory.
2 The LORD has made known his victory;
he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations.

The sins and curses being referred to in this verse is when Adam and Eve sinned in the garden by eating fruit from the forbidden tree and God put a curse on all creation, the verse goes on to say that when Christ comes a second time, the curse will be eliminated.

Moving on the last verse of Joy to the World, which correspondences to verses 3 and 9 in psalm 98

Joy to the World – Rejoice and Sing No 135 
He rules the world with truth and grace
And makes the nations prove
The glories of his righteousness
And wonders of his love

Psalm 98 NRSV
3 He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness
to the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the victory of our God.

9 at the presence of the LORD,
for he is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness,
and the peoples with equity

In this final verse of “Joy to the World”, we are telling those around us that God judges the world in truth and fairness and yet he also gives us grace through Jesus Christ, who paid the penalty for sin at the cross.

So when we sing "Joy to the World" we are not only look backing to the first coming of Christ and celebrating his birth. At the same time, the words encourage us to look forward to the day when the impact of sin will be erased, and all nations will prove the glories of God's righteousness and the wonders of his love.

As we look forward to celebrations of the birth of Jesus Christ and to a new year - 2021, I would ask you today to look back at 2020 and think of the joys of this very different and in some cases a difficult year, for me a few of these are

• Full time employment throughout both lockdown’s when many have lost their jobs and will struggle this Christmas
• For good health, the NHS, the researchers and scientist working on COVID 19 vaccination’s and treatments
• For finding nature literately on my doorstep – Rainham Marshes
• For the sunrises I have seen on my walks that remind me what an amazing world we live in. 

Image Source: GodTube