Advent Devotional Resource - San Francisco Theological Seminary

Thursday, December 3“Joy to the World”Hymn: Isaac Watts, 1719Tune: Lowell Mason, 1848Isaac Watts based the words of “Joy to the World” on Psalm 98. This beloved hymn is another ofWatts’ many beautiful and innovative treatments of Psalm texts that revitalized congregational songin the early 18th century. In 1719, he published a collection of hymns called The Psalms of David,Imitated in the Language of the New Testament. “Jesus Shall Reign Where E’er the Sun” is anotherhymn from this collection of “Psalm settings.”Although “Joy to the World” is sung almost exclusively as a Christmas carol, it was actually intendedas a hymn about the Kingdom of God after Christ’s return. Although this hymn will always be sungas a much-loved Christmas carol, read through this text and consider it through the lens of Watts’original intention:Joy to the world! The LORD has come:Let earth receive her King.Let ev’ry heart prepare Him room,And heav’n and nature sing, and heav’n and nature sing.And heav’n, and heav’n and nature sing.Joy to the world! The Savior reigns:Let men their tongues employ,While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plainsRepeat the sounding joy, repeat the sounding joy,Repeat, repeat the sounding joy.No more let sins and sorrows grow,Nor thorns infest the ground:He comes to make His blessings flowFar as the curse is found, far as the curse is found,Far as, far as the curse is found.He rules the world with truth and grace,And makes the nations proveThe glories of His righteousnessAnd wonders of His love, and wonders of His love,And wonders, wonders of His love.For many years the tune has been mistakenly attributed to George Friedrich Handel, the composerof the Messiah. The actual composer was Lowell Mason, who has been called “the father of Americanchurch music.” Mason was the first music teacher in an American public school, and was co-founderof the Boston Academy of Music. Mason was a devoted music educator and wrote more than 1,600compositions for the church.Dr. Daniel HoggattSFTS Professor of Church Music