Joy to the World - wikipedia Joy to the World This article is about the Christmas carol. For other uses, see Joy to the World ( disambiguation ). Joy to the World Text Isaac Watts, Language English Published 1719 `` Joy to the World '' is a popular Christmas carol with words by Isaac Watts. As of the late 20th century, `` Joy to the World '' was the most - published Christmas hymn in North America. Contents 1 Origin 2 Music 3 Words 4 Lyric variants 5 Recordings 6 References 7 External links Origin The words of the hymn are by English writer Isaac Watts, based on Psalm 98, 96 : 11 - 12 and Genesis 3 : 17 - 18, in the Bible. The song was first published in 1719 in Watts ' collection ; The Psalms of David : Imitated in the language of the New Testament, and applied to the Christian state and worship. The paraphrase is Watts ' Christological interpretation. Consequently, he does not emphasize with equal weight the various themes of Psalm 98. In stanzas 1 and 2 Watts writes of heaven and earth rejoicing at the coming of the King. An interlude that depends more on Watts ' interpretation than the psalm text, stanza 3 speaks of Christ 's blessings extending victoriously over the realm of sin. The cheerful repetition of the non-psalm phrase `` far as the curse is found '' has caused this stanza to be omitted from some hymnals. But the line makes joyful sense when understood from the New Testament eyes through which Watts interprets the psalm. Stanza 4 celebrates Christ 's rule over the nations. ``. The nations are called to celebrate because God 's faithfulness to the house of Israel has brought salvation to the world. Music Watts ' 1719 preface says the verses ``... are fitted to the Tunes of the Old PSALM - BOOK '' and includes the instruction `` sing all entitled COMMON METER ''. In the late 1700 's Joy to the World was printed together with music several times. The version of this carol usually heard today is from the edition by Lowell Mason for The National Psalmist ( Boston, 1848 ), his fourth revision of the tune he named ANTIOCH and attributed as `` arranged from Handel ''. This tune has the first four notes in common with the chorus Lift up your heads from Messiah ( premiered 1742 ), and the third line recalls the arioso Comfort ye from the same oratorio, but this resemblance is dismissed as ' chance resemblance ' by Handel scholars today. A 1986 article by John Wilson showed ANTIOCH 's close resemblance to a predecessor titled COMFORT and associated with Wesley 's hymn `` O Joyful Sound '', with one publication firmly dated 1833, three years earlier than Mason 's first version. Words The text appears thus in The Psalms of David : imitated in the Language of the New Testament, and apply 'd to the Christian State and Worship ) ( London 1719 ) : Psalm XCVIII. Second Part. The Messiah 's Coming and Kingdom Joy to the World ; The Lord is come ; Let Earth receive her King : Let every Heart prepare him Room, And Heaven and Nature sing. Joy to the Earth, The Saviour reigns ; Let Men their Songs employ ; While Fields & Floods, Rocks, Hills & Plains Repeat the sounding Joy. 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. He rules the World with Truth and Grace, And makes the Nations prove The Glories of his Righteousness, And Wonders of his Love. Lyric variants In the Latter - day Saint hymnal, the refrain in the first verse is `` And Saints and Angels Sing '' ( see Joy to the World ( Phelps ) ). Modern recordings, including those aimed at children such as VeggieTales ( part of A Very Veggie Christmas, The Singing Christmas Tree ) and Disney Sing - Along versions, often omit the third verse. Recordings Joy to the World Choral performance of `` Joy to the World '' by United States Army Chorus Problems playing this file ? See media help. A version by the Trinity Choir was very popular in 1911 and the carol has since been recorded by many artists including Andy Williams, The Supremes, Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald, Johnny Cash, Nat King Cole, Walter Cherry, Neil Diamond, Pat Boone, Perry Como, Vic Damone and Mariah Carey. As of the late 20th century, `` Joy to the World '' was the most - published Christmas hymn in North America. References ^ Jump up to : It was published in 1,387 hymnals in North America before 1979, as recorded in the Dictionary of North American Hymnology. Top 20 Christmas hymns cited at Hymnary.org. Jump up ^ Joy to the world ! the Lord is come ! at Hymnary.org Jump up ^ Joy to the World !, Worship Leader magazine ( archive.org, 18 July 2011 ) Jump up ^ Watts 1719, p. xxxii. it is not clear whether `` Old Psalm - book '' refers to Playford 's 1677 publication or some other. Jump up ^ For example to the tune WARSAW in Samuel Holyoke 's Harmonia Americana, 1791 ( page 87 ) Jump up ^ Celebrate, Rejoice and Sing : Christmas Music in America, Roger L. Hall, PineTree Press, 2003, p 8 ; see also > https://hymnary.org/text/joy_to_the_world_the_lord_is_come for usage of ANTIOCH and other tunes. Jump up ^ The Cambridge Handel Encyclopedia, Annette Landgraf, David Vickers, Cambridge University Press, 26 November 2009. ' Joy to the World ' entry by Nicholas Temperley Jump up ^ The Origins of the Tune `` Antioch '', Bulletin No. 166 of the Hymn Society of Great Britain and Ireland ; a summary is given in The Oxford Book of Carols 1994, p. 273 Jump up ^ Whitburn, Joel ( 1986 ). Joel Whitburn 's Pop Memories 1890 - 1954. Wisconsin, USA : Record Research Inc. p. 422. ISBN 0 - 89820 - 083 - 0. External links United States portal Music portal Christmas portal Free sheet music of `` Joy to the World '' for SATB from Cantorion.org Joy to the World - Early New England Christmas Carol `` Joy to the World '' played on a Hammond Organ Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Joy_to_the_World&oldid=823370277 '' Categories : Christmas carols 18th - century Christian texts Hymns by Isaac Watts British songs 1719 compositions Hidden categories : Use dmy dates from December 2017 Articles with hAudio microformats Talk Contents About Wikipedia Wikisource Български Dansk Deutsch Español Français 한국어 Italiano עברית Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk nynorsk Polski Português Русский Suomi Svenska ไทย Tiếng Việt 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 31 January 2018, at 21 : 23. 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Question: who wrote the song joy to the world
Answer: Isaac Watts