This great hymn by Isaac Watts is commonly miscast as a Christmas hymn, when Watts didn’t write it for Christmas and it really has nothing particularly to do with the birth of Jesus; it’s actually a better fit for this season of Advent, since what it’s really about is the Second Coming.
Joy to the World
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 world! the Savior reigns;
Let men their songs employ,
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and 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.Words: Isaac Watts
Music: Lowell Mason, from a theme by George Frederick Handel
ANTIOCH, 8.6.8.6.6.6.