Bonus Episode 16 - The Christmas Hymn That Isn't

Hello and welcome to another short bonus episode of the Giants of the Faith podcast. Today we're taking at look at that preeminent Christmas hymn from Isaac Watts - the one that you and I have sung hundreds of times during the season of Advent - that is in fact not a Christmas hymn at all. It is, in fact, a song looking at the second advent - the second coming of Christ. I'm speaking, of course, of Joy to the World.

Joy to the World was written and released by Isaac Watts in 1719. It was an updated Psalm, based on Psalms 96 and 98 and written through a New Testament lens. Joy to the World was originally released as a poem as part of Watts' book, The Psalms of David: Imitated in the Language of the New Testament and Applied to the Christian State and Worship. Whereas the Psalms it is based on point to Christ's first coming Watts shifts the focus, in a post first coming world, to the second coming. Even the tune that we associate with Joy to the World wasn't from Watts. It is an arrangement put together with Watts' words in 1848 by American composer Lowell Mason, possibly based on some music from Handel - possibly not.

I know, you're probably thinking that Joy to the World is obviously a Christmas song. We sing it every Christmas. Christians have been using it at Christmas for over 150 years. But it's not. Let's look at some of the lyrics and see where they fit in the second coming interpretation.

From verse 1:

Joy to the World! The Lord is come - OK, this could clearly fit with a first or second coming reading

Let Earth receive her King - we know that Earth did not receive her King when he came 2000 years ago. Jesus is the rejected Cornerstone. But when he comes again, that's a different story.

And from verse 3:

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

Here in verse 3 Watts hits the nail squarely. 'No more let sins and sorrow grow'? That's certainly not happening now Watts is looking forward to the day when the curse on the ground from Genesis is cleared and Christ's blessings flow.

You can find some in depth articles online or just take a close look yourself at Watts' work and see what this classic Christmas carol actually says. Was it meant for Christmas? No. Should we sing it at Christmastime? By all means. What is the second coming if not the ultimate answer to what the first coming ushered in.

And that's all for this bonus episode. Until next time, God bless.

Use MP3 as outro

RESOURCES

The Gospel Coalition: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/joy-to-the-world-a-classic-christmas-hymn-reconsidered/

Prince on Preaching: https://www.davidprince.com/2015/12/23/joy-to-the-world-christmas-and-the-second-coming/

Ligonier Ministries: https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/joy-to-the-world-all-year-long

Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/PUBLICDOMAINJoytotheWorld