Make a Joyful Noise to the Lord
A Psalm.
98 Oh sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done marvelous things!
His right hand and his holy arm
have worked salvation for him.
2 The LORD has made known his salvation;
he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations.
3 He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness
to the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God.
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!
7 Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
the world and those who dwell in it!
8 Let the rivers clap their hands;
let the hills sing for joy together
9 before the LORD, for he comes
to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness,
and the peoples with equity.
When Issac Watts (“The Father of Hymns”) first wrote Joy to the World based on Psalm 98, he didn’t intend for it to be a Christmas song – or even a song at all. In 1719, Watts published a book of poems based on different psalms. Instead of just translating them, he connected each poem to how he thought it was revealed Jesus in the New Testament. The poem Joy to the World was a celebration of Jesus’s role as King of both his church and the whole world. Then in 1848, American composer Lowell Mason set the poem to the tune we use now. Today it is the most-published Christmas hymn.
It is unclear how it became a Christmas hymn, as it has no reference to a baby, shepherds or angels. But it certainly fits the message of how Jesus brought joy to the world when he came as a babe. There is no greater joy than Christ’s love for the world.
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,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven, and heaven, and nature sing.
Joy to the world! the Saviour reigns;
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains
Repeat 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 flow
Far 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 prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders, wonders, of His love.
Joy to the world! The Lord is come
Let Earth receive her King
Let every heart prepare him room
And heaven and nature sing
The King comes to the earth as a helpless babe and no one has room for him. This Christmas, make sure you have made room for Him. In all the hustle and the bustle are you taking time to enjoy your Lord? To allow Him to come into your preparations and your life and show you the true reason for celebration.
Joy to the world! the Saviour reigns
Let men their songs employ
While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains
Repeat the sounding joy
Now that you know the Saviour reigns, how can you not sing His praises? The fields, the floods, everything cries out joyfully, how can you not join in?
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
God cursed after Adam and Eve sinned. But Jesus came to break that curse and make his blessings flow. And one day, no thorns will infest the ground. No more sorrow.
He rules the world with truth and grace
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness
And wonders of His love
Satan may still have a grip in the world, but he has already been defeated, and the nations, sinful though they may be, can’t help but prove God’s righteousness. Even in their sin, God still works and moves in lives, changing them with His love
Bursting Through The Darkness 
Interesting this wasn’t originally a Christmas song. Thanks for sharing, Autumn. 🙂
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Yeah, I just learned that in my research!
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