Joy To The World - Christmas

Joy To The World
(Lowell Mason)

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Joy To The World
by Lowell Mason

Poster Joy To The World

Joy To The World ” is a popular Christmas carol with words by Isaac Watts. The words of the hymn are based on Psalm 98, Psalm 96 (verses 11 and 12) and Genesis Chapter 3 (verses 17 and 18). As of the late 20th century, “Joy to the World” was the most-published Christmas hymn in North America. In the late 18th century, “Joy to the World” was printed with music several times, but the tunes were unrelated to the one commonly used today. The tune usually used today is from an 1848 edition by Lowell Mason for The National Psalmist (Boston, 1848). Mason was by that time an accomplished and well-known composer and arranger. Mason’s 1848 publication of the current tune was the fourth version to have been published. The name of this tune was given as “Antioch”, and was attributed as being “From Handel”. A very similar arrangement of the tune to today’s arrangement, and also with the present-day lyrics, was published in Mason’s 1839 book The Modern Psalmist. It was also titled “Antioch” and attributed to Handel.

Lyrics


Joy To The World

Joy to the world, the Lord has 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 Savior 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

Songwriters: Lowell Mason / Isaac Watts / G.F. Handel