I hope you are finding joy this Christmas. Joy to the World is one of my favorite Christmas songs. The song was written in 1719 by Isaac Watts, based on several verses from Psalm 98. It’s one of the most published Christmas carols in North America. It’s been recorded by dozens of choirs and music groups in recent years. It was one of the songs I picked for an article about the 12 Best Christmas Music Videos of 2015.
New recordings of Joy to the World are released every year. This new music video, part of the 4 Carols 4 Christmas is a series of performances by Junior Garr and The Spirituals Choir. The medley starts off with Good Tidings of Comfort and Joy. It’s a beautiful rendition — filmed in the historic St. Paul’s Cathedral.
Joy At Jesus Birth
Rev. Jamie Haith of Midtown London Church provides a short meditation in the video. Here’s an excerpt of his message:
“Jesus was born to be king. Writing hundreds of years before the birth of Christ the prophet Isaiah foretells this about him. He will reign on David’s throne and over His kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. That’s what we’ve just been singing about; ‘Joy to the world, let earth receive her king‘. But why should we receive Christ as king with Joy? The answer is in the final verse of that carol. It’s because ‘He rules the world with truth and grace’.”
“This Christmas, dip into the teachings of Jesus in the gospels. I guarantee that you will come away with the sense, that they are jam-packed full of deep and beautiful truth. He rules the world with truth and grace.”
Joy to the World – by The Petersons
The Petersons also released a new music video of the song, on 16-Dec-2020.
Joy to the World – Lyrics
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 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
See also: The Foundation for the Joy of Christmas