Joy to the World Hymn Study

This Joy to the World Hymn Study includes everything you need to study the hymn in one easy download.

Image of greenery with pine cones and red Christmas balls lying beside several pages of sheet music; text overlay that says "Joy to the World hymn study unit."

Hymn study is a simple way to pass the heritage of hymns on to our children. Use this unit study to help your family learn more about the hymn “Joy to the World.”

Joy to the World Hymn History

Isaac Watts, the author of “Joy to the World,” grew up in a day when only psalms or other portions of Scripture were sung in church. As he became older, he felt that the congregation lacked joy in their singing, and it bothered him.

He mentioned his concern to his father, who challenged him to do something about it. Watts accepted the challenge and wrote his first hymn.

Even as a boy, Isaac had shown a real talent for composing poetry. One day after family prayer time, his father asked why he had opened his eyes during prayer. The boy replied with a rhyme:

“A little mouse for want of stairs, ran up a rope to say its prayers.”

His father was not impressed and wanted to discourage his behavior, so he spanked him. Young Isaac cried out,

“O father, father, pity take, and I will no more verses make.”

As an adult, Mr. Watts used his talent to write hundreds of hymns and poems. Some of his well-known hymns include “O God Our Help in Ages Past” and “I Sing the Mighty Power of God.”

In 1719, Mr. Watts published his book The Psalms of David: Imitated in the Language of the New Testament, a collection of poems with each verse based on a psalm.

This collection included a two-part poem that paraphrased Psalm 98. “Joy to the World” was taken from the second part (Psalm 98:4-9), entitled “The Messiah’s Coming and Kingdom.”

Interestingly, Mr. Watts never intended his words to be a Christmas carol at all. Like Psalm 98, his poem actually focuses on Christ’s second coming much more than His birth.

For example, the second and fourth stanzas both describe Jesus as our coming King:

“Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns!” (verse 2)

“He rules the world with truth and grace…” (verse 4)

More than 100 years passed before Watts’ poem was set to music. In 1836, Lowell Mason, an American composer and music teacher, arranged parts of Handel’s Messiah to create the tune we sing today.

Mr. Mason published the hymn in his book Occasional Psalms and Hymn Tunes. He named the tune “Antioch” and noted that it was “arranged from Handel.”

Because Mason’s book was published during the Christmas season, “Joy to the World” became associated with Christmas. Today we still sing this beautiful song to celebrate Jesus’ birth.

“Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King…”

Image of greenery with pine cones and red Christmas balls lying beside several pages of sheet music; text overlay that says "Joy to the World."

Joy to the World Hymn Lyrics

Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And heav’n and nature sing,
And heav’n and nature sing,
And heav’n, and heav’n, and nature sing.

Joy to the earth, 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.

Hymn Copywork, Notebooking Pages, and More

Copywork pages, notebooking pages, and other printables are now available in one easy download! The Joy to the World Hymn Study includes everything you need to study the hymn: