Joy to the World

Background

Isaac Watts wrote "Joy to the World" in 1719, first publishing it under the title "The Messiah's Coming and Kingdom" in his collection The Psalms of David: Imitated in the Language of the New Testament, and applied to the Christian State and Worship. Watts asserted that Psalms 96–98 refer to Christ's Incarnation and his setting up his Gospel-Kingdom. The hymn's four stanzas include an interlude alluding to Genesis 3:17–19, which has occasionally been omitted from some hymnals due to its line "far as the curse is found."

The tune commonly used today is from an 1848 arrangement by American composer Lowell Mason, published in The National Psalmist. Mason attributed the tune to George Frideric Handel and named it "Antioch." The first four notes of the tune match the first four notes of the chorus 'Glory to God' from Handel's Messiah, and similar tunes appeared in the early 1830s, including one titled "Comfort" attributed to "Author Unknown." There is speculation about a common source, possibly Martin Luther's "Vom Himmel hoch da komm ich her," but no definitive evidence exists.