Joy To The World

Psalm 98:1-9

1. O sing to the Lord a new song,
For He has done wonderful things,
His right hand and His holy arm have gained the victory 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 lovingkindness and His faithfulness to the house of Israel;
All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

4. Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth;
Break forth and sing for joy 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
Shout joyfully before the King, the Lord.

7. Let the sea roar and all it contains,
The world and those who dwell in it.

8. Let the rivers clap their hands,
Let the mountains sing together for joy

9. Before the Lord, for He is coming to judge the earth;
He will judge the world with righteousness
And the peoples with equity. (NASB)

watts-psalms

Joy is one of the primary emotions of the Christmas season. The angel who announced the birth of Jesus to the shepherds said, “I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.” The joy we know because of Jesus is available to all people. And this is the time of year when songs like “Joy To The World” proclaim that message, clearly.

Isaac Watts wrote the lyrics to that beloved Christmas carol in 1719 and included it in his book Psalms of David. Watts took his inspiration from Psalm 98. It would be another 120 years before “Joy To The World” became a song. In 1839 Lowell Mason added music, and a note crediting George Frederick Handel, composer of “The Messiah” with writing the lyrics. It would more than another 100 years before music historians uncovered the true author of the lyrics.

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