{"id":38524,"date":"2020-12-23T18:41:56","date_gmt":"2020-12-24T00:41:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mbcpathway.com\/?p=38524"},"modified":"2020-12-23T18:41:56","modified_gmt":"2020-12-24T00:41:56","slug":"joy-to-the-world-a-work-of-genius","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mbcpathway.com\/2020\/12\/23\/joy-to-the-world-a-work-of-genius\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Joy to the World\u2019 a work of genius"},"content":{"rendered":"

What is the most often sung Christmas hymn in North America? Here\u2019s a hint: it was never meant to be a Christmas song. Well, if you said \u201cJoy to the World\u201d you are correct.<\/span><\/p>\n

But even a casual glance at this favorite reveals much more of a Second Coming theme than it does a Christmas theme. Yet it is one of the world\u2019s favorite Christmas songs of all time. If the question is \u201cwhat makes it so great?\u201d the answer may be found in two genius craftsmen: Isaac Watts and Lowell Mason.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cJoy to the World\u201d was written by Isaac Watts and included in his hymnal, The Psalms of David<\/i> (1719). But it was not titled as we currently know it. The 1719 title of this hymn was \u201cThe Messiah\u2019s Coming and Kingdom.\u201d The hymnal from whence it came The Psalms of David<\/i> is very important as it was a book of hymns that were based off of the Psalms. Watts endeavored in this hymnal to be both creative and theologically intact in his interpretation. So the verses are naturally some Psalms versified. Stanzas one and three were based from Psalm 98, verses 4 and 9:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 \u201cMake a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises!\u201d (verse 4)<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 \u201c… before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity\u201d (verse 9).<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

Stanza 3-4 is from Psalm 96:11-12:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 \u201cLet the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it! Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy.\u201d<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

Along with this reference is the curse from the fall of man in Genesis 3:17-19 that is intermingled through the great hymn.<\/span><\/p>\n

So the Word of God does make for a great hymn. However, it wasn\u2019t until the music was added that the carol took off. Enter Lowell Mason. This New Englander rose to be a paragon of American Christian music. His fascination for the Christian cause and the music of George Fredrick Handel, who gave us the beloved \u201cHallelujah Chorus\u201d from the oratorio, Messiah<\/i>, would be his source of inspiration. You see, for one-hundred-forty years the hymn text of \u201cThe Messiah\u2019s Coming and Kingdom\u201d floated around in relative obscurity, with no tune with which it was anchored. It was simply to be sung to any \u201ccommon meter\u201d song. However Mason took snippets of Handel\u2019s music, from his above-mentioned oratorio and created a synthesized Handel tune which he named ANTIOCH, and attributed the tune to Handel. What\u2019s more, he included it in his 1848 hymnal, The National Psalmist<\/i>, and this is where this hymn\/carol took off.<\/span><\/p>\n

Genius work, by two men touched by God, both borrowing from the masters: Watts from King David and Mason from Handel. They were two men clearly favored by God. \u201cJoy to the World\u201d reflects a craftsmanship that really took millennia to emerge, rendering it timeless and good for all occasions. This is a song that is fine to sing at Christmas but also for anytime of the year \u201cfar as the curse is found.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What is the most often sung Christmas hymn in North America? Here\u2019s a hint: it was never meant to be a Christmas song.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9192262,"featured_media":38526,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":"","_wpscp_schedule_draft_date":"","_wpscp_schedule_republish_date":"","_wpscppro_advance_schedule":false,"_wpscppro_advance_schedule_date":"","_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"","_twitter_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type":"","_pinterest_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_selected_social_profile":[]},"categories":[5,24],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\u2018Joy to the World\u2019 a work of genius<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What is the most often sung Christmas hymn in North America? 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