‘Joy to the World’ was not intended to be a Christmas carol. In its original form, it had nothing to do with Christmas and wasn’t even written to be a song. Rather, hymn-writer Isaac Watts published a book of poems (1719) in which each poem was based on a psalm. Instead of simply translating the original texts, he adjusted them to refer more explicitly to the work of Jesus as revealed in the New Testament.

One of those poems was an adaptation of Psalm 98. He saw this psalm as a celebration of Jesus’ role as King of both his church and the whole world. More than a century later, the second half of this poem was slightly adapted and set to music to give us what has become one of the most famous of all Christmas carols. (More info? https://www.crossway.org/articles/a-brief-history-of-joy-to-the-world/)

The song I’m sharing today is a great medley which combines ‘Joy to the World’ with ‘Shout for Joy’ by Paul Baloche. A winning combo!! Take a moment to consider how these lyrics can bring great joy at any time of the year.