70. Joy to the world! the Lord is come
Isaac Watts, 1674-1748
This hymn, which has such an important place in the yearly celebration of the Nativity, is a free rendering of the latter part of Psalm 98: “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.” Watts entitled it, “Messiah’s Coming and Kingdom.” His effort to put the New Testament gospel into the Psalm resulted in a great hymn of the Advent and Nativity, though his free rendering nearly lost sight of the Psalm itself. He feels all nature thrilling with joy at the Saviour’s birth.
For comments on Isaac Watts see [Hymn 11].
MUSIC. ANTIOCH is an arrangement, credited by some authorities to Lowell Mason, from Handel’s Messiah. The opening phrase resembles the first bar of the chorus, “Lift up your heads,” and the four measures set to “and heaven and nature sing” are reminiscent of the introduction to the tenor recitative, “Comfort ye my people.” It is a stirring tune well fitted to the words. It may be sung antiphonally to good effect, the congregation singing lines 1 and 2 (1st score), the choir, lines 3 and 4 (2d and 3d scores), and both choir and congregation the refrain (last score).