“Joy to the World! the Lord is come; Let earth receive her King” is one of the best-loved Christmas carols in the English language. Isaac Watts wrote it in 1719 as a Christian paraphrase of Psalm 98, the psalm the Catholic Church sings at the Mass of Christmas Day. Below are the lyrics, the story of the carol, the psalm behind it, what it means, and a prayer for Christmas.
Joy to the World lyrics
As printed in The Army and Navy Hymnal (1920):
Joy to the world! the Lord is come;
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare him room,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven and nature sing.
Joy to the world! the Saviour reigns;
Let men their songs employ
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat the sounding joy.
He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of his righteousness,
And wonders of his love,
And wonders of his love
And wonders, and wonders of his love.
Many hymnals add a stanza between the second and third, “No more let sins and sorrows grow,” which sings of Christ’s blessings flowing “far as the curse is found.”
The story of the carol
Isaac Watts (1674–1748) was an English Congregationalist minister, often called the father of English hymn writing. In 1719 he published The Psalms of David Imitated in the Language of the New Testament, in which he rewrote the psalms as Christian hymns. “Joy to the World” is his version of the second half of Psalm 98.
Watts wrote it about Christ’s reign over the whole world rather than specifically about Christmas, but its opening line, “the Lord is come,” made it a Christmas favorite. The tune almost always used in America, Antioch, was arranged by the American musician Lowell Mason in the nineteenth century from phrases that recall Handel’s Messiah.
The psalm behind the carol
Psalm 98 (97 in the Douay-Rheims) calls the whole earth to rejoice because the Lord “cometh to judge the earth.” Watts’s lines follow it closely:
- “Joy to the world” echoes “Sing joyfully to God, all the earth; make melody, rejoice and sing.”
- “While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains repeat the sounding joy” echoes “The rivers shall clap their hands, the mountains shall rejoice together.”
- “He rules the world with truth and grace” echoes “He shall judge the world with justice, and the people with equity.”
The Church sings this psalm at the Mass of Christmas Day, with the response “All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.” See Psalm 98.
What the carol means
- “The Lord is come”: God has come to us in Jesus, born at Bethlehem.
- “Let earth receive her King”: Christmas asks each of us to welcome Christ as King of our lives.
- “Let every heart prepare him room”: unlike the inn at Bethlehem, our hearts should have room for him. Advent is the time to prepare that room. See Advent.
- All creation rejoices: fields, floods, rocks and hills join the song, because Christ came to renew the whole world.
- Truth and grace: “the law was given by Moses; grace and truth came by Jesus Christ” (John 1:17). His kingdom is one of righteousness and love.
A prayer for Christmas
Written for this page:
Lord Jesus, King of the world, you have come to us.
Make room in my heart to receive you,
and let my whole life repeat the joy of your coming.
Rule my heart with your truth and grace,
and let all the earth know the wonders of your love. Amen.
Frequently asked questions
Who wrote Joy to the World?
Isaac Watts, an English minister and hymn writer, published it in 1719.
Is Joy to the World based on the Bible?
Yes. It is a paraphrase of Psalm 98, read as a song about the coming of Christ.
Is Joy to the World a Christmas song?
Watts wrote it about Christ’s kingship and his coming, but its opening words made it one of the most popular Christmas carols.
Can Joy to the World be sung at a Catholic Mass?
Yes. It is a common Christmas hymn in Catholic parishes, especially as a recessional at Christmas Masses.
More for Christmas
- Christmas carols: lyrics and stories
- We Three Kings
- Away in a Manger
- Psalm 98, the Christmas Day psalm
- O Come, All Ye Faithful
- Silent Night
- O Holy Night
- Christmas Mass
- Catholic Christmas prayers
Texts and sources
- Lyrics: Isaac Watts (1719), as printed in The Army and Navy Hymnal (1920), no. 31, public domain (Wikisource).
- Scripture: Psalm 97 (98); John 1:17, Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner), public domain.
- The prayer was written for this page.