Every Christmas Eve, churches all around the world belt out “Joy to the World,” but music-lovers and academics alike today argue about what, precisely, the beloved hymn’s lyrics mean.
“Joy to the World” was written by English Congregationalist minister and hymnodist Isaac Watts as a poetic version of Psalm 98. It was published in 1719 as part of a book titled The Psalms of Did: Imitated in the Language of the New Testament, And apply’d to the Christian State of Worship.
In recent years, some he taken a new approach to the old hymn.
“While ‘Joy to the World’ is primarily sung at Christmas, it’s not about the incarnation,” Alyssa Poblete, a Christian writer and mother, argues in an essay for The Gospel Coalition. “Rather, the song tells the story of Christ’s return — his second coming.”
Similar claims are also put forth by scholars such as Scott Aniol, director of doctoral worship studies at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He and others argue that the hymn speaks of things that will not come into being until Christ’s second coming, such as the nations of the world proclaiming God’s love, the end of “sins and sorrows,” and Christ’s reign on earth.
Those who believe the hymn is about Christ’s second coming marshal some powerful evidence for their interpretation: The whole world did not accept Christ as king at the time of His birth, and sin still exists in the world. Therefore, they say, this beloved Christmas hymn is not about Christmas at all.
However, Kenneth Berding, professor of New Testament at Talbot School of Theology, argues in an article for Biola University’s Good Book Blog, that while “Joy to the World” refers to glorious events that will only fully come to pass at the end of time, it is primarily about Christ’s incarnation.
“To make Joy to the World entirely a song about the Second Coming misses its situatedness as a ‘Christian’ song about Psalm 98 with a title connecting it to the Messiah’s (first) coming and kingdom, and in a book that explicitly claims that such psalms are written as Christian imitations of the New Testament,” he wrote in the Good Book Blog.
In his article, Berding provided a careful reading of “Joy to the World” within the historical context in which it was written. He argued that the hymn’s lyrics are rife with allusions to Christ’s birth, particularly as it is described in the Book of Luke.
Berding also criticized those who believe that the song is primarily about the second coming. He said that they misread several lines. He also observed that their interpretation is quite a new one.
“Finally, as far as I can tell, no one until recently ever questioned whether this was a song about Christ’s First Coming,” he wrote. “Once again, I could be wrong about this — and like everything else in this article, I would be happy to be corrected if I he made an error. But we normally ought to hesitate before accepting and publicizing novel ideas until sound arguments persuade us that a new position is more likely than an old one.”
No matter which side of the argument is correct, “Joy to the World” will certainly continue to be heard around the world, and Christians will continue to pray that every heart prepares room for the King of the Universe.