Christmas Countdown...

                                             JOY TO THE WORLD...
Joy to the world! the Lord is come. Let earth receive her King. Let every heart prepare Him room...and heav'n and nature sing, and heav'n and nature sing, and heav'n ,heav'n  and nature sing. 


Joy to the world! The Savior 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, wonders of His love. ISAAC WATTS 1674-1748 


Isaac Watts was 45 years and in ill health when he took time away from preaching to take the Psalms and rework them. He published Psalms of David, Imitated in the Language of the New Testament. He wanted to give New Testament meaning to Old Testament Psalms 
JOY TO THE WORLD was written not as a Christmas Carol but a song based on Psalm 98, which tells of the Messiah's coming and kingdom. The reader might see Watts's first stanza in Psalm 98:2-3 


"The Lord has made known His salvation 
 He has revealed His righteousness 
 in the sight of nation. He has remembered 
 His lovingkindness and His faithfulness to 
 the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth 
 have seen the salvation of our God." 


Stanza 2 can be seen in verse 4 and 7-8 
"Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth; 
Break forth and sing for joy and sing praises. 
Let the sea roar and all it contains, 
The world and those who dwell in it 
Let rives clap their hands, 
Let the mountains sing together for joy"


Set to a tune by the English composer George Friedrich Handel, JOY TO THE WORLD can powerfully fill the heart with the joy of Christ's coming at Christmas time. 


I have always loved this Christmas Carol, but I really like it now I know its based on the scripture.