A Christmas Hymn for the Second Coming

“Joy to the World” is one of the most well-known and well-loved Christmas songs today. But a quick look into its history reveals something surprising: it’s not actually a Christmas carol—and it wasn’t even written about Christmas in the first place.

The song was written by Isaac Watts, who is often called the “father of English hymns” for writing more than 750 hymns! Born in 1674 in Southampton, England, Watts grew up in a very religious family. Even as a young child, he had an incredible knack for writing poetry and rhyme. As he grew, his love and talent for lyrical writing flourished. He eventually became a pastor at a church in London, earned a strong reputation as a preacher, and even devoted himself to training other ministers. But His greatest heart desired to translate the rich truths of Scripture and Christian doctrine into genuine and heartfelt worship and music.

This may not seem to be a revolutionary endeavor now, but Watts was, in fact, a sort of radical in his day. At that time, most Protestant churches only sang the Psalms, and many did not appreciate Watts breaking with this norm by writing original religious poetry to be used for praise and worship. Some even branded him to be heretical for this action. 

While there were those who resisted his approach, others were excited by it. His hymns mixed emotion, personal reflection, and solid theology. Watts pursued songwriting in the hope that the church would not only go through the physical motions of singing but also engage in praise that consumed their hearts, souls, and minds. His music helped bring new energy to church music. Many of the hymns Watts wrote are still sung in churches every Sunday, including: 

• "O God, Our Help in Ages Past" 
• "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross" 
• "Alas and Did My Savior Bleed" 
• "Jesus Shall Reign" 
• "I Sing the Mighty Power of God" 

In 1719, Watts wrote “Joy to the World” as part of a collection of poems based on the Psalms. However, the lyrics were not set to their well-known melody until over a hundred years later, when Lowell Mason, a Boston music teacher, found the poem and put it to the tune we know and love today. The song was released around Christmastime, and therefore, people naturally began to associate it with the holiday. In no time at all, the song became a seasonal favorite. Today, "Joy to the World" is America's most published Christmas carol, a title it has held since the 20th century.

But this was never Watts’s intention. The hymn is based on Psalm 98, which speaks of Christ’s second coming. Rather than celebrating the incarnation and first advent of Christ, it’s pointing to the returning King in His second advent. Nevertheless, it is easy to see how we often mistake this as a Christmas hymn. ​

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 Heaven, and nature sing.

In the first couple of lines of verse one, it seems to describe the birth of Jesus. But did what the lyrics continue to describe actually happen when Jesus entered the world at His first advent? 

• Did the earth receive her King? 
• Did every heart make room for Him?
• Did Heaven and all of nature sing? 

Scripture provides definitive no’s for all of these questions. 

• Not only was Jesus not received as King and Savior, but He was also rejected, persecuted, and killed. “He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, yet the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him” (John 1:10-11). “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces, He was despised, and we esteemed Him not. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted” (Isaiah 53:3-4).
• Heavenly angels sang His praises that night, but all of creation did not join them. The Bible tells us this will take place when He comes again. "And I heard every creature in Heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying, 'To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever'" (Revelation 5:13)! "Then the trees of the forest will sing for joy before the LORD [Yahweh], for He comes, for He comes to judge the earth” (1 Chronicles 16:33).

If we continue to look at the remaining verses, we see further clear evidence of things that have not yet come to pass but are promised to be fulfilled when Christ returns. 

• Our Savior will finally reign as King. 
• Sin and suffering will cease.
• The curse of sin will be ended.
• He will rule over the earth.

With all of this in mind, should we still sing “Joy to the World” at Christmas? My answer is a resounding “yes.”

Here’s why:

1. There is no second advent without a first. The two are inseparably linked. The incarnation is what makes Christ’s future reign possible. Christ’s return will be the consummation of the plan God set in motion at His birth. When Jesus was born, He came quietly, lowly, and humbly. He was God taking on flesh to suffer, to save, and to start the work of redemption. But in His second advent, it won’t be in humility. It will be in glory! Christ will return powerfully to reign and to complete what He began.
   
   
2. The first advent gives us confident hope for the second. This is why Watts begins the song with “Joy to the world! The Lord is come!” That “is” reveals a confidence that says, “He hasn’t come yet, but it is as good as done.” One of the greatest takeaways we have from Christ’s incarnation and birth is that God keeps His promises. When God had to cast Adam and Eve out of the garden because of their sin, He promised them He would make a way for the redemption of mankind. It took 4,000 years, but God delivered on His promise. Generation upon generation waited for the Messiah, but they did not wait in vain.

And God wasn’t idle during this season of watching and waiting. He set and worked His purposes so that at the perfect time His Son would come and pierce our darkness (Galatians 4:4-5; Romans 5:6).

Similarly, we ought not to treat our season of waiting for Christ’s second advent as one of passivity or idleness. In fact, the Hebrew word for "wait," qavah, carries the idea of movement — of stretching toward God and strengthening trust. In our season of waiting, we ought to be actively turning from sin, pursuing holiness, sharing the Gospel, and living in confident hope that our God, the Great Promise Keeper, is still on His throne and will come again to make all things right!

The message of “Joy to the World” is a determined assurance that Christ will complete the work He began when He was born in Bethlehem. At Christmas, we rightly look back with awe and gratitude, remembering the grace God has provided through the birth, life, death, and resurrection of His Son. But Christmas also invites us to look forward. Christ’s birth is the foundation of every future promise—His victory over sin, His renewal of creation, and His final triumph as King!

When we sing “Joy to the World,” we’re not just celebrating that Christ came as a baby. We are proclaiming the complete, undiminished, and eternal joy that will fill the world when He comes again! Knowing this, Watts’s hymn leads us into a fuller understanding of Christmas: it is both a remembrance of grace already given and a celebration of the grace still to be revealed. And that is precisely why “Joy to the World” belongs in our Christmas worship.

Are you finding it hard to feel joy this Christmas? You are not alone. I urge you to take a moment to reflect on what God has already done for you through the incarnation. Think about it: the eternal Son took on flesh to redeem us and to begin the very Kingdom He’ll one day bring to completion. If God has already been faithful in something so immense, how could He not be faithful in everything else we face?

The same God who kept every promise in Christ’s first coming will keep every promise tied to His return. So keep waiting on Him with confidence, and don’t lose heart in doing good. Celebrate what Christ has already finished, and hold on to the hope of what’s still ahead. The deepest and richest wonders of His love are waiting for us when He comes again to make all things new.

​Joy to the world, indeed!

If “Joy to the World” was written to celebrate Christ’s second coming, how might seeing it through that lens reshape the way you worship—and the hope you carry—this Christmas season?

---

​Download Our Merry Christmas Happy Everything Songbook

You can't have a holiday party without a little FA LA LA LA LA and O Holy Night! Are you going caroling? This is perfect! QUICK! before it gets too busy, download this songbook today so your guest will have the words to all our Christmas favorites at their fingertips. This gorgeous, 50+ page, booklet-style printable will be the perfect addition to your holiday party and you can even send it home with your guest as a party favor!

​Three ways to put your Merry Christmas Happy Everything songbook together:
First, send it off or take the PDF file to your local office store and print the number of copies you will need for your guest. These can be shared copies, or you can print one for each individual and even send them home as party favors! After printing, here are three different ways you can bind them:

1. Fold them and wrap a red and white string, jute cord, or some type of pretty Christmas ribbon around the binding to hold the book together. Simple as that!
2. After folding the book, use a book-binding type of stapler to staple the book together along it's binding in a couple of places near each end. Staple, staple and you're done!
3. Using a paper cutter, cut the book in half and punch it with a special hole punch that allows you to then thread a wire spiral through the binding. This is my preferred binding method.

Download your copy the the Merry Christmas Happy Everything songbook here

---