Tanner Simons | April 2023 | Originally written as a term paper for Biblical Spirituality, a Covenant Baptist Theological Seminary course.
Isaac Watts was rightly nicknamed “The Father of English Hymnody”. After reviewing even one of his poetic works, it will be easy to tell why he was given such a title. Many hymns, including Joy to the World, are sung by those who have no idea the rich history surrounding the wonderful work, and may never know anything about the unimpressive man who penned it. Isaac Watts was not much to look at in the eyes of his contemporaries, but the way that he looked at God is something worth remembering and something that Christians today can learn from by studying his work. Watts’ work is not merely academic or limited to poetic genius, but flows from a life in devotion to Christ, shaped by the circumstances he lived in and his theology, both of which contribute to the wonderful Christmas carol that God’s people everywhere love to sing.
The Life of Isaac Watts
Isaac Watts was born July 17, 1674, while his dad was imprisoned for refusing to conform to the Established Church. According to the Act of Uniformity, passed in 1662, every non-Anglican that was caught participating in worship not following the liturgy of the Church was fined or imprisoned. Isaac Watts Sr. was a deacon of a non-conforming church and he was not ashamed to face the consequences. From the time of his birth Isaac Watts experienced persecution. Isaac Sr. was serious about his role as a father, being diligent to teach the Word of God to his children and to make sure that they were not angry with God for their circumstances.Isaac’s dad instructed him to read the Bible often and not to make it a job but rather that he would enjoy it, a much-needed practice for every generation.
Watts’ life was shaped by the non-conformist home that he grew up in. Because the dissenters were so firm in their convictions of the sole authority of Scripture, they refused to compromise in any area of life, including education. This is evident in the home school education that Isaac received from his father in early years. Watts excelled early in all areas of school, from learning foreign languages to mathematics. As he went on to higher education, there was conflict when he received an offer to have his education fully funded, but declined. It may seem contrary to our current time, when public education and Christianity generally speaking have nothing to do with each other, but in Isaac’s day the Church and education and the government all operated together. In order to attend either of the two schools of the day, they required conformity. Despite both Oxford and Cambridge Universities not being an option for dissenting students, alternative opportunities were made available. Nonconformists began to open their own institutions, one of which was Newington Academy in London, the place where Isaac would learn. Though there were many temptations in his path, Isaac Watts stayed true to his dissenting convictions that he was taught by his father, and continued his life as a contributor to the Kingdom of God. As he continued learning the Bible and growing as a Christian his theology, and therefore his work, resembled that of the reformers who went before him.
Joy to the World
Before examining the hymn, it will be helpful to consider the source. This hymn was not originally a Christmas Carol, but instead it came from a book of hymns written by Watts called “Psalms of David Imitated in the Language of the New Testament”. This work of Watts’ has been controversial in some Christian circles because it is essentially a paraphrase of the Psalms applied to the Church. Some took issue with this because these Psalms were written before Christ came and the New Testament was inaugurated by Him, so they claim that the Psalms cannot be applied to the Church. That, however would me a misunderstanding of God’s plan of redemption, in fact Jesus Himself said that the Psalms are about Him in Luke 24:44. “Now He said to them, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”” (Lk. 24:44 Legacy Standard Bible). Also, David Murray teaches that anywhere there is a Davidic King mentioned in the Psalms, the reference prefigures Christ. Watts correctly interpreted the types in the Old Testament to prefigure the spiritual reality that would come to fruition in the Church. Certainly that is what we have in Psalm 96 and 98: the Psalms used by Watts to write “Joy to the World”.
Douglas bond called Psalm 98 “a doxological anthem that looks forward to the promised reign of God over all the earth.” Reading and hearing the themes of this Psalm in the words of Watts makes us want to do just as it commands: Sing!
“Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;
let ev’ry heart prepare him room
and heav’n and nature sing,
and heav’n and nature sing,
and heav’n, and heav’n and nature sing.”
The first stanza highlights the Lord Coming and we know this to be Christ and His coming, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the Sovereign over the universe. When Psalm 98 was written, this coming of Christ would have been yet to happen, but notice the way God spoke through David: “Yahweh has made known His salvation; He has revealed His righteousness in the eyes of the nations. 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.” (Ps. 98:2-3 LSB). Even when this Psalm was written, the coming of the Christ, a promise they were waiting on, David still writes in the past tense. This highlights the Sovereignty of God in His coming to save His bride; all the more reason to sing this Psalm in the language of the New Testament. Furthermore,we know the revelation of God’s Righteousness spoken of in the second verse finds its ultimate fulfillment in the Gospel, for the Gospel is what Paul is referring to in this section of Romans: “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “BUT THE RIGHTEOUS WILL LIVE BY FAITH.” (Rom. 1:17).
“Joy to the earth, 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.”
Not only did the Savior come and save sinners, but He also reigns as King. Watts would not have even entertained the common issue today over lordship salvation; in which people argue that one can be saved by Christ without submitting to His Lordship. Not only is Watts proclaiming the truth that our Savior is also reigning over the earth, but he is also in Watts fashion, describing the joy of having a good King. Isaac Watts and his family lived under the oppression of evil kings, what a joy it must have been for him personally to consider the King of Kings.
“No more let sins and sorrows grow
nor thorns infest the ground;
he comes to make his blessings flow
far as the curse is found,
far as the curse is found,
far as, far as the curse is found.”
In stanzas two and three, Watts connects two central ideas when it comes to the reign of Christ, Douglas bond puts it like this: “The psalm is expressing the joy of twofold liberation: from the curse of the fall and from the curse of the law.” This hymn, and the Psalms that it is written after are full of present and future hope for God’s people. We live in a corrupt world because of the sin of man, but there is hope for the future that someday we will dwell in a place that is restored by the presence of our king for eternity. God redeeming his people has effects for the whole of creation, all of nature is affected by the state of man in relation to God. We can see traces of this theme in Psalm 98 and 96 (A close parallel to Psalm 98) with all of the language of nature being animated as if it were human. “Let the sea roar, as well as its fullness, The world and those who dwell in it. Let the rivers clap their hands, Let the mountains sing together for joy.” (Ps. 98:7-8 LSB). This is the way that they “Repeat the sounding Joy” of mankind. In Psalm 96 David speaks the same way: “Say among the nations, “Yahweh reigns; Indeed, the world is established, it will not be shaken; He will render justice to the peoples with equity.” Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; Let the sea roar, as well as its fullness; Let the field exult, and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy” (Ps. 96:10-12). The Sovereign reign of our King brings everything back into the established order He has made, John Calvin, who Watts followed closely in theological thought said this about verse 10:
“The world is very properly here said therefore to be established, that it should not shake, when men are brought back into a state of subjection to God. We learn this truth from the passage, that though all the creatures should be discharging their various offices, no order can be said to prevail in the world, until God erect his throne and reign amongst men.”
“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.”
In the final stanza, Watts gives one more grand statement leaving the listener contemplating the wonders of Christs love. The manner in which He rules the world is truth and Grace, which John 1:14 specifically attributes to Jesus, and not only that but this phrase is closely paralleled in Romans 5:21, speaking of believer’s union with Christ as opposed to the former union with Adam. “so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Rom 5:21). Finally, in Psalm 98 in the last verse: “Before Yahweh, for He is coming to judge the earth; He will judge the world with righteousness And the peoples with equity.” (Ps. 98:9). These three verses all testify to the awesome King, Jesus Christ, who saves His people, and reigns over this world. And in this reign of our King, he will prove His righteousness through His people. Isaac Watts aptly summed up this central theme in the scriptures with the simple, yet profound phrase “He rules the world with truth and Grace”.
All of creation was made to glorify our Sovereign King and as He rules, He does what no other king could do, being both the King and the Priest. What kind of King could there be who could rule over all the nations and do so perfectly in perfect truth and perfect Grace? Surely this is a love worth wondering over.
Bibliography
Bond, Douglas. The Poetic Wonder of Isaac Watts. Sanford, Fl: Reformation Trust, 2013.
Beynon, Graham. Isaac Watts; His Life and Thought. Scotland, UK: Christian Focus, 2013.
Murray, David. Jesus on Every Page: 10 Simple Ways to Seek and Find Christ in the Old
Testament. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2013.
Maggelen, Randall Van. “Christmas Carols: Joy to the World.” Ligonier Ministries. December
21, 2012. https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/christmas-carols-joy-world.
Aniol, Scott. “Was Isaac Watts a Proto-Dispensationalist?”. Detroit Baptist Seminary Journal 16
(2011): 91-112.
Calvin, John. Commentary on the Book of Psalms, vol. 4. Translated by James Anderson.Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2010.
Watts, Isaac., Dwight, Timothy. The Psalms of David: Imitated in the Language of the New
Testament, and Applied to Christian Use and Worship. United States: S. Wadsworth, 1821.
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