The Christmas hymn beautiful hearts still know as Joy to the World began as a quiet act of scripture and song. In 1719, English composer Isaac Watts (1674–1748) shaped its words from Psalm 98, a psalm that rejoices in a world invited to sing:

“Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth;
make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise…
make a joyful noise before the Lord, the King.”

Watts became a beloved writer of hymns, giving voice to praise, sorrow, and everyday faith. He wrote more than six hundred texts. Among those who admired his work was Benjamin Franklin, who helped introduce him to American readers by publishing The Psalms of David in 1729.

The music most listeners now hear with Joy to the World arrived more than a century later. In 1848, Massachusetts-born Lowell Mason (1792–1872) created the tune that carries the carol. Often called the father of American church music, Mason wrote over 1,600 religious works, helped found the Boston Academy of Music, and became the first public school music teacher in the United States.

The meeting of Watts’s words and Mason’s melody formed a joyous song that has traveled across centuries and continents. Joy to the World is meant to be sung with full voice, a carol that asks the heart to join in rather than simply listen. As writer Carmen Rutlen once observed, Christmas becomes a kind of “Happy Birthday” when we gather and sing.

Every time the opening notes ring out, we are reminded how music can hold memories, welcome new beginnings, and gather everything we have ever loved into one shared song.