Joy to the World (with Georgia Mass Choir)

"Joy To The World" is one of the best-known and best-loved of Christmas carols, with a message of joy and love replacing sin and sorrow. The hymn is significant for its widespread use throughout Christian denominations and for the musical stature of the people who created it. The scripture-based words are by the great hymn writer Isaac Watts who based them on Psalm 98 in the Bible. It was first published in 1719 in his collection The Psalms of David: Imitated in the language of the New Testament, and applied to the Christian state and worship.

Isaac Watts is considered by many to be the father, or revitalizer, of the English hymn. He began writing hymns after complaining to his father that all they had to sing in church were poor renderings, in verse, of the Psalms. His father suggested he should create something better. The following Sunday Watts presented his hymn "Behold the Glories of the Lamb."

The music was adapted and arranged by Lowell Mason, a prominent American music educator, music editor, and hymn writer in 1839. It is believed he took it from an older melody by Handel. Aficionados will recognize the theme of the refrain ("And heaven and nature sing...") as appearing in the aria Comfort Me from Handel's Messiah.