Joy to the World

Joy to the World is the most popular and common Christmas song. Isaac Watts, an English minister, wrote this song in 1719. The song is based on Psalm 98:4–5.

“Shout aloud to the Lord, all the earth. Sing and shout aloud and sing psalms. Sing songs to the Lord with harps. With harps and sounds of psalms.”

Watts connected this psalm with the birth of Jesus because of the Angel of the Lord’s message to the shepherds (Luke 2:8–14). While Joseph and Mariam were rejoicing at the birth of their firstborn, who was resting among the livestock on the first floor of their house,

“the shepherds were in the country, in open fields, watching their sheep by night. And the Angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They feared greatly. The Angel said to them: ‘Don’t be afraid. See, I am bringing you good news with great joy, which is for all the people. Today, a savior has been born in the city of David, Christ of the Lord. This is the sign: You will find a child wrapped and laid in a food trough.’ Immediately, a multitude of the heavenly armies came with the angel praising God, saying,

‘Glory to the highest God, And on earth, peace among the people of goodwill.’” (Luke 2:8–14).

David the shepherd’s great . . . great grandson’s birth brought good news to people of David’s likeness – the shepherds. Like David, they were in the field taking care of their sheep when the Lord’s Angel suddenly appeared and gave them a joyful message. If his appearance wasn’t frightening enough, a multitude of heavenly armies appeared along with them and praised God. It would have been a frightening scene indeed.

But their message was one of hope: “Glory to the highest God, and peace among the people of goodwill.” Translations vary in how they present the last phrase:

“On earth peace, good will toward men” (KJV)

“Peace to those on whom his favor rests” (NIV)

“Peace on earth to everyone who pleases God” (CEV)

“On earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” (ESV)

Whereas KJV offers peace and goodwill on all people of the earth, NIV, CEV, and ESV have conditions: “on whom his favor rests,” “everyone who pleases God,” and “among those with whom he is pleased.” This condition comes from a single word in a “genitive” construction: “of goodwill,” i.e., “among people of goodwill.”

Since this word refers to something that pleases either people (Rom 10:1) or God (Luke 10:21), the translations attribute it to God’s please, meaning, “those who please God will have peace.” But since the Angel of the Lord began by proclaiming good news to “all the people,” the conditional phrases are unnecessary. The birth of David’s grandson, Jesus, was good news to all the people of the earth. As David sang, “Shout aloud to the Lord, all the earth.”

We sing, “Joy to the world.” But if we don’t believe Jesus’s birth is good news for the entire world, we sing lies. From shepherds in the fields to everyone living in every generation, culture, and nation, Jesus’s birth is good news and worth praising God for.