Joy To The World (It's Christmas)

Hannah Kerr gives Isaac Watts' carol “Joy to the World” a new section in “Joy To The World (It's Christmas).” The original verses are kept, so the song begins with the Lord come, the earth receiving her King and every heart preparing him room while heaven and nature sing.

Between the old verses Kerr adds her own lines. She sings of joy to the lonely, joy when it is hard to come by, joy like a river that never runs dry, joy for the ages and joy in the morning sunrise. Each one ends with the reason, that it is Christmas and he has given this joy. The carol's verses about the Savior reigning, fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains repeating the sounding joy, are sung as Watts wrote them. The closing verse says he rules the world with truth and grace and makes the nations prove the glories of his righteousness and wonders of his love. Kerr then speaks to the listener directly, saying she is telling them there is joy to the world. The additions are plain but warm, and they let the song speak to people who find the season hard, not only those who find it easy. It works as a congregational piece at a Christmas service, and the new section gives a worship team something fresh to sing while the carol stays recognizable.

The angel's news of great joy is Luke 2:10. The earth and hills singing to the Lord is Psalm 98:4-9, and the child given is Isaiah 9:6.