Each week, you may find information here about the music in the traditional worship services at First United Methodist Church in Lewisville, Texas. Some of this information is original; much of it is "borrowed" from other sources such as Wikipedia, GBOD, and hymnary.org. It is my hope that this information will enhance your understanding and enrich your worship experience.
About the Organ Music:
A Christmas Medley - Maurizio Machella
Maurizio Machella (b. 1960) is an Italian organist and music researcher. After his musical studies, he dedicated himself to musicological research specializing in music for harpsichord and organ. Maurizio Machella has over a thousand unpublished compostions and arrangements for organ and harpsichord which he shares freely with his colleagues. He is artistic director of the series "L'Organo italiano nell'Ottocento." He owns a private musical archive of scores, copies of manuscripts and microfilms of organ and harpsichord music from the 16th to the 19th centuries which is among the most complete in Europe. From 1993 to 2006 he held the position of Organist of the Lauretan Choir of the Pontifical Basilica of Loreto. He is a member of the Royal College of Organists in London.
This medley contains the following carols: Joy to the World, The First Noel, Il est ne le Divin Enfant, and Adeste Fideles.
Although no Christmas season would be complete without “The First Noel”, very little is known about its origin. It is believed to have had its rise in France during the fifteenth century. Noel is a French word originating from Latin meaning "birthday." The song is thought to have been brought across the channel to England before 1823 by the wandering troubadours. The carol under the English form, "Nowell," became a great favorite for Christmas Eve, especially in the west of England. This was when the entire village gathered for singing and celebrating the bringing in of the Yule log. At this time carols were thought of as popular religious songs meant to be sung outside the church rather than within.
"The First Noel" portrays in vivid narrative style the story of the birth of Christ. All stanzas are needed to complete the entire event when the hymn is sung. The sixth stanza, which has been omitted from our current hymnal, urges us to join together to sing praises to God for the marvels of His creation and for the salvation provided through Christ's shed blood and reminds us that Christ came to redeem the whole world.
While the tune THE FIRST NOEL is also a folk song, it did not appear in print until William Sandys's Christmas Carols, Ancient and Modern in 1833, with this text. According to Alan Luff, the melody may come from Cornwall, England, because Sandys transcribed it there, and because two other songs from that region are quite similar. The standard harmonization is from Stainer and Bramley's Christmas Carols New and Old, published in 1871.
The First Noel the angel did say Was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay;
In fields as they lay, keeping their sheep, On a cold winter's night that was so deep.
They looked up and saw a star Shining in the east beyond them far,
And to the earth it gave great light, And so it continued both day and night.
And by the light of that same star Three wise men came from country far;
To seek for a king was their intent, And to follow the star wherever it went.
This star drew nigh to the northwest, O'er Bethlehem it took it rest,
And there it did both stop and stay Right over the place where Jesus lay.
Then entered in those wise men three Full reverently upon their knee,
and offered there in his presence Their gold, and myrrh, and frankincense.
Then let us all with one accord Sing praises to our heavenly Lord;
That hath made heaven and earth of naught, And with his blood mankind hath bought.
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel, Born is the King of Israel.
"Il est né, le divin Enfant" (English: He is born, the divine Child) is a traditional French Christmas carol, which was published for the first time in 1862 by R. Grosjean, organist of the Cathedral of Saint-Dié-des-Vosges, in a collection of carols entitled Airs des Noëls lorrains. The text of the carol was published for the first time in a collection of ancient carols, published in either 1875 or 1876 by Dom G. Legeay. The text of the carol, which is written in four stanzas, details the birth of Jesus and the wait of 4000 years for the event, as told by the prophets. It both observes the humility of God's birth in a stable and calls on the Kings of the Orient to attend the child. The carol has been translated into English numerous times. One translation (close in meaning and keeping to the original meter) is by Edward Bliss Reed (1930):
He is born, the Heav'nly Child, Oboes play; set bagpipes sounding
He is born, the Heav'nly Child. Let all sing His nativity.
'Tis four thousand years and more, Prophets have foretold His coming,
'Tis four thousand years and more, Have we waited this happy hour.
Ah, how lovely, Ah, how fair, What perfection is His graces,
Ah, how lovely, Ah, how fair. Child divine, so gentle there.
In a stable lodged is He, Straw is all He has for cradle.
In a stable lodged is He, Oh how great humility!
Jesus Lord, O King with power, Though a little babe You come here,
Jesus Lord, O King with power, Rule o'er us from this glad hour.
The original text of Adeste Fideles (“O Come, All Ye Faithful”) has been from attributed to various groups and individuals, including St. Bonaventure in the 13th century or King John IV of Portugal in the 17th, though it was more commonly believed that the text was written by an order of monks, the Cistercian, German, Portuguese and Spanish orders having, at various times, been given credit.
The original text consisted of four Latin verses, and it was with these that the hymn was originally published. John Francis Wade (1711=1786) had written the hymn in Latin and the hymn tune ADESTE FIDELIS in 1744, and was first published in 1751. The Abbé Jean-François-Étienne Borderies wrote an additional three verses in the 18th century; these are normally printed as the third to fifth of seven verses, while another, anonymous, additional Latin verse is rarely printed. The text has been translated innumerable times, but the most used version today is the English "O Come, All Ye Faithful". This is a combination of one of Frederick Oakeley's translations of the original four verses and William Thomas Brooke's of the three additional ones, which was first published in Murray's Hymnal in 1852. Oakeley originally titled the song “Ye Faithful, approach ye” when it was sung at his Margaret Church in Marylebone before it was altered to its current form.
O come, all ye faithful, Joyful and triumphant, O Come ye, O come ye, to Bethlehem.
Come and behold Him, Born the King of angels;
God of God, Light of Light, Lo! he abhors not the Virgin’s womb;
Very God, Begotten not created.
Sing, choirs of angels, Sing in exultation; Sing, all ye citizens of heaven above!
Glory to God, In the highest;
Yea, Lord, we greet Thee, Born this happy morning; Jesu, to Thee be glory given;
Word of the Father, Now in flesh appearing.
See how the shepherds, Summoned to His cradle, Leaving their flocks, draw nigh to gaze;
We too will thither Bend our hearts' oblations
There shall we see Him, His Eternal Father’s Everlasting Brightness now veiled under flesh;
God shall we find there, a Babe in infant clothing;
Father eternal, Thine eternal splendour Now veiled in flesh our eyes shall see:
God as an infant, swaddling clothes about him.
Child, for us sinners Poor and in the manger, We would embrace Thee, with love and awe;
Who would not love Thee, Loving us so dearly?
Lo! Star-led chieftains, Magi, Christ adoring, Offer Him frankincense and gold and myrrh;
We to the Christ-child, Bring our hearts oblations:
O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.
Noel - Henri Mulet
Henri Mulet (1878-1967) was born in Paris. His father Gabriel was choirmaster of the Basilica of Sacré-Cœur, where his mother would also play the harmonium; as a boy he sometimes substituted for her. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire from 1890. He originally intended to be a cellist, but later served as an organist at Saint-Pierre-de-Montrouge and also taught at the École Niedermeyer and the Schola Cantorum. From 1922 to 1937 he was organist at St. Phillippe du Roule.
Mulet's most notable works are for organ: the Esquisses byzantines (1914-1919) and the Carillon sortie (1911/12). The former, a set of ten pieces, was a recollection of the Romano-Byzantine architectural style of Sacré-Cœur and five of the pieces are named after some of its features, including "Campanile" (bell-tower) and "Chapelle des Morts" (chapel of the dead). The Carillon has been called "one of the great showpieces of French Romantic organ music”.
In 1922 Mulet published "Les tendances et antireligieuses néfastes de l'orgue moderne", an attack on modern schools of organ building; this was followed by similar essays. He deplored the trend to create organs which he felt were more appropriate for the cinema than for church: the organ was "a stained-glass window. Its tones of imposing and embracing calm flood the air of our cathedrals, in the same way that ...stained-glass windows bring down meditation upon the congregation.”
In 1937, Mulet, following a financial crisis, destroyed his manuscripts and many of his possessions and left Paris for Draguignan. There he continued as organist until 1958, often in poverty (his wife opened a toyshop in the hope of increasing their income). Ill-health led Mulet and his wife to retire to a convent in Draguignan, where he died in 1967.
This Noel is movement VIII of the Esquisses byzantines.
About the Vocal Duet Music:
O Holy Night - Adolphe Adam
The words and lyrics of the old carol ‘O Holy Night’ were written by Placide Cappeau de Roquemaure in 1847. Cappeau was a wine-seller by trade but was asked by the parish priest to write a poem for Christmas. He obliged and wrote the beautiful words of the hymn. He then realised that it should have music to accompany the words and he approached his friend Adolphe Charles Adams(1803-1856). He agreed and the music for the poem was therefore composed by Adolphe. Adolphe had attended the Paris conservatoire and forged a brilliant career as a composer. It was translated into English by John Sullivan Dwight (1812-1893).
The strange and fascinating story of "O Holy Night" began in France, yet eventually made its way around the world. This seemingly simple song, inspired by a request from a clergyman, would not only become one of the most beloved anthems of all time, it would mark a technological revolution that would forever change the way people were introduced to music.
In 1847, Placide Cappeau de Roquemaure (1808-1877) was the commissionaire of wines in a small French town. Known more for his poetry than his church attendance, it probably shocked Placide when his parish priest asked the commissionaire to pen a poem for Christmas mass. Nevertheless, the poet was honored to share his talents with the church. In a dusty coach traveling down a bumpy road to France's capital city, Placide Cappeau considered the priest's request. Using the gospel of Luke as his guide, Cappeau imagined witnessing the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. Thoughts of being present on the blessed night inspired him. By the time he arrived in Paris, "Cantique de Noel" had been completed.
Moved by his own work, Cappeau decided that his "Cantique de Noel" was not just a poem, but a song in need of a master musician's hand. Not musically inclined himself, the poet turned to one of his friends, Adolphe Charles Adams (1803-1856), for help. The son of a well-known classical musician, Adolphe had studied in the Paris conservatoire. His talent and fame brought requests to write works for orchestras and ballets all over the world. Yet the lyrics that his friend Cappeau gave him must have challenged the composer in a fashion unlike anything he received from London, Berlin, or St. Petersburg.
As a man of Jewish ancestry, for Adolphe the words of "Cantique de Noel" represented a day he didn't celebrate and a man he did not view as the son of God. Nevertheless, Adams quickly went to work, attempting to marry an original score to Cappeau's beautiful words. Adams' finished work pleased both poet and priest. The song was performed just three weeks later at a Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve.
Initially, "Cantique de Noel" was wholeheartedly accepted by the church in France and the song quickly found its way into various Catholic Christmas services. But when Placide Cappeau walked away from the church and became a part of the socialist movement, and church leaders discovered that Adolphe Adams was a Jew, the song--which had quickly grown to be one of the most beloved Christmas songs in France--was suddenly and uniformly denounced by the church. The heads of the French Catholic church of the time deemed "Cantique de Noel" as unfit for church services because of its "total absence of the spirit of religion." Yet even as the church tried to bury the Christmas song, the French people continued to sing it, and a decade later a reclusive American writer brought it to a whole new audience halfway around the world.
Not only did this American writer--John Sullivan Dwight (1812-1893)—feel that this wonderful Christmas songs needed to be introduced to America, he saw something else in the song that moved him beyond the story of the birth of Christ. An ardent abolitionist, Dwight strongly identified with the lines of the third verse: "Truly he taught us to love one another; his law is love and his gospel is peace. Chains shall he break, for the slave is our brother; and in his name all oppression shall cease." The text supported Dwight's own view of slavery in the South. Published in his magazine, Dwight's English translation of "O Holy Night" quickly found found favor in America, especially in the North during the Civil War.
Back in France, even though the song had been banned from the church for almost two decades, many commoners still sang "Cantique de Noel" at home. Legend has it that on Christmas Eve 1871, in the midst of fierce fighting between the armies of Germany and France, during the Franco-Prussian War, a French soldier suddenly jumped out of his muddy trench. Both sides stared at the seemingly crazed man. Boldly standing with no weapon in his hand or at his side, he lifted his eyes to the heavens and sang, "Minuit, Chretiens, c'est l'heure solennelle ou L'Homme Dieu descendit jusqu'a nous," the beginning of "Cantique de Noel. “ After completing all three verses, a German infantryman climbed out his hiding place and answered with, "Vom Himmel noch, da komm' ich her. Ich bring' euch gute neue Mar, Der guten Mar bring' ich so viel, Davon ich sing'n und sagen will," the beginning of Martin Luther's robust "From Heaven Above to Earth I Come.” The story goes that the fighting stopped for the next twenty-four hours while the men on both sides observed a temporary peace in honor of Christmas day. Perhaps this story had a part in the French church once again embracing "Cantique de Noel" in holiday services.
Adams had been dead for many years and Cappeau and Dwight were old men when on Christmas Eve 1906, Reginald Fessenden--a 33-year-old university professor and former chief chemist for Thomas Edison--did something long thought impossible. Using a new type of generator, Fessenden spoke into a microphone and, for the first time in history, a man's voice was broadcast over the airwaves: "And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed," he began in a clear, strong voice, hoping he was reaching across the distances he supposed he would. Shocked radio operators on ships and astonished wireless owners at newspapers sat slack-jawed as their normal, coded impulses, heard over tiny speakers, were interrupted by a professor reading from the gospel of Luke. To the few who caught this broadcast, it must have seemed like a miracle--hearing a voice somehow transmitted to those far away. Some might have believed they were hearing the voice of an angel. Fessenden was probably unaware of the sensation he was causing on ships and in offices; he couldn't have known that men and women were rushing to their wireless units to catch this Christmas Eve miracle. After finishing his recitation of the birth of Christ, Fessenden picked up his violin and played "O Holy Night," the first song ever sent through the air via radio waves. When the carol ended, so did the broadcast--but not before music had found a new medium that would take it around the world.
Since that first rendition at a small Christmas mass in 1847, "O Holy Night" has been sung millions of times in churches in every corner of the world. And since the moment a handful of people first heard it played over the radio, the carol has gone on to become one of the entertainment industry's most recorded and played spiritual songs. This incredible work--requested by a forgotten parish priest, written by a poet who would later split from the church, given soaring music by a Jewish composer, and brought to Americans to serve as much as a tool to spotlight the sinful nature of slavery as tell the story of the birth of a Savior--has become one of the most beautiful, inspired pieces of music ever created.
O Holy Night! The stars are brightly shining.
It is the night of the dear Saviour’s birth!
Long lay the world in sin and error pining
Till he appear’d and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!
Fall on your knees! Oh hear the angel voices.
Oh night divine, Oh night when Christ was born,
Oh night divine, Oh night divine.
Led by the light of Faith serenely beaming
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand
So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming
Here come the wise men from Orient land
The King of Kings lay thus in lowly manger
In all our trials born to be our friend
He knows our need, to our weakness no stranger;
Behold your King! Before Him lowly bend!
Behold your King! Before Hm bend!
Truly He taught us to love one another
His law is love and His gospel is peace
Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother
And in His name all oppression shall cease
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
Let all within us praise His holy name.
Fall on your knees! Oh hear the angel voices.
Oh night divine, Oh night when Christ was born,
Oh night divine, Oh night divine
Were You There on that Christmas Night? – Natalie Sleeth
Natalie Sleeth (1930-1992) was born in Evanston, Illinois. In 1952, she received an Academic major in music theory and a BA in music theory at Wellesley College in Massachusetts. In her later life she received an honorary doctorate from West Virginia Wesleyan College and from Nebraska Wesleyan College. She wrote over 180 works for organ for church and school. She was a member of the Highland Park United Methodist Church in Dallas, TX.
One of Sleeth's best-known anthems for choir is entitled "Joy in the Morning" and was written on the occasion of her husband's inauguration as the president of West Virginia Wesleyan College in 1977. Another favorite is "In the Bulb There is a Flower", which was composed as an anthem for the Pasadena Community Church, St. Petersburg FL It appears under the title "Hymn of Promise" in the United Methodist Hymnal and has been translated into German for the Gesangbuch der Evangelisch-methodistischen Kirche (2002). “Were You There on that Christmas Night?” was originally written for 2-part choir in 1976. It has since been published for mixed choir with piano and handbells and has been arranged as a congregational hymn and appears in Worship and Rejoice.
Were you there, were you there on that Christmas night
When the world was filled with a holy light?
Were you there to behold, when the wonder foretold came to earth?
Did you see, did you see how they hailed Him King
With the gifts so rare that they chose to bring?
Did you see how they bowed as they praised Him aloud at His birth?
Did you hear how the choirs of Angels sang at the glory of the sight?
Did you hear how the bells of Heaven rang all through the night?
Did you know, did you know it was God’s own Son,
The salvation of the world begun?
Did you know it was love that was sent from above to the earth?
About the Hymns:
In the Bleak Midwinter
"In the Bleak Midwinter" is a Christmas carol based on a poem by the English poet Christina Rossetti written before 1872 in response to a request from the magazine Scribner's Monthly for a Christmas poem. It was published posthumously in Rossetti's Poetic Works in 1904. The poem became a Christmas carol after it appeared in The English Hymnal in 1906 with a setting by Gustav Holst. In verse one, Rossetti describes the physical circumstances of the Incarnation in Bethlehem. In verse two, Rossetti contrasts Christ's first and second coming. The third verse dwells on Christ's birth and describes the simple surroundings, in a humble stable and watched by beasts of burden. Rossetti achieves another contrast in the fourth verse, this time between the incorporeal angels attendant at Christ's birth with Mary's ability to render Jesus physical affection. The final verse shifts the description to a more introspective thought process.
The poem became a Christmas carol after it appeared in The English Hymnal in 1906 with a setting by Gustav Holst.
In the bleak mid-winter Frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron, Water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow, Snow on snow,
In the bleak mid-winter Long ago.
Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him Nor earth sustain;
Heaven and earth shall flee away When He comes to reign:
In the bleak mid-winter A stable-place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ.
Enough for Him, whom cherubim Worship night and day,
A breastful of milk, And a mangerful of hay;
Enough for Him, whom angels Fall down before,
The ox and ass and camel Which adore.
Angels and archangels May have gathered there,
Cherubim and seraphim Thronged the air -
But only His mother In her maiden bliss
Worshipped the Beloved With a kiss.
What can I give Him, Poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd I would bring a lamb;
If I were a wise man I would do my part;
Yet what I can, I give Him - Give my heart.
Silent Night
Over 180 years ago the carol "Stille Nacht! Heilige Nacht" was heard for the first time in a village church in Oberndorf, Austria. The congregation at that Midnight Mass in St. Nicholas Church listened as the voices of the assistant pastor, Fr. Joseph Mohr (1792-1848), and the choir director, Franz Xaver Gruber (1787-1863), rang through the church to the accompaniment of Fr. Mohr's guitar. On that Christmas Eve, a song was born that would wing its way into the hearts of people throughout the world. Now translated into hundreds of languages, it is sung by untold millions every December from small chapels in the Andes to great cathedrals in Antwerp and Rome.
Today books, films and Internet sites are filled with fanciful tales purporting to tell the history of "Silent Night." Some tell of mice eating the bellows of the organ creating the necessity for a hymn to be accompanied by a guitar. Others claim that Joseph Mohr was forced to write the words to a new carol in haste since the organ would not play. A recent film, created for Austrian television places Oberndorf in the Alps and includes evil railroad barons and a double-dealing priest, while a recent book by a German author places a zither in the hands of Franz Gruber and connects Joseph Mohr with a tragic fire engulfing the city of Salzburg. You can read claims that "Silent Night" was sung on Christmas Eve in 1818 and then forgotten by its creators. Of course, the latter are easily discounted by manuscript arrangements of the carol by both Mohr and Gruber which were produced at various times between 1820 and 1855.
The German words for the original six stanzas of the carol we know as "Silent Night" were written by Joseph Mohr in 1816, when he was a young priest assigned to a pilgrimage church in Mariapfarr, Austria. His grandfather lived nearby, and it is easy to imagine that he could have come up with the words while walking thorough the countryside on a visit to his elderly relative. The fact is, we have no idea if any particular event inspired Joseph Mohr to pen his poetic version of the birth of the Christchild. The world is fortunate, however, that he didn't leave it behind when he was transferred to Oberndorf the following year (1817). On December 24, 1818 Joseph Mohr journeyed to the home of musician-schoolteacher Franz Gruber who lived in an apartment over the schoolhouse in nearby Arnsdorf. He showed his friend the poem and asked him to add a melody and guitar accompaniment so that it could be sung at Midnight Mass. His reason for wanting the new carol is unknown. Some speculate that the organ would not work; others feel that the assistant pastor, who dearly loved guitar music, merely wanted a new carol for Christmas. Later that evening, as the two men, backed by the choir, stood in front of the main altar in St. Nicholas Church and sang "Stille Nacht! Heilige Nacht!" for the first time, they could hardly imagine the impact their composition would have on the world.
Karl Mauracher, a master organ builder and repairman from the Ziller Valley, traveled to Oberndorf to work on the organ, several times in subsequent years. While doing his work in St. Nicholas, he obtained a copy of the composition and took it home with him. Thus, the simple carol, began its journey around the world as a "Tyrolean Folk Song."
Two traveling families of folk singers from the Ziller Valley, similar to the Trapp Family Singers of "The Sound of Music" fame, incorporated the song into their repertoire. According to the Leipziger Tageblatt, the Strassers sang the song in a concert in Leipzig in December 1832. It was during this period, several musical notes were changed, and the carol evolved into the melody we know today. On another occasion, according to an historical plaque, the Rainer Family sang the Christmas carol before an audience which included Emperor Franz I and Tsar Alexander I. In the year 1839, the Rainers performed "Stille Nacht" for the first time in America, at the Alexander Hamilton Monument outside Trinity Church in New York City.
Joseph Bletzacher, the Court Opera singer from Hannover, reported that by the 1840s, the carol was already well known in Lower Saxony. "In Berlin," he says, "the Royal Cathedral Choir popularized it especially. It became in fact the favorite Christmas carol of the artistically appreciative King Frederick William IV of Prussia, who used to have the Cathedral Choir sing it for him during the Christmas season each year." During his lifetime, Franz Xaver Gruber produced a number of orchestral arrangements of his composition. The original guitar arrangement is missing, but five other Gruber manuscripts of the carol exist. The manuscript by Joseph Mohr (ca. 1820) is for guitar accompaniment and is probably the closest to the arrangement and melody sung at Midnight Mass in 1818.
Perhaps this is part of the miracle of "Silent Night." The words flowed from the imagination of a modest curate. The music was composed by a musician who was not known outside his village. There was no celebrity to sing at its world premiere. Yet its powerful message of heavenly peace has crossed all borders and language barriers, conquering the hearts of people everywhere.
Silent night, holy night! All is calm, all is bright.
Round yon Virgin, Mother and Child. Holy infant so tender and mild,
Sleep in heavenly peace, Sleep in heavenly peace.
Silent night, holy night! Shepherds quake at the sight.
Glories stream from heaven afar, Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia,
Jesus, Lord, at thy birth, Jesus, Lord, at thy birth.
Silent night, holy night! Son of God love’s pure light.
Radiant beams from Thy holy face With dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus Lord, at Thy birth, Jesus Lord, at Thy birth.
Silent night, holy night, wondrous star, lend thy light;
with the angels let us sing Alleluia to our King;
Christ the Savior is born, Christ the Savior is born!
Joy to the World
Our Christmas season would hardly seem complete without the singing of Joy to the World, the most joyous of the carols. Yet Isaac Watts, its author, never intended it to be a Christmas carol at all. Rather, it was a part of his Psalms of David Imitated, published in 1719, which contained paraphrases of many of the Psalms in New Testament language.
The story of the hymn, Joy to the World, is the story of the author, Isaac Watts (1675-1748), who is universally acknowledged as "The Father of English Hymnody". He has earned the title, not because he was first to write English hymns, but because he gave impetus to hymnody and established its place in the worship of the English church. For over one hundred years, congregational singing had been strictly limited to the Psalms of the Old Testament in poetic form. Many of these rhymed Psalms were so unnatural that Samuel Wesley, father of the famous brothers Charles and John, called them "scandalous doggerel," and his opinion was shared by many.
The birth of Isaac Watts to a dissenting deacon and the daughter of a Huguenot refugee was followed by fourteen years of persecution and hardships for the entire family. Perhaps this suffering was responsible for Isaac Watts’ ill health, for he grew only to a height of just over five feet and was weak and sickly all his life. Though weak in body, the boy was strong in mind and spirit and early in life showed promise of poetic capability. After one Sunday morning service, Isaac, then fifteen years old, complained of the atrocious worship in song. One of the deacons challenged him: "Give us something better, young man." His answer was to write hundreds of hymns that are still sung today.
Joy to the World is the "imitation" of the last half of Psalm 98. The author transformed the old Jewish psalm of praise for some historic deliverance into a Christian song of rejoicing for the salvation of God that began to be manifested when the Babe of Bethlehem came "to make his blessing flow far as the curse is found." This is one of the most joyous hymns in all Christendom because it makes so real what Christ’s birth means to all mankind. The tune to which the hymn is sung is attributed to George Frederick Handel and bears resemblance to phrases of his great oratorio, Messiah. Notably the first four tones match the beginning of the chorus, "Lift Up Your Heads.”
Joy to the world! the Lord is come; Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare him room,
And heaven and nature sing, And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven, and heaven, and nature sing.
Joy to the world! the Saviour 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.
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.
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.
First United Methodist Church, Lewisville, Texas
A Community of Everyday People Learning to Love Like Jesus
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