Christmas
was not celebrated as it is today by seventeenth and eighteenth-century
colonists. See my post last year about
Advent http://colonialquills.blogspot.com/search/label/Advent
Christmas
was primarily a religious period lasting from Advent through Epiphany, without
many other festivities. Hymns were sung in some churches, and a fair number of
them were being written by the young literary genius, Isaac Watts. Watts , born in Southampton , England in 1674, was the son of
a committed religious Nonconformist who had been jailed for his questionable
philosophy.
Isaac Watts |
The
following Sunday Isaac wrote his first hymn and it was accepted at church with
great enthusiasm. He continued to produce a hymn each week for the next two
years, and in 1707 he published Hymns and Spiritual Songs. That book and
the hymnal he wrote in 1719 were considered the first real hymnals in the
English language. With his 600 hymns he became known as the “Father of English
Hymnody”.
George Frederick Handel |
“And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for,
behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.” Luke 2:10 KJV
"Joy
to the World," is often sung at Christmas celebrating Jesus Christ’s first
coming, but in actuality it is a hymn that also anticipates, with great joy,
Christ's triumphant return at the end of the age. This cherished Christmas
carol is probably the most famous of Isaac Watts’ hymns.
The
hymn is based upon the last part of Psalm 98.
“Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the
earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.
Sing unto the Lord with the harp; with the harp,
and the voice of a psalm.
With trumpets and sound of cornet make a joyful
noise before the Lord, the King.
Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof; the
world, and they that dwell therein.
Let the floods clap their hands: let the hills
be joyful together
Before the Lord; for he cometh to judge the
earth: with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with
equity.”
Psalm 98: 4-9 KJV
JOY TO THE WORLD
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 earth, the
Savior 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.
To listen to the music:
Merry Christmas and
Happy New Year
Janet Grunst
http://JanetGrunst.com
http://colonialquills.blogspot.com/
Represented By Linda S. Glaz
Hartline Literary Agency
Janet Grunst
http://JanetGrunst.com
http://colonialquills.blogspot.com/
Represented By Linda S. Glaz
Hartline Literary Agency
Interesting post - thanks!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by. There are so many beautiful hymns and religious music I enjoy this time of year.
DeleteI don't think I knew that about Watts. Wow. that's a lot of work to accomplish in a short time. I fear that as fewer people go to church and the Christ part of Christmas continues to become politically incorrect, a new generation will hardly know the old Christmas hymns and only the popular tunes.
ReplyDeletethanks Janet!
Have a lovely Christmas!
You're right, Debra. I can't even imagine writing a hymn a week. He must have been so inspired. I picture him going through each day distracted by the words and phrases flying through his mind. Have a blessed Christmas.
ReplyDelete