"Joy to the World" is a popular Christmas carol. The words are by English hymn writer Isaac Watts, based on Psalm 98, 96:11-12 and Genesis 3:17-18, in the Bible. The song was first published in 1719 in Watts' collection; The Psalms of David: Imitated in the language of the New Testament, and applied to the Christian state and worship. "The paraphrase is Watts' Christological interpretation. Consequently, he does not emphasize with equal weight the various themes of Psalm 98. In stanzas 1 and 2 Watts writes of heaven and earth rejoicing at the coming of the king. An interlude that depends more on Watts' interpretation than the psalm text, stanza 3 speaks of Christ's blessings extending victoriously over the realm of sin. The cheerful repetition of the non-psalm phrase "far as the curse is found" has caused this stanza to be omitted from some hymnals. But the line makes joyful sense when understood from the New Testament eyes through which Watts interprets the psalm. Stanza 4 celebrates Christ's rule over the nations." The nations are called to celebrate because God's faithfulness to the house of Israel has brought salvation to the world.

The music's origins are unclear. The name "Antioch" is generally used for the tune. It is often attributed to George Frideric Handel (1685–1759) on the grounds of a 'chance resemblance'[4] to choruses in the oratorio Messiah (premiered 1742), not least because a theme of the refrain (And heaven and nature sing...) appears similar to the orchestral opening and accompaniment of the recitative Comfort ye. Likewise, the first four notes seem to match the beginning of the choruses Lift up your heads and Glory to God from the same oratorio. However, there is no autographed score by Handel and no currently known documentary evidence to suggest that Handel wrote it, so 'Antioch' remains, at best, a skillful collection of borrowings from Handel.

Other hymnals credit the tune to Lowell Mason (1792–1872), who introduced it to America (US) in 1836 as 'arranged from Handel'. But, in 1986, John Wilson showed that 'Joy to the World' was first published in two English collections, one firmly dated 1833. Being three years earlier, this is thought to exclude Lowell Mason from being the composer, but his original attribution remains a likely cause of the often-stated link to Handel.

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