Joy to the World
"Joy to the World" was written by Isaac Watts (1674-1748), a respected writer but not a handsome man. A young lady who had fallen in love with him from his writings asked him to marry her. When she saw him in person, however, she changed her mind and took back the offer. She wrote later that Isaac Watts was "only five feet tall, with a shallow face, hooked nose, prominent cheek bones, small eyes, and deathlike color... I admired the jewel but not the casket [box]."

Though he didn't experience much success with women, he became a prolific writer. Besides "Joy to the World," "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross," "O God, Our Help in Ages Past," "Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed," and "I Sing the Mighty Power of God" are in most hymnals today. In fact, today he is known as the "father of hymnody."

When he was dying, Watts said, "I am just waiting to see what God will do with me: it is good to say, what, when, and where God pleases. The business of a Christian is to do the will of God. If God should raise me up again, and use me to save a soul, that will be worth living for. If he has no more service for me, I can say, through grace, I am ready; I could without alarm if God please, lay back my head on my pillow and die this afternoon or night. My sins are all pardoned through the blood of Christ."

from "The Inspirational Christmas Almanac," published by Honor Books, 2006, p. 191. As seen in "The Timothy Report," www.timothyreport.com, December 4, 2006