Hymn of the Month

HYMN OF THE MONTH FOR SEPTEMBER

Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee
The Hymnal 1982 No. 376

This is a great hymn. Of course,  you have heard me say that a few times, but there really are a lot of great hymns! Everyone loves this hymn. Both text and tune are glorious, and they complement each other. This hymn does not just invite you to sing it; it takes hold of you and renders you powerless to not sing. If you are in a hall where it is being sung, I should think it would take enormous self control to not sing.

American Presbyterian minister, Henry Jackson Van Dyke (1852-1933) wrote this hymn. He studied at Princeton University and Princeton Theological Seminary. In addition to being a minister, he was a writer, a professor of English literature at Princeton, an American lecturer at the University of Paris, Minister to the Netherlands and Luxembourg (by appointment of his friend and former classmate, President Woodrow Wilson), a chaplain in the U. S. Navy, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, Chairman of the committee that wrote the Presbyterian Book of Common Worship, Commander of the Legion of Honor, and President of the National Institute of Arts and Letters.

Van Dyke knew several famous people besides President Wilson. He met Robert E. Lee, who gave him a ride on his horse, Traveler. He knew Alfred, Lord Tennyson, and he wrote a book about Tennyson’s poetry. Helen Keller counted Van Dyke among her friends. Of him, she said, “Dr. Van Dyke is the kind of a friend to have when one is up against a difficult problem. He will take trouble, days and nights of trouble, if it is for somebody else or for some cause he is interested in.”   Van Dyke was also a friend of Mark Twain, and he officiated  at Mark Twain’s funeral.

Van Dyke had a very philosophical approach to life. “I’m not an optimist,” he said, “there’s too much evil in the world and in me. Nor am I a pessimist; there is too much good in the world and in God. So I am just a meliorist, believing that He wills to make the world better, and trying to do my bit to help and wishing that it were more.”

Van Dyke wrote literary criticism, novels, short stories, and poems (including hymns). Our Hymnal 1982 contains one other Van Dyke hymn:  Jesus, Thou Divine Companion (H1982 No. 586). One of Van Dyke’s best-known poems is titled “Time Is,” which was written for friends to be an inscription on their sundial. The following section of the poem was read at the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales:

Time is
Too slow for those who Wait,
Too swift for those who Fear,
Too long for those who Grieve,
Too short for those who Rejoice,
But for those who Love,
Time is not.

When Van Dyke wrote this hymn, he said it was to be sung to the Beethoven tune Ode To Joy. He credited the beautiful Berkshire Mountains of Massachusetts with being his inspiration. Yet, it is clear that this hymn also takes much inspiration from Schiller’s Ode to Joy, which is the basis of the text of the choral part of the final movement of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. The focus of the final movement of the Beethoven 9th is the brotherhood of all people, and Beethoven’s music powerfully reinforces that text. Beethoven’s tune is the Anthem of the European Union.

Van Dyke’s hymn puts Schiller’s idea of brotherhood in the Christian context. He said: “These verses are simple expressions of common Christian feelings and desires in this present time—hymns of today that may be sung together by people who know the thought of the age and are not afraid that any truth of science will destroy religion, or any revolution on earth overthrow the kingdom of heaven. Therefore this is a hymn of trust and joy and hope.”

The hymn has many scriptural references. The whole hymn seems based on lines from Psalm 66  (O be joyful in God, all ye lands. Sing praises to the honor of his name. Make his praise to be glorious.) and Psalm 150  (Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord!)  But there is also Philippians 4:4: Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice.

The second stanza brings to mind Psalm 148, which commands all creation to praise God, and gives an even longer list than stanza two:  angels, all his hosts, sun and moon, stars and light, heavens and waters above the heavens, dragons and all deeps, fire and hail, snow and vapours, wind and storm, mountains and hills, fruitful trees and cedars, beasts and cattle, creeping things and flying fowls, kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and judges, young men and maidens, old men and children.

Stanza 3 talks of God’s gracious and forgiving nature, echoing Psalm 107:1:  O give thanks unto the Lord for he is gracious, and his mercy endureth forever. It also reminds us that we are the family of God, our father, and Christ, our brother, and that living in love is the hallmark of that family. I wonder if he might have based that line on I John 4: 7–12:  Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God and  he who loves is born of God, and knows God. . . .  If we love one another, God abides in us, and his love is made perfect in us. The last line of Stanza 3 stops me in my tracks:  Teach us how to love each other, lift us to the joy divine. Putting these two thoughts together suggests a connection between the two. Stop and think about it; that is true. It has certainly been my experience that being in a truly loving community can accurately be described as joy divine. Don’t you agree?

Sadly, our hymnal does not include the last stanza (no. 4), but it is included above. It beautifully sums up the whole hymn:  All creation joins in a universal hymn of praise and joy. It also reminds us that we mortals are relative late-comers to join the mighty chorus, which the morning stars began. Remember, the first thing God spoke into being was light. He created the stars and everything else before he finally got around to creating humans. In Job 38, God reminded Job of that:  Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth. . . when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

The hymn tune HYMN TO JOY,  is an arrangement of Beethoven’s tune by organist and composer Edward Hodges (1796-1867). Though British, he spent a good bit of time in North America. He was organist at the Cathedral Church of Saint James in Toronto; and in New York City, at Saint John’s Episcopal Church and Trinity Church, Wall Street. In fact, it was Hodges who introduced Anglican cathedral music to Trinity Church.

As we know, the tune is Ode to Joy from the finale of Beethoven’s 9^th Symphony. You really should listen to the symphony. It’s not the same as being at a live performance, but it is better than not hearing it. This was Beethoven’s last symphony, by  which time, he was deaf. When the symphony was first played, in Vienna in 1824, the response was wildly enthusiastic. The people loved it and actually shouted with joy and gave him multiple standing ovations at the end. Beethoven was facing the orchestra and was unaware of that response until someone turned him around. It is a very moving piece. I still remember my young days in music school being a member of that mighty chorus singing it with the Oklahoma City Symphony. It was an experience like no other. It is easy to see why that piece has become an icon of brotherhood, unity, and peace —  as Martin Luther King said, the Beloved Community.

© 2026 Carolyn Parmenter