Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee
Henry van Dyke's hymn of praise to God, written to be sung to Beethoven's Ode to Joy melody.
The words are public domain. We print a hymn only after checking it word for word against a dated old printing, and this one hasn’t been checked yet. Hymnary has it now.
“Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee” at HymnaryAbout this hymn
The hymn praises God as the source of light and love, calls all creation to join the song, and asks God to drive away sin and sadness.
It follows the Psalms that call earth and sky to praise the Lord (Psalm 148), and names God as Father and Christ as brother, the one through whom we know God's love (1 John 4:9-10).
It is sung in Easter and in any season of praise. Henry van Dyke, an American Presbyterian minister, wrote it in 1907 for Beethoven's melody.
For musicians and planners
| Words | Henry van Dyke, 1907 | Public domain |
|---|---|---|
| Tune | HYMN TO JOY · Ludwig van Beethoven, 1824 | Public domain |
Checked 2026-09-27 against hymnary.org text, tune and person pages (attribution and rights only). The words are not transcribed here yet.
Hymn numbers checked against Hymnary.org’s index of Evangelical Lutheran Worship. Full record: Hymnary.