 " Joyful , Joyful " received positive reviews from music critics . Andrew Greer of CCM Magazine praised the song as a " fitting ode " to Beethoven 's Symphony No. 9 . Roger Ham of Christianity Today praised it as one of the best songs off of Until the Whole World Hears . Tony Cummings of Cross Rhythms praised the song as having " the same kind of string arrangement which made Coldplay 's ' Viva La Vida ' so enjoyable " . <unk> <unk> of Gospel Music Channel regarded the song as a highlight of the album . Roger Gelwicks of Jesus Freak <unk> , while describing the song as " interesting " , felt that it wasn 't much of an improvement over the rest of the album . 
