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Isaac Watts
Isaac Watts (July 17, 1674 – November 25, 1748) was an English preacher, hymn writer, and theologian whose calling from God within the Congregational Church transformed Christian worship and theology across the early 18th century. Born in Southampton, England, to Isaac Watts Sr., a clothier and deacon jailed twice for Nonconformist beliefs, and Sarah Taunton, he was the eldest of nine children in a devout dissenting family. Educated at King Edward VI School in Southampton until age 16, he declined an Oxford scholarship due to his Nonconformist stance, instead attending the Dissenting Academy at Stoke Newington (1690–1694) under Thomas Rowe, mastering Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. Watts’s calling from God was affirmed with his ordination in 1702 as pastor of Mark Lane Independent Chapel in London, where he served until frail health forced his retirement in 1712, though he continued assistant duties under Samuel Price until 1748. His sermons, delivered with intellectual depth and evangelical warmth, called believers to a personal faith, often paired with his revolutionary hymns like “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” and “Joy to the World,” published in works such as Hymns and Spiritual Songs (1707) and Psalms of David Imitated (1719). A prolific writer, he authored over 50 works, including The Improvement of the Mind (1741) and Logick (1725), shaping Dissenting education and worship. Never married, he lived with the Abney family at Theobalds after 1712 and passed away at age 74 in Stoke Newington, London, buried at Bunhill Fields.
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Isaac Watts delves into the infinite grief and amazing woe of Jesus' crucifixion, highlighting the collaboration of Hell, the Jews, and the Romans in His death. He vividly describes the excruciating pain and suffering that Jesus endured, attributing the ultimate cause to the weight of humanity's sins and unbelief. Watts calls for deep repentance and a breaking of the heart in response to the realization of our sins' role in Christ's crucifixion.
Infinite Grief! Amazing Woe!
Infinite grief! amazing woe! Behold my bleeding Lord: Hell and the Jews conspired his death, And used the Roman sword. Oh the sharp pangs of smarting pain My dear Redeemer bore, When knotty whips, and ragged thorns His sacred body tore! But knotty whips and ragged thorns In vain do I accuse, In vain I blame the Roman bands, And the more spiteful Jews. 'Twere you, my sins, my cruel sins, His chief tormentors were; Each of my crimes became a nail, And unbelief the spear. 'Twere you that pulled the vengeance down Upon his guiltless head: Break, break my heart, oh burst mine eyes, And let my sorrows bleed. Strike, mighty Grace, my flinty soul Till melting waters flow, And deep repentance drown mine eyes In undissembled woe.
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Isaac Watts (July 17, 1674 – November 25, 1748) was an English preacher, hymn writer, and theologian whose calling from God within the Congregational Church transformed Christian worship and theology across the early 18th century. Born in Southampton, England, to Isaac Watts Sr., a clothier and deacon jailed twice for Nonconformist beliefs, and Sarah Taunton, he was the eldest of nine children in a devout dissenting family. Educated at King Edward VI School in Southampton until age 16, he declined an Oxford scholarship due to his Nonconformist stance, instead attending the Dissenting Academy at Stoke Newington (1690–1694) under Thomas Rowe, mastering Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. Watts’s calling from God was affirmed with his ordination in 1702 as pastor of Mark Lane Independent Chapel in London, where he served until frail health forced his retirement in 1712, though he continued assistant duties under Samuel Price until 1748. His sermons, delivered with intellectual depth and evangelical warmth, called believers to a personal faith, often paired with his revolutionary hymns like “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” and “Joy to the World,” published in works such as Hymns and Spiritual Songs (1707) and Psalms of David Imitated (1719). A prolific writer, he authored over 50 works, including The Improvement of the Mind (1741) and Logick (1725), shaping Dissenting education and worship. Never married, he lived with the Abney family at Theobalds after 1712 and passed away at age 74 in Stoke Newington, London, buried at Bunhill Fields.