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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 preaches about the transient nature of life, emphasizing that we come from dust and return to dust, highlighting that all the joys and possessions we have are temporary gifts from God to be eventually returned, and reminding us that God is the ultimate giver and taker of all things. Watts encourages surrendering to God's will, accepting both His blessings and His trials with peace and gratitude, and ultimately praising God in all circumstances, whether in times of mercy or in times of loss.
Naked as From the Earth We Came
(Job 1:21) Naked as from the earth we came, And crept to life at first, We to the earth return again, And mingle with our dust. The dear delights we here enjoy And fondly call our own Are but short favours borrowed now To be repaid anon. 'Tis God that lifts our comforts high, Or sinks 'em in the grave. He gives, and (blessed be his Name) He takes but what he gave. Peace, all our angry passions then! Let each rebellious sigh Be silent at his sovereign will, And every murmur die. If smiling Mercy crown our lives Its praises shall be spread, And we'll adore the justice too That strikes our comforts dead.
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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.