Reformed Churchmen

We are Confessional Calvinists and a Prayer Book Church-people. In 2012, we remembered the 350th anniversary of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer; also, we remembered the 450th anniversary of John Jewel's sober, scholarly, and Reformed "An Apology of the Church of England." In 2013, we remembered the publication of the "Heidelberg Catechism" and the influence of Reformed theologians in England, including Heinrich Bullinger's Decades. For 2014: Tyndale's NT translation. For 2015, John Roger, Rowland Taylor and Bishop John Hooper's martyrdom, burned at the stakes. Books of the month. December 2014: Alan Jacob's "Book of Common Prayer" at: http://www.amazon.com/Book-Common-Prayer-Biography-Religious/dp/0691154813/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417814005&sr=8-1&keywords=jacobs+book+of+common+prayer. January 2015: A.F. Pollard's "Thomas Cranmer and the English Reformation: 1489-1556" at: http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Cranmer-English-Reformation-1489-1556/dp/1592448658/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420055574&sr=8-1&keywords=A.F.+Pollard+Cranmer. February 2015: Jaspar Ridley's "Thomas Cranmer" at: http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Cranmer-Jasper-Ridley/dp/0198212879/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1422892154&sr=8-1&keywords=jasper+ridley+cranmer&pebp=1422892151110&peasin=198212879

Thursday, July 17, 2014

17 July 1674 A.D. Isaac Watts Born—Nonconformist, Depressed, & Anti-Anglican Hymn Writer; “Father of English Hymnody”

17 July 1674 A.D. Isaac Watts Born—Nonconformist, Anti-Anglican Hymn Writer; “Father of English Hymnody”

No author. “Isaac Watts.” CCEL.org. N.d. http://www.ccel.org/browse/authorInfo?id=watts. Accessed 9 May 2014.

Summary

Isaac Watts (17 July 1674 – 25 November 1748) was an English hymnwriter, theologian and logician. A prolific and popular hymnwriter, he was recognised as the "Father of English Hymnody", credited with some 650 hymns. Many of his hymns remain in use today, and have been translated into many languages.

July 17, 1674,
Southampton

November 25, 1748

Bible, Childrens songs, Conduct of life, Congregational churches, Early works

Biography

Source: hymntime.com

Watts was born July 17, 1674 at Southampton, England, the eldest of nine children. His father was a Dissenter from the Anglican Church and on at least one occasion was thrown in jail for not following the Church of England. Isaac followed his father's strongly biblical faith. Isaac was a very intelligent child who loved books and learned to read early. He began learning Latin at age four and went on to learn Greek, Hebrew, and French as well. From an early age Isaac had a propensity to rhyming, and often even his conversation was in rhyme.

Because Isaac would not follow the national Church of England, he could not attend the Universities of Cambridge or Oxford. Instead, he attended an academy sponsored by Independent Christians. After completing his formal schooling, Watts spent five years as a tutor. During those years he began to devote himself more diligently than before to the study of the Scriptures. In 1707 he published his first edition of Hymns and Spiritual Songs.

For a few years Watts served as an assistant and then pastor to an Independent congregation in London. A violent and continual fever from which he never recovered forced him to leave the pastorate. Sir Thomas Abney received Watts into his home, and Sir Thomas' family continued to provide a home and serve as Watts' patrons for the next 36 years!

Though naturally quick to resentment and anger, the Lord used Watts' sufferings to produce a gentle, modest, and charitable spirit. Out of his compassion, one-third of his small allowance was given to the poor. Watts' tenderness to children can be seen reflected in his lovely Divine Songs for Children, published in 1715.

Watts' most published book was his Psalms of David, first published in 1719. In his poetic paraphrases of the psalms, Watts adapted the psalms for use by the Church and made David speak "the language of a Christian." Examples of Watts' method can be seen in his paraphrases of Psalm 72 into the hymn "Jesus Shall Reign Wher'er the Sun," Psalm 90 into "O God, Our Help in Ages Past," and Psalm 98 into "Joy to the World."

Benjamin Franklin first published Watts' psalm paraphrases in America in 1729. Franklin was not the only American publisher to take an interest in Watt's hymns. In Boston his hymns were published in 1739. They were well-loved by Americans of the Revolutionary period.

Besides over 600 hymns, Watts published 52 other works, including a book of logic used in the universities, books on grammar, pedagogy, ethics, psychology, astronomy, geography, three volumes of sermons, and 29 treatises on theology. After his death on November 25, 1748, a monument to Watts was erected in Westminster Abbey. His greatest monument, however, are the hymns to his God still used by Christ's church.

Psalms and Hymns of Isaac Watts

Psalms and Hymns of Isaac Watts brings together some of the best hymns by beloved hymn writer Isaac Watts. Watts, who wrote over six hundred hymns, had a penchant for incorporating strong theology into his hymns. Consequently, his hymns not only entertain; they also teach. Psalms and Hymns of Isaac Watts includes a hymn for almost every book of Psalms. (And for many chapters, it has several hymns.) It also has four hundred additional hymns and spiritual songs, broadly arranged in three categories--hymns from Scripture, hymns on "Divine Subjects," and hymns for communion. It also contains many of Watt's more popular hymns--for example, "Joy to the World" and "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross." Many have found it pleasurable to read Psalms and Hymns of Isaac Watts alongside their devotions. Come read and enjoy the wonderful hymns by the "Father of English Hymns!"

Divine and Moral Songs

Divine and Moral Songs for Children became a ubiquitous children’s book throughout England for nearly two hundred years. By the mid-19th century, the book existed in over a thousand editions. So well-known were some of the children’s poems that Lewis Carroll parodied them in Alice in Wonderland and Charles Dickens referenced them in David Copperfield. Modern readers (or singers), however, remember Watts’ songbook not so much for its rhymes for children, but for its hymns. For many Christian families throughout the English-speaking world, Isaac Watts—author of “Joy to the World” and “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross”—remains a household name.