Biography
Isaac Watts was born on July 17, 1674, in Southampton, England. His father, also named Isaac, was a deacon in a Nonconformist church and a man who held firmly to his convictions. In those years, those who would not conform to the Church of England were fined and imprisoned. Watts's father was jailed for his faith around the time of his son's birth. It is said that the boy's mother sat on a stone outside the jail with the baby in her arms.
Isaac was a gifted child, and he showed an early love of learning. He was reading Latin by four and went on to learn Greek, Hebrew and French. He also showed a talent for rhyme. A famous story tells that when he was a boy, he asked his father why he had to keep his eyes closed during family prayers, and when his father replied with a stern remark, the child answered in verse. His abilities drew the notice of local people, and an offer was made to send him to Oxford or Cambridge. He declined, because to attend those universities he would have had to join the Church of England. He chose the path of a Nonconformist and studied at an academy in London.
After his studies he served for a time as a tutor, and in 1702 he became pastor of the Mark Lane Independent Chapel in London. He was small in stature and often in poor health. He suffered from a long illness beginning in 1712 that left him weak for the rest of his life. A wealthy friend, Sir Thomas Abney, and his wife invited him to stay at their home in the country. He had planned to stay a week and he remained for about thirty years. The family cared for him and he continued his writing and preaching as his strength allowed.
His chief work was in hymns. In his day, English congregations mostly sang the Psalms in strict metrical translations, and many found them dull. Watts thought that Christians should be able to sing the gospel in the language of their own hearts. He began to write hymns that set forth Christian truth with feeling. In 1707 he published Hymns and Spiritual Songs, which included "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross." In 1719 he published The Psalms of David Imitated in the Language of the New Testament, in which he recast the psalms in light of Christ. From that collection came "Joy to the World," based on Psalm 98, and "O God, Our Help in Ages Past," based on Psalm 90. Altogether he wrote hundreds of hymns.
He wrote for children as well. In 1715 he published Divine Songs Attempted in Easy Language for the Use of Children, a book of simple verse that taught children to fear God and to live righteously. It was read for generations. He also wrote works on logic and on how to improve the mind, which were used in schools. His books on theology were careful and devout. He was a man of the mind as much as a man of song.
His life was not without sorrow. He never married. He once proposed to a woman who admired his writing, but she declined because of his appearance. He lived a quiet and often lonely life. His illness limited his work and often left him in weariness and pain. Late in life, he is said to have struggled with questions about the doctrine of the Trinity, and his later writings show a thinker who wrestled with the matter. His fellow Nonconformists debated what he finally believed. He was not a perfect theologian, and he acknowledged his limits.
He died on November 25, 1748, in Stoke Newington, at the age of seventy-four. He was buried in Bunhill Fields in London, the burial ground of many Nonconformists. Thousands attended his funeral. His hymns lived on. They are sung today in many languages by people who have never heard his name.
His life shows that weakness does not stand in the way of God's work. A frail man in a borrowed room taught the church to sing, and in doing so gave the people a way to remember the truth. The church has not stopped singing it.