Isaac Watts

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Isaac Watts

Isaac Watts (born July 17, 1674 in Southampton , England , † November 25, 1748 in London , England) was a British songwriter. Watts is known for the many hymns he wrote himself (750).

Life

Watts grew up as the eldest son of nine children of a dissenter . His grandfather, Thomas Watts, was a war in command in 1656 and died in an explosion on board his ship. Watts received an excellent education from John Pinhorne High School. Since the age of 20 he has been writing hymns for a Southampton congregation. In 1702 he was pastor of a Congregationalist church in Mark Lane, but was forced to leave the post in 1712 for health reasons. In 1728 he received his doctorate from Edinburgh University .

Watts designed a dispensationalist scheme of salvation history. The epochs were called innocence, Adamic (after the fall of man), Noahic , Abrahamic , Mosaic and Christian.

Watts' book The Improvement of the Mind (1741) was aimed at readers who wanted to independently expand their knowledge and intellectual abilities. In his remarks, the author attached importance not only to passively conveying knowledge, but to actively dealing with it. Watts recommended u. a. to take notes on articles, to take transcripts of lectures and to seek the exchange of ideas with like-minded people. This book was vital to the personal development of the English experimental physicist Michael Faraday .

Hymns (selection)

A small selection of hymns written by Isaac Watts.

  • Am I a Soldier of the Cross?
  • Joy to the World
  • Come We that Love the Lord
  • Come Holy Spirit, Heavenly Dove
  • Jesus Shall Reign Where'er the Sun
  • Our God our Help in Ages Past
  • When I Survey the Wondrous Cross
  • Alas! and Did My Savior Bleed
  • This is the day the lord has made
  • My God, My Portion and my Love

meaning

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Anglican Community commemorate Isaac Watts as an important song writer on November 25th .

literature

Web links

Commons : Isaac Watts  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Esther Rothenbusch Crookshank: Watts, Isaac . In: Hans Dieter Betz u. a. (Ed.): Religion in the past and present . Concise dictionary for theology and religious studies. 4th edition. tape 8 , no. 8 . UTB, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-8252-8401-5 , Sp. 1314 .
  2. ^ Charles C. Ryrie : Dispensationalism. Moody Publishers, Chicago 2007, ISBN 0-8024-2189-X , p. 81.
  3. ↑ 25 November in the Ecumenical Lexicon of Saints
personal data
SURNAME Watts, Isaac
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British hymn poet
DATE OF BIRTH July 17, 1674
PLACE OF BIRTH Southampton
DATE OF DEATH November 25, 1748
Place of death London