Isaac Watts

Life

Watts was born in 1674 in Southampton, in southern England. His family were Nonconformists who did not conform to the established Church of England. Around the time of his birth, his father was imprisoned for being a Nonconformist preacher. As a boy he learned Latin, Greek, and Hebrew at a local school. Because Nonconformists could not enter the universities of Oxford or Cambridge, he studied at a Dissenting academy in Stoke Newington, London, until 1694.

From 1696 he served as tutor and family chaplain in the household of Sir John Hartopp in Leicestershire. In 1699 he became assistant minister to Isaac Chauncy, pastor of the Mark Lane Independent (Congregational) Church in London. In 1702 he succeeded Chauncy as sole pastor and remained minister of the congregation for forty-six years, until his death, although poor health often prevented him from preaching regularly. In 1712 he went to stay for a week at the home of Sir Thomas Abney, a wealthy Nonconformist, but ended up living with the family for the rest of his life, devoting himself to writing. He died at Stoke Newington in 1748 and was buried at Bunhill Fields, the Nonconformist burial ground in London.

Ministry and Achievements

Watts is credited with writing about 750 hymns, and for this reason he is commonly called the "Father of English Hymnody." Although congregations in English churches sang before his time, he is regarded as having virtually single-handedly created the kind of hymn that churches sing today. His best-known works include "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross," a meditation on the cross of Christ; "Joy to the World," widely sung at Christmas; "Our God, Our Help in Ages Past," which confesses God as the help of His people through the generations; and "Am I a Soldier of the Cross."

Beyond hymnody, he was active as a theologian and logician. He wrote textbooks on logic, geography, and astronomy, as well as devotional works such as A Guide to Prayer.

Influence on the Korean Church

Watts's hymns reached Korea through the hymnals used by British and American missionaries and were then translated into Korean. "Joy to the World" was translated as "Gippeuda Guju Osyeonne," and "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross" as "Ju Dallyeo Jugeun Sipjaga." Both appear in Korean hymnals, including the New Hymnal, and are sung across denominations. "Joy to the World" in particular is almost always included in Christmas services and events. The development of Korean hymnody is covered in the article History of Korean Hymnody.

Assessment

In English-speaking Protestantism, Watts is regarded, along with Martin Luther, as one of the figures who laid the foundation of Protestant congregational hymnody. His hymns are still widely sung across denominational lines.

At the same time, church traditions differ on what should be sung in worship. Some Reformed and Presbyterian traditions have maintained exclusive psalmody, singing only the biblical Psalms in worship, and are cautious about using hymns of human composition in public worship. Most Protestant denominations, by contrast, use newly composed hymns of the kind that developed after Watts.