Isaac Watts Quotes

Tis true my form is something odd But blaming me is blaming God Could I create myself anew I would not fail in pleasing you. If I could reach from pole to pole Or grasp the ocean with a span I would be measured by the soul The mind's the standard of the man.

Learning to trust is one of life's most difficult tasks.

Acquaint yourself with your own ignorance.

Do not spend the day in gathering flowers by the way side, lest night come upon you before you arrive at your journey's end, and then you will not reach it.

Time, like an ever-rolling stream, Bears all its sons away; They fly forgotten, as a dream Dies at the opening day.

Once a day, especially in the early years of life and study, call yourselves to an account what new ideas, what new proposition or truth you have gained, what further confirmation of known truths, and what advances you have made in any part of knowledge.

How doth the little busy bee Improve each shining hour, And gather honey all the day From every opening flower!

Love is amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.

How shall polluted mortals dare To sing Thy glory or Thy grace Beneath Thy feet we lie afar And see but shadows of Thy face.

Were the whole realm of nature mine That were an offering far too small Love so amazing so divine Demands my soul my life my all

Grant me on earth what seems Thee best, Till death and Heav’n reveal the rest.   —Isaac Watts

For the birth of something new, there has to be a happening. Newton saw an apple fall; James Watt watched a kettle boil; Rontgen fogged some photographic plates. And these people knew enough to translate ordinary happenings into something new...

When the Eternal bows the skies To visit earthly things, With scorn divine he turns his eyes From towers of haughty kings. He bids his awful chariot roll Far downward from the skies, To visit every humble soul, With pleasure in his eyes.

In works of labour, or of skill, I would be busy, too; For Satan finds some mischief still For idle hands to do.

The heavens declare Thy glory, Lord, In every star Thy wisdom shines; But when our eyes behold Thy Word, We read Thy name in fairer lines. ISAAC WATTS

The heavens declare Thy glory, Lord, In every star Thy wisdom shines;  But when our eyes behold Thy Word, We read Thy name in fairer lines. Isaac Watts

Is it possible that the Pentateuch could not have been written by uninspired men? that the assistance of God was necessary to produce these books? Is it possible that Galilei ascertained the mechanical principles of 'Virtual Velocity,' the laws of falling bodies and of all motion; that Copernicus ascertained the true position of the earth and accounted for all celestial phenomena; that Kepler discovered his three laws—discoveries of such importance that the 8th of May, 1618, may be called the birth-day of modern science; that Newton gave to the world the Method of Fluxions, the Theory of Universal Gravitation, and the Decomposition of Light; that Euclid, Cavalieri, Descartes, and Leibniz, almost completed the science of mathematics; that all the discoveries in optics, hydrostatics, pneumatics and chemistry, the experiments, discoveries, and inventions of Galvani, Volta, Franklin and Morse, of Trevithick, Watt and Fulton and of all the pioneers of progress—that all this was accomplished by uninspired men, while the writer of the Pentateuch was directed and inspired by an infinite God? Is it possible that the codes of China, India, Egypt, Greece and Rome were made by man, and that the laws recorded in the Pentateuch were alone given by God? Is it possible that Æschylus and Shakespeare, Burns, and Beranger, Goethe and Schiller, and all the poets of the world, and all their wondrous tragedies and songs are but the work of men, while no intelligence except the infinite God could be the author of the Pentateuch? Is it possible that of all the books that crowd the libraries of the world, the books of science, fiction, history and song, that all save only one, have been produced by man? Is it possible that of all these, the bible only is the work of God?

You should therefore contrive and practice some proper methods to acquaint yourself with your own ignorance, and to impress your mind with a deep and painful sense of the low and imperfect degrees of your present knowledge, that you may be incited with labor and activity to pursue after greater measures.

Once a day....call yourselves to an account what new ideas, what new proposition or truth you have gained, what further confirmation of known truths, and what advances you have made in any part of knowledge.

The Great God values not the service of men, if the heart be not in it: The Lord sees and judges the heart; he has no regard to outward forms of worship, if there be no inward adoration, if no devout affection be employed therein. It is therefore a matter of infinite importance, to have the whole heart engaged steadfastly to God.

Not all the blood of beasts, On Jewish altars slain, Could give the guilty conscience peace, Or wash away the stain. But Christ the heavenly Lamb, Takes all our sins away; A sacrifice of nobler name And richer blood than they. (Isaac Watts)

Isaac Watts’s hymn is reminiscent of three daily prayers that male Orthodox and Conservative (but not Reform) Jews are taught to recite: shall in a ‘Blessed are You for not making me a Gentile. Blessed are You for not making me a woman. Blessed are You for not making me a slave.’ Religion

The Word of God and the grace of Christ in the promises are our daily support, and the constant nourishment of our souls.

Let others choose the sons of mirth, To give a relish to their wine; I love the men of heavenly birth, Whose thoughts and language are divine.18

A thousand ages in Thy sight Are like an evening gone; Short as the watch that ends the night Before the rising sun.

The saints in this life have God near them in all their trials, as a Father and Friend, to uphold, to comfort, to sanctify, though they see Him but darkly through a glass, and behold but little of His power and glory.

We’re Marching to Zion Isaac Watts (1674–1748) Come, we that love the Lord, And let our joys be known; Join in a song with sweet accord, Join in a song with sweet accord And thus surround the throne, And thus surround the throne. We’re marching to Zion, Beautiful, beautiful Zion; We’re marching upward to Zion, The beautiful city of God. Let those refuse to sing Who never knew our God; But children of the heavenly King, But children of the heavenly King May speak their joys abroad, May speak their joys abroad. The hill of Zion yields A thousand sacred sweets Before we reach the heavenly fields, Before we reach the heavenly fields, Or walk the golden streets, Or walk the golden streets. Then let our songs abound, And every tear be dry; We’re marching through Emmanuel’s ground, We’re marching through Emmanuel’s ground, To fairer worlds on high, To fairer worlds on high.

When you are inquiring into any subject, maintain a due regard to the arguments and objections on both sides of a question; consider, compare, and balance them well, before you determine for one side. It is a frequent, but a very faulty practice, to hunt after arguments only to make good one side of a question, and entirely to neglect and refuse those which favour the others side. If we have not given a due weight to arguments on both sides, we do but willfully misguide our judgment, and abuse our reason by forbidding its search after truth.

But modern man, unlike Christian [Pilgrim's Progress], has no book in his hand, he has no faith in Evangelist, and a heavenly city seems to him much more likely to be a mirage. The God-dimension is missing, and he does his thinking in a curious parody of Christian verities.

Lord, we confess our numerous faults, How great our guilt has been! Foolish and vain were all our thoughts, And all our lives were sin. 2 But O, my soul, for ever praise, For ever love his Name, Who turns thy feet from dangerous ways Of folly, sin, and shame. 3 'Tis not by works of righteousness Which our own hands have done; But we are sav'd by sovereign grace Abounding thro' his Son. 4 'Tis from the mercy of our God That all our hopes begin; 'Tis by the water and the blood Our souls are wash'd from sin. 5 'Tis thro' the purchase of his death, Who hung upon the tree,

No man is obliged to learn and know every thing; this can neither be sought nor required, for it is utterly impossible; yet all persons are under some obligation to improve their own understanding; otherwise it will be a barren desert, or a forest overgrown with weeds and brambles. Universal ignorance or infinite errors will overspread the mind which is utterly neglected and lies without any cultivation. Skill

The notion of a humorist is one that is greatly pleased, or greatly displeased, with little things; who sets his heart much upon matters of very small importance; who has his will determined every day by trifles, his actions seldom directed by the reason and nature of things, and his passions frequently raised by things of little moment. Where this practice is allowed, it will insensibly warp the judgment to pronounce little things great, and tempt you to lay a great weight upon them. In short, this temper will incline you to pass an unjust value on almost every thing that occurs; and every step you take in this path is just so far out of the way to wisdom. XIII.

What are the heights, and depths, and lengths, of human science, with all the boasted acquisitions of the brightest genius of mankind! Learning and science can measure the globe, can sound the depths of the sea, can compass the heavens, can mete out the distances of the sun and moon, and mark out the path of every twinkling star for many ages past, or ages to come; but they cannot acquaint us with the way of salvation from this long, this endless distress. What are all the sublime reasonings of philosophers upon the abstruse and most difficult subjects? What is the whole circle of sciences which human wit and thought can trace out and comprehend? Can they deliver us from the guilt of one sin? Can they free us from one of the terrors of the Almighty? Can they assuage the torment of a wounded spirit, or guard us from the impressions of divine indignation? Alas, they are all but trifles in comparison of this blessed Gospel, which saves us from eternal anguish and death. It is the Gospel that teaches us the holy skill to prevent this worm of conscience from gnawing the soul, and instructs us how to kill it in the seed and first springs of it, to mortify the corruptions of the heart, to resist the temptations of Satan, and where to wash away the guilt of sin. It is this blessed Gospel that clearly discovers to us how we may guard against the fire of divine wrath, or rather how to secure our souls from becoming the fuel of it. It is this Book that teaches us to sprinkle the blood of Christ on a guilty conscience by faith, by receiving Him as sincere penitents, and thereby defends us from the angel of death and destruction. This is that experimental philosophy of the saints in Heaven whereby they have been released from the bonds of their sins, have been rescued from the curse of the law, and have been secured from the gnawing worm and devouring fire.

Teach me the measure of my days, Thou maker of my mortal frame. I would survey life’s brief and narrow space, and learn how frail I am. —Isaac Watts

For Watts, the doxological always followed the theological.

Be seriously cheerful, and cheerfully serious. Religion was never design’d to make our pleasures less. —Isaac Watts

Youth is the time of acquiring knowledge, and as you have the important charge laid upon you of instructing some of the rising generation, let me beg that you will leave nothing undone to make your pupils love the beauties of religion. Teach them that religion has nothing in it of a gloomy nature, for how can that be gloomy that leads to everlasting pleasures?4

As with Watts, we see only dimly through the bewildering mysteries of life. Yet as Watts did, by grace alone, we too can know and believe that God has portioned out our lives for His glory and for our good. And strong in faith, upheld by divine love, we, too, can see through the gloom and sing the praises of our Savior, who passed through far deeper woes than ever Watts or we will endure.

doxology can help stabilize theology. It is very difficult to sing bad theology.

Just as the medieval church cut off the congregation from participating in the sung worship of the service, today many well-meaning Christian leaders have reconstructed a sung worship wherein congregational participation does not matter.

He honored all His Father’s laws, Which we have disobeyed; He bore our sins upon the cross, And our full ransom paid.

Hughes often said that men fail to make progress in learning not for lack of time or ability but for lack of hard work. Unlike so many university students today, who stay up late partying, eating pizza, and playing video games, Watts and his friends did not fritter away the hours. They did, however, stay up late. Far into the night, Watts went on reading and annotating what he read.

Not all the blood of beasts, On Jewish altars slain, Could give the guilty conscience peace, Or wash away the stain. But Christ, the heavenly Lamb, Takes all our sins away, A sacrifice of nobler name And richer blood than they. My faith would lay her hand On that dear head of Thine, While like a penitent I stand, And there confess my sin. Isaac Watts

Victorians such as my grandmother always assumed, along with dreary old Isaac Watts who left us in 1748 and not one moment too soon, that Satan finds some mischief for idle hands to do.

prayer is a divine worship due to none but God the Father, Son, and Spirit.9

Let dogs delight to bark and bite, ⁠For God hath made them so; Let bears and lions growl and fight, ⁠For 'tis their nature too. But, children, you should never let ⁠Such angry passions rise; Your little hands were never made ⁠To tear each other's eyes.

I believe the promises of God enough to venture an eternity on them

After the Bible the next most valuable book for the Christian is a good hymnal. Let any young Christian spend a year prayerfully meditating on the hymns of [Isaac] Watts and [Charles] Wesley alone, and he will become a fine theologian. Then let him read a balanced diet of the Puritans and the Christian mystics. The results will be more wonderful than he could have dreamed.

Let us remember,” hymn writer Isaac Watts (1674–1748) tells us, “that the very power of singing was given to human nature chiefly for this purpose, that our own warmest affections of soul might break out into natural or divine melody, and that the tongue of the worshipper might express his own heart.

O God, our help in ages past, Our hope for years to come, Be Thou our guard while troubles last, And our eternal home.

...it is a matter of pleasing wonder that persons of all characters should have been united in one faith, and persuaded to trust in the same Saviour, and embrace the same salvation. For some of all sorts shall stand in that blessed assembly. Then it shall be a fruitful spring of wonder and glory that men of various nations and ages, of different tempers, capacities, and interests, of contrary educations, and contrary prejudices, should believe in one Gospel, and trust in the one Deliverer, from Hell and death. That the sprightly, the studious and the stupid, the wise and the foolish, should relish and rejoice in the same sublime truths...

A constant and joyous readiness at the call of God to depart hence [to heaven], with a cheerful patience to continue here [on earth] during His pleasure, is the most perfect and blessed temper that a Christian can arrive at. It gives God the highest glory and keeps the soul in sweetest peace.

The great God, in a way of bounty, may often bestow upon us vastly beyond what our little services can ever pretend to have deserved, but He never punishes beyond our deserts.

I used to size people up to see whether they were a good advert for meditation. Then at some point it clicked that there wasn't a type of person they were going to become. They were each just more and more themselves. Jim was very Jim, Isaac was unique in his Isaac-ness and Debbie was increasingly Debbie. That was a great relief - that I could relax into being Tessa.

He rules the world with truth and grace, And makes the nations prove The glories of his righteousness, And wonders of his love. Isaac Watts, 1709.

Roland Bainton, author of one of the best lives of Luther, once said that in Germany, Luther did all by himself what in England it took Bible-translator William Tyndale, liturgist Thomas Cranmer, preacher Hugh Latimer, hymn-writer Isaac Watts, and several generations of theologians to do.

I am a vile polluted lump of earth; So I’ve continued since my birth; Although Jehovah grace does daily give me, As sure this monster Satan will deceive me. Come, therefore, Lord, from Satan’s claws relieve me.   Wash me in Thy blood, O Christ, And grace divine impart. Then search and try the corners of my heart, That I in all things may be fit to do Service to Thee, and sing Thy praises too.14

Hughes often said that men fail to make progress in learning not for lack of time or ability but for lack of hard work.

The Spirit is sent down to breathe On such dry bones as we. 6 Rais'd from the dead we live anew; And justify'd by grace We shall appear in glory too, And see our Father's face.

If you have resolutely fixed your opinion, though it be upon too slight and insufficient grounds, yet you will stand determined to renounce the strongest reason brought for the contrary opinion, and grow obstinate against the force of the clearest argument. Positivo

Campbell, a prominent midcentury wisdom seeker, was asked by the Zen Buddhist popularizer Alan Watts what he did for spiritual exercise, Campbell answered, “I underline sentences.

See from His head, His hands, His feet, Sorrow and love flow mingled down! Did e’er such love and sorrow meet, Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

If a young Christian would spend one year reading through and meditating on the hymns of Isaac Watts alone, he would have a better theological education than four years in Bible college and four years in seminary.

Yet, gracious God amidst these storms of nature, Thine eyes behold a sweet and sacred calm Reign through the realms of conscience: all within Lies peaceful and composed. ‘Tis wondrous grace Keeps off thy terrors from this humble bosom, Though stained with sins and follies, yet serene In penitential peace and cheerful hope; Sprinkled and guarded with atoning blood. Thy vital smiles amidst this devastation, Like heavenly sunbeams hid behind the clouds, Break out in happy moments with bright radiance, Cleaving the gloom; the fair celestial light Softens and gilds the horrors of the storm, And richest cordials to the heart conveys. O glorious solace of immense distress, A conscience and a God! A friend at home And a better Friend on high! This is my Rock Of firm support, my Shield of sure defence Against infernal arrows. Rise, my soul, Put on thy courage: Here’s the living spring Of joys divinely sweet and ever new, ‘A peaceful conscience and a smiling heaven.’ Weak as my zeal is, yet my zeal is true; It bears the trying furnace. Love divine Constrains me; I am thine. Incarnate love Has seized and holds me in almighty arms: Here’s my salvation, my eternal hope. Amidst the wreck of worlds and dying nature, ‘I am the Lord’s, and he forever mine.

William Blake is dreaming of Jerusalem under that sod, and Daniel Defoe is probably dreaming about something a fair bit earthier. You’ve also got John Owen and Isaac Watts, the reservoir dogs of eighteenth-century theology. What can I tell you? I just feel at ease in their company.

O God, our help in ages past, Our hope for years to come, Our shelter from the stormy blast, And our eternal home. Under the shadow of Thy throne Thy saints have dwelt secure; Sufficient is Thine arm alone, And our defense is sure. Before the hills in order stood, Or earth received her frame, From everlasting Thou art God, To endless years the same. Thy Word commands our flesh to dust, “Return, ye sons of men”: All nations rose from earth at first, And turn to earth again. A thousand ages in Thy sight Are like an evening gone; Short as the watch that ends the night Before the rising sun. The busy tribes of flesh and blood, With all their lives and cares, Are carried downwards by the flood, And lost in foll’wing years. Time, like an ever-rolling stream, Bears all its sons away; They fly, forgotten, as a dream Dies at the op’ning day. Like flow’ry fields the nations stand Pleased with the morning light; The flow’rs beneath the mower’s hand Lie with’ring ere ’tis night. O God, our help in ages past, Our hope for years to come, Be Thou our guard while troubles last, And our eternal home.

O God, our help in ages past, Our hope for years to come, Our shelter from the stormy blast, And our eternal home. Under the shadow of Thy throne Thy saints have dwelt secure; Sufficient is Thine arm alone, And our defense is sure. Before the hills in order stood, Or earth received her frame, From everlasting Thou art God, To endless years the same. Thy Word commands our flesh to dust, “Return, ye sons of men”: All nations rose from earth at first, And turn to earth again. A thousand ages in Thy sight Are like an evening gone; Short as the watch that ends the night Before the rising sun. The busy tribes of flesh and blood, With all their lives and cares, Are carried downwards by the flood, And lost in foll’wing years. Time, like an ever-rolling stream, Bears all its sons away; They fly, forgotten, as a dream Dies at the op’ning day. Like flow’ry fields the nations stand Pleased with the morning light; The flow’rs beneath the mower’s hand Lie with’ring ere ’tis night. O God, our help in ages past, Our hope for years to come, Be Thou our guard while troubles last, And our eternal home.

If we proportion our assent in all things to the degrees of evidence, we do the utmost that human nature is capable of, in a rational way, to secure itself from error.