Isaac Watts, 1674-1748
Recognized as the best of three versions which Watts made of Psalm 136. The hymn expresses with dignity and fervor the high praise of God.
Isaac Watts, scholar, poet, and pastor of the Independent Church in Mark Lane, London, ranks among the greatest of English hymn writers. He is the author of about 600 hymns and versions, many of which are still in common use. The Hymnary contains 19 of his works. Watts is often referred to as the “father of English hymnody.” Though suffering from bodily ailments during the greater part of his adult life, he was robust in his thinking and became a bold and sturdy fighter for the cause of intellectual and religious freedom. Watts was one of the gentlest and kindest of men and a friend of the young. His wide intellectual interests enabled him to write textbooks on logic, geography, and astronomy, which were used in the universities of England as well as Harvard and Yale. Though he was never married and had no children of his own, Watts was a lover of children and wrote one of the world’s most beautiful cradle songs—“Hush, my dear, lie still and slumber.” In 1715, he issued a notable book of verse for children. One of the poems, entitled, “Against Quarrelling and Fighting,” runs as follows:
Let dogs delight to bark and bite
For God hath made them so;
Let bears and lions growl and fight
For ’tis their nature to.
But children, you should never let
Such angry passions rise;
Your little hands were never made