Author

Isaac Watts

· English Dissenting minister, often called the father of English hymnody

Short biography: Isaac Watts in Great Lives

About Isaac Watts

Isaac Watts (1674–1748) is often called the father of English hymnody; Hymns and Spiritual Songs (1707) reshaped congregational singing and still supplies school memory pieces.

Notable works

Frequently Cited

On this site

Come, We That Love the Lord

1707 · 18th Century · Poetry

Come, We That Love the Lord by Isaac Watts (1707) is presented here as a complete poem for reading aloud and memorization. The hosted edition preserves stanza spacing for recitation practice.

How Beauteous Are Their Feet

1707 · 18th Century · Poetry

How Beauteous Are Their Feet by Isaac Watts (1707) is presented here as a complete poem for reading aloud and memorization. The hosted edition preserves stanza spacing for recitation practice.

Hymns and Spiritual Songs

1707 · 18th Century · Poetry

Hymns and Spiritual Songs, first published in London in 1707 and enlarged in 1709, is the collection that made Isaac Watts the most influential hymn writer in English. At the time most English congregations, especially among Dissenters and Presbyterians, sang only metrical versions of the Psalms, often in stiff, literal verse.

My Dear Redeemer and My Lord

1707 · 18th Century · Poetry

My Dear Redeemer and My Lord by Isaac Watts (1707) is presented here as a complete poem for reading aloud and memorization. The hosted edition preserves stanza spacing for recitation practice.

Now be the God of Israel bless'd

1707 · 18th Century · Poetry

The song of Zacharias, and the message of John the Baptist; or, Light and salvation by by Isaac Watts (1707) is presented here as a complete poem for reading aloud and memorization. The hosted edition preserves stanza spacing for recitation practice.