A Brief Biography of Isaac Watts hymnwriter
The Evangelical Lutheran Worship Book (p17) sets aside Nov 25th to remember Isaac Watts FACE="Arial">(1764 - 11/25/1748) for his contributions to the music of the Christian
Church.
Isaac Watts was born in Southampton, England, the eldest of nine children. His ability for rhyming was noticed at an early age, and one day, during family devotions, Watts laughed aloud when he saw a mouse crawling up the bell tower rope. He immediately responded with:
“A mouse for want of better stairs, ran up a rope to say his prayers.”
Surprisingly, Watts’ real profession was not hymnody. His first vocation was as a minister in a Church of Christ in London. However, a recurring fever and permanent ill health made him an invalid for most of his life. Watts never married.
Probably his most well-known
hymn was inspired by Psalm 90 — “Oh, God, our help
in ages past.” (ELW #632) Besides over 600 hymns (10
are in the ELW), Watts published 52 other works, including
a book of logic used in the universities, books on grammar, preaching,
ethics, psychology, astronomy, geography, three volumes of sermons,
and 29 treatises on theology.