Isaac Watts
Our God our help in ages past
[later in 1738 John Wesley replaced the Our to O in the title] Biographic notes courtesy Arthur Jeffery
Isaac Watts wrote many famous hymns. One of his most famous "O God our help in ages past, our hope for years to come" is played to the tune St Anne by the bell in the clock tower of Southampton Civic Centre. The tune is played every 4 hours between 8am and 4pm.
The hymn tune plays on certain browsers equipped for audio players [Microsoft Media Player, Quicktune etc] including MSN Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and Netscape Navigator but does not function on Opera 9
Born in Southampton in 1674, Isaac Watts was brought up in a non conformist family. His father was founder deacon of the Above Bar Church built in 1689, following the relaxing of the laws on religious worship.
After graduating at Stoke Newington Academy in London, Isaac returned to Southampton, preaching at the Above Bar Church and began to write hymns, being dissatisfied as to how the psalms were sung in church services.His health was not good but he took up the post as Assistant Pastor at Mark Lane Chapel in London. He continued to write poems and hymns. A book of his poems was published in 1705. Two years later he wrote his "Hymns and Spiritual Songs" which proved to be a best seller. He wrote more than 700 hymns in his lifetime as well as academic works on astronomy, geography and philosophy. With young people in mind he published separately "Divine and Moral Songs for Children" in 1715 and "Prayers Composed for Children" in 1728.
Across the Atlantic in colonial Pennsylvania, Benjamin Franklin published Isaac Watts' "Hymns and Spiritual Songs" in 1729.
Because of poor health, he travelled little and lived in Chesthunt at the house of Sir Thomas Abney, dying there on 25 November 1748. He is buried in Bunhill Fields, City Road, London.
It is as "Father of the Hymn" that Isaac Watts is best remembered, breaking the mould of the conventional Protestant psalm.
O God our help in ages past
When I survey the wondrous cross
There is a land of pure delight
Jesus shall reign where'er the sun
By composing such meaningful hymns, Isaac Watts led a new form of religious expression.
By composing such meaningful hymns, Isaac Watts led a new form of religious expression.