Words: Isaac Watts 1674-1748
Music: Ralph E Hudson 1885
Refrain: Ralph E Hudson 1885
“Instead, One of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water.” (John 19:34)
It is fair to say that Isaac Watts had a rough life with many disappointments. When he was a baby, his mother took Isaac with her to visit his father in prison. The same thing happened when he was a young teen. In both cases, the father was in prison for worshipping with a nonconformist church rather than the established church.
Watts never married, but once, he thought he came close. A Miss Singer admired his poetry. When they met, she saw he was short and ugly, so she refused his proposal.
Isaac Watts became a great preacher in England and one of the best hymn writers ever. In the song before us, Watts asked, “Would Christ die for such a worm as I?” Some books make it read, “For sinners such as I.” I think that is Watts’ meaning.
Notice now a summary of Watts’ life by Ernest K. Emurian, “In an age that frowned upon original stanzas, and which believed that God stopped singing when Christ died, Watts dared to prove that God still sang as He had in every past age and would continue in ages yet unborn, and single-handily rescued hymnody from the prison-house of the Old Testament. By himself, he set in motion a movement that will live as long as Christians are inspired to raise their hearts and lift their voices in praise to God.”
Prayer Focus: “Was it for crimes that I have done He groaned upon the tree?” Yes.
From “A Hymn A Day,” book composed by Graham McKay
Graham McKay lives in Spring Hill, TN