Life of Isaac Watts

Isaac Watts was born on the iVth of July, 1674, at Southampton, England. He was the eldest of nine children. His father was a man of piety, intelligence, and respectability. He presided over a flourishing boarding-school at Southampton. In his religious sentiments he was warmly attached to the Dissenters, and durinothe persecution in the reign of Charles the Second, was imprisoned for his non-conformity. While thus suffering on account of his religious opinions, his wife is said to have often sat on a stone near the prison-door, with the poet, then an infant, at her breast. He lived to a good old age, and had the high gratification of witnessing not only the literary celebrity of his son, but also the triumph of religious liberty. It is worthy of mention here that he possessed some poetical talents, and at the age of eighty-five, composed several verses on sacred subjects, which are simply and piously expressed.

In noticing the leading events in the life of Dr. Isaac Watts, it will be interesting to advert to his early mental culture. Like many other persons of uncommon genius, he was distinguished for his intellectual precocity, and early thirst for knowledge. Before he could speak plain, we were told that he would say, when money was given to him, — “A book! a book! — buy a book!” When only four years of age, he commenced the study of Latin, which he prosecuted with success under the direction of his father. He was soon afterwards placed under the care of the Rev. John Pinhorne, principal of a grammar-school at Southampton, where he received the rudiments of his classical education. While at this school he devoted the most of his time to the study of Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and French, in which he made commendable proficiency.

The poetical genius of Watts was developed at an early age. With Milton, Cowley, and Pope, he may be said to have “lisp’d in numbers.” When only seven or eight years of age he composed devotional verses which did honor to his poetical talents. The uncommon vigor of intellect which he so early evinced, attracted the notice of several benevolent persons, who generously offered to defray the expenses of his education in one of the English universities; but Watts respectfully decHned the offer, stating that he was determined to take his lot with the dissenters.

In 1690, in his sixteenth year, he was sent to London, and placed under the care of the Rev. Thomas Howe, pastor of a dissenting congregation in that city, and principal of an institution, the object of which was to prepare students for the ministry. Here he applied himself with unremitting industry to study, and obtained a thorough academic education.

Among his fellow-students at this academy, were Hughes, the poet, author of the Siege of Damascus and several papers in the Spectator, Tatler, and Guardian; Say, whose poems and essays were published after his death; and Hort, afterwards Archbishop of Tuam.

Fully aware of the importance of early forming an easy and correct style, the attention of Watts was now particularly turned to the art of composition: and, as an evidence of his industry and ability, we have several Latin essays on philosophical, moral, and theological subjects, which he composed while residing in the academy of Mr. Rowe. These academic efforts, in the opinion of Dr. Johnson, show a degree of knowledge, both philosophical and theological, such as very few attain by a much longer course of study.

As a specimen of his style of composition and of thought, at this early period of his. literary career, we select a passage from the first Essay, — Whether the doctrine of justification by faith alone tends to licentiousness. Speaking of that divine principle which purifies the heart of man, and draws him near to God, he justly and forcibly remarks — “The love of Christ, manifested in free justification without works, more effectually and sweetly binds the soul to obedience, than any rigid measures which the fear of punishment can use. The natures of believers are, as it were, refined; they are lieaven-born, ingenuous, and easily wrought upon by love. It is a common truth, that nothing is done by hatred and fear, which might not etfectually and pleasantly be performed by love. The effects of pure love are exceedingly great. We seldom, if ever, read of any who, out of mere fear of hell, would endm-e the greatest miseries of life. But how many thousands, being fortified with love to their Redeemer, have joyfully undergone severe torments rather than part with their obedience and holiness, notwithstanding they hoped not to be saved by them! Now the greater the love which is expressed towards us, the stronger are our engagements to love again. Consider, then, how incomparably greater is that love which appears in Christ’s giving us himself and his righteousness freely, and completing by himself the work of our redemption, than if he had only entreated the Father to relax the first covenant, and put us into a possibility of acquiring heaven by our own obedience. 2. Cor. V, 14: ‘The love of Christ constraineth us, because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead.’ That love is a far more efficacious principle than fear, appears also from the first epistle of John. The whole letter of that beloved disciple breathes nothing but love and holiness. The first is the principle of the latter. He had learned and felt the power of love in the bosom of his Jesus, and recommended that sovereign antidote against sin, that cordial to revive dying holiness, to all the followers of his loving Saviour. Heaven is a state of most perfect holiness, and the immediate created principle of it is perfect love, as seems to be implied in 1. John iv. 18, and 1. Cor. xiii. 8 — 13.”

In his early school-boy days Watts adopted those useful methods of study which contributed so largely to his mental improvement, and which we cannot too strongly commend to those who would aspire to the higher walks of literature. His plan was to abridge or enlarge the most valuable works he read, in order that their contents might be more deeply impressed upon his memory. He epitomized several works which were highly popular and useful in his day, such as GaWs Court of the Gentiles; a treatise of Lewis de la Forge on the human mind, &c. He also enlarged and improved the Westminster Greek Grammar by additions from the works of Dr. Busby and Mr. Leeds. The plan which lie adopted of interleaving books, and writing down the opinions of other writers on the same topics, he found to be eminently useful as affording a more comprehensive view of any subject. But those who wish to learn the process by which Dr. Watts attained his literary fame will do well to study with care his admirable treatise on the Improvement of the mind.

It was during his academic course that Watts cultivated with great care his poetical talents. In his Miscellanies, he modestly alludes to his being a “maker of verses” from the age of fifteen to that of fifty. At the age of seventeen, he wrote verses of considerable excellence, several of which were included in his Horoe Lyricce. The Latin ode in honor of the Rev. John Pinhorne, his early teacher, of whom he always “retained a grateful and affectionate remembrance,” is a meritorious performance for a youth of twenty. It discovers a true, poetical genius, as well as an intimate acquaintance with the most distinguished poets of Greece and Rome. The lines, addressed to his brother, written about this time, are also graceful and elegant in their construction.

But the unwearied perseverance and intemperate ardor with which “Watts pursued his studies during his academic course, and his neglect of necessary exercise and repose, greatly impaired his constitution, and probably gave rise to those severe sufferings which he subsequently endured. In after life, he deeply regretted the course which he had pursued in youth, of contracting his needful sleep in order to devote more time to study. Alluding to the irreparable injury which his constitution received by the intemperate mental exertions of his early life, he has the following remarks in one of his sermons: — “Midnight studies are prejudicial to nature. A painful experience calls me to repent of the faults of my younger years; and there are many before me have had the same call to repentance.” The venerable Dr. Owen was accustomed to say, that he would gladly part with all the learning he had acquired by sitting up late at study in younger life, if he could but regain the health he had lost by it.

In his nineteenth year. Watts united himself to the church of which his instructor, Mr. Rowe, was pastor. His piety, like his genius, was early manifested. With regard to the commencement of his religious impressions, he might have adopted the beautiful language of Mrs. Rowe: — “My infant hands were early lifted up to Thee, and I soon learned to know and acknowledge the God of my fathers,”

Having completed his academic course in 1694, at the age of twenty, he returned to his father’s house at Southampton, where he remained two years, prosecuting those studies more intimately connected with the sacred olSice for which he was qualifying himself. During this period, he composed the greater part of his hymns, and probably several pieces in his Miscellanies. A great portion of his time was now devoted to reading, meditation, and prayer.

After again leaving the parental home in 1696, he resided the five succeeding years in the family of Sir John Hartopp, at Stoke Newington, as tutor to his son.

This distinguished family deserves a notice in this sketch. Sir John Hartopp, one of the brightest ornaments in the Church, was a decided Non-conformist, steadily adhering to the dissentiug interest when “the throne, the church, and the nobility were most hostile to it.” It is said that the fines unposed upon him and a few others on account of religious principles, amounted at one time to six or seven thousand pounds.* This eminently pious man was a warm, personal friend and correspondent of the great Dr. Owen; a regular attendant upon his ministry, and a member of his church. To him the Christian public are indebted for the preservation of many of Owen’s sermons which he wrote down in short hand when delivered. He also furnished many materials for a Life of this prince of English divines. He had a taste for literary pursuits, and was versed in many of the sciences; but the Bible was his “chief study and divinest delight.” That he might better understand the text of the Scriptures, he commenced the study of Hebrew, when past the age of fifty, and retained a knowledge of the Greek language to the latest period of life. In the reign of Charles the Second, he was three times returned to Parliament. He lived to the great age of eighty-five, and died in the Christian’s hope of a happy immortality.

* N’oble’s Mem., ii. 833 — 348,

Lady Hartopp possessed the character of a truly amiable and pious person. The funeral sermons of these excellent individuals, which Dr. Watts preached, form his invaluable work on Death and Heaven — a favorite book with many pious readers.

The residence of Watts in the Hartopp family was always remembered by him with peculiar affection. Long afterwards he remarked — “I can not but reckon it among the blessings of Heaven, when I review those five years of pleasure and improvement, which I spent in his ftimily in my younger part of life. And I found much instruction myself where I was called to be an instructor.”

In that pious and intelligent family he enjoyed rare opportunities for mental, moral, and spiritual improvement. Besides attending faithfully to his duties as teacher, he applied himself to the study of the Scriptures in the original languages, and the best Biblical commentaries. In the early discipline of his mind, it seems that the one grand object of his life was ever kept in view — that of preaching the glorious gospel of Christ — and that all his studies were made subservient to his noble purpose.

On the 17th of July, 1698, at the age of twenty-four, he preached his first sermon, while residing in the family of Sir John Hartopp; and in the same year, was chosen assistant to Dr. Isaac Chauncy, pastor of the Independent Church in Mark Lane, London. Soon after his connection with Dr. Chauncy, in this capacity, his public labors were interrupted by a dangerous illness that continued five months; during which painful season, he learned that “patience in suffering was a part of christian duty no less important than activity in labor.” On his recovery he immediately resumed his ministerial labors; and when Dr. Chauncy resigned his pastoral charge in 1702, he was chosen to succeed him. After serious deliberation he accepted the call, and addressed a letter to the congregation, from which the following is an extract:

“Brethren, —

“You know the constant aversion I have had to any proposal of a pastoral office, for these three years. You know, also, that since you have given me a unanimous call thereto, I have proposed

several methods for your settlement without me; but your choice and your aflfections seemed to be still unmoved. I have objected my own indisposition of body; and I have pointed to three divines, members of this church, whose gifts might render them more proper for instructors, and their age for government. These things I have urged till I have provoked you to sorrow and tears, and till I myself have been almost ashamed. But your perseverance in your choice, your constant profession of edification by my ministry, the great probability you show me of building up this famous and decayed church of Christ, and your prevailing fears of its dissolution if I refuse, have given me ground to believe that the voice of this church is the voice of Christ. And to answer this call I have not consulted with flesh and blood; I have laid aside the thoughts of myself to serve the interest of our Lord. I have given up my own ease for your spiritual profit and your increase. I submit my inclination to my duty; and in hopes of being made an instrument to build up this ancient church, I return this solemn answer to your call, — that, with a great sense of my own inability in mind and body to discharge the duties of so sacred an office, I do, in the strength of Christ, venture upon it; and in His name I accept your call, promising in the presence of God and his saints, my utmost diligence in all the duties of a pastor, so far as God shall enlighten and strengthen me. And I leave that promise in the hands of Christ, our Mediator, to see it performed by me unto you, through the assistance of his grace and spirit.”

It will be remembered that the church, to which Mr. Watts was now called, was the same of which the celebrated Dr. John Owen had formerly been pastor.

Shortly after his entrance upon his duties as sole pastor of this church, Mr. Watts was seized with a dangerous illness fi*ora which, after a long confinement, he but slowly recovered. So feeble was his health, at this period, that the congregation thought it necessary to provide an assistant; and appointed the Rev. Samuel Price to that work, in 1703. The connection thus formed between Dr. Watts and Mr. Price continued more than forty years, and was regarded by eacL as a “jDeculiarly happy event.” The sincerest friendship existed between them through life.

While gradually recovering his strength, he addressed the following letter to his sisters, Sarah and Mary Watts, which expresses, in simple and affectionate terms, the language of his heart.*

“JuNE 15, 1704.”
” Dear Sisters,

Read the love of my heart in the first line of my letter and believe it. I am much concerned to hear of my mother’s continued weakness. We take our share in these painful disorders of nature, which afflict her whom we honor and love. I know also that your hurries of business must be more than doubled thereby; but we are daily leaving care and sin behind us. The past temptations shall vex us no more: the months which are gone return not, and the sorrows which we hourly feel lessen the decreed number. Every pulse beats a moment of pain away, and thus by degrees we arrive nearer to the sweet period of life and bliss.

Bear up, my dear ones, though the ruflfiing storms
Of a vain vexing world, tread down the cares,
Those ragged thorns which lie across the road,
“Nor spend a tear upon them, Trust me. Sisters,
The dew of eyes will make the briers grow;
Nor let the distant phantom of delight
Too long allure your gaze or swell your hope
To dangerous size. If it approach your feet,
And court your hand, forbid th’ intruding joy
To sit too near your heart. Still may our souls
Claim kindred with the skies, nor mix with dust
Our better-born affections, leave the globe
A nest for woims, and hasten to our home.
O, there are gardens of th’ immortal kind.
Which crown the heavenly Aden’s rising hills
With beauty and with sweets. No lurking mischief
Dwells in the fruit, nor serpent twines the boughs;
The branches bend laden with life and bliss

* This letter, greatly enlarged, is inserted in the Lyric Poems. It is there addressed to Sarissa, his sister Sarah, probably after the death of his sister Mary.

Ripe for the taste, but ’tis a steep ascent;

Hold fast the golden chain* let down from heaven,

‘Twill help your feet and wings. I feel its force

Draw upward: fastened to the heavenly gate,

It guides the way unerring. Happy clue

Through this dark wild. “Twas wisdom’s noblest work,

All join’d by pow’r divine, and every link is love.

“Sisters, Accept the sudden rapture kindly. The muse is not awake every day. If she has a moment’s release from the lethargy, see, ’tis devoted to serve and please you.” &c.

In 1705, at the age of thirty-one, Mr. Watts published his first work with the following title: “Horse Lyricas. Poems, chiefly of the Lyric kind; in three books: sacred to devotion and piety — to virtue, honor, and friendship — to the memory of the dead.” This work, in the opinion of Dr. Johnson, entitled its author to an honorable place in the temple of the “English Poets.” It was received with the highest favor, both in great Britain and America, and procured for the author the esteem and fi-iendship of many eminent literary characters. Eight editions were issued before the death of the author.

There is much to admire, as well as to criticise, in the Lyric Poems; but on the whole, they exhibit a high order of merit, and few works on sacred poetry are more worthy of frequent perusal. They will long continue to delight the Christian on his way to immortality, and to elevate his views above the fugitive scenes of earth to the unending joys of heaven. In reviewing the Horse Lyricae, a modern critic has beautifully remarked, — “There are touches of poetiy scattered through these pages, which, simple as childhood, are also as charmiug.”f Many of the Lyric Poems are expressed in a glowing, copious, and elegant diction. As a choice specimen of their style, and of the pious sentiment which prevails through them, we offer a few lines.

The poem entitled. Launching into Eternity is a good specimen of graceful, flowing rhythm, and appropriate imagery. We may

* The gospel. f Literary Gazette.

here observe that a number of the Lyric Poems are imitations of the odes of Casimire Sarbiewski, of Poland, whom Watts styles the noblest Latin poet of modern times.*

It was a brave attempt! advent’rous he,
Who in the first ship broke the unknown sea:
And leaving his dear native shores behind,
Trusted his life to the hcentious wind.
I see the surging brine: the tempest raves
He on the pine-plank rides across the waves,
Exulting on the edge of thousand gaping graves:
He steers the winged boat, and shifts the sails,
Conquers the flood, and manages the gales.

Such is the soul that leaves this mortal land,

Fearless when the great Master gives command.

Death is the storm: she smiles to hear it roar,

And bids the tempest waft her from the shore:

Then with a skilful helm she sweeps the seas,

And manages the raging storm with ease;

(Her faith can govern death), she spreads her vAngs

Wide to the wind, and as she sails she sings.

And loses by degrees the sight of mortal things.

As the shores lessen, so her joys arise.

The waves roll gentler, and the tempest dies,

N’ow vast eternity fills all her sight.

She floats on the broad deep with infinite delight.

The seas for ever calm, the skies for ever bright.

In his poem entitled, A Song to creative Wisdom, our poet soars on a lofty strain, and his flight is nobly sustained. The lines which we select are the most graceful, harmonious, and elevated.

Eternal Wisdom, thee we praise,

Thee the creation sings;
With thy loud name, rocks, hills, and seas.

And heaven’s high palace rings.

* Casimire was born in 154Y. Grotius and D. Heinsius affirm him to be equal to Horace. He was so partial to “Virgil, that he began to imitate him in an epic poem, called the “Lesicade,” in twelve books, but his dc th at Warsaw, in 1690, prevented the completion of the work. His epigrams are much inferior to his odes. The best edition of his poems is that of Paris, in 1*759.

Thy hand how wide it spread the sky,

How glorious to behold!
Ting’d with a blue of heavenly dye,

And starr’d with sparkling gold.

There thou hast bid the globes of light

Their endless circles run;
There the pale planet rules the night,

And day obeys the sun.

The noisy winds stand ready there

Thy orders to obey:
With sounding wings they sweep the air,

To make thy chariot way.

There, like a trumpet, loud and strong,

Thy thunder shakes our coast:
While the red lightnings wave along.

The banners of thine host.

The poem on Divine Judgments in Pindaric measure, is justly admired. We give the concluding lines which breathe the most exalted piety.

0 for a message from above
To bear my spirit up!
Some pledge of my Creator’s love,
To calm my terrors and support my hope!

Let waves and thunders mix and roar,
Be thou my God, and the whole world is mine:
While thon art Sov’reign, I’m secure;
I shall be rich till thou art poor;
For all I fear, and all I wish, heav’n, earth, and hell, are thine.

One of the most highly finished of the Lyric Poems is that on GoiTs Dominion and Decrees in the first book. It has been particularly admired for its sublimity of thought; indeed, as Mr. Burder observes, nothing uninspired can be more sublime than this hymn, particularly from the seventh verse.

Keep silence, all created things.

And wait your Maker’s nod:
The muse stands trembling while she sings

The honors of her God.

Life, death, and hell, and worlds unknown

Hang on his firm decree:
He sits on no precarious throne,

Nor borrows leave to be.

Til’ Almighty voice bid ancient night

Her endless realm resign,
And lo, ten thousand globes of light

In fields of azure shine.

Now wisdom, with superior sway,
Guides the vast moving frame,

Whilst all the ranks of being pay
Deep reverence to his name.

He spake; the sun obedient stood
And held the falling day:

Old Jordan backward drives his flood,
And disappoints the sea.

Lord of the armies of the sky.
He marshals all the stars

Red comets lift their banners high.
And wide proclaim his wars.

Chained to his throne a volume lies,

With all the fates of men,
With every angel’s form and size

Drawn by the Eternal pen.

His Providence unfolds the book.
And makes his counsels shine:

Each opening leaf, and every stroke,
Fulfils some deep design.

Here he exalts neglected worms

To sceptres and a crown;
Anon the following page he turns,

And treads the monarch down.

Not Gabriel asks the reason why,
Nor God the reason gives;

Nor dares the favorite angel pry
Between the folded leaves.

My God, I never longed to see

My fate with curious eyes,
What gloomy lines are writ for me,

Or what bright scenes shall rise.

In thy fair book of life and grace

May I but find my name,
Recorded in some humble place

Beneath my Lord the Lamb.

The success wliicli attended the publication of the Lyric Poems induced Mr. Watts to prepare his Hymns and Songs for the press. They were first published in 1707, and have since been issued in numerous editions, and scattered by tens of thousands through the Christian world. They have cheered the heart of many a weaiy Christian pilgrim, when oppressed with the cares and sorrows of life, and “animated the praises of thousands on their dying beds.”*

Many beautiful lines occur in the collection. What, for example, can be more soothing and cheering than the well-known stanza in the hymn entitled, Chrisfs presence makes death easy.

Jesus can make a dying bed.

Feel soft as downy pillows are,
While on his breast I lean my head,

And breathe my life out sweetly there.

This will recall to mind another verse of a similar nature, in the hymn entitled The Song of Simeon; or Death made desirable. How often have these lines fallen, in accents of triumph, from the lips of the pious, in the last, solemn hour of life! How often have they made bright the dying eye, and cheered the departing soul!

* The sufferer, to whom wearisome nights and days have been appointed, has been carried forward by gleams of future blessedness, which brighten upon the strains of “Watts, in holy triumph and calm exultation, to the land where the weepers cease to weep; while thousands on the verge of death’s dark river, have cheered surviving friends and sorrowing relatives, with tidings of the “sweet fields beyond the swelling flood,” which have “stilled its tossing, hushed its roar,” and which have broke upon their ravished vision as they entered into the joy of their JaOY6.. — M liner.

Josus, the vision of thy face
Hath overpowering charms,
Scarce shall I feel death’s cold embrace
If Christ be in my arms.

In the hymn entitled, The hope of heaven our support under trial on earthy the poet has admirably hinted at the felicdty of the ransomed soul when admitted into the Paradise of God.

There shall I bathe my weary soul

In seas of’ heavenly rest,
And not a wave of trouble roll

Across my peaceful breast.

Seldom has a poetical exclamation been more happily introduced than the one which occurs in the hymn on the Characters of Christ, borrowed from inanimate things in Scripture. These magnificent lines can hardly be repeated without thrilling the refined and pious mind.

0 let me climb those higher skies,
Where storms and darkness never rise!
There he displays his powers abroad,
And shines and reigns th’ incarnate God.

The last verse of the hymn from which we have just quoted contains two of the smoothest lines that have, perhaps, ever been penned. After recounting some of the glories of Christ’s person the poet concludes thus: —

Nor earth, nor sea, nor sun, nor stars,
Nor heaven his full resemblance bears;
His beauties we can never trace,
Till loe behold him face to face.

Another verse, similar to this, in sweetness and smoothness, is found in the hymn entitled, A vision of the Kingdom of Chrisi among men.

His own soft hand shall wipe the tears

Fro7n every weeping eye.
And pains, and groans, and griefs, and fears,

And death itself shall die.

Doddridge relates a striking instance of the eflfect produced by the use of one of the Hymns of Watts in public worship. In a letter to his friend, the author, he says — “I was preaching to a large assembly of plain country people, at a village, when, after a sermon from Hebrews vi. 12, we sung one of your hymns, (which, if I remember right, was the 140th of the second book,) and in that part of the worship, I had the satisfaction to observe tears in the eyes of several of the people: after the service was over, some of them told me that they were not able to sing, so deeply were their minds affected; and the clerk in particular said he could hardly utter the words as he gave them out.” The hymn referred to is one of the finest in the collection.

Give me the wings of faith to rise

Within the vail, and see
The saints above, how great their joys,

How bright their glories be.

Once they were mourning here below,

And wet their couch with tears;
They wi-estled hard as we do now,

With sins, and doubts, and fears.

I ask them whence their victory came.

They, with united breath,
Ascribe their conquest to the Lamb,

Their triumph to his death.

They marked the footsteps that he trod,

(His zeal inspired their breast.)
And following their iuearnate God,

Possess the promised rest.

Our glorious Leader claims our praise,

For him our patteru given.
While the long cloud of witnesses

Show the same path to Heaven,

On his recovery from the disease which attacked him in 1*703, Mr, Watts continued to officiate as pastor, without any njaterial interruption, till 1*712, when he was seized with a violent fever which broujrht him to the brink of the Grave, and left him in a

FE OF WATTS.

state of nervous debility, wliicli, for some years, “incapacitated him for the functions of his office,” and from which he never entirely lecovered.

It is pleasing to contemplate the happy and heavenly frame of mind that characterized this pious man amidst the afflictions he was called to endure. The following beautiful lines, which were penned during this severe and protracted illness, breathe the most exalted piety, and indicate a very calm and cheerful stat of mind, such as the religion of Jesus alone can produce in afflictive circumstances.

Yet gracious God, amidst these storms of nature
Thine eyes beheld a sweet and secret calm,
Reign through the realms of conscience: All within
Lies peaceful and composed. ‘Tis wondrous grace
Keeps off thy terrors from this humble bosom,
Though stained with sins and follies, yet serene
In peuitential peace and cheerful hope,
Sprinkled and guarded with atoning blood.
Thy vital smiles, amidst this desolation.
Like heavenly sun-beams hid behind the clouds.
Break out in happy moments, with bright radiance
Cleaving the gloom: the fair celestial light
Softens and gilds the horrors of the storm,
And richest cordials to the heart conveys.

0 glorious solace of immense distress,

A conscience and a God! A friend at home,

And better friend on high! This is my rock

Of firm support, my shield of sure defence

Against infernal arrows. Rise, my soul.

Put on thy courage: Here ’s the living spring

Of joys divinely sweet and ever new,

A peaceful conscience, and a smiling heaven.

These lines admirably display the peaceful, cheeiful and submissive spirit of a Christian in seasons of affliction. Though he may be in the midst of sorrow and gloom, yet he can adopt the language of the sacred penmen —” Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me: thou shalt stretch forth thy hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me. — I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for

he liatli clothed me with the garments of salvation; lie hath covered me with the robes of righteousness.”

Watts was accustomed to remark — “I know not but my days of restraint and confinement by affliction may appear my brightest days, when I come to take a review of them in the light of heaven.” In a letter to a minister in affliction, he has expressed similar feelings in the following beautiful and consoling terms. — “It is my hearty desire for you, that your faith may ride out the storms of temptations, and the anchor of your hope may hold, being fixed within the vail. There sits Jesus our forerunner, who sailed over this rough sea before us, and has given us a chart, even his word, wdiere the shelves and rocks, the fierce currents and dangers, are well described; and he is our pilot, and will conduct us to the shores of happiness. I am persuaded, that in a future state we shall take a sweet review of those scenes of providence, which have been involved in the thickest darkness, and trace those footsteps of God when he walked with us through the deepest waters. This will be a surprising delight to survey the manifold harmony of clashing dispensations, and to have those perplexing riddles laid open CO the eyes of our souls, and read the full meaning of them ia set characters of wisdom and grace.”

On his again recovering strength Mr, Watts composed a Hymn in which he acknowledges his gratitude to God for heahug mercy.

“What mortal voice,
Or mortal hand, can render to my God
The tribute due? What altars shall T raise?
What grand inscription to proclaim his mercy
In living lines? “Where shall I find a victim
Meet to be offered to his sovereign love,
And solemnize the worship and the joy?

It is worthy of particular notice here that the illness of Mr. Watts in 1712, was the means of introducing him to Sir Thomas Abney. Invited by this gentleman to try the effect of a change of air at his house at Theobalds, he gladly complied with the request, and went there, intending to stay only a week: the remainder of his life, however, — a period of thirty-six years, was passed in the Abney family. This happy circumstance was, in the opinion of

AVatts Limself a sufficient compensation for all the sufferings lie endured in his painful illness. Thus often has it been found that sorrow is the mother of blessings.

It was a noble and generous principle which prompted Sir Thomas Abney to take Mr. Watts, in a very languishing state, to his own house, and supply him with all that could contribute to his comfort and enjoyment. An allusion to so generous and excellent an individual is very appropriate here. Sir Thomas Abney was a man of great wealth, commanding influence, and remarkable piety. It is stated that he was one of the wealthiest and most considerable persons attached to the dissenters, in whose principles he had been educated. King William knighted him; and he was elected sheriff of London and Middlesex in 1693; and also served the office of Lord Mayor of London in 1700. Of his scrupulous attention to his religious duties the following anecdote is related. On the evening of the day upon which he entered on the mayoralty, he withdrew “silently after supper from the public assembly at Guildhall, went to his own house, performed tlimily worship there, and then returned to the company.”

By the amiable and pious family of Sir Thomas Abney, Dr. Watts was ever treated with the utmost kindness “as a friend, attention as an invalid, and re8|>ect as a divine.” His long and happy residence in this family is thus appropriately commented on by his first biographer. Dr. Gibbons — “Here, he enjoyed the uninterrupted demonstrations of the truest friendship. Here, without any cares of his own, he had every thing which could contribute to the enjoyment of life, and favor the unwearied pursuits of his studies. Here he dwelt in a iimily which, for piety, order, harmony, and every virtue, was a house of God. Here he had the privilege of a country recess, the fragrant bower, the spreading lawn, the flowery garden, and other advantages to soothe his mind, and aid his restoration to health; to yield him, whenever he chose them, most gi-ateful intervals from his laborious studies, and enable him to return to them with redoubled vigor and delight. Had it not been for this happy event, he might, as to outward view, have feebly, it may be painfully, dragged on through many more years of languor and inability for public service, and even for profitable study; or perhaps might have sunk into his grave, under the overwhelming load of infirmities, in the midst of his days: and thus the church and the world would have been deprived of those many excellent sermons and works which he drew up and published durino* his long residence in this family. In a few years after his coming hither, Sir Thomas Abney dies; but his amiable consort survives, who shows the Doctor the same respect and friendship as before: and most happily for him, and great numbers besides, (for as her riches were great, her generosity and munificence were in full proportion,) her thread of life was drawn out to a great age, even beyond that of the Doctor’s. And thus this excellent man, through her kindness, and that of her daughter, Mrs. Elizabeth Abney, who in a like degree esteemed and honored him, enjoyed all the benefits and felicities he experienced at his first entrance into this family, till his days were numbered and finished, and, like a shock of corn in its season, he ascended into the regions of perfect and immortal life and joy.”

After his coming to the family of Sir Thomas Abney, we have but little of interest to contemplate in the life of Watts, except a brilliant literary career. His life, like that of many other literary men, furnishes comparatively few novel or exciting biographical incidents for the narrator. In the language of Goldsmith, “The life of a scholar seldom abounds with adventure — his fame is acquired in solitude.” In the Abney family. Watts continued to discharge his pastoral duties, with considerable interruption, however, till the close of his life. He was often unable to preach, and frequently, when he did appear in the pulpit, “his exertions were followed by such weakness and pain, that he was obliged to retire immediately to bed, and have his room closed in darkness and silence.” In his delightful residence at Theobalds, while pursuing the even tenor of his way, he planned and executed a large number of his literary performances.

In 1719, he published his Imitations of the Psalms of David, of which four thousand copies were sold within the first year of their publication.

It is supposed to have been about this time that he produced his Divine and Moral Songs for Children, which have been “the delight, of iufiiut minds from that day to the present, and probably will be for ages to come.” A pious clergyman writes — “I have seen the sweet delight and joy with which they have been read by many of the young. On the hearts of five children in my own connections they have, by the blessing of God, made deep impressions; and one of these the other day died comfortably, repeating them within a few minutes before his departure.” Numerous other examples of a similar nature might be cited if our limits permitted.

There is a rich vein of poetry running through these songs; and they have been long and justly admired for their intrinsic merits. “They present the happiest specimen, in any language, of religion and morality reconmiended to the infant mind through the medium of verse. The diction is familiar and elegant, without being either too common or I’efined; and the imagery is wisely chosen from objects and scenes continually before the eye. In this manner has the writer obtained for himself a place in our hearts, among the most cherished remembrances of childhood. The bee, that hums by us on the summer grass, recalls him to the memory; and we can not thinJc upon our mothers without recollecting Watts.^“”^

The success of these Songs has been wonderful. They have attained an immense circulation, and are admired wherever they are known. “The number of copies that have been circulated throughout the world, must amount to many millions; upwards of thirty editions, in this country [England] are regularly kept in print; and upon a moderate computation, the average annu;d sale in England only can not be less than eighty thousand. It was stated some years ago, upon authority, that two institutions, the Society for Promoting Religious Knowledge among the Poor, and the Religious Tract Society, had distributed upwards of one hundred thousand.”!

In a specimen of moral songs appended to the collection, we have a very fine poem on A Summer Evening, which we are happy to introduce in this sketch. It deserves to live in the memory of every Christian. So much admired was this poem, that its

* Willmott’s Lives of the English Sacred Poets.
f Milner’s Life and Times of Watts.

author was asked by his biographer, Dr. Gibbons, why he did not include it in his Lyric Poems? to which he replied, that it was not composed when that work was published.

How fine has the day been! how bright was the sun!
How lovely and joyful the course that he run!
Though he rose in a mist when his race he begun,

And there followed some droppings of rain!
But now the fair traveler’s come to the West,
His rays are all gold, and his beauties are best;
He paints the sky gay as he sinks to his rest,

And foretells a bright rising again.

Just such is the Christian: his course he begins.
Like the sun, in a mist, when he mourns for his sins,
And melts into tears: then he breaks out and shinea,

And travels his heavenly way;
But when he comes nearer to finish his race,
Like a fine-setting sun he looks richer in grace,
And gives a sure hope at the end of his days,

Of rising in brighter array.

In 1721, Mr. “Watts published the first volume of his sermons; and, in dedicating them to his congregation, he forcibly remarks: “You know it has always been the business of my ministry to convince and persuade your souls into practical godliness, by the clearest and strongest reasons derived from the gospel, and by all the most moving methods of speech of which I was capable; but still in an humble subserviency to the pioinised influences of the Holy Spirit. I ever thought it my duty to press the conviction with force on the conscience, when light was first let into the mind. A statue hung round with moral sentences, or a marble pillar with divine truths inscribed upon it, may preach coldly to the understanding, while devotion freezes at the heart: but the prophets and apostles were burning ami shining lights; they were all taught by inspiration to make the words of truth glitter like sunbeams, and to operate like a hammer and a Jire, and a two-edged sword* The movements of sacred passion may be the ridicule of an age which pretends to nothing but calm reasoning. Life and zeal in the min-

* 2 Cor. iv. 4 — 6; John, v. 35; Jer. xxiii. 29; Heb. iv. 12.

istry of the word iricay be despised by men of lukewarm and dying religion: fervency of spirit in the service of the Lord may become the scoff and jest of the critic and the profane: but this very life and zeal, this sacred fervency, shall still remain one bright character of a Christian preacher, till the names of Paul and Apollos perish from the church; and that is, till this Bible and these heavens are no more.”

The sermons of Dr. Watts, notwithstanding their occasional redundancy of expression, and prolixity in arrangement, have always enjoyed a high place in the literature of the pulpit. They abound in glowing exhibitions of evangelical truth, happy illustrations of their subject, and striking appeals to the conscience. Few sermons are more deserving of frequent or careful perusal; and we trust that the Christian reader will not fail to make himself familiar with them. They are admirably adapted to promote the grand end of preaching — the exhibition of Christ, and Him crucified. They are, indeed, full of the precious consolations of the glorious gospel, and shine “with a mild and comforting light, that warms while it brightens.”

Mr. Burder has thus very appropriately characterized the discourses of Dr. Watts: — “In reviewing them, it may be justly remarked, that they possess uncommon excellence, and in some respects, notwithstanding the many volumes of sermons since published, have never been exceeded, or even equalled. The beautiful perspicuity and simplicity of their style render them familiar to the meanest capacities! Their originality of thought, and the happy illustrations that abound in them, discover the genius of the writer; but the fervor of his eAortations, his close addresses to the conscience, and the rich veins of evangelical truth and Christian experience in every discourse, show the Christian divine in full proportion.”f

Under the title of “Death and Heaven,” Mr. Watts published, in 1*722, his excellent funeral discourses in memory of Sir John and Lady Hartopp. They appeared from the press in a considerably enlarged form. Immediately on their publication, they received

* Acts xviii. 25; Rom. xii. 11.

f Memoirs of Watts, prefixed to the London edition of his works.

the highest commendation of the Christian public, and, at once, became a fevoiite with many pious readers. They may justly be placed among the choicest theological productions of their author.* The celebrated Prof. Frank, of Germany, was so much pleased with them that he procured a translation into the Germcm language; and his successor, in the professorship of divinity, Dr. Rambach wrote a highly commendatory notice of the work, in which he says: —” Though the first sermon contains many elegant passages worthy to be read, yet the latter seems to be a more elaborate piece, because it sets the doctrine of eternal life in a greater light, and enriches it with many probable inferences drawn from the word of God. He proposes his excellent thoughts in most emphatical terms, in that beautiful order, and with such a vivacity of style, that he keeps the reader in a continual attention, and an eager desire to read on. It is plain the author’s mind was so taken up with the beauty of heaven, that his mouth could not hut speak from the abundance of his heart. There is a secret unction in his expressions, which leaves a sweet savor in the reader’s heart, and raises in him a desire after the blessed society he speaks of. And though the reader should not entirely agree with the author’s notions, yet he will not peruse this treatise without a particular edification and blessing. I can not deny but the author’s conjectures may be sometimes carried a little too far, but that doth not prejudice the subject in the least. Besides, he is generally so happy as to find some arguments for his probable notions in the word of God, and to answer very dexterously all the objections that can be made against him.

“May the ever-living God give a blessing to this work, and

* Both of Watts’ sermons abound with passages of considerable beauty; a vein of ardent piety runs throughout; the style is more than usually sprightly and vivacious; the fancy of the writer is evidently on the wing, and his imagination excursive, yet it does not attract from the highway of truth, nor betray into error and inconsistence. It has, indeed, been objected that some of his views of the station, employment, and happiness of perfected spirits are not expressly sanctioned by the sacred page; yet they harmonize with the general tenor of its brief and brilliant revelations, and are certainly supported by the inferential evidence of the Scriptures. — Milner’s Life and Times of Watts.

grant that those sweet and relishing truths proposed in these leaves may make such an impression upon the minds of the readers as those noble truths deserve. May he prevent all the abuse of this delightful subject, and never permit it to be turned into a mere dry or fruitless speculation; but may he inflame every reader with a holy desire after a blessed eternity, and rouse and excite all those that have not begun yet to tread the path of Salvation, to enter into the same without delay, that they may not rest in a mere delightful prospect of the land of Canaan, nor be for ever excluded by their unbelief from the eternal enjoyment of it.”

In the year 1722, Mr. Watts also published his work on The Christian Doctrine of the Trinity — a production of much merit. It presents an able defense of the doctrine of the Trinity, and is almost entirely free from those heterodox opinions which characterize some of the author’s later publications on the same subject.

In 1723, he published a second volume of sermons on the Christian Morals, which are among the best ever written on the subject, and worthy of the careful perusal of every professor of Christianity.

In 1724, appeared his Treatise on Logic, which met with a favorable reception, and was soon introduced as a text-book into the University of Oxford, and other literary Institutions. Lord Barrington, who highly pj-ized the work, remarked — “I intend, as some have done Erasmus, or a piece of Cicero — to read it over once a year.”

In 1725, Mr. Watts produced his Elements of Geography and Astronomy, which, in consequence of the rapid advances in the knowledge of those sciences, may now be numbered among the least important of bis publications.

In 1728, he received the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity from the Universities of Edinburgh and Aberdeen. “Academical honors,” in the language of Dr. Johnson, “would have more value, if they were always bestowed with equal judgment.”

About this time. Dr. Watts published his Catechisms which are so favorably known wherever the English language is spoken. In mentioning his prose and poetical compositions for children, Dr. Johnson observes with admiration; — “He condescended to lay aside the scholar, the philosopher, and the wit, to write little poems of devotion, and systems of instruction, adapted to their wants and capacities, from the dawn of reason through its gradations of advance in the morning of life. Every man acquainted with the common principles of human action, will look with veneration on the writer, who is at one time combating Locke, and at another time making a catechism for children in their fourth year. A voluntary descent from the dignity of science is perhaps the hardest lesson that humility can teach.”

In 1730, Dr. Watts published his work entitled, A Short Vieio of the Whole Scripture History written in the form of question and answer, — an interesting book which should be placed in the hands of young persons. Lord Barringtou, in a letter to the author, speaks of it as “a book very instructive and entertaining to people of all ages and conditions,” and adds, that he will keep a copy in his “uuisery, hall, and parlor.”

In 1731, appeared another useful publication of Dr. Watts, qutltled, An Humble Attempt towards the revival of Practical Religion among ChriMians. The first part of this treatise, — which is by far the more valuable, — is a serious exhortation to ministers. It was prepared for the ordination of Rev. John Oakes; but was not delivered, in consequence of the illness of Dr. Watts on the day appointed for that purpose. This address we regard as a very choice and appropriate one. It can not be too strongly commended to the attention of every theological student and clergyman. The remaining portion of the work contains the substance of several discourses delivered to his congrpgation in London, and designed particularly for the use of the dissenters.

Another publication in the year 1731, was his Essay on the Strength and Weakness of Human Reason. He manages the discussion of this subject, in the opinion of Dr. Johnson, with his usual ability and tact.

His PJulosophical Essays on various Subjects; and his System of Ontology, were published in 1733; and in the following year, appeared his third volume of sermons, and an admirable little woik entitled, Miscellaneous Thoughts in Prose and Verse. We would call the special attention of the young reader to these Thoughts many of wLicli <are liiglily beautiful, and well calculated to afford a person of fine taste and genuine piety, rich entertainment and instruction. In specifying- some of the choicest of them, we would* include those pieces on, Distant Thunder — Meditation for the first of May — Divine Goodness in the Creation — The Midnight Elevation, — and Searching after God. The last mentioned essay contains a fine specimen of sacred poetry which the Christian may repeat with renewed admiration. What can be more easy in style, or sublime in thought, than these lines in which the pious author soars in almost inimitable strains?

My God, I love and I adore:

But souls that love would know thee more.

Wilt thou for ever hide, and stand

Behind the labors of thy hand?

Thy hand unseen sustains the poles,

On which this huge creation rolls:

The starry arch proclaims thy pow’r.

Thy pencil glows in ev’ry flow’r:

In thousand shapes and colors rise

Thy painted wonders to our eyes;

While beasts and birds with lab’ring throats,

Teach us a God in thousand notes.

The meanest pin in nature’s frame,

Marks out some letter of thy name.

Where sense can reach or fancy rove,

From hill to hill, from field to grove,

Across the waves, around the sky.

There’s not a spot, or deep, or high,

Where the Creator has not trod.

And left the footsteps of a God.

Probably in 1735, Dr. Watts published his excellent treatise, — The Redeemer and Sanctijier; — a small volume which may be studied with profit.

The year 1736, was to him a season of painful illness, as we learn from a beautiful poem in the Remnants of Time; — “Complaint and hope under great vain, 1736.” In what a sweet and tender strain are these lines expressed! And who can read them without emotion?

Lord, I am paiu’d; but I resign

To thy suy)enor will:
‘Tis grace, ’tis wisdom all divine

Appoints the pains I feel.

Dark are thy ways of providence,

“While those that love thee groan:
Thy reasons lie concealed from sense,

Mysterious and unlinown.

Yet nature may have leave to speak,

And plead before her God,
Lest the o’er-burden’d heart should break

Beneath thy heavy rod.

Will nothing but such daily pain

Secure my soul from hell?
Canst thou not make my health attain

Thy kind designs as well?

How shall my tongue proclaim thy grace

“While thus at home confined?
“What can I write, while painful flesh

Hangs heavy on the mind?

These groans and sighs, and flowing tears

Give my poor spirit ease,
“While every groan my Father hears,

And every tear he sees.

Is not some smiling I. our at hand

“With peace upon its wings?
Give it, O God, thy swift command,

“With all the joys it brings.

We may here observe that some of the most aflfecting lines Dr. AVatts ever wrote flowed from his pen during seasons of affliction.

In 1736, or the year following, the death of Dr. Watts’s father occurred. He had come to his grave in “a full age, like as a shock of corn cometh in in his season.” Two days before this event the poet addressed to his venerable parent the following beautiful letter, which will be read with interest:

“Honored and Dear Sir,

“‘Tis now ten days since I heard from you, and learned by my neplievv that you had been recovered from a very threatening illness. When you are in danger of life, I believe my sister is afrai<l to let me know the worst, for fear of alFecting me too much. But as I feel old age daily advancing on myself,* I am endeavoring to be ready for my removal hence: and though it gives a shock to nature, when what has been long dear to one is taken away, yet reason and religion should teach us to expect it, in these scenes of mortality, and a dying world. Blessed be God for our immortal hopes through the blood of Jesus, who has taken away the sting of death! What could such dying creatures do without the comfort of the Gospel? I hope you feel those satisfoctious of soul on the borders of life, which nothing can give but this Gospel, which you taught us all in our younger years. May these divine consolations support your spirits, under all your gi’owing infirmities, and may our blessed Saviour form your soul to such a holy heavenly frame, that you may wait with patience amidst the languors of life, for a joyful passage into the Land of Immortality. May no cares nor pains ruffle nor afflict your spirit. May you maintain a constant serenity at heart, and sacred cahnness of mind, as one who has long passed midnight, and is in view of the dawning day! The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Let the garments of light be found upon us, and let us lift vp our heads, for our redemption draws nigh. Amen.”

In 1V37, Dr. Watts published his admirable treatise on Humility as exemplified in the Character of St. Paul; and two years afterwards, appeared one of his most useful and important publications; — The World to Come; or discourses on the joys or sorrows of departed souls a,t death, and the glory or terror of the resurrection. This work contains sermons preached on different occasions. The invaluable discourse on the “End of Time” has been translated into most European languages, and often printed separately as a tract. The whole work is full of rich, evangelical instruction, touching pathos, and solemn appeal. It is admirably

* Dr. Watts was now in his sixty-third year.

calculated to alarm the unconverted, arouse the inditferent, and animate the believer. The author sets forth, in the most impressive nianner, the joys and sorrows of the world to come, and calls upon us, in forcible language, to choose the path of life, and avoid that of death. This book has cheered the last hours of many a timid Christian pilgrim, by its transporting exhibitions of the sublime joys that await the believer in mansions of glory; when brought to dwell for ever with Immanuel, in whose presence is fullness of joy; at whose right hand are pleasures for evermore.

In relation to this work Dr. Coleman, of Boston, wrote to the author, as follows: — “I think you never wrote, nor did I ever read, discourses more adapted to young and old, high and low. In such a frame one would wish to expire: I am ready to say on it, It is finished — yet may you live to add more.”

In 1741, Dr. Watts published the first part of his treatise on The Improvement of the Mind; a book, which, as the author informs us, had been the labor of twenty years.=^ This work, which has met with such universal approbation, is, perhaps, the most useful production of the kind in the English language. Two of the most eminent critics of their age have expressed very favorable opinions of its merits. Says Dr. Johnson: — “Few books have been perused by me with greater pleasure than his ‘Improvement of the Mind,’ of which the radical principles may, indeed, be found in Locke’s ‘Conduct of the Understanding;’ but they are so expanded and ramified by Watts, as to confer upon him the merit of a work in the highest degree useful and pleasing. Whoever has the care of instructing others may be charged with deficience in his duty if this book is not recommended.” The celebrated Robert Hall, with his charactenstic modesty, gives the following estimate: —” I very highly approve of Dr. Watts’ works in general, and particularly that on the ‘Improvement of the Mind.’ The book needs no recommendation; it may be considered as an English classic, which it would be nearly as absurd for any living author to recommend, as the papers of Addison, or the poetry of Milton. It has already received the most distinguished applause from Johnson, in

* The second pai-t, which is inferior to the first, was left in manuscript, and published by the editors of his works, Drs. Jennings and Doddridge.

the most popular of all his works. This applause is fresh in the mind of every man of reading. What consummate vanity would it betray in me, to add my recommendation to a work which has received the imprimatur of that great dictator in the republic of letters!”

Such are some of the principal works of Dr. Watts, with the date of their publication. There are a few of his writings whose precise date of publication can not now be ascertained, such as his Essay on the Ruin and Recovery of Mankind; his Discourses on the Passions which form one of the best philosophical essays on that subject in our language; and his Discourses on the Love of God which are among the choicest of his productions. They are written in a glowing and perspicuous style, and abound in beautiful and soul-stirring passages.

His Remnants of Time Employed in Prose and Verse, published since his decease, deserve commendation. Like his Miscellaneous Thoughts, they contain many delightful sentiments. In the Kssay on Redemption, we have a verse which, for its beauty and sublimity will ever be admired by the lovers of sacred poetry. After composing several pleasing lines on his lofty theme, the author adds: — “If I could pursue all the wondrous achievements of a dying and a risen Saviour in verse, as fast and as far as my thoughts sometimes attempt to trace them, I should lengthen this ode to many stanzas, and yet at last I should lose both my thoughts and my verse amongst the unknown wonders of his glory, and the ages of eternity.

Who shall fulfill this bouudless song?

What vain pretender dares?
The theme surmounts an angel’s tongue.
And Gabriel’s harp despairs.

In the spring of 1739, Dr. Watts was seized with a paralytic attack, which, probably, in some degree, impaired his intellectual powers, and from which he but slowly recovered.

His latest publications were on the Trinitarian controversy. His work entitled, “The Glory of Christ as God-man, displayed in three Discourses,” which was published towards the close of 1746, when he was over seventy years of age, was among his last literary performances for the press. In tins work he strongly advances his fanciful scheme of the pre-existeuce of Christ’s human soul. It has been well said that Watts studied the doctrine of the Trinity, as some Indian devotees are said to have contemplated the sun, till their own sight was darkened.*

The last illness of Dr. Watts is said to have been rather a decay of nature, worn out by infirmity and labor, than any particular disease. He ceased to breathe on the 25th of November, 1748, in the Y5th year of his age. Calmly and peacefully, and “in sure and certain hope” of a glorious immortality did his weary, longing spirit leave its feeble earthly tenement, and wing its way to God. Among his last expressions were the following. He was often heard to say, — “I bless God I can lie down with comfort at night, not being solicitous whether I wake in this world or another.” — “I should be glad to read more, yet not in order to be confirmed more on the truth of the Christian religion, or in the truth of its promises, for I believe them enough to venture an eternity on them.” — “I would be waiting to see what God will do with me. It is good to say as Mr. Baxter, ‘What, when, and where God pleases.’ If God should raise me up again I may finish some more of my papers, or God can make use of me to save a soul, and that will be worth living for. If God has no more service for me to do, through grace, I am ready. It is a great mercy to me that I have no manner of fear or dread of death: I could, if God please, lay my head back and die without terror, this afternoon or night. My chief supports are from my view of eternal things, and the interest I have in them: I have no fear of dying; it would be my greatest comfort to lie down and sleep and wake no more.” When he found his spirit tending to impatience, and ready to repine at the afflictive dispensations of ProWdence, he would thus restrain him-

* Happy bad it been for him, if he, who humbled his mind to the composition of songs and spelling-books for children, had applied to his own case our Saviour’s words, and in this instance become as a little child himself! Happy had it been, because, during the whole course of his innocent, and otherwise most peaceful life, he seems never to have been assailed by any other temptation than this of the intellect, never to have been beset with any other troubles than those in which his own subtlety entangled him. — Dr. SoiUhey’s Memoir of Watts.

self, — “The business of a Chrisliau is to hear the will of God as well as to do it. If I were in health I could only be doing that, and that I may do now. The best thine; in obedience is a reo-ard to the will of God, and the way to that is to get our inclinations and aversions as much mortified as we can.” Having mentioned the observation of an aged minister, how “the most learned and knowing Christians, when they come to die, have only the same plain promises of the gospel for their support, as the common and milearued,” — he added, “and so I find it. It is the plain promises of the gospel that are my support; and I bless God that they are plain promises, that do not require much labor and pains to understand them; for I can do nothing now but look into my Bible for some promise to support me, and live upon that.” Thus sustained in the last hour of his earthly pilgrimage, the pious Watts cheerfully resigned his spirit into the hands of his Creator. And la contemplating such a happy, death-bed scene, we may truly say: —

“The eliamber where the good man meets his fate,
Is privileged beyond the common walk of virtuous life
Quite on the verge of heaven.”

Dr. AVatts, though not seemingly insensible to female charms, was never married. In early life he is said to have formed an attachment for the amiable, accomplished, and talented Miss Elizabeth Singer, afterwards the celebrated Mrs. Rowe. Dr. Colman, of Boston, who was personally acquainted with this lady, as well as with Dr. Watts, used to relate an anecdote which would show that the attachment was mutual. According to his statement, Watts, after considerable procrastination, at length ventured to declare his attachment to Miss Singer, and to solicit her hand in mairiage. The answer she gave must have been extremely mortifying to him. She replied that she had long been expecting his addresses, but, on the preceding day, had given her consent to the solicitation of Mr. Rowe. Dr. Watts never formed a second attachment. We may add that the sincerest friendship existed between him and Mrs. Rowe through life; and that, on the sudden death of the latter in 1737, a letter — one of the last of her literary performances — was found in her cabinet, addressed to him, accompanied by the manuscript of her “Devout Exercises” for revision.

Our limits will permit only a brief delineation of the character of Dr. Watts. Some of his most prominent qualities, however, will be mentioned.

1. In his physical conformation, he can not be said to have been as hig-lily favored as many others. He measured only about live feet in height, and was of a slender form. His complexion was pale and fair, his eyes small and gray, but when animated, became piercing and expressive; his forehead was low, his cheek bones rather prominent; but his countenance was, on the whole, by no means disagreeable. His voice was pleasant, but weak. A stranger would, probably, have been most attracted by his piercing eye whose very glance was able to command attention and awe.

An anecdote, in relation to his diminutive and unprepossessing appearance may here be repeated. On one occasion, when he happened to be in a hotel with some friends, a gentleman asked rather contemptuously, — “What! is that the great Dr. Watts?” Overhearing the question, Dr. Watts immediately turned towards him, and repeated the following lines from his Lyric Poems, which are said to have produced a silent admiration, —

“Were I so tall to reach the pole,

Or grasp the ocean with my span,
I must be measured by my soul.

The mind’s the standard of the man.

2. Though not distinguished for any great oratorical powers, yet Dr. Watts possessed many excellences as a preacher. In the pulpit he made use of little gesture, and was seldom vehement, but still there was a peculiar charm about his discourses, which rendered them effective, and secured a crowded congregation.* His great excellence may be said to have consisted in an earnest and solemn manner, remarkable freedom of address, a correct enuncia-

* His sermons had all the advautaies that could be given them, by an impressive elocution, and a manner of delivery which with curious fehcity seems to have been at the same tune elaborately studied, yet earnestly sincere. — Dr. Southey.

tion, an easy style, an elegant taste, a glowing exhibition of divine truth, and a serious appeal to the conscience. At the close of his more weighty sentences, he was in the habit of making a short pause, in order to produce a deeper impression upon his hearers, by atibrding them an opportunity for reflection. In his preparation for the pulpit, he wrote only the heads and particulars of his discourses; and in delivering them, was but little confined to his notes.*

3. With regard to his style of composition, we may observe that it is remarkable for its perspicuity. This has ever been regarded as the first excellence of writing or speaking. “Perspicuity,” says Quintilian, “is the first excellence in oratory; and by how much a person is deficient in genius, by so much let him endeavor to elevate and enlarge himself by this beauty of language.”f

An easy style is also an attainment of great excellence; and the writings of Dr. Watts fully evince that he was master of such a style. It has been admirably said that his discourses are like streams flowing from a mountain, or rays descending from the sun. There is nothing like labor or study in the construction of his sentences, but he seems to write in the same lano-uao-e in which he would have spoken to you.

Some of his other prominent qualities as a writer may be enumerated, such as dignity, harmony, ardor, copiousness of ideas, originality of thought, and a happy mode of describing or illustrating his subject. The merit of a graceful writer has been awarded to him by Dr. Johnson. “He was one of the first authors that taught the Dissenters to court attention by the graces of language. Whatever they had among them before, whether of learning or acutenass, was commonly obscured and blunted by coarseness and inelegance of style. He showed them, that zeal and purity might be expressed and enforced by polished diction.”

* It is no wonder that a man so richly furnished with gifts and graces, was an admired preacher: when he spoke, such strains of truly Christian eloquence flowed from his lips, and these so apparently animated with zeal for God and the most tender concern for souls and their everlasting salvation, as one would think could not be easily slighted or resisted. — Dr. Jerir

Institutes of Oratory, 1, 2, & 3.

The principal faults of his style consist in redundant y)lirases, and in the use of some expressions not exactly agreeable to the critical taste of the present age.*

4. He possessed a fertile genius, a lofty imagination, a ready conception, a retentive memory, and a mind amply stored with the rich treasures of human and divine learning. It has been beautifully remarked, that he had the copious and heavenly knowledge of the divine, the clear perception and patient thinking of the philosopher, and the rich imagination and sublime rapture of the poet.

The versatility of his genius and the variety of his attainments have excited unqualified admiration. “His soul was too large and noble to be confined within narrow limits. He could not be content to leave any path of learning untried, nor to rest in total ignorance of any science, the knowledge of which might be for his own improvement, or might in any way tend to enlarge his capacity of being useful to others. Hence, he investigated theology in all its branches — he examined nature in all her works — and he pursued philosophy in her profoundest mysteries. He has written for childhood, youth, maturity, and hoary hairs — he has instructed the sage, the Christian, and the ’ multitude who keep holy days’ — he has benefitted all ages, and been taught to speak in almost all languages.”!

5. He was, through life, a most diligent and successful student, and a devout admirer of the works of nature. He loved to contemplate the power, wisdom, and goodness of the Deity, as displayed in the manifold works of creation; while he always looked, with the eye of a Christian philosopher, “through nature” up to nature’s God.

The acquisition of knowledge seems to have been the one grand object which he constantly kept in view. Few persons have sought after learning with greater avidity, or improved to better advantage the golden hours of life. His industry, in this respect, was truly

* His style is harmonious, florid, poetical, and pathetic; — but too diffuse, too many words, — especially in his later works, — and his former are too much loaded with epithets. — Yet on the whole he is an excellent writer. — All that he has written is well worth reading. — Doddridge.

Milner’s Life and Times of Wats.

indefatigable. “In his study, his delightful recess, his terrestrial paradise, he was always enlarging his stores of knowledge, or preparing them for a communication to the world. His conversation was such as in all respects became the man of wisdom, the man of God. His observations on others were deep and penetrating, and it is probable their excellence or defects furnished him with hints for several papers in his Miscellanies in which the different charactei’s of mankind are delineated, but so as to guard against any personal offense in a single instance. When he went abroad among the scenes of rural verdure, beauty and fruitfulness, like the bee in its industrious ranges for celestial sweets, he was solicitous to gather fresh food for heavenly contemplation, or fresh materials and ornaments for future compositions. The pastures covered with flocks and herds, the fields weaving with the ripening harvests, the groves resounding with the melody of the birds enlivened his praises, and he saw, heard, and confessed his God in all. The skies by day struck his soul with admiration of the immense power, wisdom, and goodness of their divine Author; the moon, and starry train by night increased his conceptions of Deity; and, in the open manuscript of God, the wide extended heavens, he read the letters of his great and wonderful name with profound homage and veneration. All that met his eye or ear was laid, as it were, under a perpetual tribute to yield him improvement, and consecrate and enrich his moments of leisure and necessary cessation from his studies; and in short, nature was only a scale to his devout soul by which to ascend to the knowledge and adoration of God.”*

6. As a poet, he has been highly applauded. If his life had been devoted to the cultivation of his poetical talents, he would, probably, have occupied the front rank among the most illustrious poets of the world. But it must be remembered, in estimating his poetical character, that he studied the art of poetry, principally, as the amusement of a man of letters. His chief excellencies consist in his great variety of powers, his originality of conception, and his admirable skill in design; while the principal errors in some of his poems, are a faulty versification, inelegant construction, and prosaic phraseology. Cowper, who was an ardent admirer of his poetry, * Gibbon’s Memcflp of “Watts.

considered liira to be endowed with true poetical ability; careless, indeed, and for the most part inattentive to those niceties which constitute elegance of expression, but frequently sublime in his conceptions, and masterly in his execution. And Dr. Johnson says: “His judgment was exact, and he noted beauties and faults with very nice discernment; his imagination, as the ‘Dacian Battle’ pi’oves, was vigorous and active, and the stores of knowledge were large by which his fancy was to be supplied. Ilis ear was well tuned, and his diction was elegant and copious.”

But the same critic fails to appreciate the beauties of religious yoetry; for, in relation to the pious strains of Watts, he singularly, adds: “His devotional poetry is, like that of others, unsatisfactory. The paucity of its topics enforces perpetual repetition, and the sanctity of the matter rejects the ornaments of figui’ative diction.* It is sufficient for Watts to have done better than others what no man has done well.” These remarks of Johnson have often been controverted, and ably refuted. They are most satisfactorily disproved by Milner, in his Life and Times of Watts. “The objection advanced against sacred poetry,” he remarks,” on account of the ’ paucity of its topics,’ may be satisfactorily refuted by every Christian, who examines into his own experience, unfolds the volume of revelation, and looks abroad upon the fields of nature. Instead of religion being confined and limited in its ran2:e, it embraces as many subjects as the rays of light that are continually streaming around us, or the moments that compose the sum total of our existence. To the man of contemplative piety, the whole visible creation becomes one great temple; to him the floods clap their hands; the trees of the field rejoice and are glad; and the mountains break forth into singing, in adoration of the supreme Intelligence. Every sun that shines, and every star that twinkles — every forest that waves, and every ocean that roars — every mountain that rises, and every valley that sweeps — leads him to the Creator’s footstool; and from every part of the earth’s surface, there ascends, to the eye of faith, a mystic ladder reaching up to heaven, and the ‘Lord God is above it.’ As Watts beautifully sings in one of his Lyrics:

* Johnson seems to have forgotten, as Dr. Southey well observes, that of all poetry, inspired poetry is the most figurative.

What are my eyes, but aids to see
The glories of the Deity
Inscrib’d with beams of light
On flowers and stars?

“If from the book of nature we turn to the book of God, the marvels of near six thousand years are presented to our attention, each bearing a sacred impress, supplying an infinite variety of subjects, adapted to the epic, tragic, and sentimental muse. Religion embraces all the perfections and works of Deity — creation, providence, and redemption — angelic visitations to the tents of eastern patriarchs — the incarnation, life, miracle, death, and resurrection of Christ — the gorgeous visions which flit like shadows in the mysterious twilight of the Apocalypse — the solemnities of universal judgment — the glorious heights of heaven — and the dark abysses of the unfathomed pit. The Bible must become a sealed book to the Christian, the memory of his own experience fly forgotten as a dream, and the bright and beautiful world become a blank, before he can complain of the paucity of devotional topics.”

v. Above all. Dr. “Watts will ever be distinguished for his fervent and exalted piety. His piety was conspicuously manifested in his daily walk and conversation; and it glows on almost every page of his works. It has attracted the particular notice of the great English critic. “The truth is,” says Johnson, “that whatever he took in hand was, by his incessant solicitude for souls, converted to Theology. As piety predominated in his mind, it is diffused over his works: under his direction it may be truly said, Theologice Philisophia anciUatur philosophy is subservient to evangelical instruction: it is difficult to read a page without learning, or at least wishing, to be better. The attention is caught by indirect instruction, and he that sat down only to reason is on a sudden compelled to pray.”

In concluding our brief review of the life, character, and writings of the eminently pious Watts, we would add the beautiful encomiums of two good judges. In the language of his first biographer, Dr. Gibbons; — “Perhaps very few of the descendents of Adam have made nearer approaches to angels in intellectual powers and divine dispositions than Dr. Watts; and among the numerous stars which have atiorned the hemisphere of the Christian Church he has shone and will shine an orb of the first magnitude.”

Dr. Vicesimus Knox, so favorably know in the republic of letters, thus expresses himself, in his Christian Philosophy: — “For my own part, I can not but think this good man approached as nearly to Christian perfection as any mortal ever did in this sublunary state; and, therefore, I consider him as a better interpreter of the Christian doctrine than the most learned critics, who, proud of their reason and their learning, despised or neglected the very life and soul of Christianity, the living, everlasting Gospel, the supernatural influence of divine grace: and be it ever remembered, that Dr. Watts V as a man who studied the abstrusest sciences, and was as well qualified to become a verbal critic, or a logical disputant on the Scriptures, as the most learned among the doctors of the Sorboune, or the greatest proficients in polemical divinity. I mention this circumstance for the consideration of those who insinuate that the doctrines of grace can not be entertained but by ignorant, as well as fanatical persons, by persons uninitiated in the mysteries of philosophy.”