Isaac watts who is this fair one

Lady Huntingdon loved him for the truth's sake, and amongst others, introduced him to the godly Col. Gardiner, who was afterwards slain at Prestonpans. The Colonel was a tall, stately man, making a noble figure in his regimentals, whilst at this time Watts was feeble and palsied, and sadly wasted. Gardiner's regard for Dr. Watts may be easily gauged from a letter which he wrote to Doddridge:.

Watts, should be called to heaven before I had an opportunity of letting him know how much his works have been blessed to me, and, of course, of returning to him my hearty thanks. I must beg the favour of you to let him know that I intended to have waited on him in the beginning of last May when I was in London, but was informed, and that to my great sorrow, that he was extremely ill, and therefore I did not think a visit would be seasonable.

I am well acquainted with his works, especially with the psalms, hymns and lyrics. How often by singing some of these to myself, on horseback and elsewhere, has the wild spirit been made to flee away,. I desire to bless God for the good news of his recovery; and entreat you to tell him that although I cannot keep pace with him here in celebrating the high praises of our glorious Redeemer, which is the great grief of my heart, yet I am persuaded when I join the glorious company above, where there will be no drawbacks, that none will out-sing me there, because I shall not find any that has been more indebted to the wonderful riches of divine grace than I:—.

In his young days Watts was frequently in the company of a homely old man who gave little or no sign that he had been the most exalted person in the land, or that he had been a fugitive from his mother country and often in deep poverty for the long period of twenty years.

This was none other than Richard Cromwell, who succeeded his famous father, Oliver, as Protector, but who, after seven months and twenty-eight days, retired from his honourable but dangerous position, and hastened away to France.

Here he lived at various places, and under assumed names—it being his custom to change his name each time he moved his home—for twenty years, during which time his much loved wife and daughter Dorothy died. He had lived with the former only a few years, whilst the latter was the only Cromwell "born in the purple," but through this long period poor Richard dared not place himself within the reach of Charles II.

He, however, ventured to return to England in , and died after much family trouble and strife in , at the age of To the end of his days he enjoyed remarkable health, and at the age of eighty could gallop a horse several miles with keen enjoyment. He was tall and fair-haired, making quite a striking contrast to his diminutive friend, Isaac Watts. The latter testified that Richard Cromwell was a man of much ability, and he missed no opportunity of being in the company of the old soldier and ex-Protector.

It is probable that the influence of Cromwell may be seen in the numerous and various descriptions which he gives in his hymns of battles, fighting, armies, marching, and conflicts. Watts died trusting alone in the merits, righteousness and blood of Christ, of which he had so often written. If you haven't already, please consider donating. Visitor donations keep us online and growing!

This text was added to the website: Line count: 28 Word count: In , he accepted an invitation to visit Sir Thomas Abney, at his residence of Abney Park, and at Sir Thomas' pressing request, made it his home for the remainder of his life. Contact us Advertisements.

Skip to main content. Home Page. Who is this fair one in distress. Representative Text [Who is this fair one in distress, That travels from the wilderness? A conclusion will draw together our observations and compare our findings with other pictures of Watts in the literature. The present study follows Chapman and others in applying this approach to religious thought.

We also examine appropriate correspondence. The majority of this is published in books and journals, but unpublished manuscripts have also been examined. Manuscript copies of unpublished sermons have also been examined. He states that this is currently of unknown location. In a study of this kind, one must, of course, be aware of the subjects changing their thinking over time. However, it is worth commenting on movements on other topics here.

Watts is known for an unorthodox position on the Trinity, which is presumed to have developed during his career. However, as Davis points out, while Watts continued to publish further works on the topic, his position was established by His later works may, then, represent not a movement but, rather, a greater confidence in revealing his hand.

Similarly, Watts is presumed to have moved to a more moderate form of Calvinism during his career. This is the UK publication; the American edition was published in Isaac Watts, D. London: Simpkin and Marshall, ; Thomas D.

Ltd, Revised and Corrected by D. Jennings, D. Doddridge, D. London: T. Longman, and J. Buckland; J. Oswald; J. Waugh; and J. Also see Samuel J. Lang, , Preached to the Church of which he was Pastor. December 11, London: J. Oswald and W.

London: J. Noon, Johannes van den Berg and J. Brill, , —7. Mark A. Paul, , — Roberts, , Baker, , On decline and numerical strength, see Watts, The Dissenters , Chapter 4. Journal of the American Academy of Religion 41, no. England, Oxford: Clarendon Press, , They are wide-ranging, but John Owen and Richard Baxter are the most commonly referenced. He also often tries to show how his position is supported by Puritan forefathers, for example, on the Trinity; see Ibid.

In Two Volumes.