The Poetic Wonder of Isaac Watts (Long Line of Godly Men Profile) by Bond Douglas

Author:Bond, Douglas [Author's Name]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Spurgeon, gospel, preaching
Publisher: Reformation Trust Publishing
Published: 2012-12-07T16:00:00+00:00

Hymnologists seem to agree that “Watts’ hymns are rhymed theology.”1 As a preacher and poet, Watts preached doctrinal sermons and also wrote hymns that gave his congregation poetically adorned instruction in important biblical doctrines.

How did Watts marry theology and poetry? We can answer by examining some of the major doctrines of his poetry and analyzing one of his most theological hymns.

The Trinity

There were times in his ministry when Watts was confused about the doctrine of the Trinity. He has even been accused by critics of being an Arian, one who, like Arius (c. AD 250–336) of old, denied the Trinity. Surrounded by Enlightenment rationalism, Watts was forced to grapple with intellectual arguments against the orthodox view that God could be both one and three. Furthermore, among all his other achievements, Watts was something of a mathematician.2 The Trinity was a doctrine that seemed to require him to suspend his rational mathematical knowledge. In orthodox Christian theology, one plus one plus one equals both three and one.

But Watts drew from the godly instruction of his father in dealing with this doctrine. He recognized that his doubts needed to be informed by God’s Word, not man’s word. Therefore, he developed a method of taming his reason when it seemed to conflict with the Bible. Observe the importance for Watts of interpreting Scripture by “the analogy of faith,” that is, by comparing Scripture with Scripture:

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