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Here in the heart of Southampton is a beautiful city park name for Isaac Watts, the father of the English hymn. There's a large statue of Watts here in the center of the park and the park is surrounded by beautiful flowers and stately trees and just a

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block away. The 182 ft Carillon tower at the civic center looms over the landscape four times a day. The Carollo Tower plays oh God, our help in ages. One of the most famous hymns in the history of the English language written by Isaac Watts. Here in

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Southampton we take for granted Isaac Watts hymns. We've been singing them all our life, but there was a time when all the English church sang were palms. The writing of hymns was not encouraged at all. Isaac Watts was a pioneer. He was a pathfinder. There were

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very few role models when he sat down here in this city and began to write the hymns that would change the world. What is unique about Isaac Watts as a hymn writer is that he is the father of the hymn. Previous to Watts, there were hymn

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writers, but they didn't succeed like he did in bringing the singing hymns into the life of the church. Uh I find it's quite remarkable how somebody like Isaac Watts does stick. And I think that's because the balance between art and doctrine is so strong within his,

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for example, in his hymn, I think one of the reasons why Watts's hymns are still so singable today is that there's a restraint about his language coupled with a richness about his theology. Music has always been of the essence of worship and praise and Thanksgiving. And

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I can't imagine a service without some musical accompaniment. Theater, a hymn, a rousing chorus, perhaps a tase chant. But you can't, you can't praise God without bursting into song. You really can't. So um always my soul feed her one. Um But

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on Taliban, oh, I see. Oh, no. Oh, fine. Can go. Ok. Southampton England is one of the most famous port cities in the world. From here, the pilgrims left on the Mayflower to go to America in 1620. From here, the Titanic sailed

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on her maiden voyage in 1912 and here in the old town of Southampton, Isaac Watts, the father of the English hymn was born on July 17th, 1674. It's not too much to say that Isaac Watts was the father of English hymn. He really broke the Calvinist

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Stranglehold, whereby only metrical versions of the Psalms had been sung in English churches. The regular worship was Psalms only the idea was, was that God's given us a book of praises. We should stick to it. We should keep to the regulative principle as they say. And

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these are the words of God. We shouldn't use the words of men. It was considered carnal and worldly to sing hymns. And in this meeting house which just had shutters and they used to shut the shutters uh to stop the stones and the horse dung from

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being thrown in. They didn't wish to advertise their presence, what's lived at a time. Uh We know very little about people are interested in the puritans and in 1662 with the greater Jackman, when 2000 and ministers are forced out of the church of England, people are

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interested in um uh the great awakening with Wet Wesley and Whitfield. But the period in between has very little interest in mo to most most Christians. This little Baptist chapel in Winslow in Buckinghamshire was built in 1625 today. It is called Ke's Meeting House because of

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its association with the celebrated Baptist pastor Benjamin Keach, who preached here in the 16 sixties. K is a very crucial figure in the years before Isaac Watts in the world of English hymn. It was here at Winslow that he restored the singing of hymns, congregation and

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also in his church at London and he wrote a treatise defending this practice called The Breach Repaired in God's Worship. And he produced several fine hymnals like spiritual melody altogether. Keach wrote about 400 to 500 hymns, but he was not a distinguished hymn writer and we

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do not sing his hymns today. His importance rests in his courage, in his conviction of restoring congregational hymn singing here at Winslow and at London. When you come to Winslow, today, there is a historical monument to Ke on the wall behind the pulpit that reads Benjamin

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Keach, Born 1640 died 1704, pastor of the Baptist Church. Assembling in this place from 1660 to 1668 who restored congregational singing of hymns as a part of divine worship and suffered in prison and in the pillory here and at Aylesbury in October 1664 for asserting the

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right of liberty of conscience and bearing witness to the sovereignty of Christ. It was the free churchman, Benjamin Keach who first opened the way for the congregational singing of hymns in the public worship of the church. But it was an Anglican John Mason who had the

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strongest influence on Isaac Watts. In 1674 the year of Watts birth, John Mason became Rector of Water Stratford, a pretty little village on the river in Buckinghamshire, the old rectory where Mason lived for 20 years until his death is still standing. It was here in 1683

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that he published his monumental volume, spiritual songs which ran into at least 16 editions in the Ancient Norman Church adjacent to the rectory. John Mason broke new ground by introducing congregational hymn singing into the public worship of the church. As far as we know, this was

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the first time hymns were ever sung in the church of England. The impact of these hymns on Isaac Watts was explosive. As one biographer of Watts has written, if there had not been a John Mason, there would never have been an Isaac Watts. What Plutarch was

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to Shakespeare Mason was to Watts. When Isaac Watts was less than a year old, his mother brought him to a spot near here to visit his father in jail. Isaac Watts senior was not in jail because he was a criminal. He was in jail because he

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went to the wrong church. The Watts family were not members of the church of England. They were non conformists, they were dissenters and Isaac Watts senior was jailed on more than one occasion for his beliefs and practices. His father was in prison there and they uh

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his mother brought um the little child outside so he could hear the cries of um what says he was a little baby crying and I said, I'm sure the father would have prayed that his son might be blessed and used of the Lord. Think that 300

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years later his ins will be sung by millions. The world over on this street. The Watts family lived, this was the boyhood home of Isaac Watts. It was severely damaged during world war two. And the house where Watts lived was destroyed, but two buildings are still

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standing from that time period. One is the medieval shop here at number 58 and the second building that is still here is the soaring spire of Saint Michael's church. At the end of the street, we know from looking at old maps that the Watts family lived

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about equal distance between this medieval shop and Saint Michael's church and on the opposite side of the road at number 41 about where this warehouse is now Isaac Watts. When he returned home in 1694 to live with his parents for about 2.5 years would have walked

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into that house and began writing the hymns that changed the world. Yeah. Oh, ok. Uh um As the young Isaac Watts grew, it was evident that he possessed a brilliant mind. By the

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age of 16, his spirituality and talent had come to the attention of a local physician, Dr John Speed who offered to pay his way to Oxford or Cambridge. But it would have been necessary for Isaac to become an Anglican. He respectfully declined and chose instead to

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attend the small non conformist academy at Stoke Newington near London. When Isaac returned to Southampton in the spring of 1694. At the age of 19, he noticed that his hometown and his church seemed more provincial than he remembered. He even complained to his father about the

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poor quality of the hymns. He was complaining about the worship in the local meeting house and his father said, well, son, you do better. And he did, he really did. So he began writing hymns in, in Southampton with Watts. He was most anxious to make his

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hymn simple. He kept working and working to make sure that people could understand the words. He really labored at this. He wanted the ordinary members of the congregation to enjoy and appreciate the hymns. Now, in the last century, uh the Victorians were quite flowery in their

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language and these are dated. But what's his hymns aren't dated? A friend of mine the other day was talking about the way people are trying to update hymns in these days this country. But Watts needs vital changing. Isaac Watts introduced a new note of subjective religious

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experience into hymns. When I survey the Wondrous Cross is the first known hymn in the English language to include the personal pronoun I and to have this note of subjective religious experience and not simply concentrate on matters of doctrine. I once went to the Good Friday

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Service and the great Roman Catholic Cathedral of this country, Westminster Cathedral where the Roman ritual prescribes a Latin hymn to be sung at a certain point and so on or it says or another hymn and thus vast congregation sang very movingly when I survey the wondrous

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Cross and I thought of Isaac Watts looking down from heaven and being both pleased and surprised at this, this use of his hymn. So ecumenically, I think uh another, another favorite would be uh when I survey the wondrous cross and, and particularly a verse which is

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often left out his dying crimson like a robe spreads over his body on the tree. Then I, I dared to all the world and all the world is dead to me that somehow captures my feeling of wanting to be there. And um yes, we're in the

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world but not of the world. If you listen to the third verse, see from his head, his hands, his feet, sorrow and love flow mingled down. Did e such love and sorrow meet or thorns compose so rich a crown? There's very few adjectives in that stanza.

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But what a richness of theology when I survey the Wondrous Cross, the most wonderful hymn that's ever been written when I survey the wondrous Cross on which the prince of glory died. Thy riches gain thy account, but loss and poor contempt and all my pride. OK.

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Yeah. Being called. Oh, yeah, so right bye. OK. It from me is OK. Yes. Yeah, I

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fine bye. Yeah. Some of the medieval walls and gates in Old Southampton are still standing behind me is the historic medieval gate that was the entrance to the old town of Southampton, Isaac Watts would have walked through this gate many times. The main thoroughfare through the

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town would have been right here today. This is a pedestrian only mall and the church where Isaac Watts attended the above bar congregational church was on a spot over here by Marks and Spencer Department Store. This is the delivery entrance at the back of Marks and

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Spencer. Probably not many people even noticed this historical tablet on the wall. It reads on this site stood the above bar congregational church founded in 1662 and destroyed by enemy action in 1940. Among those who worshiped there was Isaac Watts, author and hymn writer. Can you

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imagine the wonderful hymns that were sung on this site for the first time in history? So. Oh, I see. Um So and no. Oh, good night. I OK. Yes, I receive my sight. Yeah, but start reading. Bye. Uh I Yeah.

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Oh, nice. Yeah, I receive my side. And by the time Isaac Watts left Southampton for good, he had already written most of the 700 hymns that would secure his place in history. He was employed first as a teacher, but within six years, he had become the

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full time minister for an independent church meeting on Mark Lane in London in the fall of 1696 when he was 22 years old Isaac Watts was invited to become the tutor to the family of Sir John Hart who lived in Stoke Newington just north of London.

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They were members of the Mark Lane Church. But they had a country estate here in the little village of Freebie in Leicestershire. And on many occasions, Watts would accompany the family here when he did. He stayed in the large house across the road and he would

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preach from this pulpit. This ancient stone chapel was built in 1665 and Watts preached here in the late 16 nineties when he was in his mid twenties. This is not a very big church. It would not seat more than 50 people. This is not a church

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of England. This is a free church chapel typical of the many little nonconformist chapels that were built across the land. The window on this side says, Doctor Isaac Watts in this building preached the cross of Christ. And on this side, this window says he was tutor

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at that time to mistress Mary Hardtop of Freebie for 10 dynamic years. Between 1702 and 1712, Isaac Watts enjoyed a busy ministry with his flourishing London Church. The congregation moved from Mark Lane to Penners Hall and then moved again into a new 400 seat building on

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Burry Street. During these busy years, Watts published his famous hymnal in 17 7 called hymns and spiritual songs, which featured more than 200 original hymns and his equally famous enlarged second edition which added another 135 original hymns. But in 1712, his health broke, he accepted an

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invitation to spend a week with the family of Sir Thomas Abney members of his congregation, he hoped to regain his strength at their country home. But Watts never fully recovered his health and the Abney's insisted that he remain with them for the last 36 years of

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his life. Watts who never married, lived as an honored and beloved member of the Abney family. Lady Abney said of his long stay. It seems the shortest visit a friend ever paid a friend for the 1st 24 of these years, Watts lived at Tibbles, the Abney's

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country home north of London. It was during these years of quiet convalescence that Watts produced his last great hymnal. In 1719, it was called the Psalms of David imitated in the language of the New Testament. And it included such majestic hymns as o God our help

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in ages past and the Christmas Classic Joy to the world. The Lord is come five years later, he published his scholarly volume on Logic. It was destined to become a standard text at Oxford and Cambridge in England as well as at Harvard and Yale in America

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for the next 100 years when the Abney family moved to Stoke Newington in 1736 Watts accompanied them for the last 12 years of his life. He lived at Abney House in Abney Park there. He enjoyed strolls along the path that was later named for him and

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he enjoyed the solitude of a little knoll that was later called Watts Mount there. He maintained his lifelong discipline of daily meditation and writing. His scholarship was rewarded when the Scottish Universities of Edinburgh and Aberdeen both presented him with honorary doctorates. The old mansion is gone

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and the former grounds are now home to Abney Park Cemetery. But a statue honors the memory of the great hymn writer who once lived here. And appropriately, it stands on the path where he took his daily walks. He is seen clasping a bible to his breast

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while he gazes toward the place where his last home stood. The inscription reads in memory of Isaac Watts and in testimony of the high and lasting esteem in which his character and writings are held in the great Christian community by whom the English language is spoken

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of his psalms and hymns. It may be predicted in his own words, ages unborn shall make his songs, the joy and labor of their tongues. When Isaac Watts composed his first hymn, it turned out to be prophetic. He wrote Behold the glories of the lamb amidst

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his father's throne. Prepare new honors for his name and songs before unknown. At the end of his life, Watts could be confident that he had fulfilled that mission. That commitment to prepare new honors for the name of Christ. He had indeed created songs before unknown in

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the heart of Busy and Bustling London is an ancient burial ground called Bun Hill Fields. This is a nonconformist burial ground. For people who were not members of the church of England. And this is where Isaac Watts chose to be buried, surrounded by the graves of

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John Bunyan and Daniel Defoe Susannah Wesley, and many wonderful hymn writers toward the close of his life. Watts wrote his own epitaph and it's chiseled here and to the top of his grave, we're not surprised that he would begin, Isaac Watts DD, Doctor of Divinity, but

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we are surprised at how he chose to describe his life. He wrote Isaac Watts DD, pastor of a church of Christ in London, successor of the Reverend Mr Joseph Carroll, Doctor John Owen mister David Clarkson and Doctor Isaac Chauncey. After 50 years of feeble labors in

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the gospel interrupted by four years of tiresome sickness was at last dismissed to rest. There is no reference at all to his wonderful hymns. It is reminiscent of Thomas Jefferson writing his epitaph and not mentioning that he was president of the United States. Watts deliberately chooses

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to define himself in terms of who he succeeded in the ministry of that church and he describes his own labors as feeble. But if we were to write his epitaph, we would say Isaac Watts DD, the father of the English hymn. Oh um they

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just c see and wonders all is lost, not love.