Isaac Watts

Born in Southampton, England, in 1674, Isaac Watts grew up in a Nonconformist family and went on to become a minister, theologian, poet, and one of the most influential hymn writers in the English language. He is often remembered for reshaping English hymn singing at a time when many churches relied mainly on metrical psalms.

Watts wrote hundreds of hymns and is closely linked with enduring pieces such as When I Survey the Wondrous Cross, Our God, Our Help in Ages Past, and the text that later became associated with Joy to the World. Alongside his hymn writing, he published books of devotion, theology, logic, and education, showing the same gift for plain, memorable language across many kinds of writing.

He spent much of his later life in Stoke Newington and died in 1748. His work left a lasting mark on English-speaking worship, and his hymns continued to travel far beyond his own century, reaching churches, homes, and schoolrooms around the world.