How Can I Keep From Singing: Episode 4

Emerging from their own Reformation saga, the Anglican Church initially focused on Psalms and developed their own Psalters, much in the spirit of Jean Calvin’s musical reforms. While there are a few examples of hymns from the 16th and 17th centuries in England, in the early 1700s Isaac Watts steps into the fore and contributes well over 600 hymns. Disgruntled with only the emphasis on Psalm singing of the times, Watts promoted hymn singing to such a degree that many have called him the “Father of English Hymnody.” Since Watts preached and served in a non-conforming Congregational Church at the time, he was more free to experiment with the concept of hymn singing. 

Despite his initial reaction to Psalms, Watts never-the-less adapted many Psalms into hymns, such as “O God, Our Help in Ages Past,” based on Psalm 90. He was also known for “Christianizing” Psalms by including a more overt Christian perspective into particular Psalms, and often boldly cast his hymns into the present tense. When I survey the wondrous Cross for instance forces the singer into the presence of Jesus on the cross. Other Watts favorites still in common use include: “Joy to the World,” “I’ll Praise My Maker While I’ve Breath,” “From all that Dwells Below the Skies,” I Sing the Mighty Power of God,” Alas, and did my Savior Bleed,” Am I a Soldier of the Cross,” “Come We that Love the Lord,” and many more. Watts’ emphasis on hymn singing paves the way for the hymn explosion fostered by the Wesley brothers’ Methodist movement.