Isaac Watts

Reason, Passion and the Revival of Religion

Graham Beynon

• Publisher: T&T Clark
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN: 9780567681218
• eBook ISBN: 9780567670151
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Theology

Isaac Watts was an important but relatively unexamined figure and this volume offers a description of his theology, specifically identifying his position on reason and passion as foundational. The book shows how Watts modified a Puritan inherence on both topics in the light of the thought of his day. In particular there is an examination of how he both took on board and reacted against aspects of Enlightenment and sentimentalist thought. Watts' position on these foundational issued of reason and passion are then shown to lie behind his more practical works to revive the church. Graham Beynon examines the motivation for Watts' work in writing hymns, and the way in which he wrote them; and discusses his preaching and prayer. In each of these practical topics Watts's position is compared to earlier Puritans to show the difference his thinking on reason and passion makes in practice. Isaac Watts is shown to have a coherent position on the foundational issues of reason and passion which drove his view of revival of religion.

Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

1 Introduction

Isaac Watts was a dissenting minister, theologian, philosopher, poet and hymn writer in the first half of the eighteenth century (1674–1748). He is famous today for his hymns, which is where his true genius lay. However, his theological, pastoral and educational works were of great significance and influence in his own day and beyond. Despite this, Watts’ prose works have received relatively little attention. In particular, there have been few attempts to find coherent patterns in Watts’ thought. The most recent intellectual biography was published in 1943.1 There have been a few significant book chapters and papers examining aspects of Watts’ thought since then, but as Alan Sell says with regard to Watts’ philosophical works, he ‘deserves more attention than he ordinarily receives’.2

Watts’ most recent biographer, Arthur Davis, paints a picture of Watts as a moderate Calvinist who modified his inherited Puritan thought, especially in areas of poetry, hymnody and education. With regard to Watts’ theological position, Davis is primarily descriptive of his different works. However, when it comes to drawing together his findings, he accuses Watts of inconsistency because of his being an ‘ingrained compromiser’.3 Two key examples of this are that Watts exalts reason in his non-religious works but depreciates it in religious ones, and that he is fearful of the passion of enthusiasm but still tries to infuse such passion into religion. This portrait of Watts’ inconsistency has gained credibility in the literature.4 It will be argued here that a closer examination of Watts’ thought on reason and passion reveals why he adopted the variety of positions he did, and hence begins to remove the charge of ‘inconsistency’.

John Hoyles reached a similar conclusion to Davis in his examination of Watts, focussing on his poetry. He presents Watts as a typical example of the English Enlightenment in that he always looked to cultivate a ‘middle way’ in each area.5 While there is a degree of truth to this conclusion, it fails to look for underlying seams of thought that may give further explanation for the positions Watts took. It will be argued in this work that his views on reason and passion are such underlying seams.

Isabel Rivers has examined Watts specifically on the theme of passion, showing how he continued a Puritan emphasis on affective religion.6 Watts is presented as someone trying to hold together the rational and evangelical sides of eighteenth-century dissent, and, thus, to transmit his Puritan heritage to a new generation. This is a helpful starting point in seeing key themes in Watts and we will revisit and expand on Rivers’ analysis.

Beyond the works mentioned, there has been no in-depth analysis of Watts’ published theological thought. However, he is commonly referred to in the literature on eighteenth-century dissent. This is often in the context of discussion on education, rationalism, hymn singing or revival. In these various references, he is commonly referred to as a moderate Calvinist, or as a ‘Puritan’. As we will see, such labels are not necessarily unreasonable, but much greater clarity is needed.

Clarity is also needed because of the divergent views concerning Watts. For example, he has been presented not only as someone who was a ‘devoted follower’ of Locke with regard to the primacy of reason,7 but also as someone who wished to ‘revive the zeal of the old Puritans’.8 It is said that while he regarded Whitefield as an ‘enthusiastic fideist’,9 he himself ‘used the methods of enthusiastic conversion’.10 These divergent views are similar to those highlighted as ‘inconsistent’ by Davis above. It will be argued here that these discrepancies stem from a lack of appreciation of Watts’ actual position on the role of reason and the place of passion in religion.

In addition to the broad theological issues of the day, Watts also wrote on practical areas of ministry and the Christian life. There have been some investigations of Watts’ thought on topics such as prayer and he is mentioned in works on preaching. The most common of these practical areas examined is his renewal of the praise of the church, and we will introduce and examine these works at the appropriate point in our study.

However, there has been very little work on attempting to connect his more practical works with his underlying theology. For example, his reform of hymnody has been closely examined but with relatively little discussion of how his view of passion drives this work, which we will see is significant. The same is true with regard to his views of preaching and prayer. Our main aim, then, is to both examine Watts’ position on the foundational topics of reason and passion and see how the two drive and shape his practical works. This will give a more coherent view of Watts as a whole and will explain some of his supposed ‘inconsistencies’.

Watts’ position on reason and passion is of particular interest because of the time in which he wrote. New currents of thought regarding these areas were developing, which had significant influence on the religion of the day. They not only led in turn to the deist and sentimentalist movements, but also had profound effects on the mainstream church. Watts was very aware of these changes and responded to them in his writings. Harvey comments that Watts ‘shows a remarkable awareness of the main intellectual currents of his time’.11 Watts came from a Puritan background and in many ways continued distinctive Puritan doctrines. However, not surprisingly, he adapted these in light of the new thinking of his day. What we will see is that Watts modified his received Puritan heritage in the key areas of reason and passion, and it is these modified positions that shape his practical works on the revival of religion.

2 Biography and Background

The biographical details of Isaac Watts are readily available and a brief summary will suffice for our purposes.12 Watts grew up in Southampton in a dissenting family and his further education was at Thomas Rowe’s dissenting academy in Stoke Newington. He worked first as a private tutor to the Hartopp family and then in 1699 became assistant minister to Isaac Chauncey at a congregational church meeting in Mark Lane.13 He succeeded Chauncey as minister in 1702. His ministry was interrupted by his chronic illness and an assistant minister was appointed who later became a co-minister. He continued in this position until his death in 1748. From 1712 onwards, he lived in various homes of the Abney family, his ministerial duties varying depending on his health.

Of particular interest to us is Watts’ education at the Stoke Newington academy.14 Rowe was considered something of an innovator in introducing his students to what was called ‘free philosophy’, although Stewart points out that the same might be said of Rowe’s predecessor.15 Rowe turned away from some of the traditional textbooks, and is seen as pioneering the study of Locke.16 Watts’ education, then, was in an atmosphere of new enquiry. Stewart points out that this involved

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Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-Title
• Series
• Dedication
• Title
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION
• PART I REASON & PASSION
• PART II THE REVIVAL OF RELIGION
• Bibliography
• Index
• Copyright