Historical Hymns and their Historical Contexts [part II]

I like Isaac Watts. He was a thinker and seemed to be a radical one too. He argued for songs of "human composure," for the "Christianizing" and "naturalizing" of the Psalms, and for the planning of services centered around the sermon not the church calendar. It was on his work that modern hymnody has its foundation. He's called the "Father of English Hymnody."

There's something profound about following the influence that a person has over history, especially the ingenious ones. The beliefs that Isaac Watts had and the simple decisions he made because of them have influenced millions of people (whether they know it or not) and millions of churches. Think about a car, for instance. The car we have today didn't just get invented. It was built upon years of research and learning and trial-and-error. You could even trace it back to the invention of the wheel...or maybe even futher. My point is that seemingly little things that take place now - little beliefs had or decisions made - will echo a hundred times more in the future.

What a responsibility we have! Understanding this is one my greatest motivations for reading books, studying history, understanding the Bible, and conversing with those smarter than me. I think this is just one of the values of studying history and teaching it to our congregations. We need to understand the past in order to move ahead to the future. If we do not understand the past, we have nothing on which to build. We will be doomed to making the same mistakes others did. We will be doomed to "reinvent the wheel."