Durham E-Theses Peculiar ground: the theology of Isaac Watts Wilkinson, R. W. How to cite: Wilkinson, R. W. (1981) Peculiar ground: the theology of Isaac Watts, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/7841/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk Abstract Peculiar Ground The Theology of Isaac Watts by R. W. Wilkinson The thesis is designed to demonstrate what was distinctive about Isaac Watts. It begins with a brief account of his life and background. There is no attempt at comprehensive coverage but rather a discussion of significant detail. Then follows a survey of Watts' work - first his poetry, then his prose. Watts1 writings on the Atonement are critically analysed, followed by his views on election and predestination. The purpose here is to demonstrate that Watts had a profound commitment to traditional theology, in particular to the doctrine of substitutionary atonement. However, he displays a thoroughly humane and reasonable attitude to the difficulties posed by this doctrine, and by the doctrine of predestination. Watts could fairly be described as a follower of Baxter whom he much admired. His salient characteristics were common sense and devotion to Scripture. Against this background Watts 1 writings on the Trinity are considered. Here his pursuit of reason and his desire to help others and to reconcile conflicting opinions led him into much more stormy waters. His mature conviction was that God had covenanted with the pre-existent human soul of Christ in order to redeem the world. This mildly heretical doctrine, derived from Origen, served to deflect Watts from out and out Socinianism and Arianism, both of which creeds held a dangerous attraction for him. The possibility is explored that at the end of his life Watts had written tracts which were definitely Unitarian - and which were subsequently destroyed. This would account for the self-torturing anguish of the Solemn Address, Watts' desperate cry to God for help and guidance. Lastly, the 'peculiar' gifts of Isaac Watts are stressed, so that the success of his religious verse can be evaluated. The qualities which he displayed in all his writings combined to produce his 'System of Praise', his enduring legacy to the Christian church. His heresy has been forgotten. But Watts' heresy helps us to understand his hymns, and his hymns help us to understand his heresy. Peculiar Ground The Theology of Isaac Watts by R. W. Wilkinson Thesis submitted for the degree of Master of Literature to the University of Durham. Department of Theology 1981 The copyright of this thesis rests with the author No quotation from it should be published without his prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged ir2 MAY 'VM Table of Contents Declaration 1 Statement of Copyright 2 Preface 3 1. Historical Background 5 2. A Bibliographical Survey of Watts' Writings 27 3. Some Assessments of Watts' Work 87 k. The Atonement 105 5. Degeneracy and Election 14-1 6. The Trinity 172 7. The Qualities of Watts as a Hymn-writer 221 Conclusion: The Peculiar Doctor Watts 238 Appendices 2^.2 Reference Notes 24-9 Bibliography 273 Declaration So far as I know, none of the material contained in this thesis has been submitted for a degree in the University of Durham or in any other university. My thesis is not based on joint research, but is entirely my own independent work. R. W. Wilkinson April 1981. 2 Statement of Copyright The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without his prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. Preface By and large biographers and critics of Isaac Watts fall into two groups: those who write from the head or from the heart. In the former group are literary critics who see Watts as an interesting but minor figure on the eighteenth century stage. In the latter are the committed hagiographers. In this work I hope to throw some new light on Isaac Watts, by writing from both points of view. Not that I wish to oversimplify the problem by suggesting that all other writers are wholly m one camp or the other. Some of Watts' admirers are at the same time penetrating critics, while literary historians are often emotionally moved by Watts' poetry. What I do suggest is that the hagiographers are reluctant to explore the question of Watts' heresy, and that uncommitted critics miss Watts' stature as a hymnographer. Take for example A. P. Davis, Watts' most recent biographer: My ultimate purpose has been to present Watts as a typical and significant eighteenth century minor transitional figure whose works transmitted to that century the evangelical tendencies inherent in seventeenth century Puritanism. Watts was certainly significant. But I do not believe that he was typical; he was far too original and individualistic. And one can only call him a minor figure if one ignores his achievements in the development of the English hymn - an achievement which the judicious and dispassionate Davis underestimates. My belief is that Watts' peculiar genius can only be correctly assessed if his religious poetry receives its true desserts - and if his theological odyssey is followed to its probable conclusion. Watts' personal commitment is best appreciated by studying his writings on the Atonement, his rational common sense by reading his views on election. Orthodox, sensible, charitable, humane - yet he had an intellectual wanderlust which took him, as he himself confessed, to the tents of Socinus. And it almost drove him mad. The same gifts which enabled Watts to write 'When I survey' produced the 'Solemn Address', his desperate and bewildered appeal to God for guidance. My purpose is to explain how such differing works came from the same pen. If Watts emerges as a sad and self-pitying neurotic, nevertheless he is more real and more interesting than his biographers suggest. Preface (continued) I am glad here to express some debts of gratitude. It has been a privilege to be an external student of the University of Durham. I am grateful to Professor Kingsley Barratt and to Mr. Gerald Bonner who initially encouraged me. Dr. Sheridan Gilley has proved a most inspiring and helpful tutor. The Rev. John Henderson of Scarborough gave me an introduction to Dr. Geoffrey F. Nuttall who has generously offered me his time, both in conversation and correspondence. I have benefited from the courtesy and efficiency of the staffs of the University Library, Durham, of Dr. Williams' Library in London and of the British Museum. The Registrars of the Universities of Edinburgh and Aberdeen have kindly answered my questions about Watts' doctorates. The Governors of Scarborough College have helped me with the costs of my studies. Mrs. Susan Pearson has typed my thesis with cheerful and prompt efficiency. And, last but not least, I must thank my wife and family for their forbearance while I have been with Dr. Watts. Scarborough R.W.W. April 1981. Chapter 1 Historical Background Brief Life For three reasons my treatment of Watts' life will be brief indeed. First, my concern is primarily with his thought. Secondly, others have dealt with his life competently. Thirdly, nothing very much ever happened to Watts. One can say of Watts what Bernard Williams said of G. E. Moore: 'not a promising subject for a biography. He hardly did anything except think.' (l) Nevertheless there are important details in Watts' long life (1674--174-8) which illuminate and explain his thought. He was a strange mixture. In part a child of his time, he was also a survival from seventeenth century puritanism - and very much a revolutionary who blazed all sorts of trails for others. His background accounts for much of this mixture - though by no means all. Watts' childhood and early manhood explain the marked cheerfulness of his religious verse. Traditionally he was suckled outside Southampton jail where his father was imprisoned as a dissenter during the persecution of Charles II's reign. His emotional hero-worship of William III was understandable against the persecution of dissenters under Charles II and James II. He became the pastor at Mark Lane on the day that King William's death 6 ushered m the reign of Queen Anne, the dreaded reactionary. And yet all turned out for the best. The principles of William the Deliverer triumphed, the enemies of truth received their deserts. 'Why was Jacob's name changed to Israel?' Daniel Burgess asked Watts - and was answered, 'Because the Almighty did not wish his people to be known as Jacobites'. As a dissenter Watts was excluded from Oxford and Cambridge, thus encountering prejudice if not persecution. But he benefited educationally, in that the dissenting academies were rightly famed for their lively, progressive intellectual tone. Thomas Rowe's Academy was distinguished by its notable products - Samuel Say, John Neal, Archbishop Hort, Lord Barrington and Isaac Watts himself.