Here is a little excerpt from Isaac Watts biography.
Watts is credited by many with introducing hymns to the English churches when his Hymns and Spiritual Songs was first published in 1707. They are extensively used today due to his poetic gifts, but also because he interpreted the Old Testament using knowledge of the New. This set an example for later hymn writers. Isaac Watts explained his methods as follows: “Where the Psalmist describes religion by the fear of God, I have often joined faith and love to it. Where he speaks of pardon of sin through the mercies of God, I have added the merits of a Saviour. Where he talks of sacrificing goats and bullocks, I rather mention the sacrifice of Christ, the Lamb of God. When he attends the ark with shouting into Zion, I sing of the ascension of my Saviour into heaven, or His presence in His church on earth. Where he promises abundance of wealth, honor, and long life, I have changed some of these typical blessings for grace, glory, and life eternal, which are brought to light in the Gospel, and promised in the New Testament. ”[6]
If we take time to enjoy the Lord, we shall take adequate time to absorb Him. We have heard a number of messages concerning who the Lord is, what He is, and where He is. We have also learned how to exercise our spirit to contact Him. But now we must take sufficient time to absorb Him. We should not be lazy or indolent in this matter. From my experience I can testify strongly that when we take time to enjoy the Lord, all the elements of the rich soil are absorbed into us.
Every morning we need to take an adequate amount of time to absorb the Lord. Although even ten minutes is good, it is best to spend thirty minutes to enjoy Him at the start of each new day. If you spend thirty minutes to absorb the Lord and to enjoy Him in the morning, you will not be bothered by negative things during the day. The “flies” and “scorpions” will not pester you, for the elements in the soil will repel them. However, if you fail to absorb the Lord in the morning, you are apt to be troubled by “flies” and “scorpions. ” Many saints can testify that absorbing the Lord in the morning supplies them with the best insect repellent. However, we should spend time with the Lord not only in the morning but also throughout the day. If we have a good time with the Lord in the morning, afternoon, and evening, not only shall we be supplied with the most effective pest control, we shall also enjoy a feast. However, if we are not faithful to take time to absorb the Lord, our condition will gradually deteriorate. Our experience confirms this. Let us turn from our thought, emotion, and intention and open ourselves to the Lord, exercising our spirit to say, “O Lord Jesus, I love You, I worship You, and I adore You. Lord, I give myself to You. I give You my heart and everything concerning this day. ” As you contact the Lord in this way, do not be hurried. Take time, the more the better. As you spend time contacting the Lord, spontaneously you will absorb into you the riches of the soil. The fullness, the circumcision, the burial, the raising up, the imparting of life, the wiping out of the ordinances, and the stripping off of the authorities will be yours. All these facts in the book of Colossians will become your experience.
We need to practice several matters. First, we must renew our consecration every morning. Just as the burnt offering in the Old Testament needed to be offered daily ( Lev. 6:12 ; Num. 28:3 ), we need to consecrate ourselves anew to the Lord every morning. We must learn to tell the Lord, “I give myself afresh to You. ” Second, when we pray, we should not pray for many things. We must learn to be silent and lay our concerns and feelings before the Lord, telling Him all our desires, intentions, worries, fears, and so forth ( Phil. 4:6 ). If there is a matter that we are afraid to lay before the Lord, this indicates that there is a problem inwardly. We must lay everything within us before the Lord, whether it is good or bad, and allow Him to shine.
The Inner Operation of God and the
Salvation of Man's Tripartite Being
Chapter 8 CWWL, 1956, vol. 3 (LSM)
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KEEPING OURSELVES EMPTY,
OPEN, FRESH, NEW, LIVING,
AND YOUNG WITH THE LORD
The first young man used by God in the Scriptures was Adam. God did not create an old man. The word old came from the fall. If man had never fallen, he could never be old. If man had never fallen, it would have been possible for him to live many years and not become old. God had no intention to have many old men. God’s intention is to have many young men with every one fresh, new, and living. None of us should be old. To be old means to be set, settled, and occupied. Sometimes some of the saints would refer to me as an old brother. It seems that this is a respect to me, but actually I do not like to hear this. I do not look upon myself as an old brother. I am not set, settled, and occupied. We always need to exercise to be young, to be new, to be renewed, to be fresh, and to be living all day long. It is only when you are young that there is a possibility for God to come in to call you, to choose you, and to use you to do something new. We need to give the Lord the way to go on in His progressive move through us. I hope that you will be a living, fresh, and new channel for the Lord to go on in His own way. This will require you to offer yourself to Him, to cooperate with Him.
When D. L. Moody was a young man, he heard someone say that something wonderful would be worked out on this earth if a man would offer himself fully to God, to be fully possessed and occupied by God. When he heard that word, he immediately responded to it. He gave himself fully to the Lord. That was the secret as to why God could use D. L. Moody so much and why the Lord could go on quite a distance of His way through D. L. Moody. I hope that we would take this fellowship and tell the Lord, “Lord, I thank You that I am still young. I do not want there to be anything set, settled, or occupied with me. I want to be fully open to You for Your new move on this earth. Lord, I give myself to You. Come in and occupy, take, and possess me for Your up-to-date move on this earth. ” If we would pray to the Lord in this way, we will be the persons who will turn, who will transfer, the age.
One of my favorite hymns , here in the Philippines, classic hymns are seldom sung in churches, but my life has been intertwined with these hymns and I really love them. My other favorite is When I Survey the Wondrous Cross.
A story is told of a young Jewess who was saved in a remarkable way through this hymn. She had been out shopping and had returned home with the provisions for her household. When unwrapping some paper from a package the first verses of this hymn caught her eye, and she read on. This was strange news to her and try as she would, she was unable to shake off the impression created by such startling words; so she obtained a Bible and started seeking for the truth. It was then the young woman found her Messiah and Lord in Jesus and was saved.
It was one of Watt’s hymns that was used in the conversion of Fanny Crosby, the famous blind hymn writer, who was converted on November 1850. But long before that day, many a seeking soul has been drawn to the foot of the cross at the sweet sound of the same tender lines.
“Alas, and did my Savior bleed?
And did my Sovereign die?
Would He devote that sacred head
For such a worm as I? ”
(Stories and Sketches of our Hymns)
Second, we need to see the Lord's living on earth. This includes His humbling Himself, His humiliation, and His human virtues. Hence, at the Lord's table, we first need to see the Lord's person and then His human living. Regarding the Lord's human living, Hymns, #87 says that the Lord showed His faithfulness to God and His wondrous love and grace to men.
Third, we need to remember the Lord's suffering and death. There are many hymns on the Lord's death, such as Hymns, #101, #104, and #95. We may also say that this is to remember the Lord's work in redemption.
After singing this hymn and praying, we may call and sing Hymns, #171, "Lord Jesus Christ, our heart feels sweet," and continue to pray. The praise in the bread-breaking meeting should be consistent and connected. When we pray based on a certain hymn, we should pray according to the sequence of the hymn, one verse after another. Although each person prays over only one section, the spirit should be connected with those who pray before and after. If we sing econ that same night, Lord Jesus" (Hymns, #213), the prayers of praise should emphasize the Lord Himself directing us to remember Him before His going to the cross. If we sing "Alas! and did my Savior bleed?" (Hymns, #104), our prayer can go in three directions: the Lord's suffering on the cross (stanzas 1 and 2), the response of the universe and creation (stanza 3), and man's loving response to Him (stanzas 4 and 5).