Isaac Watts (1674 – 1748)
English theologian, logician, and a prolific and popular hymnwriter.
How doth the little busy bee
Improve each shining hour,
And gather honey all the day
From every opening flower!
I have been there, and still would go;
'T is like a little heaven below.
So, when a raging fever burns,
We shift from side to side by turns;
And 't is a poor relief we gain
To change the place, but keep the pain.
One stroke of his almighty rod
Shall send young sinners quick to hell.
Maintain a constant watch at all times against a dogmatical spirit: fix not your assent to any proposition in a firm and unalterable manner, till you have some firm and unalterable ground for it, and till you have arrived at some clear and sure evidence.
Strange that a harp of thousand strings
Should keep in tune so long!
A flower, when offered in the bud,
Is no vain sacrifice.
Time, like an ever-rolling stream,
Bears all its sons away;
They fly forgotten, as a dream
Dies at the opening day.
Joy to the world! the Lord is come;
Let earth receive her King.
Let ev'ry heart prepare Him room,
And heav'n and nature sing,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven, and heaven, and nature sing.
I would not change my native land
For rich Peru with all her gold.
'Tis the voice of the sluggard; I heard him complain,
"You have waked me too soon, I must slumber again."
The tall, the wise, the reverend head
Must lie as low as ours.
Let dogs delight to bark and bite,
For God hath made them so;
Let bears and lions growl and fight,
For 't is their nature too.
...but every lyar
Must have his portion in the lake
That burns with brimstone and with fire.
But, children, you should never let
Such angry passions rise;
Your little hands were never made
To tear each other's eyes.
The compassion of Christ inclines Him to save sinners, —
the power of Christ enables Him to save sinners, — and the
promise of Christ binds Him to save sinners.
A guilty, weak, and helpless worm,
On Thy kind arms I fall;
Be Thou my Strength and Righteousness,
My Saviour and my All.
Do not hover always on the surface of things, nor take up suddenly with mere appearances; but penetrate into the depth of matters, as far as your time and circumstances allow, especially in those things which relate to your own profession. Do not indulge yourselves to judge of things by the first glimpse, or a short and superficial view of them; for this will fill the mind with errors and prejudices, and give it a wrong turn and ill habit of thinking, and make much work for retraction.
Birds in their little nests agree;
And 'tis a shameful sight,
When children of one family
Fall out, and chide, and fight.
Joy to the world! the Saviour reigns;
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains
Repeat the sounding joy.
In books, or work, or healthful play.