Isaac Watts Quotes & Sayings
Enjoy the top 100 famous quotes, sayings and quotations by Isaac Watts.
Famous Quotes By Isaac Watts
Among all the accomplishments of youth there is none preferable to a decent and agreeable behavior among men, a modest freedom of speech, a soft and elegant manner of address, a graceful and lovely deportment, a cheerful gravity and good-humor, with a mind appearing ever serene under the ruffling accidents of human life. — Isaac Watts
Time, like an ever-rolling stream, Bears all it's sons away;They fly forgotten as a dream dies at the opening day. — Isaac Watts
In matters of equity between man and man, our Saviour has taught us to put my neighbor in place of myself, and myself in place of my neighbor. — Isaac Watts
From all who dwell below the skiesLet the Creator's praise arise;Let the Redeemer's name be sungThrough every land, by every tongue. — Isaac Watts
When two or three sciences are pursued at the same time if one of them be dry, as logic, let another be more entertaining, to secure the mind from weariness. — Isaac Watts
Everyday is a birthday; every moment of it is new to us; we are born again, renewed for fresh work and endeavor. — Isaac Watts
Hush! my dear, lie still and slumber, Holy angels guard thy bed! Heavenly blessing without number Gently falling on thy head. — Isaac Watts
There is a land of pure delight, Where saints immortal reign; Infinite day excludes the night, And pleasures banish pain. — Isaac Watts
Talking over the things which you have read with your companions fixes them on the mind. — Isaac Watts
What bliss will fill the ransomed souls, when they in glory dwell, to see the sinner as he rolls, in quenchless flames of hell. — Isaac Watts
Must I be carried to the skies on flowery beds of ease, while others fought to win the prize and sailed through bloody seas? — Isaac Watts
Now shall my inward joys arise,
And burst into a song;
Almighty love inspires my heart,
And pleasure tunes my tongue. — Isaac Watts
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 profession. — Isaac Watts
It was a saying of the ancients, "Truth lies in a well;" and to carry on this metaphor, we may justly say that logic does supply us with steps, whereby we may go down to reach the water. — Isaac Watts
Poesy and oratory omit things not essential, and insert little beautiful digressions, in order to place everything in the most effective light. — Isaac Watts
Disputation carries away the mind from that calm and sedate temper which is so necessary to contemplate truth. — Isaac Watts
No, I'll repine at death no more, But with a cheerful gasp resign To the cold dungeon of the ground These dying, withering limbs of mine. Let worms devour my wasting flesh, And crumble all my bones to dust:
My God shall raise my frame anew, At the revival of the just. — Isaac Watts
Though reading and conversation may furnish us with many ideas of men and things, yet it is our own meditation must form our judgment. — Isaac Watts
Earth, thou great footstool of our God, who reigns on high; thou fruitful source of all our raiment, life, and food; our house, our parent, and our nurse. — Isaac Watts
There is a dreadful Hell, And everlasting pains; There sinners must with devils dwell In darkness, fire, and chains. — Isaac Watts
I have been there, and still would go; 'T is like a little heaven below. — Isaac Watts
A dogmatical spirit inclines a man to be censorious of his neighbors. Every one of his opinions appears to him written, as it were, with sunbeams, and he grows angry that his neighbors do not see it in the same light. He is tempted to disdain his correspondents as men of low and dark understandings because they do not believe what he does. — Isaac Watts
When a false argument puts on the appearance of a true one, then it is properly called a sophism or fallacy. — Isaac Watts
Our God, our help in ages past,Our hope for years to come,Our shelter from the stormy blast,And our eternal home. — Isaac Watts
Let dogs delight to bark and bite, for God hath made them so. — Isaac Watts
It is not to be expected that we should love God supremely if we have not known him to be more desirable than all other things. — Isaac Watts
At books, or work, or healthy play,
Let all my years be passed;
That I may give for every day
A good account at last. — Isaac Watts
Custom and authority are no sure evidence of truth. — Isaac Watts
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. — Isaac Watts
Thoughts, like old vultures, prey upon their heart-strings — Isaac Watts
Flies, worms, and flowers exceed me still. — Isaac Watts
What's amiss I'll strive to mend,And endure what can't be mended. — Isaac Watts
Joy to the world, the Lord is come / Let earth receive her King / Let every heart, prepare him room / And heaven and nature sing. — Isaac Watts
Some have a violent and turgid manner of talking and thinking; they are always in extremes, and pronounce concerning everything in the superlative. — Isaac Watts
Roses grow on thorns and honey wears a sting. — Isaac Watts
Learn good-humor, never to oppose without just reason; abate some degree of pride and moroseness. — Isaac Watts
For sov'reign pow'r reign not alone,
Grace is the partner of the throne;
Thy grace and justice mighty Lord,
Shall well divide our last reward. — Isaac Watts
Birds in their little nests agree; And 'tis a shameful sight When children of one family Fall out, and chide, and fight. — Isaac Watts
Reason is the glory of human nature, and one of the chief eminences whereby we are raised above our fellow-creatures, the brutes, in this lower world. — Isaac Watts
Dear Lord. I give myself away. I've nothing else to give. — Isaac Watts
When general observations are drawn from so many particulars as to become certain and indisputable, these are jewels of knowledge. — Isaac Watts
As a man may be eating all day, and for want of digestion is never nourished, so these endless readers may cram themselves in vain with intellectual food. — Isaac Watts
Learning to trust is one of life's most difficult tasks. — Isaac Watts
There's no repentance in the grave. — Isaac Watts
But, children, you should never let Such angry passions rise; Your little hands were never made To tear each other's eyes. — Isaac Watts
The child taught to believe any occurrence a good or evil omen, or any day of the week lucky, hath a wide inroad made upon the soundness of his understanding. — Isaac Watts
The Great God values not the service of men, if the heart be not in it: The Lord sees and judges the heart; he has no regard to outward forms of worship, if there be no inward adoration, if no devout affection be employed therein. It is therefore a matter of infinite importance, to have the whole heart engaged steadfastly to God. — Isaac Watts
Ten thousand things there are which we believe merely upon the authority or credit of those who have spoken or written them. — Isaac Watts
I love the soul that dares tread the temptations of his years beneath his youthful feet. — Isaac Watts
It would be of great use to us to form our deliberate judgments of persons and things in the calmest and serenest hours of life, when the passions of nature are all silent, and the mind enjoys its most perfect composure. — Isaac Watts
No science is speedily learned by the noblest genius without tuition. — Isaac Watts
Was it for crimes that I had done
He groaned upon the tree?
Amazing pity! Grace unknown!
And love beyond degree! — Isaac Watts
Forbid it Lord that I should boast, save in the death of Christ, my God: All the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to his blood. — Isaac Watts
Abandon the secret chamber and the spiritual life will decay. — Isaac Watts
The stars, that in their courses roll, Have much instruction given; But Thy good Word informs my soul How I may climb to Heaven. — Isaac Watts
Two sentiments alone suffice for man, were he to live the age of the rocks - love, and the contemplation of the Deity. — Isaac Watts
Speak softly. It is far better to rule by love than fear.Speak softly. Let no harsh words mar the good we may do here. — Isaac Watts
The passions are the gales of life; and it is religion only that can prevent them from rising into a tempest. — Isaac Watts
Whatever brawls disturb the street, There should be peace at home. — Isaac Watts
And he that does one fault at first And lies to hide it, makes it two. — Isaac Watts
Satirists do expose their own ill nature. — Isaac Watts
For one drop calls another down, till we are drowned in seas of grief. — Isaac Watts
No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found. — Isaac Watts
To God the Father, God the Son, And God the Spirit, Three in One, Be honour, praise, and glory given By all on earth, and all in heaven. — Isaac Watts
Salvation, O the joyful sound!
'Tis pleasure to our ears;
A sov'reign balm for ev'ry wound,
A cordial for our fears. — Isaac Watts
Do not spend the day in gathering flowers by the way side, lest night come upon you before you arrive at your journey's end, and then you will not reach it. — Isaac Watts
Tis true my form is something odd But blaming me is blaming God Could I create myself anew I would not fail in pleasing you. If I could reach from pole to pole Or grasp the ocean with a span I would be measured by the soul The mind's the standard of the man. — Isaac Watts
Not all the blood of beasts On Jewish altars slain, Could give the guilty conscience peace, Or wash away the stain: But Christ, the heav'nly Lamb, Takes all our sins away, A sacrifice of nobler nam' And richer blood than they. — Isaac Watts
Instructors should not only be skilful in those sciences which they teach, but have skill in the method of teaching, and patience in the practice. — Isaac Watts
When I can read my title clear To mansions in the skies, I'll bid farewell to every fear, And wipe my weeping eyes. — Isaac Watts
In Job and the Psalms we shall find more sublime ideas, more elevated language, than in any of the heathen versifiers of Greece or Rome. — Isaac Watts
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. — Isaac Watts
The very substance which last week was grazing in the field, waving in the milk pail, or growing in the garden, is now become part of the man. — Isaac Watts
Prayer is a sacred and appointed means to obtain all the blessings that we want, whether they relate to this life or the life to come. — Isaac Watts
Love is amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all. — Isaac Watts
Sweet is the day of sacred rest;
No mortal cares shall seize my breast;
O may my heart in tune be found
Like David's harp of solemn sound. — Isaac Watts
To see the dull indifference, the negligent and thoughtless air that sits upon the faces of a whole assembly, while the psalm is upon their lips, might even tempt a charitable observer to suspect the fervency of their inward religion. — Isaac Watts
Acquire a government over your ideas, that they may come down when they are called, and depart when they are bidden. — Isaac Watts
When the Eternal bows the skies
To visit earthly things,
With scorn divine he turns his eyes
From towers of haughty kings.
He bids his awful chariot roll
Far downward from the skies,
To visit every humble soul,
With pleasure in his eyes. — Isaac Watts
In common discourse we denominate persons and things according to the major part of their character; he is to be called a wise man who has but few follies. — Isaac Watts
Study detains the mind by the perpetual occurrence of something new, which may gratefully strike the imagination. — Isaac Watts
Logic helps us to strip off the outward disguise of things, and to behold and judge of them in their own nature. — Isaac Watts
To be angry about trifles is mean and childish; to rage and be furious is brutish; and to maintain perpetual wrath is akin to the practice and temper of devils; but to prevent and suppress rising resentment is wise and glorious, is manly and divine. — Isaac Watts
Our life contains a thousand springs,
And dies if one be gone.
Strange! that a harp of thousand strings
Should keep in tune so long. — Isaac Watts
A thousand ages in Thy sight
Are like an evening gone;
Short as the watch that ends the night
Before the rising sun. — Isaac Watts
Fancy and humour, early and constantly indulged in, may expect an old age overrun with follies. — Isaac Watts
Death, like an overflowing stream,
Sweeps us away: our life's a dream, ... — Isaac Watts
Whene'er I take my walks abroad,How many poor I see!What shall I render to my GodFor all his gifts to me? — Isaac Watts
Preserve your conscience always soft and sensitive. If but one sin force its way into that tender part of the soul and dwell there, the road is paved for a thousand iniquities. — Isaac Watts
Once a day, especially in the early years of life and study, call yourselves to an account what new ideas, what new proposition or truth you have gained, what further confirmation of known truths, and what advances you have made in any part of knowledge. — Isaac Watts
Academical disputation gives vigor and briskness to the mind thus exercised, and relieves the languor of private study and meditation. — Isaac Watts