February 5, 2009 Journal Entry

Isaaw Watts 1674-1748
-Father of the modern hymn
-"The Protestant Reformation returned church singing to the laity" (Horton 425)
Noted Works (Horton 427-431)
-"Heavenly Joy on Earth"- religion was never designed to make our pleasures less.
-"The Christian Race"
-"Breathing After the Holy Spirit"
-"Against Idleness and Mischief"
-"The Day of Judgment"
Analysis of "Heavenly Joy on Earth"
Some people say, "just shoot me already," or "I just want to die". When people say that, they usually don't mean it literally. Others may say, "I'm afraid of death," or, "I don't want to die". People say that because they are either afraid of death because no one has come back to tell us about it or they are too selfish to give up what material things they have accumalated here on earth. Every God-fearing Christian knows that Heaven is going to be a place of "amazing bliss" (Horton 427), yet we still (most of the time) want to stay here on earth. Some Christians, or maybe it's just me, feel guilty for sometimes wanting to stay here. However, is earth really that bad? I think one of the things Isaac Watts is trying to say in this work, is that it's okay to enjoy this world even though the Bible tells us not to be a part of it. The eart itself isn't evil; it's the people and sin that cloud the earth from it's "Utopia" state (like the Garden of Eden).
Application
"Heavenly Joy on Earth" talks about, in a way, being grateful to our "awful God" (Horton 427) for giving us such a great world to dwell in. I need to remember to thank Him once in a while for giving us His best by giving my best to Him.

Horton, Ronald A. British Literature for Christian Schools. Greenville: Bob Jones University Press, 1992.