Dearest of all the names above

Author: Isaac Watts

Isaac Watts was the son of a schoolmaster, and was born in Southampton, July 17, 1674. He is said to have shown remarkable precocity in childhood, beginning the study of Latin, in his fourth year, and writing respectable verses at the age of seven. At the age of sixteen, he went to London to study in the Academy of the Rev. Thomas Rowe, an Independent minister. In 1698, he became assistant minister of the Independent Church, Berry St., London. In 1702, he became pastor. In 1712, he accepted an invitation to visit Sir Thomas Abney, at his residence of Abney Park, and at Sir Thomas' pressing request, made it his home for the remainder of his life. It was a residence most favourable for his health, and for the prosecution of his literary… Go to person page >

Dearest of all the names above. I. Watts. [Reconciliation through Christ.] First published in the 2nd edition of his Hymns and Sacred Songs, 1709, Bk. ii., No. 148, in 5 stanzas of 4 lines, and entitled, "God reconciled in Christ." It was included in many of the older collections such as those of Whitefield and Toplady, and has continued to hold a prominent position in the hymnbooks to the present. Its use, in America especially, is very extensive.

--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)