Absent from flesh, O blissful thought. I. Watts. [Death.] This hymn is part of a poem on “Death and Heaven," in five Lyric Odes, of which it is No. 2:—"The Departing Moment; or Absent from the Body," and is in 4 stanzas of 4 lines. These Odes appeared in Dr.Watts's Reliquiae Juveniles, 1734. This ode is not in extensive use, although found in a few collections in Great Britain, and America. It is given, in a slightly altered form, in the New Congregational Hymn Book, No. 723. The original text is not found in modern collections. [William T. Brooke]
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
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 >
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