November 6 Isaac Watts, 1674–1748, with alterations by others He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the rivers unto the ends of the earth. (Psalm 72:8 KJV) Isaac Watts, the father of English hymnody, had a fervent concern about the dismal state of congregational singing that had developed in the English-speaking churches during the late 17th and early 18th centuries. He wrote many new paraphrased versions of the Psalms to replace the ponderous literal