Joseph Hart
| Joseph Hart (1712–1768) | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1712 (unknown date) London |
| Died | 24 May 1768 London |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | Place of study is uncertain |
| Occupation | Minister/Pastor and language teacher |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Hart (née Hughes) |
Joseph Hart (1712 – 24 May 1768) was an 18th-century Calvinist minister in London. His works include "Hart's Hymns", a much-loved hymn book amongst evangelical Christians throughout its lifetime of over 200 years, which includes the well-known hymn, "Come ye sinners, poor and needy".
One of Joseph Hart's early publications was a tract denouncing Christianity (prior to his conversion) called The Unreasonableness of Religion, Being Remarks and Animadversions on the Rev. John Wesley's Sermon on Romans 8:32. His other works include a short autobiography and a few poetical translations of ancient classics.
Joseph Hart preached at Jewin Street chapel in London, a building with multiple galleries, to a congregation of significant size.
Only one of Hart's sermons remains discovered to us: that of Christmas 1767. Several of his hymns appear in the Sacred Harp.
Hart died on 24 May 1768, with a congregation estimated at tens of thousands around his graveside at Bunhill Fields.
Not much is known about Hart's early life due to scanty documentation. Joseph Hart had a good educational upbringing, learning the classic languages (Latin, Hebrew, and Greek) to perfection, which afterwards he taught for a living. Hart spent a lot of his early life translating and writing poetry.
It was in this period of his life that Hart translated Herodian and Phycolides.
Hart writes about his early life in his own autobiography:
"As I had the happiness of being born of believing parents, I imbibed the sound doctrine of the Gospel from my infancy; nor was I without touches of the heart, checks of the conscience, and meltings of affections, by the secret strivings of God's Spirit within me while very young; but the impressions were not deep, nor the influences lasting, being frequently defaced and quenched by the vanities and vices of childhood and youth.
Hart was brought up to be a good Christian and to praise God, but soon fell into temptation and sinned.
Joseph Hart begins to see that his youthful sins are wrong, and decides he must learn to be a better person. It all seems to be going well, but there is one sin yet; Hart is proud of his new status as a religious man. Later Hart repents of this sin of pride and denounces it.
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