--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is not to be expected that we should…" description: "\"It is not to be expected that we should love God supremely if we have not known him to be more desirable than all other things.\" — Isaac Watts" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30b/isaac-watts-3445_desirable_it-is-not-to-be-expected-that-we-should_3020005.png" --- # It is not to be expected that we should love God supremely… ![“It is not to be expected that we should love God supremely if we have not known him to be more desirable than all other things.” quote by Isaac Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30b/isaac-watts-3445_desirable_it-is-not-to-be-expected-that-we-should_3020005.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30b/isaac-watts-3445_desirable_it-is-not-to-be-expected-that-we-should_3020005.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30b/isaac-watts-3445_desirable_it-is-not-to-be-expected-that-we-should_3020005.png) > “It is not to be expected that we should love God supremely if we have not known him to be more desirable than all other things.” [Isaac Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-watts/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True love for God requires experiencing Him as more desirable than anything else, not just a theoretical belief. **In simple terms:** Loving God needs personal experience of His desirability. Key Takeaway Seek personal connection with the divine. Themes faith desire spirituality Mood contemplative devotional Type religious philosophical When to use this quote - prayer - worship - spiritual seeking Key Concepts theology personal experience Questions to Reflect On - How do you experience God's desirability? - What makes something truly desirable? A Different Perspective Desire alone may not lead to genuine love without experience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [I want to be known as a desirable actress who can perform - that's something I strive to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shraddha-srinath/i-want-to-be-known-as-a-desirable-actress-who-can-perform-that-s/) [Shraddha Srinath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shraddha-srinath/) > [“But how conceive a God supremely good/ Who heaps his favours on the sons he loves,/ Yet scatters evil with as large a hand?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/but-how-conceive-a-god-supremely-good-who-heaps-his-favours-on-the/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [We were designed to know, serve, and love God supremely - and when we are faithful to that design, we flourish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/we-were-designed-to-know-serve-and-love-god-supremely-and-when-we-are/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [“Like most ancient names, YHWH had a meaning. It seems to have meant ‘I am who I am’ or ‘I will be who I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright/like-most-ancient-names-yhwh-had-a-meaning-it-seems-to-have-meant-i/) [N.T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright/) > [Let a man set his heart only on doing the will of God and he is instantly free. If we understand our first and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/let-a-man-set-his-heart-only-on-doing-the-will-of-god-and-he-is/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [Moses simplifies the whole duty of Israel (and of humanity) by crystalizing the moral law into a single command to love God supremely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-anders/moses-simplifies-the-whole-duty-of-israel-and-of-humanity-by/) [Max Anders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-anders/) > [Before her marriage she had thought that she had love within her grasp; but since the happiness which she had expected this love to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/before-her-marriage-she-had-thought-that-she-had-love-within-her/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Give more than is expected, love more than seems wise, serve more than seems necessary, and help more than is asked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-booker/give-more-than-is-expected-love-more-than-seems-wise-serve-more-than/) [Cory Booker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-booker/) > [“I never expected you to love me, I didn't see any reason that you should, I never thought myself very lovable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/i-never-expected-you-to-love-me-i-didn-t-see-any-reason-that-you/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“Laurelyn, I never expected to love you but I do…with every fiber of my being.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-cates/laurelyn-i-never-expected-to-love-you-but-i-do-with-every-fiber-of-my/) [Georgia Cates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-cates/) > [I can't save you like that Ty. What you did to me wasn't this brilliant thing, like you think it was. You took me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-christopher/i-can-t-save-you-like-that-ty-what-you-did-to-me-wasn-t-this/) [Lucy Christopher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-christopher/) > [I never expected you to love me, but I would have liked to have you love me as much as I love you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-never-expected-you-to-love-me-but-i-would-have-liked-to-have-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Of all the problems and complications in my life, I had not expected love to be one of them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacie-evans/of-all-the-problems-and-complications-in-my-life-i-had-not-expected/) Stacie Evans > [How can I be expected to love someone who tries such crude manipulations as bringing me breakfast in bed?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-groening/how-can-i-be-expected-to-love-someone-who-tries-such-crude/) [Matt Groening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-groening/) > [“Fear is normal, expected. But only love is real.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meggan-watterson/fear-is-normal-expected-but-only-love-is-real/) [Meggan Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meggan-watterson/) ## More by Isaac Watts > [“Lord, we confess our numerous faults, How great our guilt has been! Foolish and vain were all our thoughts, And all our lives were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-watts/lord-we-confess-our-numerous-faults-how-great-our-guilt-has-been/) [Isaac Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-watts/) > [“When the Eternal bows the skies To visit earthly things, With scorn divine he turns his eyes From towers of haughty kings. He bids…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-watts/when-the-eternal-bows-the-skies-to-visit-earthly-things-with-scorn/) [Isaac Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-watts/) > [Whatever brawls disturb the street, There should be peace at home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-watts/whatever-brawls-disturb-the-street-there-should-be-peace-at-home/) [Isaac Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-watts/) > [The Fondness we have for Self, and the Relation which other Persons and Things have to ourselves, furnish us with another long Rank of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-watts/the-fondness-we-have-for-self-and-the-relation-which-other-persons/) [Isaac Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-watts/) > [Salvation, O the joyful sound! 'Tis pleasure to our ears; A sov'reign balm for ev'ry wound, A cordial for our fears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-watts/salvation-o-the-joyful-sound-tis-pleasure-to-our-ears-a-sov-reign/) [Isaac Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-watts/) > [For one drop calls another down, till we are drowned in seas of grief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-watts/for-one-drop-calls-another-down-till-we-are-drowned-in-seas-of-grief/) [Isaac Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-watts/) > [What bliss will fill the ransomed souls, when they in glory dwell, to see the sinner as he rolls, in quenchless flames of hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-watts/what-bliss-will-fill-the-ransomed-souls-when-they-in-glory-dwell-to/) [Isaac Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-watts/) > [What's amiss I'll strive to mend,And endure what can't be mended.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-watts/what-s-amiss-i-ll-strive-to-mend-and-endure-what-can-t-be-mended/) [Isaac Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-watts/) > [Let dogs delight to bark and bite, for God hath made them so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-watts/let-dogs-delight-to-bark-and-bite-for-god-hath-made-them-so/) [Isaac Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-watts/) > [“The Spirit is sent down to breathe On such dry bones as we. 6 Rais'd from the dead we live anew; And justify'd by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-watts/the-spirit-is-sent-down-to-breathe-on-such-dry-bones-as-we-6-rais-d/) [Isaac Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-watts/) > [Vice and virtue chiefly imply the relation of our actions to men in this world; sin and holiness rather imply their relation to God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-watts/vice-and-virtue-chiefly-imply-the-relation-of-our-actions-to-men-in/) [Isaac Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-watts/) > [Ten thousand things there are which we believe merely upon the authority or credit of those who have spoken or written them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-watts/ten-thousand-things-there-are-which-we-believe-merely-upon-the/) [Isaac Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-watts/) > [Do not spend the day in gathering flowers by the way side, lest night come upon you before you arrive at your journey's end,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-watts/do-not-spend-the-day-in-gathering-flowers-by-the-way-side-lest-night/) [Isaac Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-watts/) > [Once a day, especially in the early years of life and study, call yourselves to an account what new ideas, what new proposition or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-watts/once-a-day-especially-in-the-early-years-of-life-and-study-call/) [Isaac Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-watts/) > [Instructors should not only be skilful in those sciences which they teach, but have skill in the method of teaching, and patience in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-watts/instructors-should-not-only-be-skilful-in-those-sciences-which-they/) [Isaac Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-watts/) [Explore all 130 Isaac Watts quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-watts/) ## More Desirable quotes > [At times of recession, running a budget deficit is highly desirable. Once the economy begins to recover, you have to balance the budget. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/at-times-of-recession-running-a-budget-deficit-is-highly-desirable/) [George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/) > [I'm happy to be considered desirable. I love it!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sarandon/i-m-happy-to-be-considered-desirable-i-love-it/) [Susan Sarandon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sarandon/) > [It was both necessary and desirable for us to be so strong at sea that no Sea Power could attack us without risk, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernhard-von-bulow/it-was-both-necessary-and-desirable-for-us-to-be-so-strong-at-sea/) [Bernhard von Bulow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernhard-von-bulow/) > [Things to be done offer themselves, I suppose, because they are in themselves desirable; not because it is desirable to have something to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/things-to-be-done-offer-themselves-i-suppose-because-they-are-in/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [The goal in raising one's child is to enable him, first, to discover who he wants to be, and then to become a person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruno-bettelheim/the-goal-in-raising-one-s-child-is-to-enable-him-first-to-discover/) [Bruno Bettelheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruno-bettelheim/) > [“The great thing about facts is that you don't have to ponder whether they're desirable or not.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-nesb/the-great-thing-about-facts-is-that-you-don-t-have-to-ponder-whether/) [Jo Nesbø](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-nesb/) > [What seems so necessary today may not even be desirable tomorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/what-seems-so-necessary-today-may-not-even-be-desirable-tomorrow/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [I don't just live to work because I don't think that's healthy or desirable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harris-dickinson/i-don-t-just-live-to-work-because-i-don-t-think-that-s-healthy-or/) [Harris Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harris-dickinson/) > [Common sense is both more rare and more desirable in leaders than mere intelligence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/common-sense-is-both-more-rare-and-more-desirable-in-leaders-than/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [When the desirable jobs are spending other people's money, reporting on spending other people's money and lobbying to spend other people's money then you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-worstall/when-the-desirable-jobs-are-spending-other-people-s-money-reporting/) Tim Worstall > [Social and cultural change, however desirable, should not be effected by the engines of national power. Let us, through persuasion and education, seek to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-goldwater/social-and-cultural-change-however-desirable-should-not-be-effected/) [Barry Goldwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-goldwater/) > [To me the function of politics is to make possible the desirable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/to-me-the-function-of-politics-is-to-make-possible-the-desirable/) [Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/) > [It is the common calamity of old age to lose whatever might have rendered it desirable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/it-is-the-common-calamity-of-old-age-to-lose-whatever-might-have/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [Desire itself is movement Not in itself desirable; Love is itself unmoving, Only the cause and end of movement, Timeless, and undesiring Except in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/desire-itself-is-movement-not-in-itself-desirable-love-is-itself/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [Rhythm is born in all of us. To be a desirable dancing partner, you don't have to do all the intricate fancy steps that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ginger-rogers/rhythm-is-born-in-all-of-us-to-be-a-desirable-dancing-partner-you-don/) [Ginger Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ginger-rogers/) Browse all 509 Desirable quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is not to be expected that we should love God supremely if we have not known him to be more desirable than all other things.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Isaac Watts" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-watts/it-is-not-to-be-expected-that-we-should-love-god-supremely-if-we-have/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Desirable" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-watts/it-is-not-to-be-expected-that-we-should-love-god-supremely-if-we-have/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30b/isaac-watts-3445_desirable_it-is-not-to-be-expected-that-we-should_3020005.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30b/isaac-watts-3445_desirable_it-is-not-to-be-expected-that-we-should_3020005.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30b/isaac-watts-3445_desirable_it-is-not-to-be-expected-that-we-should_3020005.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is not to be expected that we should love God supremely if we have not known him to be more desirable…” — Isaac Watts", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Isaac Watts", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-watts/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It is not to be expected...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-watts/it-is-not-to-be-expected-that-we-should-love-god-supremely-if-we-have/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-watts/it-is-not-to-be-expected-that-we-should-love-god-supremely-if-we-have/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```