Psalms Of Watts 1-5
The
Psalms Of David
By Isaac Watts
In Metre
Psalm 1.
The way and end of the righteous and the wicked.
Blest is the man who shuns the place
Where sinners love to meet;
Who fears to tread their wicked ways,
And hates the scoffer's seat:
But in the statutes of the Lord
Has placed his chief delight;
By day he reads or hears the word,
And meditates by night.
[He, like a plant of gen'rous kind,
By living waters set,
Safe from the storms and blasting wind,
Enjoys a peaceful state.]
Green as the leaf, and ever fair,
Shall his profession shine
While fruits of holiness appear
Like clusters on the vine.
Not so the impious and unjust;
What vain designs they form!
Their hopes are blown away like dust,
Or chaff before the storm.
Sinners in judgment shall not stand
Amongst the sons of grace,
When Christ, the Judge, at his right hand
Appoints his saints a place.
His eye beholds the path they tread,
His heart approves it well
But crooked ways of sinners lead
Down to the gates of hell.
Psalm 1.
The saint happy, the sinner miserable.
The man is ever blessed
Who shuns the sinners' ways,
Among their councils never stands,
Nor takes the scorner's place;
But makes the law of God
His study and delight,
Amidst the labors of the day,
And watches of the night.
He like a tree shall thrive,
With waters near the root;
Fresh as the leaf his name shall live;
His works are heav'nly fruit.
Not so th' ungodly race,
They no such blessings find;
Their hopes shall flee, like empty chaff
Before the driving wind.
How will they bear to stand
Before that judgment-seat,
Where all the saints, at Christ's right hand,
In full assembly meet!
He knows, and he approves,
The way the righteous go;
But sinners and their works shall meet
A dreadful overthrow.
Psalm 1.
The difference between the righteous and the wicked.
Happy the man whose cautious feet
Shun the broad way that sinners go,
Who hates the place where atheists meet,
And fears to talk as scoffers do.
He loves t' employ the morning light
Amongst the statutes of the Lord;
And spends the wakeful hours of night,
With pleasure, pondering o'er his word.
He, like a plant by gentle streams,
Shall flourish in immortal green.
And heav'n will shine with kindest beams
On every work his hands begin.
But sinners find their counsels crossed:
As chaff before the tempest flies,
So shall their hopes be blown and lost,
When the last trumpet shakes the skies.
In vain the rebel seeks to stand
In judgment with the pious race;
The dreadful Judge, with stern command,
Divides him to a diff'rent place.
"Straight is the way my saints have trod;
I blessed the path, and drew it plain;
But you would choose the crooked road,
And down it leads to endless pain."
Psalm 2.
Translated according to the Divine pattern, Acts 4:24, etc.
Christ dying, rising, interceding, and reigning.
[Maker and sovereign Lord
Of heav'n, and earth, and seas,
Thy providence confirms thy word,
And answers thy decrees.
The things so long foretold
By David are fulfilled,
When Jews and Gentiles joined to slay
Jesus, thine holy child.]
Why did the Gentiles rage,
And Jews, with one accord,
Bend all their counsels to destroy
Th' Anointed of the Lord?
Rulers and kings agree
To form a vain design;
Against the Lord their powers unite,
Against his Christ they join.
The Lord derides their rage,
And will support his throne;
He that hath raised him from the dead
Hath owned him for his Son.
PAUSE.
Now he's ascended high,
And asks to rule the earth
The merit of his blood he pleads,
And pleads his heav'nly birth.
He asks, and God bestows
A large inheritance;
Far as the world's remotest ends
His kingdom shall advance.
The nations that rebel
Must feel his iron rod;
He'll vindicate those honors well
Which he received from God.
[Be wise, ye rulers, now,
And worship at his throne;
With trembling joy, ye people, bow
To God's exalted Son.
If once his wrath arise,
Ye perish on the place;
Then blessed is the soul that flies
For refuge to his grace.]
Psalm 2.
Christ's death, resurrection, and ascension.
Why did the nations join to slay
The Lord's anointed Son?
Why did they cast his laws away,
And tread his gospel down?
The Lord, that sits above the skies,
Derides their rage below;
He speaks with vengeance in his eyes,
And strikes their spirits through.
"I call him my Eternal Son,
And raise him from the dead;
I make my holy hill his throne,
And wide his kingdom spread.
"Ask me, my Son, and then enjoy
The utmost heathen lands:
Thy rod of iron shall destroy
The rebel that withstands."
Be wise, ye rulers of the earth,
Obey th' anointed Lord,
Adore the King of heav'nly birth,
And tremble at his word.
With humble love address his throne;
For if he frown, ye die:
Those are secure, and those alone,
Who on his grace rely.
Psalm 2.
Christ's death, resurrection, and ascension.
Why did the Jews proclaim their rage?
The Romans, why their swords employ?
Against the Lord their powers engage,
His dear Anointed to destroy?
"Come, let us break his bands," they say,
"This man shall never give us laws:"
And thus they cast his yoke away,
And nailed the Monarch to the cross.
But God, who high in glory reigns,
Laughs at their pride, their rage controls,
He'll vex their hearts with inward pains,
And speak in thunder to their souls.
"I will maintain the King I made
On Zion's everlasting hill;
My hand shall bring him from the dead,
And he shall stand your Sovereign still."
[His wondrous rising from the earth
Makes his eternal Godhead known;
The Lord declares his heav'nly birth,
"This day have I begot my Son.
"Ascend, my Son, to my right hand,
There thou shalt ask, and I bestow,
The utmost bounds of heathen lands;
To thee the Northern Isles shall bow."]
But nations that resist his grace
Shall fall beneath his iron stroke;
His rod shall crush his foes with ease,
As potters' earthen work is broke.
PAUSE.
Now, ye that sit on earthly thrones,
Be wise, and serve the Lord, the Lamb;
Now at his feet submit your crowns,
Rejoice and tremble at his name.
With humble love address the Son,
Lest he grow angry, and ye die;
His wrath will burn to worlds unknown,
If ye provoke his jealousy.
His storms shall drive you quick to hell;
He is a God, and ye but dust:
Happy the souls that know him well,
And make his grace their only trust.
Psalm 3.
Doubts and fears suppressed.
My God, how many are my fears!
How fast my foes increase!
Conspiring my eternal death,
They break my present peace.
The lying tempter would persuade
There's no relief in heav'n;
And all my swelling sins appear
Too big to be forgiv'n.
But thou, my glory and my strength,
Shalt on the tempter tread,
Shalt silence all my threatening guilt,
And raise my drooping head.
[I cried, and from his holy lull
He bowed a listening ear;
I called my Father, and my God,
And he subdued my fear.
He shed soft slumbers on mine eyes,
In spite of all my foes;
I woke, and wondered at the grace
That guarded my repose.]
What though the hosts of death and hell
All armed against me stood,
Terrors no more shall shake my soul;
My refuge is my God.
Arise, O Lord, fulfil thy grace,
While I thy glory sing;
My God has broke the serpent's teeth,
And death has lost his sting.
Salvation to the Lord belongs;
His arm alone can save:
Blessings attend thy people here,
And reach beyond the grave.
Psalm 3.
Verses 1-5, 8. A Morning Psalm.
O Lord, bow many are my foes,
In this weak state of flesh and blood!
My peace they daily discompose,
But my defence and hope is God.
Tired with the burdens of the day,
To thee I raised an evening cry:
Thou heard'st when I began to pray,
And thine almighty help was nigh.
Supported by thine heav'nly aid,
I laid me down, and slept secure:
Not death should make my heart afraid,
Though I should wake and rise no more.
But God sustained me all the night:
Salvation doth to God belong;
He raised my head to see the light,
And make his praise my morning song.
Psalm 4.
Verses 1-3, 5-7. Hearing of prayer.
O God of grace and righteousness,
Hear and attend when I complain;
Thou hast enlarged me in distress,
Bow down a gracious ear again.
Ye sons of men, in vain ye try
To turn my glory into shame;
How long will scoffers love to lie,
And dare reproach my Savior's name?
Know that the Lord divides his saints
From all the tribes of men beside;
He hears the cry of penitents,
For the dear sake of Christ that died.
When our obedient bands have done
A thousand works of righteousness,
We put our trust in God alone,
And glory in his pardoning grace.
Let the unthinking many say,
"Who will bestow some earthly good?"
But, Lord, thy light and love we pray;
Our souls desire this heav'nly food.
Then shall my cheerful powers rejoice,
At grace and favors so divine;
Nor will I change my happy choice
For all their corn, and all their wine.
Psalm 4.
Verses 3-5, 8. An Evening Psalm.
Lord, thou wilt hear me when I pray,
I am for ever thine;
I fear before thee all the day,
Nor would I dare to sin.
And while I rest my weary head,
From cares and business free,
'Tis sweet conversing on my bed,
With my own heart and thee.
I pay this evening sacrifice:
And when my work is done,
Great God, my faith and hope relies
Upon thy grace alone.
Thus, with my thoughts composed to pray,
I'll give mine eyes to sleep;
Thy hand in safety keeps my days,
And will my slumbers keep.
Psalm 5.
For the Lord's Day Morning.
Lord, in the morning thou shalt hear
My voice ascending high;
To thee will I direct my prayer,
To thee lift up mine eye;
Up to the hills where Christ is gone
To plead for all his saints,
Presenting at his Father's throne
Our songs and our complaints.
Thou art a God, before whose sight
The wicked shall not stand;
Sinners shall ne'er be thy delight,
Nor dwell at thy right hand.
But to thy house will I resort,
To taste thy mercies there;
I will frequent thine holy court,
And worship in thy fear.
O may thy Spirit guide my feet
In ways of righteousness!
Make every path of duty straight,
And plain before my face.
PAUSE.
My watchful enemies combine
To tempt my feet astray;
They flatter, with a base design
To make my soul their prey.
Lord, crush the serpent in the dust,
And all his plots destroy;
While those that in thy mercy trust,
For ever shout for joy.
The men that love and fear thy name
Shall see their hopes fulfilled;
The mighty God will compass them
With favor as a shield.
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