Psalms Of Watts 101-105
The
Psalms Of David
By Isaac Watts
In Metre
Psalm 101.
The Magistrate's Psalm.
1 Mercy and judgment are my song;
And since they both to thee belong,
My gracious God, my righteous King,
To thee my songs and vows I bring.
2 If I am rais'd to bear the sword,
I'll take my counsels from thy word;
Thy justice and thy heavenly grace
Shall be the pattern of my ways.
3 Let wisdom all my actions guide,
And let my God with me reside;
No wicked thing shall dwell with me,
Which may provoke thy jealousy.
4 No sons of slander, rage and strife
Shall be companions of my life;
The haughty look, the heart of pride
Within my doors shall ne'er abide.
5 [I'll search the land, and raise the just
To posts of honour, wealth and trust:
The men that work thy holy will,
Shall be my friends and favourites still.]
6 In vain shall sinners hope to rise
By flattering or malicious lies;
And while the innocent I guard,
The bold offender shan't be spar'd.
7 The impious crew (that factious band)
Shall hide their heads, or quit the land;
And all that break the public rest,
Where I have power shall be supprest.
Psalm 101.
A Psalm for a master of a family.
1 Of justice and of grace I sing,
And pay my God my vows;
Thy grace and justice, heavenly King,
Teach me to rule my house.
2 Now to my tent, O God, repair,
And make thy servant wise;
I'll suffer nothing near me there
That shall offend thine eyes.
3 The man that doth his neighbour wrong,
By falsehood or by force;
The scornful eye, the slanderous tongue,
I'll thrust them from my doors.
4 I'll seek the faithful and the just
And will their help enjoy;
These are the friends that I shall trust,
The servants I'll employ.
5 The wretch that deals in sly deceit,
I'll not endure a night;
The liar's tongue I ever hate,
And banish from my sight.
6 I'll purge my family around,
And make the wicked flee;
So shall my house be ever found
A dwelling fit for thee.
Psalm 102 - Part One.
Verses 1-13, 20-21. A prayer of the afflicted.
1 Hear me, O God, nor hide thy face,
But answer lest I die;
Hast thou not built a throne of grace
To hear when sinners cry?
2 My days are wasted like the smoke
Dissolving in the air;
My strength is dry'd, my heart is broke,
And sinking in despair.
3 My spirits flag like withering grass
Burnt with excessive heat;
In secret groans my minutes pass,
And I forget to eat.
4 As on some lonely building's top
The sparrow tells her moan,
Far from the tents of joy and hope
I sit and grieve alone.
5 My soul is like a wilderness,
Where beasts of midnight howl;
There the sad raven finds her place,
And there the screaming owl.
6 Dark dismal thoughts and boding fears
Dwell in my troubled breast;
While sharp reproaches wound my ears,
Nor give my spirit rest.
7 My cup is mingled with my woes,
And tears are my repast;
My daily bread like ashes grows
Unpleasant to my taste.
8 Sense can afford no real joy
To souls that feel thy frown;
Lord, 'twas thy hand advanc'd me high,
Thy hand hath cast me down.
9 My looks like wither'd leaves appear,
And life's declining light
Grows faint as evening shadows are,
That vanish into night.
10 But thou for ever art the same,
O my eternal God:
Ages to come shall know thy name,
And spread thy works abroad.
11 Thou wilt arise and shew thy face,
Nor will my Lord delay
Beyond th' appointed hour of grace,
That long expected day.
12 He hears his saints, he knows their cry,
And by mysterious ways
Redeems the prisoners doom'd to die,
And fills their tongues with praise.
Psalm 102 - Part Two.
Prayer heard and Zion restored.
1 Let Zion and her sons rejoice,
Behold the promis'd hour;
Her God hath heard her mourning voice,
And comes t' exalt his power.
2 Her dust and ruins that remain
Are precious in our eyes;
Those ruins shall be built again,
And all that dust shall rise.
3 The Lord will raise Jerusalem,
And stand in glory there;
Nations shall bow before has name,
And kings attend with fear.
4 He sits a sovereign on his throne,
With pity in his eyes
He hears the dying prisoners groan,
And sees their sighs arise.
5 He frees the souls condemn'd to death,
And when his saints complain,
It shan't be said, "That praying breath
Was ever spent in vain."
6 This shall be known when we are dead,
And left on long record,
That ages yet unborn may read,
And trust, and praise the Lord.
Psalm 102 - Part Three.
Verses 23-28. Man's mortality and Christ's eternity.
1 It is the Lord our Saviour's hand
Weakens our strength amidst the race;
Disease and death at his command
Arrest us, and cut short our days.
2 Spare us, O Lord, aloud we pray,
Nor let our sun go down at noon:
Thy years are one eternal day,
And must thy children die so soon?
3 Yet in the midst of death and grief
This thought our sorrow shall assuage,
"Our Fattier and our Saviour live;
"Christ is the same thro' every age."
4 'Twas he this earth's foundation laid;
Heaven is the building of his hand:
This earth grows old, these heavens shall fade,
And all be chang'd at his command.
5 The starry curtains of the sky
Like garments shall be laid aside;
But still thy throne stands firm and high;
Thy church for ever must abide.
6 Before thy face thy church shall live,
And on thy throne thy children reign;
This dying world shall they survive,
And the dead saints be rais'd again.
Psalm 103 - Part One.
Verses 1-7. Blessing God for his goodness to soul and body.
1 Bless, O my soul, the living God,
Call home thy thoughts that rove abroad
Let all the powers within me join
In work and worship so divine.
2 Bless, O my soul, the God of grace;
His favours claim thy highest praise;
Why should the wonders he hath wrought
Be lost in silence and forgot?
3 'Tis he, my soul, that sent his Son
To die for crimes which thou hast done
He owns the ransom; and forgives
The hourly follies of our lives.
4 The vices of the mind he heals,
And cures the pains that nature feels;
Redeems the soul from hell, and saves
Our wasting life from threat'ning graves.
5 Our youth decay'd his power repairs;
His mercy crowns our growing years;
He satisfies our mouth with good,
And fills our hopes with heavenly food.
6 He sees th' oppressor and th' opprest,
And often gives the sufferers rest;
But will his justice more display
In the last great rewarding day.
7 [His power he shew'd by Moses' hands,
And gave to Israel his commands;
ut sent his truth and mercy down
To all the nations by his Son.
8 Let the whole earth his power confess,
Let the whole earth adore his grace;
The Gentile with the Jew shall join
In work and worship so divine.]
Psalm 103 - Part Two.
Verses 8-18. God's gentle chastisement;
or, His tender mercy to his people.
1. The Lord, how wondrous are his ways!
How firm his truth! how large his grace!
He takes his mercy for his throne,
And thence he makes his glories known.
2 Not half so high his power hath spread
The starry heavens above our head,
As his rich love exceeds our praise,
Exceeds the highest hopes we raise.
3 Not half so far hath nature plac'd
The rising morning from the west,
As his forgiving grace removes
The daily guilt of those he loves.
4 How slowly doth his wrath arise!
On swifter wings salvation flies;
And if he lets his anger burn,
How soon his frowns to pity turn!
5 Amidst his wrath compassion shines;
His strokes are lighter than our sins;
And while his rod corrects his saints,
His ear indulges their complaints.
6 So fathers their young sons chastise,
With gentle hand and melting eyes;
The children weep beneath the smart,
And move the pity of their heart.
PAUSE.
7 The mighty God, the wise, and just,
Knows that our frame is feeble dust;
And will no heavy loads impose
Beyond the strength that he bestows.
8 He knows how soon our nature dies,
Blasted by every wind that flies;
Like grass we spring, and die as soon,
Or morning flowers that fade at noon.
9 But his eternal love is sure
To all the saints, and shall endure:
From age to age his truth shall reign,
Nor children's children hope in vain.
Psalm 103 - Part One.
Verses 1-7. Praise for spiritual and temporal mercies.
1 O bless the Lord, my soul;
Let all within me join,
And aid my tongue to bless his name,
Whose favours are divine.
2 O bless the Lord, my soul
Nor let his mercies lie
Forgotten in unthankfulness,
And without praises die.
3 'Tis he forgives thy sins,
'Tis he relieves thy pain,
'Tis he that heals thy sicknesses,
And makes thee young again.
4 He crowns thy life with love,
When ransomed from the grave;
He that redeem'd my soul from hell
Hath sovereign power to save.
5 He fills the poor with good;
He gives the sufferers rest;
The Lord hath judgments for the proud,
And justice for th' opprest.
6 His wondrous works and ways
He made by Moses known;
But sent the world his truth and grace
By his beloved Son.
Psalm 103 - Part Two.
Verses 8-18. Abounding compassion of God;
or, Mercy in the midst of judgment.
1 My soul, repeat his praise
Whose mercies are so great,
Whose anger is so slow to rise,
So ready to abate.
2 God will not always chide;
And when his strokes are felt,
His strokes are fewer than our crimes,
And lighter than our guilt.
3 High as the heavens are rais'd
Above the ground we tread,
So far the riches of his grace
Our highest thoughts exceed.
4 His power subdues our sins
And his forgiving love,
Far as the east is from the west,
Doth all our guilt remove.
5 The pity of the Lord
To those that fear his name,
Is such as tender parents feel;
He knows our feeble frame.
6 He knows we are but dust,
Scatter'd with every breath;
His anger, like a rising wind,
Can send us swift to death.
7 Our days are as the grass,
Or like the morning flower;
If one sharp blast sweep o'er the field,
It withers in an hour.
8 But thy compassions, Lord,
To endless years endure;
And children's children ever find
Thy words of promise sure.
Psalm 103 - Part Three.
Verses 19-22. God's universal dominion;
or, Angels praise the Lord.
1 The Lord, the sovereign King,
Hath fix'd his throne on high;
O'er all the heavenly world he rules,
And all beneath the sky.
2 Ye angels great in might,
And swift to do his will,
Bless ye the Lord, whose voice ye hear,
Whose pleasure ye fulfil.
3 Let the bright hosts who wait
The orders of their King,
And guard his churches when they pray,
Join in the praise they sing.
4 While all his wondrous works,
Thro' his vast kingdoms shew
Their Maker's glory, thou, my soul,
Shalt sing his graces too.
Psalm 104.
The glory of God in creation and providence.
1 My soul, thy great Creator praise;
When cloth'd in his celestial rays
He in full majesty appears,
And, like a robe, his glory wears.
2 The heavens are for his curtains spread,
Th' unfathom'd deep he makes his bed;
Clouds are his chariot, when he flies
On winged storms across the skies.
3 Angels, whom his own breath inspires,
His ministers are flaming fires;
And swift as thought their armies move
To bear his vengeance, or his love.
4 The world's foundations by his hand
Are pois'd, and shall for ever stand;
He binds the ocean in his chain,
Lest it should drown the earth again.
5 When earth was cover'd with the flood,
Which high above the mountains stood,
He thunder'd, and the ocean fled,
Confin'd to its appointed bed.
6 The swelling billows know their bound,
And in their channels walk their round;
Yet thence convey'd by secret veins,
They spring on hills, and drench the plains.
7 He bids the crystal fountains flow,
And cheer the valleys as they go;
Tame heifers there their thirst allay,
And for the stream wild asses bray.
8 From pleasant trees which shade the brink
The lark and linnet light to drink;
Their songs the lark and linnet raise
And chide our silence in his praise.
PAUSE I.
9 God from his cloudy cistern, pours
On the parch'd earth enriching showers;
The grove, the garden, and the field
A thousand joyful blessings yield.
10 He makes the grassy food arise,
And gives the cattle large supplies;
With herbs for man of various power,
To nourish nature, or to cure.
11 What noble fruit the vines produce!
The olive yields a shining juice;
Our hearts are cheer'd with gen'rous wine,
With inward joy our faces shine.
12 O bless his name ye Britons, fed
With nature's chief supporter, bread;
While bread your vital strength imparts,
Serve him with vigour in your hearts.
PAUSE II.
13 Behold the stately cedar stands,
Rais'd in the forest by his hands:
Birds to the boughs for shelter fly,
And build their nests secure on high.
14 To craggy hills ascends the goat;
And at the airy mountain's foot
The feebler creatures make their cell;
He gives them wisdom where to dwell.
15 He sets the sun his circling race,
Appoints the moon to change her face;
And when thick darkness veils the day,
Calls out wild beasts to hunt their prey.
16 Fierce lions lead their young abroad,
And, roaring, ask their meat from God;
But when the morning beams arise,
The savage beast to covert flies.
17 Then man to daily labour goes;
The night was made for his repose:
Sleep is thy gift; that sweet relief
From tiresome toil and wasting grief.
18 How strange thy works! how great thy skill!
And every land thy riches fill:
Thy wisdom round the world we see,
This spacious earth is full of thee.
19 Nor less thy glories in the deep,
Where fish in millions swim and creep,
With wondrous motions, swift or slow,
Still wandering in the paths below.
20 There ships divide their watery way,
And flocks of scaly monsters play;
There dwells the huge Leviathan,
And foams and sports in spite of man.
PAUSE III.
21 Vast are thy works, Almighty Lord,
All nature rests upon thy word,
And the whole race of creatures stands,
Waiting their portion from thy hands.
22 While each receives his different food,
Their cheerful looks pronounce it good;
Eagles and bears, and whales and worms,
Rejoice and praise in different forms.
23 But when thy face is hid, they mourn,
And dying to their dust return;
Both man and beast their souls resign,
Life, breath, and spirit, all is thine.
24 Yet thou canst breathe on dust again,
And fill the world with beasts and men;
A word of thy creating breath
Repairs the wastes of time and death.
25 His works, the wonders of his might,
Are honour'd with his own delight
How awful are his glorious ways!
The Lord is dreadful in his praise.
26 The earth stands trembling at thy stroke,
And at thy touch the mountains smoke;
Yet humble souls may see thy face,
And tell their wants to sovereign grace.
27 In thee my hopes and wishes meet,
And make my meditations sweet:
Thy praises shall my breath employ,
Till it expire in endless joy.
28 While haughty sinners die accurst,
Their glory bury'd with their dust,
I, to my God, my heavenly King,
Immortal hallelujahs sing.
[Note, This Psalm may be sung to the tune of the old 112th or 127th
Psalm, by adding the two following lines to every stanza, viz.
Great is the Lord; what tongue can frame
An equal honour to his name?
Otherwise it must be sung as the 100th Psalm.]
Psalm 105 - Abridged.
God's conduct of Israel, and the plagues of Egypt.
1 Give thanks to God, invoke his name,
And tell the world his grace;
Sound thro' the earth his deeds of fame,
That all may seek his face.
2 His covenant, which he kept in mind
For numerous ages past,
To numerous ages yet behind,
In equal force shall last.
3 He sware to Abraham and his seed,
And made the blessing sure:
Gentiles the ancient promise read,
And find his truths endure.
4 "Thy seed shall make all nations blest,"
(Said the Almighty voice)
"And Canaan's land shall be their rest,
The type of heavenly joys."
5 [How large the grant! how rich the grace!
To give them Canaan's land,
When they were strangers in the place,
A little feeble band!
6 Like pilgrims thro' the countries round
Securely they remov'd;
And haughty kings that on them frown'd,
Severely he reprov'd.
7 "Touch mine anointed, and my arm
Shall soon revenge the wrong:
The man that does my prophets harm
Shall know their God is strong."
8 Then let the world forbear its rage,
Nor put the church in fear:
Israel must live thro' every age,
And be th' Almighty's care.]
PAUSE I.
9 When Pharaoh dar'd to vex the saints,
And thus provok'd their God,
Moses was sent at their complaints,
Arm'd with his dreadful rod.
10 He call'd for darkness; darkness came
Like an o'erwhelming flood;
He turn'd each lake and every stream
To lakes and streams of blood.
11 He gave the sign, and noisome flies
Thro' the whole country spread;
And frogs, in croaking armies, rise
About the monarch's bed.
12 Thro' fields, and towns, and palaces,
The tenfold vengeance flew;
Locusts in swarms devour'd their trees,
And hail their cattle slew.
13 Then by an angel's midnight stroke,
The flower of Egypt dy'd;
The strength of every house was broke,
Their glory and their pride.
14 Now let the world forbear its rage,
Nor put the church in fear;
Israel must live thro' every age,
And be th' Almighty's care.
PAUSE II.
15 Thus were the tribes from bondage brought,
And left the hated ground;
Each some Egyptian spoils had got,
And not one feeble found.
16 The Lord himself chose out their way,
And mark'd their journeys right,
Gave them a leading cloud by day,
A fiery guide by night.
17 They thirst; and waters from the rock
In rich abundance flow,
And following still the course they took,
Ran all the desert thro'.
18 O wondrous stream O blessed type
Of ever-flowing grace!
So Christ our rock maintains our life
Thro' all this wilderness.
19 Thus guarded by th' Almighty hand
The chosen tribes possest
Canaan, the rich, the promis'd land,
And there enjoy'd their rest.
20 Then let the world forbear its rage,
The church renounce her fear;
Israel must live thro' every age,
And be th' Almighty's care.
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