Psalms Of Watts 111-118
The
Psalms Of David
By Isaac Watts
In Metre
Psalm 111 - Part One.
The wisdom of God in his works.
1 Songs of immortal praise belong
To my Almighty God;
He has my heart, and he my tongue
To spread his name abroad.
2 How great the works his hand has wrought!
How glorious in our sight!
And men in every age have sought
His wonders with delight.
3 How most exact is nature's frame!
How wise th' Eternal mind!
His counsels never change the scheme
That his first thoughts design'd.
4 When he redeem'd his chosen sons,
He fix'd his covenant sure:
The orders that his lips pronounce
To endless years endure.
5 Nature and time, and earth and skies,
Thy heavenly skill proclaim:
What shall we do to make us wise,
But learn to read thy name?
6 To fear thy power, to trust thy grace
Is our divinest skill;
And he's the wisest of our race,
That best obeys thy will.
Psalm 111 - Part Two.
The perfections of God.
1 Great is the Lord; his works of might
Demand our noblest songs;
Let his assembled saints unite
Their harmony of tongues.
2 Great is the mercy of the Lord,
He gives his children food;
And ever mindful of his word,
He makes his promise good.
3 His Son, the great Redeemer, came
To seal his covenant sure:
Holy and reverend is his name,
His ways are just and pure.
4 They that would grow divinely wise
Must with his fear begin;
Our fairest proof of knowledge lies
In hating every sin.
Psalm 112.
The blessings of the liberal man.
1 That man is blest who stands in awe
Of God, and loves his sacred law:
His seed on earth shall be renown'd;
His house the seat of wealth shall be,
An inexhausted treasury,
And with successive honours crown'd.
2 His liberal favours he extends,
To some he gives, to others lends;
A generous pity fills his mind:
Yet what his charity impairs
He saves by prudence in affairs,
And thus he's just to all mankind.
3 His hands, while they his alms bestow'd,
His glory's future harvest sow'd;
The sweet remembrance of the just,
Like a green root, revives and bears
A train of blessings for his heirs,
When dying nature sleeps in dust.
4 Beset with threatening dangers round,
Unmov'd shall he maintain his ground;
His conscience holds his courage up:
The soul that's fill'd with virtue's light,
Shines brightest in affliction's night,
And sees in darkness beams of hope.
PAUSE.
5 [Ill tidings never can surprise
His heart that fix'd on God relies,
Tho' waves and tempests roar around:
Safe on the rock he sits, and sees
The shipwreck of his enemies,
And all their hope and glory drown'd.
6 The wicked shall his triumph see,
And gnash their teeth in agony
To timid their expectations crust:
They and their envy, pride and spite,
Sink down to everlasting night,
And all their names in darkness lost.]
Psalm 112.
The blessings of the pious and charitable.
1 Thrice happy man who fears the Lord,
Loves his commands, and trusts his word;
Honour and peace his days attend,
And blessings to his seed descend.
2 Compassion dwells upon his mind,
To works of mercy still inclin'd:
He lends the poor some present aid,
Or gives them, not to be repaid.
3 When times grow dark, and tidings spread
That fill his neighbours round with dread,
His heart is arm'd against the fear,
For God with all his power is there.
4 His soul, well fix'd upon the Lord,
Draws heavenly courage from his word;
Amidst the darkness light shall rise,
To cheer his heart, and bless his eyes.
5 He hath dispers'd his alms abroad,
His works are still before his God;
His name on earth shall long remain,
While envious sinners fret in vain.
Psalm 112.
Liberality rewarded.
1 Happy is he that fears the Lord,
And follows his commands,
Who lends the poor without reward,
Or gives with liberal hands.
2 As pity dwells within his breast
To all the sons of need;
So God shall answer his request
With blessings on his seed,
3 No evil tidings shall surprise
His well-establish'd mind;
His soul to God his refuge flies,
And leaves his fears behind.
4 In times of general distress,
Some beams of light shall shine,
To shew the world his righteousness,
And give him peace divine.
5 His works of piety and love
Remain before the Lord;
Honour on earth and joys above
Shall be his sure reward.
Psalm 113.
Proper Tune. The majesty and condescension of God.
1 Ye that delight to serve the Lord,
The honours of his name record,
His sacred name for ever bless:
Where'er the circling sun displays
His rising beams, or setting rays,
Let lands and seas his power confess,
2 Not time, nor nature's narrow rounds,
Can give his vast dominion bounds,
The heavens are far below his height:
Let no created greatness dare
With our eternal God compare,
Arm'd with his uncreated might.
3 He bows his glorious head to view
What the bright hosts of angels do,
And bends his care to mortal things;
His sovereign hand exalts the poor,
He takes the needy from the door,
And makes them company for kings.
4 When childless families despair,
He sends the blessings of an heir
To rescue their expiring name:
The mother with a thankful voice
Proclaims his praises and her joys:
Let every age advance his fame.
Psalm 113.
God sovereign and gracious.
1 Ye servants of th' Almighty King,
In every age his praises sing;
Where'er the sun shall rise or set,
The nations shall his praise repeat.
2 Above the earth, beyond the sky,
Stands his high throne of majesty:
Nor time, nor place, his power restrain,
Nor bound his universal reign.
3 Which of the sons of Adam dare,
Or angels, with their God compare ?
His glories how divinely bright,
Who dwells in uncreated light!
4 Behold his love: he stoops to view
What saints above and angels do;
And condescends yet more to know
The mean affairs of men below.
5 From dust and cottages obscure
His grace exalts the humble poor;
Gives them the honour of his sons,
And fits them for their heavenly thrones.
6 [A word of his creating voice
Can make the barren house rejoice:
Tho' Sarah's ninety years were past,
The promis'd seed is born at last.
7 With joy the mother views her son,
And tells the wonders God has done:
Faith may grow strong when sense despairs,
If nature fails, the promise bears.]
Psalm 114.
Miracles attending Israel's journey.
1 When Israel, freed from Pharaoh's hand,
Left the proud tyrant and his land,
The tribes with cheerful homage own
Their King, and Judah was his throne.
2 Across the deep their journey lay;
The deep divides to make them way:
Jordan beheld their march, and fled
With backward current to his head.
3 The mountains shook like frighted sheep,
Like lambs the little hillocks leap;
Not Sinai on her base could stand,
Conscious of sovereign power at hand.
4 What power could make the deep divide?
Make Jordan backward roll his tide?
Why did ye leap, ye little hills?
And whence the fright that Sinai feels?
5 Let every mountain, every flood,
Retire and know th' approaching God,
The king of Israel: see him here;
Tremble, thou earth, adore and fear.
6 He thunders, and all nature mourns,
The rock to standing pools he turns;
Flints spring with fountains at his word,
And fires and seas confess the Lord.
Psalm 115.
The true God our refuge; or, Idolatry reproved.
1 Not to ourselves, who are but dust,
Not to ourselves is glory due,
Eternal God, thou only just,
Thou only gracious, wise, and true,
2 Shine forth in all thy dreadful name;
Why should a heathen's haughty tongue
Insult us, and to raise our shame
Say," Where's the God you've serv'd so long?"
3 The God we serve maintains his throne
Above the clouds, beyond the skies,
Thro' all the earth his will is done,
He knows our groans, he hears our cries.
4 But the vain idols they adore
Are senseless shapes of stone and wood;
At best a mass of glittering ore,
A silver saint, or golden god.
5 [With eyes, and ears they carve their head,
Deaf are their ears, their eyes are blind;
In vain are costly offerings made,
And vows are scatter'd in the wind.
6 Their feet were never made to move,
Nor hands to save when mortals pray;
Mortals that pay them fear or love
Seem to be blind and deaf as they.]
7 O Israel, make the Lord thy hope,
Thy help, thy refuge, and thy rest;
The Lord shall build thy ruins up,
And bless the people and the priest.
8 The dead no more can speak thy praise,
They dwell in silence and the grave;
But we shall live to sing thy grace,
And tell the world thy power to save.
Psalm 115.
To the tune of the 50th Psalm.
Popish idolatry reproved.
A psalm for the 5th of November.
1 Not to our names, thou only Just and True
Not to our worthless names is glory due
Thy power and grace, thy truth and justice claim
Immortal honours to thy sovereign name:
Shine thro' the earth from heaven, thy blest abode,
Nor let the heathens say, "And where's your God?"
2 Heaven is thine higher court; there stands thy throne,
And thro' the lower worlds thy will is done:
Our God fram'd all this earth, these heavens he spread,
But fools adore the gods their hands have made:
The kneeling crowd, with looks devout, behold
Their silver saviours, and their saints of gold.
3 [Vain are those artful shapes of eyes and ears;
The molten image neither sees nor hears:
Their hands are helpless, nor their feet can move,
They have no speech, nor thought, nor power, nor love;
Yet sottish mortals make their long complaints
To their deaf idols, and their moveless saints.
4 The rich have statues well adorn'd with gold;
The poor, content with gods of coarser mould,
With tools of iron carve the senseless stock,
Lopped from a tree, or broken from a rock:
People and priest drive on the solemn trade,
And trust the gods that saws and hammers made.]
5 Be heaven and earth amaz'd! 'Tis hard to say
Which is more stupid, or their gods or they:
O Israel, trust the Lord, he hears and sees,
He knows thy sorrows, and restores thy peace:
His worship does a thousand comforts yield,
He is thy help, and he thy heavenly shield.
6 O Britain, trust the Lord: thy foes in vain
Attempt thy ruin, and oppose his reign;
Had they prevail'd, darkness had clos'd our days,
And death and silence had forbid his praise;
But we are sav'd, and live: let songs arise,
And Britain bless the God that built the skies.
Psalm 116 - Part One.
Recovery from sickness.
1 I love the Lord; he heard my cries,
And pity'd every groan:
Long as I live, when troubles rise,
I'll hasten to his throne.
2 I love the Lord; he bow'd his ear,
And chas'd my griefs away;
O let my heart no more despair,
While I have breath to pray!
3 My flesh declin'd, my spirits fell,
And I drew near the dead,
While inward pangs, and fears of hell
Perplex'd my wakeful head.
4 "My God," I cry'd "thy servant save,
"Thou ever good and just;
"Thy power can rescue from the grave,
"Thy power is all my trust."
5 The Lord beheld me sore distrest,
He bid my pains remove:
Return, my soul, to God thy rest,
For thou hast known his love.
6 My God hath sav'd my soul from death,
And dry'd my failing tears;
Now to his praise I'll spend my breath,
And my remaining years.
Psalm 116 - Part Two.
Verses 12ff. Vows made in trouble paid in the church.
1 What shall I render to my God
For all his kindness shown?
My feet shall visit thine abode,
My songs address thy throne.
2 Among the saints that fill thine house,
My offerings shall be paid;
There shall my zeal perform the vows
My soul in anguish made.
3 How much is mercy thy delight,
Thou ever blessed God!
How dear thy servants in thy sight!
How precious is their blood!
4 How happy all thy servants are!
How great thy grace to me!
My life which thou hast made thy care,
Lord, I devote to thee.
5 Now I am thine, for ever thine,
Nor shall my purpose move;
Thy hand hath loos'd my bonds of pain,
And bound me with thy love.
6 Here in thy courts I leave my vow,
And thy rich grace record;
Witness, ye saints, who hear me now,
If I forsake the Lord.
Psalm 117.
Praise to God from all nations.
1 O all ye nations, praise the Lord,
Each with a different tongue;
In every language learn his word,
And let his name be sung.
2 His mercy reigns thro' every land;
Proclaim his grace abroad;
For ever firm his truth shall stand,
Praise ye the faithful God.
Psalm 117.
1 From all that dwell below the skies,
Let the Creator's praise arise!
Let the Redeemer's name be sung
Thro' every land, by every tongue.
2 Eternal are thy mercies, Lord;
Eternal truth attends thy word:
Thy praise shall sound from shore to shore,
Till suns shall rise and set no more.
Psalm 117.
1 Thy name, Almighty Lord,
Shall sound thro' distant lands;
Great is thy grace, and sure thy word,
Thy truth for ever stands.
2 Far be thine honour spread,
And long thy praise endure,
Till morning light and evening shade
Shall be exchang'd no more.
Psalm 118 - Part One.
Verses 6-15. Deliverance from a tumult.
1 The Lord appears my helper now,
Nor is my faith afraid
What all the sons of earth can do,
Since heaven affords its aid.
2 'Tis safer, Lord, to hope in thee,
And have my God my friend,
Than trust in men of high degree,
And on their truth depend.
3 Like bees my foes beset me round,
A large and angry swarm;
But I shall all their rage confound
By thine almighty arm.
4 'Tis thro' the Lord my heart is strong,
In him my lips rejoice;
While his salvation is my song,
How cheerful is my voice!
5 Like angry bees they girt me round;
When God appears they fly:
So burning thorns, with crackling sound,
Make a fierce blaze and die.
6 Joy to the saints and peace belongs;
The Lord protects their days:
Let Israel tune immortal songs
To his almighty grace.
Psalm 118 - Part Two.
Verses 17-21. Public praise for deliverance from death.
1 Lord, thou hast heard thy servant cry,
And rescu'd from the grave;
Now shall he live: (and none can die
If God resolve to save.)
2 Thy praise, more constant than before,
Shall fill his daily breath;
Thy hand that hath chastis'd him sore,
Defends him still from death.
3 Open the gates of Zion now,
For we shall worship there,
The house where all the righteous go
Thy mercy to declare.
4 Among th' assemblies of thy saints
Our thankful voice we raise!
There we have told thee our complaints,
And there we speak thy praise.
Psalm 118 - Part Three.
Verses 22-23. Christ the foundation of his church.
1 Behold the sure foundation-stone
Which God in Zion lays
To build our heavenly hopes upon,
And his eternal praise.
2 Chosen of God, to sinners dear,
And saints adore the name,
They trust their whole salvation here,
Nor shall they suffer shame.
3 The foolish builders, scribe and priest,
Reject it with disdain;
Yet on this rock the church shall rest,
And envy rage in vain.
4 What tho' the gates of hell withstood,
Yet must this building rise:
'Tis thy own work, Almighty God,
And wondrous in our eyes.
Psalm 118 - Part Four.
Verses 24-26. Hosanna; the Lord's day;
or, Christ's resurrection and our salvation.
1 This is the day the Lord hath made,
He calls the hours his own;
Let heaven rejoice, let earth be glad,
And praise surround the throne.
2 Today he rose and left the dead,
And Satan's empire fell;
Today the saints his triumphs spread,
And all his wonders tell.
3 Hosanna to th' anointed King,
To David's holy Son:
Help us, O Lord; descend and bring
Salvation from the throne.
4 Blest be the Lord, who comes to men
With messages of grace;
Who comes in God his Father's name
To save our sinful race.
5 Hosanna in the highest strains
The church on earth can raise;
The highest heavens, in which he reigns,
Shall give him nobler praise.
Psalm 118.
Verses 22-27. An hosanna for the Lord's day;
or, A new song of salvation by Christ.
1 See what a living-stone
The builders did refuse;
Yet God hath built his church thereon
In spite of envious Jews.
2 The scribe and angry priest
Reject thine only Son;
Yet on this rock shall Zion rest,
As the chief corner-stone.
3 The work, O Lord, is thine,
And wondrous in our eyes;
This day declares it all divine,
This day did Jesus rise.
4 This is the glorious day
That our Redeemer made;
Let us rejoice, and sing, and pray,
Let all the church be glad.
5 Hosanna to the King
Of David's royal blood:
Bless him, ye saints; he comes to bring
Salvation from your God.
6 We bless thine holy word,
Which all this grace displays;
And offer on thine altar, Lord,
Our sacrifice of praise.
Psalm 118.
Verses 22-27. An hosanna for the Lord's day;
or, A new song of salvation by Christ.
1 Lo! what a glorious corner-stone
The Jewish builders did refuse;
But God hath built his church thereon,
In spite of envy and the Jews.
2 Great God, the work is all divine,
The joy and wonder of our eyes;
This is the day that proves it thine,
The day that saw our Saviour rise.
3 Sinners rejoice, and saints be glad:
Hosanna, let his name be blest:
A thousand honours on his head,
With peace, and light, and glory, rest.
4 In God's own name he comes to bring
Salvation to our dying race:
Let the whole church address their King
With hearts of joy, and songs of praise.
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