Psalms Of Watts 96-100
The
Psalms Of David
By Isaac Watts
In Metre
Psalm 96.
Verses 1, 10ff. Christ's first and second coming.
1 Sing to the Lord, ye distant lands,
Ye tribes of every tongue;
His new-discover'd grace demands
A new and nobler song.
2 Say to the nations, Jesus reigns,
God's own almighty Son
His power the sinking world sustains,
And grace surrounds his throne.
3 Let heaven proclaim the joyful day,
Joy thro' the earth be seen
Let cities shine in bright array,
And fields in cheerful green.
4 Let an unusual joy surprise
The islands of the sea;
Ye mountains, sink, ye valleys, rise,
Prepare the Lord his way.
5 Behold he comes, he comes to bless
The nations as their God;
To shew the world his righteousness,
And send his truth abroad.
6 But when his voice shall raise the dead,
And bid the world draw near,
How will the guilty nations dread
To see their Judge appear!
Psalm 96.
The God of the Gentiles.
1 Let all the earth their voices raise
To sing the choicest psalm of praise,
To sing and bless Jehovah's name:
His glory let the heathens know,
His wonders to the nations show,
And all his saving works proclaim.
2 The heathens know thy glory, Lord;
The wondering nations read thy word,
In Britain is Jehovah known:
Our worship shall no more be paid
To gods which mortal hands have made;
Our Maker is our God alone.
3 He fram'd the globe, he built the sky,
He made the shining worlds on high,
And reigns complete in glory there:
His beams are majesty and light;
His beauties how divinely bright!
His temple how divinely fair!
4 Come the great day, the glorious hour,
When earth shall feel his saving power,
And barbarous nations fear his name;
Then shall the race of man confess
The beauty of his holiness,
And in his courts his grace proclaim.
Psalm 97 - Part One.
Verses 1-5.
Christ reigning in heaven, and coming to judgment.
1 He reigns; the Lord, the Saviour reigns;
Praise him in evangelic strains;
Let the whole earth in songs rejoice,
And distant islands join their voice.
2 Deep are his counsels and unknown;
But grace and truth support his throne:
Tho' gloomy clouds his ways surround,
Justice is their eternal ground.
3 In robes of judgment, lo! he comes,
Shakes the wide earth, and cleaves the tombs;
Before him burns devouring fire,
The mountains melt, the seas retire.
4 His enemies, with sore dismay,
Fly from the sight, and shun the day;
Then lift your heads, ye saints, on high,
And sing, for your redemption's nigh.
Psalm 97 - Part Two.
Verses 6-9. Christ's incarnation.
1 The Lord is come, the heavens proclaim
His birth; the nations learn his name;
An unknown star directs the road
Of eastern sages to their God.
2 All ye bright armies of the skies,
Go, worship where the Saviour lies:
Angels and kings before him bow,
Those gods on high, and gods below.
3 Let idols totter to the ground,
And their own worshippers confound;
But Judah shout, but Zion sing,
And earth confess her sovereign King.
Psalm 97 - Part Three.
Grace and glory.
1 Th' Almighty reigns exalted high
O'er all the earth, o'er all the sky,
Tho' clouds and darkness veil his feet,
His dwelling is the mercy-seat.
2 O ye that love his holy name,
Hate every work of sin and shame;
He guards the souls of all his friends,
And from the snares of hell defends.
3 Immortal light and joys unknown
Are for the saints in darkness sown;
Those glorious seeds shall spring and rise,
And the bright harvest bless our eyes.
4 Rejoice, ye righteous, and record
The sacred honours of the Lord;
None but the soul that feels his grace
Can triumph in his holiness.
Psalm 97.
Verses 1, 3, 5-7, 11.
Christ's incarnation, and the last judgment.
1 Ye islands of the northern sea,
Rejoice, the Saviour reigns;
His word like fire, prepares his way,
And mountains melt to plains.
2 His presence sinks the proudest hills,
And makes the valleys rise
The humble soul enjoys his smiles,
The haughty sinner dies.
3 The heavens his rightful power proclaim
The idol-gods around
Fill their own worshippers with shame,
And totter to the ground.
4 Adoring angels at his birth
Make the Redeemer known;
Thus shall he come to judge the earth,
And angels guard his throne.
5 His foes shall tremble at his sight,
And hills and seas retire
His children take their unknown flight,
And leave the world in fire.
6 The seeds of joy and glory sown
For saints in darkness here
Shall rise and spring in worlds unknown.
And a rich harvest bear.
Psalm 98 - Part One.
Praise for the gospel.
1 To our Almighty Maker, God,
New honours be address'd;
His great salvation shines abroad,
And makes the nations blest.
2 He spake the word to Abraham first,
His truth fulfils the grace:
The Gentiles make his name their trust,
And learn his righteousness.
3 Let the whole earth his love proclaim
With all her different tongues;
And spread the honours of his name
In melody and songs.
Psalm 98 - Part Two.
The Messiah's coming and kingdom.
1 Joy to the world; the Lord is come;
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare him room,
And heaven and nature sing.
2 Joy to the earth, the Saviour reigns;
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains,
Repeat the sounding joy.
3 No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make his blessings flow
Far as the curse is found.
4 He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of his righteousness,
And wonders of his love.
Psalm 99 - Part One.
Christ's kingdom and majesty.
1 The God Jehovah reigns,
Let all the nations fear,
Let sinners tremble at his throne,
And saints be humble there.
2 Jesus the Saviour reigns,
Let earth adore its Lord;
Bright cherubs his attendants stand,
Swift to fulfil his word.
3 In Zion is his throne,
His honours are divine;
His church shall make his wonders known,
For there his glories shine.
4 How holy is his name!
How terrible his praise!
Justice, and truth, and judgment join
In all his works of grace.
Psalm 99 - Part Two.
A holy God worshipped with reverence.
1 Exalt the Lord our God,
And worship at his feet;
His nature is all holiness,
And mercy is his seat.
2 When Israel was his church,
When Aaron was his priest,
When Moses cry'd, when Samuel pray'd,
He gave his people rest.
3 Oft he forgave their sins,
Nor would destroy their race;
And oft he made his vengeance known,
When they abus'd his grace.
4 Exalt the Lord our God,
Whose grace is still the same;
Still he's a God of holiness,
And jealous for his name.
Psalm 100.
A plain translation. Praise to our Creator.
1 Ye nations round the earth rejoice
Before the Lord, your sovereign King;
Serve him with cheerful heart and voice,
With all your tongues his glory sing.
2 The Lord is God; 'tis he alone
Doth life, and breath, and being give:
We are his work, and not our own;
The sheep that on his pastures live.
3 Enter his gates with songs of joy,
With praises to his courts repair,
And make it your divine employ
To pay your thanks and honours there.
4 The Lord is good, the Lord is kind;
Great is his grace, his mercy sure;
And the whole race of man shall find
His truth from age to age endure.
Psalm 100.
A Paraphrase.
1 Sing to the Lord with joyful voice;
Let every land his name adore;
The British isles shall send the noise
Across the ocean to the shore.
2 Nations, attend before his throne
With solemn fear, with sacred joy;
Know that the Lord is God alone;
He can create, and he destroy.
3 His sovereign power, without our aid,
Made us of clay, and form'd us men;
And when like wandering sheep we stray'd,
He brought us to his fold again.
4 We are his people, we his care,
Our souls and all our mortal frame:
What lasting honours shall we rear,
Almighty Maker, to thy name!
5 We'll crowd thy gates with thankful songs,
High as the heavens our voices raise;
And earth with her ten thousand tongues
Shall fill thy courts with sounding praise.
6 Wide as the world is thy command,
Vast as eternity thy love;
Firm as a rock thy truth must stand
When rolling years shall cease to move.
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