He reigns His people's hearts to cheer,
He reigns their bonds to sever.
Long have they sought to serve Him here,
Though vain their best endeavour.
Now God, their Saviour God, is near,
To bear them high from toil and fear,
To light and joy for ever.
PSALM XCVIII. (FIRST VERSION)
SING to the Lord, His triumphs tell;
Let all to Jesus sing.
Crushed are the powers of death and hell,
And Christ alone is King.
Sound forth the glorious Gospel; sound
His saving name abroad;
Till every sinking heart shall bound,
And own a present God !
Sing to the Lord, thou fallen world,
Be joyful and adore :
The curse from off thy head is hurled,
Thy fields shall mourn no more.
Awake, ye saints; let every voice,
And heart its tribute bring.
Seas, woods, and hills rejoice, rejoice,
And say that Christ is King!
PSALM XCVIII. (SECOND Version)
THE Lord of heaven to earth is come,
The Lord expected long :
Let every heart prepare a home,
And every voice a song.
He comes to free the fettered slaves,
Their haughty foes to bind.
Salvation in His banner waves,
And waves for all mankind.
The sinner finds a Saviour now,
His trembling Church a King.
Ye heathen, at His footstool bow;
Believe, adore, and sing!
Exult, ye lame! behold, ye blind!
Break forth in song, ye dumb!
Seas, woods, and mountains voices find,
And shout, 'The Lord is come !'
JEHOVAH reigns, enthroned in state;
Ten thousand angels round Him wait,
To bless and scourge at His award.
Tremble, thou earth, before thy Lord!
High o'er this little world of sin,
He sits, and orders all therein.
Ye nations, own with one accord,
The holy, holy, holy Lord!
Jehovah reigns, He loves the right;
And sin with judgment will requite.
But ah, His people can declare,
How well He hears contrition's prayer.
O Wise and Good! Thou canst, Thou wilt,
The guilty spare, and slay the guilt.
Let heart and voice with one accord,
Adore the holy, holy Lord!
PSALM C. (FIRST VERSION)
WITH humble love, and holy fear,
Ye nations, to your God draw near :
Surround His throne in joyful throngs,
And give Him service, give Him songs!
The God of gods Jehovah is;
He made us all, and we are His :
His favoured flock, His pasture sheep,
Whom He has called, and He will keep.
Approach His courts with joy to-day ;
Before His shrine your homage pay:
His Gospel hear, His grace entreat;
And lay your all down at His feet.
The Lord is good; His mercies flow,
As wide as human want and woe.
O might our grateful homage prove,
As large and lasting as His love.
PSALM C. (SECOND VERSION)
LET all the world in joyful throngs,
Approach Jehovah's throne;
To Him pour out their hearts and songs,
And live to Him alone.
Come to His feet, ye nations, come !
Come, own your God and King!
Come, find a safe and happy home,
Beneath His spacious wing!
A word of His has made us all ;
We are His constant care.
Down in His presence let us fall;
And praise Him daily there.
The Lord is good, the sinners' Friend;
Eternal is His word.
His grace and truth shall never end;
Let all adore the Lord.
WITH One consent let all the earth,
To God their cheerful voices raise ;
Glad homage pay with awful mirth,
And sing before Him songs of praise.
Convinced that He is God alone,
From whom both we and all proceed; We whom He chooses for His own,
The flock whom He vouchsafes to feed.
O enter then His temple gate!
Thence to His courts devoutly press; And still your grateful hymns repeat; And still His name with praises bless!
For He's the Lord supremely good;
His mercy is for ever sure;
His truth, which still has firmly stood,
To endless ages shall endure.
PSALM C. (FOURTH VERSION)
ALL people who on earth do dwell,
Sing to the Lord with cheerful voice.
Him serve with fear; His praise forth tell;
Come ye before Him and rejoice.
The Lord, ye know, is God indeed;
Without our aid He did us make :
We are His flock: He doth us feed;
And for His sheep He doth us take.
O enter, then, His gates with praise,
Approach with joy His courts unto;
Praise, laud, and bless His name always,
For it is seemly so to do.
For why? The Lord our God is good;
His mercy is for ever sure :
His truth at all times firmly stood;
And shall from age to age endure.
Before Jehovah's awful throne,
Ye nations bow with sacred joy.
Know that the Lord is God alone;
He can create, and He destroy.
His sovereign power, without our aid,
Made us of clay and formed us men;
And when like wandering sheep we strayed,
He brought us to His fold again.
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.
Wide as the world is Thy command;
Vast as eternity Thy love;
Firm as a rock Thy truth shall stand,
When rolling years shall cease to move.
I SING of judgment and of grace,
And, Lord, to Thee my song address.
I tell Thee what I fain would be ;
The change, I know, must spring from Thee.
Blest Spirit, in my heart abide !
O'er every thought and step preside!
And bid me walk in peace and love,
With men on earth, with God above.
O keep me safe from Satan's snare !
O make me of the world beware!
Nor let me choose my friends from those,
That are my kind Redeemer's foes.
The froward heart, the haughty eye,
The slanderous tongue, be mine to fly;
Those whom Thou lovest I would love,
And dwell with them below, above.
PSALM CII. (FIRST VERSION)
WHEN earthly joys glide fast away,
When hopes and comforts flee,
When foes oppress, and friends betray,
I turn, my God, to Thee.
Thy nature, Lord, no change can know,
Thy promise still is sure;
And ills can ne'er so hopeless grow,
But Thou canst find a cure.
Deliverance comes most bright and blest,
At danger's darkest hour;
And man's extremity is best,
To prove almighty power.
High as Thou art, Thou still art near,
When suppliants succour crave :
And as Thine ear is swift to hear,
Thine arm is strong to save.
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