An Arrangement of the Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs of Issac Watts

6 He scorns the angry nations' rage, And breaks their vain designs: His counsel stands through every age, And in full glory shines.

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PSALM 33. P. M. St. Hellens, Psalm 46. Works of creation and providence. 1YE holy souls, in God rejoice,

Your Maker's praise becomes your voice: Great is your theme, your songs be new: Sing of his name, his word, his ways, His works of nature, and of grace, How wise and holy, just and true! 2 Justice and truth he ever loves, And the whole earth his goodness proves; His word the heavenly arches spread. How wide they shine from north to south! And by the spirit of his mouth

Were all the starry armies made.

3 He gathers the wide flowing seas, (Those watery treasures know their place) In the vast store-house of the deep: He spake, and gave all nature birth, And fires and seas, and theaven and earth, His everlasting orders keep:

Let mortals tremble, and adore

God of such resistless power,

Yet thence convey'd by secret veins, They spring on hills, and drench the plains.

7He 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.

Nor dare indulge their feeble rage: Vain are their thoughts and weak their hands, But his eternal counsel stands,

And rules the world from age to age.

The glory of God in creation and providence. Y soul, thy great Creator praise: When cloth'd in his celestial rays,

He in full majesty appears, And, like a robe, his glory wears. [NOTE. This psalm may be sung to a different metre, by adding the following two lines to every Stanza, viz.

Great is the Lord; what tongue can frame
An equal honour to his name.]

2 The heavens are for his curtain 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 forever 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.
6The swelling billows know their bounds,
And in their channels walk their rounds;

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 generous wine,
With inward joy our faces shine.
120 bless his name, ye nations, 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.
18How strange thy works! how great thy
And every land thy riches fill: [skill!
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,

May rise secure, securely rest;
Admit no slumber nor surprise.
Thy holy guardian's wakeful eyes

With wondrous motions, swift or slow, 4 Israel, a name divinely blest,
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.

5 No sun shall smite thy head by day,
Nor the pale moon with sickly ray
Shall blast thy couch; no baleful star
Dart his malignant fire so far.
6 Should earth and hell with malice burn,
Still thou shalt go, and still return
Safe in the Lord; his heavenly care
Defends thy life from every snare.
And in thy last departing hour,
On thee foul spirits have no power;
Angels, that trace the airy road,
Shall bear thee homeward to thy God.

21 Vast are thy works, Almighty Lord,
All nature rests upon thy word,
And the whole race of creatures stand,
Waiting their portion from thy hand.
22 While each receives his different food,
His cheerful looks pronounce it good;
7
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 are 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 3
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,5
I, to my God, my heavenly King,
Immortal hallelujahs, sing.

PSALM 121. C. M
Dundee, Abridge.
Preservation by day and night.
heaven. I lift my waiting eyes,

There all my hopes are laid;
The Lord, that built the earth and skies,
Their feet shall never slide nor fall,
Is my perpetual aid.
Whom he designs to keep:
His ear attends the softest call;
His eyes can can never sleep.
He will sustain our weakest powers
With his almighty arın,

And watch our most unguarded hours
Against surprising harm.

4 Israel, rejoice, and rest secure,

Thy keeper is the Lord;
His wakeful eyes employ his power
For thine eternal guard.

Nor scorching sun, nor sickly moon
Shall have his leave to smite;
He shields thy head from burning noon,
From blasting damps at night.
6 He guards thy soul, he keeps thy breath,
Where thickest dangers come;
Go and return, secure from death,
Till God commands thee home.

Thence all her help my soul derives; 65
There my Almighty Refuge lives..

PSALM 121. H. M.
Bethesda, Portsmoush.
God our preserver.

2 He lives; the everlasting God, dood, 1 JPWARD. I lift mine, eyes

That built the world, that spread the The heavens with all their hosts he made, And the dark regions of the dead. 3 He guides our feet, he guards our way; His morning smiles bless all the day; He spreads the evening vale, and keeps The silent hours while Israel sleeps.

From God is all my aid;
The God that built the skies,
And earth and nature made:

God is the tower.
To which I fly;
His grace is nigh
In every hour.

2 My feet shall never slide,
Nor fall in fatal snares,
Since God, my guard and guide,
Defends me from my fears,
Those wakeful eyes,
Which never sleep,
Shall Israel keep,
When dangers rise.

3 No burning heats by day,
Nor blasts of evening air,
Shall take my health away,
If God be with me there:
Thou art my sun,
And thou my shade,
To guard my head
By night or noon.

4 Hast thou not given thy word,
To save my soul from death?
And I can trust my Lord
To keep my mortal breath:
I'll go and come,
Nor fear to die,
Till from on high
Thou call me home.

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Our bodies frail,and Gód our preserver.
1 ET others boast how strong they be,
Nor death nor danger fear;
But we'll confess, O Lord, to thee,
What feeble things we are.

2 Fresh as the grass our bodies stand,
And flourish bright and gay;
A blasting wind sweeps o'er the land,
And fades the grass away.

3 Our life contains a thousand springs,
And dies, if one be gone:
Strange! that a harp of thousand strings
Should keep in tune so long.
4 But 'tis our God supports our frame,
The God who built us first;
Salvation to th' Almighty Name
That rear'd us from the dust.
5[He spake—and straight our hearts and
In all their motions rose; [brains
"Let blood," said he, "flow round the
veins,"

And round the veins it flows.

6 While we have breath, or use our tongues,
Our Maker we'll adore;
His Spirit moves our heaving lungs,
Or they would breathe no more..

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Durham, Windsor.

Afflictions and death under providence. OT from the dust affliction grows, Noor troubles rise by chance;

Yet we are born to cares and woes;
A sad inheritance!

2 As sparks break out from burning coals,
And still are upwards borne ;
So grief is rooted in our souls,
And man grows up to mourn.
3 Yet with my God I leave my cause,
And trust his promis'd grace:
He rules me by his well-known laws
Of love and righteousness.

4 Not all the pains that e'er I bore
Shall spoil my future peace;
For death and hell can do no more
Than what my Father please.

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HYMN 13. B. 2. L. M.

Luton, Nantwich, Truro. The creation, and dissolution of the world. ING to the Lord who built the skies, The Lord who rear'd this stately

frame;

Let all the nations sound his praise, And lands unknown repeat his name. 2 He form'd the seas, and form'd the hills, Made every drop, and every dust; Nature and time with all their wheels, And push'd them into motion first. Now, from his high imperial throne He looks far down upon the spheres He bids the shining orbs roll on, And round he turns the hasty years. 4 Thus shall this moving engine last, Till all his saints are gather'd in: Then for the trumpet's dreadful blast, To shake it all to dust again. 5 Yet when the sound shall tear the skies, And lightning burn the globe below, Saints, you may lift your joyful eyes, There's a new heaven and earth for you.

PSALM 107. 4th Part. L. M. X Eaton, Nantwich, Blendon. The seaman's song. 1WOULDyou behold the works of God: His wonders in the world abroad, Go with the mariners, and trace The unknown regions of the seas. 2 They leave their native shores behind, And seize the favour of the wind, Till God command, and tempests rise, That heave the ocean to the skies

3 Now to the heavens they mount amain;
Now sink to dreadful deeps again;
What strange affright young sailors feel,
And like a staggering drunkard reel!
4 When land is far, and death is nigh,
Lost to all hope, to God they cry:
His mercy hears their loud address,
And sends salvation in distress.

5 He bids the winds their wrath assuage;
The furious waves forget their rage:
'Tis calm; and sailors smile to see
The haven where they wish'd to be.
60 may the sons of men record ·
The wondrous goodness of the Lord!
Let them their private offerings bring,
And in the church his glory sing.

ταξ

PSALM 107. C. M.
Cambridge, Rochester, Abridge.
The mariner's psalm.
1THY works of glory, mighty Lord,
1THY
Thy wonders in the deeps,
The sons of courage shall record,
Who trade in floating ships.

2 At thy command the winds arise,
And swell the towering waves;
The men, astonish'd, mount the skies,
And sink in gaping graves.

3 [Again they climb the watery hills,
And plunge in deeps again:
Each like a tottering drunkard reels,
And finds his courage vain,
4 Frighted to hear the tempest roar,
They pant with fluttering breath;
And, hopeless of a distant_shore,
Expect immediate death.]

5 Then to the Lord they raise their cries;
He hears their loud request,
And orders silence through the skies,
And lays the floods to rest.

6 Sailors rejoice to lose their fears,
And see the storm allay'd:
Now to their eyes the port appears;
There let, their vows be paid,
7 'Tis God that brings them safe to land;
Let stupid mortals know
That waves-are under his command,
And all the winds that blow.

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HYMN 109. B. 2. L. M. X
Bath, Putney.

The darkness of providence.
ORD, we adore the vast designs;
Too deep to sound with mortal lines,
Th' obscute abyss of providence!
Too dark to view with feeble sense.
2 Now thou array'st thine awful face
In angry frowns, without a smile:
We through the cloud believe thy grace,
Secure of thy compassion still.
3 Through seas and storms of deep distress
We sail by faith, and not by sight;
Faith guides us in the wilderness,
Through all the terrors of the night.
4 Dear Father, if thy lifted rod
Resolve to scourge us here below;
Still let us lean upon our God,
Thine arm shall bear us safely through.

9 On what a slippery steep
The thoughtless wretches go:
And O, that dreadful fiery deep,
That waits their fall below!
10 Lord, at thy feet I bow,

My thoughts no more repine;
I call my God my portion now,
And all my powers are thine.

1 NOW I'm convinc'd the Lord is kind
To men of heart sincere,
Yet once my foolish thoughts repin'd,
And border'd on despair.

Shall once enquire for blood, The humble souls, who mourn in dust, Shall find a faithful God.

PSALM 73. 73} 1st Part. C. M. 2 He from the dreadful gates of death London, Dundee. Doth his own children raise; Afflicted saints happy, and prosperIn Zion's gates, with cheerful breath, They sing their Father's praise. ous sinners cursed. His foes shall fall, with heedless feet, Into the pit they made; And sinners perish in the net Which their own hands have spread. Thus by thy judgments, mighty God, Are thy deep counsels known: When men of mischief are destroy'd, The snare must be their own. PAUSE.

21 griev'd to see the wicked thrive,

And spoke with angry breath, "How pleasant and profane they live! "How peaceful is their death. 3"With well fed flesh and haughty eyes "They lay their fears to sleep; "Against the heavens their slanders rise, "While saints in silence weep. 4"In vain I lift my hands to pray, "And cleanse my heart in vain, "For I am chasten'd all the day, The night renews my pain." 5 Yet while my tongue indulg'd complaints, I felt my heart reprove; "Sure I shall thus offend thy saints, "And grieve the men I love.” 6 But still I found my doubts too hard,

The conflict too severe,
Till I retir'd to search thy word,
And learn thy secrets there.

The wicked shall sink down to hell;
That dare forget thee, or rebel
Thy wrath devour the lands
Against thy known commands.
Tho' saints to sore distress are brought,
And wait and long complain,
Their cries shall never be forgot,
Nor shall their hopes be vain.
[Rise,great Redeemer, from thy seat,
To judge and save the poor;
Let nations tremble at thy feet,
And man prevail no more.
Thy thunder shall affright the proud,
And put their hearts to pain,
Make them confess that thou art God,
And they but feeble men.]

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An Arrangement of the Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs of Issac Watts: To ...