Isaac Watts

“ Praise for Birth and Education in a Christian Land.
1 Great God, to thee my voice I raise,
To thee my youngest hours belong;
I would begin my life with praise,
Till growing years improve the song.
2 'Tis to thy soveraign grace I owe,
That I was born on Brittish ground,
Where streams of heavenly mercy flow,
And words of sweet salvation sound.
3 I would not change my native land
For rich Peru, with all her gold:
A nobler prize lies in my hand
Than East or Western Indies hold.
4 How do I pity those that dwell
Where ignorance and darkness reigns ”

“ This is the balm that eases the most raging pains of the mind, when the wounded conscience comes to the mercy-seat, and finds pardon and peace there. This is the cordial that revives and exalts our natures, when the spirit, broken with sorrows and almost fainting with death, draws near to the almighty Physician, and is healed and refreshed. The mercy-seat in heaven is our surest and sweetest refuge in ever hour of distress and darkness on earth; this is our daily support and relief, while we are passing through a world of temptations and hardships in the way to the promised land. ”

“ Wisdom descends to heal the blind,
And chase the darkness of the mind.
2 Our guilty souls are drown'd in tears
Till his atoning blood appears,
Then we awake from deep distress,
And sing, "The Lord our Righteousness."
3 Our very frame is mix'd with sin,
His Spirit makes our natures clean;
Such virtues from his sufferings flow,
At once to cleanse and pardon too.
4 Jesus beholds where Satan reigns,
Binding his slaves in heavy chains;
He sets the prisoners free, and breaks
The iron bondage from our necks.
5 Poor helpless worms in thee possess
Grace, wisdom, power, and righteousness ”

“ Psalm 5.
For the Lord's day morning.
1 Lord, in the morning thou shalt hear
My voice ascending high;
To thee will I direct my prayer,
To thee lift up mine eye;
2 Up to the hills where Christ is gone
To plead for all his saints,
Presenting at his Father's throne
Our songs and our complaints.
3 Thou art a God before whose sight
The wicked shall not stand;
Sinners shall ne'er be thy delight,
Nor dwell at thy right hand.
4 But to thy house will I resort,
To taste thy mercies there;
I will frequent thine holy court,
And worship in thy fear. ”

“ Some lessons of wisdom might learn.
They wear not their time out in sleeping or play,
But gather up corn in a sunshiny day,
And for winter they lay up their stores:
They manage their work in such regular forms,
One would think they foresaw all the frosts and the storms,
And so brought their food within doors.
But I have less sense than a poor creeping Ant,
If I take not due care for the things I shall want,
Nor provide against dangers in time:
When death or old age shall once stare in my face,
What a wretch shall I be in the end of my days,
If I trifle away all their prime! ”

“ The Advantages of early Religion.
1 Happy's the child whose youngest years
Receive instruction well;
Who hates the sinner's path, and fears
The road that leads to hell.
2 When we devote our youth to God,
'Tis pleasing in his eyes;
A flower, when offer'd in the bud,
Is no vain sacrifice.
3 'Tis easier work if we begin
To fear the Lord betimes;
While sinners that grow old in sin
Are hard'ned in their crimes.
4 'Twill save us from a thousand snares
To mind religion young;
Grace will preserve our following years
And make our vertue strong. ”

“ Holiness and grace, Titus 2. 10-13.
1 So let our lips and lives express
The holy gospel we profess,
So let our works and virtues shine
To prove the doctrine all divine.
2 Thus shall we best proclaim abroad
The honours of our saviour God;
When the salvation reigns within,
And grace subdues the power of sin.
3 Our flesh and sense must be deny'd,
Passion and envy, lust and pride;
While justice, temperance, truth and love
Our inward piety approve.
4 Religion bears our spirits up,
While we expect that blessed hope,
The bright appearance of the Lord,
And faith stands leaning on his word. ”

“ God was their Saviour and their Guide;
He led their march far wandering round,
'Twas the right path to Canaan's ground.
6 Thus when our first release we gain
From sin's old yoke, and Satan's chain,
We have this desert world to pass,
A dangerous and a tiresome place.
7 He feeds and clothes us all the way,
He guides our footsteps lest we stray,
He guards us with a powerful hand
And brings us to the heavenly land.
8 O let the saints with joy record
The truth and goodness of the Lord!
How great his works! how kind his ways!
Let every tongue pronounce his praise.
Psalm 107:2. ”

“ The glory of April and May:
But the leaves are beginning to fade in an hour,
And they wither and die in a day.
Yet the Rose has one powerful virtue to boast,
Above all the flowers of the field!
When its leaves are all dead and fine colours are lost,
Still how sweet a perfume it will yield!
So frail is the youth and the beauty of man,
Though they bloom and look gay like the Rose;
But all our fond care to preserve them is vain,
Time kills them as fast as he goes. ”

“ Faith assisted by sense; or, Preaching, baptism, and the Lord's Supper.
1 My Saviour-God, my Sovereign-Prince
Reigns far above the skies;
But brings his graces down to sense,
And helps my faith to rise.
2 My eyes and ears shall bless his Name,
They read and hear his word;
My touch and taste shall do the same
When they receive the Lord.
3 Baptismal water is design'd
To seal his cleansing grace;
While at his feast of bread and wine
He gives his saints a place.
4 But not the waters of a flood
Can make my flesh so clean,
As by his Spirit and his blood
He'll wash my soul from sin. ”

“ For God shall raise the dead.
5 Then his high praise shall fill their tongues,
Their hands shall wield the sword;
And vengeance shall attend their songs,
The vengeance of the Lord.
6 When Christ his judgment-seat ascends,
And bids the world appear,
Thrones are prepar'd for all his friends,
Who humbly lov'd him here.
7 Then shall they rule with iron rod
Nations that dar'd rebel;
And join the sentence of their God
On tyrants doom'd to hell.
8 The royal sinners bound in chains
New triumphs shall afford;
Such honour for the saints remains:
Praise ye, and love the Lord.
Psalm 150. ”

“ And yet so much is human nature sunk down and fallen from God, that even his own children are ready to indulge a neglect of converse with him, if their souls are not always upon the watch. But let it be remembered here, that so much as we abate of this divine entertainment among the vanities or amusements of the world, the businesses or burdens of life; so much we lose of the glory and joy of religion, and deprive our souls of the comfort that God invites us to receive. ”

“ Almighty grace, renew our souls,
And we'll aspire to glory too.
Hymn 2:58
The shortness of life, and the goodness of God.
1 Time! what an empty vapour 'tis!
And days how swift they are!
Swift as an Indian arrow flies,
Or like a shooting star.
2 [The present moments just appear,
Then slide away in haste,
That we can never say, "They're here,"
But only say, "They're past."]
3 [Our life is ever on the wing,
And death is ever nigh;
The moment when our lives begin
We all begin to die.] ”

“ But gather first my saints (the Judge commands)
Bring them, ye angels, from their distant lands.
3 Behold! my covenant stands for ever good,
Seal'd by the eternal sacrifice in blood,
And sign'd with all their names; the Greek, the Jew,
That paid the ancient worship or the new.
There's no distinction here: come spread their thrones,
And near me seat my favorites and my sons.
4 I their almighty Saviour and their God,
I am their Judge: ye heavens, proclaim abroad
My just eternal sentence, and declare
Those awful truths that sinners dread to hear:
Sinners in Zion, tremble and retire ”

“ Can souls all o'er defil'd with sin
Make their own powers and passions clean?
3 In vain we search, in vain we try,
Till Jesus bring his gospel nigh;
'Tis there such power and glory dwell
As saves rebellious souls from hell.
4 This is the pillar of our hope
That bears our fainting spirits up;
We read the grace, we trust the word,
And find salvation in the Lord.
5 Let men or angels dig the mines
Where nature's golden treasure shines,
Brought near the doctrine of the cross
All nature's gold appears but dross. ”

“ The church renounce her fear;
Israel must live thro' every age,
And be th' Almighty's care.
Psalm 106:1. 1-5. First Part.
Praise to God; or, Communion with saints.
1 To God, the great, the ever blest,
Let songs of honour be addrest:
His mercy firm for ever stands;
Give him the thanks his love demands.
2 Who knows the wonders of thy ways?
Who shall fulfil thy boundless praise?
Blest are the souls that fear thee still,
And pay their duty to thy will.
3 Remember what thy mercy did
For Jacob's race, thy chosen seed;
And with the same salvation bless
The meanest suppliant of thy grace. ”

“ This is the grace that shall prevail
In the decisive hour.
5 [Faith must obey her Father's will
As well as trust his grace;
A pardoning God is jealous still
For his own holiness.
6 When from the curse he sets us free,
He makes our natures clean,
Nor would he send his Son to be
The minister of sin.
7 His Spirit purifies our frame,
And seals our peace with God;
Jesus, and his salvation, came
By water and by blood.] ”

“ And let my nightly worship rise
Sweet as the evening sacrifice.
2 Watch o'er my lips, and guard them, Lord,
From every rash and heedless word;
Nor let my feet incline to tread
The guilty path where sinners lead.
3 O may the righteous, when I stray,
Smite, and reprove my wandering way!
Their gentle words, like ointment shed,
Shall never bruise, but cheer my head.
4 When I behold them prest with grief, I'll cry to heaven for their relief; And by my warm petitions prove how much I prize their faithful love.
Psalm 142.
God is the hope of the helpless. ”

“ Salvation by grace, Titus 3. 3-7.
1 [Lord, we confess our numerous faults,
How great our guilt has been!
Foolish and vain were all our thoughts,
And all our lives were sin.
2 But O, my soul, for ever praise,
For ever love his Name,
Who turns thy feet from dangerous ways
Of folly, sin, and shame.]
3 ['Tis not by works of righteousness
Which our own hands have done;
But we are sav'd by sovereign grace
Abounding thro' his Son.]
4 'Tis from the mercy of our God
That all our hopes begin;
'Tis by the water and the blood
Our souls are wash'd from sin. ”

“ 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. ”

“ To every soul that trusts in him.
2 Jesus, thy witness speaks within:
The mercy which thy words reveal
Refines the heart from sense and sin,
And stamps its own celestial seal.
3 'Tis God's inimitable hand
That moulds and forms the heart anew;
Blasphemers can no more withstand,
But bow and own thy doctrine true.
4 The guilty wretch that trusts thy blood,
Finds peace and pardon at thy cross;
The sinful soul averse to God,
Believes and loves his Maker's laws.
5 Learning and wit may cease their strife,
When miracles with glory shine ”

“ 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 118:2. 17-21. ”

“ Treasures of grace to them are given,
And crowns of joy laid up in heaven.]
2 [Bless'd are the men of broken heart,
Who mourn for sin with inward smart;
The blood of Christ divinely flows,
A healing balm for all their woes.]
3 [Bless'd are the meek, who stand afar
From rage and passion, noise and war;
God will secure their happy state,
And plead their cause against the great.]
4 [Bless'd are the souls that thirst for grace,
Hunger and long for righteousness,
They shall be well supply'd and fed,
With living streams and living bread.] ”

“ On Israel's God: he made the sky,
And earth and seas with all their train;
His truth for ever stands secure;
He saves th' opprest, he feeds the poor,
And none shall find his promise vain.
4 The Lord hath eyes to give the blind;
The Lord supports the sinking mind;
He sends the labouring conscience peace:
He helps the stranger in distress,
The widow and the fatherless,
And grants the prisoner sweet release.
5 He loves his saints; he knows them well,
But turns the wicked down to hell;
Thy God, O Zion, ever reigns:
Let every tongue, let every age,
In this exalted work engage ”

“ Earth is too narrow to express
His worth, his glory, or his grace.
2 [The whole creation can afford
But some faint shadows of my Lord:
Nature to make his beauties known
Must mingle colours not her own.]
3 [Is he compar'd to wine or bread?
Dear Lord, our souls would thus be fed;
That flesh, that dying blood of thine,
Is bread of life, is heavenly wine.]
4 [Is he a tree? The world receives
Salvation from his healing leaves;
That righteous branch, that fruitful bough,
Is David's root and offspring too.] ”

“ In this distressing season, doubly so to his active and pious spirit, he is invited to Sir Thomas Abney's family, nor ever removes from it till he had finished his days. Here he enjoyed the uninterrupted demonstrations of the truest friendship. Here, without any care of his own, he had everything which could contribute to the enjoyment of life, and favour the unwearied pursuits of his studies. Here he dwelt in a family, which, for piety, order, harmony, and every virtue, was an house of God. ”

“ To seize our lives away.
5 Our breath is forfeited by sin
To God's revenging law;
We own thy grace, immortal King,
In every gasp we draw.
6 God is our sun, whose daily light
Our joy and safety brings:
Our feeble flesh lies safe at night
Beneath his shady wings.
Hymn 2:9.
Godly sorrow arising from the sufferings of Christ.
1 Alas! and did my Saviour bleed,
And did my Sovereign die?
Would he devote that sacred head
For such a worm as I?
2 [Thy body slain, sweet Jesus, thine,
And bath'd in its own blood,
While all expos'd to wrath divine
The glorious Sufferer stood.] ”

“ He rules the nations; but to dwell
With saints is his delight.
Psalm 24:2. L. M.
Saints dwell in heaven; or, Christ's ascension.
1 This spacious earth is all the Lord's,
And men, and worms, and beasts, and birds:
He rais'd the building on the seas,
And gave it for their dwelling-place.
2 But there's a brighter world on high,
Thy palace, Lord, above the sky:
Who shall ascend that blest abode,
And dwell so near his Maker God?
3 He that abhors and fears to sin,
Whose heart is pure whose hands are clean,
Him shall the Lord the Saviour bless,
And clothe his soul with righteousness. ”