Book 1 · Hymns 51–60

Hymns and Spiritual Songs · Isaac Watts

Hymn 1:51. Persevering grace, Jude 24 25.

1 To God the only wise,
Our Saviour and our King,
Let all the saints below the skies
Their humble praises bring.

2 'Tis his almighty love,
His counsel, and his care,
Preserves us safe from sin and death,
And every hurtful snare.

3 He will present our souls
Unblemish'd and complete,
Before the glory of his face,
With joys divinely great.

4 Then all the chosen seed
Shall meet around the throne,
Shall bless the conduct of his grace,
And make his wonders known.

5 To our Redeemer God
Wisdom and power belongs,
Immortal crowns of majesty,
And everlasting songs.

Hymn 1:52. Baptism, Matt. 28. 19. Acts 2. 38.

1 'Twas the commission of our Lord,
"Go, teach the nations, and baptize;"
The nations have receiv'd the word
Since he ascended to the skies.

2 He sits upon th' eternal hills,
With grace and pardon in his hands,
And sends his covenant with the seals,
To bless the distant British lands.

3 "Repent, and be baptiz'd, (he saith)
For the remission of your sins;"
And thus our sense assists our faith,
And shews us what his gospel means.

4 Our souls he washes in his blood,
As water makes the body clean;
And the good Spirit from our God
Descends like purifying rain.

5 Thus we engage ourselves to thee,
And seal our covenant with the Lord:
O may the great eternal Three
In heaven our solemn vows record!

Hymn 1:53. The Holy Scriptures, Heb. 1. 1 2. 2 Tim. 3. 15 16. Psalm 147. 19 20.

1 God who in various methods told
His mind and will to saints of old,
Sent down his Son, with truth and grace,
To teach us in these latter days.

2 Our nation reads the written word,
That book of life, that sure record:
The bright inheritance of heaven
Is by the sweet conveyance given.

3 God's kindest thoughts are here express'd,
Able to make us wise and bless'd;
The doctrines are divinely true,
Fit for reproof, and comfort too.

4 Ye British isles, who read his love
In long epistles from above,
(He hath not sent his sacred word
To every land) Praise ye the Lord.

Hymn 1:54. Electing grace; or, Saints beloved in Christ, Eph. 1. 3 &c.

1 Jesus, we bless thy Father's Name;
Thy God and ours are both the same:
What heavenly blessings from his throne
Flow down to sinners thro' his Son!

2 "Christ be my first elect," he said,
Then chose our souls in Christ our head,
Before he gave the mountains birth,
Or laid foundations for the earth.

3 Thus did eternal love begin
To raise us up from death and sin;
Our characters were then decreed,
"Blameless in love, a holy seed."

4 Predestinated to be sons,
Born by degrees, but chose at once;
A new regenerated race
To praise the glory of his grace.

5 With Christ our Lord we share our part
In the affections of his heart,
Nor shall our souls be thence remov'd
Till he forgets his first belov'd.

Hymn 1:55. Hesekiah's song; or, Sickness and recovery, Isa. 38.9 &c.

1 When we are rais'd from deep distress
Our God deserves a song;
We take the pattern of our praise
From Hezekiah's tongue.

2 The gates of the devouring grave
Are open'd wide in vain,
If he that holds the keys of death
Commands them fast again.

3 Pains of the flesh are wont t' abuse
Our minds with slavish fears,
"Our days are past, and we shall lose
"The remnant of our years."

4 We chatter with a swallow's voice,
Or like a dove we mourn,
With bitterness instead of joys,
Afflicted and forlorn.

5 Jehovah speaks the healing word,
And no disease withstands;
Fevers and plagues obey the Lord,
And fly at his commands.

6 If half the strings of life should break,
He can our frame restore;
He casts our sins behind his back,
And they are found no more.

Hymn 1:56. The song of Moses and the Lamb; or, Babylon falling, Rev. 15. 3. and chap. 16. 19. and 17. 6.

1 We sing the glories of thy love,
We sound thy dreadful Name;
The Christian church unites the songs
Of Moses and the Lamb.

2 Great God, how wondrous are thy works
Of vengeance and of grace!
Thou King of saints, Almighty Lord,
How just and true thy ways!

3 Who dares refuse to fear thy Name,
Or worship at thy throne?
Thy judgments speak thine holiness
Thro' all the nations known.

4 Great Babylon, that rules the earth,
Drunk with the martyrs' blood,
Her crimes shall speedily awake
The fury of our God.

5 The cup of wrath is ready mix'd,
And she must drink the dregs;
Strong is the Lord her sovereign Judge,
And shall fulfil the plagues.

Hymn 1:57. Original sin; or, The first and second Adam, Rom. 5. 12. Psalm 51. 5. Job 11. 4.

1 Backward with humble shame we look
On our original;
How is our nature dash'd and broke
In our first father's fall!

2 To all that's good averse and blind,
But prone to all that's ill
What dreadful darkness veils our mind!
How obstinate our will!

3 [Conceiv'd in sin (O wretched state!)
Before we draw our breath,
The first young pulse begins to beat
Iniquity and death.

4 How strong in our degenerate blood
The old corruption reigns,
And, mingling with the crooked flood,
Wanders thro' all our veins!]

5 Wild and unwholesome as the root
Will all the branches be;
How can we hope for living fruit
From such a deadly tree?

6 What mortal power from things unclean
Can pure productions bring?
Who can command a vital stream
From an infected spring?]

7 Yet, mighty God, thy wondrous love
Can make our nature clean,
While Christ and grace prevail above
The tempter, death, and sin.

8 The second Adam shall restore
The ruins of the first,
Hosanna to that sovereign power
That new creates our dust.

Hymn 1:58. The devil vanquished; or, Michael's war with the dragon, Rev. 12. 7.

1 Let mortal tongues attempt to sing
The wars of heaven, when Michael stood
Chief general of th' Eternal King,
And fought the battles of our God.

2 Against the dragon and his host
The armies of the Lord prevail:
In vain they rage, in vain they boast,
Their courage sinks, their weapons fail.

3 Down to the earth was Satan thrown,
Down to the earth his legions fell;
Then was the trump of triumph blown,
And shook the dreadful deeps of hell.

4 Now is the hour of darkness past,
Christ hath assum'd his reigning power;
Behold the great accuser cast
Down from the skies, to rise no more.

5 'Twas by thy blood immortal Lamb,
Thine armies trod the tempter down;
'Twas by thy word and powerful Name,
They gain'd the battle and renown.

6 Rejoice, ye heavens; let every star
Shine with new glories round the sky;
Saints, while ye sing the heavenly war,
Raise your Deliverer's name on high.

Hymn 1:59. Babylon fallen, Rev. 18. 20 21.

1 In Gabriel's hand a mighty stone
Lies, a fair type of Babylon
''Prophets, rejoice, and, all ye saints,
"God shall avenge your long complaints."

2 He said, and dreadful as he stood,
He sunk the milstone in the flood:
"Thus terribly shall Babel fall;
"Thus, and no more be found at all."

Hymn 1:60. The virgin Mary's song; or, The promised Messiah born, Luke 1. 46 &c.

1 Our souls shall magnify the Lord,
In God the Saviour we rejoice;
While we repeat the Virgin's song,
May the same spirit tune our voice.

2 [The Highest saw her low estate,
And mighty things his hand hath done:
His overshadowing power and grace
Makes her the mother of his Son.

3 Let every nation call her bless'd,
And endless years prolong her fame;
But God alone must be ador'd;
Holy and reverend is his Name.]

4 To those that fear and trust the Lord
His mercy stands for ever sure:
From age to age his promise lives,
And the performance is secure.

5 He spake to Abr'am and his seed,
"In thee shall all the earth be bless'd;"
The memory of that ancient word
Lay long in his eternal breast.

6 But now no more shall Israel wait,
No more the Gentiles lie forlorn:
Lo the desire of nations comes,
Behold the promis'd seed is born.

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