Library · The Psalms of David Imitated
Psalm 65
The Psalms of David Imitated · Isaac Watts
Psalm 65:1. 1-5. First Part. L. M. Public prayer and praise.
1 The praise of Sion waits for thee,
My God; and praise becomes thy house;
There shall thy saints thy glory see,
And there perform their public vows.
2 O thou, whose mercy bends the skies
To save when humble sinners pray,
All lands to thee shall lift their eyes
And islands of the northern sea.
3 Against my will my sins prevail,
But grace shall purge away their stain;
The blood of Christ will never fail
To wash my garments white again.
4 Blest is the man whom thou shalt choose,
And give him kind access to thee,
Give him a place within thy house,
To taste thy love divinely free.
PAUSE.
5 Let Babel fear when Sion prays;
Babel, prepare for long distress
When Sion's God himself arrays
In terror, and in righteousness.
6 With dreadful glory God fulfils
What his afflicted saints request;
And with almighty wrath reveals
His love to give his churches rest.
7 Then shall the flocking nations run
To Sion's hill, and own their Lord;
The rising and the setting sun
Shall see their Saviour's name ador'd.
Psalm 65:2. 5-13. Second Part. L. M. Divine providence in air, earth, and sea; or, The God of nature and grace.
1 The God of our salvation hears
The groans of Sion mix'd with tears;
Yet when he comes with kind designs,
Thro' all the way his terror shines.
2 On him the race of man depends,
Far as the earth's remotest ends,
Where the Creator's Name is known
By nature's feeble light alone.
3 Sailors, that travel o'er the flood,
Address their frighted souls to God;
When tempests rage and billows roar
At dreadful distance from the shore.
4 He bids the noisy tempest cease;
He calms the raging crowd to peace,
When a tumultuous nation raves
Wild as the winds, and loud as waves.
5 Whole kingdoms shaken by the storm
He settles in a peaceful form;
Mountains establish'd by his hand,
Firm on their old foundations stand.
6 Behold his ensigns sweep the sky,
New comets blaze and lightnings fly,
The heathen lands, with swift surprise,
From the bright horrors turn their eyes.
7 At his command the morning-ray
Smiles in the east, and leads the day;
He guides the sun's declining wheels
Over the tops of western hills.
8 Seasons and times obey his voice;
The evening and the morn rejoice
To see the earth made soft with showers,
Laden with fruit and drest in flowers.
9 'Tis from his watery stores on high
He gives the thirsty ground supply;
He walks upon the clouds, and thence
Doth his enriching drops dispense.
10 The desert grows a fruitful field,
Abundant food the vallies yield;
The vallies shout with cheerful voice,
And neighb'ring hills repeat their joys.
11 The pastures smile in green array;
There lambs and larger cattle play;
The larger cattle and the lamb
Each in his language speaks thy Name.
12 Thy works pronounce thy power divine,
O'er every field thy glories shine;
Thro' every month thy gifts appear;
Great God! thy goodness crowns the year.
Psalm 65:3. First Part. C. M. A prayer-hearing God, and the Gentiles called.
1 Praise waits in Sion, Lord, for thee;
There shall our vows be paid:
Thou hast an ear when sinners pray,
All flesh shall seek thine aid.
2 Lord, our iniquities prevail,
But pardoning grace is thine,
And thou wilt grant us power and skill
To conquer every sin.
3 Bless'd are the men whom thou wilt choose
To bring them near thy face,
Give them a dwelling in thine house
To feast upon thy grace.
4 In answering what thy church requests
Thy truth and terror shine,
And works of dreadful righteousness
Fulfil thy kind design.
5 Thus shall the wondering nations see
The Lord is good and just;
And distant islands fly to thee,
And make thy Name their trust.
6 They dread thy glittering tokens, Lord,
When signs in heaven appear;
But they shall learn thy holy word,
And love as well as fear.
Psalm 65:4. Second Part. C. M. The providence of God in air, earth, and sea; or, The blessing of rain.
1 'Tis by thy strength the mountains stand,
God of eternal power;
The sea grows calm at thy command,
And tempests cease to roar.
2 Thy morning light and evening shade
Successive comforts bring;
Thy plenteous fruits make harvest glad,
Thy flowers adorn the spring.
3 Seasons and times, and moons and hours,
Heaven, earth, and air are thine;
When clouds distil in fruitful showers,
The author is divine.
4 Those wandering cisterns in the sky,
Borne by the winds around,
With watery treasures well supply
The furrows of the ground.
5 The thirsty ridges drink their fill,
And ranks of corn appear;
Thy ways abound with blessings still,
Thy goodness crowns the year.
Psalm 65:5. Third Part. C. M. The blessing: of the spring; or, God gives rain. A psalm for the husbandman.
1 Good is the Lord, the heavenly King,
Who makes the earth his care,
Visits the pastures every spring,
And bids the grass appear.
2 The clouds, like rivers rais'd on high,
Pour out, at thy command,
Their watery blessings from the sky,
To cheer the thirsty land.
3 The soften'd ridges of the field
Permit the corn to spring;
The vallies rich provision yield,
And the poor labourers sing.
4 The little hills on every side
Rejoice at falling showers;
The meadows, drest in all their pride,
Perfume the air with flowers.
5 The barren clods, refresh'd with rain,
Promise a joyful crop;
The parching grounds look green again,
And raise the reaper's hope.
6 The various months thy goodness crowns;
How bounteous are thy ways;
The bleating flocks spread o'er the downs,
And shepherds shout thy praise.