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HYMNS BASED ON
ON PSALMS

T

PSALM XIX

JOSEPH ADDISON

[1672-1719]

HE spacious firmament on high,
With all the blue ethereal sky,

And spangled heavens, a shining frame,

Their great Original proclaim.

The unwearied sun from day to day
Does his Creator's power display,

And publishes to every land

The work of an almighty hand.

Soon as the evening shades prevail
The moon takes up the wondrous tale,
And nightly to the listening earth
Repeats the story of her birth;

Whilst all the stars that round her burn,
And all the planets in their turn,
Confirm the tidings as they roll,

And spread the truth from pole to pole.

What though in solemn silence all
Move round the dark terrestrial ball?
What though no real voice nor sound
Amid their radiant orbs be found?
In reason's ear they all rejoice
And utter forth a glorious voice,
Forever singing as they shine,
"The hand that made us is divine."

PSALM XXIII

HENRY WILLIAMS BAKER
[1821-1877]

THE King of love my shepherd is,
Whose goodness faileth never:
I nothing lack if I am his,

And he is mine forever.

Where streams of living water flow
My ransomed soul he leadeth,
And where the verdant pastures grow
With food celestial feedeth.

Perverse and foolish oft I strayed,
But yet in love he sought me
And on his shoulder gently laid
And home rejoicing brought me.

In death's dark vale I fear no ill
With thee, dear Lord, beside me,
Thy rod and staff my comfort still,
Thy cross before to guide me.

Thou spread'st a table in my sight,
Thy unction grace bestoweth,
And O! what transport of delight
From thy pure chalice floweth !

And so through all the length of days
Thy goodness faileth never;
Good Shepherd, may I sing thy praise
Within thy house forever.

PSALM LXXII

ISAAC WATTS

[1674-1748]

JESUS shall reign where'er the sun
Does his successive journeys run,
His kingdom stretch from shore to shore
Till moons shall wax and wane no more.

Behold the islands with their kings, And Europe her best tribute brings; From north and south the princes meet To pay their homage at his feet.

There Persia, glorious to behold,
There India shines in eastern gold,
And barb'rous nations at his word
Submit and bow, and own their Lord.

For him shall endless prayer be made, And praises throng to crown his head; His name, like sweet perfume, shall rise With every morning sacrifice.

People and realms of every tongue
Dwell on his love with sweetest song,
And infant voices shall proclaim
Their early blessings on his name.

Blessings abound where'er he reigns;
The prisoner leaps to lose his chains,
The weary find eternal rest,
And all the sons of want are blest.

Where he displays his healing power,
Death and the curse are known no more.
In him the tribes of Adam boast
More blessings than their father lost.

Let every creature rise, and bring
Peculiar honors to our King,
Angels descend with songs again,
And earth repeat the loud Amen!

PSALM XC

ISAAC WATTS

[1674-1748]

OUR God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast,
And our eternal home,

Under the shadow of thy throne
Thy saints have dwelt secure;
Sufficient is thine arm alone,
And our defence is sure.

Before the hills in order stood,
Or earth received her frame,
From everlasting thou art God,
To endless years the same.

Thy word commands our flesh, "To dust Return ye sons of men:"

All nations rose from earth at first

And turn to earth again.

A thousand ages in thy sight

Are like an evening gone,

Short as the watch that ends the night
Before the rising sun.

The busy tribes of flesh and blood,
With all their lives and cares,
Are carried downward by thy flood,
And lost in following years.

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