Dr. Watts's Imitation of the Psalms of David ‎#151

151. 'Twas for thy sake, eternal God

1 'Twas for thy sake, eternal God,
Thy son sustained that heavy load
Of base reproach and sore disgrace,
And shame defil'd his sacred face.

2 The Jews, his brethren and his kin,
Abus'd the man that check'd their sin:
While he fulfill'd thy holy laws,
They hate him, but without a cause.

3 ['My Father's house, (said he) was made
'A place for worship, not for trade;'
Then scatt'ring all their gold and brass
He scourg'd the merchants from the place.

4 Zeal for the temple of his God
Consum'd his life, expos'd his blood:
Reproaches at thy glory thrown
He felt, and mourn'd them as his own.]

5 [His friends forsook, his follow'rs fled,
While foes and arms surround his head;
They curse him with a sland'rous tongue,
And the false judge maintains the wrong.]

6 His life they load with hateful lies,
And charge his lips with blasphemies:
They nail him to the shameful tree;
There hung the man that dy'd for me.

7 [Wretches, with hearts as hard as stones
Insult his piety and groans;
Gall was the food they gave him there,
And mocked his thirst with vinegar.]

8 But God beheld, and from his throne
Marks out the men that hate his Son;
The hand that rais'd him from the dead,
Shall pour the vengeance on their head.

Text Information

• First Line: 'Twas for thy sake, eternal God
• Meter: L. M.
• Language: English
• Publication Date: 1790
• Scripture:
  Psalm 69:7-36
• Notes: Part 2

Tune Information

(No tune information)