118. O praise the Lord, for he is good

1 O praise the Lord, for he is good,
His mercies ne'er decay:
That his kind favours ever last
Let thankful Isr'el say.

2 Their sense of his eternal love,
Let Aaron's house express;
And that it never fails, let all
that fear the Lord confess.

3 To God I made my humble moan,
With troubles quite opprest;
And he releas'd me from my straits,
And granted my request.

4 Since therefore God does on my side
so graciously appear,
Why should the vain attempts of men
Possess my soul with fear?

Part II.

5 The Lord appears my helper now,
Nor is my faith afraid
What all the sons of earth can do,
Since heav'n affords its aid.

6 'Tis safer, Lord, to hope in thee
And have my God my friend,
Than trust in men of high degree,
And on their truth depend.

7 'Tis thro the Lord my heart is strong,
In him my lips rejoice;
While his salvation is my song,
How cheerful is my voice!

8 Like angry bees, they girt me round;
When God appears they fly;
So burning thorns with crack'ling sound,
Make a fierce blaze. and die.

9 Joy to the saints and peace belongs;
The Lord protects their days:
Let Isr'el tune immortal songs
To his Almighty grace.

Part III.

10 Lord, thou hast heard thy servant cry
And rescu'd from the grave;
Now shall he live: (and none can die,
If God resolve to save.)

11 Thy praise more constant than before,
Shall fill his daily breath;
Thy hand, that hath chastis'd him sore
Defends him still from death.

12 Open the gates of Sion now,
For we shall worship there;
The house where all the righteous go
Thy mercy to declare.

13 Amongst th' assemblies of thy saints
Our thankful voice we raise;
There we have told thee our complaints,
And there we speak thy praise.

Part IV.

14 Behold the sure foundation stone
Which God in Sion lays,
To build our heav'nly hopes upon,
And his eternal praise.

15 Chosen of God to sinners dear,
And saints adore the name,
They trust their whole salvation here,
Nor shall they suffer shame.

16 The foolish builders, scribe and priest,
Reject it with disdain;
Yet on this Rock the church shall rest,
And envy rage in vain.

17 What tho' the gates of hell withstood?
Yet must this building rise:
'Tis thy own work, Almighty God,
And wond'rous in our eyes.

Part V.

18 This is the day the Lord hath made,
He calls the hours his own;
Let heav'n rejoice, let earth be glad,
And praise surround the throne.

19 To day he rose and left the dead;
And satan's empire fell;
To day the saints his triumphs spread,
And all his wonders tell.

20 Hosanna to th' anointed king,
To David's holy son,
Help us, O Lord, descend and bring
Salvation from thy throne.

21 Blest be the Lord, who comes to man
With messages of grace:
Who comes in God his Father's name
To save our sinful race.

22 Hosannah in the highest strains
The church on earth can raise;
The highest heav'ns in which he reigns,
Shall give him nobler praise.

Part VI.

23 God is the Lord, through whom we all
Both light and comfort find;
Fast to the altar's horns with cords
The chosen victim bind.

24 Thou art my Lord, O God, and still
I'll praise thy holy name;
Because thou only art my God,
I'll celebrate thy fame.

25 O then with me give thanks to God,
who still does gracious prove;
And let the tribute of our praise
Be endless as his love.

Text Information
First Line: O praise the Lord, for he is good
Language: English
Publication Date: 1789
Scripture:
Notes: Parts I and VI are from Tate and Brady's New Version, Parts II, III IV and V are by Isaac Watts
Tune Information
(No tune information)



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