The Cyber Hymnal ‎#6158

6158. Save Me, O God, the Swelling Floods

1. Save me, O God, the swelling floods
Break in upon my soul;
I sink, and sorrows o’er my head
Like mighty waters roll.

2. I cry till all my voice be gone,
In tears I waste the day:
My God, behold my longing eyes,
And shorten Thy delay.

3. They hate my soul without a cause,
And still their number grows
More than the hairs around my head,
And mighty are my foes.

4. ’Twas then I paid that dreadful debt
That men could never pay,
And gave those honors to Thy law
Which sinners took away.

5. Thus in the great Messiah’s name,
The royal prophet mourns;
Thus he awakes our hearts to grief,
And gives us joy by turns.

6. Now shall the saints rejoice, and find
Salvation in My name;
For I have borne their heavy load
Of sorrow, pain, and shame.

7. Grief, like a garment, clothed Me round,
And sackcloth was My dress,
While I procured for naked souls
A robe of righteousness.

8. Amongst My brethren and the Jews
I like a stranger stood,
And bore their vile reproach, to bring
The Gentiles near to God.

9. I came in sinful mortals’ stead,
To do My Father’s will;
Yet when I cleansed My Father’s house,
They scandalized My zeal.

10. My fasting and My holy groans
Were made the drunkard’s song;
But God, from His celestial throne,
Heard My complaining tongue.

11. He saved Me from the dreadful deep,
Nor let My soul be drowned;
He raised and fixed My sinking feet
On well-established ground.

12. ’Twas in a most accepted hour
My prayer arose on high;
And for My sake my God shall hear
The dying sinner’s cry.

Text Information

• First Line: Save me, O God, the swelling floods
• Title: Save Me, O God, the Swelling Floods
• Author: Isaac Watts (1719)
• Meter: CM
• Language: English
• Source: The Psalms of David, 1719
• Copyright: Public Domain
• Notes: Alternate tunes: GRÄFENBERG, Johann Crüger, 1647; HEREFORD (OUSELEY), Frederick A. G. Ouseley, in Hymns Ancient and Modern, 1861; HUNNYS, melody from Seven Sobs of a Sorrowful Soul, 1585; LINCOLN, Thomas Ravenscroft, The Whole Booke of Psalmes (London: 1621)

Tune Information

• Name: CHESHIRE
• Meter: CM
• Incipit: 11233 22113 34755
• Key: e minor
• Source: Este’s Psal­ter, 1592
• Copyright: Public Domain