1 My hope, my portion, and my God,
How little art Thou known
By all the judgments of Thy rod,
And blessings of Thy throne!
2 How cold and feeble is my love!
How negligent my fear!
How low my hope of joys above!
How few affections there!
3 Great God! Thy gracious aid impart
To give Thy word success;
Write Thy salvation in my heart,
That I may learn Thy grace.
4 Show my forgetful feet thy way
That leads to joys on high:
There knowledge grows without decay,
And love shall never die.
Amen.
Source: Book of Worship with Hymns and Tunes #388
Isaac Watts was the son of a schoolmaster, and was born in Southampton, July 17, 1674. He is said to have shown remarkable precocity in childhood, beginning the study of Latin, in his fourth year, and writing respectable verses at the age of seven. At the age of sixteen, he went to London to study in the Academy of the Rev. Thomas Rowe, an Independent minister. In 1698, he became assistant minister of the Independent Church, Berry St., London. In 1702, he became pastor. In 1712, he accepted an invitation to visit Sir Thomas Abney, at his residence of Abney Park, and at Sir Thomas' pressing request, made it his home for the remainder of his life. It was a residence most favourable for his health, and for the prosecution of his literary… Go to person page >| First Line: | My hope my portion and my God |
| Author: | Isaac Watts |
| Language: | English |
| Copyright: | Public Domain |
My Hope, my Portion, and my God. An altered version of sts. iii.-vi. of I. Watts's "Long have I sat beneath the sound," p. 684, ii.
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907)
My Starred Hymns