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Exhortation to Worship

Representative Text

1 Before Jehovah's aweful throne,
ye nations, bow with sacred joy;
know that the Lord is God alone:
he can create, and he destroy.

2 His sovereign power, without our aid,
made us of clay, and formed us then;
and, when like wandering sheep we strayed,
he brought us to his fold again.

3 We'll crowd thy gates with thankful songs,
high as the heavens our voices raise;
and earth, with her ten thousand tongues,
shall fill thy courts with sounding praise.

4 Wide as the world is thy command,
vast as eternity thy love;
firm as a rock thy truth must stand,
when rolling years shall cease to move.

Source: Ancient and Modern: hymns and songs for refreshing worship #597

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Author: Isaac Watts

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 >

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Text Information

Related Texts

First Line: Before Jehovah's awful throne
Title: Exhortation to Worship
Author: Isaac Watts (1719)
Meter: 8.8.8.8
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain
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Notes

Sing to the Lord with joyful voice. I. Watts. (Ps. 100) 1st published in his Psalms of David, & c., 1719, p. 256, in 6 st. of 4 l. In this form its use in modern collections is limited; that which has attained to the greatest popularity being "Before Jehovah's awful throne." This arrangement is by J. Wesley, and was 1st published in his Psalms & Hymns at Charlestown, U.S.A., in 1736-7, p. 5, and repeated in J. & C. Wesley's Psalms & Hymns, 1741, p. 74; the Wesleyan Hymn Book in 1797, as the first of the "Additional Hymns," and the revised ed. of 1875. Modern collections of the Church of England have received it through Madan's Psalms & Hymns, 1760, Toplady's Psalms & Hymns, 1776, and others of the last century. It consists of Watts, as follows, with alterations thus: st. i., Watts' st. ii altered, by J. Wesley, to: "Before Jehovah's awful throne, Ye nations bow with sacred joy."

—Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

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Tune

OLD HUNDREDTH

This tune is likely the work of the composer named here, but has also been attributed to others as shown in the instances list below. According to the Handbook to the Baptist Hymnal (1992), Old 100th first appeared in the Genevan Psalter, and "the first half of the tune contains phrases which may ha…

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PARK STREET


All tunes published with 'Exhortation to Worship'^ top

Timeline

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Media

The Cyber Hymnal #415
  • Adobe Acrobat image (PDF)
  • Noteworthy Composer score (NWC)
  • XML score (XML)
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Instances

Instances (1 - 24 of 24)
Text

Ancient and Modern #597

Ancient and Modern #597

Anglican Hymns Old and New (Rev. and Enl.) #68

Anglican Hymns Old and New (Rev. and Enl.) #68

Church Hymnal, Mennonite #30

Church Hymnal, Mennonite #30
TextPage Scan

Common Praise #387

Common Praise #387
TextPage Scan

CPWI Hymnal #793

CPWI Hymnal #793

Great Songs of the Church (Revised) #110

Great Songs of the Church (Revised) #110

Hymnal #18

Hymnal #18

Hymns Ancient and Modern, New Standard Edition #197

Hymns Ancient and Modern, New Standard Edition #197
TextPage Scan

Hymns for Today's Church (2nd ed.) #15

Hymns for Today's Church (2nd ed.) #15
Text

Lutheran Worship #454

Lutheran Worship #454
TextPage Scan

Moravian Book of Worship #455

Moravian Book of Worship #455

Old-Line Primitive Baptist Hymn and Tune Book #1

Old-Line Primitive Baptist Hymn and Tune Book #1
TextPage Scan

Praise for the Lord (Expanded Edition) #64

Praise for the Lord (Expanded Edition) #64

Praise! psalms hymns and songs for Christian worship #208

Praise! psalms hymns and songs for Christian worship #208

Sacred Songs of the Church #655

Sacred Songs of the Church #655
TextPage Scan

Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal #82

Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal #82

Spurgeon's Own Hymn Book #100a

Spurgeon's Own Hymn Book #100a
TextPage Scan

The A.M.E. Zion Hymnal #3

The A.M.E. Zion Hymnal #3

The Baptist Hymnal #5

The Baptist Hymnal #5
TextScoreAudio

The Cyber Hymnal #415

The Cyber Hymnal #415
Text

The Hymnal 1982 #391

The Hymnal 1982 #391

The New Harp of Columbia, Restored Edition #11

The New Harp of Columbia, Restored Edition #11
Text

The Song Book of the Salvation Army #4

The Song Book of the Salvation Army #4
TextPage Scan

Trinity Hymnal (Rev. ed.) #65

Trinity Hymnal (Rev. ed.) #65
Include 936 pre-1979 instances
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