1 I'll praise my Maker with my breath,
And when my voice is lost in death,
Praise shall employ my nobler powers
My days of praise shall ne'er be past,
While life, and thought, and being last,
Or immortality endures.
2 Why should I make a man my trust?
Princes must die and turn to dust;
Vain is the help of flesh and blood:
Their breath departs, their pomp and power,
And thoughts all vanish in an hour,
Nor can they make their promise good.
3 Happy the man whose hopes rely
On Israel's God; He made the sky
And earth and seas, with all their train;
His truth for ever stands secure;
He saves th' oppress'd, He feeds the poor,
And none shall find His promise vain.
4 The Lord hath eyes to give the blind;
The Lord supports the sinking mind;
He sends the labouring conscience peace,
He helps the stranger in distress,
The widow and the fatherless,
And grants the prisoner sweet release.
5 He loves his saints, He knows them well,
But turns the wicked down to hell;
Thy God, O Zion, ever reigns;
Let every tongue, let every age,
In this exalted work engage;
Praise Him in everlasting strains.
6 I'll praise Him while He lends me breath;
And when my voice is lost in death,
Praise shall employ my nobler powers;
My days of praise shall ne'er be past,
While life and thought and being last,
Or immortality endures.
Source: Spurgeon's Own Hymn Book #146b
First Line: | I'll praise my Maker with my breath |
Title: | Praise to God for His Goodness and Truth |
Author: | Isaac Watts |
Meter: | 8.8.8.8.8.8 |
Language: | English |
Copyright: | Public Domain |
I'll praise my Maker with my [while I've] breath. I. Watts. [Ps. cxlvi.] First published in his Psalms of David, &c., 1719, in 6 stanzas of 6 lines, and headed, “Praise to God for His Goodness and Truth." It is sometimes given in this form: but the more popular arrangement, which is in extensive use in all English-speaking countries, is that by J. Wesley, beginning, "I'll praise my Maker while I've breath." This is composed of stanzas i., iii., iv. and vi. somewhat altered. It appeared in Wesley's Psalms & Hymns, Charlestown, South Carolina, 1736-7; was repeated in the Wesley Psalms & Hymns, 1743, and in the Festival Hymnal, 1780. Another arrangement is, "Happy the man whose hopes rely." This is composed of stanzas iii., iv., and vi. somewhat altered, and was given in Cotterill’s Selection, 1810. Neither the original nor the arrangements by Wesley and by Cotterill have the doxology which is found in some collections.
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)