Tag Archives: Isaac Watts

A HYMN FOR TODAY – Give Me the Wings of Faith to Rise

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A HYMN FOR TODAY

Give me the wings of faith to rise
Within the veil, and see
The saints above, how great their joys,
How bright their glories be.
Once they were mourning here below,
And drenched their couch with tears:
They wrestled hard, as we do now,
With sins and doubts and fears.

I ask them whence their vict’ry came;
They, with united breath,
Ascribe their conquest to the Lamb,
Their triumph to His death.
Our glorious leader claims our praise
For His own pattern giv’n,
While yet His cloud of witnesses
Show the same path to heav’n.

CMD (8.6.8.6.D) – Isaac Watts, 1707

Tune: FOREST GREEN – English Folk Tune
arr. Ralph Vaughan Williams, 1906, alt.

#726 in Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs, 2012

This hymn was originally written as four CM verses, now combined to make two CMD verses to fit the music of the folk tune, FOREST GREEN, arranged by Ralph Vaughn Williams.

A HYMN FOR TODAY – O God, Our Help In Ages Past

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A HYMN FOR TODAY

O God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast,
And our eternal home.

Under the shadow of Thy throne
Thy saints have dwelt secure;
Sufficient is Thine arm alone,
And our defense is sure.

Before the hills in order stood
Or earth received her frame,
From everlasting Thou art God,
To endless years the same.

A thousand ages in Thy sight
Are like an evening gone,
Short as the watch that ends the night
Before the rising sun.

Time, like an ever-rolling stream,
Bears all its sons away;
They fly, forgotten, as a dream
Dies at the op’ning day.

O God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Be Thou our guide while life shall last,
And our eternal home.

CM (8.6.8.6) – Isaac Watts, 1719

Based on Psalm 90:1-12

Tune: ST. ANNE – William Croft, 1708

#20 in Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs, 2012

A HYMN FOR TODAY – There Is a Land of Pure Delight

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A HYMN FOR TODAY

There is a land of pure delight,
Where saints immortal reign,
Infinite day excludes the night,
And pleasures banish pain.
Sweet fields beyond the swelling flood
Stand dressed in living green:
So to the Jews old Canaan stood,
While Jordan rolled between.

There everlasting spring abides,
And never-with’ring flow’rs:
Death, like a narrow sea, divides
This heav’nly land from ours.
But timid mortals start and shrink
To cross this narrow sea;
And linger, shiv’ring on the brink,
And fear to launch away.

O could we make our doubts remove
Those gloomy thoughts that rise,
And see the Canaan that we love
With unbeclouded eyes!
Could we but climb where Moses stood,
And view the landscape o’er,
Not Jordan’s stream, nor death’s cold flood
Should fright us from the shore.

CMD (8.6.8.6.D) – Isaac Watts, 1707

Tune: JORDAN – William Billings, 1786

Arr. Charles L. Willis, 2010

#751 in Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs, 2012

A HYMN FOR TODAY — Give Me the Wings of Faith to Rise

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A HYMN FOR TODAY

Give me the wings of faith to rise
Within the veil, and see
The saints above, how great their joys,
How bright their glories be.
Once they were mourning here below,
And drenched their couch with tears:
They wrestled hard, as we do now,
With sins and doubts and fears.

I ask them whence their vict’ry came;
They, with united breath,
Ascribe their conquest to the Lamb,
Their triumph to His death.
Our glorious leader claims our praise
For His own pattern giv’n,
While yet His cloud of witnesses
Show the same path to heav’n.

CMD (8.6.8.6.D) – Isaac Watts, 1707

Tune: FOREST GREEN – English Folk Tune

arr. Ralph Vaughan Williams, 1906, alt.

#726 in Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs, 2012

This hymn was originally written as four CM verses, now combined to make two CMD verses to fit the music of FOREST GREEN.

A HYMN FOR TODAY – I Sing the Mighty Power of God

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A HYMN FOR TODAY

I sing the mighty pow’r of God
That made the mountains rise,
That spread the flowing seas abroad
And built the lofty skies.
I sing the wisdom that ordained
The sun to rule the day;
The moon shines full at His command,
And all the stars obey.

I sing the goodness of the LORD,
Who filled the earth with food,
Who formed the creatures through His Word
And then pronounced them good.
LORD, how Thy wonders are displayed
Where’er I turn my eye,
If I survey the ground I tread
Or gaze upon the sky.

In heav’n He shines with beams of love,
With wrath in hell beneath;
‘Tis on His earth I stand or move,
And ’tis His air I breathe.
His hand is my perpetual guard,
He keeps me with His eye;
Why should I then forget the LORD,
Who is forever nigh?

There’s not a plant or flow’r below
But makes Thy glories known,
And clouds arise and tempests blow
By order from Thy throne;
While all that borrows life from Thee
Is ever in Thy care;
And everywhere that man can be
Thou, God, art present there.

CMD (8.6.8.6.D) – Isaac Watts, 1715

Tune: ELLACOMBE – Wurttemberg Gesangbuch, 1784
arr. William H. Monk, 1868

#74 in Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs, 2012

I SING THE MIGHTY POWER OF GOD declares God’s power, wisdom, and goodness displayed in His creation. The intricate workings of nature demonstrate that God is still in control and present with His people. (Genesis 1:1-31; Psalm 65:6-7, 9-13; 136:8-9; Jeremiah 31:35; 51:15-16).  Watts wrote this as a hymn for children, and published it first in his Divine Songs Attempted in Easy Language, for the Use of Children (1715) — a stunning commentary by itself of the state of children’s education today, and our expectations for them!