God the Source of Joy

“Almighty God, Thy Lofty Throne/God the Source of Joy” (stanza 10 below) is a text based on Psalm 89:14-18, and found in The Psalter With Responsive Readings,[i] with the tune Lux Cœlestis by Henry Basford. It is perhaps more often sung with the tune Winchester New. The hymn praises God for the mercy and justice, truth and grace, faithfulness and judgment. Fifteen long meter metrical stanzas based on Psalm 89 follow:

1. My song forever shall record

The tender mercies of the Lord;

Thy faithfulness will I proclaim,

And every age shall know Thy name. (v. 1)

2. I sing of mercies that endure,

For ever builded firm and sure,

Of faithfulness that never dies,

Established changeless in the skies. (v. 2)

3. Behold God’s truth and grace displayed,

For He has faithful covenant made,

And He has sworn that David’s Son

Shall ever sit upon his throne. (vs. 3-4)

4. The heavens shall join in glad accord

To praise Thy wondrous works, O Lord;

Thy faithfulness shall praise command

Where holy ones assembled stand. (v. 5)

5. Who in the heavenly dwellings fair

Can with the Lord Himself compare?

Or who among the mighty shares

The likeness that Jehovah bears. (v. 6)

6. With fear and reverence at His feet

God’s holy ones in council meet;

Yea, more than all about His throne

Must He be feared, and He alone. (v. 7)

7. O Thou Jehovah, God of Hosts,

What mighty one Thy likeness boasts?

In all Thy works and vast designs

Thy faithfulness forever shines. (v. 8)

8. The swelling sea obeys Thy will,

Its angry waves Thy voice can still;

Thy mighty enemies are slain,

Thy foes resist Thy power in vain. (v. 9)

9. The heavens and earth, by right divine,

The world and all therein, are Thine;

The whole creation’s wondrous frame

Proclaims its Maker’s glorious Name. (v. 11)

10. Almighty God, Thy lofty throne

Has justice for its cornerstone,

And shining bright before Thy face

Are truth and love and boundless grace. (vs. 13-14)

11. With blessing is the nation crowned

Whose people know the joyful sound;

They in the light, O Lord, shall live,

The light Thy face and favor give. (v. 15)

12. Thy Name with gladness they confess,

Exalted in Thy righteousness;

Their fame and might to Thee belong,

For in Thy favor they are strong. (vs. 16-17)

13. All glory unto God we yield,

Jehovah is our help and shield;

All praise and honor we will bring

To Israel’s Holy One, our King. (v. 18)

14. For Him My mercy shall endure,

My covenant made with Him is sure;

His throne and race I will maintain

Forever, while the heavens remain. (vs. 28-29)

15. Blessed be the Lord for evermore,

Whose promise stands from days of yore.

His word is faithful now as then;

Blessed be His name. Amen, Amen. (v. 52)

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[i] John McNaugher, Chairman (1857-1947), Pittsburgh, PA: The United Presbyterian Board of Publication, 1912.