The hymn below is taken from the paraphrase of Psalm
106 by Nahum
Tate (1652-1715) and Nicholas
Brady (1659-1726). It is written in Long
Meter and has been connected to many tunes, including the ever-popular Old
Hundred and Sale.
Here is a sampling of the text.
1. O render thanks to God above,
The fountain of eternal love,
Whose mercy firm through ages past
Hath stood, and doth for ever last.
2. Who can His mighty deeds express,
Not only vast, but numberless?
What mortal eloquence can raise
His tribute of immortal praise?
3. Happy are they, and only they,
Who from thy judgments never stray;
Who know what’s right; nor only so,
But always practice what they know.
4. Extend to me that favor, Lord,
Thou to Thy chosen dost afford;
When Thou return’st to set them free,
Let Thy salvation visit me.
5. O may I worthy prove to see
Thy saints in full prosperity;
That I the joyful choir may join,
And count Thy people’s triumph mine.
6. But ah! can we expect such grace,
Of parents vile, the viler race;
Who their misdeeds have acted o’er,
And with new crimes increased the score?
7. Ingrateful, they no longer thought
On all his works in Egypt wrought;
The Red Sea they no sooner viewed,
But they their base distrust renewed.
8. Yet he, to vindicate his name,
Once more to their deliv’rance came,
To make his sovereign pow’r be known,
That he is God, and he alone!
9. To right and left, at his command,
The parting deep disclosed her sand;
Where firm and dry the passage lay,
As through some parched and desert way.
10. Thus rescued from their foes they were,
Who closely pressed upon their rear,
11. Whose rage pursued them to those waves,
That proved the rash pursuers graves.
12. The wat’ry mountains sudden fall
O’erwhelm’d proud Pharaoh, host and all.
This proof did stupid Israel move
To own God’s truth, and praise his love.
13. But soon these wonders they forgot,
And for his counsel waited not;
14. But lusting in the wilderness,
Did him with fresh temptations press.
15. Strong food at their request he sent,
But made their sin their punishment.
16. Yet still his saints they did oppose,
The priest and prophet whom he chose.
17. But earth, the quarrel did decide,
Her vengeful jaws extended wide,
Rash Dathan to her center drew,
With proud Abiram’s factious crew.
18. The rest of those who did conspire
To kindle wild sedition’s fire,
With all their impious train, became
A prey to heaven’s devouring flame.
…
48. Let Israel’s God be ever blessed,
His name eternally confessed:
Let all his saints with full accord
Sing loud Amen—Praise ye the Lord.
The following stanzas often appear as a hymn unit with the first two (above), but are not from Tate and Brady’s Psalm 106. I am unsure of the author of these lines.
The Father’s boundless love we sing,
The fountain whence our blessings spring;
How great the depth, how high it flows,
No saint can tell, no angel knows.
Its length and breadth no eye can trace,
No thought explore the bounds of grace;
The love that saved our souls from hell
Transcends the creature’s power to tell.
No comments:
Post a Comment