Isaac Watts (1674-1748) wrote this hymn, which was printed in his Hymns and Spiritual Songs. It is Hymn LXVII (67) in Book 2, with the heading “God’s Eternal Dominion” (page 190 in the Seventh Edition of 1720). The hymn has six stanzas, with the sixth stanza being a repetition of the first. It often appears printed in only four stanzas, without this sixth or the third. This common meter hymn has been paired with many tunes, with perhaps Dundee and Windsor being the more common pairings.
The hymn is related to the text of Psalm 102:17-27, emphasizing the eternity and immutability of God, along with the brevity and frailty of man. He hears our feeble prayers, and we ought to pay our praise to him!
1. Great God! how infinite art Thou!
What worthless Worms are we!
Let the whole Race of Creatures bow,
And pay their Praise to Thee.
2. Thy Throne Eternal Ages stood,
Ere Seas or Stars were made;
Thou art the Ever-living God,
Were all the Nations dead.
3. Nature and Time quite naked lie
To thine immense Survey,
From the Formation of the Sky,
To the great Burning-Day.
4. Eternity, with all its Years,
Stands present in thy View;
To Thee there’s nothing Old appears;
Great God, there’s nothing New.
5. Our Lives through various Scenes are drawn,
And vexed with trifling Cares,
While thine Eternal Thought moves on
Thine undisturbed Affairs.
6. Great God! how infinite art Thou!
What worthless Worms are we!
Let the whole Race of Creatures bow,
And pay their Praise to Thee.
Watts was something of a child prodigy. He began the study of Latin at age four. He also learned French, Greek, and Hebrew early in life. He wrote good verse while still a child. Watts is often considered the “Father of English Hymnody” due to his bountiful influence on English hymns and the writing thereof.
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