4 So shall the King the more rejoice
In thee, the favourite of his choice;
Let him be lov’d and yet ador’d,
For he’s thy Maker and thy Lord.
5 O happy hour, when thou shalt rise
To his fair palace in the skies,
And all thy Sons (a numerous train)
Each like a prince in glory reign!
6 Let endless honours crown his head;
Let every age his praises spread;
While we with cheerful songs approve
The condescensions of his love.
Psalm 46:1. First Part.
The church’s safety and triumph
among national desolations.
1 God is the refuge of his saints,
When storms of sharp distress invade;
Ere we can offer our complaints
Behold him present with his aid.
2 Let mountains from their seats be hurl’d
Down to the deep, and buried there;
Convulsions shake the solid world,
Our faith shall never yield to fear.
3 Loud may the troubled ocean roar,
In sacred peace our souls abide,
While every nation, every shore,
Trembles, and dreads the swelling tide.
4 There is a stream whose gentle flow Supplies the city of our God; Life, love, and joy still gliding thro’, And watering our divine abode.
5 That sacred stream, thine holy word,
That all our raging fear controls:
Sweet peace thy promises afford,
And give new strength to fainting souls.
6 Sion enjoys her monarch’s love,
Secure against a threatening hour;
Nor can her firm foundations move,
Built on his truth, and arm’d with pow’r.
Psalm 46:2. Second Part.
God fights for his church.
1 Let Sion in her King rejoice,
Tho’ tyrants rage and kingdoms rise;
He utters his almighty voice,
The nations melt, the tumult dies.
2 The Lord of old for Jacob fought, And Jacob’s God is still our aid; Behold the works his hand has wrought, What desolations he has made!
3 From sea to sea, thro’ all the shores,
He makes the noise of battle cease;
When from on high his thunder roars,
He awes the trembling world to peace.
4 He breaks the bow, he cuts the spear, Chariots he burns with heavenly flame; Keep silence all the earth, and hear The sound and glory of his Name.
5 “Be still, and learn that I am God,
“I’ll be exalted o’er the lands,
“I will be known and fear’d abroad,
“But still my throne in Sion stands.”
6 O Lord of hosts, almighty King,
While we so near thy presence dwell,
Our faith shall sit secure, and sing
Defiance to the gates of hell.
Psalm 47.
Christ ascending and reigning.
1 O for a shout of sacred joy
To God the sovereign King!
Let every land their tongues employ,
And hymns of triumph sing.
2 Jesus our God ascends on high,
His heavenly guards around
Attend him rising thro’ the sky,
With trumpet’s joyful sound.
3 While angels shout and praise their King,
Let mortals learn their strains;
Let all the earth his honour sing;
O’er all the earth he reigns.