Psalm 125
Words: Isaac Watts
Note: there is also a Short Metre version on this page.
The saint's trial and safety,
1 Unshaken as the sacred hill,
And firm as mountains be,
Firm as a rock the soul shall rest
That leans, O Lord, on thee.
2 Not walls nor hills could guard so well
Old Salem's happy ground,
As those eternal arms of love
That ev'ry saint surround.
3 While tyrants are a smarting scourge
To drive them near to God,
Divine compassion does allay
The fury of the rod.
4 Deal gently, Lord, with souls sincere,
And lead them safely on
To the bright gates of Paradise,
Where Christ their Lord is gone.
5 But if we trace those crooked ways
That the old serpent drew,
The wrath that drove him first to hell
Shall smite his followers too.
The saint's trial and safety; or, Moderated afflictions.
1 Firm and unmoved are they
That rest their souls on God;
Firm as the mount where David dwelt,
Or where the ark abode.
2 As mountains stood to guard
The city's sacred ground,
So God and his almighty love
Embrace his saints around.
3 What though the Father's rod
Drop a chastising stroke,
Yet, lest it wound their souls too deep,
Its fury shall be broke.
4 Deal gently, Lord, with those
Whose faith and pious fear,
Whose hope, and love, and ev'ry grace,
Proclaim their hearts sincere.
5 Nor shall the tyrant's rage
Too long oppress the saint;
The God of Isr'el will support
His children lest they faint.
6 But if our slavish fear
Will choose the road to hell,
We must expect our portion there,
Where bolder sinners dwell.
