1
O God! we see Thee in the Lamb
To be our hope, our joy, our rest;
The glories that compose Thy name
Standing engaged to make us blest.
To be our hope, our joy, our rest;
The glories that compose Thy name
Standing engaged to make us blest.
2
Thou great and good! Thou just and wise!
Hail! as our Father and our God!
For we are Thine by sacred ties,
Thy sons and daughters—bought with blood.
Hail! as our Father and our God!
For we are Thine by sacred ties,
Thy sons and daughters—bought with blood.
3
Then, Oh! to us this grace afford,
That far from Thee we ne’er may move;
Our guard—the presence of the Lord;
Our joy—Thy perfect present love.
That far from Thee we ne’er may move;
Our guard—the presence of the Lord;
Our joy—Thy perfect present love.
4
This gives us ever to rejoice,
Turning to light our darkest days;
And lifts on high each feeble voice,
While we have breath to pray or praise.
Turning to light our darkest days;
And lifts on high each feeble voice,
While we have breath to pray or praise.
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Dr. Isaac Watts was the grandson of a British naval commander, Thomas Watts, who was blown up with his ship in a war with the Dutch. His father Isaac Watts Sr. showed his courage in a different field. He was the deacon in the Congregationalist church and suffered persecution for not conforming to the Church of England. Just about this time, on July 17th, 1674, young Isaac Watts was born. His father was in prison for having kept his stance against the ritual practices of the Anglican Church and his mother would bring young Isaac to sit on a stone near the gate just to get a glimpse of her husband and give him a glimpse of his son. In 1688 William, Prince of Orange, came from Holland to sit on the British throne, and from then on persecution and executions ceased. This brought a brighter time for believers who did not conform to the Church of England.
Dr. Watts is considered the “father of hymnody” and the originator of good Christian hymns. Before his time the only singing in the English and Scottish churches took the form of crude versions of the Psalms. Once he expressed his dislike of the crude singing and was challenged—-“ Give is something better, young man! ” That very day he wrote the hymn:
“ Behold the glories of the Lamb
Amidst His Father’s throne;
Prepare new honors for His Name
And songs before unknown. ”
We do not know how his heart was opened to receive Christ, but we see in hymn 101 how precious Christ was to him:
When We survey the wondrous cross
On which the Lord of glory died,
Our richest gain we count but loss,
And pour contempt on all our pride.
Originally this was written in the personal pronoun “I” instead of “we”, but collective singing in the assembly of Mr. Darby revised it to the plural.
Dr. Watts was only 5 feet in height and slight of build and was sickly most of his life. When he was young he proposed marriage to Miss Elizabeth Singer, but she rejected him with this remark, “While I love the jewel— his excellent mind and character—I do not admire the casket that contains it. ” Isaac Watts never married.
Worn out by weakness and labor, he simply ceased to live on November 25, 1748.
Hymnal. net contains numerous hymns written by Dr. Watts.
Puna, Hawaii, United States
These old songs bring sweetness to my ears and soul, because the word says in the last days man's heart will turn wax cold.