November 6, 2005
Have
faith in God –
Make every home his shrine;
Have faith in God –
Obey the will divine;
Have faith in God –
See heaven’s great design.
Have faith, dear friend, in God.
I Sing the Mighty Power of God
Isaac Watts, 1674-1748
He will rule from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth. Psalm 72:8.
Isaac Watts, the father of English hymnody, had a fervent concern about the
dismal state of congregational singing that had developed in the
English-speaking churches during the late 17th and early 18th centuries. He
wrote many new paraphrased versions of the Psalms to replace the ponderous
literal settings that had long been used. Watts also believed that writers
should be free to express praise and devotion to God in their own words. These
texts became known as "Hymns of human composure". For having such
convictions, Isaac Watts was often known as a revolutionary churchman of his
day. Yet his ambition, according to his own words, was as follows: "My
design was not to exalt myself to the rank and glory of poets, but I was
ambitious to be a servant to the churches, and a helper to the joy of the
meanest Christian."
Although he never married, Isaac Watts always loved children
and wrote much for them. In 1715 he wrote a book of songs especially for young
people titled Divine Songs for Children. This hymnal, the first ever
written exclusively for children, includes the text for I Sing the Mighty
Power of God.
I sing the mighty power of God, that made the mountains rise,
That spread the flowing seas abroad, and built the lofty skies.
I sing the wisdom that ordained the sun to rule the day;
The moon shines full at God’s command, and all the stars obey.
I sing the goodness of the Lord, who filled the earth with food,
Who formed the creatures through the Word, and then pronounced them good.
Lord, how Thy wonders are displayed, where’er I turn my eye,
If I survey the ground I tread, or gaze upon the sky.
There’s not a plant or flower below, but makes Thy glories known,
And clouds arise, and tempests blow, by order from Thy throne;
While all that borrows life from Thee is ever in Thy care;
And everywhere that we can be, Thou, God art present there.