Excerpt (Hymn) From
"The Psalms of David"
by Isaac Watts

Psalm 2

Psalm 2:1. S. M.
Translated according to the divine pattern, Acts 4:24 etc.

Christ dying, rising, interceding, and reigning.

1 [Maker and sovereign Lord
Of heaven, and earth, and seas,
Thy providence confirms thy word,
And answers thy decrees.

2 The things so long foretold
By David are fulfill'd,
When Jews and Gentiles join to slay
Jesus, thine holy child.]

3 Why did the Gentiles rage,
And Jews with one accord
Bend all their counsels to destroy
Th' anointed of the Lord?

4 Rulers and kings agree
To form a vain design;
Against the Lord their powers unite,
Against his Christ they join.

5 The Lord derides their rage,
And will support his throne;
He that hath rais'd him from the dead
Hath own'd him for his Son.

PAUSE.

6 Now he's ascended high,
And asks to rule the earth;
The merit of his blood be pleads,
And pleads his heavenly birth.

7 He asks, and God bestows
A large inheritance;
Far as the world's remotest ends
His kingdom shall advance.

8 The nations that rebel
Must feel his iron rod;
He'll vindicate those honours well
Which he receiv'd from God.

9 [Be wise, ye rulers, now,
And worship at his throne;
With trembling joy, ye people, bow
To God's exalted Son.

10 If once his wrath arise,
Ye perish on the place;
Then blessed is the soul that flies
For refuge to his grace.]

Psalm 2:2. C. M.
The same.

1 Why did the nations join to slay
The Lord's anointed Son?
Why did they cast his laws away,
And tread his gospel down?

2 The Lord that sits above the skies,
Derides their rage below,
He speaks with vengeance in his eyes,
And strikes their spirits thro'.

3 I call him my Eternal Son,
And raise him from the dead;
I make my holy hill his throne,
And wide his kingdom spread.

Ask me, my Son, and then enjoy
The utmost heathen lands:
Thy rod of iron shall destroy
The rebel that withstands.

5 Be wise, ye rulers of the earth,
Obey th' anointed Lord,
Adore the king of heavenly birth,
And tremble at his word.

6 With humble love address his throne,
For if he frown ye die;
Those are secure, and those alone,
Who on his grace rely.

Psalm 2:3. L. M.
Christ's death, resurrection, and ascension.

1 Why did the Jews proclaim their rage?
The Romans why their swords employ?
Against the Lord their powers engage
His dear anointed to destroy?

2 Come, let us break his bands, they say,
This man shall never give us laws ;
And thus they cast his yoke away,
And nail'd the monarch to the cross.

3 But God, who high in glory reigns,
Laughs at their pride, their rage controls;
He'll vex their hearts with inward pains,
And speak in thunder to their souls.

4 I will maintain the King I made
On Zion's everlasting hill,
My hand shall bring him from the dead,
And he shall stand your sovereign still.

5 [His wondrous rising from the earth
Makes his eternal Godhead known!
The Lord declares his heavenly birth,
This day have I begot my Son.

6 Ascend, my Son, to my right hand,
There thou shalt ask, and I bestow
The utmost bounds of heathen lands;
To thee the northern isles shall bow.]

7 But nations that resist his grace
Shall fall beneath his iron stroke;
His rod shall crush his foes with ease
As potters' earthen work is broke.

PAUSE.

8 Now, ye that sit on earthly thrones,
Be wise, and serve the Lord, the Lamb;
at his feet submit your crowns,
Rejoice and tremble at his name.

9 With humble love address the Son,
Lest he grow angry and ye die;
His wrath will burn to worlds unknown
If ye provoke his jealousy.

10 His storms shall drive you quick to hell:
He is a God, and ye but dust:
Happy the souls that know him well,
And make his grace their only trust.

Hymn by Isaac Watts, excerpted from "The Psalms of David, Imitated in the Language of the New Testament, and Applied to the Christian State and Worship"