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With rev'rence let the saints appear Psalm 89 Part 2

Isaac Watts's setting of Psalm 89:7–52, printed in 1719 in The Psalms of David Imitated, where he set the psalms "in the language of the New Testament".

WRITTEN BY

Isaac Watts 1674–1748

PRINTED

1719 The Psalms of David Imitated · no. 2

METRE

Common Metre 8.6.8.6 · 6 stanzas

WRITTEN ON

Psalm 89:7–52 the verse printed above it

The hymn, and the Scripture in it

All 6 stanzas as Watts printed them, with the verses their lines echo beside them. Point at a line to join it to its verse; click to read the passage.

SHARED WORDSthe verse shares the line's wording ECHOproposed by an AI model, confirmed by a separate check Not the author's own notes

AMONG THE SCRIPTURES

The stanzas at the centre; around them, every book its heading and its echoes come from, Old Testament on the left and New on the right. Choose a stanza or a book.

a line echoes this verse its heading or an echo comes from here

STANZA I

With rev'rence let the saints appear

With rev'rence let the saints appear,

And bow before the Lord;

His high commands with rev'rence hear,

And tremble at his word.

The psalm it sets

Watts made this hymn from Psalm 89:7–52, "in the language of the New Testament": a paraphrase, not a translation. The line that comes closest to it is marked.

7In the council of the holy ones, God is greatly feared, and awesome above all who surround Him. 8O LORD God of Hosts, who is like You? O mighty LORD, Your faithfulness surrounds You. 9You rule the raging sea; when its waves mount up, You still them. 10You crushed Rahab like a carcass; You scattered Your enemies with Your mighty arm. 11The heavens are Yours, and also the earth. The earth and its fullness You founded. 12North and south You created; Tabor and Hermon shout for joy at Your name. 13Mighty is Your arm; strong is Your hand. Your right hand is exalted. 14Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; loving devotion and faithfulness go before You. 15Blessed are those who know the joyful sound, who walk, O LORD, in the light of Your presence. 16They rejoice in Your name all day long, and in Your righteousness they exult. 17For You are the glory of their strength, and by Your favor our horn is exalted. 18Surely our shield belongs to the LORD, and our king to the Holy One of Israel. 19You once spoke in a vision; to Your godly ones You said, “I have bestowed help on a warrior; I have exalted one chosen from the people. 20I have found My servant David; with My sacred oil I have anointed him. 21My hand will sustain him; surely My arm will strengthen him. 22No enemy will exact tribute; no wicked man will oppress him. 23I will crush his foes before him and strike down those who hate him. 24My faithfulness and loving devotion will be with him, and through My name his horn will be exalted. 25I will set his hand over the sea, and his right hand upon the rivers. 26He will call to Me, ‘You are my Father, my God, the Rock of my salvation.’ 27I will indeed appoint him as My firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth. 28I will forever preserve My loving devotion for him, and My covenant with him will stand fast. 29I will establish his line forever, his throne as long as the heavens endure. 30If his sons forsake My law and do not walk in My judgments, 31if they violate My statutes and fail to keep My commandments, 32I will attend to their transgression with the rod, and to their iniquity with stripes. 33But I will not withdraw My loving devotion from him, nor ever betray My faithfulness. 34I will not violate My covenant or alter the utterance of My lips. 35Once and for all I have sworn by My holiness— I will not lie to David— 36his offspring shall endure forever, and his throne before Me like the sun, 37like the moon, established forever, a faithful witness in the sky.” Selah 38Now, however, You have spurned and rejected him; You are enraged by Your anointed one. 39You have renounced the covenant with Your servant and sullied his crown in the dust. 40You have broken down all his walls; You have reduced his strongholds to rubble. 41All who pass by plunder him; he has become a reproach to his neighbors. 42You have exalted the right hand of his foes; You have made all his enemies rejoice. 43You have bent the edge of his sword and have not sustained him in battle. 44You have ended his splendor and cast his throne to the ground. 45You have cut short the days of his youth; You have covered him with shame. Selah 46How long, O LORD? Will You hide Yourself forever? Will Your wrath keep burning like fire? 47Remember the briefness of my lifespan! For what futility You have created all men! 48What man can live and never see death? Can he deliver his soul from the power of Sheol? Selah 49Where, O Lord, is Your loving devotion of old, which You faithfully swore to David? 50Remember, O Lord, the reproach of Your servants, which I bear in my heart from so many people— 51how Your enemies have taunted, O LORD, and have mocked every step of Your anointed one! 52Blessed be the LORD forever! Amen and amen. PSALM 89:7–52 · BEREAN STANDARD BIBLE READ PSALM 89

With rev'rence let the saints appear, And bow before the Lord; His high commands with rev'rence hear, And tremble at his word. STANZA I

Its place in the book

Watts's psalms run from Psalm 1 to Psalm 150, several settings to many psalms: 367 hymns. This is number 2. Point at a tick to see the hymn; click it to open that hymn.

NO. 2 · ISAAC WATTS · THIS HYMN With rev'rence let the saints appear

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