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Ye that obey th' immortal King Daily and nightly devotion

Isaac Watts's setting of Psalm 134, 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. 134

METRE

Common Metre 8.6.8.6 · 3 stanzas

WRITTEN ON

Psalm 134 the verse printed above it

The hymn, and the Scripture in it

All 3 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

2 echoes in 12 lines.

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

Ye that obey th' immortal King

Ye that obey th' immortal King,

Attend his holy place,

Bow to the glories of his power,

And bless his wondrous grace;

No line of this stanza quotes a verse closely; it is the hymn's own confession.

The psalm it sets

Watts made this hymn from Psalm 134, "in the language of the New Testament": a paraphrase, not a translation. The line that comes closest to it is marked.

1Come, bless the LORD, all you servants of the LORD who serve by night in the house of the LORD! 2Lift up your hands to the sanctuary and bless the LORD! 3May the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth, bless you from Zion. PSALM 134 · ITS FIRST VERSES · BEREAN STANDARD BIBLE READ PSALM 134

Lift up your hands by morning-light, And send your souls on high; Raise your admiring thoughts by night Above the starry sky. STANZA II

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 134. Point at a tick to see the hymn; click it to open that hymn.

NO. 134 · ISAAC WATTS · THIS HYMN Ye that obey th' immortal King

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