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Give thanks to God the sovereign Lord God's wonders of creation, providence, redemption of Israel, and salvation of his people

Isaac Watts's setting of Psalm 136, 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. 1

METRE

Common Metre 8.6.8.6 · 10 stanzas

WRITTEN ON

Psalm 136 the verse printed above it

The hymn, and the Scripture in it

All 10 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

Give thanks to God the sovereign Lord

Give thanks to God the sovereign Lord;

His mercies still endure!

And be the King of kings ador'd;

His truth is ever sure.

The psalm it sets

Watts made this hymn from Psalm 136, "in the language of the New Testament": a paraphrase, not a translation. The line that comes closest to it is marked.

1Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good. His loving devotion endures forever. 2Give thanks to the God of gods. His loving devotion endures forever. 3Give thanks to the Lord of lords. His loving devotion endures forever. 4He alone does great wonders. His loving devotion endures forever. … 22 more verses PSALM 136 · ITS FIRST VERSES · BEREAN STANDARD BIBLE READ PSALM 136

Give thanks to God the sovereign Lord; His mercies still endure! And be the King of kings ador'd; His truth is ever sure. 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 1. Point at a tick to see the hymn; click it to open that hymn.

NO. 1 · ISAAC WATTS · THIS HYMN Give thanks to God the sovereign Lord

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