STUDY / LIVING THE CHRISTIAN LIFE / HYMNS

The king, O Lord, with songs of praise Our king is the care of heaven

Isaac Watts's setting of Psalm 21, 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 · 6 stanzas

IN HYMNALS

1 listed at Hymnary.org

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

The king, O Lord, with songs of praise

The king, O Lord, with songs of praise,

Shall in thy strength rejoice;

And, blest with thy salvation, raise

To heaven his cheerful voice.

The psalm it sets

Watts made this hymn from Psalm 21, "in the language of the New Testament": a paraphrase, not a translation. The line that comes closest to it is marked.

1O LORD, the king rejoices in Your strength. How greatly he exults in Your salvation! 2You have granted his heart’s desire and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah 3For You welcomed him with rich blessings; You placed on his head a crown of pure gold. 4He asked You for life, and You granted it— length of days, forever and ever. … 9 more verses PSALM 21 · ITS FIRST VERSES · BEREAN STANDARD BIBLE READ PSALM 21

The king, O Lord, with songs of praise, Shall in thy strength rejoice; And, blest with thy salvation, raise To heaven his cheerful voice. 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 The king, O Lord, with songs of praise

Where hymnals place it

Printed hymnals list, for each hymn, the Bible passages it goes with, so a church can choose a hymn for the day's reading. Gathered from the hymnals Hymnary.org catalogues, editors have tied this hymn to 1 passage in 1 book. One square is one passage; a ringed square is one the hymn's own lines echo. Point at a square to read it; click to open it beside the page.

Psalms 1

PSALM 21 · THE WHOLE CHAPTERECHOED IN STANZA I, IV, V

1O LORD, the king rejoices in Your strength. How greatly he exults in Your salvation! 2You have granted his heart’s desire and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah 3For You welcomed him with rich blessings; You placed on his head a crown of pure gold. 4He asked You for life, and You granted it— length of days, forever and ever. … 9 more verses

a passage hymnals tie it to one its lines echo (1)

Rooted in Scripture. Open for discovery.

A place to read slowly, ask deeply, and follow the connections. Scripture, study and the voices of Christian history, brought together for a lifetime of learning.

SPEND TIME IN THE WORD

  • Open the reader
  • Books & reading progress
  • Compare Scripture editions
  • Find a passage

FOLLOW YOUR QUESTIONS

  • Study collections
  • People & places
  • Faith & apologetics
  • Stories of faith

A library with a paper trail.

Meet the authors. Explore the collection. Trace each work to its source.

Download the code.

Open source on GitHub.