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God is the refuge of his saints First Part. The church's safety and triumph among national desolations

Isaac Watts's setting of Psalm 46, 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

Long Metre 8.8.8.8 · 6 stanzas

IN HYMNALS

473 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

The psalm it sets

Watts made this hymn from Psalm 46, "in the language of the New Testament": a paraphrase, not a translation. The line that comes closest to it is marked.

1God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble. 2Therefore we will not fear, though the earth is transformed and the mountains are toppled into the depths of the seas, 3though their waters roar and foam and the mountains quake in the surge. Selah 4There is a river whose streams delight the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. … 7 more verses PSALM 46 · ITS FIRST VERSES · BEREAN STANDARD BIBLE READ PSALM 46

God is the refuge of his saints, When storms of sharp distress invade; Ere we can offer our complaints Behold him present with his aid. 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 God is the refuge of his saints

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 3 passages 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 3

PSALM 46:1–5ECHOED IN STANZA I, II, III, IV, VI

1God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble. 2Therefore we will not fear, though the earth is transformed and the mountains are toppled into the depths of the seas, 3though their waters roar and foam and the mountains quake in the surge. Selah 4There is a river whose streams delight the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. … 1 more verses

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

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