STUDY / LIVING THE CHRISTIAN LIFE / HYMNS

Lord, when thou didst ascend on high Second Part Christ's ascension, and the gift of the Spirit

Isaac Watts's setting of Psalm 68:17–18, 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

Long Metre 8.8.8.8 · 4 stanzas

WRITTEN ON

Psalm 68:17–18 the verse printed above it

The hymn, and the Scripture in it

All 4 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 68:17–18, "in the language of the New Testament": a paraphrase, not a translation. The line that comes closest to it is marked.

17The chariots of God are tens of thousands— thousands of thousands are they; the Lord is in His sanctuary as He was at Sinai. 18You have ascended on high; You have led captives away. You have received gifts from men, even from the rebellious, that the LORD God may dwell there. PSALM 68:17–18 · BEREAN STANDARD BIBLE READ PSALM 68

Lord, when thou didst ascend on high, Ten thousand angels fill'd the sky; Those heavenly guards around thee wait, Like chariots that attend thy state. 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 Lord, when thou didst ascend on high

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