STUDY / LIVING THE CHRISTIAN LIFE / HYMNS

Great God, whose universal sway First Part. The kingdom of Christ

Isaac Watts's setting of Psalm 72, 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

WRITTEN ON

Psalm 72 the verse printed above it

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

Great God, whose universal sway

The known and unknown worlds obey,

Now give the kingdom to thy Son,

Extend his power, exalt his throne.

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 72, "in the language of the New Testament": a paraphrase, not a translation. The line that comes closest to it is marked.

1Endow the king with Your justice, O God, and the son of the king with Your righteousness. 2May he judge Your people with righteousness and Your afflicted with justice. 3May the mountains bring peace to the people, and the hills bring righteousness. 4May he vindicate the afflicted among the people; may he save the children of the needy and crush the oppressor. … 16 more verses PSALM 72 · ITS FIRST VERSES · BEREAN STANDARD BIBLE READ PSALM 72

As rain on meadows newly mown So shall he send his influence down; His grace on fainting souls distils Like heavenly dew on thirsty hills. STANZA IV

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 Great God, whose universal sway

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.