STUDY / LIVING THE CHRISTIAN LIFE / HYMNS

Lord, 'tis a pleasant thing to stand &c. Second Part The church is the garden of God

Isaac Watts's setting of Psalm 92:12–15, 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 92:12–15 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 92:12–15, "in the language of the New Testament": a paraphrase, not a translation. The line that comes closest to it is marked.

12The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. 13Planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God. 14In old age they will still bear fruit; healthy and green they will remain, 15to proclaim, “The LORD is upright; He is my Rock, and in Him there is no unrighteousness.” PSALM 92:12–15 · BEREAN STANDARD BIBLE READ PSALM 92

The plants of grace shall ever live; (Nature decays but grace must thrive) Time, that doth all things else impair, Still makes them flourish strong and fair. STANZA III

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, 'tis a pleasant thing to stand

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