STUDY / LIVING THE CHRISTIAN LIFE / HYMNS

The God Jehovah reigns First Part. Christ's kingdom and majesty

Isaac Watts's setting of Psalm 99, 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

Short Metre 6.6.8.6 · 4 stanzas

WRITTEN ON

Psalm 99 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 99, "in the language of the New Testament": a paraphrase, not a translation. The line that comes closest to it is marked.

1The LORD reigns; let the nations tremble! He is enthroned above the cherubim; let the earth quake! 2Great is the LORD in Zion; He is exalted above all the peoples. 3Let them praise Your great and awesome name— He is holy! 4The mighty King loves justice. You have established equity; You have exercised justice and righteousness in Jacob. … 5 more verses PSALM 99 · ITS FIRST VERSES · BEREAN STANDARD BIBLE READ PSALM 99

The God Jehovah reigns, Let all the nations fear, Let sinners tremble at his throne, And saints be humble there. 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 God Jehovah reigns

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.