Religion
Psalm 65, Part 1: Public prayer and praise
From The Psalms of David Imitated (1719)
The praise of Zion waits for thee,
My God, and praise becomes thy house;
There shall thy saints thy glory see,
And there perform their public vows.
O thou whose mercy bends the skies
To save when humble sinners pray,
All lands to thee shall lift their eyes,
And islands of the northern sea.
Against my will my sins prevail,
But grace shall purge away their stain;
The blood of Christ will never fail
To wash my garments white again.
Blest is the man whom thou shalt choose,
And give him kind access to thee;
Give him a place within thy house,
To taste thy love divinely free.
Let Babel fear when Zion prays;
Babel, prepare for long distress,
When Zion's God himself arrays
In terror and in righteousness.
With dreadful glory God fulfils
What his afflicted saints request;
And with almighty wrath reveals
His love, to give his churches rest.
Then shall the flocking nations run
To Zion's hill, and own their Lord;
The rising and the setting sun
Shall see the Savior's name adored.
Cite this poem
MLA
Watts, Isaac. “Psalm 65, Part 1: Public prayer and praise.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/watts/135/.
Chicago
Watts, Isaac. “Psalm 65, Part 1: Public prayer and praise.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/watts/135/.
Read this poem with the Codex →
More by Isaac Watts
- Psalm 71, Part 3: The aged Christian's prayer and song
- Psalm 135, Part 2: The works of creation, providence, redemption of Israel, and destruction of enemies
- Hymn I.107: The fall and recovery of man; or, Christ and Satan at enmity
- Hymn II.111: Thanksgiving for victory; or, God's dominion and our deliverance
- To the Rev. Mr John Howe