Religion
Hymn II.10: Parting with carnal joys
From Hymns and Spiritual Songs, Book II (1707)
My soul forsakes her vain delight,
And bids the world farewell,
Base as the dirt beneath my feet,
And mischievous as hell.
No longer will I ask your love,
Nor seek your friendship more;
The happiness that I approve
Lies not within your power.
There's nothing round this spacious earth
That suits my large desire
To boundless joy and solid mirth
My nobler thoughts aspire.
Where pleasure rolls its living flood,
From sin and dross refined,
Still springing from the throne of God,
And fit to cheer the mind;
Th' Almighty Ruler of the sphere,
The glorious and the great,
Brings his own all-sufficience there,
To make our bliss complete.
Had I the pinions of a dove,
I'd climb the heav'nly road;
There sits my Savior dressed in love,
And there my smiling God.
Cite this poem
MLA
Watts, Isaac. “Hymn II.10: Parting with carnal joys.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/watts/515/.
Chicago
Watts, Isaac. “Hymn II.10: Parting with carnal joys.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/watts/515/.
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More by Isaac Watts
- Psalm 2: Translated according to the Divine pattern, Acts 4:24, etc. Christ dying, rising, interceding, and reigning
- Psalm 73, Part 2: God our portion here and hereafter
- Psalm 136 (Abridged): God's wonders of creation, providence, redemption, and salvation
- Hymn I.111: Salvation by grace
- Hymn II.118: The priesthood of Christ