Hymns and Devotions for Daily Worship ‎#120

120. Psalm 126

1. When God from sin's captivity
Sets his afflicted people free,
Lost in a maze, their mercies seem,
The transient raptures of a dream.

2. But soon their ransomed souls rejoice,
And mirth and music swell their voice,
Till foes confess, nor dare condemn,
The Lord has done great things for them.

3. They catch the strain and answer thus:
The Lord has done great things for us,
Whence gladness fills our hearts, and songs,
Sweet and spontaneous, wake our tongues.

4. Turn our captivity, O Lord,
As flowing rivers, at thy word,
Bound from their channels, and restore
Plenty where all was waste before.

5. Who sow in tears shall reap for joy;
No precious seed shall be destroyed,
Nor long the weeping exiles roam,
But bring their sheaves rejoicing home.

Text Information

• First Line: When God from sin's captivity
• Title: Psalm 126
• Author: James Montgomery (1822)
• Meter: 8.8.8.8
• Language: English
• Publication Date: 2024
• Scripture:
  Psalm 126
• Topic: Lent
• Notes: Versified by Moravian poet-editor James Montgomery, from Songs of Zion (1822), alt.

Tune Information

• Name: MENDON
• Arranger: Lowell Mason (1839)
• Meter: 8.8.8.8
• Incipit: 17151 712
• Key: A Major
• Source: Peter Erben's Collection of Church Tunes, ca. 1817
• Notes: Tune MENDON, a German melody from Peter Erben’s Collection of Church Tunes (ca. 1817), arr. by American composer-educator Lowell Mason as in The Modern Psalmist (1839), revised for The Sabbath Hymn and Tune Book (1859).