God's care of his People, and Punishment of Persecutors

My trust is in my heav'nly Friend

Author: Isaac Watts
Tune: NUN DANKET ALL (Crüger 16512)
Published in 47 hymnals

Printable scores: PDF, MusicXML
Audio files: MIDI

Representative Text

1 My trust is in my heav'nly Friend,
My hope in Thee, my God;
Rise, and my helpless life defend,
From those that seek my blood.

2 With insolence and fury they
My soul to pieces tear,
As hungry lions rend the prey,
When no deliverer’s near.

3 If I had e'er provoked them first,
Or once abused my foe,
Then let them tread my life to dust,
And lay mine honor low.

4 If there be malice found in me,
I know Thy piercing eyes;
I should not dare appeal to Thee,
Nor ask my God to rise.

5 Arise, my God, lift up Thy hand,
Their pride and power control;
Awake to judgment, and command
Deliverance for my soul.

6 Let sinners, and their wicked rage,
Be humbled to the dust;
Shall not the God of truth engage
To vindicate the just?

7 He knows the heart, he tries the reins,
He will defend th’upright
His sharpest arrows he ordains
Against the sons of spite.

8 For me their malice digged a pit,
But there themselves are cast;
My God makes all their mischief light
On their own heads at last.

9 That cruel, persecuting race
Must feel His dreadful sword;
Awake, my soul, and praise the grace
And justice of the LORD.

Source: Psalms of Grace #7a

Author: Isaac Watts

Isaac Watts was the son of a schoolmaster, and was born in Southampton, July 17, 1674. He is said to have shown remarkable precocity in childhood, beginning the study of Latin, in his fourth year, and writing respectable verses at the age of seven. At the age of sixteen, he went to London to study in the Academy of the Rev. Thomas Rowe, an Independent minister. In 1698, he became assistant minister of the Independent Church, Berry St., London. In 1702, he became pastor. In 1712, he accepted an invitation to visit Sir Thomas Abney, at his residence of Abney Park, and at Sir Thomas' pressing request, made it his home for the remainder of his life. It was a residence most favourable for his health, and for the prosecution of his literary… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: My trust is in my heav'nly Friend
Title: God's care of his People, and Punishment of Persecutors
Author: Isaac Watts
Meter: 8.6.8.6
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain

Tune

NUN DANKET ALL (Crüger 16512)

Composed by Johann Crüger (PHH 42) as a setting for Paul Gerhardt's "Nun danket all’ und bringet Ehr," GRÄFENBERG was first published in the 1647 edition of Crüger's Praxis Pietatis Melica. The tune is arbitrarily named after a water-cure spa in Silesia, Austria, which became famous in the 1820…

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Timeline

Media

The Cyber Hymnal #4382
  • Adobe Acrobat image (PDF)
  • Noteworthy Composer score (NWC)
  • XML score (XML)

Instances

Instances (1 - 2 of 2)
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Psalms of Grace #7a

TextScoreAudio

The Cyber Hymnal #4382

Include 45 pre-1979 instances
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