Poem by Isaac Watts

Hymn 99 (Let the whole race of creatures lie)

The book of God's decrees.

Let the whole race of creatures lie
Abased before their God;
Whate'er his sovereign voice has formed
He governs with a nod.

[Ten thousand ages ere the skies
Were into motion brought,
All the long years and worlds to come
Stood present to his thought.

There's not a sparrow or a worm
But's found in his decrees;
He raises monarchs to their throne,
And sinks them as he please.]

If light attends the course I run,
'Tis he provides those rays;
And 'tis his hand that hides my sun,
If darkness clouds my days.

Yet I would not be much concerned,
Nor vainly long to see
The volume of his deep decrees,
What months are writ for me.

When he reveals the book of life,
O may I read my name
Amongst the chosen of his love,
The followers of the Lamb!

1. Psalm 34. Part 1 (Lord, I will bless thee all my days)
2. Psalm 121 (To heav'n I lift my waiting eyes)
3. Psalm 16. Part 1 (Preserve me, Lord, in time of need)
4. Psalm 11 (My refuge is the God of love)
5. Psalm 42. Part 1 (With earnest longings of the mind)

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