Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against His anointed, saying,
Psalm 2:1Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles.
Words: From Selection of Psalms and Hymns for Public and Private Use, Adapted to the Festivals of the Church of England, byThomas Cotterill, eighth edition (Sheffield, England: J. Blackwell, 1829), page 2: The misery of contending with Christ
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Music: Erhalt uns, Herr Geistliche Lieder (Wittenberg, Germany: 1543) (🔊 pdf nwc).
Alternate Tune:
In vain the Savior’s mightiest foes
Conspire His kingdom to oppose,
Crushed like the potter’s brittle store,
And scattered, to unite no more.
Sinners! awake: ye fools! be wise;
From sin’s delusive dreams arise;
Behold your Savior, seek His face,
And kiss the scepter of His grace.
O, lest ye perish from the way
That leads to realms of endless day;
Lest fierce the threatening storm descend,
And on your heads its fury spend.
If, yet but kindly in His breast,
His wrath the guilty soul arrest,
How blest are they who serve the Lord,
Who hear His voice, and trust His Word!