Scripture Verse

Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto Thy name give glory, for Thy mercy, and for Thy truth’s sake. Psalm 115:1

Introduction

portrait
Isaac Watts (1674–1748)

Words: Is­aac Watts, The Psalms of Da­vid 1719. The true God our re­fuge; or, idol­a­try re­proved.

Music: Hes­per­us Hen­ry Bak­er, 1854. First pub­lished in A Hym­nal for Use in the Eng­lish Church, by John Grey, 1866 (🔊 pdf nwc).

If you know where to get a good pho­to of Bak­er (head & shoul­ders, at least 200×300 pix­els),

Lyrics

Not to ourselves, who are but dust,
Not to ourselves is glo­ry due,
Eternal God, Thou only just,
Thou only gracious, wise and true.

Shine forth in all Thy dreadful name;
Why should a heathen’s haughty tongue
Insult us, and, to raise our shame,
Say, Where’s the God you’ve served so long?

The God we serve maintains His throne
Above the clouds, above the skies;
Through all the earth His will is done;
He knows our groans, He hears our cries.

But the vain idols they adore
Are senseless shapes of stone and wood;
At best a mass of glittering ore,
A silver saint or golden god.

With eyes and ears they carve their head;
Deaf are their ears, their eyes are blind;
In vain are costly offerings made,
And vows are scattered in the wind.

Their feet were ne­ver made to move,
Nor hands to save when mortals pray;
Mortals that pay them fear or love
Seem to be blind and deaf as they.

O Israel! make the Lord thy hope,
Thy help, thy refuge, and thy rest;
The Lord shall build thy ruins up,
And bless the people and the priest.

The dead can no more speak Thy praise,
They dwell in silence and the grave;
But we shall live to sing Thy grace,
And tell the world Thy power to save.