2149. How Are Thy Servants Blest, O Lord!

1. How are Thy servants blest, O Lord!
How sure is their defense!
Eternal wisdom is their guide,
Their help Omnipotence.

2. In foreign realms, and lands remote,
Supported by Thy care,
Through burning climes they pass unhurt,
And breathe in tainted air.

3. When by the dreadful tempest borne
High on the broken wave,
They know Thou art not slow to hear,
Nor impotent to save.

4. The storm is laid, the winds retire,
Obedient to Thy will,
The sea, that roars at Thy command,
At Thy command is still.

5. From all our griefs and fears, O Lord,
Thy mercy sets us free;
While in the confidence of prayer
Our hearts take hold on Thee.

6. In midst of dangers, fears and death,
Thy goodness we adore;
We praise Thee for Thy mercies past,
And humbly hope for more

7. Our life, while Thou preservest life,
A sacrifice shall be;
And death, when death shall be our lot,
Shall join our souls to Thee.

Text Information
First Line: How are Thy servants blest, O Lord
Title: How Are Thy Servants Blest, O Lord!
Author: Joseph Addison (1712)
Meter: CM
Language: English
Source: The Spectator (London: September 20, 1712)
Copyright: Public Domain
Notes: The hymn followed an essay on Greatness as a source of pleasure to the imagination, with special reference to the ocean; it was introduced with: 'Great painters do not only give us Landskips of Gardens, Groves, and Meadows, but very often employ their Pencils on Sea-Pieces. I could wish you would follow their example. If this small Sketch may deserve a Place among your Works, I shall accompany it with a Divine ode, made by a Gentleman upon the Conclusion of his Travels.' Alternative tunes: DIVINE PROTECTION, Jeremiah Ingalls, 1800; appeared in his Christian Harmony, 1805 (repeats third line of each verse); CAITHNESS, Scottish Psalter, 1635
Tune Information
Name: PRAETORIUS
Meter: CM
Incipit: 15565 54312 34433
Key: F Major
Source: Harmoniae Hymnorum Scholae Gorlicensis, 1599
Copyright: Public Domain



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