{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_13439/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_13439","id":"gutenberg_13439","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/13439","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Children & Young Adult Reading","Category: Poetry","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Children's songs -- Texts -- Early works to 1800","Children's songs, English -- Early works to 1800","Christianity","Hymns, English -- Early works to 1800","Hymns, English -- Texts -- Early works to 1800"],"text":"Divine Songs\n\nAttempted in the Easy Language of Children.\n\nBy I. Watts.\n\n_Out of the Mouth of Babes and Sucklings thou hast perfected\nPraise_. Matt. xxi. 16.\n\n\nTranscriber's Note.\n\nThroughout, modern numerals have been substituted for their Roman\nequivalents.\n\nIn Watts' dedication the original capitalisation, italics and\nspelling are retained; the aim thereby is to convey more accurately\nthe flavour of the original.\n\n\n\nTO\n\nMrs. SARAH     )\nMrs. MARY _and_) ABNEY,\nMrs. ELIZABETH )\n\n_Daughters of Sir_ THOMAS ABNEY, _Kt. and Alderman of London_.\n\n\n_My Dear Young Friends_,\n\nWhom I am constrained to love and honour by many Obligations. It was\nthe generous and condescending Friendship of your Parents under my\nweak Circumstances of Health, that brought me to their Country-Seat\nfor the Benefit of the Air; but it was an Instance of most uncommon\nKindness, to supply me there so chearfully for two Years of Sickness\nwith the richest Conveniences of Life. Such a Favour requires my\nmost affectionate Returns of Service to themselves, and to all that\nis dear to them; and meer Gratitude demands some solemn and publick\nAcknowledgment.\n\nBut great Minds have the true Relish and Pleasure of doing Good, and\nare content to be unknown.\n\nIt is such a silent Satisfaction Sir _Thomas Abney_ enjoys in the\nunspeakable Blessings of this Year, that brought our present King to\nthe Throne: and he permits the World to forget that happy Turn that\nwas given to the Affairs of the Kingdom by his wise Management in\nthe Highest Office of the City, whereby the Settlement of the Crown\nwas so much strengthen'd in the Illustrious Family which now\npossesses it. O may the Crown flourish many Years on the Head of our\nSoveraign, and may his House possess it to the End of Time, to\nsecure all Religious and Civil Liberties to the Posterity of those\nwho have been so zealous to establish this Succession!\n\nThe fair and lovely Character your Honoured Father hath acquired by\npassing thro' all the chief Offices of the City, and leaving a\nLustre upon them, seems imperfect in his own Esteem, without the\nAddition of this Title, _A Succourer and a Friend of the Ministers\nof Christ_. And in this part of his Honour the Lady your Mother is\nresolved to have an unborrow'd Share, and becomes his daily Rival.\n\nIt is to her unwearied Tenderness, and many kind Offices by Night\nand Day, in the more violent Seasons of my Indisposition, that\n(under God) I own my Life, and Power to write or think. And while I\nremember those Hours, I can't forget the cheerful and ready\nAttendance of her worthy Sister, her dear Companion and Assistant in\nevery good Work.\n\nUnder the Influence of two such Examples I have also enjoy'd the\nPleasure and Conveniency of your younger Services, according to the\nCapacity of your Years; and that with such a Degree of sincere and\nhearty Zeal for my Welfare, that you are ready to vie with each\nother in the kind Imployment, and assist all you can toward my\nRecovery and Usefulness. So that whoever shall reap benefit by any\nof my Labours, it is but a reasonable Request, that you share with\nme in their Thanks and their Prayers.\n\nBut this is a small Part of your Praise.\n\nIf it would not be suspected of Flattery, I could tell the World\nwhat an Acquaintance with Scripture, what a Knowledge of Religion,\nwhat a Memory of Divine things both in Verse and Prose is found\namong you; and what a just and regular account is given of Sermons\nat your Age; to awaken all the Children that shall read these\n_Songs_, to furnish their memories and beautify their Souls like\nyours. The Honour you have done me in learning by heart so large a\nnumber of the _Hymns_ I have publish'd, perhaps has been of some use\ntowards these greater Improvements, and gives me rich Encouragement\nto offer you this little Present.\n\nSince I have ventured to shew a Part of your early Character to the\nWorld, I perswade my self you will remember, that it must inlarge\nand brighten daily. Remember what the World will expect from the\nDaughters of Sir _Thomas Abney's_ Family, under such an Education,\nsuch Examples, and after such fair and promising Blossoms of Piety\nand Goodness. Remember what God himself will expect at your hands,\nfrom whose Grace you have received plentiful Distributions in the\nBeginning of your Days. May the Blessings of his Right Hand more\nenrich you daily, as your Capacities and your Years increase; and\nmay he add bountifully of the Favours of his Left Hand, Riches and\nHonour. May his Grace make you so large a Return of all the Kindness\nI have received in your Family, as may prevail above the fondest\nHopes of your Parents, and even exceed the warmest Prayers of\n\n_Your most Affectionate Monitor and obliged Servant in the daily\nViews of a future World_,\n\n\nI. WATTS.\n\nTheobalds,\n\nJune 18.\n1715.\n\n\nPREFACE\nTo all that are concerned in the Education of Children.\n\n\n\nMy Friends,\n\nIt is an awful and important charge that is committed to you. The\nwisdom and welfare of the succeeding generation are intrusted with\nyou beforehand, and depend much on your conduct. The seeds of misery\nor happiness in this world, and that to come, are oftentimes sown\nvery early, and therefore whatever may conduce to give the minds of\nchildren a relish for vertue and religion, ought in the first place\nto be proposed to you.\n\nVerse was at first design'd for the service of God, tho' it hath\nbeen wretchedly abused since. The ancients among the Jews and the\nHeathens taught their children and disciples the precepts of\nmorality and worship in verse. The children of Israel were commanded\nto learn the words of the song of Moses, Deut. 31. 19,30. And we are\ndirected in the New Testament, not only to sing with grace in the\nheart, but to teach and admonish one another by hymns and songs,\nEph. 5. 19. and there are these four advantages in it:\n\n1. There is a greater delight in the very learning of truths and\nduties this way. There is something so amusing and entertaining in\nrhymes and metre, that will incline children to make this part of\ntheir business a diversion. And you may turn their very duty into a\nreward, by giving them the privilege of learning one of these songs\nevery week, if they fulfil the business of the week well, and\npromising them the book itself when they have learned ten or twenty\nsongs out of it.\n\n2. What is learnt in verse is longer retained in memory, and sooner\nrecollected. The like sounds and the like number of syllables\nexceedingly assist the remembrance. And it may often happen, that\nthe end of a song running in the mind may be an effectual means to\nkeep off some temptation, or to incline to some duty, when a word of\nscripture is not upon the thoughts.\n\n3. This will be a constant furniture for the minds of children, that\nthey may have something to think upon when alone, and sing over to\nthemselves. This may sometimes give their thoughts a divine turn,\nand raise a young meditation. Thus they will not be forced to seek\nrelief for an emptiness of mind out of the loose and dangerous\nsonnets of the age.\n\n4. These _Divine Songs_ may be a pleasant and proper matter for\ntheir daily or weekly worship, to sing one in the family at such\ntime as the parents or governors shall appoint; and therefore I have\nconfin'd the verse to the most usual psalm tunes.\n\nThe greatest part of this little book was composed several years\nago, at the request of a friend, who has been long engaged in the\nwork of catechising a very great number of children of all kinds,\nand with abundant skill and success. So that you will find here\nnothing that savours of a party: the children of high and low\ndegree, of the Church of England or Dissenters, baptized in infancy\nor not, may all join together in these songs. And as I have\nendeavoured to sink the language to the level of a child's\nunderstanding, and yet to keep it (if possible) above contempt; so I\nhave designed to profit all (if possible) and offend none. I hope\nthe more general the sense is, these composures may be of the more\nuniversal use and service.\n\nI have added at the end an attempt or two of _Sonnets_ on _Moral\nSubjects_ for children, with an air of pleasantry, to provoke some\nfitter pen to write a little book of them. My talent doth not lie\nthat way, and a man on the borders of the grave has other work.\nBesides, if I had health or leisure to lay out this way, it should\nbe employ'd in finishing the _Psalms_, which I have so long promised\nthe world.\n\nMay the Almighty God make you faithful in this important work of\neducation: may he succeed your cares with his abundant graces, that\nthe rising generation of Great Britain may be a glory amongst the\nnations, a pattern to the Christian world, and a blessing to the\nearth.\n\n\n\nDivine Songs\n\nFor\n\nChildren.\n\n\nSong 1.\n_A General Song of Praise to God_.\n\n1 How glorious is our Heavenly King,\nWho reigns above the sky!\nHow shall a child presume to sing\nHis dreadful majesty?\n\n2 How great his power is none can tell,\nNor think how large his grace;\nNot men below, nor saints that dwell\nOn high before his face.\n\n3 Not angels that stand round the Lord\nCan search his secret will;\nBut they perform his heavenly word,\nAnd sing his praises still.\n\n4 Then let me join this holy train,\nAnd my first offerings bring;\nTh' eternal God will not disdain\nTo hear an infant sing.\n\n5 My heart resolves, my tongue obeys,\nAnd angels shall rejoice\nTo hear their mighty Maker's praise\nSound from a feeble voice.\n\n\nSong 2.\n_Praise for Creation and Providence_.\n\n1 I sing th' almighty power of God,\nThat made the mountains rise,\nThat spread the flowing seas abroad,\nAnd built the lofty skies.\n\n2 I sing the wisdom that ordain'd\nThe sun to rule the day;\nThe moon shines full at his command,\nAnd all the stars obey.\n\n3 I sing the goodness of the Lord,\nThat fill'd the earth with food;\nHe form'd the creatures with his Word,\nAnd then pronounced them good.\n\n4 Lord, how thy wonders are display'd\nWhere'er I turn mine eye,\nIf I survey the ground I tread,\nOr gaze upon the sky.\n\n5 There's not a plant or flower below\nBut makes thy glories known;\nAnd clouds arise and tempests blow\nBy order from thy throne.\n\n6 Creatures (as num'rous as they be)\nAre subject to thy care:\nThere's not a place where we can flee,\nBut God is present there.\n\n7 In heaven he shines with beams of love,\nWith wrath in hell beneath:\n'Tis on his earth I stand or move,\nAnd 'tis his air I breathe.\n\n8 His hand is my perpetual guard,\nHe keeps me with his eye:\nWhy should I then forget the Lord\nWho is for ever nigh?\n\n\nSong 3.\n_Praise to God for our Redemption_.\n\n1 Blest be the wisdom and the power,\nThe justice and the grace,\nThat join'd in council to restore\nAnd save our ruin'd race!\n\n2 Our father eat forbidden fruit,\nAnd from his glory fell;\nAnd we, his children, thus were brought\nTo death, and near to hell.\n\n3 Blest be the Lord, that sent his Son\nTo take our flesh and blood;\nHe for our lives gave up his own,\nTo make our peace with God.\n\n4 He honour'd all his Father's laws,\nWhich we have disobey'd;\nHe bore our sins upon the cross,\nAnd our full ransom paid.\n\n5 Behold him rising from the grave;\nBehold him rais'd on high:\nHe pleads his merits there to save\nTransgressors doom'd to die.\n\n6 There on a glorious throne, he reigns,\nAnd by his power divine\nRedeems us from the slavish chains\nOf Satan, and of sin.\n\n7 Thence shall the Lord to judgment come,\nAnd, with a sovereign voice,\nShall call, and break up every tomb,\nWhile waking saints rejoice.\n\n8 O may I then with joy appear\nBefore the Judge's face,\nAnd, with the blest assembly there,\nSing his redeeming grace!\n\n\nSong 4.\n_Praise for Mercies Spiritual and Temporal_.\n\n1 Whene'er I take my walks abroad,\nHow many poor I see?\nWhat shall I render to my God\nFor all his gifts to me?\n\n2 Not more than others I deserve,\nYet God hath given me more;\nFor I have food, while others starve,\nOr beg from door to door.\n\n3 How many children in the street\nHalf naked I behold?\nWhile I am clothed from head to feet,\nAnd cover'd from the cold.\n\n4 While some poor wretches scarce can tell\nWhere they may lay their head,\nI have a home wherein to dwell,\nAnd rest upon my bed.\n\n5 While others early learn to swear,\nAnd curse, and lie, and steal,\nLord, I am taught thy name to fear,\nAnd do thy holy will.\n\n6 Are these thy favours, day by day\nTo me above the rest?\nThen let me love thee more than they,\nAnd try to serve thee best.\n\n\nSong 5.\n_Praise for Birth and Education in a Christian Land_.\n\n1 Great God, to thee my voice I raise,\nTo thee my youngest hours belong;\nI would begin my life with praise,\nTill growing years improve the song.\n\n2 'Tis to thy soveraign grace I owe,\nThat I was born on Brittish ground,\nWhere streams of heavenly mercy flow,\nAnd words of sweet salvation sound.\n\n3 I would not change my native land\nFor rich Peru, with all her gold:\nA nobler prize lies in my hand\nThan East or Western Indies hold.\n\n4 How do I pity those that dwell\nWhere ignorance and darkness reigns;\nThey know no heav'n, they fear no hell,\nThose endless joys, those endless pains.\n\n5 Thy glorious promises, O Lord,\nKindle my hope and my desire;\nWhile all the preachers of thy word\nWarn me t' escape eternal fire.\n\n6 Thy praise shall still employ my breath,\nSince thou hast mark'd my way to heaven;\nNor will I run the road to death,\nAnd wast the blessings thou hast given.\n\n\nSong 6.\n_Praise for the Gospel_.\n\n1 Lord, I ascribe it to thy grace,\nAnd not to chance as others do,\nThat I was born of Christian race,\nAnd not a Heathen, or a Jew.\n\n2 What would the ancient Jewish kings,\nAnd Jewish prophets once have given,\nCould they have heard these glorious things,\nWhich Christ reveal'd, and brought from heav'n!\n\n3 How glad the Heathens would have been,\nThat worship idols, wood, and stone,\nIf they the book of God had seen,\nOr Jesus and his gospel known!\n\n4 Then if the Gospel I refuse,\nHow shall I e'er lift up mine eyes?\nFor all the Gentiles and the Jews\nAgainst me will in judgment rise.\n\n\nSong 7.\n_The Excellency of the Bible_.\n\n1 Great God, with wonder and with praise,\nOn all thy works I look;\nBut still thy wisdom, power and grace\nShine brighter in thy Book.\n\n2 The stars that in their courses roll,\nHave much instruction given;\nBut thy good Word informs my soul\nHow I may climb to heaven.\n\n3 The fields provide me food, and show\nThe goodness of the Lord;\nBut fruits of life and glory grow\nIn thy most holy Word.\n\n4 Here are my choicest treasures hid,\nHere my best comfort lies;\nHere my desires are satisfy'd;\nAnd hence my hopes arise.\n\n5 Lord, make me understand thy law,\nShow what my faults have been;\nAnd from thy Gospel let me draw\nPardon for all my sin.\n\n6 Here would I learn how Christ has dy'd\nTo save my soul from hell:\nNot all the books on earth beside\nSuch heav'nly wonders tell.\n\n7 Then let me love my Bible more,\nAnd take a fresh delight\nBy day to read these wonders o'er,\nAnd meditate by night.\n\n\nSong 8.\n_Praise to God for learning to read_.\n\n1 The praises of my tongue\nI offer to the Lord,\nThat I was taught, and learnt so young\nTo read his holy Word.\n\n2 That I am taught to know\nThe danger I was in,\nBy nature and by practice too\nA wretched slave to sin.\n\n3 That I am led to see\nI can do nothing well;\nAnd whither shall a sinner flee,\nTo save himself from hell?\n\n4 Dear Lord, this book of thine\nInforms me where to go\nFor grace to pardon all my sin,\nAnd make me holy too.\n\n5 Here I can read and learn\nHow Christ the Son of God\nDid undertake our great concern,\nOur ransom cost his blood.\n\n6 And now he reigns above,\nHe sends his Spirit down,\nTo show the wonders of his love,\nAnd make his Gospel known.\n\n7 O may that Spirit teach,\nAnd make my heart receive\nThose truths which all thy servants preach,\nAnd all thy saints believe!\n\n8 Then shall I praise the Lord\nIn a more chearful strain,\nThat I was taught to read his Word,\nAnd have not learnt in vain.\n\n\nSong 9.\nThe All-Seeing God.\n\n1 Almighty God, thy piercing eye\nStrikes through the shades of night,\nAnd our most secret actions lie\nAll open to thy sight.\n\n2 There's not a sin that we commit,\nNor wicked word we say,\nBut in thy dreadful book `tis writ\nAgainst the judgment-day.\n\n3 And must the crimes that I have done\nBe read and publish'd there,\nBe all exposed before the sun,\nWhile men and angels hear?\n\n4 Lord, at thy feet ashamed I lie,\nUpward I dare not look;\nPardon my sins before I die,\nAnd blot them from thy book.\n\n5 Remember all the dying pains\nThat my Redeemer felt,\nAnd let his blood wash out my stains,\nAnd answer for my guilt.\n\n6 O may I now for ever fear\nT' indulge a sinful thought,\nSince the great God can see, and hear,\nAnd writes down every fault!\n\n\nSong 10.\n_Solemn Thoughts of God and Death_.\n\n1 There is a God that reigns above,\nLord of the heavens, and earth, and seas:\nI fear his wrath, I ask his love,\nAnd with my lips I sing his praise.\n\n2 There is a law which he has writ,\nTo teach us all what we must do;\nMy soul, to his commands submit,\nFor they are holy, just and true.\n\n3 There is a Gospel of rich grace,\nWhence sinners all their comfort draw;\nLord, I repent, and seek thy face;\nFor I have often broke thy law.\n\n4 There is an hour when I must die,\nNor do I know how soon `twill come;\nA thousand children young as I\nAre call'd by death to hear their doom.\n\n5 Let me improve the hours I have\nBefore the day of grace is fled;\nThere's no repentance in the grave,\nNo pardons offer'd to the dead.\n\n6 Just as a tree cut down, that fell\nTo north, or southward, there it lies:\nSo man departs to heaven or hell,\nFix'd in the state wherein he dies.\n\n\nSong 11.\n_Heaven and Hell_.\n\n1 There is beyond the sky\nA heaven of joy and love,\nAnd holy children, when they die,\nGo to that world above.\n\n2 There is a dreadful hell,\nAnd everlasting pains,\nThere sinners must with devils dwell\nIn darkness, fire, and chains.\n\n3 Can such a wretch as I\nEscape this cursed end?\nAnd may I hope, whene'er I die,\nI shall to heaven ascend?\n\n4 Then will I read and pray\nWhile I have life and breath;\nLest I should be cut off to day,\nAnd sent t' eternal death.\n\n\nSong 12.\n_The Advantages of early Religion_.\n\n1 Happy's the child whose youngest years\nReceive instruction well;\nWho hates the sinner's path, and fears\nThe road that leads to hell.\n\n2 When we devote our youth to God,\n'Tis pleasing in his eyes;\nA flower, when offer'd in the bud,\nIs no vain sacrifice.\n\n3 'Tis easier work if we begin\nTo fear the Lord betimes;\nWhile sinners that grow old in sin\nAre hard'ned in their crimes.\n\n4 'Twill save us from a thousand snares\nTo mind religion young;\nGrace will preserve our following years\nAnd make our vertue strong.\n\n5 To thee, Almighty God, to thee\nOur childhood we resign;\n'Twill please us to look back and see\nThat our whole lives were thine.\n\n6 Let the sweet work of prayer and praise,\nEmploy my youngest breath;\nThus I'm prepar'd for longer days,\nOr fit for early death.\n\n\nSong 13.\n_The Danger of Delay_.\n\n1 Why should I say, \"`Tis yet too soon\n\"To seek for heaven or think of death?\"\nA flower may fade before `tis noon,\nAnd I this day may lose my breath.\n\n2 If this rebellious heart of mine,\nDespise the gracious calls of Heaven;\nI may be hard'ned in my sin,\nAnd never have repentance given.\n\n3 What if the Lord grow wroth, and swear\nWhile I refuse to read and pray,\nThat he'll refuse to lend an ear,\nTo all my groans another day?\n\n4 What if his dreadful anger burn,\nWhile I refuse his offer'd grace,\nAnd all his love to fury turn,\nAnd strike me dead upon the place?\n\n5 'Tis dangerous to provoke a God;\nHis power and vengeance none can tell:\nOne stroke of his almighty rod\nShall send young sinners quick to hell.\n\n6 Then `twill for ever be in vain\nTo cry for pardon or for grace,\nTo wish I had my time again,\nOr hope to see my Maker's face.\n\n\nSong 14.\n_Examples of early piety_.\n\n1 What blest examples do I find\nWrit in the Word of Truth,\nOf children that began to mind\nReligion in their youth.\n\n2 Jesus, who reigns above the skie,\nAnd keeps the world in awe;\nWas once a child as young as I,\nAnd kept his Father's law.\n\n3 At twelve years old he talk'd with men,\n(The Jews all wondering stand;)\nYet he obey'd his Mother then,\nAnd came at her command.\n\n4 Children a sweet hosanna sung,\nAnd blest their Saviour's name;\nThey gave him honour with their tongue\nWhile scribes and priests blaspheme.\n\n5 Samuel the child was wean'd, and brought\nTo wait upon the Lord;\nYoung Timothy betimes was taught\nTo know his holy Word.\n\n6 Then why should I so long delay\nWhat others learn so soon?\nI would not pass another day\nWithout this work begun.\n\n\nSong 15.\n_Against Lying_.\n\n1 O `tis a lovely thing for youth\nTo walk betimes in wisdom's way;\nTo fear a lye, to speak the truth,\nThat we may trust to all they say.\n\n2 But lyars we can never trust,\nThough they should speak the thing that's true,\nAnd he that does one fault at first,\nAnd lyes to hide it, makes it two.\n\n3 Have we not known, nor heard, nor read,\nHow God abhors deceit and wrong?\nHow Ananias was struck dead\nCatch'd with a lye upon his tongue?\n\n4 So did his wife Sapphira die\nWhen she came in, and grew so bold\nAs to confirm that wicked lye\nThat just before her husband told.\n\n5 The Lord delights in them that speak\nThe words of truth; but every lyar\nMust have his portion in the lake\nThat burns with brimstone and with fire.\n\n6 Then let me always watch my lips,\nLest I be struck to death and hell,\nSince God a book of reckoning keeps\nFor every lye that children tell.\n\n\nSong 16.\n_Against Quarrelling and Fighting_.\n\n1 Let dogs delight to bark and bite,\nFor God has made them so;\nLet bears and lyons growl and fight,\nFor `tis their nature too.\n\n2 But, children, you should never let\nSuch angry passions rise;\nYour little hands were never made\nTo tear each other's eyes.\n\n3 Let love thro' all your actions run,\nAnd all your words be mild;\nLive like the blessed Virgin's Son,\nThat sweet and lovely child.\n\n4 His soul was gentle as a lamb;\nAnd as his stature grew,\nHe grew in favour both with man\nAnd God his Father too.\n\n5 Now, Lord of all, he reigns above,\nAnd from his heavenly throne,\nHe sees what children dwell in love,\nAnd marks them for his own.\n\n\nSong 17.\n_Love between Brothers and Sisters_.\n\n1 What ever brawls are in the street\nThere should be peace at home;\nWhere sisters dwell and brothers meet\nQuarrels shou'd never come.\n\n2 Birds in their little nests agree;\nAnd `tis a shameful sight,\nWhen children of one family\nFall out, and chide, and fight.\n\n3 Hard names at first, and threatening words,\nThat are but noisy breath,\nMay grow to clubs and naked swords,\nTo murder and to death.\n\n4 The devil tempts one mother's son\nTo rage against another:\nSo wicked Cain was hurried on,\nTill he had kill'd his brother.\n\n5 The wise will make their anger cool\nAt least before `tis night;\nBut in the bosom of a fool\nIt burns till morning light.\n\n5 Pardon, O Lord, our childish rage;\nOur little brawls remove;\nThat as we grow to riper age,\nOur hearts may all be love.\n\n\nSong 18.\n_Against Scoffing and calling Names_.\n\n1 Our tongues were made to bless the Lord,\nAnd not speak ill of men:\nWhen others give a railing word,\nWe must not rail again.\n\n2 Cross words and angry names require\nTo be chastiz'd at school;\nAnd he's in danger of hell-fire,\nThat calls his brother, fool.\n\n3 But lips that dare be so prophane\nTo mock and jeer and scoff\nAt holy things, or holy men,\nThe Lord shall cut them off.\n\n4 When children, in their wanton play\nServed old Elisha so,\nAnd bade the prophet go his way,\n\"Go up, thou bald head, go.\"\n\n5 God quickly stopt their wicked breath,\nAnd sent two raging bears,\nThat tore them limb from limb to death,\nWith blood and groans and tears.\n\n6 Great God, how terrible art thou\nTo sinners ne'er so young!\nGrant me thy grace and teach me how\nTo tame and rule my tongue.\n\n\nSong 19.\n_Against Swearing and Cursing, and taking God's Name in vain_.\n\n1 Angels that high in glory dwell\nAdore thy Name, Almighty God!\nAnd devils tremble down in hell\nBeneath the terrors of thy rod.\n\n2 And yet how wicked children dare\nAbuse thy dreadful glorious Name!\nAnd when they're angry, how they swear,\nAnd curse their fellows, and blaspheme!\n\n3 How will they stand before thy face,\nWho treated thee with such disdain,\nWhile thou shalt doom them to the place\nOf everlasting fire and pain?\n\n4 Then never shall one cooling drop\nTo quench their burning tongues be giv'n.\nBut I will praise thee here, and hope\nThus to employ my tongue in heav'n.\n\n5 My heart shall be in pain to hear\nWretches affront the Lord above;\n'Tis that great God whose power I fear,\nThat heavenly Father whom I love.\n\n6 If my companions grow profane,\nI'll leave their friendship when I hear\nYoung sinners take thy name in vain,\nAnd learn to curse, and learn to swear.\n\n\nSong 20.\n_Against Idleness and Mischief_.\n\n1 How doth the little busy bee\nImprove each shining hour,\nAnd gather honey all the day\nFrom every opening flower!\n\n2 How skilfully she builds her cell!\nHow neat she spreads the wax!\nAnd labours hard to store it well\nWith the sweet food she makes.\n\n3 In works of labour or of skill\nI would be busy too:\nFor Satan finds some mischief still\nFor idle hands to do.\n\n4 In books, or work, or healthful play\nLet my first years be past,\nThat I may give for every day\nSome good account at last.\n\n\nSong 21.\n_Against evil Company_.\n\n1 Why should I join with those in play\nIn whom I've no delight;\nWho curse and swear, but never play;\nWho call ill names, and fight?\n\n2 I hate to hear a wanton song:\nTheir words offend my ears:\nI should not dare defile my tongue\nWith language such as theirs.\n\n3 Away from fools I'll turn my eyes,\nNor with the scoffers go:\nI would be walking with the wise,\nThat wiser I may grow.\n\n4 From one rude boy, that's used to mock,\nThey learn the wicked jest:\nOne sickly sheep infects the flock,\nAnd poisons all the rest.\n\n5 My God, I hate to walk or dwell\nWith sinful children here:\nThen let me not be sent to hell,\nWhere none but sinners are.\n\n\nSong 22.\n_Against Pride in Clothes_.\n\n1 Why should our garments, made to hide\nOur parents' shame, provoke our pride?\nThe art of dress did ne'er begin\nTill Eve our mother learnt to sin.\n\n2 When first she put the covering on,\nHer robe of innocence was gone;\nAnd yet her children vainly boast\nIn the sad marks of glory lost.\n\n3 How proud we are! how fond to shew\nOur clothes, and call them rich and new,\nWhen the poor sheep and silkworms wore\nThat very clothing long before!\n\n4 The tulip and the butterfly\nAppear in gayer coats than I:\nLet me be dress'd fine as I will,\nFlies, worms, and flowers exceed me still.\n\n5 Then will I set my heart to find\nInward adornings of the mind:\nKnowledge and virtue, truth and grace,\nThese are the robes of richest dress.\n\n6 No more shall worms with me compare,\nThis is the raiment angels wear:\nThe Son of God, when here below,\nPut on this blest apparel too.\n\n6 It never fades, it ne'er grows old,\nNor fears the rain, nor moth, nor mould:\nIt takes no spot, but still refines;\nThe more `tis worn, the more it shines.\n\n7 In this on earth would I appear,\nThen go to heaven, and wear it there:\nGod will approve it in his sight;\n'Tis his own work, and his delight.\n\n\nSong 23.\n_Obedience to Parents_.\n\n1 Let children that would fear the Lord\nHear what their teachers say;\nWith reverence meet their parents' word,\nAnd with delight obey.\n\n2 Have you not heard what dreadful plagues\nAre threaten'd by the Lord,\nTo him that breaks his father's law,\nOr mocks his mother's word?\n\n3 What heavy guilt upon him lies!\nHow cursed is his name!\nThe ravens shall pick out his eyes,\nAnd eagles eat the same.\n\n4 But those who worship God, and give\nTheir parents honour due,\nHere on this earth they long shall live,\nAnd live hereafter, too.\n\n\nSong 24.\n_The Child's Complaint_.\n\n1 Why should I love my sports so well,\nSo constant at my play,\nAnd lose the thoughts of heaven and hell,\nAnd then forget to pray?\n\n2 What do I read my Bible for,\nBut, Lord, to learn thy will?\nAnd shall I daily know thee more,\nAnd less obey thee still?\n\n3 How senseless is my heart, and wild!\nHow vain are all my thoughts!\nPity the weakness of a child,\nAnd pardon all my faults.\n\n4 Make me thy heavenly voice to hear,\nAnd let me love to pray;\nSince God will lend a gracious ear\nTo what a child can say.\n\n\nSong 25.\n_A Morning Song_.\n\n1 My God, who makes the sun to know\nHis proper hour to rise;\nAnd, to give light to all below,\nDoth send him round the skies:\n\n2 When from the chambers of the east\nHis morning race begins,\nHe never tires, nor stops to rest,\nBut round the world he shines.\n\n3 So, like the sun, would I fulfil\nThe business of the day;\nBegin my work betimes, and still\nMarch on my heavenly way.\n\n4 Give me, O Lord, thy early grace,\nNor let my soul complain\nThat the young morning of my day\nHas all been spent in vain!\n\n\nSong 26.\n_An Evening Song_.\n\n1 And now another day is gone,\nI'll sing my Maker's praise!\nMy comforts every hour make known\nHis providence and grace.\n\n2 But how my childhood runs to waste\nMy sins how great their sum!\nLord, give me pardon for the past,\nAnd strength for days to come.\n\n3 I lay my body down to sleep,\nLet angels guard my head;\nAnd, through the hours of darkness, keep\nTheir watch around my head.\n\n4 With cheerful heart I close mine eyes,\nSince thou wilt not remove;\nAnd in the morning let me rise\nRejoicing in thy love.\n\n\nSong 27.\n_For the Lord's Day Morning_.\n\n1 This is the day when Christ arose\nSo early from the dead:\nWhy should I my eyelids close,\nAnd waste my hours in bed?\n\n2 This is the day when Jesus broke\nThe powers of death and hell;\nAnd shall I still wear Satan's yoke,\nAnd love my sins so well?\n\n3 To-day, with pleasure, Christians meet,\nTo pray, and hear thy Word;\nAnd I would go with cheerful feet\nTo learn thy will, O Lord!\n\n4 I'll leave my sport, to read and pray,\nAnd so prepare for heaven:\nO may I love this blessed day\nThe best of all the seven!\n\n\nSong 28.\n_For Lord's Day Evening_.\n\n1 Lord, how delightful `tis to see\nA whole assembly worship thee!\nAt once they sing, at once they pray;\nThey hear of heaven, and learn the way.\n\n2 I have been there, and still would go\n'Tis like a little heaven below!\nNot all my pleasure and my play\nShould tempt me to forget this day.\n\n3 O write upon my memory, Lord,\nThe text and doctrines of thy Word,\nThat I may break thy laws no more,\nBut love thee better than before!\n\n4 With thoughts of Christ and things divine\nFill up this foolish heart of mine:\nThat, hoping pardon through his blood,\nI may lie down, and wake with God.\n\n\nThe TEN COMMANDMENTS out of the Old Testament put into short\nRhime for Children.\n\nExod. 20.\n\n1. Thou shalt have no more Gods but me.\n2. Before no idol bow thy knee.\n3. Take not the Name of God in vain:\n4. Nor dare the Sabbath Day profane.\n5. Give both thy parents honour due.\n6. Take heed that thou no murder do.\n7. Abstain from words and deeds unclean:\n8. Nor steal, though thou art poor and mean.\n9. Nor make a wilful lie, nor love it.\n10. What is thy neighbour's, dare not covet.\n\n\nThe Sum of the Commandments out of the New Testament.\n\nMatt. 22. 37.\n\nWith all thy Soul love God above;\nAnd as thyself thy Neighbour love.\n\n\nOur Saviour's Golden Rule.\n\nMatt. 7. 12.\n\nBe you to others Kind and True,\nAs you'd have others be to you.\nAnd neither do nor say to Men\nWhate'er you would not take again.\n\n\nDuty to God and our neighbour.\n\nLove God with all your Soul and Strength.\nWith all your Heart and Mind;\nAnd love your Neighbour as your self:\nBe faithful, just, and kind.\n\nDeal with another as you'd have\nAnother deal with you.\nWhat you're unwilling to receive,\nBe sure you never do.\n\n\nOut of my Book of _Hymns_, I have here added, the _Hosanna_ and\n_Glory to the Father_, &c. to be sung at the end of any of these\nSongs, according to the Direction of Parents or Governors.\n\n\nThe _Hosanna_; or Salvation ascribed to Christ.\n\nLong Metre.\n\n1 _Hosanna_ to king _David's_ Son,\nWho reigns on a superior Throne;\nWe bless the Prince of Heav'nly Birth,\nWho brings Salvation down to Earth.\n\n2 Let every nation, every age,\nIn this delightful work engage;\nOld Men and Babes in _Sion_ sing\nThe growing glories of her King!\n\n\nCommon Metre.\n\n1 _Hosanna_ to the Prince of Grace;\n_Sion_ behold thy King;\nProclaim the Son of _David's_ Race,\nAnd teach the Babes to sing.\n\n2 _Hosanna_ to th' Eternal Word,\nWho from the Father came;\nAscribe Salvation to the Lord,\nWith Blessings on his Name!\n\n\nShort Metre.\n\n1 _Hosanna_ to the Son\nOf _David_ and of God,\nWho brought the News of Pardon down,\nAnd bought it with his Blood.\n\n2 To Christ, th' anointed King,\nBe endless blessings giv'n,\nLet the whole Earth his Glory sing\nWho made our Peace with Heav'n.\n\n\nGlory to the Father and the Son, &c.\n\nLong Metre.\n\nTo God the Father, God the Son,\nAnd God the Spirit, Three in One,\nBe Honour, Praise, and Glory giv'n,\nBy all on Earth, and all in Heav'n.\n\n\nCommon Metre.\n\nNow let the Father and the Son,\nAnd Spirit be ador'd,\nWhere there are works to make him known,\nOr saints to love the Lord.\n\n\nShort Metre.\n\nGive to the Father Praise,\nGive Glory to the Son,\nAnd to the Spirit of his Grace\nBe equal Honour done.\n\n\n\n\nA Slight SPECIMEN of MORAL SONGS,\n\n_Such as I wish some happy and condescending Genius would undertake\nfor the use of Children, and perform much better_.\n\nThe sense and subjects might be borrow'd plentifully from the\n_Proverbs of Solomon_, from all the common appearances of nature,\nfrom all the occurrences in the civil life, both in city and country:\n(which would also afford matter for other divine songs). Here the\nlanguage and measures should be easy and flowing with cheerfulness,\nand without the solemnities of religion, or the sacred names\nof God and holy things; that children might find delight and profit\ntogether.\n\nThis would be one effectual way to deliver them from the temptation\nof loving and learning those idle, wanton or profane songs, which\ngive so early an ill taint to the fancy and memory, and become\nthe seeds of future vices.\n\n\n_The Sluggard_.\n\n1 'Tis the voice of the Sluggard. I heard him complain\n\"You have waked me too soon! I must slumber again!\"\nAs the door on its hinges, so he on his bed,\nTurns his sides, and his shoulders, and his heavy head.\n\n2 \"A little more sleep, and a little more slumber;\"\nThus he wastes half his days, and his hours without number:\nAnd when he gets up, he sits folding his hands\nOr walks about sauntering, or trifling he stands.\n\n3 I past by his garden, and saw the wild bryar\nThe thorn and the thistle grow broader and higher:\nThe clothes that hang on him are turning to rags;\nAnd his money still wasts, still he starves, or he begs.\n\n4 I made him a visit, still hoping to find\nHe had took better care for improving his mind:\nHe told me his dreams, talk'd of eating and drinking,\nBut he scarce reads his Bible, and never loves thinking.\n\n5 Said I then to my heart, \"Here's a lesson for me,\"\nThat man's but a picture of what I might be:\nBut thanks to my friends for their care in my breeding:\nWho taught me betimes to love working and reading!\n\n\n_Innocent Play_.\n\n1 Abroad in the meadows to see the young lambs,\nRun sporting about by the side of their dams\nWith fleeces so clean, and so white;\nOr a nest of young doves in a large open cage,\nWhen they play all in love without anger or rage,\nHow much may we learn from the sight!\n\n2 If we had been ducks, we might dabble in mud:\nOr dogs, we might play till it ended in blood;\nSo foul, or so fierce are their natures.\nBut Thomas and William, and such pretty names,\nShould be cleanly and harmless as doves, or as lambs,\nThose lovely sweet innocent creatures.\n\n3 Not a thing that we do, nor a word that we say,\nShould injure another in jesting or play;\nFor he's still in earnest that's hurt.\nHow rude are the boys that throw pebbles and mire!\nThere's none but a mad-man will fling about fire,\nAnd tell you, \"`Tis all but in sport.\"\n\n\nThe End.\n\n\nThe TABLE.\n\n 1. A General Song of Praise to God.\n 2. Praise for Creation and Providence.\n 3. Praise to God for our Redemption.\n 4. Praise for mercies Spiritual and Temporal.\n 5. Praise for Birth and Education in a Christian Land.\n 6. Praise for the Gospel.\n 7. The Excellency of the Bible.\n 8. Praise to God for learning to read.\n 9. The All-seeing God.\n10. Solemn Thoughts of God and Death.\n11. Heaven and Hell.\n12. The Advantages of early Religion.\n13. The Danger of Delays.\n14. Examples of early Piety.\n15. Against lying.\n16. Against Quarrelling and Fighting.\n17. Love between Brothers and Sisters.\n18. Against scoffing and calling Names.\n19. Against swearing and cursing, and taking God's Name in vain.\n20. Against Idleness and Mischief.\n21. Against Evil Company.\n22. Against Pride in Clothes.\n23. Obedience to Parents.\n24. The Child's Complaint.\n25. A Morning Song.\n26. An Evening Song.\n27. An Hymn for the Lord's Day Morning.\n28. An Hymn for the Lord's Day Evening.\n    The Ten Commandments.\n    The Sum of the Commandments.\n    Our Saviour's Golden Rule.\n    Duty to God and our Neighbour.\n    The Hosanna in Long Metre.\n                in Common Metre.\n                in Short Metre.\n    Glory to the Father in Long Metre.\n                        in Common Metre.\n                        in Short Metre.\n\nA slight Specimen of Moral Songs, viz.\n    The Sluggard.\n    Innocent Play.\n\n\n    The End of the Table.\n\n\n\nADDENDUM to the Moral Songs.\n\n\nTranscriber's Note.\n\nIn the 1715 edition, for the reasons explained by Watts in his\nPreface, there are only two moral songs, namely \"The Sluggard\" and\n\"Innocent Play.\" Those added later are included in this Addendum.\nThe texts are from an 1866 printing in New York, posted into the\npublic domain by the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) at\n\nhttp://www.ccel.org/ccel/watts/divsongs.html\n\n\n\nSong 3.\nThe Rose.\n12,8,12,8\n\nHow fair is the Rose! what a beautiful flower!\nThe glory of April and May:\nBut the leaves are beginning to fade in an hour,\nAnd they wither and die in a day.\n\nYet the Rose has one powerful virtue to boast,\nAbove all the flowers of the field!\nWhen its leaves are all dead and fine colours are lost,\nStill how sweet a perfume it will yield!\n\nSo frail is the youth and the beauty of man,\nThough they bloom and look gay like the Rose;\nBut all our fond care to preserve them is vain,\nTime kills them as fast as he goes.\n\nThen I'll not be proud of my youth and my beauty,\nSince both of them wither and fade;\nBut gain a good name by well doing my duty:\nThis will scent like a Rose when I'm dead.\n\n\nSong 4.\nThe thief\n8,7,8,7\n\nWhy should I deprive my neighbour\nOf his goods against his will?\nHands were made for honest labour,\nNot to plunder, or to steal.\n\n'Tis a foolish self-deceiving\nBy such tricks to hope for gain:\n\nAll that's ever got by thieving\nTurns to sorrow, shame, and pain.\n\nHave not Eve and Adam taught us\nTheir sad profit to compute,\nTo what dismal state they brought us\nWhen they stole forbidden fruit?\n\nOft we see a young beginner\nPractice little pilfering ways,\nTill grown up a harden'd sinner,\nThen the gallows ends his days.\n\nTheft will not be always hidden,\nThough we fancy none can spy:\nWhen we take a thing forbidden,\nGod beholds it with his eye.\n\nGuard my heart, O God of heaven,\nLest I covet what's not mine;\nLest I steal what is not given,\nGuard my heart and hands from sin.\n\n\nSong 5.\nThe ant, or emmet.\n11,11,8,11,11,8\n\nThese Emmets, how little they are in our eyes!\nWe tread them to dust, and a troop of them dies,\nWithout our regard or concern:\nYet, as wise as we are, if we went to their school,\nThere's many a sluggard and many a fool\nSome lessons of wisdom might learn.\n\nThey wear not their time out in sleeping or play,\nBut gather up corn in a sunshiny day,\nAnd for winter they lay up their stores:\nThey manage their work in such regular forms,\nOne would think they foresaw all the frosts and the storms,\nAnd so brought their food withindoors.\n\nBut I have less sense than a poor creeping Ant,\nIf I take not due care for the things I shall want,\nNor provide against dangers in time;\nWhen death or old age shall once stare in my face,\nWhat a wretch shall I be in the end of my days,\nIf I trifle away all their prime!\n\nNow, now, while my strength and my youth are in bloom,\nLet me think what shall serve me when sickness shall come,\nAnd pray that my sins be forgiven.\nLet me read in good books, and believe, and obey;\nThat, when death turns me out of this cottage of clay,\nI may dwell in a palace in heaven.\n\n\nSong 6.\nGood resolutions.\n7,8,7,8\n\nThough I'm now in younger days,\nNor can tell what shall befall me,\nI'll prepare for every place\nWhere my growing age shall call me.\n\nShould I e'er be rich or great,\nOthers shall partake my goodness:\nI'll supply the poor with meat,\nNever showing scorn or rudeness.\n\nWhere I see the blind or lame,\nDeaf or dumb, I'll kindly treat them:\nI deserve to feel the same,\nIf I mock, or hurt, or cheat them.\n\nIf I meet with railing tongues,\nWhy should I return them railing,\nSince I best revenge my wrongs\nBy my patience never failing?\n\nWhen I hear them telling lies,\nTalking foolish, cursing, swearing,\nFirst I'll try to make them wise,\nOr I'll soon go out of hearing.\n\nWhat though I be low or mean,\nI'll engage the rich to love me,\nWhile I'm modest, neat, and clean,\nAnd submit when they reprove me.\n\nIf I should be poor and sick,\nI shall meet, I hope, with pity;\nSince I love to help the weak,\nThough they're neither fair nor witty.\n\nI'll not willingly offend,\nNor be easily offended:\nWhat's amiss I'll strive to mend,\nAnd endure what can't be mended.\n\nMay I be so watchful still\nO'er my humours and my passion,\nAs to speak and do no ill,\nThough it should be all the fashion.\n\nWicked fashions lead to hell;\nNe'er may I be found complying;\nBut in life behave so well,\nNot to be afraid of dying.\n\n\nSong 7.\nSummer's evening.\n11,11,11,9\n\nHow fine has the day been! how bright was the sun!\nHow lovely and joyful the course that he run;\nThough he rose in a mist when his race he begun,\nAnd there followed some droppings of rain:\nBut now the fair traveller's come to the west,\nHis rays are all gold, and his beauties are best;\nHe paints the skies gay as he sinks to his rest,\nAnd foretells a bright rising again.\n\nJust such is the Christian. His course he begins\nLike the sun in a mist, while he mourns for his sins,\nAnd melts into tears! then he breaks out and shines,\nAnd travels his heavenly way:\nBut when he comes nearer to finish his race,\nLike a fine setting sun, he looks richer in grace;\nAnd gives a sure hope, at the end of his days,\nOf rising in brighter array.\n\n\nSong 8.\nCradle hymn.\n8,7,8,7\n\nHush, my dear! Lie still, and slumber!\nHoly angels guard thy bed!\nHeavenly blessings, without number,\nGently falling on thy head.\n\nSleep, my babe! thy food and raiment,\nHouse and home, thy friends provide;\nAll without thy care or payment,\nAll thy wants are well supplied.\n\nHow much better thou'rt attended\nThan the Son of God could be,\nWhen from heaven he descended,\nAnd became a child like thee!\n\nSoft and easy is thy cradle:\nCoarse and hard thy Saviour lay,\nWhen his birthplace was a stable,\nAnd his softest bed was hay.\n\nBlessed Babe! what glorious features,--\nSpotless fair, divinely bright!\nMust he dwell with brutal creatures?\nHow could angels bear the sight?\n\nWas there nothing but a manger\nCursed sinners could afford,\nTo receive the heavenly stranger?\nDid they thus affront the Lord?\n\nSoft, my child! I did not chide thee,\nThough my song might sound too hard:\n'Tis thy mother sits beside thee,\nAnd her arm shall be thy guard.\n\nYet to read the shameful story.\nHow the Jews received their King,\nHow they served the Lord of Glory,\nMakes me angry while I sing.\n\nSee the kinder shepherds round him,\nTelling wonders from the sky!\nWhere hey sought him, there they found him,\nWith his Virgin-mother by.\n\nSee the lovely Babe a-dressing:\nLovely infant, how he smiled!\nWhen he wept, his mother's blessing\nSooth'd and hush'd the holy Child.\n\nLo, he slumbers in a manger,\nWhere the horned oxen fed!--\nPeace, my darling, here's no danger:\nThere's no ox a-near thy bed.\n\n'Twas so save thee, child, from dying,\nSave my dear from burning flame,\nBitter groans and endless crying,\nThat thy blest Redeemer came.\n\nMay'st thou live to know and fear him,\nTrust and love him all thy days,\nThen go dwell for ever near him:\nSee his face, and sing his praise!\n\nI could give thee thousand kisses!\nHoping what I most desire,\nNot a mother's fondest wishes\nCan to greater joys aspire!","title":"Divine Songs","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":8290}