Let others boast how strong they be

General information

This is an hymn by Isaac Watts, his Hymn 19 of Book 2, published in 1709.

Settings by composers

• William Billings — Creation  English SATB
• William Billings — Hatfield  English STB
• Barnabas McKyes — Surprise  English SATB

 

Text and translations

English text 1. Let others boast how strong they be, Nor death nor danger fear; But we'll confess, O Lord, to thee, What feeble things we are. 2. Fresh as the grass our bodies stand, And flourish bright and gay; A blasting wind sweeps o'er the land, And fades the grass away.

3. Our life contains a thousand springs, And dies if one be gone; Strange, that a harp of thousand strings Should keep in tune so long! 4. But 'tis our God supports our frame, The God that built us first: Salvation to th' Almighty name That reared us from the dust.

5. He spoke, and straight our hearts and brains In all their motions rose; "Let blood," said he, "flow round the veins," And round the veins it flows. 6. While we have breath, or use our tongues, Our Maker we'll adore; His Spirit moves our heaving lungs, Or they would breathe no more.

Our frail bodies, and God our Preserver, by Isaac Watts, 1709

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