Praise to God for His Goodness and Truth

I'll praise my Maker with my breath

Author: Isaac Watts
Published in 520 hymnals

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Representative Text

1 I’ll praise my Maker with my breath,
and when my voice is lost in death,
praise shall employ my noblest pow'rs;
my days of praise shall ne'er be past,
while life, and thought, and being last,
or immortality endures.

2 Why should I make a man my trust?
Princes must die and turn to dust;
vain is the help of flesh and blood:
their breath departs, their pomp and pow'r,
and thoughts all vanish in an hour,
nor can they make their promise good.

3 Happy the man whose hopes rely
on Israel's God; He made the sky,
and earth and seas, with all their train;
His truth for ever stands secure;
He saves th'oppressed, He feeds the poor,
and none shall find His promise vain.

4 The LORD hath eyes to give the blind;
the LORD supports the sinking mind;
He sends the lab'ring conscience peace,
He helps the stranger in distress,
the widow and the fatherless,
and grants the pris'ner glad release.

5 He loves His saints, He knows them well,
but turns the wicked down to hell;
thy God, O Zion, ever reigns;
let every tongue, let every age,
in this exalted work engage;
praise Him in everlasting strains.

6 I’ll praise Him while He lends me breath;
and when my voice is lost in death,
praise shall employ my noblest pow'rs;
my days of praise shall ne'er be past,
while life and thought and being last,
or immortality endures.

Source: Psalms and Hymns to the Living God #146

Author: Isaac Watts

Isaac Watts was the son of a schoolmaster, and was born in Southampton, July 17, 1674. He is said to have shown remarkable precocity in childhood, beginning the study of Latin, in his fourth year, and writing respectable verses at the age of seven. At the age of sixteen, he went to London to study in the Academy of the Rev. Thomas Rowe, an Independent minister. In 1698, he became assistant minister of the Independent Church, Berry St., London. In 1702, he became pastor. In 1712, he accepted an invitation to visit Sir Thomas Abney, at his residence of Abney Park, and at Sir Thomas' pressing request, made it his home for the remainder of his life. It was a residence most favourable for his health, and for the prosecution of his literary… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: I'll praise my Maker with my breath
Title: Praise to God for His Goodness and Truth
Author: Isaac Watts
Meter: 8.8.8.8.8.8
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain

Notes

I'll praise my Maker with my [while I've] breath. I. Watts. [Ps. cxlvi.] First published in his Psalms of David, &c., 1719, in 6 stanzas of 6 lines, and headed, “Praise to God for His Goodness and Truth." It is sometimes given in this form: but the more popular arrangement, which is in extensive use in all English-speaking countries, is that by J. Wesley, beginning, "I'll praise my Maker while I've breath." This is composed of stanzas i., iii., iv. and vi. somewhat altered. It appeared in Wesley's Psalms & Hymns, Charlestown, South Carolina, 1736-7; was repeated in the Wesley Psalms & Hymns, 1743, and in the Festival Hymnal, 1780. Another arrangement is, "Happy the man whose hopes rely." This is composed of stanzas iii., iv., and vi. somewhat altered, and was given in Cotterill’s Selection, 1810. Neither the original nor the arrangements by Wesley and by Cotterill have the doxology which is found in some collections.

--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Tune

OLD 113TH

GENEVAN 68 is usually attributed to Matthäus Greiter (b. Aichach, Bavaria, 1490; d. Strasbourg, France, 1550). It was published as a setting for Psalm 119 in Das dritt theil Strassburger Kirchenampt (1525), which Greiter and his friend Wolfgang Dachstein edited. Greiter studied at Freiburg Universi…

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Media

Baptist Hymnal 1991 #35
  • Bulletin Score (melody only) (PDF)
  • Bulletin Score (PDF)
  • Full Score (PDF)
The Cyber Hymnal #2887
  • Adobe Acrobat image (PDF)
  • Noteworthy Composer score (NWC)
  • XML score (XML)
Harmonia Americana: containing a concise introduction to the grounds of music; with a variety of airs, suitable fore divine worship and the use of musical societies; consisting of three and four parts #31
  • PDF (PDF)
  • MusicXML (made with MuseScore) (XML)
Small Church Music #271
  • PDF Score (PDF)
Small Church Music #1912
  • PDF Score (PDF)

Instances

Instances (1 - 38 of 38)

A New Hymnal for Colleges and Schools #3

Text

Ancient and Modern #673

TextAudioPage Scan

Baptist Hymnal 1991 #35

TextPage Scan

Celebrating Grace Hymnal #336

Text

Chalice Hymnal #20

Church Hymnal, Fifth Edition #357

Church Hymnal, Mennonite #7

TextPage Scan

Common Praise (1998) #346

TextPage Scan

Common Praise #473

Page Scan

Complete Mission Praise #320

Text InfoTextAudio

Glory to God #806

Hymnal #166

Hymns and Psalms #439a

Hymns and Psalms #439b

Page Scan

Hymns for Today's Church (2nd ed.) #20

Praises We Sing (2nd ed.) #8

TextPage Scan

Psalms and Hymns to the Living God #146

Text

Psalms for All Seasons #146A

Text

Rejoice in the Lord #140

Sing Glory #84

Singing the Faith #79

Audio

Small Church Music #271

Audio

Small Church Music #1912

Text

Spurgeon's Own Hymn Book #146b

TextPage Scan

The A.M.E. Zion Hymnal #573

Text

The Book of Praise #105

The Covenant Hymnal #7

TextScoreAudio

The Cyber Hymnal #2887

Text

The Hymnal 1982 #429

Text

The Presbyterian Hymnal #253

TextAudio

The United Methodist Hymnal #60

The United Methodist Hymnal Music Supplement #260

The United Methodist Hymnal Music Supplement II #141

Text

The Worshiping Church #79

Text

Together in Song #90

Text

Voices United #867

Text

Worship and Rejoice #79

찬송과 예배 = Chansong gwa yebae = Come, Let Us Worship #123

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