146Psalm 1468 8 8. D
I’LL praise my Maker while I’ve breath;
   And when my voice is lost in death
    Praise shall employ my nobler powers:
My days of praise shall ne’er be past,
While life, and thought, and being last,
    Or immortality endures.
 
2  Why should I place in man my trust?
Princes must die and turn to dust;
    Vain is the help of flesh and blood:
Their breath departs, their pomp and power,
Their thoughts are gone within an hour,
    Nor can they make their promise good.
 
3  Happy are they 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 the oppressed, He feeds the poor,
    And none shall find His promise vain.
 
4  The Lord has eyes to give the blind;
The Lord supports the sinking mind;
    He sends the labouring conscience peace:
He helps the stranger in distress,
The widow and the fatherless,
    And grants the prisoner sweet release.
 
5  I’ll praise Him while He lends me breath,
And when my voice is lost in death,
    Praise shall employ my nobler powers;
My days of praise shall ne’er be past,
While life, and thought, and being last,
    Or immortality endures.
 
Isaac Watts, 1674-1748