O wherefore do the nations rage,
And kings and rulers strive in vain,
Against the Lord of earth and Heav’n
To overthrow Messiah’s reign?

Their strength is weakness in the sight
Of Him Who sits enthroned above;
He speaks, and judgments fall on them
Who tempt His wrath and scorn His love.

By God’s decree His Son receives
The nations for His heritage;
The conqu’ring Christ supreme shall reign
As King of kings, from age to age.

Be wise, ye rulers of the earth,
And serve the Lord with godly fear;
With reverent joy confess the Son
While yet in mercy He is near.

Delay not, lest His anger rise,
And ye should perish in your way;
Lo, all that put their trust in Him
Are blest indeed, and blest for aye.

Wherefore do the nations rage,
And the people vainly dream,
That in triumph they can wage
War against the Lord supreme?
His Anointed they deride,
And the rulers plotting say:
Their dominion be defied,
Let us cast their bonds away.

But the Lord will scorn them all,
Calm He sits enthroned on high;
Soon His wrath will on them fall,
Angered then He will reply:
Yet according to My will
I have set My King to reign,
And on Zion’s holy hill
Mine Anointed I maintain.

This the word declared to me,
This Jehovah’s firm decree:
Thou art my belovèd Son,
Yea, I have begotten Thee.
Ask and have Thy full demands,
Thine shall all the heathen be,
Thine the utmost of the lands,
They shall be possessed of Thee.

Dash them like a potter’s urn,
Thou shalt break them with a rod.
Therefore, kings and judges, learn
Anxiously to serve your God.
Kiss the Son and worship Him,
Lest ye perish in the way;
Blest are all who trust in Him,
Yea, supremely blest are they.

Why did the Gentiles tumults raise?
What rage was in their brain?
Why do the people still contrive
A thing that is but vain?

The kings and rulers of the earth
Conspire and are all bent
Against the Lord, and Christ His Son,
Whom He among us sent.

Shall we be bound to them? Say they,
Let all Their bonds be broke;
And of Their doctrine and Their law
Let us reject the yoke.

But He that in the Heav’n doth dwell,
Their doings will deride;
And make them all as mocking-stocks
Throughout the world so wide.

For in His wrath He shall reprove
Their pride and scornful way,
And in His fury trouble them,
And unto them shall say,

I have anointed Him My King
Upon My holy hill;
I will therefore, Lord, preach Thy law
According to Thy will:

The law whereof the Lord Himself
Hath thus said unto Me,
Thou art My only Son, this day
Have I begotten Thee.

The people I will give to Thee,
As heirs at Thy request
The ends and coasts of all the earth
By Thee shall be possessed.

Thou shalt them bruise e’en like to those
That under foot are trod,
And as a potter’s vessel break
Them with an iron rod.

Now ye, O kings and rulers all,
Be wise therefore and learned,
By who the matters of the world
Are judged and discerned.

See that ye serve the Lord above
In trembling and in fear;
See that with reverence ye rejoice
When ye to Him draw near:

See that ye do embrace and kiss
His Son without delay;
Lest in His wrath ye suddenly
Perish from the right way.

If once His wrath (but little) shall
Be kindled in His breast,
Then only they that trust in Him
Shall happy be and blest.

Why did the Jews proclaim their rage?
The Romans, why their swords employ?
Against the Lord their powers engage,
His dear Anointed to destroy?

“Come, let us break His bands,” they say;
“This Man shall never give us laws”:
And thus they cast His yoke away,
And nail’d the Monarch to the cross.

But God, who high in glory reigns,
Laughs at their pride, their rage controls;
He’ll vex their hearts with inward pains,
And speak in thunder to their souls.

“I will maintain the King I made
On Zion’s everlasting hill;
My hand shall bring Him from the dead,
And He shall stand your Sov’reign still.”

His wondrous rising from the earth
Makes His eternal Godhead known;
The Lord declares His heav’nly birth—
“This day I have begot My Son.

“Ascend, My Son, to My right hand,
There Thou shalt ask, and I bestow,
The utmost bounds of heathen lands;
To Thee the northern isles shall bow.”

But nations that resist His grace
Shall fall beneath His iron stroke;
His rod shall crush His foes with ease,
As potters’ earthen work is broke.

Now, ye that sit on earthly thrones,
Be wise, and serve the Lord, the Lamb;
Now at His feet submit your crowns,
Rejoice and tremble at His Name.

With humble love address the Son,
Lest He grow angry, and ye die;
His wrath will burn to worlds unknown,
If ye provoke His jealousy.

His storms shall drive you quick to hell;
He is a God, and ye but dust;
Happy the souls that know Him well,
And make His grace their only trust.

With restless and ungoverned rage
Why do the heathen storm?
Why in such rash attempts engage,
As they can ne’er perform?

The great in counsel and in might
Their various forces bring;
Against the Lord they all unite,
And His anointed King.

“Must we submit to their commands?”
Presumptuously they say;
“No, let us break Their slavish bands,
And cast Their chains away.”

But God, who sits enthroned on high,
And sees how they combine,
Does their conspiring strength defy,
And mocks their vain design.

Thick clouds of wrath divine shall break
On His rebellious foes;
And thus will He in thunder speak
To all that dare oppose:

“Though madly you dispute My will,
The King that I ordain,
Whose throne is fixed on Zion’s hill,
Shall there securely reign.”

Attend, O earth, whilst I declare
God’s uncontrolled decree;
“Thou art my Son, this day My Heir
Have I begotten Thee.

“Ask and receive Thy full demands;
Thine shall the heathen be;
The utmost limits of the lands
Shall be possessed by Thee.

Thy threat’ning scepter Thou shalt shake,
And crush them every where;
As massy bars of iron break
The potter’s brittle ware.”

Learn then, ye princes, and give ear,
Ye judges of the earth;
Worship the Lord with holy fear;
Rejoice with awful mirth.

Appease the Son with due respect,
Your timely homage pay;
Lest He revenge the bold neglect,
Incensed by your delay.

If but in part His anger rise,
Who can endure the flame?
Then blest are they whose hope relies
On His most holy Name.

God send us men whose aim ’twill be,
Not to defend some ancient creed,
But to live out the laws of Christ
In every thought and word and deed.

God send us men alert and quick
His lofty precepts to translate,
Until the laws of Christ become
The laws and habits of the state.

God send us men of steadfast will,
Patient, courageous, strong and true,
With vision clear and mind equipped
His will to learn, his work to do.

God send us men with hearts ablaze,
All truth to love, all wrong to hate;
These are the patriots nations need;
These are the bulwarks of the state.