Isaac Watts. [Psalm 135.] This Common Meter paraphrase of Psalm 135 was written by Isaac Watts and first published in his The Psalms of David Imitated in the Language of the New Testament (1719) in 8 stanzas of 4 lines. In an author's footnote attached to the original printing, Watts explicitly noted that for the fifth stanza he borrowed imagery from Jeremiah 14:22 ("Are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles that can cause rain?"), which begins with the line "Which of the stocks and stones they trust." Although the complete paraphrase was not adopted as a whole in general church collections, a five-stanza cento beginning "Great is the Lord, and works unknown" gained currency in Nonconformist worship, notably appearing as Hymn No. 225 in the New Congregational Hymn Book. This selection incorporates stanzas ii, iii, iv, v, and viii of Watts's original paraphrase, focusing on the majesty, sovereignty, and unsearchable greatness of God shown throughout creation and providence.
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