God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; He judgeth among the gods.
Psalm 82:1
Words: Isaac Watts, The Psalms of David 1719. God the supreme Governor; or, magistrates warned.
Music: Babylon’s Streams Thomas Campion, 1613 (🔊 pdf nwc).
If you know where to get a good picture of Campion (head-and-shoulders, at least 200×300 pixels), would you ?
Among th’assemblies of the great
A greater Ruler takes His seat;
The God of Heav’n, as Judge, surveys,
The gods on earth, and all their ways.
Why will ye, then, frame wicked laws?
Or why support th’unrighteous cause?
When will ye once defend the poor,
That sinners vex the saints no more?
They know not, Lord, nor will they know;
Dark are the ways in which they go;
Their name of earthly gods is vain,
For they shall fall and die like men.
Arise, O Lord, and let Thy Son
Possess His universal throne,
And rule the nations with His rod,
He is our judge, and He our God.