Scripture Verse

The salvation of the righteous is of the Lord: He is their strength in the time of trouble. Psalm 37:39

Introduction

portrait
William Havergal (1793–1870)

Words: At­trib­ut­ed to Sam­uel Bar­nard (?–1807). Ap­peared in his Spir­it­ual Songs of Zi­on’s Tra­vel­lers, se­cond edi­tion, cor­rect­ed, 1803. Early edi­tions give the first line as Je­ho­vah is my strength.

Music: St. John (Par­ish), in the Par­ish Choir, 1851. At­trib­ut­ed to Will­iam H. Ha­ver­gal (🔊 pdf nwc).

Alternate Tunes:

If you know where to get a good pic­ture of Bar­nard (head & shoul­ders, at least 200×300 pix­els),

Lyrics

Jehovah is our strength,
And He shall be our song
We shall o’ercome at length
Although our foes be strong.
In vain does Satan then oppose,
For God is stronger than His foes.

The Lord our portion is,
What can we wish for more?
As long as we are His,
We ne­ver can be poor:
In vain do earth and hell oppose,
For God is stronger than His foes.

The Lord our refuge is
And ever will remain;
Since He has made us His
He will our cause maintain.
In vain our enemies oppose,
For God is stronger than His foes.

The Lord our shepherd is;
He knows our every need,
And since we now are His,
His care our souls will feed.
In vain do sin and death oppose,
For God is stronger than His foes.

Our God our Fa­ther is;
Our names are on His heart;
We ever will be His,
He ne’er from us will part.
In vain the mightiest powers oppose,
For God is stronger than His foes.