Lyrics:

How Firm a Foundation
Richard Keen in Rippon's Selection c.1787
Tune: American trad. from Union Harmony 1837 and The Sacred Harp 1844
violin, steel-string guitar, bass
How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in his excellent word!
What more can he say than to you he hath said,
You who unto Jesus for refuge have fled?
Fear not, he is with thee, O be not dismayed,
For he is thy God and will still give thee aid;
He'll strengthen and help thee, and cause thee to stand
Upheld by his righteous, omnipotent hand.
When through the deep waters he calls thee to go,
The rivers of grief shall not thee overflow;
For he will be with thee, in trouble to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.
When through fiery trials thy pathways shall lie,
His grace, all-sufficient, shall be thy supply;
The flame shall not hurt thee; his only design
Thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.
The soul that on Jesus has leaned for repose,
He will not, He can not desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
He never will leave, he will never forsake!