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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,
To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?
In every condition, in sickness, in health,
In poverty's vale, or abounding in wealth,
At home or abroad, on the land, on the sea,
As thy days may demand shall thy faith ever be.
Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed,
For I am thy God and will still give thee aid,
I'll strengthen thee, help thee and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by my righteous omnipotent hand.
When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of woe shall not thee overflow,
For I will be with thee thy troubles to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.
When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace all sufficient shall be thy supply,
The flame shall not hurt thee: I only design,
Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.
Even down to old age, all my people shall prove
My sovereign, eternal, unchangeable love,
And when hoary hairs shall their temples adorn,
As lambs shall they still in my bosom be borne.
The soul that on Jesus Hath leaned for repose,
I will not - I will not Desert to its foes,
That soul, though all hell Should endeavor to shake,
I'll never, no, never, No, never forsake!
"K" in Rippon's Selection
At least since the second third of the twentieth century, the commonest tune for this text has been Foundation, an anonymous tune (also known as Bellevue) attested in American shapenote literature from about 1830. Prior to the popularization of this tune in roundnote circles, one frequently encountered the text set to Montgomery in Britain and to Portuguese Hymn (syn. Adeste Fideles) in America. St. Denio is another occasional choice.
Hymnals commonly omit two or three verses, most frequently the second, fourth, and sixth.