STUDY / LIVING THE CHRISTIAN LIFE / HYMNS
Lord, thou hast called thy grace to mind Psalm 85 Part 1
Isaac Watts's setting of Psalm 85:1–8, printed in 1719 in The Psalms of David Imitated, where he set the psalms "in the language of the New Testament".
WRITTEN BY
Isaac Watts 1674–1748
PRINTED
1719 The Psalms of David Imitated · no. 1
METRE
Long Metre 8.8.8.8 · 4 stanzas
WRITTEN ON
Psalm 85:1–8 the verse printed above it
The hymn, and the Scripture in it
All 4 stanzas as Watts printed them, with the verses their lines echo beside them. Point at a line to join it to its verse; click to read the passage.
SHARED WORDSthe verse shares the line's wording ECHOproposed by an AI model, confirmed by a separate check Not the author's own notes
AMONG THE SCRIPTURES
The stanzas at the centre; around them, every book its heading and its echoes come from, Old Testament on the left and New on the right. Choose a stanza or a book.
a line echoes this verse its heading or an echo comes from here
STANZA I
Lord, thou hast called thy grace to mind
Lord, thou hast called thy grace to mind,
Thou hast reversed our heavy doom;
So God forgave when Isr'el sinned,
And brought his wand'ring captives home.
The psalm it sets
Watts made this hymn from Psalm 85:1–8, "in the language of the New Testament": a paraphrase, not a translation. The line that comes closest to it is marked.
1You showed favor to Your land, O LORD; You restored Jacob from captivity. 2You forgave the iniquity of Your people; You covered all their sin. Selah 3You withheld all Your fury; You turned from Your burning anger. 4Restore us, O God of our salvation, and put away Your displeasure toward us. 5Will You be angry with us forever? Will You draw out Your anger to all generations? 6Will You not revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You? 7Show us Your loving devotion, O LORD, and grant us Your salvation. 8I will listen to what God the LORD will say; for He will surely speak peace to His people and His saints; He will not let them return to folly. PSALM 85:1–8 · BEREAN STANDARD BIBLE READ PSALM 85
We wait to hear what God will say; He'll speak, and give his people peace; But let them run no more astray, Lest his returning wrath increase. STANZA IV
Its place in the book
Watts's psalms run from Psalm 1 to Psalm 150, several settings to many psalms: 367 hymns. This is number 1. Point at a tick to see the hymn; click it to open that hymn.
NO. 1 · ISAAC WATTS · THIS HYMN Lord, thou hast called thy grace to mind
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