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Why doth the Lord stand off so far Prayer heard, and saints saved; or, Pride, atheism, and oppression punished. For a humiliation day

Isaac Watts's setting of Psalm 10, 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. 10

METRE

Common Metre 8.6.8.6 · 8 stanzas

WRITTEN ON

Psalm 10 the verse printed above it

The hymn, and the Scripture in it

All 8 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

The psalm it sets

Watts made this hymn from Psalm 10, "in the language of the New Testament": a paraphrase, not a translation. The line that comes closest to it is marked.

1Why, O LORD, do You stand far off? Why do You hide in times of trouble? 2In pride the wicked pursue the needy; let them be caught in the schemes they devise. 3For the wicked man boasts in the cravings of his heart; he blesses the greedy and reviles the LORD. 4In his pride the wicked man does not seek Him; in all his schemes there is no God. … 14 more verses PSALM 10 · ITS FIRST VERSES · BEREAN STANDARD BIBLE READ PSALM 10

Arise, O God, lift up thine hand, Attend our humble cry; No enemy shall dare to stand When God ascends on high. 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 10. Point at a tick to see the hymn; click it to open that hymn.

NO. 10 · ISAAC WATTS · THIS HYMN Why doth the Lord stand off so far

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