STUDY / LIVING THE CHRISTIAN LIFE / HYMNS

Hear me, O God, nor hide thy face First Part A prayer of the afflicted

Isaac Watts's setting of Psalm 102:1–13, 20, 21, 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

Common Metre 8.6.8.6 · 12 stanzas

WRITTEN ON

Psalm 102:1–13, 20, 21 the verse printed above it

The hymn, and the Scripture in it

All 12 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

Hear me, O God, nor hide thy face

Hear me, O God, nor hide thy face,

But answer lest I die;

Hast thou not built a throne of grace

To hear when sinners cry?

The psalm it sets

Watts made this hymn from Psalm 102:1–13, 20, 21, "in the language of the New Testament": a paraphrase, not a translation. The line that comes closest to it is marked.

1Hear my prayer, O LORD; let my cry for help come before You. 2Do not hide Your face from me in my day of distress. Incline Your ear to me; answer me quickly when I call. 3For my days vanish like smoke, and my bones burn like glowing embers. 4My heart is afflicted, and withered like grass; I even forget to eat my bread. 5Through my loud groaning my flesh clings to my bones. 6I am like a desert owl, like an owl among the ruins. 7I lie awake; I am like a lone bird on a housetop. 8All day long my enemies taunt me; they ridicule me and curse me. 9For I have eaten ashes like bread and mixed my drink with tears 10because of Your indignation and wrath, for You have picked me up and cast me aside. 11My days are like lengthening shadows, and I wither away like grass. 12But You, O LORD, sit enthroned forever; Your renown endures to all generations. 13You will rise up and have compassion on Zion, for it is time to show her favor— the appointed time has come. 20to hear a prisoner’s groaning, to release those condemned to death, 21that they may proclaim the name of the LORD in Zion and praise Him in Jerusalem, PSALM 102:1–13, 20, 21 · BEREAN STANDARD BIBLE READ PSALM 102

Hear me, O God, nor hide thy face, But answer lest I die; Hast thou not built a throne of grace To hear when sinners cry? STANZA I

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 Hear me, O God, nor hide thy face

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