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O thou whose grace and justice reign Pleading with submission

Isaac Watts's setting of Psalm 123, 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. 123

METRE

Common Metre 8.6.8.6 · 5 stanzas

WRITTEN ON

Psalm 123 the verse printed above it

The hymn, and the Scripture in it

All 5 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 123, "in the language of the New Testament": a paraphrase, not a translation. The line that comes closest to it is marked.

1I lift up my eyes to You, the One enthroned in heaven. 2As the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maidservant look to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes are on the LORD our God until He shows us mercy. 3Have mercy on us, O LORD, have mercy, for we have endured much contempt. 4We have endured much scorn from the arrogant, much contempt from the proud. PSALM 123 · ITS FIRST VERSES · BEREAN STANDARD BIBLE READ PSALM 123

O thou whose grace and justice reign Enthron'd above the skies, To thee our hearts would tell their pain, To thee we lift our eyes. 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 123. Point at a tick to see the hymn; click it to open that hymn.

NO. 123 · ISAAC WATTS · THIS HYMN O thou whose grace and justice reign

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