STUDY / LIVING THE CHRISTIAN LIFE / HYMNS

How long wilt thou conceal thy face? Complaint under temptations of the devil

Isaac Watts's setting of Psalm 13, 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. 2

METRE

Common Metre 8.6.8.6 · 7 stanzas

WRITTEN ON

Psalm 13 the verse printed above it

The hymn, and the Scripture in it

All 7 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

How long wilt thou conceal thy face?

My God, how long delay?

When shall I feel those heavenly rays

That chase my fears away?

The psalm it sets

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

1How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? 2How long must I wrestle in my soul, with sorrow in my heart each day? How long will my enemy dominate me? 3Consider me and respond, O LORD my God. Give light to my eyes, lest I sleep in death, 4lest my enemy say, “I have overcome him,” and my foes rejoice when I fall. … 2 more verses PSALM 13 · ITS FIRST VERSES · BEREAN STANDARD BIBLE READ PSALM 13

How long wilt thou conceal thy face? My God, how long delay? When shall I feel those heavenly rays That chase my fears away? 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 2. Point at a tick to see the hymn; click it to open that hymn.

NO. 2 · ISAAC WATTS · THIS HYMN How long wilt thou conceal thy face?

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