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Thee will I love, O Lord, my strength First Part. L. M Deliverance from despair; or, Temptations overcome

Isaac Watts's setting of Psalm 18:1–6, 15–18, 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 · 8 stanzas

IN HYMNALS

54 listed at Hymnary.org

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 18:1–6, 15–18, "in the language of the New Testament": a paraphrase, not a translation. The line that comes closest to it is marked.

1I love You, O LORD, my strength. 2The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer. My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. 3I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies. 4The cords of death encompassed me; the torrents of chaos overwhelmed me. 5The cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me. 6In my distress I called upon the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From His temple He heard my voice, and my cry for His help reached His ears. 15The channels of the sea appeared, and the foundations of the world were exposed, at Your rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of Your nostrils. 16He reached down from on high and took hold of me; He drew me out of deep waters. 17He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from foes too mighty for me. 18They confronted me in my day of calamity, but the LORD was my support. PSALM 18:1–6, 15–18 · BEREAN STANDARD BIBLE READ PSALM 18

Thee will I love, O Lord, my strength, My rock, my tower, my high defence, Thy mighty arm shall be my trust, For I have found salvation thence. 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 Thee will I love, O Lord, my strength

Where hymnals place it

Printed hymnals list, for each hymn, the Bible passages it goes with, so a church can choose a hymn for the day's reading. Gathered from the hymnals Hymnary.org catalogues, editors have tied this hymn to 2 passages in 1 book. One square is one passage; a ringed square is one the hymn's own lines echo. Point at a square to read it; click to open it beside the page.

Psalms 2

PSALM 18:10ECHOED IN STANZA V

10He mounted a cherub and flew; He soared on the wings of the wind.

a passage hymnals tie it to one its lines echo (2)

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