STUDY / LIVING THE CHRISTIAN LIFE / HYMNS

I Lift my soul to God First Part Waiting for pardon and direction

Isaac Watts's setting of Psalm 25:1–11, 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

Short Metre 6.6.8.6 · 6 stanzas

WRITTEN ON

Psalm 25:1–11 the verse printed above it

The hymn, and the Scripture in it

All 6 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

I Lift my soul to God

I Lift my soul to God,

My trust is in his name;

Let not my foes that seek my blood

Still triumph in my shame.

The psalm it sets

Watts made this hymn from Psalm 25:1–11, "in the language of the New Testament": a paraphrase, not a translation. The line that comes closest to it is marked.

1To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul; 2in You, my God, I trust. Do not let me be put to shame; do not let my enemies exult over me. 3Surely none who wait for You will be put to shame; but those who are faithless without cause will be disgraced. 4Show me Your ways, O LORD; teach me Your paths. 5Guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; all day long I wait for You. 6Remember, O LORD, Your compassion and loving devotion, for they are from age to age. 7Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my rebellious acts; remember me according to Your loving devotion, because of Your goodness, O LORD. 8Good and upright is the LORD; therefore He shows sinners the way. 9He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them His way. 10All the LORD’s ways are loving and faithful to those who keep His covenant and His decrees. 11For the sake of Your name, O LORD, forgive my iniquity, for it is great. PSALM 25:1–11 · BEREAN STANDARD BIBLE READ PSALM 25

I Lift my soul to God, My trust is in his name; Let not my foes that seek my blood Still triumph in my shame. 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 I Lift my soul to God

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