STUDY / LIVING THE CHRISTIAN LIFE / HYMNS

My heart rejoices in thy name Second Part Deliverance from slander and reproach

Isaac Watts's setting of Psalm 31:7–13, 18–21, 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. 2

METRE

Common Metre 8.6.8.6 · 7 stanzas

WRITTEN ON

Psalm 31:7–13, 18–21 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

My heart rejoices in thy name

My heart rejoices in thy name,

My God, my help, my trust;

Thou hast preserv'd my face from shame,

Mine honour from the dust.

The psalm it sets

Watts made this hymn from Psalm 31:7–13, 18–21, "in the language of the New Testament": a paraphrase, not a translation. The line that comes closest to it is marked.

7I will be glad and rejoice in Your loving devotion, for You have seen my affliction; You have known the anguish of my soul. 8You have not delivered me to the enemy; You have set my feet in the open. 9Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am in distress; my eyes fail from sorrow, my soul and body as well. 10For my life is consumed with grief and my years with groaning; my iniquity has drained my strength, and my bones are wasting away. 11Among all my enemies I am a disgrace, and among my neighbors even more. I am dreaded by my friends— they flee when they see me on the street. 12I am forgotten like a dead man, out of mind. I am like a broken vessel. 13For I hear the slander of many; there is terror on every side. They conspire against me and plot to take my life. 18May lying lips be silenced— lips that speak with arrogance against the righteous, full of pride and contempt. 19How great is Your goodness which You have laid up for those who fear You, which You have bestowed before the sons of men on those who take refuge in You! 20You hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the schemes of men. You conceal them in Your shelter from accusing tongues. 21Blessed be the LORD, for He has shown me His loving devotion in a city under siege. PSALM 31:7–13, 18–21 · BEREAN STANDARD BIBLE READ PSALM 31

"My life is spent with grief," I cry'd, "My years consum'd in groans, "My strength decays, mine eyes are dry'd, "And sorrow wastes my bones." STANZA II

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 My heart rejoices in thy name

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