STUDY / LIVING THE CHRISTIAN LIFE / HYMNS

Happy the man to whom his God First Part. L. M. Free pardon and sincere obedience; or, Confession and forgiveness

Isaac Watts's setting of Psalm 32, 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 · 6 stanzas

WRITTEN ON

Psalm 32 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

Happy the man to whom his God

No more imputes his sin,

But wash'd in the Redeemer's blood,

Hath made his garments clean!

The psalm it sets

Watts made this hymn from Psalm 32, "in the language of the New Testament": a paraphrase, not a translation. The line that comes closest to it is marked.

1Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. 2Blessed is the man whose iniquity the LORD does not count against him, in whose spirit there is no deceit. 3When I kept silent, my bones became brittle from my groaning all day long. 4For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was drained as in the summer heat. Selah … 7 more verses PSALM 32 · ITS FIRST VERSES · BEREAN STANDARD BIBLE READ PSALM 32

Happy the man to whom his God No more imputes his sin, But wash'd in the Redeemer's blood, Hath made his garments clean! 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 Happy the man to whom his God

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