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Amidst thy wrath remember love Guilt of conscience and relief; or, Repentance, and prayer for pardon and health

Isaac Watts's setting of Psalm 38, 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. 38

METRE

Common Metre 8.6.8.6 · 10 stanzas

WRITTEN ON

Psalm 38 the verse printed above it

The hymn, and the Scripture in it

All 10 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

Amidst thy wrath remember love

Amidst thy wrath remember love,

Restore thy servant, Lord;

Nor let a father's chastening prove

Like an avenger's sword.

The psalm it sets

Watts made this hymn from Psalm 38, "in the language of the New Testament": a paraphrase, not a translation. The line that comes closest to it is marked.

1O LORD, do not rebuke me in Your anger or discipline me in Your wrath. 2For Your arrows have pierced me deeply, and Your hand has pressed down on me. 3There is no soundness in my body because of Your anger; there is no rest in my bones because of my sin. 4For my iniquities have overwhelmed me; they are a burden too heavy to bear. … 18 more verses PSALM 38 · ITS FIRST VERSES · BEREAN STANDARD BIBLE READ PSALM 38

Thine arrows stick within my heart, My flesh is sorely prest; Between the sorrow and the smart My spirit finds no rest. 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 38. Point at a tick to see the hymn; click it to open that hymn.

NO. 38 · ISAAC WATTS · THIS HYMN Amidst thy wrath remember love

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