STUDY / LIVING THE CHRISTIAN LIFE / HYMNS

O thou that hear'st when sinners cry Third Part. L. M. The backslider restored; or, Repentance and faith in the blood of Christ

Isaac Watts's setting of Psalm 51, 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. 3

METRE

Long Metre 8.8.8.8 · 8 stanzas

WRITTEN ON

Psalm 51 the verse printed above it

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

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

O thou that hear'st when sinners cry

O thou that hear'st when sinners cry,

Tho' all my crimes before thee lie,

Behold them not with angry look,

But blot their memory from thy book.

No line of this stanza quotes a verse closely; it is the hymn's own confession.

The psalm it sets

Watts made this hymn from Psalm 51, "in the language of the New Testament": a paraphrase, not a translation. The line that comes closest to it is marked.

1Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your loving devotion; according to Your great compassion, blot out my transgressions. 2Wash me clean of my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. 3For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. 4Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You may be proved right when You speak and blameless when You judge. … 15 more verses PSALM 51 · ITS FIRST VERSES · BEREAN STANDARD BIBLE READ PSALM 51

Create my nature pure within, And form my soul averse to sin; Let thy good Spirit ne'er depart, Nor hide thy presence from my heart. 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 3. Point at a tick to see the hymn; click it to open that hymn.

NO. 3 · ISAAC WATTS · THIS HYMN O thou that hear'st when sinners cry

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