STUDY / LIVING THE CHRISTIAN LIFE / HYMNS

Father, I sing thy wondrous grace Third Part. C. M. Christ's obedience and death; or, God glorified and sinners saved

Isaac Watts's setting of Psalm 69, 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

Common Metre 8.6.8.6 · 6 stanzas

WRITTEN ON

Psalm 69 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

Father, I sing thy wondrous grace

Father, I sing thy wondrous grace,

I bless my Saviour's Name,

He bought salvation for the poor,

And bore the sinner's shame.

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 69, "in the language of the New Testament": a paraphrase, not a translation. The line that comes closest to it is marked.

1Save me, O God, for the waters are up to my neck. 2I have sunk into the miry depths, where there is no footing; I have drifted into deep waters, where the flood engulfs me. 3I am weary from my crying; my throat is parched. My eyes fail, looking for my God. 4Those who hate me without cause outnumber the hairs of my head; many are those who would destroy me— my enemies for no reason. Though I did not steal, I must repay. … 32 more verses PSALM 69 · ITS FIRST VERSES · BEREAN STANDARD BIBLE READ PSALM 69

This shall his humble followers see, And set their hearts at rest; They by his death draw near to thee, And live for ever blest. STANZA IV

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 Father, I sing thy wondrous grace

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