Scripture Verse

We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from Thy precepts and from Thy judgments. Daniel 9:5

Introduction

portrait
Isaac Watts (1674–1748)

Words: Is­aac Watts, Hymns and Spi­ri­tu­al Songs 1707–09, Book 2, num­ber 105. Re­pen­tance flow­ing from the pa­tience of God.

Music: Green­wich Will­iam Ri­chard­son, in The Pi­ous Rec­re­ation, 1729 (🔊 pdf nwc).

If you know where to get a good pic­ture of Ri­chard­son (head & shoul­ders, at least 200×300 pix­els),

Lyrics

And are we wretch­es yet alive?
And do we yet re­bel?
’Tis bound­less, ’tis am­az­ing love,
That bears us up from hell!

The bur­den of our weigh­ty guilt
Would sink us down to flames;
And threat­en­ing ven­geance rolls above,
To crush our fee­ble frames.

Almighty good­ness cries, For­bear!
And straight the thun­der stays;
And dare we now pro­voke His wrath,
And wea­ry out His grace?

Lord, we have long abused Thy love,
Too long in­dulged our sin;
Our ach­ing hearts e’en bleed to see
What re­bels we have been.

No more, ye lusts, shall ye com­mand,
No more will we ob­ey;
Stretch out, O God, Thy con­quer­ing hand,
And drive Thy foes away.