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SHEW pity, Lord, O Lord Forgive,

PSALM LI. First Part. Long Metre.
A Penitent Pleading for Pardon.

Poet: Isaac Watts, 1719
Meter: Long Meter (8,8,8,8)
Location in The Sacred Harp
Stanza Denson Cooper
1
SHEW pity, Lord, O Lord Forgive,
Let a repenting Rebel live:
Are not thy Mercies large and free?
May not a Sinner trust in Thee?
Cusseta 73t, Stanza 1
Show Pity, Lord (Cusseta) 73t, Stanza 1
2
My Crimes are great, but not surpass
The Power and Glory of thy Grace:
Great God, thy Nature hath no Bound,
So let thy pardoning love be found.
Cusseta 73t, Stanza 2
Show Pity, Lord (Cusseta) 73t, Stanza 2
3
O wash my Soul from every Sin,
And make my guilty Conscience clean;
Here on my Heart the Burden lies,
And past Offences pain my Eyes.

4
My Lips with Shame my Sins confess
Against thy law, against thy Grace:
Lord, should thy Judgment grow severe,
I am condemn'd, but thou art clear.

5
Should sudden Vengeance seize my Breath,
I must pronounce thee just in Death;
And if my Soul were sent to Hell,
Thy righteous Law approves it well.

6
Yet save a trembling Sinner, Lord,
Whose Hope still hovering round thy Word
Would light on some sweet Promise there,
Some sure Support against Despair.
Cusseta 73t, Stanza 3
Show Pity, Lord (Cusseta) 73t, Stanza 3
Watts, Isaac. The Psalms of David: Imitated in the Language of the New Testament, and applied to the Christian State and Worship. London: Printed for J. Clark, R. Ford, and R. Cruttenden, 1719