Religion
Psalm 32: Free pardon and sincere obedience; or, Confession and forgiveness
From The Psalms of David Imitated (1719)
Happy the man to whom his God
No more imputes his sin,
But, washed in the Redeemer's blood,
Hath made his garments clean!
Happy beyond expression he
Whose debts are thus discharged;
And from the guilty bondage free,
He feels his soul enlarged.
His spirit hates deceit and lies,
His words are all sincere;
He guards his heart, he guards his eyes,
To keep his conscience clear.
While I my inward guilt suppressed,
No quiet could I find;
Thy wrath lay burning in my breast,
And racked my tortured mind.
Then I confessed my troubled thoughts,
My secret sins revealed;
Thy pard'ning grace forgave my faults,
Thy grace my pardon sealed.
This shall invite thy saints to pray;
When like a raging flood
Temptations rise, our strength and stay
Is a forgiving God.
Cite this poem
MLA
Watts, Isaac. “Psalm 32: Free pardon and sincere obedience; or, Confession and forgiveness.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/watts/69/.
Chicago
Watts, Isaac. “Psalm 32: Free pardon and sincere obedience; or, Confession and forgiveness.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/watts/69/.
Read this poem with the Codex →
More by Isaac Watts
- Psalm 36: Practical atheism exposed; or, The being and attributes of God asserted
- Psalm 107, Last Part: Colonies planted; or, Nations blessed and punished. A Psalm for New England
- Hymn I.39: God's tender care of his church
- Hymn II.41: A sight of God mortifies us to the world
- Hymn III.25: Divine glories and our graces