Scripture Verse

Test me, O Lord, and try me; examine my heart and my mind, for Your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in Your truth. Psalm 26:2–3

Introduction

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Isaac Watts
1674–1748

Words: Is­aac Watts, The Psalms of Da­vid 1719. Self ex­am­in­a­tion; or, ev­i­denc­es of grace.

Music: Ab­ends Her­bert S. Oak­e­ley, 1874 (🔊 pdf nwc).

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Herbert S. Oakeley
1830–1903

Lyrics

Judge me, O Lord, and prove my ways,
And try my reins, and try my heart;
My faith upon Thy promise stays,
Nor from Thy law my feet depart.

I hate to walk, I hate to sit,
With men of vanity and lies;
The scoffer and the hypocrite
Are the abhorrence of mine eyes.

Amongst the saints will I appear
With hands well washed in innocence;
But when I stand before Thy bar,
The blood of Christ is my defense.

I love Thy habitation, Lord,
The temple where Thine honors dwell;
There shall I hear Thine holy Word,
And there Thy works of wonder tell.

Let not my soul be joined at last
With men of treachery and blood,
Since I my days on earth have passed
Among the saints, and near my God.