Behold the love, the gen'rous love

Representative Text

1 Behold the love, the gen'rous love,
That holy David shows;
Behold his kind compassion move
For his afflicted foes.

2 When they are sick, his soul complains,
And seems to feel the smart;
The spirit of the gospel reigns,
And melts his pious heart.

3 How did his flowing tears condole
As for a brother dead!
And fasting mortify'd his soul,
While for their life he pray'd.

4 They groan'd, and curst him on their bed,
Yet still he pleads and mourns;
And double blessings on his head
The righteous God returns.

5 O glorious type of heav’nly grace!
Thus Christ the Lord appears;
While sinners curse, their Saviour prays,
And pities them with tears.

6 He, the true David, Isra'l’s King,
Blest and belov'd of God,
To save us rebels dead in sin,
Paid his own dearest blood.

Source: Church Hymn Book: consisting of newly composed hymns with the addition of hymns and psalms, from other authors, carefully adapted for the use of public worship, and many other occasions (1st ed.) #P.XXXV

Author: Isaac Watts

Isaac Watts was the son of a schoolmaster, and was born in Southampton, July 17, 1674. He is said to have shown remarkable precocity in childhood, beginning the study of Latin, in his fourth year, and writing respectable verses at the age of seven. At the age of sixteen, he went to London to study in the Academy of the Rev. Thomas Rowe, an Independent minister. In 1698, he became assistant minister of the Independent Church, Berry St., London. In 1702, he became pastor. In 1712, he accepted an invitation to visit Sir Thomas Abney, at his residence of Abney Park, and at Sir Thomas' pressing request, made it his home for the remainder of his life. It was a residence most favourable for his health, and for the prosecution of his literary… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: Behold the love, the generous love
Title: Behold the love, the gen'rous love
Author: Isaac Watts
Meter: 8.6.8.6
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain

Tune

ARBACOOCHEE


SARDINIA


AZMON

Lowell Mason (PHH 96) adapted AZMON from a melody composed by Carl G. Gläser in 1828. Mason published a duple-meter version in his Modern Psalmist (1839) but changed it to triple meter in his later publications. Mason used (often obscure) biblical names for his tune titles; Azmon, a city south of C…

Go to tune page >


Timeline

Media

The Cyber Hymnal #451
  • Adobe Acrobat image (PDF)
  • Noteworthy Composer score (NWC)
  • XML score (XML)

Instances

Instances (1 - 3 of 3)

The Sacred Harp #430

TextScoreAudio

The Cyber Hymnal #451

The Sacred Harp #296

Include 49 pre-1979 instances
Suggestions or corrections? Contact us