I lift my heart to thee, My God and Guide most just

Representative Text

1 I lift my heart to thee,
my God and guide most just;
Now suffer me to take no shame,
for in thee do I trust.

2 Let not my foes rejoice,
nor make a scorn of me;
And let them not be overthrown
that put their trust in thee.

3 But shame shall them befal,
who harm them wrongfully:
Therefore thy paths, and thy right ways,
unto me, Lord, descry.

4 Direct me in thy truth,
and teach me, I thee pray;
Thou art my Saviour and my God,
on thee I wait alway.

5 Thy mercies manifold
remember, Lord, I pray;
In pity thou art plentiful,
and so hast been alway.

6 Remember not the faults
and frailty of my youth,
Call not to mind how ignorant
I have been of thy truth:

7 Nor after my deserts
let me thy mercy find;
But of thine own benignity,
Lord, have me in thy mind.

8 His mercy is full sweet,
his truth a perfect guide;
Therefore the Lord will sinners teach,
and such as go aside.

9 The humble he will teach
his precepts to obey,
He will direct in all his paths
the lowly man alway.

10 For all the ways of God
both truth and mercy are,
To them that do his covenant
and statutes keep with care.

The Second Part.

11 Now for thy holy name,
O Lord, I thee intreat
To grant me pardon for my sin,
for it is very great.

12 Whoso doth fear the Lord,
by him he shall be kept
To lead his life in such a way
as he doth best accept:

13 His soul shall evermore
in goodness dwell and stand;
His seed and his posterity
inherit shall the land.

14 All those that fear the Lord
know his secret intent,
And unto them he doth declare
his will and testament.

15 My eyes and thankful heart
to him I will advance,
That pluck'd my feet out of the snare
Of sin and ignorance.

16 With mercy me behold,
to thee I make my moan;
For I am poor and desolate,
and comfortless alone.

17 The troubles of my heart
are multiply'd indeed;
Bring me out of this misery,
necessity and need.

18 Behold my poverty,
my anguish and my pain;
Remit my sin and my offence,
and make me clean again.

19 O Lord, behold my foes,
how they do still increase,
Pursuing me with deadly hate,
that fain would live in peace:

20 Preserve and keep my soul,
and still deliver me;
And let me not be overthrown,
because I trust in thee.

21 Let truth and uprightness
for ever wait on me,
Because my hope and confidence
have always been in thee.

22 Deliver, Lord, thy folk,
and send them some relief,
I mean thy chosen Israel,
from all their pain and grief.

Source: The Whole Book of Psalms #XXV

Author: Thomas Sternhold

Thomas Sternhold was Groom of the Robes to Henry VIII and Edward VI. With Hopkins, he produced the first English version of the Psalms before alluded to. He completed fifty-one; Hopkins and others composed the remainder. He died in 1549. Thirty-seven of his psalms were edited and published after his death, by his friend Hopkins. The work is entitled "All such Psalms of David as Thomas Sternhold, late Groome of the King's Majestye's Robes, did in his Lyfetime drawe into Englyshe Metre." Of the version annexed to the Prayer Book, Montgomery says: "The merit of faithful adherence to the original has been claimed for this version, and need not to be denied, but it is the resemblance which the dead bear to the living." Wood, in his "Athe… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: I lift my heart to thee, My God and Guide most just
Author: Thomas Sternhold
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain

Tune

OLD 25TH


DIADEMATA (Elvey)

Composed for Bridges's text by George J. Elvey (PHH 48), DIADEMATA was first published in the 1868 Appendix to Hymns Ancient and Modern. Since that publication, the tune has retained its association with this text. The name DIADEMATA is derived from the Greek word for "crowns." The tune is lively an…

Go to tune page >


NARENZA


Timeline

Media

The Cyber Hymnal #2875
  • Adobe Acrobat image (PDF)
  • Noteworthy Composer score (NWC)
  • XML score (XML)

Instances

Instances (1 - 2 of 2)

American Hymns Old and New #17

TextScoreAudio

The Cyber Hymnal #2875

Include 9 pre-1979 instances
Suggestions or corrections? Contact us