When I Can Read My Title Clear

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When I can read my title clear

Author: Isaac Watts (1707)
Published in 1223 hymnals

Printable scores: PDF, MusicXML
Audio files: MIDI

Piano/Organ
	Let Praises Ring: 18 Introductions and H…

Choral
	Bound for the Promised Land

Instrumental
	When I Can Read My Title Clear

Representative Text

1 When I can read my title clear
To mansions in the skies,
I'll bid farewell to every fear,
And wipe my weeping eyes.

Refrain:
I'm goin' to trust in the Lord,
I'm goin' to trust in the Lord,
I'm goin' to trust in the Lord till I die:
I'm goin' to trust in the Lord,
I'm goin' to trust in the Lord,
I'm goin' to trust in the Lord till I die.

2 Should earth against my soul engage,
And fiery darts be hurled,
Then I can smile at Satan's rage,
And face a frowning world. [Refrain]

3 Let cares like a wild deluge come,
Let storms of sorrow fall!
May I but safely reach my home:
My God, my heaven my all. [Refrain]

4 There shall I bathe my weary soul
In seas of heavenly rest,
And not a wave of trouble roll
Across my peaceful breast. [Refrain]

Source: African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal #483

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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 >

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First Line:	When I can read my title clear
Title:	When I Can Read My Title Clear
Author:	Isaac Watts (1707)
Meter:	8.6.8.6
Language:	English
Copyright:	Public Domain

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Notes

When I can read my title clear. I. Watts. [Assurance of Faith and Hope.] Appeared in his Hymns and Spiritual Songs, 1707, in 4 stanzas of 4 lines. It is headed "The Hopes of Heaven our Support under Trials on Earth." Its use in Great Britain and America is very extensive. The text has undergone several alterations at the hands of Bickersteth in his Psalms & Hymns, 1833; Elliott in his Psalms & Hymns, 1835, and others. The most important is Bickersteth's rendering of stanza iv.:—

"There, anchor'd safe, my weary soul
Shall find eternal rest,
Nor storms shall beat, nor billows roll,
Nor fears assail my breast."

It is hard to see that this is an improvement upon Watts's original:—

"There shall I bathe my weary soul
In seas of heavenly rest,
And not a wave of trouble roll
Across my peaceful breast."

The original text of the whole hymn, as in the Hymnal Companion, is that most commonly used Miller (Singers and Songs, 1869, p. 140) points out that the opening lines of the hymn,—

"When I can read my title clear
To mansions in the skies,"

are used by Cowper in his poem on Truth (published in 1782), in his comparison of the lot of "Voltaire and that of the poor and believing cottager, who

”Just knows, and knows no more, her Bible true—
A truth the brilliant Frenchman never knew:
And in that charter reads with sparkling eyes,
Her title to a treasure in the skies."

--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

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Tune

PISGAH (American)

[When I can read my title clear] (O'Kane)

NINETY-FIFTH

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Timeline

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Page Scans

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Rejoice Hymns (2011), p.682

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Instances

Instances (1001 - 1100 of 1223)

The Philadelphia Hymn Book; or, a selection of sacred poetry, consisting of psalms and hymns from Watts...and others, adapted to public and private devotion #434

The Polyphonic; or Juvenile Choralist; containing a great variety of music and hymns, both new & old, designed for schools and youth #108

The Psalms and Hymns, with the Catechism, Confession of Faith, and Liturgy, of the Reformed Dutch Church in North America #A109

The Psalms and Hymns, with the Doctrinal Standards and Liturgy of the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church in North America #H775

The Sacrifice of Praise. psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs designed for public worship and private devotion, with notes on the origin of hymns. #602

Pages

Exclude 1194 pre-1979 instances

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Piano/Organ Let Praises Ring: 18 Introductions and Hymn Accompaniments for Handbells, Organ, and Congregation, Volume 1 SIMPLIFIED PIANO ARRANGEMENTS Bound for the Promised Land More Piano/Organ...
Choral The Church's One Foundation The Church's One Foundation Bound for the Promised Land More Choral...
Instrumental When I Can Read My Title Clear When I Can Read My Title Clear More Instrumental...
Handbells Improvisation on "Pisgah" (When I Can Read My Title Clear) Improvisation on "Pisgah" (When I Can Read My Title Clear) More Handbells...
PowerPoint WHEN I CAN READ MY TITLE CLEAR (Hymnal for Worship & Celebration 538) More PowerPoint...

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