”Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.“ (Psalms 32:2)
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 I could find;
Thy wrath lay burning in my breast,
And racked my tortured mind.
Then I confessed my troubled thoughts,
My secret sins revealed;
Thy pardoning 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.
Isaac Watts
1674–1748
