Almighty God, thy piercing eye

Representative Text

1 Almighty God, thy piercing eye
Strikes through the shades of night,
And our most secret actions lie
All open to thy sight.

2 There's not a sin that we commit,
Nor wicked word we say,
But in thy dreadful book 't is writ
Against the judgment-day.

3 Lord, at thy foot ashamed I lie,
Upward I dare not look:
Pardon my sins before I die,
And blot them from thy book.

4 Remember all the dying pains,
Thou, my Redeemer, felt,
And let thy blood wash out my stains,
And answer for my guilt.

5 Oh, may I now forever fear
To indulge a sinful thought,
Since the great God can see and hear,
And writes down every fault.


Source: The Voice of Praise: a collection of hymns for the use of the Methodist Church #66

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: Almighty God, thy piercing eye
Author: Isaac Watts (1715)
Meter: 8.6.8.6
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain

Notes

Almighty God, Thy piercing eye. I. Watts. [Omniscience.] First published in his Divine Songs, 1715, in 6 stanzas of 4 lines, and entitled, "The All-seeing God," and again in all subsequent editions of the same work. It is given in various collections in Great Britain and America, principally in those for children, and sometimes in an abbreviated form. Original text in the Methodist Sunday School Hymnbook, 1879, No. 298. In one or two American collections it is attributed to Beddome in error.

-- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Tune

[Almighty God, Thy piercing eye]


DUNDEE (Ravenscroft)

DUNDEE first appeared in the 1615 edition of the Scottish Psalter published in Edinburgh by Andro Hart. Called a "French" tune (thus it also goes by the name of FRENCH), DUNDEE was one of that hymnal's twelve "common tunes"; that is, it was not associated with a specific psalm. In the Psalter Hymnal…

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Timeline

Instances

Instances (1 - 82 of 82)
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The Hartford Selection of Hymns from the Most Approved Authors #XVIII

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Divine Songs #9

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The Hartford Selection of Hymns #XVIII

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Watt's Divine Songs For the use of Children #9

The Songs of Zion #d5

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Hymns for the Use of Children #III

Hymns for Children and Young Persons. First Am. from the London ed. #d5

The Songs of Zion #d5

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Divine Songs for Children #IX

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Sunday School Hymn Book. (19th ed) #102

Juvenile Psalmody. Second ed. #d4

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Selection of Hymns for the Sunday School Union of the Methodist Episcopal Church #121

Union Hymns. Rev. #d13

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The Mother's Hymn Book #50

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The Sabbath School Harp #H111

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The Child's Hymn Book #88

Hymns for Sunday Schools, Selected from Various Authoors #d10

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The American Baptist Sabbath-School Hymn-Book #6

The Union Singing Book #d3

Sabbath School and Social Hymns of the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of the U.S.A. #d10

Sacred Melodies #d7

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Parish Hymns #531

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Songs, Divine and Moral #68

Union Hymns. Rev. #d14

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The Union Singing Book #118b

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A Liturgy and Hymns for Church Sunday Schools #100

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Hymns additional to the Hymns in the Prayer Book #216

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Mother's Hymn Book . New ed. #d4

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New Union Hymns #37

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Hymns #774

The Baptist Sabbath School Hymn Book #d19

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Sunday School Hymn Book #d6

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Plymouth Collection of Hymns and Tunes; for the use of Christian Congregations #1368

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Hymns for Sunday Schools, Youth, and Children #208

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Hymns #774

Liturgy and Hymns for Sunday Schools #d6

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The Baptist Hymn and Tune Book #1368

The Prayer Meeting Hymn Book #d7

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A Collection of Hymns #383

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Hymn Book of the Methodist Protestant Church #15

Hymns and Poetry for the Young #d5

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Hymns for Schools and Families, Specailly Designed for the Children of the Church #142

The Church Hymn Book #d23

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The Mother's Hymn Book. (Third stereotyped ed. Rev. and enl.) #64

American Sunday School Hymn Book. 2nd ed. #a63

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American Sunday School Hymn Book. New ed. #aa63

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Hymns for Church and Home #365

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Hymns for Sunday Schools #73

Hymns, Selected and Original, for Sunday Schools of the Evangelical Lutheran Church #d13

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The American Sunday-School Hymn-Book #63

The Sabbath School Hymn Book #d10

A Selection of Hymns for the Use of Church of England Sunday Schools, Bible Classes ... New ed. #d9

Soldier's Prayer Book. Hospitals ed. #d4

The Sabbath School Hosanna #d9

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Plymouth Collection #a1368

The Book of Praise #d10

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Divine and Moral Songs #HIX

The Book of Worship #d16

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The Centenary Singer #355a

Anglican Hymn Book #285

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Hymn Book of the Methodist Protestant Church. (11th ed.) #15

The Chapel Hymn Book #d13

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A Manual of Devotion and Hymns for the House of Refuge, City of New York #59

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The New Sabbath School Hosanna #142b

Compilation of Hymns for the Use of the Churches of the Christian Union #d21

The Amaranth #d6

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The Voice of Praise #66

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A Collection of Spiritual Hymns #7

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The College Hymnal #269

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Hymnal for Primary Classes #99

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Hymnal for Primary Classes #99

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