Ah, how shall fallen man

Representative Text

1 Ah, how shall fallen man
Be just before his God!
If He contend in righteousness,
We sink beneath His rod.

2 If He our ways should mark,
With strict inquiring eyes,
Could we for one of thousand faults
A just excuse devise?

3 All-seeing, powerful God!
Who can with Thee contend?
Or who that tries the unequal strife,
Shall prosper in the end?

4 The mountains in Thy wrath,
Their ancient seats forsake:
The trembling earth deserts her place,
Her rooted pillars shake.

5 Ah, how shall guilty man
Contend with such a God?
None, none can meet Him, and escape,
But through the Saviour's blood.

Hymnal: according to the use of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, 1871

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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:	Ah, how shall fallen man
Author:	Isaac Watts
Meter:	6.6.8.6
Language:	English

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Tune

ST. BRIDE

Samuel Howard (b. London, England, 1710; d. London, 1782) composed ST. BRIDE as a setting for Psalm 130 in William Riley's London psalter, Parochial Harmony (1762). The melody originally began with "gathering" notes at the beginning of each phrase. The tune's title is a contraction of St. Bridget, t…

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AYLESBURY (Chetham)

Also called: WIRKSWORTH WIRKSWORTH was first published in John Chetham's collection A Book of Psalmody (1718) and gained its present shape in James Green's Book of Psalm Tunes (1724). Set in minor tonality, WIRKSWORTH has a folk-like charm. The tune's name derives from the town Wirksworth in Derbysh…

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FERGUSON

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