Scripture References:
st. 1 = Ps. 51:1-3
st. 2 = Ps. 51:4, 7
st. 3 = Ps. 51:8, 10
st. 4 = Ps. 51:11-12
Ian Pitt-Watson (b. Glasgow, Scotland, 1923; d. London, England, 1995) prepared "O God, Be Gracious" for Oxford's Church Hymnary (3rd ed., 1973), basing it on the New English Bible text of Psalm 51:1-12. This portion of Psalm 51 is the part most concerned with repentance, forgiveness, and restoration of a sinner before a merciful God. For further commentary on this psalm see PHH 51.
Pitt-Watson was educated at the University of Edinburgh and graduated from the Royal Academy of Music in London. Ordained to the Presbyterian ministry in 1950, he served the Cathedral Church of St. Giles in Edinburgh, Scotland (the church where John Knox had been preacher). From 1952 to 1958 he was chaplain of the University of Aberdeen and later served congregations in Dundee and Glasgow. He returned to teach at Aberdeen in 1974 before moving in 1980 to become professor of preaching and practical theology at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California, where he remained until retirement. Pitt-Watson was a highly regarded scholar, expositor, and preacher in both Europe and North America. Among his published works are Preaching: a Kind of Folly (1976) and A Primer for Preachers (1986). Some of his psalm paraphrases were published in The Church Hymnary of 1973.
Liturgical Use:
See PHH 51.
--Psalter Hymnal Handbook
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