Exeter (William Billings)
Music files
| ICON | SOURCE |
|---|---|
 |
File details |
 |
Help |
- CPDL #32354:
- Editor: Barry Johnston (submitted 2014-06-28). Score information: Letter, 1 page, 38 kB Copyright: Public Domain
- Edition notes: Oval-note edition. Transcribed from The Singing-Master's Assistant, 1778.
- CPDL #32355:
- Editor: Barry Johnston (submitted 2014-06-28). Score information: Letter (landscape), 1 page, 37 kB Copyright: Public Domain
- Edition notes: Note shapes added (4-shape).
General Information
Title: Exeter
Composer: William Billings
Lyricist: Isaac Watts
Number of voices: 4vv Voicing: SATB
Genre: Sacred, Hymn
Language: English
Instruments: A cappella
Published: 1778
Description: Words by Isaac Watts, 1709, adaptation of Psalm 32.
External websites:
Original text and translations
English text
While I my inward guilt suppressed,
No quiet could I 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.
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.
This shall invite thy saints to pray;
When like a raging flood
Temptations rise, our strength and stay
Is a forgiving God.