Setting
O LORD, give ear to what I say;
Free Church of Scotland psalter · 8 6 8 8 6
The words
O LORD, give ear to what I say; think on me as I sigh, And listen, O my King and God, As I plead earnestly for help, because to you I cry.
At dawning of the day, O LORD, you listen to my plea; As morning light returns again, I lay before you my requests and wait expectantly.
For you are not a God who will in evil take delight; With you the wicked cannot dwell, Nor can the proud and boastful stay one moment in your sight.
You hate all those who practise wrong, and liars you destroy. These are the ones the LORD abhors— All who go thirsting after blood and who deceit employ.
But by your mercy and your grace to your house I’ll draw near; I will bow down in reverence Towards your holy temple, LORD, and worship you in fear.
LORD, lead me in your righteousness or I will go astray Because of all my enemies; Make straight the path in front of me, and guide me in your way.
No word that issues from their mouth can anyone believe; Destructive thoughts control their heart. Their throat is like an open grave; their tongue speaks to deceive.
O God, declare their guilt; let them by their own schemes be caught. Expel them from your presence, LORD, For in committing many sins rebellion they have wrought.
But let all those who flee to you rejoice with confidence; Let them at all times sing for joy. Spread your protection over them and be their strong defence.
So those who truly love your name will give a joyful shout. Surely you bless the righteous, LORD; Your favour keeps them safe from harm and shields them round about.
Source & provenance
Free Church of Scotland psalter · psalter
An unedited transcription of the Sing Psalms (Free Church of Scotland, 2003) edition.
Full provenance & rights
- Base edition
- Sing Psalms (Free Church of Scotland, 2003)
- Editor
- Psalmody Committee of the Free Church of Scotland
- Editing
- unedited transcription
Rights
- Copyright
- rights-verified (display held); FCS terms recorded 2026-10-08 — verbatim text in a notated setting with independent tune MIDI is within terms (text free, FCS attribution displayed); copy/print/offline not granted; no audio derivatives
- Access
- free
- Display
- permitted
Tunes it can be sung to
3 tunes
Binney's
curated well-matched8.6.8.8.6
Chilton Foliat (8 6 8 8 6)
curated well-matched8.6.8.8.6
Orlington
curated well-matched8.6.8.8.6
How is this list ordered?
Curated pairings come first — a tune a curator recorded against this text, with the fitness they recorded. A tune that merely shares the meter is listed as a tune in the same meter and never as a pairing.
Nothing here is ranked by popularity or use. The page reports what a curator recorded, not a verdict of its own.