O Thou that Hear'st when Sinners Cry
O Thou that hear'st when sinners cry
O Thou that Hear'st when Sinners Cry is a hymn text by John Parlour (1750) in C.M. meter. Found in ELH 500, th 499, tlh 325. Sung to CAMBRIDGE.
This hymn emphasizes the Lutheran doctrine of justification by faith, presenting the sinner's desperate need for God's mercy and the assurance of forgiveness through prayer. It reflects the evangelical revival emphasis on personal conversion and the comfort of divine grace for the penitent conscience.
History & Background
Written by English Baptist minister John Parlour in the mid-18th century, this penitential hymn appeared in various English hymnal collections. It was included in The Lutheran Hymnal (1941) at number 325, representing the Protestant evangelical hymn tradition.
Hymnal Appearances
- Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary — 500
- Trinity Hymnal — 499
- The Lutheran Hymnal — 325
Bulletin Note
Written by John Parlour in 1750, this Common Meter hymn crystallizes evangelical revival piety, presenting prayer and confession as the sinner's direct access to God's grace through Christ's intercession.
Preaching Connection
This hymn amplifies the Gospel's response to the Law's conviction by insisting that God's hearing and mercy are not distant hopes but present realities for the penitent who cries out in faith.
Catechism & Confessional Connections
- Of Justification Augsburg Confession
Stanza Arc
The narrative or theological arc traced by this tune's stanzas: Christological affirmation moving from Christ's cosmic victory, through his redemptive work and present intercession, to his universal dominion, and concluding with the ecclesiological union of believers in him
Overview
Watts's paraphrase of Psalm 51, David's great penitential psalm, from his Psalms of David Imitated. Blot out my crimes (st. 1; Ps 51:1, 9); create a clean heart, take not your Spirit (st. 2; v. 10-11); restore the joy of salvation and keep me from falling (st. 3; v. 12); though I have grieved the Spirit, let me plead the merits of your Son (st. 4 — Watts's Christian addition); a broken heart is my only sacrifice (st. 5; v. 17); salvation will be my song (st. 6; v. 14-15).
Central theme: Psalm 51 sung as a Christian: confession, a new heart, the Spirit's keeping, and pleading Christ's merits
Structure
Six long-meter quatrains following Ps 51: blot out (1) — clean heart (2) — joy restored (3) — Christ's merits (4) — broken heart (5) — praise (6).
Law & Gospel Shape
Law: 'all my crimes'; 'the soul condemned to die' (1, 5). Gospel: 'blot their memory'; 'plead the merits of Thy Son'; 'my Strength and Righteousness' (1, 4, 6).
Confessional Connections
Ps 51 (TLH's text) — the classic text of repentance in Lutheran use (Ap XII.57; the Psalm of the Confession). St. 2: 'Create my nature pure within' — the new heart is God's creation (Ps 51:10; FC II.26). St. 4: Watts christianizes the Psalm: 'To plead the merits of Thy Son' — the sinner comes before God only with Christ's merit (AC IV, XX; Ap IV.69, 'propitiator'). St. 6: 'The Lord, my Strength and Righteousness' — Jer 23:6, 'The LORD is our righteousness': the alien righteousness of Christ imputed (FC III).
Liturgical Use (Study Notes)
Lent; Ash Wednesday; Confession; penitential services.
Historical Notes
From Watts's Psalms of David Imitated (1719), Ps 51, Part 1.
About the Tune
HAMBURG (Lowell Mason, 1825, from a Gregorian chant).
Scripture References
Ps 51:1-17 Isa 43:25 Ezek 36:26 Eph 4:30 Heb 4:16 Heb 7:25 Jer 23:6 1 Cor 1:30 1 John 2:1-2 Ps 51:17
Stanza by Stanza
You who hear when sinners cry, though all my crimes lie before you, do not look at them with anger, but blot out their memory from your book.
'Have mercy on me, O God… blot out my transgressions' (Ps 51:1). 'Hide your face from my sins' (Ps 51:9). 'I am he who blots out your transgressions… and I will not remember your sins' (Isa 43:25).
- Scripture
- Ps 51:1, Ps 51:9, Isa 43:25
- Imagery & language
- Sinners' cry; crimes; blotted out.
- Law / Gospel
- Law — crimes before God; Gospel — blotted out.
- Connection to previous
- Blot out.
Create my nature pure within me and shape my soul to turn from sin; never let your good Spirit leave me or hide your presence from my heart.
'Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me' (Ps 51:10-11). 'A new heart I will give you' (Ezek 36:26).
- Scripture
- Ps 51:10-11, Ezek 36:26
- Imagery & language
- Created pure; averse to sin; Spirit kept.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — renewal.
- Connection to previous
- Clean heart.
I cannot live without your light, cast out and banished from your sight; restore your holy joys, my God, and guard me so that I fall no more.
'Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit' (Ps 51:12). 'Kept by God's power' (1 Pet 1:5).
- Scripture
- Ps 51:12, 1 Pet 1:5, Ps 27:1
- Imagery & language
- Light; banished; joy restored; guarded.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — joy restored.
- Connection to previous
- Joy restored.
Though I have grieved your Spirit, Lord, still give his help and comfort, and let me now come near your throne to plead the merits of your Son.
'Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God' (Eph 4:30). 'Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace' (Heb 4:16). 'We have an advocate with the Father' (1 John 2:1).
- Scripture
- Eph 4:30, Heb 4:16, 1 John 2:1-2, Heb 7:25
- Imagery & language
- Grieved Spirit; throne; merits of the Son.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — Christ's merits pleaded.
- Connection to previous
- Merits of the Son.
A broken heart, my God and King, is the only sacrifice I bring. Look down, Lord, with pitying eye and save the soul condemned to die.
'The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise' (Ps 51:17). Not a meritorious offering, but the posture of receiving (Ap XII).
- Scripture
- Ps 51:16-17
- Imagery & language
- Broken heart; sacrifice; condemned soul.
- Law / Gospel
- Law — condemnation; Gospel — pity.
- Connection to previous
- Broken heart.
May your love inspire my tongue; salvation will be my whole song, and all my powers will join to bless the Lord, my strength and righteousness.
'O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise' (Ps 51:15). 'The LORD is our righteousness' (Jer 23:6). 'Christ Jesus, who became to us… righteousness' (1 Cor 1:30).
- Scripture
- Ps 51:14-15, Jer 23:6, 1 Cor 1:30
- Imagery & language
- Tongue; salvation song; Strength and Righteousness.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — alien righteousness praised.
- Connection to previous
- Praise.
Themes
Repentance God's mercy Forgiveness of sins Contrition Prayer