The Lutheran Hymnary ‎#470

470. O Lord, turn not Thy face away

1 O Lord, turn not Thy face away
From them that lowly lie,
Lamenting sore their sinful life,
With tears and bitter cry.
Thy mercy gates are open wide
To them that mourn their sin;
O shut them not against us, Lord,
But let us enter in.

2 We need not to confess our fault,
For surely Thou canst tell;
What we have done, and what we are,
Thou knowest very well.
Wherefore, to beg and to entreat,
With tears we come to Thee,
As children that have done amiss
Fall at their father's knee.

3 And need we, then, O Lord, repeat
The blessing which we crave,
When Thou dost know, before we speak,
The thing that we would have?
Mercy, O Lord, we mercy ask,
This is the total sum;
For mercy, Lord, is all our prayer;
O let Thy mercy come!

Text Information

• First Line: O Lord, turn not Thy face away
• Author: J. Marckant (1661)
• Meter: 8, 6. 8L.
• Publication Date: 1913
• Topic: The Church Year: Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity
• Notes: Now Public Domain.

Tune Information

• Name: [O Lord, turn not Thy face away]
• Composer: W. Croft, 1678—1727
• Meter: 8, 6. 8L.
• Key: B♭ Major
• Notes: Now Public Domain.