O God, my Refuge, hear my cries. I. Watts. [Psalms lv.] Appeared in his Psalms of David, &c, 1719, p. 147 (misprinted 947), in 10 stanzas of 4 lines, and headed, "Support for the afflicted and tempted Soul." In explanation of some portions of the Psalm which are not paraphased, the following note is added:—
"I have left out some whole Psalms, and several parts of others that tend to fill the mind with overwhelming sorrows, or sharp resentment; neither of which are so well suited to the spirit of the Gospel, and therefore the particular complaints of David against Achitophel here are entirely omitted".
This paraphrase is given in some collections in full, and in others in an abbreviated form. In the Leeds Hymn Book, 1853, and others, it begins with stanza viii. as "God shall preserve my soul from fear."
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)