Psalm 32 was the favorite Psalm of Augustine of which he wrote “Intelligentia prima est ut te noris peccatorem” (“The beginning of understanding is to know thyself a sinner”). Martin Luther also considered Psalm 32 to be one of the four best Psalms. This lyrical setting is by Isaac Watts from 1719. The tune is derived from a Southern Harmony melody of William Walker.
 
TEXT:
 
Blest is the man, forever blest,
Whose guilt is pardoned by his God,
Whose sins with sorrow are confessed
And covered with his Savior's blood.
 
Blest is the man to whom the Lord
Imputes not his iniquities;
He pleads no merit of reward
And not on works but grace relies.
 
From guile his heart and lips are free;
His humble joy, his holy fear,
With deep repentance well agree
And join to prove his faith sincere.
 
How glorious is that righteousness
That hides and cancels all his sins,
While bright the evidence of grace
Thro' all his life appears and shines!