How blest is he whose trespass
Hath freely been forgiv’n,
Whose sin is wholly covered
Before the sight of Heav’n.
But he to whom Jehovah
Will not impute his sin,
Who has a guileless spirit,
Whose heart is true within.
While I kept guilty silence
My strength was spent with grief;
Thy hand was heavy on me,
My soul found no relief;
But when I owned my trespass,
My sin hid not from Thee,
When I confessed transgression,
Then Thou forgavest me.
So let the godly seek Thee
In times when Thou art near;
No whelming floods shall reach them,
Nor cause their hearts to fear.
In Thee, O Lord, I hide me,
Thou savest me from ill,
And songs of Thy salvation
My heart with rapture thrill.
I graciously will teach thee
The way that thou shalt go,
And with Mine eye upon thee
My counsel make thee know.
But be ye not unruly,
Or slow to understand,
Be not perverse, but willing
To heed My wise command.
In researching this song there seems to be some confusion over who the composer of this song is. http://www.weebly.com/editor/main.php Some sources say unknown with the tune written by Chretien Urhan Rutherford, and others seeming to say that he was the composer and the tune writer, and yet others who say he composed it and someone else wrote the tune. I really don't know which is true. Rutherford was an accomplished musician and fervent christian.
By all account Chretien was a serious minded fellow who loved music and lived an austere life, giving all he had to his music and to charity. He was an equally fierce advocate for preserving the works of old masters, while being a strong proponent of the new.
He did however suffer a terrible death. His last few years he lived in terrible poverty and he entertained thoughts of suicide, eventually choosing to do so by starving himself to death. He couldn't be dissuaded otherwise and died surrounded by his friends. He may or may not have lost his faith in God at the very end.