Hymn
O That I Knew the Secret Place
Oh that I knew the secret place
Where I might find my God!
I'd spread my wants before His face,
And pour my woes abroad.
I'd tell him how my sins arise,
What sorrows I sustain;
How grace decays and comfort dies,
And leaves my heart in pain:
He knows what arguments I'd take
To wrestle with my God:
I'd plead for His own mercy's sake--
And for my Savior's blood.
My God will pity my complaints,
And drive my foes away;
He knows the meaning of His saints
When they in sorrow pray.
Arise, my soul! from deep distress,
And banish every fear;
He calls Thee to His throne of grace,
To spread thy sorrow there.
O That I Knew the Secret Place — Text from The Book of Worship, 1867. Public domain. https://yeshuanow.com/hymns/o-that-i-knew-the-secret-place
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Questions about this hymn
Who wrote O That I Knew the Secret Place?
The words of O That I Knew the Secret Place were written by Isaac Watts; the version here was published in 1867. The library holds 248 more hymns by Isaac Watts, including Lamenting Spiritual Sloth and Thou Whose Unmeasured Temple Stands.
Is O That I Knew the Secret Place public domain?
Yes. The words here are taken from The Book of Worship, published in 1867. Works published before 1931 are out of copyright in the United States, so you can print, project, perform and record this hymn freely. How we source and check every hymn.
What is the metre of O That I Knew the Secret Place?
O That I Knew the Secret Place is in Common Metre (8.6.8.6). Hymns in the same metre can usually be sung to the same tunes — for example, Repentance, While Shepherds Watched their Flocks and Great God! How Infinite Art Thou.