Adventist Pioneer Library

The Sinner — Christ the Way of Life

Is this the kind return

  • No. 386
  • Words Isaac Watts.
  • 3 stanzas
  • Words only in the original

Words

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1

Is this the kind return,Are these the thanks we owe,Thus to abuse eternal love,Whence all our blessings flow?

2

To what a stubborn frameHas sin reduced our mind!What strange rebellious wretches we,And God as strangely kind!

3

Turn, turn us, mighty God,And mold our souls afresh;Break, sovereign grace, these hearts of stone,And give us hearts of flesh.

About this hymn

As printed Words only. As printed: hymn number «386» (large) with the reference line «688, 736, 266.» in italics beside it (sing to the tune of hymn 688, 736 or 266); the hymn opens the right column of p. 126, beside the end of hymn 384, and ends with «Isaac Watts.» in italics. The first word «Is» shows no visible small capitals (in a two-letter word the small-capital S cannot be told from the lower-case s). The print sets a thin space before «?», «!» and «;» («flow ?», «mind !», «kind !», «afresh ;»); it is closed up here. Stanza 3, line 3 is set very tight, with no space after the commas and none between «hearts» and «of» («Break,sovereign grace,these heartsof stone,»); it is written with normal word spacing. Spelling, punctuation and capitals are the print's («mold»). Lines 2 and 4 of each stanza are indented in the print. No meter is printed (the text is S. M., 6.6.8.6).

Source
The Seventh-day Adventist Hymn and Tune Book (Battle Creek: Review & Herald, 1886/1888)
Where
The Sinner — Christ the Way of Life · No. 386 · printed page 126
Checked
lyrics verified (fork reading; parent check pending) · 2026-10-01