O Lord, turn not thy face away
O Lord, turn not thy face away. John Marckant (d. 1586).
This was one of the additional hymns added to the psalms in The Whole Booke of Psalmes (1562) (see ‘Old Version’*). There it was entitled ‘The Lamentation of a Sinner’. It was signed ‘M’, indicating Marckant as the author; his name is given in full in the edition of 1565.
It had 11 verses, beginning
O Lord, turn not thy face away
from him that lies prostrate,
Lamenting sore his sinful life,
Before thy mercy gate.
According to Frere (1909, p. 143), it was revised in the New Version, Supplement (Sixth Edition, 1708) in nine stanzas (this edition has not been found).
A much shortened text, beginning ‘O lord, turn not Thy Face...
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MLA style (see MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing, 3rd Ed.)
. "O Lord, turn not thy face away."
The Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology. Canterbury Press. Web. 12 Jul. 2025.<
http://www.hymnology.co.uk/o/o-lord,-turn-not-thy-face-away>.
Chicago style (see The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th Ed.)
. "O Lord, turn not thy face away."
The Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology. Canterbury Press, accessed July 12, 2025,
http://www.hymnology.co.uk/o/o-lord,-turn-not-thy-face-away.