When all thy mercies, O my God

When all thy mercies, O my God. Joseph Addison* (1672-1719). From The Spectator, no 453, Saturday, 9 August 1712. It had thirteen stanzas, taking the narrative from the development of the foetus (‘When in the silent womb I lay’) to babyhood (‘hung upon the breast’) through the ‘infant heart’ and ‘the slippery paths of youth’ to adulthood, when the singer/speaker has been saved from danger, vice, and sickness. Most hymnbooks print a selection of stanzas, ending with gratitude in this world (’Through every period of my life’) and praise in the next (‘Through all eternity to thee/ A joyful song I’ll raise’). The stanzas usually omitted are the following: 2. O how shall words with equal...

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