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PSALM 56. C. M. Wantage. [b].
God's Care of his People, in answer to Prayer.
THOU, whose justice reigns on high,
And makes the oppressor cease,

Ο

Behold how envious sinners try

To vex and break my peace.

2 [The sons of violence and lies
Join to devour me, Lord;
But as my hourly dangers rise,
My refuge is thy word.]

3 In God most holy, just, and true,
I have reposed my trust;
Nor will I fear what flesh can do,
The offspring of the dust.

4 [They wrest my words to mischief still,
Charge me with unknown faults;
Mischief doth all their counsels fill,
And malice all their thoughts.

5 Shall they escape without thy frown?
Must their devices stand?

O cast the haughty sinner down,^m*
And let him know thy hand.]

PAUSE.

-6 God counts the sorrows of his saints,
Their groans affect his ears;
Thou hast a book for my complaints,
A bottle for my tears.

7 When to thy throne I raise my cry,
'The wicked fear and flee;

o So swift is prayer to reach the sky, So near is God to me.

8 [In thee, most holy, just and true,
I have reposed my trust;

Nor will I fear what man can do,
The offspring of the dust.]

-9 Thy solemn vows are on me, Lord;
Thou shalt receive my praise:

o I'll sing, "How faithful is thy word; "How righteous all thy ways!"

-10 Thou hast secured my soul from death; O set a prisoner free!

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That heart and hand, and life and breath,
May be employed for thee.

PSALM 57. L. M. Old Hundred. Blendon.[*] Praise for Protection, Grace, and Truth.

1

Mof boundless love, and grace unknown,

Y God, in whom are all the springs

e Hide me beneath thy spreading wings,
Till the dark cloud be overblown.

-2 Up to the heavens I send my cry;
The Lord will my desires perform:
o He sends his angels from the sky,
And saves me from the threatening storm.
o 3 [Be thou exalted, O my God,

Above the heavens where angels dwell;
Thy power on earth be known abroad,
And land to land thy wonders tell.]

4 My heart is fixed; my song shall raise
Immortal honours to his name:

o Awake, my tongue, to sound his praise; My tongue, the glory of my frame.

g 5 High o'er the earth his mercy reigns,
And reaches to the utmost sky;

His truth to endless years remains,
When lower worlds dissolve and die.

s 6 Be thou exalted, O my God,
Above the heavens where angels dwell;
Thy power on earth be known abroad,
And land to land thy wonders tell.

g

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PSALM 58. P. M. St. Helen's. [*1
Warning to Magistrates

JUDGES, who rule the world by laws,
Will ye despise the righteous cause,
When one oppressed before you stands?
Dare ye condemn the righteous poor,

And let rich sinners 'scape secure,

While gold and greatness bribe your hands? 2 Have ye forgot, or never knew,

That God will judge the judges too?

High in the heavens his justice reigns:

Yet you invade the rights of God,
And send your bold decrees abroad,

To bind the conscience in your chains.

e 3 [A poisoned arrow is your tongue,
The arrow sharp, the poison strong;

And death attends where'er it wounds:
You hear no counsels, cries nor tears;
So the deaf adder stops her ears

Against the power of charming sounds. d 4 Break out their teeth, eternal God, Those teeth of lions dyed in blood;

And crush the serpents in the dust; As empty chaff, when whirlwinds rise, Before the sweeping tempest flies,

So let their hopes and names be lost.] o 5 Th' Almighty thunders from the sky; -Their grandeur melts, their titles die,

As hills of snow dissolve and run; e Or snails that perish in their slime, Or births that come before their time; Vain births that never see the sun. o 6 Thus shall the vengeance of the Lord Safety and joy to saints afford;

And all who hear shall join and say. d "Sure there's a God who rules on high; "A God who hears his children cry, "And will their sufferings well repay."

PSALM 60. C. M. Plymouth. [b] V. 1-5, 10-12. Humiliation for Disappointments in War.

LORD, hast thou cast the nation off

Must we forever mourn?

Wilt thou indulge immortal wrath?
Shall mercy ne'er return?

2 The terror of one frown of thine
Melts all our strength away;

Like men that totter, drunk with wine,
We tremble in dismay.

p 3 Our nation trembles at thy stroke,
And dreads thy lifted hand!
O, heal the people thou hast broke,
And save the sinking land.

o 4 Lift up thy banner in the field,
For those who fear thy name;
• Defend thy people with thy shield,
And put our foes to shame.

-5 Go with our armies to the fight,
Their guardian and their God;
In vain confederate powers unite
Against thy lifted rod.

o 6 Our troops shall gain a wide renown,
By thine assisting hand:

g "Tis God who treads the mighty down, And makes the feeble stand.

PSALM 61. S. M. Aylesbury. [b]

1

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Ver 1-6. Safety in God.

WHEN overwhelined with grief,

My heart within me dies;

Helpless, and far from all relief, To heaven I lift mine eyes. 2 O lead me to the Rock,

That's high above my head;
And make the covert of thy wings
My shelter and my shade.

3 Within thy presence, Lord,
Forever I'll abide;

Thou art the tower of my defence,
The refuge where I hide.

o 4 Thou givest me the lot

Of those that fear thy name;
If endless life be their reward,
I shall possess the same.

PSALM 62. L. M.

Bath. [*]

Ver. 5-12. No Trust in the Creatures, but in God

1

MY spirit looks to God alone;

My rock and refuge is his throne;

In all my fears, in all my straits,
My soul on his salvation waits.

2 Trust him, ye saints, in all your ways;
Pour out your hearts before his face:
e When helpers fail, and foes invade,
o God is our all-sufficient aid.

e 3 False are the men of high degree:
The baser sort are vanity:

Laid in the balance, both appear
Light as a puff of empty air.

-4 Make not increasing gold your trust,
Nor set your hearts on glittering dust;
Why will you grasp the fleeting smoke,
And not believe what God has spoke?
e 5 Once has his awful voice declared,
Once and again my ears have heard:
"All power is his eternal due;

"He must be feared and trusted too." -6 For sovereign power reigns not alone; Grace is a partner of the throne:

Thy grace and justice, mighty Lord,
Shall well divide our last reward.

PSALM 63. C. M. 1st Pr. Sunday. Barby. [*]
Ver. 1, 2, 5, 3, 4. The Morning of the Lord's Day.
ARLY, my God, without delay,

• 1 El haste to seek thy face;

My thirsty spirit faints away,
Without thy cheering grace.

e 2 So pilgrims on the scorching sand,
Beneath a burning sky,

Long for a cooling stream at hand,
And they must drink or die.

g 3 I've seen thy glory and thy power
Through all thy temple shine;

o My God, repeat that heavenly hour,
That vision so divine.

-4 Not all the blessings of a feast
Can please my soul so well,
As when thy richer grace I taste,
And in thy presence dwell.

o 5 Not life itself, with all its joys,
Can my best passions move;
Or raise so high my cheerful voice,
As thy forgiving love.

s 6 Thus, till my last expiring day,
I'll bless my God and King;
-Thus will I lift my hands to pray.

And tune my lips to sing.

C. M. SECOND PART. Colchester. [*]

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Ver. 1--10. Midnight Thoughts recollected.
WAS in the watches of the night,

TW

I thought upon thy power;