-I'll plead thy perfect righteousness;
And mention none but thine.

o 5 How will my lips rejoice to tell
The victories of my King!

My soul, redeemed from sin and hell,
Shall thy salvation sing.

6 [My tongue shall all the day proclaim
My Saviour and my God;

His death has brought my foes to shame,
And drowned them in his blood.

7 Awake, awake, my tuneful powers;
With this delightful song

I'll entertain the darkest hours,

Nor think the season long.]

C. M. THIRD PART. Hymn 2d, Canterbury.[b]
Ver. 17-21. The aged Christian's Prayer and Song.
GThe guide of all my days,
OD of my childhood, and my youth,

I have declared thy heavenly truth,
And told thy wondrous ways.

p 2 Wilt thou forsake my hoary hairs,
And leave my fainting heart?
Who shall sustain my sinking years?
If God, my strength, depart?

3 Let me thy power and truth proclaim
To the surviving age,

And leave the savour of thy name
When I shall quit the stage.

4 The land of silence and of death
Attends my next remove;

-O may these poor remains of breath
Teach the wide world thy love!

PAUSE.

5 [Thy righteousness is deep and nigh,
Unsearchable thy deeds;

Thy glory spreads beyond the sky,
And all my praise exceeds.

6 Oft have I heard thy threatenings roar,
And oft endured the grief;

But when thy hand has pressed me sore,
Thy grace was my relief.]

7 By long experience have I known
Thy sovereign power to save;
At thy command 1 venture down,
Securely, to the grave.

e 8 When I lie buried deep in dust,
My flesh shall be thy care;

e These withering limbs with thee I trust, 0 To raise them strong and fair.

PSALM 72. L.M. IST PT. Oporto. Nantwich.[*] The Kingdom of Christ.

1

GREAT God, whose universal sway

The known and unknown worlds obey, Now give the kingdom to thy Son; Extend his power, exalt his throne. 2 Thy sceptre well becomes his hands; All heaven submits to his commands; His justice shall avenge the poor, And pride and rage prevail no more. o 3 With power he vindicates the just, And treads th' oppressor in the dust; e His worship and his fear shall last,

Till hours, and years, and time be past. b 4 As rain on meadows newly mown, So shall he send his influence down; His grace, on fainting souls, distils, Like heavenly dew on thirsty hills. -5 The heathen lands, that lie beneath The shades of overspreading death, o Revive at his first dawning light; And deserts blossom at the sight.

6 The saints shall flourish in his days, Dressed in the robes of joy and praise; g Peace, like a river, from his throne Shall flow to nations yet unknown.

L. M. SECOND PART. Sheffield. Leeds. [*] Christ's Kingdom among the Gentiles.

1 JDoes his successive journey's run:

ESUS shall reign where'er the sun

His kingdom stretch from shore to shore, Till moons shall wax and wane no more. o 2 (Behold the islands, with their kings, And Europe her best tribute brings

go

From north to south the princes meet,
To pay their homage at his feet.

3 There Persia, glorious to behold;
There India shines in Eastern gold;
And barbarous nations, at his word,
Submit, and bow, and own their Lord.)
-4 For him shall endless prayer be made,
And praises throng to crown his head;
His name, like sweet perfume, shall rise
With every morning sacrifice.

b 5 People and realms, of every tongue,
Dwell on his love, with sweetest song;
And infant voices shall proclaim
Their early blessings on his name.

o 6 Blessings abound where'er he reigns;
The prisoner leaps to lose his chains;
The weary find eternal rest,

And all the sons of want are blest.

-7 (Where he displays his healing power,
Death and the curse are known no more;
In him the tribes of Adam boast
More blessings than their father lost.
g 8 Let every creature rise—and bring
Peculiar honours to their King:
Angels descend with songs again,
And earth repeat the long AMEN.)

PSALM 73. C. M. FIRST PART. [*]

Afflicted Saints, and prosperous Sinners.

NOW

OW I'm convinced the Lord is kind
To men of hearts sincere;

Yet once my foolish thoughts repined,
And bordered on despair.

21 grieved to see the wicked thrive,
And spoke with angry breath:
"How pleasant and profane they live!
"How peaceful is their death!

3" With well-fed flesh and haughty eyes,

They lay their fears to sleep:

"Against the heavens their slanders rise, While saints in silence weep.

4" In vain I lift my hands to pray, "And cleanse my heart in vain.

5 Yet while my tongue indulged complaints,
I felt my heart reprove;
"Sure I shall thus offend thy saints,
"And grieve the men I love."

6 But still I found my doubts too hard,
The conflict too severe;

Till I retired to search thy word,
And learn thy secrets there.

7 There, as in some prophetic glass,
I saw the sinner's feet,

High mounted on a slippery place,
Beside a fiery pit.

8 I heard the wretch profanely boast,
Till at thy frown he fell;
His honours in a dream are lost,
And he awakes in hell.

9 Lord, what an envious fool I was!
How like a thoughtless beast!
Thus to suspect thy promised grace,
And think the wicked blest.

10 Yet I was kept from full despaiì.
Upheld by power unknown:

That blessed hand that broke the snare,
Shall guide me to thy throne.]

C. M. SECOND PART. St. Ann's. Reading. [*]

Ver. 23-28.

1

G%

God our Portion, here and hereafter.

OD, my Supporter, and my Hope,
My Help forever near;

Thine arm of mercy held me up,

When sinking in despair.

2 Thy counsels, Lord, shall guide my feet,
Through this dark wilderness;

Thine hand conduct me near thy seat,
To dwell before thy face.

e 3 Were I in heaven without my God,
Twould be no joy to me;

And whilst this earth is my abode,
I long for none but thee.

e 4 What if the springs of life were broke,
And flesh and heart should faint'

• God is my soul's eternal Rock,
The strength of every saint.
p 5 Behold, the sinners who remove
Far from thy presence-die;
Not all the idol gods they love,

Can save them when they cry.

-6 But to draw near to thee, my God, Shall be my sweet employ;

o My tongue shall sound thy works abroad, And tell the world my joy.

и

L. M. Geneva. Babylon. [b]

Ver. 22, 3, 6, 17-20. The Prosperity of Sinners cursed
LORD, what a thoughtless wretch was !,
To mourn, and murmur, and repine,

e 1

To see the wicked, placed on high,

In pride, and robes of honour, shine!
p 2 But, oh, their end-their dreadful end!
Thy sanctuary taught me so:

On slippery rocks I see them stand,
And fiery billows roll below.

d 3 Now let them boast how tall they rise,
-I'll never envy them again;

d There they may stand with haughty eyes,
a Till they plunge deep in endless pain.
e 4 Their fancied joys, how fast they flee!
Just like a dream, when man awakes:
Their songs of softest harmony
Are but a preface to their plagues.
-5 Now I esteem their mirth and wise
Too dear to purchase with my blood;
o Lord, 'tis enough that thou art mine,
My life, my portion, and my God.

1

S. M. Aylesbury. [b]
The Mystery of Providence unfolded.
URE there's a righteous God,
Nor is religion vain;

Though men of vice may boast aloud,
And men of grace complain.

2 I saw the wicked rise,

And felt my heart repine;

While haughty fools, with scornful eyes,
In robes of honour shine.