2 And while I rest my weary head,
From cares and business free,
'Tis sweet conversing on my bed
With my own heart and thee.
3 I pay this evening sacrifice;
And when my work is done,
Great God! my faith and hope relies
Upon thy grace alone.
4 Thus, with my thoughts composed to peace,
I give mine eyes to sleep;
Thy hand in safety keeps my days,
And will my slumbers keep.
SECOND VERSION. V. 1-3, 5-7.
Prayer heard, and God our portion.
1 O GOD of grace and righteousness,
Hear and attend when I complain;
Thou hast enlarged me in distress,
Bow down a gracious ear again.
2 Ye sons of men, in vain ye try
To turn my glory into shame;
How long will scoffers love to lie,
And dare reproach my Saviour's name!
3 Know that the Lord divides his saints
From all the tribes of men beside;
He hears and pities their complaints,
For the dear sake of Christ who died.
4 When our obedient hands have done
A thousand works of righteousness,
We put our trust in God alone,
And glory in his pardoning grace.
5 Let the unthinking many say,
'Who will bestow some earthly good?"
But, Lord, thy light and love we pray;
Our souls desire this heavenly food.
6 Then shall my cheerful powers rejoice
At grace and favors so divine;
Nor will I change my happy choice
For all their corn, and all their wine.
FIRST VERSION. V. 3-8.
For the Lord's day morning.
1 LORD, in the morning thou shalt hear
My voice ascending high;
To thee will 1 direct my prayer,
To thee lift up mine eye :-
2 Up to the hills where Christ is gone,
To plead for all his saints,
Presenting at his Father's throne
Our songs and our complaints.
3 Thou art a God, before whose sight
The wicked shall not stand;
Sinners shall ne'er be thy delight,
Nor dwell at thy right hand.
4 But to thy house will I resort,
To taste thy mercies there;
I will frequent thy holy court,
And worship in thy fear.
50 may thy Spirit guide my feet
In ways of righteousness!
Make every path of duty straight,
And plain before my face.
SECOND VERSION. V. 4, 4. 7.
1 WHENE'ER the morning rays appear
Thou, Lord, my early voice shalt hear:
To thee my lifted hands shall rise,
And faith look up with longing eyes.
2 O God, thy pure unsullied mind
In tents of sin no joy can find:
Far from thy throne shall evil flee,
Nor e'er inhabit, Lord, with thee.
3 But I, by boundless mercies led,
Thy temple's sacred courts will tread;
Up to thy house with joy repair:
Thy mercies shall surround me there.
FIRST VERSION.
Complaint and prayer in sickness.
1 LORD, I can suffer thy rebukes,
When thou with kindness dost chastise;
But thy fierce wrath I cannot bear,
Olet it not against me rise!
2 See how in sighs I pass my days,
And waste in groans the weary night;
My bed is watered with my tears,
My grief consumes and dims my sight. 3 Look how the powers of nature mourn! How long, almighty God, how long? When shall thine hour of grace return,When shall I make thy grace my song? 4 I feel my flesh so near the grave,
My thoughts are tempted to despair;
The grave can never praise the Lord,
For all is dust and silence there.
5 Depart, ye tempters, from my soul,
And all despairing thoughts, depart •
My God, who hears my humble moan,
Will ease my flesh and cheer my heart.
SECOND VERSION. V. 1-3, 6, 7, 9.
Complaint and prayer in sickness.
1 IN anger, Lord, rebuke me not,
Withdraw the dreadful storm;
Nor let thy fury grow so hot
Against a feeble worm.
2 My soul's bowed down with heavy cares,
My flesh with pain oppressed;
My couch is witness to my tears,
My tears forbid my rest.
3 Sorrow and pain wear out my days;
I waste the night with cries,
Counting the ininutes as they pass,
Till the slow morning rise.
4 Shall I be still afflicted more?
Mine eyes consumed with grief?
How long, my God, how long before
Thy hand affords relief?
5 He hears when dust and ashes speak ;
He pities all our groans;
He saves us for his mercy's sake,
And heals our broken bones.
6 The virtue of his sovereign word
Restores our fainting breath;
For silent graves praise not the Lord,
Nor is he known in death.
THIRD VERSION. V. 1-7.
1 IN mercy, not in wrath, rebuke
Thy feeble worm, my God!
My spirit dreads thine angry look,
And trembles at thy rod.
2 Have mercy, Lord, for I am weak;
Regard my heavy groans:
O let thy voice of comfort speak,
And heal my broken bones.
3 By day, my busy beating head
Is filled with anxious fears;
By night, upon my restless bed
I weep a flood of tears.
4 Thus I sit desolate and mourn,
Mine eyes grow dull with grief:
How long, my Lord, ere thou return.
And bring my soul relief'!
5 0 come, and show thy power to save,
And spare my fainting breath;
For who can praise thee in the grave,
Or sing thy name in death?
FOURTH VERSION. V. 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 9.
1 GENTLY, gently, lay thy rod
On my sinful head, O God!
Stay thy wrath, in mercy stay,
Lest I sink beneath its sway.
2 Heal me, for my flesh is weak;
Heal me, for thy grace I seek,
This my only plea I make,—
Heal me for thy mercy's sake.
3 Who within the silent grave
Shall proclaim thy power to save?
Lord, my sinking soul reprieve;
Speak, and I shall rise and live
4 Lo! he comes-he heeds my plea!
Lo! he comes-the shadows flee!
Glory round me dawns once more;
Rise, my spirit, and adore.
FIRST VERSION. V. 1-6.
God's care and vindication of his people.
1 MY trust is in my heavenly friend,
My hope in thee, my God;
Rise, and my helpless life defend
From those that seek my blood.
2 With insolence and fury they
My soul in pieces tear,
As hungry lions rend the prey
When no deliverer's near.
3 If I have e'er provoked them first,
Or once abused my foe,
Then let him tread my life to dust,
And lay mine honor low.
4 If there were malice hid in me-
I know thy piercing eyes-
I should not dare appeal to thee,
Nor ask my God to rise.
5 Arise, my God, lift up thy hand.
Their pride and power control;
Awake to judgment, and command
Deliverance for my soul.
SECOND VERSION. V. 8-10.
God the righteous Judge of all.
1 THE Lord is Judge: before his throne
All nations shall his justice own:
O may my soul be found sincere,
And stand approved, with courage there!
2 The Lord, in righteousness arrayed,
Surveys the world his hands have made;
Pierces the heart, and tries the reins,
And judgment from on high ordains.
3 My God, my shield! around me place
The shelter of the Saviour's grace:
Then, when thine arm the just shall save,
My life shall triumph o'er the grave.
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