The ground on which their safety stands,
No earthly power can move.

56-PART I.

C. M.

TRUST IN GOD.

WATTS.

10 THOU whose justice reigns on high,
And makes th' oppressor cease;
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?

Oh! cast the haughty sinner down,
And let him know Thy hand!

56-PART II.

C. M.

WATTS.

GOD'S CARE OF HIS PEOPLE.

1 GOD counts the sorrows of His saints,

Their groans affect His ears:

Thou hast a book for my complaints,

A bottle for my tears.

2 When to Thy throne I raise my cry,
The wicked fear and flee;

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

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3 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.

4 Thy solemn vows are on me, Lord,
Thou shalt receive my praise;

I'll sing, "How faithful is Thy word!
How righteous all Thy ways!"

5 Thou hast secured my soul from death;
Oh! set Thy prisoner free:

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

1 MY God, in whom are all the springs
Of boundless love, and grace unknown,
Hide me beneath Thy spreading wings
Till the dark cloud is overblown.

2 Up to the heavens I send my cry,
The Lord will my desires perform:
He sends His angels from the sky,
And saves me from the threatening storm.

3 Be thou exalted, O my God!

Above the heavens where angels dwell:
Thy power on earth be known abroad,
Let land to land Thy wonders tell.
4 My heart is fixed; my song shall raise
Immortal honours to Thy name:
Awake, my tongue, to sound His praise,
My tongue, the glory of my frame.
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.

6 Be thou exalted, O my God!

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

L. P. M.

WARNING TO MAGISTRATES.

WATTS.

1 JUDGES, who rule the world by laws,
Will ye despise the righteous cause,
When vile oppression wastes the land?
Dare ye condemn the righteous poor,
And let rich sinners 'scape secure,
While gold and greatness bribe your hand?
2 Forgot ye then, 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.

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.

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 names and hopes be lost.
5 The Almighty thunders from the sky,
Their grandeur melts, their titles die,
As hills of snow dissolve and run;

Or snails that perish in their slime,
Or births that come before their time,
Vain births, that never see the sun.
6 Thus shall the vengeance of the Lord,
Safety and joy to saints afford:

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

S. M.

PRAYER AGAINST INVADING FOES.

1 FROM foes that round us rise,
O God of heaven, defend;

BARLOW.

Who brave the vengeance of the skies,
And with Thy saints contend.

2 Behold! from distant shores
And desert wilds they come,
Combine for blood their barbarous force,
And through our cities roam.

3 Beneath the silent shade,
Their secret plots they lay;
Our peaceful walls by night invade,
And waste the fields by day.

4 And will the God of grace,
Regardless of our pain,
Permit secure that impious race
To riot in their reign?

5 In vain their secret guile,

Or open force, they prove:
His eye can pierce the deepest veil;
His hand their strength remove.

6 Yet save them, Lord, from death,
Lest we forget their doom;

But drive them with Thine angry breath,
Though distant lands to roam.

7 Then shall our grateful voice
Proclaim our guardian God;

The nations round The earth rejoice,
And sound Thy praise abroad.

60

C. M.

WATTS.

ON A DAY OF HUMILIATION IN WAR.

1 LORD, Thou hast scourged our guilty land;
Behold, Thy people mourn!

Shall vengeance ever guide Thy hand?
Shall mercy ne'er return?

2 Beneath the terrors of Thine eye,
Earth's haughty towers decay;
Thy frowning mantle spreads the sky,
And mortals melt away.

3 Our Zion trembles at Thy stroke,
And dreads Thy lifted hand!
Oh! heal the nation Thou hast broke,
And save the sinking land.

4 Exalt the banner in the field,

For those that fear Thy name;
From barbarous hosts Thy people shield,
And put our foes to shame.

5 Attend our armies to the fight,
And be their guardian God:

In vain shall numerous powers unite,
Against Thy lifted rod.

6 Our troops, beneath Thy guiding hand,
Shall gain a glad renown:

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