Page images
PDF
EPUB

2 Perfidious practices and lies

I utterly detest;

But to thy laws affection bear,

Too vast to be express'd.

3 Sev'n times a day, with grateful voice,
Thy praises I resound,
Because I find thy judgements all
With truth and justice crown'd.

4 Secure, substantial peace have they
Who truly love thy law;

No smiling mischief them can tempt,
Nor frowning danger awe.

5 For thy salvation I have hoped,

And, though so long delay'd,

With cheerful zeal and anxious care
All thy commands obey'd.

6 Thy testimonies I have kept,
And constantly obey'd;
Because the love I bore to them

Thy service easy made.

7 From strict observance of thy laws
I never yet withdrew;

Convinced that my most secret ways
Are open to thy view.

PART XXII. TAU. C. M.

1 To my request and earnest cry
Attend, O gracious Lord;
Inspire my heart with heav'nly skill,
According to thy word.

2 Let my repeated prayer at last

Before thy throne appear;
According to thy plighted word,
For my relief draw near.

3 Then shall my grateful lips return
The tribute of their praise,

When thou thy counsels hast reveal'd,

And taught me thy just ways.

4 My tongue the praises of thy word Shall thankfully resound;

For thy commands are right, thy laws

With truth and justice crown'd.

5 Let thy almighty arm appear,
And bring me timely aid;

For I the laws thou hast ordain'd
My heart's free choice have made.

6 My soul has waited long to see

Thy saving grace restored;

Nor comfort knew, but what thy laws,
Thy heav'nly laws, afford.

7 Prolong my life, that I may sing

My great Restorer's praise;
Whose justice, from the depths of woe,
My fainting soul shall raise.

8 Though like a sheep that's lost I've stray'd, And from thy ways declined,

Do thou, O Lord, thy servant seek,
Who keeps thy laws in mind.

PSALM 98. C. M.

From the exxi. Psalm of David.
10 Sion's hill I lift my eyes,

From thence expecting aid;
From Sion's hill and Sion's God,

Who heaven and earth has made.

2 He will not let thy foot be moved,
Thy guardian will not sleep;
Behold, the God who slumbers not
Will favour'd Israel keep.

3 Shelter'd beneath th' Almighty's wings,
Thou shalt securely rest,

Where neither sun nor moon shall thee
By day or night molest.

4 From common accidents of life

The Lord shall guard thee still
'Tis even he that shall preserve
Thy soul from every ill.

5 At home, abroad, in peace, in war,
Thy God shall thee defend;
Conduct thee through life's pilgrimage,
Safe to thy journey's end.

PSALM 99. C. M.

From the cxxii. Psalm of David.
'TWAS a joyful sound, to hear
Our tribes devoutly say,
Up, Israel, to the temple haste,
And keep your festal-day!

2 At Salem's courts we must appear,
With our assembled powers,
In strong and beauteous order ranged
Like her united towers.

3 'Tis thither, by divine command,
The tribes of God repair,
Before his ark to celebrate

His Name with praise and prayer.

4 O, ever pray for Salem's peace; For they shall prosp❜rous be, Thou holy city of our God,

Who bear true love to thee.

5 May peace within thy sacred walls

A constant guest be found;
With plenty and prosperity

Thy palaces be crown'd.

6 For my dear brethren's sake, and friends No less than brethren dear,

I'll pray-May peace in Salem's towers
A constant guest appear.

7 But most of all I'll seek thy good,

And ever wish thee well,
For Sion and the temple's sake,
Where God vouchsafes to dwell.

PSALM 100. C. M.

From the cxxiv. Psalm of David. GOAD not the Lord, may Israel say,

On Israel's side engaged,

The foe had quickly swallow'd us,
So furiously he raged.

2 Had not the Lord himself vouchsafed
To check his fierce control,
The adversary's dreary flood

Had overwhelm'd our soul.

3 But praised be our eternal Lord,
Who left us not his prey;

The snare is broke, his rage disarm'd,
And we again are free.

4 Secure in God's almighty Name

Our confidence remains

The God who made both heav'n and earth, Of both sole monarch reigns.

PSALM 101. C. M.

From the cxxv. Psalm of David.

HO place on Sion's God their trust,

Like Sion's rock shall stand;
Like her immoveably be fix'd
By his almighty hand.

2 Look how the hills on every side

Jerusalem enclose;

So stands the Lord around his saints,
To guard them from their foes.

3 Be good, O righteous God, to those
Who righteous deeds affect;
The heart that innocence retains,
Let innocence protect.

4 All those who walk in crooked paths,
The Lord shall soon destroy;

Cut off th' unjust, but crown the saints
With lasting peace and joy.

PSALM 102. C. M.
From the cxxvii. Psalm of David.

E build with fruitless cost, unless
The Lord the pile sustain;
Unless the Lord the city keep,
The watchman wakes in vain.

2 In vain we rise before the day,
And late to rest repair,
Allow no respite to our toil,

And eat the bread of care.

3 Supplies of life, with ease to them,
He on his saints bestows;

He crowns their labors with success,
Their nights with safe repose.

PSALM 103. C. M.

From the cxxviii. Psalm of David.

CHE man is blest that fears the Lord,
Nor only worship pays,

But keeps his steps confined with care
To his appointed ways.

2 He shall upon the sweet returns
Of his own labour feed;
Without dependence live, and see

His wishes all succeed.

3 Who fears the Lord shall prosper thus;
Him Sion's God shall bless,

And grant him all his days to see
Jerusalem's success.

PSALM 104. S. M.
From the exxx. Psalm of David.
FROM lowest depths of woe
To God I sent my cry;

Lord, hear my supplicating voice,
And graciously reply.

2 Should'st thou severely judge,
Who can the trial bear?
But thou forgiv'st, lest we despond,
And quite renounce thy fear.

3 My soul with patience waits
For thee, the living Lord;
My hopes are on thy promise built,
Thy never-failing word.

4 My longing eyes lock out

For thy enliv'ning ray,

More duly than the morning watch

To spy the dawning day.

5 Let Israel trust in God,

No bounds his mercy knows;

The plenteous source and spring from whence Eternal succour flows:

6 Whose friendly streams to us
Supplies in want convey;

A healing spring, a spring to cleanse
And wash our guilt away.

[blocks in formation]

4 Israel! now and evermore

In the Lord Jehovah trust;

Him, in all his ways, adore,

Wise, and wonderful, and just.

PSALM 106. C. M.
From the cxxxii. Psalm of David.
WITH due rev'rence, let us all
To God's abode repair;

And, prostrate at his footstool fall'n,
Pour out our humble prayer.

2 Arise, O Lord, and now possess
Thy constant place of rest;
Be that, not only with thy ark,

But with thy presence bless'd.

3 Clothe thou thy priests with righteousness Make thou thy saints rejoice;

And, for thy servant David's sake,

Hear thy anointed's voice.

4 Fair Sion does, in God's esteem, All other seats excel;

His place of everlasting rest,

Where he desires to dwell.

5 Her store th' Almighty will increase, Her poor with plenty bless;

Her saints shall shout for joy, her priests His saving health confess.

PSALM 107. C. M.

From the cxxxiii. Psalm of David.
OW vast must their advantage be,

How great their pleasure prove,
Who live like brethren, and consent
In offices of love!

2 True love is like the precious oil,

Which, pour'd on Aaron's head,

Ran down his beard, and o'er his robes
Its costly fragrance shed.

3 'Tis like refreshing dew, which does
On Hermon's top distill;

Or like the early drops, that fall
On Sion's favour'd hill.

4 For Sion is the chosen seat

Where the Almighty King

The promis'd blessing has ordain'd,
And life's eternal spring.

PSALM 108. C. M.

From the cxxxiv. Psalm of David.
LESS God, ye servants, that attend

Upon his solemn state;

That in his temple's hallow'd courts
With humble rev'rence wait.

2 Within his house lift up your hands,
And bless his holy Name:
From Sion bless thy Israel, Lord,

Who earth and heaven didst frame.

PSALM 109. C. M.

From the cxxxv. Psalm of David.
PRAISE the Lord with one consent,

And magnify his Name;
Let all the servants of the Lord
His worthy praise proclaim.

2 Praise him, all ye that in his house
Attend with constant care;
With those that to his outmost courts
With humble zeal repair.

3 For God his own peculiar choice
The sons of Jacob makes;
And Israel's offspring for his own
Most valued treasure takes.

4 That God is great, we often have
By glad experience found;

And seen how he, with wondrous power, Above all gods is crown'd.

5 For he, with unresisted strength,
Performs his sovereign will,

In heaven and earth, and wat❜ry stores
That earth's deep caverns fill.

6 Their just returns of thanks to God
Let grateful Israel pay;
Nor let anointed Aaron's race

To bless the Lord delay.

7 Their sense of his unbounded love
Let Levi's house express;
And let all those who fear the Lord,
His Name for ever bless.

8 Let all with thanks his wondrous works In Sion's courts proclaim;

Let them in Salem, where he dwells,
Exalt his holy Name.

PSALM 110. II. 4.
From the cxxxvi. Psalm of David.
God, the mighty Lord,

Your joyful thanks repeat;
To him due praise afford,
As good as he is great:
For God does prove
Our constant friend;
His boundless love

Shall never end.

2 To him, whose wondrous power
All other gods obey,
Whom earthly kings adore,
Your grateful homage pay:
For God, &c.

3 By his almighty hand

Amazing works are wrought; The heavens by his command Were to perfection brought : For God, &c.

4 He spread the ocean round
About the spacious land;
And bade the rising ground
Above the waters stand:
For God, &c.

5 By him the heavens display Their num❜rous hosts of light, The sun to rule by day,

The moon and stars by night:
For God, &c.

6 Hc, in our depth of woes,
On us with favour thought;
And from our cruel foes

In peace and safety brought:
For God, &c.

7 He does the food supply

On which all creatures live: To God, who reigns on high, Eternal praises give:

For God will prove

Our constant friend;

His boundless love
Shall never end.

[blocks in formation]

We wept, with doleful thoughts oppress'd,

And Sion was our mournful theme.

2 Our harps, that, when with joy we sung,
Were wont their tuneful parts to bear,
With silent strings neglected hung
On willow-trees that wither'd there.

3 O Salem, our once happy seat,

When I of thee forgetful prove,
Let then my trembling hand forget

The speaking strings with art to move!

4 If I to mention thee forbear,

Perpetual silence be my doom;
Or if my chiefest joy compare
With thee, Jerusalem, my home!

PSALM 112. C. M.

From the cxxxviii. Psalm of David.

7ITH my whole heart, my God and
King,

Thy praise I will proclaim;
Before the mighty I will sing,
And bless thy holy Name.

2 I'll worship at thy sacred seat,
And, with thy love inspired,
The praises of thy truth repeat,
O'er all thy works admired.

3 Thou graciously inclin❜dst thine ear,
When I to thee did cry;

And, when my soul was press'd with fear,
Didst inward strength supply.

4 For God, although enthroned on high,
Does thence the poor respect;
The proud, far off, his scornful eye
Beholds with just neglect.

5 Though I with troubles am oppress'd,
He shall my foes disarm,

Relieve my soul when most distress'd,
And keep me safe from harm.

6 The Lord, whose mercies ever last,
Shall fix my happy state;

And, mindful of his favours past,
Shall his own work complete.

T

PSALM 113. L. M.

From the cxxxix. Psalm of David.

HOU, Lord, by strictest search hast known

My rising up and lying down;

My secret thoughts are known to thee, Known long before conceived by me.

2 Thine eye my bed and path surveys,
My public haunts and private ways:
Thou know'st what 'tis my lips would vent,
My yet unutter'd words' intent.

3 Surrounded by thy power I stand,
On every side I find thy hand:

O skill for human reach too high!
Too dazzling bright for mortal eye!
4 From thy all-seeing Spirit, Lord,
What hiding-place does earth afford?
O where can I thy influence shun,
Or whither from thy presence run?

5 If up to heaven I take my flight,

'Tis there thou dwell'st enthroned in light;
If to the world unseen, my God,
There also hast thou thine abode.

6 If I the morning's wings could gain,
And fly beyond the western main;
E'en there, in earth's remotest land,
I still should find thy guiding hand.

7 Or, should I try to shun thy sight
Beneath the sable wings of night,
One glance from thee, one piercing ray,
Would kindle darkness into day.

8 The veil of night is no disguise,

No screen from thy all-searching eyes; Through midnight shades thou find'st thy way, As in the blazing noon of day.

9 Thou know'st the texture of my heart, My reins in every vital part:

I'll praise thee, from whose hands I came A work of such a wondrous frame. 10 Let me acknowledge too, O God, That since this maze of life I trod, Thy thoughts of love to me surmount The power of numbers to recount. 11 Far sooner could I reckon o'er

The sands upon the ocean's shore;
Each morn, revising what I've done,

I find th' account but new begun.

12 Search, try, O God, my thoughts and heart,
If mischief lurk in any part;
Correct me where I go astray,
And guide me in thy perfect way.

L

PSALM 114. C. M.

From the cxli. Psalm of David.

ORD, in thy sight, O let my prayer

Like morning incense rise;
My lifted hands accepted be
As evening sacrifice.

2 From hasty language curb my tongue,
And let a constant guard

Still keep the portal of my lips

With wary silence barr'd.

3 From wicked men's designs and deeds

My heart and hands restrain;
Nor let me share their evil works,
Or their unrighteous gain.

4 Let upright men reprove my faults,
And I shall think them kind;
Like healing oil upon my head
I their reproof shall find.

PSALM 115. C. M.

From the cxliii. Psalm of David.

ORD, hear my prayer, and to my cry
Thy wonted audience lend;

In thy accustom'd faith and truth
A gracious answer send.

2 Nor at thy strict tribunal bring
Thy servant to be tried;
For in thy sight no living man
Can e'er be justified.

3 To thee my hands in humble prayer
I fervently stretch out;
My soul for thy refreshment thirsts,
Like land oppress'd with drought.

4 Hear me with speed, my spirit fails;
Thy face no longer hide,

Lest I become forlorn, like them
That in the grave reside.

5 Thy kindness early let me hear,
Whose trust on thee depends;

Teach me the way where I should go,
My soul to thee ascends.

[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small]

HEE will I bless, my God and King,

Thy endless praise proclaim;
This tribute daily I will bring,

And ever bless thy Name.

2 Thou, Lord, beyond compare art great,
And highly to be praised;

Thy majesty, with boundless height,
Above our knowledge raised.

3 Renown'd for mighty acts, thy fame
To future time extends;

From age to age thy glorious Name
Successively descends.

4 Whilst I thy glory, and renown,

And wondrous works express,

The world with me thy might shall own,

And thy great power confess.

5 The praise that to thy love belongs,
They shall with joy proclaim;
Thy truth of all their grateful songs
Shall be the constant theme.

6 The Lord is good; fresh acts of grace
His pity still supplies;

His anger moves with slowest pace,

His willing mercy flies.

« PreviousContinue »