Bin the United States of thon, this sth day of Octobe, ia
Y the Bishops, the Clergy, and the Laity of the Protestant Episcopal Church
year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-nine
This Translation of the Whole Book of Psalms into Metre, with Hymns i set forth, and allowed to be sung in all Congregations of the said Church, before and after Morning and Evening Prayer, and also before and after Sermons, the discretion of the Minister.
And it shall be the duty of every Minister of any Church, either by standing directions, or from time to time, to appoint the Portions of Psalms which are t
And further, it shall be the duty of every Minister, with such assistance as h can obtain from persons skilled in music, to give order concerning the Tunes be sung, at any time, in his Church: And, especially, it shall be his duty to su press all light and unseemly music, and all indecency and irreverence in th performance; by which vain and ungodly persons profane the service of t
PSALMS OF DAVID, IN METRE.
TOW blest is he, who ne'er consents By ill advice to walk,
or stands in sinners' ways, nor sits Where men profanely talk;
But makes the perfect law of God His business and delight; evoutly reads therein by day, And meditates by night.
Like some fair tree, which fed by streams,
With timely fruit does bend, e still shall flourish, and success All his designs attend.
Ungodly men, and their attempts, No lasting root shall find; ntimely blasted, and dispers'd Like chaff before the wind. Their guilt shall strike the wicked dumb
Before their Judge's face:
o formal bypocrite shall then Among the saints have place. For God approves the just man's ways; To happiness they tend:
it sinners, and the paths they tread, Shall both in ruin end.
WITH restless and ungovern'd rage,
Why do the heathen storm? hy in such rash attempts engage, As they can ne'er perform? The great in council and in might Their various forces bring; gainst the Lord they all unite, And his anointed King. Must we submit to their commands?" Presumptuously they say:
To, let us break their slavish bands, 'And cast their chains away.' But God, who sits enthron'd on high, And sees how they combine, bes their conspiring strength defy, And mocks their vain design. Thick clouds of wrath divine
On his rebellious foes; nd thus will he in thunder speak To all that dare oppose: Though madly you dispute my will, The King that I ordain, Whose throne is fix'd on Sion's hill, 'Shall there securely reign.' Attend, O earth, whilst I declare God's uncontroll'd decree :
'Thou art my Son; this day, my heir, 'Have I begotten thee.
8Ask, and receive thy full demands; "Thine shall the heathen be;
The utmost limits of the lands
Shall be possess'd by thee.
9 Thy threat'ning sceptre thou shalt shake,
And crush them every where; 'As massy bars of iron break 'The potter's brittle ware.'
10 Learn then, ye princes; and give ear, Ye judges of the earth;
11 Worship the Lord with holy fear; Rejoice with awful mirth.
12 Appease the Son with due respect, Your timely homage pay; Lest he revenge the bold neglect, Incens'd by your delay.
18 If but in part his anger rise, Who can endure the flame? Then blest are they, whose hope relies On his most holy name.
TOW many, Lord, of late are grown The troublers of my peace!
And as their numbers hourly rise, So does their rage increase. 2 Insulting, they my soul upbraid, And him whom I adore;
'The God in whom he trusts,' say they, 'Shall rescue him no more.'
3 But thou, O Lord, art my defence; On thee my hopes rely; Thou art my glory, and shall yet Lift up my head on high.
4 Since whensoe'er, in like distress, To God I made my pray'r, He heard me from his holy hill; Why should I now despair? 5 Guarded by him, I laid me down, My sweet repose to take; For I through him securely sleep, Through him in safety wake. 6 No force nor fury of my foes My courage shall confound, Were they as many hosts as men, That have beset me round. 7 Arise, and save me, O my God, Who oft hast own'd my cause, And scatter'd oft these foes to me, And to thy righteous laws. 8 Salvation to the Lord belongs; He only can defend: His blessings he extends to all That on his pow'r depend.
LORD, thouart my righteous Judge, To my complaint give ear: Thou still redeem'st me from distress; Have mercy, Lord, and hear. 2 How long will ye, O sons of men, To blot my fame devise? How long your vain designs pursue, And spread malicious lies?"
8 Consider that the righteous man Is God's peculiar choice; And when to him I make my pray❜r, He always hears my voice. 4 Then stand in awe of his commands, Flee every thing that's ill, Commune in private with your hearts, And bend them to his will.
5 The place of other sacrifice Let righteousness supply; And let your hope, securely fix'd, On God alone rely.
6 While worldly minds impatient grow More prosp'rous times to see; Still let the glories of thy face
Shine brightly, Lord, on me.
7 So shall my heart o'erflow with joy, More lasting and more true Than theirs, who stores of corn and wine Successively renew.
8 Then down in peace I'll lay my head, And take my needful rest; No other guard, O Lord, I crave, Of thy defence possess'd.
LORD, hear the voice of my complaint,
Accept my secret prayer;
2 To thee alone, my King, my God, Will I for help repair.
19 Their mouth vents nothing but deceit; Their heart is set on wrong;
3 Thou in the morn my voice shalt hear, And with the dawning day
To thee devoutly I'll look up,
To thee devoutly pray.
4 For thou the wrongs that I sustain Can'st never, Lord, approve, Who from thy sacred dwelling-place All evil dost remove.
5 Not long shall stubborn fools remain Unpunish'd in thy view;
All such as act unrighteous things Thy vengeance shall pursue.
6 The sland'ring tongue, O God of truth, By thee shall be destroy'd, Who hat'st alike the man in blood And in deceit employ'd.
7 But when thy boundless grace shall me To thy lov'd courts restore,
On thee I'll fix my longing eyes, And humbly thee adore.
8 Conduct me by thy righteous laws, For watchful is my foe;
Therefore, O Lord, make plain the way Wherein I ought to go.
Their throat is a devouring grave;
10 By their own counsels let them fall They flatter with their tongue. Oppress'd with loads of sin; For they against thy righteous laws Have harden'd rebels been. 11 But let all those who trust in thee, With shouts their joy proclaim; Let them rejoice whom thou preserv'st And all that love thy name. 12 To righteous men, the righteous Lord And with his favour all his saints, His blessing will extend; As with a shield, defend.
Tndspare a wretch forlorn; THY dreadful anger, Lord, restrai Correct me not in thy fierce wrath, Too heavy to be borne.
2 Have mercy, Lord; for I grow faint, Unable to endure
The anguish of my aching bones, Which thou alone canst cure. 3 My tortur'd flesh distracts my mind, And fills my soul with grief; But, Lord, how long wilt thou delay To grant me thy relief? 4 Thy wonted goodness, Lord, repeat, And ease my troubled soul; Lord, for thy wondrous mercy's sake, Vouchsafe to make me whole. 5 For after death no more can I Thy glorious acts proclaim, No pris'ner of the silent grave Can magnify thy name. 6 Quite tir'd with pain, with groaning faint,
No hope of ease I see; The night, that quiets common griefs Is spent in tears by me. 7 My beauty fades, my sight grows din My eyes with weakness close; Old age o'ertakes me, whilst I think 8 Depart, ye wicked; in my wrongs On my insulting foes. Ye shall no more rejoice; For God, I find, accepts my tears, 9, 10 He hears, and grants my humble And listens to my voice.
And they that wish my fall, Shall blush and rage to see that God Protects me from them all.
LORD my God, since I have pla My trust alone in thee, From all my persecutors' rage Do thou deliver me.
To save me from my threat'ning foe, 12 And yet thou mak'st the infant tongue
Lord, interpose thy power; est, like a savage lion, he My helpless soul devour. 4 If I am guilty, or did e'er Against his peace combine; ay, if I had not spared his life, Who sought unjustly mine; Let then to persecuting foes My soul become a prey;
et them to earth tread down my life, In dust my honour lay.
Arise, and let thine anger, Lord, In my defence engage; xalt thyself above my foes, And their insulting rage: wake, awake, in my behalf, The judgment to dispense,
hich thou hast righteously ordain'd For injur'd innocence.
So to thy throne, adoring crowds Shall still for justice fly:
! therefore, for their sake, resume Thy judgment-seat on high. Impartial judge of all the world, I trust my cause to thee; cording to my just deserts, So let thy sentence be.
Let wicked arts and wicked men Together be o'erthrown;
t guard the just, thou God, to whom The hearts of both are known. 11 God me protects, not only me, But all of upright heart;
daily lays up wrath for those Who from his laws depart. If they persist, he whets his sword, His bow stands ready bent;
Ev'n now, with swift destruction wing'd,
His pointed shafts are sent.
The plots are fruitless which my foe Unjustly did conceive;
The pit he digg'd for me, has prov'd His own untimely grave.
Thy boundless praise declare. Through thee the weak confound the
And crush their haughty foes;
And so thou quell'st the wicked throng That thee and thine oppose.
3 When heaven, thy beauteous work on high,
Employs my wond'ring sight; The moon, that nightly rules the sky, With stars of feebler light;
4 What's man, say I, that, Lord, thou lov'st
On his own head his spite returns, Whilst I from harm am free; n him the violence is fall'n, Which he design'd for me. Therefore will I the righteous ways Of providence proclaim;
ll sing the praise of God most high, And celebrate his name.
To keep him in thy mind?
Or what his offspring, that thou prov'st To them so wondrous kind?
5 Him next in pow'r thou didst create To thy celestial train;
6 Ordain'd, with dignity and state, O'er all thy works to reign.
THOU, to whom all creatures bow Within this earthly frame, hrough all the world how great
How glorious is thy name!
7 They jointly own his powerful sway; The beasts that prey or graze;
8 The bird that wings its airy way; The fish that cuts the seas.
9 O Thou, to whom all creatures bow Within this earthly frame,
Through all the world how great art
How glorious is thy name!
10 celebrate thy praise, O Lord, I will my heart prepare; To all the list'ning world, thy works, Thy wondrous works declare. 2 The thought of them shall to my sout Exalted pleasures bring;
Whilst to thy name, O thou Most High, Triumphant praise I sing.
3 Thou mad'st my haughty foes to turn Their backs in shameful flight: Struck with thy presence, down they fell, They perish'd at thy sight.
4 Against insulting foes advanc'd, Thou didst my cause maintain; My right asserting from thy throne, Where truth and justice reign. 5 The insolence of heathen pride
Thou hast reduc'd to shame; Their wicked offspring quite destroy'd And blotted out their name.
6 Mistaken foes, your haughty threats Are to a period come;
Our city stands, which you design'd
To make our common tomb. 7, 8 The Lord for ever lives, who has His righteous throne prepar'd, Impartial justice to dispense, To punish or reward.
n heaven thy wondrous acts are sung, 9 God is a constant sure defence
Nor fully reckon'd there;
12 When he inquiry makes for blood, He'll call the poor to mind: The injur'd humble man's complaint Relief from him shall find. 13 Take pity on my troubles, Lord, Which spiteful foes create, Thou that hast rescu'd me so oft From death's devouring gate. 14 In Sion then I'll sing thy praise, To all that love thy name; And, with loud shouts of grateful joy, Thy saving power proclaim. 15 Deep in the pit they digg'd for me, The heathen pride is laid; Their guilty feet to their own snare Are heedlessly betray'd.
16 Thus, by the just returns he makes, The mighty Lord is known; While wicked men by their own plots, Are shamefully o'erthrown. 17 No single sinner shall escape, By privacy obscur'd;
Nor nation, from his just revenge,
By numbers be secur'd.
13 His suff'ring saints, when most distress'd,
He ne'er forgets to aid; Their expectations shall be crown'd, Though for a time delay'd. 19 Arise, O Lord, assert thy power, And let not man o'ercome; Descend to judgment, and pronounce The guilty heathen's doom.
20 Strike terror through the nations round,
Till, by consenting fear,
They to each other, and themselves, But mortal men appear.
And sordid wretches, whom God hates, Perversely they commend. 4 To own a power above themselves, Their haughty príde disdains; And therefore in their stubborn mind No thought of God remains.. 5 Oppressive methods they pursue, And all their foes they slight; Because thy judgments unobserv'd, Are far above their sight. 6 They fondly think their prosp'rou state
Shall unmolested be; They think their vain designs shall thrive,
From all misfortunes free. 7 Vain and deceitful is their speech, With curses fill'd, and lies; By which the mischief of their heart They study to disguise.
8 Near public roads they lie conceald, And all their art employ, The innocent and poor at once To rifle and destroy.
9 Not lions, couching in their dens, Surprise their heedless prey With greater cunning, or express More savage rage than they. 10 Sometimes they act the harmless man, And modest looks they wear; That so deceiv'd, the poor may less Their sudden onset fear.
Impartially dost try;
The orphan; therefore, and the poor, On thee for aid rely.
15 Defenceless let the wicked fall,
Of all their strength bereft; Confound, O God, their dark designs, Till no remains are left. 16 Assert thy just dominion, Lord, Which shall for ever stand; Thou who the heathen didst expel From this thy chosen land. 17 Thou hear'st the humble supplicant That to thy throne repair; Thou first prepar'st their hearts to pra And then accept'st their prayer.
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