4 The Lord is good, the Lord is kind;
Great is his grace, his mercy sure;
And the whole race of man shall find
His truth from age to age endure.
PSALM C. Second Metre.
A Paraphrase.
to the Lord with joyful voice;
Let every land his naine adore;
The British isles shall send the noise
Across the ocean to the shore.
2 Nations, attend before his throne
With solemn fear, with sacred joy;
Know that the Lord is God alone;
He can create, and he destroy.
3 His sovereign power without our aid
Made us of clay, and form'd us men:
And when like wandering sheep we stray'd,
He brought us to his fold again.
4 We are his people, we his care,
Our souls, and all our mortal frame:
What lasting honours shall we rear,
Almighty Maker, to thy name?
5 We'll crowd thy gates with thankful songs,
High as the heavens our voices raise;
And earth with her ten thousand tongues
Shall fill thy courts with sounding praise.
6 Wide as the world is thy command,
Vast as eternity thy love;
Firm as a rock thy truth must stand, When rolling years shall cease to move.
PSALM CI. (L.M.)
The Magistrate's Psalm.
MERCY and judgment are my song:
And since they both to thee belong, My gracious God, my righteous King, To thee my songs and vows bring. 2 If I am rais'd to bear the sword, I'll take my counsels from thy word; Thy justice and thy heavenly grace Shall be the pattern of my ways. 3 Let wisdom all my actions guide, And let my God with me reside; No wicked thing shall dwell with me, Which may provoke thy jealousy.
4 No sons of slander, rage and strife
Shall be companions of my life;
The haughty look, the heart of pride
Within my doors shall ne'er abide.
5 [I'll search the land, and raise the just
To posts of honour, wealth and trust:
The men that work thy holy will,
Shall be my friends and favourites still.]
6 In vain shall sinners hope to rise
By flattering or malicious lies;
And while the innocent I guard,
The bold offender shan't be spar'd.
7 The impious crew (that factious band)
Shall hide their heads, or quit the land;
And all that break the public rest,
Where I have power shall be supprest.
PSALM CI. (C. M.)
A Psalm for a Master of a Family.
OF justice and of grace I sing,
And pay my God my vows;
Thy grace and justice, heavenly king,
Teach me to rule my house.
2 Now to my tent, O God, repair,
And make thy servant wise;
I'll suffer nothing near me there
That shall offend thine eyes.
3 The man that doth his neighbour wrong By falshood or by force;
The scornful eye, the slanderous tongue,
I'll thrust them from my doors.
4 I'll seek the faithful and the just,
And will their help enjoy;
These are the friends that I shall trust,
The servants I'll employ.
5 The wretch, that deals in sly deceit,
I'll not endure a night;
The liar's tongue I ever hate,
And banish from my sight.
6 I'll purge my family around,
And make the wicked flee;
So shall my house be ever found
A dwelling fit for thee.
PSALM CII. 1-13, 20, 2!. 1st Part (C. M.)
A Prayer of the Afflicted.
1 HEAR me, O God, nor hide thy face, But answer, lest I die;
Hast thou not built a throne of grace
To hear when sinners cry?
2 My days are wasted like the smoke Dissolving in the air;
My strength is dry'd, my heart is broke, And sinking in despair.
3 My spirits flag like withering grass,
Burnt with excessive heat;
In secret groans my minutes pass,
And I forget to eat.
4 As on some lonely building's top
The sparrow tells her moan,
Far from the tents of joy and hope
I sit and grieve alone.
5 My soul is like a wilderness,
Where beasts of midnight howl;
There the sad raven finds her place,
And there the screaming owl.
6 Dark dismal thoughts and boding fears
Dwell in my troubled breast;
While sharp reproaches wound my ears,
Nor give my spirit rest.
My cup is mingled with my woes,
And tears are my repast;
My daily bread like ashes grows
Unpleasant to my taste.
8 Sense can afford no real joy
To souls that feel thy frown:
Lord, 'twas thy hand advanc'd me high,
Thy hand hath cast me down.
9 My looks like wither'd leaves appear,
And life's declining light
Grows faint as evening shadows are
That vanish into night.
10 But thou for ever art the same,
O my eternal God;
Ages to come shall know thy name,
And spread thy works abroad.
11 Thou wilt arise, and shew thy face,
Nor will my Lord delay
Beyond th' appointed hour of grace,
That long expected day.
12 He hears his saints, he knows their cry, And by mysterious ways
Redeems the prisoners doom'd to die, And fills their tongues with praise. PSALM CII. 13-21. Second Part. (C. M.) Prayer heard, and Zion restor❜d.
1 Behold the promis'd hour: ET Zion aud her sons rejoice,
Her God hath heard her mourning voice, And comes t' exalt his power.
2 Her dust and ruins that remain
Are precious in our eyes;
Those ruins shall be built again,
And all that dust shall rise.
3 The Lord will raise Jerusalem,
And stand in glory there;
Nations shall bow before his name,
And kings attend with fear.
4 He sits a sovereign on his throne,
With pity in his eyes;
He hears the dying prisoners groan,
And sees their sighs arise.
5 He frees the souls condemn'd to death, And when his saints complain,
It shan't be said, "That praying breath "Was ever spent in vain."
6 This shall be known when we are dead, And left on long record,
That ages yet unborn may read,
And trust, and praise the Lord.
PSALM CII. v. 23-28. Third Part. (L. M.) Man's Mortality and Christ's Eternity. 1 IT is the Lord our Saviour's hand
Weakens our strength amidst the race; Disease and death at his command Arrest us, and cut short our days. 2 Spare us, O Lord, aloud we pray, Nor let our sun go down at noon: Thy years are one eternal day,
And must thy children die so soon? 3 Yet in the midst of death and grief This thought our sorrow shall assuage, "Our Father and our Saviour live; "Christ is the same thro' every age. 4 "Twas he this earth's foundations laid; Heaven is the building of his hand: This earth grows old, these heavens shall fade, And all be chang'd at his command.
5 The starry curtains of the sky
Like garments shall be laid aside;
But still thy throne stands firm and high:
Thy church for ever must abide.
6 Before thy face thy church shall live,
And on thy throne thy children reign:
This dying world shall they survive,
And the dead saints be rais'd again.
PSALM CIII. v. 1-7. First Part. (L. M.) Blessing God for hisGoodness to Soul & Body, LESS, O my soul, the living God,
ᏴᏞᎬ
Call home thy thoughts that rove abroad;
Let all the powers within me join
In work and worship so divine.
2 Bless, O my soul, the God of grace;
His favours claim thy highest praise;
Why should the wonders he hath wrought
Be lost in silence and forgot?
3 Tis he, my soul, that sent his Son
To die for crimes which thou hast done
He owns the ransom; and forgives
The hourly follies of our lives.
4 The vices of the mind he heals,
And cures the pains that nature feels;
Redeems the soul from hell, and saves
Our wasting life from threatening graves.
5 Our youth decay'd his power repairs;
His mercy crowns our growing years;
He satisfies our mouth with good,
And fills our hopes with heavenly food.
6 He sees th' oppressor and th' opprest,
And often gives the sufferers rest:
But will his justice more display
In the last great rewarding day.
7 [His power he show'd by Moses' hands,
And gave to Israel his commands;
But sent his truth and mercy down
To all the nations by his Son.
8 Let the whole earth his power confess,
Let the whole earth adore his grace;
The Gentile with the Jew shall join
In work and worship so divine.]
PSALM CIII. v. 8-18. Second Part. (L. M.)
God's Gentle Chastisement.
1 THE Lord, how wonderous are his ways!
How firm his truth! how large his grace!
He takes his mercy for his throne,
And thence he makes his glories known.
2 Not half so high his power hath spread
The starry heavens above our head,
As his rich love exceeds our praise,
Exceeds the highest hopes we raise.
3 Not half so far hath nature plac'd
The rising morning from the west,
As his forgiving grace removes
The daily guilt of those he loves.
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