"For I am chastened all the day;

"The night renews my pain.'

5 Yet while my tongue indulged complaints,
I felt my heart reprove;
"Sure I shall thus offend thy saints,

"And grieve the men I love."

6 But still I found my doubts too hard,
The conflict too severe;
Till I retired to search thy word,
And learn thy secrets there.

7 There, as in some prophetic glass,
I saw the sinner's feet,

High mounted on a slippery place,
Beside a fiery pit.

8 I heard the wretch profanely boast,
Till at thy frown he fell;
His honours in a dream are lost,
And he awakes in hell.

9 Lord, what an envious fool I was!
How like a thoughtless beast!
Thus to suspect thy promised grace,
And think the wicked blest.

10 Yet I was kept from full despair.
Upheld by power unknown:
That blessed hand that broke the snare,
Shall guide me to thy throne.]

C. M. SECOND PART. St. Ann's. Reading. [*]

Ver. 23-28. God our Portion, here and hereafter.

1

GOD, my Supporter, and my Hope,

My Help forever near;

Thine arm of mercy held me up,

When sinking in despair.

2 Thy counsels, Lord, shall guide my feet,
Through this dark wilderness;

Thine hand conduct me near thy seat,
To dwell before thy face.

e 3 Were I in heaven without my God,
Twould be no joy to me;

And whilst this earth is my abode,
I long for none but thee.

4 What if the springs of life were broke,
And flesh and heart should faint

o God is my soul's eternal Rock,
The strength of every saint.
p 5 Behold, the sinners who remove
Far from thy presence-die;
Not all the idol gods they love,
Can save them when they cry.
-6 But to draw near to thee, my God,
Shall be my sweet employ;

o My tongue shall sound thy works abroad,
And tell the world my joy.

u

L. M. Geneva. Babylon. [b]

Ver. 22, 3, 6, 17-20. The Prosperity of Sinners cursed • 1 LORD, what a thoughtless wretch was I,

To mourn, and murmur, and repine,

To see the wicked, placed on high,
In pride, and robes of honour, shine!

p 2 But, oh, their end-their dreadful end!
Thy sanctuary taught me so:

On slippery rocks I see them stand,
And fiery billows roll below.

d 3 Now let them boast how tall they rise,
-I'll never envy them again;

d There they may stand with haughty eyes,
a Till they plunge deep in endless pain.
e 4 Their fancied joys, how fast they flee!
Just like a dream, when man awakes:`
Their songs of softest harmony
Are but a preface to their plagues.
-5 Now I esteem their mirth and wise
Too dear to purchase with my blood;
o Lord, 'tis enough that thou art mine,
My life, my portion, and my God.

1

S. M. Aylesbury. [b]
The Mystery of Providence unfolded.
URE there's a righteous God,
Nor is religion vain ;

Though men of vice may boast aloud,
And men of grace complain.

2 I saw the wicked rise,

And felt my heart repine;

While haughty fools, with scornful eyes,
In robes of honour shine.

Р

3 [Pampered with wanton ease,
Their flesh looks full and fair;
Their wealth rolls in, like flowing seas,
And grows without their care.

4 Free from the plagues and pains
That pious souls endure,

Through all their life oppression reigns,
And racks the humble poor.

5 Their impious tongues blaspheme
The everlasting God;

Their malice blasts the good man's name,
And spreads their lies abroad.

6 But I, with flowing tears,
Indulged my doubts to rise;

"Is there a God that sees, or hears,
"The things below the skies?"]

7 The tumults of my thought
Held me in hard suspense;

Till to thy house my feet were brought,
To learn thy justice thence.

8 Thy word, with light and power,
Did my mistakes amend;

I viewed the sinners' lives before,
But here I learned their end.

9 On what a slippery steep,

The thoughtless wretches go! a And, oh, that dreadful, fiery deep, That waits their fall below!

e 10 Lord, at thy feet I bow,

My thoughts no more repine; -I call my God my portion now; And all my powers are thine.

1

PSALM 74. C. M. Wantage. [*]
The Church, in Affliction, pleading with God.
God forever cast us off?

WILL
His wrath forever smoke-

Against the people of his love,

His little chosen flock?

e 2 Think of the tribes, so dearly bought

With their Redeemer's blood;

Nor let thy Zion be forgot,

Where once thy glory stood.

o 3 Lift up thy feet, and march in haste; Aloud our ruin calls;

e See what a wide, and fearful waste Is made within thy walls.

4 [Where once thy churches prayed and sang, Thy foes profanely roar :

Over thy gates their ensigns hang,
Sad tokens of their power.

5 How are the seats of worship broke!
They tear thy buildings down;
And he who deals the heaviest stroke,
Procures the chief renown.

6 With flames, they threaten to destroy
Thy children in their nest;
"Come, let us burn at once," they cry,
"The temple and the priest.'

7 And still, to heighten our distress,
Thy presence is withdrawn;

Thy wonted signs of power and grace,
Thy power and grace are gone.

8 No prophet speaks to calm our woes,
But all the seers mourn;

There's not a soul amongst us knows
The time of thy return.]

PAUSE.

p 9 How long, eternal God, how long
Shall men of pride blaspheme?
Shall saints be made their endless song,
And bear immortal shame?

10 [Canst thou forever sit and hear
Thy holy name profaned?

And still thy jealousy forbear,

And still withhold thy hand?]

e 11 What strange deliverance hast thou shown, In ages long before!

-And now, no other God we own,

No other God adore.

12 [Thou didst divide the raging sea,

By thy resistless might,

To make thy tribes a wondrous way,
And then secure their flight.

13 Is not the world of nature thine,
The darkness and the day?

Didst thou not bid the morning shine,
And mark the sun his way?

14 Hath not thy power formed every coast,
And set the earth its bounds,

With summer's heat, and winter's frost,
In their perpetual rounds?

15 And shall the sons of earth and dust
That sacred power blaspheme?
Will not that hand that formed them first,
Avenge thine injured name?].

16 Think on the covenant thou hast made,
And all thy words of love;

Nor let the birds of prey invade,

And vex thy mourning dove.

e 17 [Our foes would triumph in our blood,
And make our hope their jest;
Plead thine own cause, almighty God,
And give thy children rest.]

PSALM 75. L. M. Blendon. [*]
Power and Government from God alone.
1 To thee, most Holy and most High,

To thee we bring our thankful praise; Thy works declare thy name is nigh, Thy works of wonder and of grace. 2 ["To slavery doomed, thy chosen sons "Beheld their foes triumphant rise; "And sore oppressed by earthly thrones, “They sought the Sovereign of the skies.

3 ""Twas then, great God, with equal power, "Arose thy vengeance and thy grace, "To scourge their legions from the shore, "And save the remnant of thy race."] 4 Let haughty sinners sink their pride; Nor lift so high their scornful head; But lay their foolish thoughts aside, And own the powers that God hath made. 5 Such honours never come by chance, Nor do the winds promotion blow; "Tis God, the Judge, doth one advance; 'Tis God that lays another low.