5 He hears when dust and ashes speak,
He pities all our groans,
He saves us for his mercy's sake,
And heals our broken bones.
6 The virtue of his sovereign word
Restores our fainting breath:
For silent graves praise not the Lord,
Nor is he known in death.
PSALM VI. (L. M.)
Temptations in Sickness overcome. 1 LORD, I can suffer thy rebukes,
when thou with kindness dost chastise;
But thy fierce wrath I cannot bear,
O let it not against me rise!
2 Pity my languishing estate,
And ease the sorrows that I feel;
The wounds thine heavy hand hath made,
O let thy gentler touches heal!
3 See how I pass my weary days
In sighs and groans; and when 'tis night,
My bed is water'd with my tears;
My grief consumes, and dims my sight.
4 Look how the powers of nature mourn!
How long, Almighty God, how long?
When shall thine hour of grace return?
When shall I make thy grace my song?
5 I feel my flesh so near the grave,
My thoughts are tempted to despair;
But graves can never praise the Lord,
For all is dust and silence there.
6 Depart, ye tempters, from my soul;
And all despairing thoughts depart;
My God, who hears my humble moan,
Will ease my flesh, and cheer my heart.
God's Care of his People, and Punishment
Y trust is in my heavenly friend,
My hope in thee, my God;
Rise, and my helpless life defend
From those that seek my blood.
2 With insolence and fury they
My soul in pieces tear,
As hungry hons rend the prey,
When no deliverer's near.
3 If I had e'er provok'd them first,
Or once abus'd my foe,
Then let him tread my life to dust,
And lay mine honour low.
4 If there be malice hid in me,
I know thy piercing eyes;
I should not dare appeal to thee,
Nor ask my God to rise.
5 Arise, my God, lift up thy hand,
Their pride and power controul;
Awake to judgment, and command
Deliverance for my soul.
6 [Let sinners and their wicked rage
Be humbled to the dust;
Shall not the God of truth engage
To vindicate the just?
7 He knows the heart, he tries the reins,
He will defend th' upright;
His sharpest arrows he ordains
Against the sons of spite.
8 For me their malice digg'd a pit,
But there themselves are cast;
My God makes all their mischief light
On their own heads at last.]
9 That cruel persecuting race
Must feel his dreadful sword;
Awake, my soul, and praise the grace
And justice of the Lord.
God's Sovereignty and Goodness: and Man's Dominion over the Creatures.
1 LORD, our heavenly king, Thy name is all divine;
Thy glories round the earth are spread,
And o'er the heav'ns they shine.
When to thy works on high
I raise my wondering eyes,
And see the moon, complete in light,
Adorn the darksome skies:
When I survey the stars,
And all their shining forms,
Lord, what is man, that worthless thing, A-kin to dust and worms?
4 Lord, what is worthless man,
That thou should'st love him so?
Next to thine angels is he plac'd,
And Lord of all below.
5 Thine honours crown his head,
While beasts like slaves obey,
And birds that cut the air with wings,
And fish that cleave the sea.
6 How rich thy bounties are!
And wond'rous are thy ways:
Of dust and worms thy power can frame
A monument of praise.
7 [Out of the mouths of babes
And sucklings thou canst draw
Surprising honours to thy name,
And strike the world with awe.
8 O Lord, our heavenly king,
Thy name is all divine;
Thy glories round the earth are spread,
And o'er the heavens they shine.]
Christ's Condescension and Glorification; or, God made Man.
1 LORD, our Lord, how wondrous great
Is thine exalted name!
The glories of thy heavenly state
Let men and babes proclaim.
2 When I behold thy works on high,
The moon that rules the night,
And stars that well adorn the sky,
Those moving worlds of light;
3 Lord, what is man, or all his race,
Who dwells so far below,
That thou should'st visit him with grace,
And love his nature so!
4 That thine Eternal Son should bear
To take a mortal form,
Made lower than his angels are,
To save a dying worm!
5 [Yet while he liv'd on earth unknown,
And men would not adore,
Th' obedient seas and fishes own
His godhead and his power.
6 The waves lay spread beneath his feet;
And fish, at his command,.
Bring their large shoals to Peter's net,
Bring tribute to his hand.
7 These lesser glories of the Son
Shone thro' the fleshly cloud;
Now we behold him on his throne,
And men confess him God.]
8 Let him be crown'd with majesty,
Who bow'd his head to death;
And be his honours sounded high,
By all things that have breath.
9 Jesus, our Lord, how wondrous great
Is thine exalted name!
The glories of thy heavenly state
Let the whole earth proclaim.
PSALM VIII. ver. 1,2. Paraphrased.
First Part. (L. M.)
The Hosanna of the Children.
ALMIGHTY Ruler of the skies,
Through the wide earth thy name is
And thine eternal glories rise
[spread, O'er all the heavens thy hands have made.
2 To thee the voices of the young
A monument of honour raise;
And babes, with uninstructed tongue,
Declare the wonders of thy praise.
3 Thy power assists their tender age
To bring proud rebels to the ground,
To still the bold blasphemer's rage,
And all their policies confound.
4 Children amidst thy temple throng
To see their great Redeemer's face;
The Son of David is their song,
And young hosannahs fill the place.
5 The frowning scribes and angry priests
In vain their impious cavils bring;
Revenge sits silent in their breasts,
Whilst Jewish babes proclaim their king.
PSALM VIII. ver. 3, &c. Paraphrased.
Second Part. (L. M.)
Adam and Christ, Lords of the Old and the
New Creation.
1 ORD, what was man, when made at first, Adam the offspring of the dust,
That thou should'st set him and his race
But just below an angel's place
2 That thou should'st raise his nature so,
And make him Lord of all below;
Make every beast and bird submit,
And lay the fishes at his feet!
3 But, O! what brighter glories wait
To crown the second Adam's state!
What honours shall thy Son adorn,
Who condescended to be born!
4 See him below his angels made;
See him in dust amongst the dead,
To save a ruin'd world from sin;
But he shall reign with power divine.
5 The world to come, redeem'd from all
The miseries that attend the fall,
New made, and glorious, shall submit
At our exalted Saviour's feet.
PSALM IX. First Part. (C. M.) Wrath and Mercy from the Judgment Seat. 1 WITH my whole heart I'll raise my song, Thy wonders I'll proclaim; Thou sovereign judge of right and wrong, Wilt put my foes to shame.
2 I'll sing thy majesty and grace;
My God prepares his throne
To judge the world in righteousness,
And make his vengeance known.
3 Then shall the Lord a refuge prove
For all the poor opprest,
To save the people of his love,
And give the weary rest.
The men that know thy name, will trust
In thy abundant grace;
For thou hast ne'er forsook the just,
Who humbly seek thy face.
5 Sing praises to the righteous Lord,
Who dwells on Zion's Hill,
Who executes his threatening word,
And doth his grace fulfil.
The Wisdom and Equity of Providence.
WHEN the great judge, supreme and just,
Shall once inquire for blood,
The humble souls that mourn in dust
Shall find a faithful God.
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