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Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.

What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me?

I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the Lord.

I will meditate on thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways.

So shall I keep thy law continually for ever

and ever.

Thus will I bless thee while I live; I will lift up my hands in thy name.

I will wash my hands in innocency: so will I compass thine altar, O Lord.

4. OMNISCIENCE

O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known

me.

Thou knowest my down-sitting and mine up-rising; thou understandest my thoughts afar off.

Thou compassest my path, and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether.

Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?

If I ascend up to heaven, thou art there;

if I make my bed in hell, behold thou art there.

If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;

Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.

If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.

Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day; the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.

If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.

The Lord is far from the wicked; but he heareth the prayer of the righteous.

Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my thoughts:

And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.

5. EARLY PIETY.

Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them.

Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips. from speaking guile.

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Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.

Honor thy father and thy mother; that thy days may be long upon the land, which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men.

My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou

not.

Trust in the Lord with all thy heart, and lean not on thine own understanding.

In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom and with all thy getting get understanding.

Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour.

Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.

If thou seekest for her as for silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures;

Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.

Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble.

When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid; yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.

There no evil shall befal thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.

For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in thy ways.

O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.

6. THE WORKS OF GOD.

I will now remember the works of the Lord, and declare the things that I have seen. The sun that giveth light looketh upon all things, and is full of the glory of the Lord. Great is the Lord that made it; and at his commandment it runneth hastily.

He made the moon also to serve in her season, and the stars to shine in the firmament of heaven.

At the commandment of the Holy One they all stand in their order, and never faint in their watches.

Look upon the rainbow, and praise him. that made it; very beautiful it is in the brightness thereof.

It compasseth the heaven with a glorious circle, and the hands of the Most High have bended it.

He maketh the snow to fall apace, and sendeth swiftly the lightnings of his judg

ment.

At his sight the mountains are shaken; the noise of his thunder maketh the earth to tremble.

As birds flying he scattereth the snow,

and

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the falling down thereof is as the lighting of grasshoppers.

He poureth the hoar frost upon the earth, and clotheth the water as with a breastplate. He declareth the things that are past, and to come, and revealeth the steps of hidden things.

No thought escapeth him, neither is any word hidden from him.

He hath garnished the excellent works of his wisdom, and he is from everlasting to everlasting.

Unto him may nothing be added, neither can he be diminished, and he hath no need of any counsellor.

O how desirable are all his works! He hath made nothing imperfect.

One thing establisheth the good of another; and who shall be filled with beholding his glory?

There are yet hid greater things than these be, for we have seen but a few of his works. For the Lord hath made all things; and to the godly hath he given wisdom.

7. TRUE WISDOM.

God created man to be immortal, and made him to be an image of his own eternity.

The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and there shall no torment touch them. Though they be punished in the sight of men, yet is their hope full of immortality.