4 Born in a world of guilt, I drew
Contagion with my breath;
And as my days advanc'd, I grew
A juster prey for death.

e 5 Cleanse me, O Lord, and cheer my soul
With thy forgiving love;

O make my broken spirit whole,
And bid my pains remove.

6 Let not thy Spirit quite depart,
Nor drive me from thy face;
Create anew my vicious heart,
And fill it with thy grace.

o 7 Then will I make thy mercy known,
Before the sons of men;

o Backsliders shall address thy throne, And turn to God again.]

C. M. 2D PART. Bishopsgate. Canterbury. [b] Repentance, and Faith in the Blood of Christ. GOD of mercy, hear my call,

My load of guilt remove;

Break down this separating wall,

That bars me from thy love.

-2 Give me the presence of thy grace; Then my rejoicing tongue

o Shall speak aloud thy righteousness, And make thy praise my song.

e 3 No blood of goats, nor heifer slain, For sin could e'er atone:

o The death of Christ shall still remain Sufficient and alone.

4 A soul opprest with sin's desert,
My God will ne'er despise ;

A humble groan, a broken heart,
Is our best sacrifice.

PSALM 53. C. M. Mear. [*]

Ver. 4-6. Victory and Deliverance from Persecution.

1

all the foes Zion

Who thus devour her saints?,

Do they not know her Saviour rules,

And pities her complaints?

2 They shall be seiz'd with sad surprise;

For God's revenging arm

Scatters the bones of them who rise
To do his children harm.

3 In vain the sons of Satan boast
Of armies in array;

When God has first despis'd their host,
They fall an easy prey.

4 O for a word from Zion's King,

Her captives to restore!

Jacob with all the tribes shall sing,

And Judah weep no more.

PSALM 55. C. M. Canterbury. [b]

V. 1-8, 16, 17, 18, 22.

1

Support for the afflicted

and tempted Soul.

GOD, my refuge, hear my cries,
Behold my flowing tears;

For earth and hell my hurt devise,
And triumph in my fears.

2 Their rage is levell'd at my life,
My soul with guilt they load;
And fill my thoughts with inward strife,
To shake my hope in God.

3 With inward pain my heart strings sound;
I groan with every breath:
Horrour and fear beset me round,
Amongst the shades of death.]
4 O were I like a feather'd dove,
And innocence had wings;
-I'd fly, and make a long remove
From all these restless things.

e 5 Let me to some wild desert go,
And find a peaceful home;
Where storms of malice never blow,
Temptations never come.

e

-6 Vain hopes-and vain inventions all,
To 'scape the rage of hell!

-The mighty God on whom I call,
Can save me here as well.

PAUSE.

o 7 By morning light I'll seek his face,
At noon repeat my cry;

The night shall hear me ask his grace,
Nor will he long deny.

• 8 Ged shall preserve my soul from fear,
Or shield me when afraid:
Ten thousand angels must appear,
If he command their aid.
-9 I cast my burdens on the Lord,
The Lord sustains them all:
My courage rests upon his word,
That saints shall never fall.

o 10 [My highest hopes shall not be vain,
My lips shall spread his praise,
e While cruel and deceitful men,
Scarce live out half their days.]
S. M. Aylesbury. [*]

V. 15, 16, 17, 19, 22. Dangerous Prosperity
Daily Devotion.

e

1 LET sinners take their course,

And choose the road to death;
-But in the worship of my God,
I'll spend my daily breath.

2 My thoughts address his throne,
When morning brings the light;

I seek his blessing ev'ry noon,
And pay my vows at night.
3 Thou wilt regard my cries,
O my eternal God:

e While sinners perish in surprise,
Beneath thine angry rod.

4 Because they dwell at ease,
And no sad changes feel,

They neither fear, nor trust thy name,
Nor learn to do thy will.

5 But I with all my cares,
Will lean upon the Lord;

I'll cast my burdens on his arm,
And rest upon his word.

06 His arm shall well sustain

The children of his love:

g The ground on which their safety stands No earthly power can move.

e 1

PSALM 56. C. M. Wantage. [b] God's Care of his People, in answer to Prayer.

10THOU, whose justice reigns on high,

And makes the oppressor cease,

Behold how envious sinners try,
To vex and break my peace.

2 [The sons of violence and lies,
Join to devour me,
Lord

But as my hourly dangers rise,
My refuge is thy word.]

3 In God most holy, just, and true,
I have repos'd my trust;
Nor will I fear what flesh can do,
The offspring of the dust.

4 [They wrest my words to mischief still,
Charge me with unknown faults;
Mischief doth all their counsels fill,
And malice all their thoughts.

5 Shall they escape without thy frown?
Must their devices stand?

O cast the haughty sinner down,
And let him know thy hand.]

PAUSE.

-6 God counts the sorrows of his saints,
Their groans affect his ears;
Thou hast a book for my complaints,
A bottle for my tears.

7 When to thy throne I raise my cry,
The wicked fear and flee;

o So swift is prayer to reach the sky,
So near is God to me.

8 [In thee, most holy, just and true,
I have repos'd my trust;

Nor will I fear what man can do,
The offspring of the dust.]

-9 Thy solemn vows are on me, Lord;
Thou shalt receive my praise:

o I'll sing, "How faithful is thy word;
"How righteous all thy ways!"

-10 Thou hast secur'd my soul from death,
O set a pris'ner free!

o That heart and hand, and life and breath, May be employ'd for thee.

PSALM 57. L. M. Old Hundred. Blendon. [*] Praise for Protection, Grace and Truth.

1 MY God, in whom are all the springs

Of boundless love, and grace unknown, • Hide me beneath thy spreading wings, 'Till the dark cloud be overblown. -2 Up to the heav'ns I send my cry, The Lord will my desires perform ; o He sends his angels from the sky, And saves me from the threat'ning storm. • 3 [Be thou exalted, O my God,

Above the heav'ns where angels dwell;
Thy pow'r on earth be known abroad,
And land to land thy wonders tell.]
-4 My heart is fix'd; my song shall raise
Immortal honours to his name:

o Awake, my tongue, to sound his praise;
My tongue, the glory of my frame.

g 5 High o'er the earth his mercy reigns,
And reaches to the utmost sky;
His truth to endless years remains,
When lower worlds dissolve and die.

8 6 Be thou exalted, O my God,

g

Above the heav'ns where angels dwell;
Thy power on earth be known abroad,
And land to land thy wonders tell.

PSALM 58. P. M. St. Helen's. [*]
Warning to Magistrates.

[UDGES, who rule the world by laws,
Will ye despise the righteous cause,

When one oppress'd before you stands?
Dare ye condemn the righteous poor,

And let rich sinners 'scape secure,

While gold and greatness bribe your hands?

2 Have ye forgot, or never knew,
That God will judge the judges too?
High in the heav'ns his justice reigns:
-Yet you invade the rights of God,
And send your bold decrees abroad,

To bind the conscience in your chains.