Thou art our strength, our heavenly tower,
Our bulwark and our shield.

2 We fly to our eternal Rock,
And find a sure defence;
His holy name our lips invoke,
And draw salvation thence.

3 When God our leader shines in arms,
What mortal heart can bear

The thunder of his loud alarms?
The lightning of his spear?

4 He rides upon the winged wind,
And angels in array,

In millions wait to know his mind,
And swift as flames obey.

5 He speaks, and at his fierce rebuke
Whole armies are dismay'd;

His voice, his frown, his angry look Strikes all their courage dead. 6 He forms our generals for the field With all their dreadful skill; Gives them his awful sword to wield, And makes their hearts of steel. 7 [He arms our captains to the fight, (Though there his name's forgot) He girded Cyrus with his might, When Cyrus knew him not.]

8 Oft has the Lord whole nations blest
For his own children's sake;

The powers that give his people rest
Shall of his care partake.

PSALM 18. Second Part. Common Metre.

1

'T

The conqueror's song.

O thine almighty arm we owe
The triumphs of the day;

Thy terrors, Lord, confound the foe,
Ånd melt their strength away.
2 'Tis by thine aid our troops prevail,
And break united powers ;

Or burn their boasted fleets, or scale
The proudest of their towers.

3 How have we chas'd them through the field,
And trod them to the ground,
While thy salvation was our shield,
And they no shelter found!

4 In vain to idol saints they cry,
And perish in their blood;
Where is a rock so great, so high,
So powerful as our God?

5 The rock of Israel ever lives,
His name be ever blest;

'Tis his own arm the victory gives,

And gives his people rest.

PSALM 19. Proper Metre. As the 148th.
The glory of God seen in creation.
LORD, our Lord most high!

In heaven thy glories shine,

And all this lower sky

Unfolds thy skill divine.
Thy wisdom there,
And power sublime,
Through every clime
Thy works declare.

2 Each day proclaims thy hand
To earth's admiring throng;
Each night, from land to land
Repeats the solemn song.
The pale moon shines
With silver rays,

And writes thy praise

In fairest lines.

3 Like a young bridegroom drest
Comes forth the morning sun,
And, as a champion blest,
Delights his race to run.
O'er seas and isles
His warmth extends ;
To heaven's far ends
His glory smiles.

4 Beneath the kindly ray
All nature's realms rejoice ;
All join the solemn lay,
And lift their grateful voice.
The sea and shore,
The morn and even,
And earth and heaven

Their God adore.

5 What though no voice, nor sound.*
Be heard from yonder sky,
A nobler speech is found
By virtue's raptur'd eye.
To God's great hand,
The chorus cries,
Let songs arise

From every land.

PAUSE.

6 But fairer splendours beam
From every gospel line,
And teach th' Eternal Name
In language more divine.
To humble hearts,
That seek thy face,

* Addison.

E

Renewing grace

Thy truth imparts.

7 How pure thy perfect word!
That lamp to wandering feet;
What
peace thy laws afford!

Thy promises how sweet!
A rich reward

Thy statutes give,
And bid me live,
And serve the Lord.
8 Not honey so delights,
Nor heaps of gold refin'd;
No pleasure so invites
The pure and pious mind.
Her erring thoughts
Teach thou my soul,
And make me whole
From secret faults.

9 From each presumptuous way
My wandering feet restrain ;
So shall my life be free
From every fatal stain.

1

Oh make me see,
Thou God of grace,

My thoughts and ways

Approv'd by thee!

PSALM 19. First Part. Short Metre

B

The book of nature and scripture.

For a Lord's day morning.

EHOLD the lofty sky
Declare its maker God,

And all his starry works on high
Proclaim his power abroad.

2 The darkness and the light
Still keep their course the same

While night to day, and day to night
Divinely teach his name.
3 In every different land

Their general voice is known;
They shew the wonders of his hand,
And orders of his throne.

4 Ye western lands rejoice,
Here he reveals his word,
We are not left to nature's voice
To bid us know the Lord.

5 His statutes and commands
Are set before our eyes,
He puts his gospel in our hands,
Where our salvation lies.

6 His laws are just and pure, His truth without deceit, His promises for ever sure,

And his rewards are great. 7 [Not honey to the taste Affords so much delight,

Nor gold that has the furnace pass'd,
So much allures the sight,

8 While of thy works I sing,

Thy glory to proclaim,

Accept the praise, my God, my King,

In my Redeemer's name.]

PSALM 19. Second Part. Short Metre.

God's word most excellent; or, sincerity and watch

1

fulness.

For a Lord's day morning.

EHOLD the morning sun

B Begins his glorious way;

His beams through all the nations run,
And life and light convey.