2 Far be thine honour spread,
And long thy praise endure ;
Till morning light and evening shade
Shall be exchang'd no more.

PSALM CXVIII.

The repeated application made of the 22d verse of this Psalm in the New Testament, and the appointment of it by our Church to be used on Easter Day, lead us to consider it as a Triumphant Hymn, sung by King Messiah, at the head of the Israel of God, on occasion of His resurrection and exaltation.

FIRST PART. (vv. 14-16.) L. M.
Triumph in the Resurrection of Christ.

ALL power and grace to God belong;
He is my Strength, and He my Song:
He comes, my Saviour, from his throne,
He comes to bring salvation down.

2 Lo! rising from the tents of men,
The voice of joy resounds again:
His saints with HIм the triumph claim,
And shout salvation to his Name.

3 His own right-hand its strength displays,
In acts of valour and of grace:

The Cross, the Tomb, the Throne, declare
How vast his power and glory are.

4 For us he conquers, though he dies:
Behold the Mighty Saviour rise!
His own right-hand on high displays,
In acts of valour and of grace!

זי

L.M.

SECOND PART. (vv. 17-21.)
Public Praise for Deliverance from Death.
SHALL not die-Jehovah's care
Exhausted nature shall repair:
My life prolong, my health restore,
His works of wonder to adore.

2 His hand, with chastisement severe,
Had sunk my frame, and wak'd my fear;
Yet did his love revive my breath,
Nor yield me to the shades of death.

3 Then open to my grateful mind
The gates for sacred acts design'd:
I'll enter where his altars rise,
With prayer and praise my sacrifice.

4 Jehovah, 'tis thy Temple-Gate,
Where all thy saints in worship wait:
I'll praise Thee, for Thou heard'st my prayer;
And own Thee my Salvation there.

THIRD PART. (vv. 22, 23.) c. M.
Christ the Foundation and Corner-stone.

BEHOLD the sure Foundation-stone,
Which God in Zion lays,·

To build our heavenly hopes upon,
And His eternal praise:

2 Chosen of God, to sinners dear,
And saints adore the Name;

They trust their whole salvation here,
Nor shall they suffer shame.

3 The foolish builders, Scribe and Priest,
Reject it with disdain;

Yet on this Rock the Church shall rest,
And envy rage in vain.

4 What though the gates of hell withstood,
Yet must this building rise:
'Tis thine own work, Almighty God,
And wondrous in our eyes.

1

FOURTH PART. (vv. 24-26.) C. M.
Hosannah to the Risen Saviour.

THIS

is the day the Lord hath made,
He calls the hours his own;

Let heaven rejoice, let earth be glad,
And praise surround the throne.

2 To-day he rose and left the dead,
And Satan's empire fell;

To-day the saints his triumphs spread,
And all his wonders tell.

3 Hosannah to th' Anointed King,
To David's Holy Son!

Help us, O Lord! descend and bring
Salvation from thy throne.

4 Blest be the Lord, who comes to men
With messages of grace;

Who comes, in God his Father's Name,
To save our sinful race.

(

1

5 Hosannah in the highest strains
The Church on earth can raise ;
The highest heavens in which he reigns
Shall give him nobler praise.

FIFTH PART. (vv. 27-29.) P. M.
Praise to Christ.

1 CROWN his head with endless blessing,

Who, in God the Father's Name,
With compassions never ceasing,
Comes, salvation to proclaim!
Hail, ye saints, who know his favour,
Who within his gates are found;
Hail, ye saints, th' Exalted Saviour,
Let his courts with praise resound!
2 Lo! Jehovah, we adore Thee!

Thee, our Saviour! Thee, our God!
From his throne his beams of glory
Shine through all the world abroad.
In his Word his light arises,

Brightest beams of Truth and Grace!
Bind, oh bind your sacrifices,

In his courts your offerings place.
3 Jesus, Thee our Saviour hailing,
Thee our God in praise we own;
Highest honours, never failing,
Rise eternal round thy throne:
Now, ye saints, his power confessing,
In your grateful strains adore ;
For his Mercy, never ceasing,

Flows, and flows for evermore.

PSALM CXIX.

David describes, in a series of devotional meditations, the instruction and the comfort, which, through all vicissitudes of mind and circumstances, he had ever found in the Word of God. The many strong expressions of love toward the Law, and the repeated resolutions and vows to observe it, will often force us to turn our thoughts to the True David, whose meat and drink it was to do the will of Him that sent Him. Believers, while accomplishing their pilgrimage and warfare upon earth, should continually solace themselves with the CXIXth Psalm; and repair to it as to a fountain of heavenly wisdom and comfort. which can never be exhausted. The many words, employed to express the revelations of God's will, have distinct significations, denoting different parts or properties of the Scriptures.

(From verses 5, 33, 29, 37, 36, 133, 176, 135; in the order in which they are here placed.)

1

OH

Breathing after Holiness.

that the Lord would guide my ways
To keep his Statutes still!

Oh that my God would grant me grace
To know and do his Will!

2 Oh send thy Spirit down, to write
Thy Law upon my heart!
Nor let my tongue indulge deceit,
Nor act the liar's part.

3 From vanity turn off my eyes:
Let no corrupt design,
Nor covetous desires, arise
Within this soul of mine.

4 Order my footsteps by thy Word,
And make my heart sincere:
Let sin have no dominion, Lord,
But keep my conscience clear.
5 My soul hath gone too far astray,
My feet too often slip;

Yet, since I've not forgot thy way,
Restore thy wand'ring sheep.

6 Make me to walk in thy Commands-
'Tis a delightful road;

Nor let my head, or heart, or hands,
Offend against my God.

SECOND PART. C. M.

(From verses 9, 130, 105, 160, 140, 116.)
Instruction from the Scriptures.

OW shall the Young secure their hearts,

1 HOW

And guard their lives from sin?

Thy Word the choicest rules imparts
To keep the conscience clean.

2 When once it enters to the mind
It spreads such light abroad,
The meanest souls instruction find,
And raise their thoughts to God.

3 'Tis, like the sun, a heavenly light,
That guides us all the day;
And, through the dangers of the night,
A lamp to lead our way.

4 Thy Word is everlasting truth;
How pure is every page!

That Holy Book shall guide our youth,
And well support our age.

THIRD PART. C. M.

(From verses 25, 37, 107, 156, 40, 159, 93.) Prayer for Quickening Grace.

1 MY soul lies cleaving to the dust;
Lord, give me life divine!

From vain desires and every lust
Turn off these eyes of mine.

2 I need the influence of thy grace,
To speed me in the way,
Lest I should loiter in my race,
Or turn my feet astray.

3 When sore afflictions press me down,
I need thy quick'ning powers;
Thy Word, which I have rested on,
Shall help my heaviest hours.

4 Are not thy mercies sov'reign still,
And Thou a Faithful God?

Wilt Thou not grant me warmer zeal
To run the heavenly road?

5 Then I shall love thy Gospel more,
And ne'er forget thy Word,
When I have felt its quick'ning power
To draw me near the Lord.

FOURTH PART. C. M.

(From verses 57, 60, 30, 14, 59, 94, 114, 112.) Professions of Sincerity, Repentance, and Obedience.

HOU art my portion, O my God!

1 THO

Soon as I know thy way,

My heart makes haste t' obey thy Word, And suffers no delay.