4 They groan'd and curs'd him on their bed;
Yet still he pleads and mourns:
And double blessings on his head
The righteous God returns.
5 O glorious type of heav'nly grace!
Thus Christ the Lord appears;
While sinners curse, the Saviour prays,
And pities them with tears.
6 He, the true David, Israel's king,
Blest and belov'd of God,
To save us rebels, dead in sin,
Paid his own dearest blood.
Description and doom of practical atheism,
HEN man grows bold in sin,
WMy heart within me cries,
"He hath no faith of God within, "Nor fear before his eyes."
2 He walks awhile conceal'd
In a self-flatt'ring dream;
Till his dark crimes, at once reveal'd,
Expose his hateful name.
3 His heart is false and foul,
His words are smooth and fair; Wisdom is banish'd from lus soul, And leaves no goodness there. 4 He plots upon his bed
New mischiefs to fulfil :
He sets his heart, his hand and head,
To practice all that's ill.
5 But there's a dreadful God,
Tho' men renounce his fear:
His justice, hid behind the cloud,
Shall one great day appear.
6 His truth transcends the sky;
In heav'n his mercies dwell;'
Deep as the sea his judgments lie ;
His anger burns to hell.
7 How excellent his love,
Whence all our safety springs!
O never let my soul remove
From underneath his wings!
PSALM 36. Second Part. L. M.
Confidence in Divine Providence.
LORD, thy mercy, my sure hope, The highest orb of heav'n transcends; Thy sacred truth's unmeasur'd scope Beyond the spreading sky extends,
2 Thy justice, like the hills, remains ;
Unfathom'd depths thy judgments are;
Thy providence the world sustains;
The whole creation is thy care.
3 Since of thy goodness all partake;
With what assurance should the just
Thy shelt'ring wings their refuge make,
And saints to thy protection trust.
4 Such guests shall to thy courts be led,
To banquet on thy love's repast;
And drink, as from a fountain head,
Of joys that shall forever last.
5 With thee the springs of life remain;
Thy presence is eternal day:
Olet thy grace thy saints sustain :
To upright hearts thy truth display.
PSALM 37. First Part. C. M.
Folly of enrying the wicked.
1 W To see the wicked rise? WH HY should I vex my soul and fret
Or envy sinners waxing great
By violence and lies?
2 As flow'ry grass, cut down at noon,
Before the ev'ning fades:
So shall their glories vanish soon,
In everlasting shades.
3 Then let me make the Lord my trust,
And practice all that's good;
So shall I dwell among the just,
And he'll provide me food.
4 I, to my God, my ways commit,
And cheerful,wait his will:
Thy hand, which guides my doubtful feet,
Shall my desires fulfil.
5 Mine innocence shalt thou display ;
And make thy judgments known,
Fair as the light of dawning day,
And glorious as the noon.
6 The meek at last the earth possess,
And are the heirs of heav'n :
True riches, with abundant peace
To humble souls are giv❜n.
7 Rest in the Lord, and keep his way,
Nor let your anger rise;
Tho' providence should long delay,
To punish haughty vice.
8 Let sinners join to break your peace,
And plot, and rage, and foam;
The Lord derides them, for he sees
Their day of vengeance come.
9 They have drawn out the threat'ning sword; Have bent the murd'rous bow,
To slay the men, that fear the Lord,
And bring the righteous low.
10 My God shall break their bows, and burn Their persecuting darts:
Shall their own swords against them turn,
And pain surprise their hearts.
PSALM 37. Second Part. C. M.
Righteous and wicked contrasted.
HY do the wealthy wicked boast,
And grow profanely bold?
The meanest portion of the just
Excels the sinner's gold.
2 The wicked borrows of his friends,
But ne'er designs to pay :
The saint is merciful and lends,
Nor turns the poor away.
3 His alms with liberal heart he gives
Amongst the sons of need:
His mem'ry to long ages lives,
And blessed in his seed.
4 He fears to talk with lips profane,
To slander or defraud:
His ready tongue declares to men,
What he has learn'd of God.
5 The law and gospel of the Lord
Deep in his heart abide ;
Led by the spirit and the word,
His feet shall never slide.
6 When sinners fall, the righteous stand
Preserv'd from ev'ry snare ;
They shall possess the promis'd land,
And dwell forever there.
PSALM 37. Third Part. C. M.
The way and end of the righteous and the wicked. Y God, the steps of pious men
1M Are ordered by thy will:
'M
Tho' they should fall, they rise again,
Thy hand supports them still.
2 The Lord delights to see their ways,
Their virtues he approves;
He ne'er deprives them of his grace,
Nor leaves the men he loves.
3 The heav'nly heritage is theirs,
Their portion and their home;
He feeds them now, and makes them heirs
Of blessings long to come.
4 Wait on the Lord, ye sons of men,
Nor fear when tyrants frown:
Ye shall confess their pride was vain,
When justice casts them down.
5 The haughty sinner have I seen,
Not fearing man or God:
Like a tall bay-tree fair and green,
Spreading his arms abroad.
6 And lo! he vanish'd from the ground,
Destroy'd by hands unseen:
Nor root, nor branch, nor leaf was found,
Where all that pride had been.
7 But mark the man of righteousness,
His several steps attend.
True pleasure runs thro' all his ways,
And peaceful is his end.
PSALM 38. C. M.
The troubled conscience relieved.
1A MID thy wrath remember love,
Restore thy servant, Lord;
Nor let a father's chast'ning prove
Like an avenger's sword.
2 Thine arrows stick within my heart,
My flesh is sorely press'd :
Between the sorrow and the smart,
My spirit finds no rest.
3 My sins a heavy load appear,
And o'er my head are gone;
Too heavy for my soul to bear,
Too hard for me t' atone.
4 My thoughts are like a troubled sea,
My head still bending down;
And I go mourning all the day
Beneath my father's frown.
5 Lord, I am weak and broken sore,
None of my pow'rs are whole :
The inward anguish makes me roar,
The anguish of my soul.
6 All my desire to thee is known,
Thine eye counts ev'ry tear;
And ev'ry sigh, and ev'ry groan,
Is notic'd by thine ear.
7 Thou art my God, my only hope;
My God will hear my cry:
My God will bear my spirit up,
When Satan bids me die.
8 My foes rejoice to see me slide Into the miry pit :
They raise their pleasure and their pride,
When they supplant my feet.
9 But I'll confess my guilt to thee,
And grieve for all my sin:
I feel how weak my graces be,
And beg support divine.
10 My God, forgive my follies past,
And be forever nigh:
O Lord of my salvation, haste,
Before thy servant die.
PSALM 39. First Part. C. M.
Watchfulness over the tongue.
HUS I resolv'd before the Lord:
"Now will I watch my tongue,
"Lest I let slip one sinful word,
"Or do my neighbour wrong."
2 And, if I'm e'er constrain'd to stay
With men of lives profane ;
I'll set a double guard that day,
Nor let my talk be vain.
3 I'll scarce allow my lips to speak
The pious thoughts I feel;
Lest scoffers should th' occasion take
To mock my holy zeal.
4 Yet if some proper hour appear,
I'll not be overaw'd;
But let the scoffing sinners hear,
That I can speak for God.
PSALM 39. Second Part. C. M.
The vanity of man as mortal.
EACH me the measure of my days,
Thou maker of my frame;
I would survey life's narrow space,
And learn how frail I am.
2 A span is all that we can boast ;
How short, how fleet our time!
Man is but vanity and dust,
In all his flow'r and prime.
3 See the vain race of mortals move
Like shadows o'er the plain;
They rage and strive, desire and love;
But all their noise is vain.
4 Some walk in honour's gaudy show;
Some dig for golden ore;
They toil for heirs they know not who,
And straight are seen no more.
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