The sacred truth his lips pronounce
Shall firm as heaven endure:
And if he speak a promise once,
The eternal grace is sure.
How long the race of David held
The promis'd Jewish throne!
But there's a nobler covenant seal'd
To David's greater Son.
His seed for ever shall possess
A throne above the skies;
The meanest subject of his grace
Shall to that glory rise.
Lord God of hosts, thy wondrous ways
Are sung by saints above;
And saints on earth their honours raise
To thy unchanging love.
PSALM 89. PART 2. c. M.
The blessedness of God's people.—v. 15—17.
BLEST are the souls that hear and know
The gospel's joyful sound!
Peace shall attend the paths they go,
And light their steps surround.
Their joy shall bear their spirits up,
Through their Redeemer's name:
His righteousness exalts their hope,
Nor Satan dares condemn.
The Lord our glory and defence,
Strength and salvation gives:
Israel, thy King for ever reigns,
Thy God for ever lives.
PSALM 90. PART 1. c. M.
God all-sufficient.-v. 1, 2.
O GOD, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast,
And our eternal home;
Under the shadow of thy throne
Thy saints have dwelt secure;
Sufficient is thine arm alone,
And our defence is sure.
Before the hills in order stood,
Or earth receiv'd her frame,
From everlasting thou art God,
To endless years the same.
O God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come;
Be thou our guard while life shall last,
And our eternal home.
Man frail and mortal.- -v. 4, 5, 12.
TIME, like an ever-rolling stream,
Bears all its sons away;
They fly forgotten, as a dream
Dies at the opening day.
The busy tribes of flesh and blood,
With all their lives and cares,
Are carried downwards by the flood,
And lost in following years.
A thousand ages in thy sight,
Are like an evening gone!
Short as the watch that ends the night
Before the rising sun.
So teach us to compute our days,
And so our hearts apply,
That safely we, through wisdom's ways,
May reach eternity.
PSALM 90. PART 3. C. M.
Eternal rest desired.-v. 13—17.
RETURN, O Lord, and grant some rest
To all thy servants' woes;
Our hearts, with early mercies blest,
To holy joys dispose.
Let heaven succeed our painful years,
Let sin and sorrow cease;
And in proportion to our tears
So make our joys increase.
Thy wonders to thy servants show;
Make thy own work complete ;
Then shall our souls thy glory know,
And own thy love was great.
Then shall we shine before thy throne,
In all thy beauty, Lord;
And the poor service we have done
Receive a rich reward.
PSALM 91. c. M.
The ministry of angels.
INCARNATE God! the soul that knows
Thy name's mysterious power,
Shall dwell in undisturb'd repose,
Nor fear the trying hour.
Angels unseen attend the saints,
And bear them in their arms;
To cheer their spirit when it faints,
And guard their life from harms.
The angels' Lord himself is nigh
To them that love his name;
Ready to save them when they cry,
And put their foes to shame.
Trials and changes are their lot,
While yet they sojourn here;
But since their Saviour changes not,
What have his saints to fear?
PSALM 92. PART 1. L. M.
Delight in the sabbath.-v. 1-5, 10, 11.
1 SWEET is the work, my God, my King,
To praise thy name, give thanks, and sing;
To show thy love by morning light,
And talk of all thy truth at night.
2 Sweet is the day of sacred rest:
No mortal cares shall seize my breast;
O may my heart in tune be found,
Like David's harp of solemn sound!
3 My soul shall triumph in the Lord,
And bless his works, and bless his word;
Thy works of grace, how bright they shine!
How deep thy counsels! how divine!
4 But I shall share a nobler part,
When grace hath purified my heart;
My inward foes shall all be slain,
Nor Satan break my peace again,
5 Then shall I see, and hear, and know,
All I desir'd or wish'd below,
And every power find sweet employ,
In that eternal world of joy
PSALM 92. PART 2. L. M.
Privileges of the spiritual worshipper.—v. 13-15. 1 LORD, 'tis a pleasant thing to stand In gardens planted by thy hand: Let me within thy courts be seen, Like a young cedar fresh and green. 2 There grow thy saints in faith and love, Blest with thine influence from above; Time, that doth all things else impair, Still makes them flourish strong and fair. 3 Laden with fruits of age they shew The Lord is holy, just, and true : None that attend his gates shall find A God unfaithful or unkind.
PSALM 93. L. M.
God's eternity, greatness, and holiness.
1 WITH glory clad, with strength array'd,
The Lord, that o'er all nature reigns,
The world's foundation strongly laid,
And the vast fabric still sustains.
2 How firmly 'stablished is thy throne,
Which shall no change or period see!
For thou, O Lord, and thou alone,
Art God from all eternity.
2 The floods, O Lord, lift up their voice,
And toss the troubled waves on high;
But thou canst still their awful noise,
And make the angry deep comply.
4 The testimonies of thy word,
Faithful and sure shall still remain;
And in thy house, Almighty Lord,
Eternal holiness shall reig
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