The Psalms of David Part 31

2 Think of the tribes so dearly bought With their Redeemer's blood; Nor let thy Sion be forgot, Where once thy glory stood.

3 Lift up thy feet and march in haste, Aloud our ruin calls; See what a wide and fearful waste Is made within thy walls.

4 Where once thy churches pray'd and sang Thy foes profanely roar; Over thy gates their ensigns hang, Sad tokens of their power.

5 How are the seats of wors.h.i.+p broke!

They tear the buildings down, And he that deals the heaviest stroke Procures the chief renown.

6 With flames they threaten to destroy Thy children in their nest; "Come let us burn at once (they cry) The temple and the priest."

7 And still to heighten our distress Thy presence is withdrawn; Thy wonted signs of power and grace, Thy power and grace are gone.

8 No prophet speaks to calm our woes, But all the seers mourn; There's not a soul amongst us knows The time of thy return.

PAUSE.

9 How long, eternal G.o.d, how long Shall men of pride blaspheme?

Shall saints be made their endless song, And bear immortal shame?

10 Canst thou for ever sit and hear Thine holy Name profan'd?

And still thy jealousy forbear, And still withhold thine hand?

11 What strange deliverance hast thou shown In ages long before!

And now no other G.o.d we own, No other G.o.d adore.

12 Thou didst divide the raging sea By thy resistless might, To make thy tribes a wondrous way, And then secure their flight.

13 Is not the world of nature thine, The darkness and the day?

Didst thou not bid the morning s.h.i.+ne, And mark the sun his way?

14 Hath not thy power form'd every coast, And set the earth its bounds, With summer's heat and winter's frost, In their perpetual rounds?

15 And shall the sons of earth and dust That sacred power blaspheme?

Will not thy hand that form'd them first Avenge thine injur'd Name?

16 Think on the covenant thou hast made, And all thy words of love; Nor let the birds of prey invade And vex thy mourning dove.

17 Our foes would triumph in our blood, And make our hope their jest; Plead thy own cause, almighty G.o.d!

And give thy children rest.

Psalm 75.

Power and government from G.o.d alone.

Applied to the glorious Revolution by King William, or the happy Accession of King George to the Throne.

1 To thee, most holy, and most high, To thee, we bring our thankful praise; Thy works declare thy name is nigh, Thy works of wonder and of grace.

2 Britain was doom'd to be a slave, Her frame dissolv'd, her fears were great; When G.o.d a new supporter gave To bear the pillars of the state.

3 He from thy hand receiv'd his crown, And sware to rule by wholesome laws His foot shall tread th' oppressor down, His arm defend the righteous cause.

4 Let haughty sinners sink their pride, Nor lift so high their scornful head; But lay their foolish thoughts aside, And own the king that G.o.d hath made.

5 Such honours never come by chance, Nor do the winds promotion blow; 'Tis G.o.d the judge doth one advance, 'Tis G.o.d that lays another low.

6 No vain pretence to royal birth Shall fix a tyrant on the throne: G.o.d the great sovereign of the earth Will rise and make his justice known.

7 [His hand holds out the dreadful cup Of vengeance, mix'd with various plagues, To make the wicked drink them up, Wring out and taste the bitter dregs.

8 Now shall the Lord exalt the just, And while he tramples on the proud, And lays their glory in the dust, My lips shall sing his praise aloud.]

Psalm 76.

Israel saved, and the a.s.syrians destroyed; or, G.o.d's vengeance against his enemies proceeds from his church.

1 In Judah G.o.d of old was known; His Name in Israel great; In Salem stood his holy throne, And Sion was his seat.

2 Among the praises of his saints His dwelling there he chose; There he receiv'd their just complaints Against their haughty foes.

3 From Sion went his dreadful word, And broke the threatening spear; The bow, the arrows, and the sword, And crush'd th' a.s.syrian war.

4 What are the earth's wide kingdoms else But mighty hills of prey?

The hill on which Jehovah dwells Is glorious more than they.

5 'Twas Sion's King that stopt the breath Of captains and their bands: The men of might slept fast in death, And never found their hands.

6 At thy rebuke, O Jacob's G.o.d, Both horse and chariot fell; Who knows the terrors of thy rod?

Thy vengeance who can tell?

7 What power can stand before thy sight When once thy wrath appears?

When heaven s.h.i.+nes round with dreadful light, The earth lies still and fears.

8 When G.o.d in his own sovereign ways Comes down to save th' opprest, The wrath of man shall work his praise, And he'll restrain the rest.

9 [Vow to the Lord, and tribute bring, Ye princes, fear his frown: His terror shakes the proudest king, And cuts an army down.

10 The thunder of his sharp rebuke Our haughty foes shall feel: For Jacob's G.o.d hath not forsook, But dwells in Sion still.]

Psalm 77:1. First Part.

Melancholy a.s.saulting, and hope prevailing.

1 To G.o.d I cry'd with mournful voice, I sought his gracious ear, In the sad day when troubles rose, And fill'd the night with fear.

2 Sad were my days, and dark my nights, My soul refus'd relief; I thought on G.o.d the just and wise, But thoughts increas'd my grief.

3 Still I complain'd, and still opprest, My heart began to break; My G.o.d, thy wrath forbid my rest, And kept my eyes awake.