PSALM XC.

LORD, Thou hast been thy people's rest,
Through all their generations,
Their refuge when by danger prest,

Their hope in tribulations;

Thou, ere the mountains sprang to birth, Or ever Thou hadst form'd the earth, Art God from everlasting.

The sons of men return to clay, When Thou the word hast spoken, As with a torrent borne away,

Gone like a dream when broken: A thousand years are, in thy sight, But as a watch amid the night, Or yesterday departed.

At morn, we flourish like the grass
With dew and sunbeams lighted,
But ere the cool of evening pass,

The rich array is blighted:
Thus do thy chastisements consume
Youth's tender leaf and beauty's bloom:
We fade at thy displeasure.

Our life is like the transient breath
That tells a mournful story,
Early or late, stopt short by death:

And where is all our glory?
Our days are threescore years and ten,
And if the span be lengthen'd then,
Their strength is toil and sorrow.

Lo, thou hast set before thine eyes
All our misdeeds and errors:
Our secret sins from darkress rise,
At thine awakening terrors:
Who shall abide the trying hour?
Who knows the thunder of thy power?
We flee unto thy mercy.

Lord, teach us so to mark our days,

That we may prize them duly;
So guide our feet in Wisdom's ways,
That we may love thee truly:
Return, O Lord, our griefs behold,
And with thy goodness, as of old,
O satisfy us early.

There no tumult can alarm thee,
Thou shalt dread no hidden snare;
Guile nor violence can harm thee,
In eternal safeguard there.

From the sword at noon-day wasting,
From the noisome pestilence,
In the depth of midnight blasting,
God shall be thy sure defence:
Fear not thou the deadly quiver,
When a thousand feel the blow;
Mercy shall thy soul deliver,
Though ten thousand be laid low.

Only with thine eye, the anguish
Of the wicked thou shalt see,
When by slow disease they languish,

When they perish suddenly:

Thee, though winds and waves be swelling,

God, thine hope, shall bear through all; Plague shall not come nigh thy dwelling, Thee no evil shall befall.

He shall charge his angel-legions,

Watch and ward o'er thee to keep, Though thou walk through hostile regions, Though in desert-wilds thou sleep: On the lion vainly roaring,

On his young, thy foot shall tread, And, the dragon's den exploring,

Thou shalt bruise the serpent's head.

Since, with pure and firm affection,

Thou on God hast set thy love, With the wings of his protection,

He will shield thee from above: Thou shalt call on Him in trouble, He will hearken, He will save, Here for grief reward thee double,

Crown with life beyond the grave.

PSALM XCIII.

THE Lord is King;-upon his throne
He sits in garments glorious;
Or girds for war his armor on,
In every field victorious :

The world came forth at his command;
Built on his word, its pillars stand;

They never can be shaken.

The Lord was King ere time began,
His reign is everlasting;
When high the floods in tumult ran,

Their foam to heaven up-casting, He made the raging waves his path; -The sea is mighty in its wrath, But God on high is mightier.

Thy testimonies, Lord, are sure:

Thy realm fears no commotion, Firm as the earth, whose shores endure The eternal toil of ocean.

And Thou with perfect peace wilt bless Thy faithful flock;-for holiness Becomes thine house for ever.

PSALM XCV.

O COME, let us sing to the Lord,
In God our salvation rejoice;
In psalms of thanksgiving record

His praise, with one spirit, one voice:
For Jehovah is King, and He reigns,

The God of all gods, on his throne;
The strength of the hills He maintains,
The ends of the earth are his own.

The sea is Jehovah's-He made
The tide its dominion to know;
The land is Jehovah's-He laid
Its solid foundations below.
O come let us worship, and kneel
Before our Creator, our God;
-The people who serve Him with zeal,
-The flock whom He guides with his rod.

As Moses, the fathers of old,

Through the sea and the wilderness led, His wonderful works to behold,

With manna from heaven are fed: To-day, let us hearken, to-day,

To the voice that yet speaks from above,

And all his commandments obey,

For all his commandments are love.

His wrath let us fear to provoke,

To dwell in his favor unite; His service is freedom, his yoke

Is easy, his burden is light: But, oh! of rebellion beware,

Rebellion, that hardens the breast, Lest God in his anger should swear That we shall not enter his rest.

PSALM C.

BE joyful in God, all ye lands of the earth,
O serve him with gladness and fear;
Exult in his presence with music and mirth,
With love and devotion draw near.

For Jehovah is God,-and Jehovah alone,
Creator and ruler o'er all;

And we are his people, his sceptre we own;
His sheep, and we follow his call.

O enter his gates with thanksgiving and song,
Your vows in his temple proclaim;
His praise with melodious accordance prolong.
And bless his adorable name.

For good is the Lord, inexpressibly good,
And we are the work of his hand;
His mercy and truth from eternity stood,
And shall to eternity stand.

PSALM CIII.

O MY Soul, with all thy powers,
Bless the Lord's most holy name;
O my soul, till life's last hours,
Bless the Lord, his praise proclaim;

Thine infirmities He heal'd;
He thy peace and pardon seal'd.

He with loving kindness crown'd thee,
Satisfied thy mouth with good;
From the snares of death unbound thee,
Eagle-like thy youth renew'd:

Rich in tender mercy He,
Slow to wrath, to favor free.

He will not retain displeasure,
Though awhile He hide his face;
Nor his God-like bounty measure
By our merit, but his grace;

As the heaven the earth transcends,
Over us his care extends.

Far as east and west are parted,
He our sins hath sever'd thus ;
As a father loving-hearted
Spares his son, He spareth us;

For He knows our feeble frame,
He remembers whence we came.

Mark the field-flower, where it groweth,
Frail and beautiful ;-anon,
When the south-wind softly bloweth,
Look again, the flower is gone :
Such is man; his honors pass,
Like the glory of the grass.

From eternity, enduring
To eternity, the Lord,
Still his people's bliss insuring,
Keeps his covenanted word;

Yea, with truth and righteousness,
Children's children He will bless.

-Thou, God, for ever art the same; I AM is thine unchanging name.

O that men would praise the Lord,
For his goodness to their race;
For the wonders of his word,
And the riches of his grace!

PSALM CVII.

No. 1.

THANK and praise Jehovah's name,
For his mercies, firm and sure,
From eternity, the same,
To eternity endure.

Let the ransom'd thus rejoice,
Gather'd out of every land,
As the people of his choice;
Pluck'd from the destroyer's hand.

In the wilderness astray,

Hither, thither, while they roam, Hungry, fainting by the way, Far from refuge, shelter, home:

Then unto the Lord they cry,

He inclines a gracious ear, Sends deliverance from on high, Rescues them from all their fear.

To a pleasant land He brings,

Where the vine and olive grow, Where from flowery hills the springs Through luxuriant valleys flow.

O that men would praise the Lord,
For his goodness to their race;
For the wonders of his word,
And the riches of his grace!

PSALM CVII. No. 3.

FOOLS, for their transgression, see Sharp disease their youth consume, And their beauty, like a tree, Withering o'er an early tomb.

Food is loathsome to their taste,

And the eye revolts from light; All their joys to ruin haste,

As the sun-set into night.

Then unto the Lord they cry:
He inclines a gracious ear,
Sends deliverance from on high,

Rescues them from all their fear. He with health renews their frame, Lengthens out their number'd days; Let them glorify his name

With the sacrifice of praise.

O that men would praise the Lord,
For his goodness to their race;
For the wonders of his word,
And the riches of his grace!

PSALM CVII.

No. 2.

THEY that mourn in dungeon-gloom,
Bound in iron and despair,
Sentenced to a heavier doom

Than the pangs they suffer there ;

Foes and rebels once to God,

They disdain'd his high control; Now they feel his fiery rod Striking terrors through their soul.

Wrung with agony they fall

To the dust; and, gazing round, Call for help-in vain they call, Help, nor hope, nor friend are found.

Then unto the Lord they cry:
He inclines a gracious ear,
Sends deliverance from on high,
Rescues them from all their fear.

1

He restores their forfeit-breath,

Breaks in twain the gates of brass; From the bands and grasp of death, Forth to liberty they pass.

PSALM CVII. No. 4.

THEY that toil upon the deep,
And in vessels light and frail,
O'er the mighty waters sweep
With the billow and the gale,-

Mark what wonders God performs,
When He speaks, and, unconfined,
Rush to battle all his storms

In the chariots of the wind.

Up to heaven their bark is whirl'd On the mountain of the wave; Down as suddenly 't is hurl'd

To the abysses of the grave.

To and fro they reel, they roll,
As intoxicate with wine;
Terrors paralyze their soul,

Helm they quit, and hope resign. Then unto the Lord they cry,

He inclines a gracious ear, Sends deliverance from on high,

Rescues them from all their fear. Calm and smooth the surges flow, And, where deadly lightning ran, God's own reconciling bow

Metes the ocean with a span.

SERVANTS of God, in joyful lays,
Sing ye the Lord Jehovah's praise;
His glorious name let all adore,
From age to age, for evermore.

Blest be that name, supremely blest,
From the sun's rising to its rest;
Above the heavens his power is known,
Through all the earth his goodness shown.

Who is like God?-so great, so high,
He bows himself to view the sky;
And yet, with condescending grace,
Looks down upon the human race.

He hears the uncomplaining moan
Of those who sit and weep alone;
He lifts the mourner from the dust,
And saves the poor in Him that trust.

Servants of God, in joyful lays, Sing ye the Lord Jehovah's praise; His saving name let all adore, From age to age, for evermore.

PSALM CXVII.

ALL ye Gentiles, praise the Lord,
All ye lands, your voices raise :
Heaven and earth, with loud accord,
Praise the Lord, for ever praise.

For his truth and mercy stand,

Past, and present, and to be, Like the years of his right hand, Like his own eternity.

Praise Him, ye who know his love, Praise Him from the depths beneath, Praise Him in the heights above; Praise your Maker, all that breathe.

PSALM CXXI.

ENCOMPASS'D with ten thousand ills,
Prest by pursuing foes,

I lift mine eyes unto the hills
From whence salvation flows.