2 Let judgment not against me pass!
Behold thy servant pleads thy grace.
Should justice call us to thy bar,
No man alive is guiltless there!
3 Look down in pity, Lord, and see
The mighty woes which burdén me:
Down to the dead my life is brought,
Like one long buried and forgot.
4. I dwell in darkness and unseen,
My heart is desolate within:
My thoughts in musing silence trace
The ancient wonders of thy grace.
5 Thence I derive a glimpse of hope
To bear my sinking spirits up;
I stretch my hands to God again,
And thirst like parched lands for rain.
6 For Thee I thirst, I pray, I mourn:
When will thy smiles, my God, return?
Shall all my joys on earth remove,
And Thou for ever hide thy love?
7 My God, thy long delay to save
Will sink thy pris'ner to the grave:
My heart grows faint, and dim mine eye
Make haste to help before I die!
Prayer for Guidance, Mercy, and Grace.
WHENE'ER the morning lights the skies,
Thy beams, O Lord, display;
And let thy loving-kindness rise,
To bless the early day.
2 In Thee I trust, thy light afford,
And let my path be known:
I lift my soul to Thee, my Lord,
My prayer before thy throne.
3 From all my foes, thy power display'd,
Oh set thy servant free:
I seek thy mercy's friendly shade,
And hide myself with THEE.
4 Thou art my God, thy will express
And teach me to obey;
And let thy Spirit, rich in grace,
Direct me in thy way.
5 Oh raise me to the life divine,
My Saviour's Name I plead:
And, Lord, since righteousness is thine,
From every trouble lead.
6 Let Mercy all my foes subdue-
Thy Mercy I'll adore-
Nor sense, nor sin, their arts renew,
To vex thy servant more.
If we substitute, in our minds, Messiah for David, the Church for Israel, and spiritual for temporal blessings, this Psalm will present itself to us as a noble Evangelical Hymn.
FIRST PART. (vv. 1-3.)
Victory in the Spiritual Warfare.
1 FOR ever blessed be the Lord,
My Saviour and my Shield;
He sends his Spirit with his Word,
To arm me for the field.
2 When sin and hell their force unite,
He makes my soul his care;
Instructs me to the heav'nly fight,
And guards me through the war.
3 A Friend and Helper so divine
Does my weak courage raise;
He makes the glorious vict'ry mine,
And His shall be the praise.
SECOND PART. (vv. 3-6.)
Vanity of Man, and Condescension of God.
LORD, what is man, poor feeble man,
Born of the earth at first;
His life a shadow, light and vain,
Still hasting to the dust!
2 Oh what is feeble dying man,
Or any of his race,
That God should make it His concern
To visit him with grace!
3 That God, who darts his lightnings down,
Who shakes the worlds above,
And mountains tremble at his frown,
How wondrous is his love!
THIRD PART. (vv. 7-11.) L. M.
Humble Prayer, and Holy Confidence.
1 MY gracious God, from heav'n above
To me extend thy hand of love :
Withdraw me from the threat'ning wave,
And from th' o'erwhelming waters save.
2 From men profane thy servant free,
The impious race estrang'd from Thee;
Their idol vanities display'd,
They trust an arm unskill'd to aid.
3 To Thee, my God, my song I'll raise,
In a new strain of grateful praise:
My noblest instruments shall join,
And aid my voice with sounds divine.
4 Thine arm alone salvation yields,
Alone the mightiest princes shields ;
O'er all has fix'd Messiah's reign,
Through endless ages to remain.
5 From men profane thy servant free,
From impious men estrang'd from Thee;
Their idol-vanities display'd,
Who trust an arm unskill'd to aid.
FOURTH PART. (vv. 12—15.)
Prayer for Public Prosperity.
1 ORD, let our vigorous sons be seen
Like plants in youthful verdure green;
Our daughters virtuous, graceful, fair,
As columns deck'd with sculptur'd care.
2 Let the rich harvest, from the field,
To the full floor abundance yield;
Our garners fill'd with varied store,
The hope and refuge of the poor.
3 Our teeming ewes, by thousands told,
Add their ten thousands to the fold;
The lab'ring oxen, strong for toil,
Graze o'er the mead or work the soil.
4 Then shall no foes, irruptive, break;
No tribes their native shores forsake;
Nor murm'rings through the land resound,
But calm content spread all around.
5 Happy the people thus at rest,
With laws, and peace, and commerce blest!
Then happier we, no good deny'd,
Who claim the Lord our God beside."
Hitherto, in this Divine Book, we have been presented with checkered scenes of danger and deliverance, distress and mercy. The voice of complaint has sometimes been succeeded by that of thanksgiving; and praise, at other times, has terminated in prayer. But now, as if the days of mourning in Zion were ended, we hear no more of Messiah as a Man of Sorrows, or of the Church as despised and afflicted after the same example in the world: henceforth, we seem not to be upon earth; but in heaven, mingling with celestial spirits around the throne.
LONG as I live I'll bless thy Name,
My King, my God of love!
My work and joy shall be the same,
In the bright world above.
2 Great is the Lord, his power unknown,
And let his praise be great;
I'll sing the honours of thy throne,
Thy works of grace repeat.
3 Thy grace shall dwell upon my tongue;
And, while my lips rejoice,
The men that hear my sacred song
Shall join their cheerful voice.
4 Fathers to sons shall teach thy Name,
And children learn thy ways;
Ages to come thy truth proclaim,
And nations sound thy praise.
5 Thy glorious deeds of ancient date
Shall through the world be known;
Thine arm of power, thy heavenly state,
With public splendor shown.
6 The world is manag'd by thy hands,
Thy saints are rul'd by love;
And thine eternal kingdom stands,
Though rocks and hills remove.
SECOND PART. (vv. 8-13.) C. M. 1 THOU, Lord, art good! fresh acts of grace Thy pity still supplies;
Thine anger moves with slowest pace,
Thy willing mercy flies.
2 Thy love through earth extends its fame,
In all thy works exprest:
These shew thy praise, while thy great Name
Is by thy servants blest.
3 They, with a glorious prospect fir'd,
Shall of thy Kingdom speak;
And thy great pow'r, by all admir'd,
Their lofty subject make.
4 Thy stedfast throne, from changes free,
Shall stand for ever fast;
Thy boundless sway no end shall see,
But time itself outlast.
ET every tongue thy goodness speak,
Thou Sov'reign Lord of All;
Thy strength'ning hands uphold the weak,
And raise the poor that fall.
2 With longing eyes thy creatures wait
On Thee for daily food;
Thy lib'ral hand provides their meat,
And fills their mouths with good.
3 The Lord supports our infant days,
And guides our giddy youth;
Holy and just are all thy ways,
And all thy words are truth.
4 Thou know'st the pains thy servants feel,
Thou hear'st thy children cry;
And, their best wishes to fulfil,
Thy grace is ever nigh.
5 Thy mercy never shall remove
From men of heart sincere;
Thou sav'st the souls whose humble love
Is join'd with holy fear.
6 My lips shall dwell upon thy praise,
And spread thy fame abroad;
Let all the sons of Adam raise
The honours of their God.
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