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Bin the United States of thon, this sth day of Octobe, ia

Y the Bishops, the Clergy, and the Laity of the Protestant Episcopal Church

the

year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-nine

This Translation of the Whole Book of Psalms into Metre, with Hymns i set forth, and allowed to be sung in all Congregations of the said Church, before and after Morning and Evening Prayer, and also before and after Sermons, the discretion of the Minister.

And it shall be the duty of every Minister of any Church, either by standing directions, or from time to time, to appoint the Portions of Psalms which are t

be sung.

And further, it shall be the duty of every Minister, with such assistance as h can obtain from persons skilled in music, to give order concerning the Tunes be sung, at any time, in his Church: And, especially, it shall be his duty to su press all light and unseemly music, and all indecency and irreverence in th performance; by which vain and ungodly persons profane the service of t

Sanctuary.

THE

PSALMS OF DAVID, IN METRE.

PSALM 1.

TOW blest is he, who ne'er consents
By ill advice to walk,

or stands in sinners' ways, nor sits
Where men profanely talk;

But makes the perfect law of God
His business and delight;
evoutly reads therein by day,
And meditates by night.

stall

Like some fair tree, which fed by
streams,

With timely fruit does bend,
e still shall flourish, and success
All his designs attend.

Ungodly men, and their attempts,
No lasting root shall find;
ntimely blasted, and dispers'd
Like chaff before the wind.
Their guilt shall strike the wicked
dumb

Before their Judge's face:

o formal bypocrite shall then
Among the saints have place.
For God approves the just man's ways;
To happiness they tend:

it sinners, and the paths they tread,
Shall both in ruin end.

PSALM II.

WITH restless and ungovern'd rage,

Why do the heathen storm?
hy in such rash attempts engage,
As they can ne'er perform?
The great in council and in might
Their various forces bring;
gainst the Lord they all unite,
And his anointed King.
Must we submit to their commands?"
Presumptuously they say:

To, let us break their slavish bands,
'And cast their chains away.'
But God, who sits enthron'd on high,
And sees how they combine,
bes their conspiring strength defy,
And mocks their vain design.
Thick clouds of wrath divine

break

shall

On his rebellious foes;
nd thus will he in thunder speak
To all that dare oppose:
Though madly you dispute my will,
The King that I ordain,
Whose throne is fix'd on Sion's hill,
'Shall there securely reign.'
Attend, O earth, whilst I declare
God's uncontroll'd decree :

'Thou art my Son; this day, my heir, 'Have I begotten thee.

8Ask, and receive thy full demands; "Thine shall the heathen be;

The utmost limits of the lands

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Shall be possess'd by thee.

9 Thy threat'ning sceptre thou shalt
shake,

And crush them every where;
'As massy bars of iron break
'The potter's brittle ware.'

10 Learn then, ye princes; and give ear,
Ye judges of the earth;

11 Worship the Lord with holy fear;
Rejoice with awful mirth.

12 Appease the Son with due respect,
Your timely homage pay;
Lest he revenge the bold neglect,
Incens'd by your delay.

18 If but in part his anger rise,
Who can endure the flame?
Then blest are they, whose hope relies
On his most holy name.

PSALM III.

TOW many, Lord, of late are grown
The troublers of my peace!

And as their numbers hourly rise,
So does their rage increase.
2 Insulting, they my soul upbraid,
And him whom I adore;

'The God in whom he trusts,' say they,
'Shall rescue him no more.'

3 But thou, O Lord, art my defence;
On thee my hopes rely;
Thou art my glory, and shall yet
Lift up my head on high.

4 Since whensoe'er, in like distress,
To God I made my pray'r,
He heard me from his holy hill;
Why should I now despair?
5 Guarded by him, I laid me down,
My sweet repose to take;
For I through him securely sleep,
Through him in safety wake.
6 No force nor fury of my foes
My courage shall confound,
Were they as many hosts as men,
That have beset me round.
7 Arise, and save me, O my God,
Who oft hast own'd my cause,
And scatter'd oft these foes to me,
And to thy righteous laws.
8 Salvation to the Lord belongs;
He only can defend:
His blessings he extends to all
That on his pow'r depend.

PSALM IV.

LORD, thouart my righteous Judge,
To my complaint give ear:
Thou still redeem'st me from distress;
Have mercy, Lord, and hear.
2 How long will ye, O sons of men,
To blot my fame devise?
How long your vain designs pursue,
And spread malicious lies?"

8 Consider that the righteous man
Is God's peculiar choice;
And when to him I make my pray❜r,
He always hears my voice.
4 Then stand in awe of his commands,
Flee every thing that's ill,
Commune in private with your hearts,
And bend them to his will.

5 The place of other sacrifice
Let righteousness supply;
And let your hope, securely fix'd,
On God alone rely.

6 While worldly minds impatient grow
More prosp'rous times to see;
Still let the glories of thy face

Shine brightly, Lord, on me.

7 So shall my heart o'erflow with joy,
More lasting and more true
Than theirs, who stores of corn and wine
Successively renew.

8 Then down in peace I'll lay my head,
And take my needful rest;
No other guard, O Lord, I crave,
Of thy defence possess'd.

PSALM V.

LORD, hear the voice of my complaint,

Accept my secret prayer;

2 To thee alone, my King, my God, Will I for help repair.

19 Their mouth vents nothing but deceit; Their heart is set on wrong;

3 Thou in the morn my voice shalt hear, And with the dawning day

To thee devoutly I'll look up,

To thee devoutly pray.

4 For thou the wrongs that I sustain
Can'st never, Lord, approve,
Who from thy sacred dwelling-place
All evil dost remove.

5 Not long shall stubborn fools remain
Unpunish'd in thy view;

All such as act unrighteous things
Thy vengeance shall pursue.

6 The sland'ring tongue, O God of truth,
By thee shall be destroy'd,
Who hat'st alike the man in blood
And in deceit employ'd.

7 But when thy boundless grace shall me
To thy lov'd courts restore,

On thee I'll fix my longing eyes,
And humbly thee adore.

8 Conduct me by thy righteous laws,
For watchful is my foe;

Therefore, O Lord, make plain the way
Wherein I ought to go.

Their throat is a devouring grave;

10 By their own counsels let them fall
They flatter with their tongue.
Oppress'd with loads of sin;
For they against thy righteous laws
Have harden'd rebels been.
11 But let all those who trust in thee,
With shouts their joy proclaim;
Let them rejoice whom thou preserv'st
And all that love thy name.
12 To righteous men, the righteous Lord
And with his favour all his saints,
His blessing will extend;
As with a shield, defend.

PSALM VI.

Tndspare a wretch forlorn;
THY dreadful anger, Lord, restrai
Correct me not in thy fierce wrath,
Too heavy to be borne.

2 Have mercy, Lord; for I grow faint,
Unable to endure

The anguish of my aching bones,
Which thou alone canst cure.
3 My tortur'd flesh distracts my mind,
And fills my soul with grief;
But, Lord, how long wilt thou delay
To grant me thy relief?
4 Thy wonted goodness, Lord, repeat,
And ease my troubled soul;
Lord, for thy wondrous mercy's sake,
Vouchsafe to make me whole.
5 For after death no more can I
Thy glorious acts proclaim,
No pris'ner of the silent grave
Can magnify thy name.
6 Quite tir'd with pain, with groaning
faint,

No hope of ease I see;
The night, that quiets common griefs
Is spent in tears by me.
7 My beauty fades, my sight grows din
My eyes with weakness close;
Old age o'ertakes me, whilst I think
8 Depart, ye wicked; in my wrongs
On my insulting foes.
Ye shall no more rejoice;
For God, I find, accepts my tears,
9, 10 He hears, and grants my humble
And listens to my voice.

prayer;

And they that wish my fall, Shall blush and rage to see that God Protects me from them all.

PSALM VII.

LORD my God, since I have pla My trust alone in thee, From all my persecutors' rage Do thou deliver me.

To save me from my threat'ning foe, 12 And yet thou mak'st the infant tongue

Lord, interpose thy power; est, like a savage lion, he My helpless soul devour. 4 If I am guilty, or did e'er Against his peace combine; ay, if I had not spared his life, Who sought unjustly mine; Let then to persecuting foes My soul become a prey;

et them to earth tread down my life,
In dust my honour lay.

Arise, and let thine anger, Lord,
In my defence engage;
xalt thyself above my foes,
And their insulting rage:
wake, awake, in my behalf,
The judgment to dispense,

hich thou hast righteously ordain'd
For injur'd innocence.

So to thy throne, adoring crowds
Shall still for justice fly:

! therefore, for their sake, resume
Thy judgment-seat on high.
Impartial judge of all the world,
I trust my cause to thee;
cording to my just deserts,
So let thy sentence be.

Let wicked arts and wicked men
Together be o'erthrown;

t guard the just, thou God, to whom
The hearts of both are known.
11 God me protects, not only me,
But all of upright heart;

daily lays up wrath for those
Who from his laws depart.
If they persist, he whets his sword,
His bow stands ready bent;

Ev'n now, with swift destruction
wing'd,

His pointed shafts are sent.

The plots are fruitless which my foe
Unjustly did conceive;

The pit he digg'd for me, has prov'd
His own untimely grave.

Thy boundless praise declare. Through thee the weak confound the

strong,

And crush their haughty foes;

And so thou quell'st the wicked throng
That thee and thine oppose.

3 When heaven, thy beauteous work on
high,

Employs my wond'ring sight;
The moon, that nightly rules the sky,
With stars of feebler light;

4 What's man, say I, that, Lord, thou
lov'st

On his own head his spite returns,
Whilst I from harm am free;
n him the violence is fall'n,
Which he design'd for me.
Therefore will I the righteous ways
Of providence proclaim;

ll sing the praise of God most high,
And celebrate his name.

PSALM VIII.

To keep him in thy mind?

Or what his offspring, that thou prov'st
To them so wondrous kind?

5 Him next in pow'r thou didst create
To thy celestial train;

6 Ordain'd, with dignity and state,
O'er all thy works to reign.

THOU, to whom all creatures bow Within this earthly frame, hrough all the world how great

thou!

How glorious is thy name!

art

7 They jointly own his powerful sway;
The beasts that prey or graze;

8 The bird that wings its airy way;
The fish that cuts the seas.

9 O Thou, to whom all creatures bow
Within this earthly frame,

Through all the world how great art

thou!

How glorious is thy name!

PSALM IX.

10 celebrate thy praise, O Lord,
I will my heart prepare;
To all the list'ning world, thy works,
Thy wondrous works declare.
2 The thought of them shall to my sout
Exalted pleasures bring;

Whilst to thy name, O thou Most High,
Triumphant praise I sing.

3 Thou mad'st my haughty foes to turn
Their backs in shameful flight:
Struck with thy presence, down they fell,
They perish'd at thy sight.

4 Against insulting foes advanc'd,
Thou didst my cause maintain;
My right asserting from thy throne,
Where truth and justice reign.
5 The insolence of heathen pride

Thou hast reduc'd to shame;
Their wicked offspring quite destroy'd
And blotted out their name.

6 Mistaken foes, your haughty threats
Are to a period come;

Our city stands, which you design'd

To make our common tomb.
7, 8 The Lord for ever lives, who has
His righteous throne prepar'd,
Impartial justice to dispense,
To punish or reward.

n heaven thy wondrous acts are sung, 9 God is a constant sure defence

Nor fully reckon'd there;

Against oppressing rage;

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12 When he inquiry makes for blood,
He'll call the poor to mind:
The injur'd humble man's complaint
Relief from him shall find.
13 Take pity on my troubles, Lord,
Which spiteful foes create,
Thou that hast rescu'd me so oft
From death's devouring gate.
14 In Sion then I'll sing thy praise,
To all that love thy name;
And, with loud shouts of grateful joy,
Thy saving power proclaim.
15 Deep in the pit they digg'd for me,
The heathen pride is laid;
Their guilty feet to their own snare
Are heedlessly betray'd.

16 Thus, by the just returns he makes,
The mighty Lord is known;
While wicked men by their own plots,
Are shamefully o'erthrown.
17 No single sinner shall escape,
By privacy obscur'd;

Nor nation, from his just revenge,

By numbers be secur'd.

13 His suff'ring saints, when most distress'd,

He ne'er forgets to aid;
Their expectations shall be crown'd,
Though for a time delay'd.
19 Arise, O Lord, assert thy power,
And let not man o'ercome;
Descend to judgment, and pronounce
The guilty heathen's doom.

20 Strike terror through the nations round,

Till, by consenting fear,

They to each other, and themselves,
But mortal men appear.

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And sordid wretches, whom God hates, Perversely they commend. 4 To own a power above themselves, Their haughty príde disdains; And therefore in their stubborn mind No thought of God remains.. 5 Oppressive methods they pursue, And all their foes they slight; Because thy judgments unobserv'd, Are far above their sight. 6 They fondly think their prosp'rou state

Shall unmolested be; They think their vain designs shall thrive,

From all misfortunes free.
7 Vain and deceitful is their speech,
With curses fill'd, and lies;
By which the mischief of their heart
They study to disguise.

8 Near public roads they lie conceald,
And all their art employ,
The innocent and poor at once
To rifle and destroy.

9 Not lions, couching in their dens,
Surprise their heedless prey
With greater cunning, or express
More savage rage than they.
10 Sometimes they act the harmless man,
And modest looks they wear;
That so deceiv'd, the poor may less
Their sudden onset fear.

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Impartially dost try;

The orphan; therefore, and the poor,
On thee for aid rely.

15 Defenceless let the wicked fall,

Of all their strength bereft; Confound, O God, their dark designs, Till no remains are left. 16 Assert thy just dominion, Lord, Which shall for ever stand; Thou who the heathen didst expel From this thy chosen land. 17 Thou hear'st the humble supplicant That to thy throne repair; Thou first prepar'st their hearts to pra And then accept'st their prayer.

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