Sivut kuvina
PDF
ePub
[ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small]

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

Nor 'ands in sinners' ways, nor sits
Where men protanely talk,

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

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.

3 Like some fair tree, which, fed by 12 Appease the Son with due respect,

streams,

[blocks in formation]

On his rebellious foes;

And thus will he in thunder speak

To all that dare oppose :

6 "Though madly you dispute my will "The King that I ordain, "Whose throne is fix'd on Sion's hill, "Shall there securely reign." 7 Attend, O earth, whilst declare

God's uncontroll'd decree: "Thou art my Son, this day, my heir, "Have I begotten thee.

Ask, and receive thy full demands; "Thine shall the heathen be; "The utmost limits of the lands "Shall be possess'd by thee.

Your timely homage pay:
Lest he revenge the bold neglect
Incens'd by your delay.

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

PSALM III.

HOW 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 prayer,
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 steep,
Through him in safety wake.

6 No for e 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 scattered oft these foes to me,
And to thy righteous laws.
Я Salvation to the Lord belongs;
He only can defend

His blessings he extends to all
That on his power depend.
PSALM IV.

LORD, thou art 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 blo. ny fame devise?
How long your vain designs pursue,
And spread malicious lies ?
3 Consider that the righteous man
Is God's peculiar choice;
And when to him I make my prayer,
He always hears my voice.

4

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'h lay my head,
And take my needful rest;
No other guard, O Lord, I crave,
Of thy defence possess'd.

[ocr errors]

PSALM V.

ORD, hear the voice of my complaint,
Accept my secret prayer;

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

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
Canst 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 thin
Thy vengeance shall pursue.

6 The slandering tongue, O God of truth,
By thee shall be destroyed,
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.

9 Their mouth vents nothing but deceit;
Their heart is set on wrong;
Their throat is a devouring grave;
They flatter with their tongue.
10 By their own counsels let them fall
Oppress'd with loads of sin;
For they agamst 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
His blessing will extend;
And with his favour all his saints,
As with a shield, defend.

PSALM VI.

THY dreadful anger, Lord, restrain,
And spare a wretch forlorn;

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'ners of the silent grave
Can magnify thy name.

6 Quite ur'd with pain, with groaning
No hope of ease l'see;
[fail
The night, that quiets common griefs,
Is spent in tears by me.

7 My beauty fades, my sight grows dim,
My eyes with weakness close;
Old age o'ertakes me, whilst I think
On my insulting foes.

8 Depart. ye wicked: in my wrongs
Ye shall no more rejoice;
For God, I find, accepts my tears,
And listens to my voice

9, 10 He hears, and grants my humble

[blocks in formation]

PSALM VII.

LORD my God, since I have plac'd
My trust alone in thee,

From all my persecutors rage
Do thou deliver me

2 To save me from my threat'ning foe,
Lord, interpose thy power;
Lest, like a savage lion, he

My helpless soul devour.
3, 4 If I am guilty, or did e'er
Against his peace combine;
Nay, if I had not spar'd his life,
Who sought unjustly mine;
5 Let then to persecuting foes

My soul become a prey;
Let them to earth tread down my life,
In dust my honour lay.
6 Arise, and let thine anger, Lord,
In my defence engage;
Exalt thyself above my foes,
And their insulting rage:
Awake, awake, in my behalf,
The judgment to dispense,
Which thou hast righteously ordain'd
For injured innocence.

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

Oh therefore, for their sake, resume
Thy judgment-seat on high.

8 Impartial Judge of all the world,
I trust my cause to thee;
According to my just deserts,
So let thy sentence be.

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

But guard the just, thou God, to whom The hearts of both are known.

10, 11 God me protects, not only me,
But all of upright heart;
And daily lays up wrath for those
Who from his laws depart.

12 If they persist, he whets his sword, His bow stands ready bent;

13 Ev'n now, with swift destruction His pointed shafts are sent. [wing'd, 14 The plots are fruitless which my foe Unjustly did conceive;

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

16 On his own head his spite returns,
Whilst from harm ani free:
On him the violence is fall'n,

Which he design'd for me.
17 Therefore will I the righteous ways
Of Providence proclaim;
I'll sing the praise of God most high,
And celebrate his name

[ocr errors][merged small][merged small]

strong.

And crush their naughty toes; And so thou quell'st the wicked throng, That thee and thine oppose.

3 When heaven, thy beauteous work on Employs my wond'ring sight: [high, The moon, that nightly rules the sky, With stars of feebler light;

4 What's man, say 1, that, Lord, thou
To keep him in thy mind? [lov'st
Or what his offspring, that thou prov'st
To them so wondrous kind?

Him next in power thou didst create
To thy celestial train;

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

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
How glorious is thy name!
PSALM IX.

[thou!

celebrate thy praise, O Lord,

Twill my heart prepare;

To all the list'ning world, thy works,
Thy wondrous works declare.

2 The thought of them shall to my soul
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 shamefl fight:
Struck with thy presence down they fell,
They perish'd at thy sight

4 Against insulting foes advanc'd,
Thou didst my cause maintam;

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.

9 God is a constant sure defence
Against oppressing rage;

As troubles rise, his needful aids in our behalf engage.

10 All those who have his goodness Will in his truth confide; [prov'd Whose mercy ne'er forsook the man That on his help rely'd

11 Sing praises therefore to the Lord,
From Sion, his abode ;

Proclaim his deeds, till all the world
Confess no other God.

PART II.

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 return he makes,
The mighty Lord is known;
While wicked men by their own plots,
Are shamefully o'erthrown.
17 No single siner shall escape,
By privacy obscur'd;
Nor nation, from his just revenge,

By numbers be secur'd.

18 His suff 'ring saints, when most disHe ne'er forgets to aid; [tress'd, 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 Till, by consenting fear,

[round,

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

[blocks in formation]

2 The wicked, swell'd with lawless pride,
Have made the poor their prey;"
O let them fall by those designs
Which they for others lay

3 For straight they triumph, if success
Their thriving crimes atiend
And sordid wretches, whom God hates,
Perversely they commend.

4 To own a power above themselves,
Their haughty pride 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'rous Shall unmolested be;

[state

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 conceal'd.
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.
PART II

11 For God, they think, no notice takes
Of their unrighteous deeds;
He never minds the suff'ring poor,
Nor their oppression heeds.

12 But thou, O Lord, at length arise,
Stretch forth thy mighty arm;
And, by the greatness of thy power,
Defend the poor from harm.
13 No longer let the wicked vaunt,
And, proudly boasting, say,
"Tush, God regards not what we do;
"He never will repay."

14 But sure thou seest, and all their Impartially dost try:

[deeds

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

15 Defenceless let the wicked fall,

Of all their strength bereft; Confound, 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 supplicants That to thy throne repair;

Thou first prepar'st their hearts to pray. And then accept 'st their prayer 18 Thou, in thy righteous judgment,

[blocks in formation]
[ocr errors]

PSALM XI.

INCE I have plac'd my trust in God,
A refuge always nigh,

Why should I like a um'rous bird,
To distant mountains fly?

2 Behold, the wicked bend their bow,
And ready fix their dart,
Lurking in ambush to destroy
The men of upright heart.
3 When once the firm assurance fails,
Which public faith imparts,
"Tis time for innocence to fly

From such deceitful arts.

4 The Lord hath both a temple here,
And righteous throne above;
Where he surveys the sons of men,
And how their councils move.

5 If God the righteous, whom he loves, For trial does correct,

What must the sous of violence,

Whom he abhors, expect?

6 Snares, fire, and brimstone, on their
Shall in one tempest shower; [heads
This dreadful mixture his revenge
Into their cup shall pour.

[deeds

7 The righteous Lord will righteous
With signal favour grace,
And to the u, right man disclose
The brightness of his face.
PSALM X11

SINCE men decad
INCE godly men decay, O Lord,

For scarce these wretched times afford
One just and faithful friend.

2 One neighbour now can scarce believe What t'other does impart

With flatt'ring lips they all deceive,
And with a double heart.

3 But lips that with deceit abound
Can never prosper long;
God's righteous vengeance will confound
The proud blaspheming tongue

4 In vain those foolish boasters say,
"Our tongues are sure our own;
With doubtful words we'll still betray,
And be controll'd by none."

5 For God, who hears the suff'ring poor,
And their oppression knows.
Will soon arise and give them rest,
In spite of all their foes.

6 The word of God shall still abide,
And void of falsehood be,

As is the silver, sev 'n times try 'd,
From drossy mixture free.
7 The promise of his aiding grace
Shall reach its purpos'd end;
His servants from this faithless race
He ever shall defend

8 Then shall the wicked be perplex'd,
Nor know which way to fly;
When those whom they despis'd and
Shall be advanc'd on high [vex'd

[blocks in formation]

How long my enemies insult,

And I have no redress?
3 Oh hear, and to my longing eyes
Restore thy wonted light,"
And suddenly, or i shall sleep
In everlasting night.

4 Restore me. Test they proudly boast
"Twas their own strength o'ercame ;
Permit not them that vex my soul
To triumph in my shame.

5 Since I have always plac'd my trust
Beneath thy mercy's wing,
Thy saving health will come; and then
My heart with joy shall spring.

6 Then shall my song, with praise in-
To thee my God ascend,
[spir'd,
Who to thy servant in distress
Such bounty didst extend.
PSALM XIV.

URE wicked fools must needs sup

SURE

pose,

That God is nothing but a name; Corrupt and lewd their practice grows; No breast is warm'd with holy flame. 2 The Lord look'd down from Heaven's high tower,

And all the sons of men did view,
To see if any own'd his power;
If any truth or justice knew
3 But all, he saw, were gone aside,
All were degen'rate grown and base;
None took religion for their guide,
Not one of all the sinful race.
4 Bit can these workers of decent

Be all so dull and senseless grown,
That they, like bread, my people eat,
And God's almighty power disown?
5 How will they tremble then for fear,
When his just wrath shall them o'er-
For to the righteous, God is near, [take?
And never will their cause forsake.
6 Il men, in vain, with scorn expose
Those methods which the good pursue;
Since God a refuge is for those

Whom his just eyes with favour view. 7 Would he his saving power employ To break his people's servile band," Then shouts of universal loy

Should loudly echo through the land.
PSALM XV

Les courts repair,
ORD, who's the happy man that may

Not stranger-like, to visit them,
But to inhabit there ?

2 'Tis he, whose every thought and deed
By rules of virtue moves
Whose gen'rous tongue disdains to speak
The thing his heart disproves.
3 Who never did a slander forge,
His neighbour's fame to wound:
Nor hearken to a false report,
By malice whisper d round.

4 Who vice in all its pomp and power,
Can treat with just neglect;
And piety, though clothed in rags,
Religiously respect.

5 Who to his plighted vows and trust
Has ever firmly stood;
And though he promise to his loss,
He makes his promise good.

[blocks in formation]

PR

PSALM XVI.

ROTECT me from my cruel foes, And shield me, Lord, from harm; Because my trust I still repose

On thy Almighty arm

2 My soul all help but thine does slight,
All gods but thee disown;
Yet can no deeds of mine requite
The goodness thou hast shown.
3 But those that strictly virtuous are,
And love the thing that's right,
To favour always, and prefer,"
Shall be my chief delight.

4 How shall their sorrows be increas'd,
Who other gods adore!
Their bloody offerings I detest,
Their very names abhor.

5 My lot is fall'n in that blest land
Where God is truly known:
He fills my cup with lib'ral hand,
'Tis he supports my throne.
6 In nature's most delightful scene
My happy portion lies;
The place of my appointed reign
All other lands outvies

7 Therefore my soul shall bless the Lord
Whose precepts give me light;
And private counsel still afford
In sorrow's dismal night.

8 I strive each action to approve
To his all-seeing eye;

No danger shall my hopes remove,

Because he still is nigh

9 Therefore my heart all grief defies,
My glory does rejoice;
My flesh shall rest. in hope to rise,
Wak'd by his powerful voice.

10 Thou. Lord, when I resign my breath,
My soul from hell shalt free;
Nor let thy Holy One in death

The least corruption see.

11 Tho shalt the paths of life display,
Which to thy presence lead;
Where pleasures dwell without allay,
And joys that never fade.

[blocks in formation]
« EdellinenJatka »