And lays, as in a storehouse, safe,
The wat'ry treasures by.
5 Let earth, and all that dwell therein,
Before him, trembling, stand;
For when he spake the word, 'twas made;
"Twas fix'd at his command.
6 Whate'er the mighty Lord decrees,
Shall stand forever sure:
The settled purpose of his heart
To ages shall endure.
PSALM V.
SECOND METRE.
The 93d of David.
1 WITH glory clad, with strength array'd,
The Bord, that o'er all nature reigns,
The world's foundations strongly laid,
And the vast fabrick still sustains.
2 How surely 'stablish'd is thy throne?
Which will no change or period see;
For thou, O Lord, and thou alone,
Art God from all eternity.
3 The floods, O Lord, lift up their voice,
And toss the troubled waves on high;
But God above can still their noise,
And make the angry sea comply.
4 Thy promise, Lord, is ever sure:
And they that in thy house would dwell, That happy station to secure, Must still in holiness excel.
PSALM VI.
From the 95th of David.
1 O COME, loud anthems let us sing; Loud thanks to our Almighty King :
For we our voices high should raise, When our salvation's Rock we praise. 2 Into his presence let us haste,
To thank him for his favours past :
To him address, in joyful songs,
The praise that to his name belongs.
5 For God, the Lord, enthron'd in state,
Is, with unrival'd glory, great;
A King, superior far, to all,
Whom by his title, God, we call.
The depths of earth are in his hand,
Her secret wealth at his command;
The strength of hills, that threat the skies,
Subjected to his empire lies.
5 The rolling ocean's vast abyss,
By the same sov'reign right, is his;
'Tis mov'd by his almighty hand,
Who form'd and fix'd the solid land.
6 O let us to his courts repair,
And bow with adoration there;
Down on our knees, devoutly, all,
Before the Lord, our maker, fall.
PSALM VII.
The 100th of David.
1 WITH one consent, let all the earth To God their cheerful voices raise, Glad homage pay, with awful mirth, And sing before him songs of praise. 2 Convine'd that he is God alone,
From whom both we and all proceed; We, whom he chooses for his own,
The flock which he vouchsafes to feed.
3 O enter then his temple gate,
Thence to his courts devoutly press;
And still your grateful hymns repeat,
And still his name with praises bless.
4 For he's the Lord supremely good;
His mercy is forever sure;
His truth, which all times firmly stood,
To endless ages shall endure.
PSALM VIII.
From the 104th of David.
1 BLESS God, my soul! Thou, Lord alone,
Possessest empire without bounds;
With honour thou art crown'd; thy throne
Eternal majesty surrounds.
2 With light thou dost thyself enrobe,
And glory for a garment take;
Heav'n's curtains stretch beyond the globe,
Thy canopy of state to make.
3 God builds on liquid air, and forms
His palace chambers in the skies;
The clouds his chariots are, and storms
The swift-wing'd steeds with which he flies.
4 As bright as flame, as swift as wind,
His ministers heav'n's palace fill,
To have their sundry tasks assign'd;
All proud to serve their sov'reign's will.
5 Earth on her centre fix'd he set,
Her face with water overspread;
Nor proudest mountains dar'd, as yet
To lift above the waves their head.
But when thy awful face appear'd,
Th' insulting waves dispers'd; they fled, When once thy thunder's voice they heard, And by their haste confess'd their dread.
7 Thence up by secret tracks they creep,
And, gushing from the mountains side,
Through vallies travel to the deep
Appointed to receive their tide.
8 There hast thou fix'd the ocean's bounds,
The threat'ning surges to repel ;
That they no more o'erpass their mounds,
Nor to a second deluge swell.
9 Yet thence in smaller parties drawn,
The sea recovers her lost hills;
And starting springs, from ev'ry lawn,
Surprise the vales with plenteous rills.
10 The field's tame beasts are thither led,
Weary with labour, faint with drought;
And asses, on wild mountains bred,
Have sense to find these currents out.
There shady trees from scorching beams,
Yield shelter to the feather'd throng;
They drink, and to the bounteous streams.
Return the tribute of their song.
2 His rains from heav'n parch'd hills recruit,.
That soon transmit the liquid store;
Till earth is burden'd with her fruit,
And nature's lap can hold no more..
13 Grass for our cattle to devour,
He makes the growth of every field
Herbs, for man's use, of various pow'r,
That either food or physic yield.
14 With cluster'd grapes he crowns the vine,
To cheer man's heart, oppress'd with cares :
Gives oil, that makes his face to shine;
And corn, that wasted strength repairs.
15 The trees of God, without the care
Or art of man, with sap are fed;
The mountain cedar looks as fair,
As those in royal gardens bred.
16 Safe in the lofty cedar's arms
The wand'rers of the air may rest; The hospitable pine from harm Protects the stork, her pious guests.
17 Wild goats the craggy rock ascend, Its tow'ring heights their fortress make, Whose cells in labyrinths extend,
Where feebler creatures refuge take. 18 The moon's inconstant aspect shows Th' appointed seasons of the year; Th' instructed sun his duty knows, His hours to rise and disappear.
19 Darkness he makes the earth to shroud, When forest-beasts securely stray; Young lions roar their wants aloud
To Providents that sends them prey.
20 They range all night, on slaughter bent,
Till, summon'd by the rising morn
To skulk in dens, with one consent,
The conscious ravagers return.
21 Forth to the tillage of his soil
The husbandman securely goes,
Commencing with the sun his toil,
With him returns to his repose.
22 How various, Lord, thy works are found!
For which thy wisdom we adore!
The earth is with thy treasure crown'd,
Till nature's hand can grasp no more.
23 But still the vast unfathom❜d main
Of wonders a new scene supplies,
Whose depths inhabitants contain
Of ev'ry form and ev'ry size.
24 Full freighted ships, from ev'ry port,
There cut their unmolested way:
Leviathan, whom there to sport
Thou mad'st his compass there to play.
25 These various troops of sea and land,
In sense of common want agree;
All wait on thy dispensing hand,
And have their daily alms from thee.
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