2 Wilt thou forsake my hoary hairs,

And leave my fainting heart? Who shall sustain my sinking years, If God my strength depart?

3 Let me thy power and truth proclaim To the surviving age,

And leave a savour of thy name
When I shall quit the stage.

4 The land of silence and of death

Attends my next remove;

O may these poor remains of breath
Teach the wide world thy love.

PAUSE.

5 Thy righteousness is deep and high,
Unsearchable thy deeds;
Thy glory spreads beyond the sky,
And all my praise exceeds.

6 Oft have I heard thy threatenings roar, And oft endured the grief;

But when thy hand has prest me sore,
Thy grace was my relief.

7 By long experience have I known
Thy sovereign power to save;
At thy command I venture down
Securely to the grave.

8 When I lie buried deep in dust,
My flesh shall be thy care;

1

These withering limbs with thee I trust,
To raise them strong and fair.

PSALM 72. PART I. L. M.

The kingdom of Christ.

GREAT God, whose universal sway

The known and unknown worlds obey, Now give the kingdom to thy Son, Extend his power, exalt his throne. 2 Thy sceptre well becomes his hands, All heaven submits to his commands; His justice shall avenge the poor, And pride and rage prevail no more. 3 With power he vindicates the just, And treads the oppressor in the dust; His worship and his fear shall last Till hours and years and time be past. 4 As rain on meadows newly mown, So shall he send his influence down; His grace on fainting souls distils, Like heavenly dew on thirsty hills. 5 The heathen lands that lie beneath The shades of overspreading death, Revive at his first dawning light, And deserts blossom at the sight. 6 The saints shall flourish in his days, Drest in the robes of joy and praise; Peace like a river from his throne Shall flow to nations yet unknown.

PSALM 72. PART II. L. M.
Christ's kingdom among the Gentiles.
sun

Does his successive journeys run;
His kingdom stretch from shore to shore,
Till moons shall wax and wane no more.
2 [Behold the islands with their kings,
And Europe her best tribute brings;
From north to south the princes meet,
To pay their homage at his feet.
3 There Persia glorious to behold,
There India shines in eastern gold:
And barbarous nations at his word
Submit, and bow, and own their Lord.]
4 For him shall endless prayer be made,
And praises throng to crown his head;
His name like sweet perfume shall rise
With every morning sacrifice.

5 People and realms of every tongue
Dwell on his love with sweetest song;
And infant voices shall proclaim
Their early blessings on his name.

6 Blessings abound where'er he reigns, The prisoner leaps to lose his chains, The weary find eternal rest,

And all the sons of want are blest.

7 [Where he displays his healing power
Death and the curse are known no more;
In him the tribes of Adam boast
More blessings than their father lost.
8 Let every creature rise, and bring
Peculiar honours to our King;
Angels descend with songs again,
And earth repeat the long Amen.]

PSALM 73. PART I. C. M. Afflicted saints happy, and prosperous sinners cursed.

NOW I'm convinced the Lord is kind

To men of heart sincere,

Yet once my foolish thoughts repined,
And bordered on despair.

2 I grieved to see the wicked thrive,
And spoke with angry breath,
'How pleasant and profane they live!
How peaceful is their death!

3 With well-fed flesh and haughty eyes
They lay their fears to sleep;
'Against the heavens their slanders rise,
While saints in silence weep.

4 In vain I lift my hands to pray,
And cleanse my heart in vain,
For I am chastened all the day,
⚫ The night renews my pain.'

5 Yet while my tongue indulged complaints, I felt my heart reprove;

Sure I shall thus offend thy saints,

And grieve the men I love.'

6 But still I found my doubts too hard,
The conflict too severe,

Till I retired to search thy word,
And learn thy secrets there.

7 There, as in some prophetic glass,
I saw the sinner's feet

High mounted on a slippery place,
Beside a fiery pit.

8 I heard the wretch profanely boast,
Till at thy frown he fell;

His honours in a dream were lost,
And he awakes in hell.

9 Lord, what an envious fool I was!
How like a thoughtless beast!
Thus to suspect thy promised grace,
And think the wicked blest.

10 Yet I was kept from full despair,
Upheld by power unknown;

That blessed hand that broke the snare
Shall guide me to thy throne.

PSALM 73. 23-28. PART II. C. M.
God our portion here and hereafter.
1OD my supporter and my hope,
My help for ever near,
Thine arm of mercy held me up
When sinking in despair.

2 Thy counsels, Lord, shall guide my feet Through this dark wilderness;

Thine hand conduct me near thy seat
To dwell before thy face.

3 Were I in heaven without my God,
'Twould be no joy to me;
And whilst this earth is my abode,
I long for none but thee."

4 What if the springs of life were broke,
And flesh and heart should faint?
God is my soul's eternal rock,
The strength of every saint.

5 Behold, the sinners that remove
Far from thy presence die;
Not all the idol gods they love
Can save them when they cry.

6 But to draw near to thee, my God,

1

Shall be my sweet employ; My tongue shall sound thy works abroad And tell the world my joy.

PSALM 73. 22, 3, 6, 17-20. L. M.

The prosperity of sinners cursed. LORD, what a thoughtless wretch was I,

To mourn, and murmur, and repine,
To see the wicked placed on high,
In pride and robes of honour shine!

2 But O their end, their dreadful end!
Thy sanctuary taught me so :
On slippery rocks [see them stand,
And fiery billows roll below.

3 Now let them boast how tall they rise,
I'll never envy them again;

There they may stand with haughty eyes, Till they plunge deep in endless pain. 4 Their fancied joys, how fast they flee! Just like a dream when man awakes; Their songs of softest harmony Are but a preface to their plagues. 5 Now I esteem their mirth and wine Too dear to purchase with my blood: Lord, 'tis enough that thou art mine, My life, my portion, and my God.

1

2

3

4

5

6

PSALM 73. S. M.

The mystery of Providence unfolded.
SURE there's a righteous God,

Nor is religion vain,

Though men of vice may boast aloud,
And men of grace complain.

I saw the wicked rise,

And felt my heart repine,

While haughty fools with scornful eyes
In robes of honour shine.

[Pampered with wanton ease,
Their flesh looks full and fair,
Their wealth rolls in like flowing seas,
And grows without their care.

Free from the plagues and pains
That pious souls endure,

Through all their life oppression reigns,
And racks the humble poor.

Their impious tongues blaspheme

The everlasting God;

Their malice blasts the good man's name, And spreads their lies abroad.

But I with flowing tears

Indulged my doubts to rise;

Is there a God that sees or hears
The things below the skies?']

7 The tumults of my thought

8

9

Held me in hard suspense,

Till to thy house my feet were brought
To learn thy justice thence.

Thy word with light and power
Did my mistakes amend;

I viewed the sinners' life before,
But here I learnt their end.

On what a slippery steep
The thoughtless wretches go!
And O that dreadful fiery deep
That waits their fall below!

10 Lord, at thy feet I bow,

1

My thoughts no more repine; I call my God my portion now, And all my powers are thine.

PSALM 74. C. M.

12 Think of the tribes so dearly bought With their Redeemer's blood; Nor let thy Zion be forgot,

Where once thy glory stood.

3 Lift up thy feet and march in haste, Aloud our ruin calls;

See what a wide and fearful waste

Is made within thy walls.

4 Where once thy churches prayed and sang, Thy foes profanely roar;

Over thy gates their ensigns hang,
Sad tokens of their power.

5 How are the seats of worship broke!
They tear the buildings down,
And he that deals the heaviest stroke
Procures the chief renown.

6 With flames they threaten to destroy
Thy children in their nest,
'Come let us burn at once (they cry)
The temple and the priest."

7 And still to heighten our distress,
Thy presence is withdrawn;
Thy wonted signs of power and grace,
Thy power and grace are gone.

8 No prophet speaks to calm our woes,
But all the seers mourn;

There's not a soul amongst us knows
The time of thy return.

PAUSE.

9 How long, eternal God, how long
Shall men of pride blaspheme?
Shall saints be made their endless song,
And bear immortal shame ?

10 Canst thou for ever sit, and hear
Thine holy name profaned?
And still thy jealousy forbear,
And still withhold thine hand?

11 What strange deliverance hast thou shown In ages long before!

And now no other God we own,

No other God adore.

12 Thou didst divide the raging sea

By thy resistless might,

To make thy tribes a wondrous way,
And then secure their flight.

13 Is not the world of nature thine,
The darkness and the day?
Didst thou not bid the morning shine,
And mark the sun his way?

14 Hath not thy power formed every coast, And set the earth its bounds,

With summer's heat and winter's frost,
In their perpetual rounds?

15 And shall the sons of earth and dust
That sacred power blaspheme?
Will not thy hand that formed them first,
Avenge thine injured name?

16 Think on the covenant thou hast made,
And all thy words of love;

Nor let the birds of prey invade
And vex thy mourning dove.

17 Our foes would triumph in our blood,
And make our hope their jest;
Plead thy own cause, almighty God!
And give thy children rest.

3 He from thy hand received his crown, And sware to rule by wholesome laws: His foot shall tread the oppressor down, His arm defend the righteous cause. 4 Let haughty sinners sink their pride, Nor lift so high their scornful head; But lay their foolish thoughts aside, And own the king that God hath made. 5 Such honours never come by chance, Nor do the winds promotion. blow; 'Tis God the Judge doth one advance, 'Tis God that lays another low. 6 No vain pretence to royal birth Shall fix a tyrant on the throne: God, the great Sovereign of the earth, Will rise and make his justice known. 7 [His hand holds out the dreadful cup Of vengeance, mixed with various plagues, To make the wicked drink them up, Wring out and taste the bitter dregs. 8 Now shall the Lord exalt the just, And while he tramples on the proud, And lays their glory in the dust, My lips shall sing his praise aloud.]

PSALM 76. C. M.

Israel saved, and the Assyrians destroyed; or, God's vengeance against his enemies proceeds from his church.

N Judah God of old was known;
His name in Israel great;

In Salem stood his holy throne,
And Sion was his seat.

2 Among the praises of his saints

His dwelling there he chose;

There he received their just complaints
Against their haughty foes.

3 From Zion went his dreadful word,
And broke the threatening spear;
The bow, the arrows, and the sword,
And crushed the Assyrian war.

4 What are the earth's wide kingdoms else
But mighty hills of prey?

The hill on which Jehovah dwells

Is glorious more than they.

5 'Twas Sion's King that stopped the breath Of captains and their bands:

The men of might slept fast in death,
And never found their hands.

6 At thy rebuke, O Jacob's God,

Both horse and chariot fell;
Who knows the terrors of thy rod?
Thy vengeance who can tell?

7 What power can stand before thy sight
When once thy wrath appears?
When heaven shines round with dreadful
The earth lies still and fears.

[light,

12 Sad were my days, and dark my nights,
My soul refused relief;

I thought on God the just and wise,
But thoughts increased my grief.
3 Still I complained, and still opprest,
My heart began to break;
My God, thy wrath forbid my rest,
And kept my eyes awake.
4 My overwhelming sorrows grew
Till I could speak no more:
Then I within myself withdrew,
And called thy judgments o'er.

5 I called back years and ancient times,
When I beheld thy face;
My spirit searched for secret crimes
That might withhold thy grace.

6 I called thy mercies to my mind,
Which I enjoyed before;

And will the Lord no more be kind?
His face appear no more?

7 Will he for ever cast me off?
His promise ever fail?

Has he forgot his tender love?
Shall anger still prevail?

8 But I forbid this hopeless thought,
This dark despairing frame,
Remembering what thy hand hath wrought,
Thy hand is still the same.

9 I'll think again of all thy ways;
And talk thy wonders o'er;
Thy wonders of recovering grace,
When flesh could hope no more.

10 Grace dwells with justice on the throne;
And men that love thy word

Have in thy sanctuary known
The counsels of the Lord.

PSALM 77. PART II. C. M.

Comfort derived from ancient providences; or, Israel delivered from Egypt, and brought to Canaan.

HOW awful is thy chastening rod !"
(May thine own children say,)
The great, the wise, the dreadful God!
How holy is his way!'

2 I'll meditate his works of old;
The King that reigns above;
I'll hear his ancient wonders told,
And learn to trust his love.

3 Long did the house of Joseph lie
With Egypt's yoke opprest:
Long he delayed to hear their cry,
Nor gave his people rest.

4 The sons of good old Jacob seemed
Abandoned to their foes;

But his almighty arm redeemed
The nation that he chose.

5 Israel, his people and his sheep,
Must follow where he calls;

He bid them venture through the deep,
And made the waves their walls.

6 The waters saw thee, mighty God!
The waters saw thee come:
Backward they fled, and frighted stood,
To make thine armies room.

7 Strange was thy journey through the sea,
Thy footsteps, Lord, unknown:
Terrors attend the wondrous way
That brings thy mercies down.

8 [Thy voice with terror in the sound
Through clouds and darkness broke;
All heaven in lightning shone around,
And earth with thunder shook.

9 Thine arrows through the skies were hurled; How glorious is the Lord!

Surprise and trembling seized the world,
And his own saints adored.

10 He gave them water from the rock;
And safe, by Moses' hand,
Through a dry desert led his flock
Honie to the promised land.]

PSALM 78. PART I. C. M. Providence of God recorded; or, Pious education and instruction of children.

ET children hear the mighty deeds
Which God performed of old,
Which in our younger years we saw,
And which our fathers told.

2 He bids us make his glories known,
His works of power and grace;
And we'll convey his wonders down
Through every rising race.

3 Our lips shall tell them to our sons,
And they again to theirs :
That generations yet unborn

May teach them to their heirs.

4 Thus shall they learn in God alone Their hope securely stands;

1

That they may ne'er forget his works,
But practise his commands.

PSALM 78. PART II. C. M.

Israel's rebellion and punishment; or, The
sins and chastisements of God's people.
WHAT a stiff rebellious house
Was Jacob's ancient race!
False to their own most solemn vows,
And to their Maker's grace.

2 They broke the covenant of his love,
And did his laws despise;
Forgot the works he wrought to prove
His power before their eyes.

3 They saw the plagues on Egypt light,
From his revenging hand:
What dreadful tokens of his might
Spread o'er the stubborn land!

4 They saw him cleave the mighty sea,
And marched in safety through,
With watery walls to guard their way,
Till they had 'scaped the foe.

5 A wondrous pillar marked the road,
Composed of shade and light:

By day it formed a sheltering cloud,
A leading fire by night.

6 He from the rock their thirst supplied; The gushing waters fell,

And ran in rivers by their side,

A constant miracle.

7 Yet they provoked the Lord most high, And dared distrust his hand,

Can he with bread our host supply

⚫ Amidst this desert land?'

8 The Lord with indignation heard,
And caused his wrath to flame;
His terrors ever stand prepared
To vindicate his name.

1

WE

WHEN Israel sins, the Lord reproves,
And fills their hearts with dread;
Yet he forgives the men he loves,
And sends them heavenly bread.

2 He fed them with a liberal hand,
And made his treasures known;
He gave the midnight clouds command
To pour provision down.

3 The manna, like a morning shower,
Lay thick around their feet;
The corn of heaven, so light, so pure,
As though 'twere angels' meat.

4 But they in murmuring language said,
Manna is all our feast;
'We loathe this light, this airy bread;
'We must have flesh to taste.'

15 Ye shall have flesh to please your lust,' The Lord in wrath replied,

And sent them quails like sand or dust,
Heaped up from side to side.

6 He gave them all their own desire,
And greedy as they fed,

His vengeance burnt with secret fire,
And smote the rebels dead.

7 When some were slain the rest returned,
And sought the Lord with tears;
Under the rod they feared and mourned,
But soon forgot their fears.

8 Oft he chastised, and still forgave,
Till by his gracious hand,
The nation he resolved to save,
Possessed the promised land.

1

PSALM 78. 32, &c. PART IV. L. M. Backsliding and forgiveness; or, Sin punished and saints saved.

REAT God, how oft did Israel prove

G By turns thine anger and thy love!

There in a glass our hearts may see
How fickle and how false they be.

2 How soon the faithless Jews forgot
The dreadful wonders God had wrought!
Then they provoke him to his face,
Nor fear his power, nor trust his grace.
3 The Lord consumed their years in pain,
And made their travels long and vain;

A tedious march through unknown ways Wore out their strength, and spent their days. 4 Oft when they saw their brethren slain, They mourned, and sought the Lord again; Called him the Rock of their abode, Their high Redeemer and their God. 5 Their prayers and vows before him rise As flattering words, or solemn lies, While their rebellious tempers prove False to his covenant and his love.

6 Yet did his sovereign grace forgive The men who not deserved to live; His anger oft away he turned,

Or else with gentle flame it burned.

7 He saw their flesh was weak and frail,
He saw temptation still prevail;
The God of Abraham loved them still,
And led them to his holy hill.

PSALM 80. L. M.

The church's prayer under affliction; or, The vineyard of God wasted.

1

GRAT Shepherd of thine Israel,

Who didst between the cherubs dwell, And lead the tribes, thy chosen sheep, Safe through the desert and the deep.

2 Thy church is in the desert now,

Shine from on high, and guide us through;
Turn us to thee, thy love restore,
We shall be saved, and sigh no more
3 Great God, whom heavenly hosts obey,
How long shall we lament and pray,
And wait in vain thy kind return?
How long shall thy fierce anger burn?
4 Instead of wine and cheerful bread,
Thy saints with their own tears are fed;
Turn us to thee, thy love restore,
We shall be saved, and sigh no more.
PAUSE I.

5 Hast thou not planted with thy hands
A lovely vine in heathen lands?
Did not thy power defend it round,
And heavenly dews enrich the ground?
6 How did the spreading branches shoot,
And bless the nations with the fruit!
But now, dear Lord, look down and see
Thy mourning vine, that lovely tree.
7 Why is its beauty thus defaced?
Why hast thou laid her fences waste?
Strangers and foes against her join,
And every beast devours the vine.

8 Return, almighty God, return,
Nor let thy bleeding vineyard mourn;
Turn us to thee, thy love restore,
We shall be saved, and sigh no more.
PAUSE II.

9 Lord, when this vine in Canaan grew,
Thou wast its strength and glory too;
Attacked in vain by all its foes,
Till the fair Branch of Promise rose;
10 Fair Branch, ordained of old to shoot
From David's stock, from Jacob's root;
Himself a noble vine, and we
The lesser branches of the tree.
11 'Tis thy own Son, and he shall stand
Girt with thy strength at thy right hand;
Thy first-born Son, adorned and blest
With power and grace above the rest.
12 O! for his sake attend our cry,

Shine on thy churches lest they die;
Turn us to thee, thy love restore,
We shall be saved, and sigh no more.

PSALM 81. 1, 8-16. S. M.

The warnings of God to his people; or, Spiritual blessings and punishments.

[2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Behold what cursed snares

The men of mischief spread:

The men that hate thy saints and thee,
Lift up their threatening head.

Against thy hidden ones
Their counsels they employ,

And malice, with her watchful eye,
Pursues them to destroy.

The noble and the base
Into thy pastures leap;
The lion and the stupid ass
Conspire to vex thy sheep.
'Come, let us join,' they cry,
To root them from the ground,

'Till not the name of saints remain,
'Nor memory shall be found.'

Awake, almighty God,

And call thy wrath to mind;

Give them like forests to the fire,
Or stubble to the wind.

Convince their madness, Lord,
And make them seek thy name;
Or else their stubborn rage confound,

That they may die in shame.

Then shall the nations know

That glorious dreadful word,

ISING to the Lord aloud,

2

3

4

5

6

1

And make a joyful noise,.

God is our strength, our Saviour God; Let Israel hear his voice.

God the supreme Governor; or, Magistrates warned.

AMONG the assemblies of the great,

greater Ruler takes his seat; The God of heaven, as Judge, surveys Those gods on earth, and all their ways. 2 Why will ye then frame wicked laws? Or why support the unrighteous cause? When will ye once defend the poor, That sinners vex the saints no more?

3 They know not, Lord, nor will they know;
Dark are the ways in which they go;
Their name of earthly gods is vain,
For they shall fall and die like men.
4 Arise, O Lord, and let thy Son
Possess his universal throne,
And rule the nations with his rod;
He is our Judge, and he our God.

Jehovah is thy name alone,
And thou the sovereign Lord.

PSALM 84. PART I. L. M.
The pleasure of public worship.
HOLple of hosts, thy dwellings are!
[OW pleasant, how divinely fair,
With long desire my spirit faints
To meet the assemblies of thy saints.
2 My flesh would rest in thine abode,
My panting heart cries out for God;
My God! my King! why should I be
So far from all my joys and thee?
3 The sparrow chooses where to rest,
And for her young provides her nest:
But will my God to sparrows grant
That pleasure which his children want?
4 Blest are the saints who sit on high,
Around thy throne of majesty;
Thy brightest glories shine above,
And all their work is praise and love.

5 Blest are the souls who find a place
Within the temple of thy grace;
There they behold thy gentler rays,
And seek thy face, and learn thy praise.

6 Blest are the men whose hearts are set
To find the way to Sion's gate;

God is their strength, and through the road
They lean upon their helper God.

7 Cheerful they walk with growing strength,
Till all shall meet in heaven at length,
Till all before thy face appear,
And join in nobler worship there.

1

PSALM 84. PART II. L. M.

God and his church; or, Grace and glory.

GREAT God, attend, while Sion sings

The joy that from thy presence springs; To spend one day with thee on earth Exceeds a thousand days of mirth.

2 Might I enjoy the meanest place
Within thine house, O God of grace,
Not tents of ease, nor thrones of power,
Should tempt my feet to leave thy door.
3 God is our sun, he makes our day:
God is our shield, he guards our way
From all the assaults of hell and sin,
From foes without, and foes within.
4 All needful grace will God bestow,
And crown that grace with glory too:
He gives us all things, and withholds
No real good from upright souls.