cxxvii

Toil and Home: A Family Song

Except the LORD build the house,
They labour in vain that build it:
Except the LORD keep the city,
The watchman waketh but in vain.

It is vain for you that ye rise up early,
And so late take rest,

And eat the bread of toil.

So he giveth unto his beloved sleep.
Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD:
The fruit of the womb is his reward.

As arrows in the hand of a mighty man,

So are the children of youth.

Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them:

They shall not be ashamed, when they speak with their

enemies in the gate.

135

cxxviii

Home Life: A Family Song

Blessed is every one that feareth the LORD,

That walketh in his ways.

For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands:
Happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.

Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine,

In the innermost parts of thine house:

Thy children like olive plants,

Round about thy table.

Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth

the LORD:

The LORD shall bless thee out of Zion,

And thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem all the days of

thy life;

Yea, thou shalt see thy children's children.

Peace be upon Esrael.

136

cxxix

Litany of Afflicted Israel

Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth up,
(Let Israel now say)

Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth up:
Yet they have not prevailed against me.

The plowers plowed upon my back;
They made long their furrows.

The LORD is righteous:

He hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked.

Let them be ashamed and turned backward,
All they that hate Zion.

Let them be as the grass upon the housetops,
Which withereth afore it groweth up:

Wherewith the reaper filleth not his hand,

Nor he that bindeth sheaves his bosom.

Neither do they which go by say, 'The blessing of

the LORD be upon you;

'We bless you in the name of the LORD.'

137

CXXX

A Cry out of the Depths

Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O LORD.

Lord, hear my voice:

Let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.

If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities,

O Lord, who shall stand?

But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.

I wait for the LORD,

My soul doth wait,

And in his word do I hope.

My soul looketh for the Lord,

More than watchmen look for the morning;
Yea, more than watchmen for the morning.

O Israel, hope in the LORD;

For with the LORD there is mercy,

And with him is plenteous redemption :

And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.

cxxxi

The Quiet Soul

LORD, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty;
Neither do I exercise myself in great matters,
Or in things too wonderful for me.

Surely I have stilled and quieted my soul;
Like a weaned child with his mother,
My soul is with me like a weaned child.

O Israel, hope in the LORD

From this time forth and for evermore.

cxxxii

Dedication Hymn

I

For the Tabernacle of David

LORD, remember for David all his affliction:

How he sware unto the LORD,

And vowed unto the Mighty One of Jacob: