4 When I advanc'd with songs of praise,
My solemn vows to pay,
Amidst the joyful sacred throng,
Which kept the festal day.
5 Why restless, why cast down, my soul? Trust God, and he'll employ
His aid for thee, and change thy sighs
To hymns of sacred joy.
6 Why, restless, why cast down, my soul?
Hope still, and thou shalt sing
The praise of him who is thy God,
Thy health's eternal spring.
PSALM XLIII. Long Metre. # or b
Complaint and Hope.
I GOD of our strength, to thee we cry,
O let us not forgotten lie!
Oppress'd with sorrows and with care,
To thy protection we repair.
2 O let thy light attend our way,
Thy truth afford its steady ray!
To Zion's hill direct our feet,
To worship at thy sacred seat.
3 Thy praise, O God, shall tune the lyre,
Thy love our joyful song inspire;
To thee, our cordial thanks be paid,
Our sure defence, our constant aid.
4 Why then dejected and distrest?
And whence the grief that fills our breast?
In God we'll hope, and to him raise
A monument of endless praise.
PSALM XLIV. Common Metre. # or b
1 O LORD, our fathers oft have told,
In our attentive ears,
Thy wonders in their days perform'd,
And in more ancient years.
2 'Twas not their courage, nor their sword To them salvation gave;
'Twas not their number, nor their strength
That did their country save.
3 By thy right hand, thy powerful arm,
Whose succour they implor'd,
Thy providence protected them,
Who thy great name ador❜d.
4 As thee, their God, our fathers own'd,
So thou art still our King ;
O therefore, as thou didst to them,
To us deliverance bring.
5 We will not trust our sword nor bow,
When we in war engage ;
But thee, who canst subdue our foe,
And calm their haughty rage.
6 To thee the glory we'll ascribe,
From whom salvation came ;
In God our shield we will rejoice,
And ever bless thy name.
PSALM XLV. First Part. L. M.
The Glory of Christ and the Power of his Gospel.
1 NOW be my heart inspir'd to sing
The glories of my Saviour King;
My tongue shall all his worth proclaim,
And speak the honours of his name..
2 O'er all the sons of human race
He shines with a superior grace;
Love from his lips divinely flows,
And blessings all his state compose.
3 Dress thee in arms, most mighty Lord,
Gird on thy sharp victorious sword;
In majesty and glory ride,
With truth and meekness at thy side.
4 Thine anger, like a pointed dart,
Shall pierce thy foes of stubborn heart;
Or words of mercy, kind and sweet,
Shall melt the rebels at thy feet.
5 Thy throne, O God,* for ever stands,
Grace is the sceptre in thy hands;
Thy laws and works are just and right;
Justice and grace are thy delight.
6 Thy Father, God, hath richly shed
His oil of gladness on thy head;
And with his sacred Spirit blest
His first born Son above the rest.
* See Hebrews, i. 8.
PSALM XLV. Sec. Part. L. M.
Christ and his Church.
1 THE King of Saints, how fair his face!
Adorn'd with majesty and grace!
He comes with blessings from above,
And wins the nations to his love.
2 At his right hand our eyes behold
The church, array'd in purest gold;
The world admires her heavenly dress,
Her robes of joy and righteousness.
3 He forms her graces like his own,
He calls and seats her near his throne:
Then let thy wandering heart forget
The idols of thy native state.
4 So shall the King the more rejoice
In thee, the object of his choice;
Let him be lov'd, and yet ador'd,
He is thy Maker and thy Lord.
5 O happy hour, when thou shalt rise
To his fair palace in the skies;
And all thy sons, a numerous train,
Each like a prince in glory reign!
6 Let endless honours crown his head,
Let every age his praises spread;
Whilst we with cheerful songs approve
The condescensions of his love.
PSALM XLVI. Long Metre.
Praise for National Peace.
1 GREAT Ruler of the earth and skies,
A word of thy almighty breath
Can sink the world, or bid it rise;
Thy smile is life, thy frown is death.
2 When angry nations rush to arms,
And rage and noise and tumult reign,
When war resounds its dire alarms,
And slaughter spreads the crimson plain;
3 Thy sovereign eye looks calmly down,
And marks their course, and bounds their
Thy word the angry nations own, [power;
And noise and war are heard no more.
4 Then peace returns with balmy wings,
Reviving commerce spreads her sails,
The fields are green, and plenty sings
Responsive o'er the hills and vales.
5 Thou good and wise and righteous Lord,
All move subservient to thy will;
Both peace and war await thy word,
And thy sublime decrees fulfil.
6 To thee we pay our grateful songs,
Thy kind protection still implore;
O may our hearts and lives and tongues
Confess thy goodness, and adore.
PSALM XLVI. Six Line L. M.
1 GOD is our refuge in distress,
A present help when dangers press;
In him undaunted we'll confide;
Though earth were from her centre tost,
And mountains in the ocean lost,
Dissolv'd by every rising tide.
2 A gentle stream with gladness still
The city of our God shall fill,
The sacred seat of God most high; God dwells in Zion, whose fair towers Shall mock th' assaults of earthly powers, Whilst his almighty aid is nigh.
3 In tumults, when the heathen rag'd, And kingdoms war against us wag'd,
He thunder'd and dispers'd their powers; The Lord of hosts conducts our arms, Our tower of refuge in alarms,
Our fathers' guardian God, and ours.
|