For silent graves praise not the Lord;
Our lips are seal'd in death.
God's care of his people, and punishment of persecutors.
MY trust is in my heavenly friend,
My hope in thee, my God;
Rise, and my helpless life defend
From those that seek my blood.
2 With insolence and fury they
My soul in pieces tear ;
As hungry lions rend the prey,
When no deliv'rer's near.
3 If I indulge in thoughts unjust,
And wish and seek their woe,
Then let them tread my life to dust,
And lay mine honour low.
4 If there were malice hid in me,
I know thy piercing eyes;
I should not dare appeal to thee,
Nor ask my God to rise.
5 Arise, my God, lift up thy hand,
Their pride and power control;
Awake to judgment, and command
Deliv'rance for my soul.
6 Let sinners and their wicked rage
Be humbled to the dust;
Shall not the God of truth engage
To vindicate the just?
7 He knows the heart, he tries the reins,
He will defend th' upright;
His sharpest arrows he ordains
Against the sons of spite.
8 For me their malice dug a pit,
But there themselves are cast:
My God makes all their mischief light
On their own heads at last.
9 That cruel persecuting race
Must feel his dreadful sword; Awake, my soul, and praise the grace, And justice of the Lord.
PSALM 8. First Part. S. M.
The sovereignty and goodness of God.
LORD, our heavenly King,
Thy name is all divine,
Thy glories round the earth are spread,
And o'er the heavens they shine.
2 When to thy works on high
I raise my wond'ring eyes,
And see the moon, complete in light,
Adorn the darksome skies:
3 When I survey the stars
And all their shining forms,
Lord, what is man! that worthless thing,
A-kin to dust and worms!
4 Lord, what is worthless man,
That thou should'st love him so!
Next to thine angels is he plac'd,
And lord of all below.
5 How rich thy bounties are !
How wond'rous are thy ways!
Of dust and worms, thy power can frame
A monument of praise.
PSALM 8. Second Part. L. M.
Adam and Christ.
LORD, what was man, when made at first,
Adam, the offspring of the dust,
That thou should'st set him and his race,
But just below an angel's place!
2 That thou should'st raise his nature so,
And make him lord of all below ;
Make every beast and bird submit,
And lay the fishes at his feet!
3 But O, what brighter glories wait
To crown the second Adam's state?
What honours shall thy Son adorn,
Who condescended to be born!
4 See him below his angels made:
See him in dust among the dead,
To save a ruin'd world from sin :
Yet he shall reign with power divine.
5 The world to come, redeem'd from all
The mis'ries that attend the fall,
New made and glorious, shall submit
At our exalted Saviour's feet.
PSALM 8. Third Part. L. M.
The Hosannah of the Children.
ALMIGHTY Ruler of the skies,
Thro' the wide earth thy name is spread;
And thine eternal glories rise,
O'er all the heav'ns thy hands have made.
2 To thee the voices of the young
A monument of honour raise ;
And babes with uninstructed tongue
Declare the wonders of thy praise.
3 Thy pow'r assists their tender age
To bring proud rebels to the ground;
To still the bold blasphemer's rage,
And all their policy confound.
PSALM 9. First Part. C. M.
Wrath and mercy from the judgment-seat.
WITH my whole heart I'll raise my song,
Thy wonders I'll proclaim;
Thou, the great judge of right and wrong,
Wilt put my foes to shame.
2 I'll sing thy majesty and grace ;
My God prepares his throne
To judge the world in righteousness,
And make his vengeance known.
3 Then shall the Lord a refuge prove
For all the poor opprest;
To save the people of his love,
And give the weary rest.
4 The men, that know thy name, will trust
In thine abundant grace:
And thou wilt ne'er forsake the just,
Who humbly seek thy face.
5 Sing praises to the righteous Lord,
Who dwells on Zion's hill ;
Who executes his threat'ning word,
And doth his grace fulfil.
PSALM 9. Second Part. C. M.
The wisdom and equity of providence.
WHEN the great judge, supreme and just,
Shall once enquire for blood,
The humble souls, that mourn in dust,
Shall find a faithful God.
2 He from the dreadful gates of death
Doth his own children raise :
In Zion's gates with cheerful breath,
They sing their Father's praise.
3 His foes shall fall with heedless feet
Into the pit they made;
And sinners perish in the net,
Which their own hands have spread.
4 Thus by thy judgments, mighty God, Are thy deep councils known;
When men of mischief are destroy'd,
The snare must be their own.
5 The wicked shall sink down to hell;
Thy wrath devour the lands
That dare forget thee, or rebel
Against thy known commands.
6 Tho' saints to sore distress are brought,
And wait and long complain;
Their cries shall never be forgot,
Nor shall their hopes be vain.
PSALM 10. First Part. C. M.
For a day of Humiliation.
WHY doth the Lord stand off so far?
And why conceal his face,
When great calamities appear,
And times of deep distress?
2 Lord, shall the wicked still deride
Thy justice and thy power?
Shall they advance their heads in pride,
And still thy saints devour?
3 They put their judgments from their sight,
And then insult the poor;
They boast in their exalted height,
That they shall fall no more.
4 Arise, O God, lift up thy hand;
Attend our humble cry:
No enemy shall dare to stand
When God ascends on high.
PSALM 10. Second Part. C. M.
God will hear the prayers of his children.
1 WHY do the men of malice rage,
And say, with foolish pride,
The God of heav'n will ne'er engage
"To fight on Zion's side."
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