O

3 Lord, search my soul, try ev'ry thought :

Tho' my own heart accuse me not
Of walking in a false disguise ;

a
I beg the trial of thine eyes.
4 Doth secret mischief lurk within ?

Do I indulge some unknown sin ?
O turn my feet whene'er I stray !
And lead me in thy perfect way.

PSALM 140. S. M.
A complaint against personal enemies.
1
My ,

Y God, while impious men,

With malice in their heart, My peace destroy, my life defame,

Thy guardian grace impart. 2 With poison in their lips,

And with a serpent's tongue, They sting my fainting soul to death,

And make my name their song, 3 Ceaseless they lie in wait

My footsteps to betray;
They hide their snare, they set their gin,

Beside my peaceful way.
4 O hear

my

humble cry! Their fondest hope destroy ; Their arts confound, their plots disclose,

And blast their envious joy.
5 On their own heads shall fall

The mischiefs they devise ;
Thy hand shall take them in their net,

Their slanders, and their lies. - 6 As coals the wood consume,

As pits receive their slain ; So shall the men of malice sink,

And never rise again.

7 The Lord, who hates the proud,

Shall scorch the sland'rous tongue ; Shall hunt the wicked from the earth, And well requite their wrong.

. 8 Thou wilt sustain the

poor,
And bid th' afflicted sing ;
Before thee, shall thy children dwell,
Their Father, and their King.

PSALM 141. L. M.
Brotherly reproof. A morning or evening Psalm.
1
My ,

Y God, accept my early vows,

Like morning incense in thy house; And let my nightly worship rise

Sweet as the ey'ning sacrifice. 2 Watch o'er my lips, and guard them, Lord,

From ev'ry rash and heedless word;
Nor let my feet incline to tread

The guilty path, where sinners lead. 3 0 may the righteous, when I stray,

Smite and reprove my wand'ring way!
Their gentle words, like ointment shed,

Shall never bruise but cheer my head. 4 When I behold them prest with grief,

I'll cry to heav'n for their relief;
And by my warm petitions prove
How much I prize

their faithful love.
PSALM 142.

C. M.
God is the hope of the helpless.
1
I
TO God I made my sorrows known,

From God I sought relief;
In long complaints before his throne

I pour'd out all my grief.
2 My soul was overwhelm'd with woes,

My heart began to break :

My God, who all my burdens knows,

Knows ev'ry way I take. 3 On ev'ry side I cast mine eye,

And found my helpers gone ; While friends and strangers pass'd me by.

Neglected or unknown. 4 Then did I raise a louder cry,

And call’d thy mercy near ; “ Thou art my portion, when I die :

“Be thou my refuge here.”
5 Lord, I am brought exceeding low;

Now let thine ear attend,
And make my foes, who vex me, know,

I've an Almighty Friend.
6 From my sad prison set me free;

Then shall I praise thy name:
And holy men shall join with me,
Thy kindness to proclaim.

PSALM 143. L. M.
Mourning under afflictions in mind and body.

Y 1 Myrighteous Judge, my gracious God!

Hear, when I spread my hands abroad, And cry for succour from thy throne :

O make thy truth and mercy known! 2 Let judgment not against me pass;

Behold thy servant pleads thy grace :
Should justice call us to thy bar,

No living man is guiltless there.
3 Look down in pity, Lord, and see.

The mighty woes that burden me:
Down to the dust my life is brought,
Like one long buried and forgot.
I dwell in darkness and unseen,
My heart is desolate within ;

My thoughts in musing silence trace

The ancient wonders of thy grace.
5 Thence I derive a glimpse of hope

To bear my sinking spirits up;
I stretch my hands to God again,
And thirst, like parched lands, for rain.
6 For thee I thirst, I pray, I mourn;

When will thy smiling face return ?
Shall all my joys on earth remove?

And God forever hide his love?
7 My God, thy long delay, to save,

Will sink thy pris’ner to the grave ;
My heart grows faint, and dim mine eye ;

Make haste to help before I die.
8 The night is witness to my tears,

Distressing pains, distressing fears :
O, might I hear thy morning voice,

How would my wearied pow'rs rejoice ! 9 In thee I trust, to thee I sigh,

And raise my grieved soul on high ;
For thee sit waiting all the day,

And wear the tiresome hours away.
10 Break off my fetters, Lord, and show

Which is the path, my feet should go ;
If snares and foes beset the road,

I flee to hide me near my God.
Il Teach me to do thy holy will,

And lead me to thy heav'nly hill ;
Let the Good Spirit of thy love

Conduct me to thy courts above.
12 Then shall my soul no more complain ;

The tempter then shall rage in vain :
And Alesh, that was my foe before,
Shall never vex my spirit more.

PSALM 144. First Part. C. M.

Victory in the spiritual warfare. 1 OR ever blessed be the Lord,

My Saviour and my shield; He sends his Spirit with his word,

To arm me for the field. 2 When sin and hell their force unite,

He makes my soul his care ; Instructs me to the heav'nly fight,

And guards me thro’ the war. 3 A friend and helper so divine, Does my weak

courage raise

e ;
He makes the glorious vict'ry mine ;
And his shall be the praise.
PSALM 141. Second Part. C. M.

The vanity of man.
1
I LOROP, WP the Earth'al

first? ORD, what is man, poor feeble man, His life a shadow, light and vain,

Still hast’ning to the dust. 2 O what is feeble dying man,

Or any of his race,
That God should make it his concern

To visit him with grace! 3 That God, who darts his lightnings down;

Who shakes the worlds above;
While mountains tremble at his frown:
How wondrous is his love!
PSALM 144. Third Part. L. M.

The happy nation.
1 HAPPY the city, where their sons

Like pillars round a palace set, And daughters, bright as polish'd stones, Give strength and beauty to the state.