Imatges de pàgina
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From North to South the princes meet,
To pay their homage at his feet.
g 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 pray'r be made,
And praises throng to crown his head;
His name, like sweet perfume, shall rise
With ev'ry morning sacrifice.

b 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.

o 6 Blessings abound, where'er he reigns;
The pris'ner leaps to lose his chains;
The weary find eternal rest,

And all the sons of want are blest.

-7 (Where he displays his healing pow'r, Death and the curse are known no more; In him the tribes of Adam boast

More blessings than their father lost.

g 8 Let ev'ry creature rise-and bring
Peculiar honours to their King:

Angels descend with songs again,
And earth repeat the long AMEN.)

PSALM 73. C. M. FIRST PART. [*]
Afflicted Saints, and prosperous Sinners.
1 [JOW I'm convinc'd the Lord is kind
To men of hearts sincere ;
Yet once my foolish thoughts repin'd,
And border'd on despair.

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2 I griev'd 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:

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Against the heav'ns 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 chasten'd all the day,
"The night renews my pain.'

5 Yet while my tongue indulg'd 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 retir'd 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 slipp'ry place,
Beside a fiery pit.

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

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

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

10 Yet I was kept from full despair,
Upheld by pow'r unknown:

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

C. M. SECOND PART.

Ver. 23-28.

1

G

St. Ann's. [*]

God our Portion, here and hereafter.

OD, my Supporter, and my Hope,
My Help forever 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.

e 3 Were I in heav'n without my God,
Twould be no joy to me;

And whilst this earth is my abode,
I long for none but thee.

e 4 What if the springs of life were broke,
And flesh and heart should faint?

o God is my soul's eternal Rock,
The strength of ev'ry saint.
p 5 Behold, the sinners who 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, Shall be my sweet employ;

o My tongue shall sound thy works abroad, And tell the world my joy.

L. M. Geneva. Babylon. [b]

Reading.

Ver.22,3,6,17-20. The Prosperity of Sinners cursed.

e 1

LORD, what a thoughtless wretch was I,

To mourn, and murmur, and repine,

To see the wicked, plac'd on high,

In pride, and robes of honour, shine? p 2 But, oh, their end-their dreadful end! Thy sanctuary taught me so:

On slipp'ry rocks I see them stand,

And fiery billows roll below.

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

d There they may stand with haughty eyes,
a 'Till they plunge deep in endless pain.
e 4 Their fancy'd 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;
o Lord, 'tis enough that thou art mine,
My life, my portion, and my God.

1

S. M. Aylesbury. [b]

The Mystery of Providence unfolded.
URE there's a righteous God,
Nor is religion vain;

Though men of vice may boast aloud,

And men of grace complain.

2 I saw the wicked rise,

And felt my heart repine;

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

3 [Pamper'd with wanton ease,
Their flesh looks full and fair;
Their wealth rolls in, like flowing seas,
And grows without their care.
4 Free from the plagues, and pains
That pious souls endure,

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

5 Their impious tongues blaspheme
The everlasting God,

Their malice blasts the good man's name,
And spreads their lies abroad.
6 But I, with flowing tears,
Indulg'd my doubts to rise;
Is there a God that sees, or hears,
The things below the skies?']

7 The tumults of my thought

Held me in hard suspense;

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

9 Thy word with light and pow'r,
Did my mistakes amend;

I view'd the sinners lives before,
But here I learn their end.

p 9 On what a slipp'ry steep,

The thoughtless wretches go! a And, oh, that dreadful fiery deep, That waits their fall below!

e 10 Lord, at thy feet I bow,

My thoughts no more repine; -I call my God my portion now; And all my pow'rs are thine.

PSALM 74. C. M.

Wantage. [*]

The Church, in Affliction, pleading with God.

WILL God forever cast us off?

1 W His wrath forever smoke

Against the people of his love,

His little chosen flock?

e 2 Think of the tribes, so dearly bought,

With their Redeemer's blood,

Nor let thy Zion be forgot,

Where once thy glory stood.

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

e See what a wide, and fearful waste Is made within thy walls.

4 [Where once thy churches pray'd and sang, Thy foes profanely roar:

Over thy gates their ensigns hang,

Sad tokens of their pow'r.

5 How are the seats of worship broke!
They tear thy buildings down;
And he who 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.'

And still, to heighten our distress,
Thy presence is withdrawn ;
Thy wonted signs of pow'r and grace,
Thy pow'r 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.

p 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 forever sit and hear
Thine holy name profan'd?
And still thy jealousy forbear,
And still withhold thine hand?]

e 11 What strange deliv'rance 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 wond'rous way,
And then secure their flight.

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