PSALM LXXXIX. 3d. Part. C. M. * or b The Covenant of Grace.
1 "YET (saith the Lord) if David's race, "The children of my Son,
"Should break my laws, abuse my grace, "And tempt my anger down;
2 Their sins I'll visit with the rod,
"And make their folly smart;
"But never cease to be their God,
"Nor from my truth depart.
3 "My cov❜nant I will not revoke,
"But keep my grace in mind;
"And what eternal love hath spoke,
"Eternal truth shall bind.
4 "Once have I sworn (I need no more)
"And pledg'd my holiness;
"To seal the sacred promise sure
"To David and his race.
5 "The sun shall see his offspring rise,
"And spread from sea to sea;
"Long as he travels round the skies,
"To give the nations day.
6 "Sure as the moon that rules the night,
"His kingdom shall endure,
"Till the fix'd laws of shade and light
"Shall be observ'd no more."
PSALM LXXXIX. Six Line Long Metre. b Life, Death, and the Resurrection.
I THINK, mighty God, on feeble man! How few his hours, how short the span ! Short from the cradle to the grave:
Who can secure his vital breath,
Against the bold demands of death,
With skill to fly, or power to save?
2 Lord, shall it be for ever said,
"The race of men was only made
"For sickness, sorrow, and the dust ?"
Are not thy servants, day by day,
Sent to the grave, and turn'd to clay?
Lord, where's thy kindness to the just?
3 Hast thou not promis'd to thy Son,
And all his seed, a heavenly crown?
But flesh and sense indulge despair:
For ever blessed be the Lord,
That faith can read thy holy word,
And find a resurrection there.
4 For ever blessed be the Lord,
Who gives his saints a long reward,
For all their toil, reproach, and pain;
Let all below, and all above,
Join to proclaim thy wondrous love,
And each repeat their loud Amen.
PSALM LXXXIX. First Part. Long Metre. *
1 FOR EVER shall my song record
The truth and mercy of the Lord;
Mercy and truth for ever stand
Like heaven, establish'd by his hand.
2 Thus to his Son he swore, and said,
"With thee my covenant is made;
"In thee shall dying sinners live,
"Glory and grace are thine to give.
3"Be thou my prophet, thou my priest,
"Thy children shall be ever blest;
"Thou art my chosen king, thy throne
"Shall stand eternal, as my own.
4 "There's none of all my saints above,
"So much my image or my love,
"Celestial powers thy subjects are;
"Then what can earth with thee compare?
5 "David, my servant, whom I chose
"To guard my flock, to crush my foes,
"And rais'd him to the Jewish throne,
"Was but the shadow of my Son."
6 Now let the church rejoice and sing,
Jesus her Saviour, and her King;
Angels his heavenly honours show,
And saints declare his works below.
PSALM LXXXIX. Sec. Part. L. M. * or b
Divine Sovereignty, and Publick Worship.
1 WHAT seraph of celestial birth,
To vie with Israel's God shall dare?
Or who among the sons of earth,
Can with the mighty God compare ?
2 Lord God of armies, who can boast
Of strength and power like thine renown'd?
Of such a numerous faithful host
As that which does thy throne surround?
3 Thou dost the raging sea control,
And change the surface of the deep;
Thou mak❜st the sleeping billows roll,
Thou mak'st the rolling billows sleep!
4 In thee, the sovereign right remains
Of earth and heaven; thee, Lord, alone,
The world, and all that it contains, Their Maker, and Preserver own. 5 Happy, thrice happy they, who hear The sacred trumpet's joyful sound; And who among thy saints appear, With thy most glorious presence crown'd. 6 With rev'rence and religious dread, Thy saints will to thy temple press;
Thy fear through all their hearts shall spread, Who thy most holy name confess.
Common Metre.
God's Eternity, and Man's Mortality.
1 BEFORE the hills in order stood,
Or earth receiv'd her frame;
From everlasting, thou art God,
To endless years the same.
2 Thy word commands our flesh to dust,
"Return, ye sons of men;"
All nations rose from earth at first,
And turn to earth again.
3 A thousand ages in thy sight,
Are like an evening gone;
Short as the watch that ends the night,
Before the rising sun.
4 Time, like an ever-running stream,
Bears all its sons away;
They fly, forgotten, as a dream
Dies at the opening day.
5 'Tis but a few whose days amount
To threescore years and ten;
And all beyond that short account
Is sorrow, toil, and pain.
6 Then let us learn the heavenly art,
T'improve the hours we have;
That we may act the wiser part,
And live beyond the grave.
PSALM XC. Long Metre. *or
Divine Protection through every Age.
1 THOU, Lord, thro' every changing scene,
Hast to the saints a refuge been,
Thro' every age, eternal God,
Their pleasing home, their safe abode.
2 In thee our fathers sought their rest,
And were with thy protection blest;
Though in the shade of death they lie,
They'll rise and dwell above the sky.
3 Behold their sons, a feeble race!
We come to fill our fathers' place!
Our helpless state with pity view,
And let us share their refuge too.
4 Through all the thorny paths we tread,
Ere we are number'd with the dead;
When friends desert, and foes invade,
Be thou our all-sufficient aid.
5 So when this pilgrimage is o'er,
And we must dwell on earth no more;
To thee, great God, may we ascend,
And find an everlasting friend.
6 To thee our infant race we'll leave,
Them may their fathers' God receive;
That voices, yet unform'd, may raise
Succeeding hymns of humble praise.
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