They take by force whate'er they please, And claim the right to rule the seas. 4 Behold they boast of mighty ships, How proud their words, how false their lips! They say that peace is all their aim, And yet the right to search us claim. 5 Arise, O Lord, thy word perform, Descend in all the power of storm, Now on their navy pour thy coals, Or cast them on destructive shoals. 6 "Thus saith the Lord, who reigns on high, I've heard my sorrowing people sigh, And have in dreadful wrath come down, To shake the nations with my frown. 7 I will the rights of man maintain,
Mine hand shall break the oppressor's chain; The saints redeem'd from all their woes, Shall triumph o'er their falling foes."
PSALM 140. C. M.
God is our protector.
1 PROTECT us, Lord, from fatal harm,
Behold our rising woes;
We trust alone thy powerful arm
To scatter all our foes.
2 Their tongues are like envenom'd darts,
Their thoughts are full of guile;
While rage and carnage swell their hearts,
They wear a peaceful smile.
3 O God of grace, thy guardian care,
When foes without invade
Or spread within a deeper snare,
Supplies our constant aid.
4 Let falsehood flee before thy face,
Thine heavenly truth extend;
Let every nation taste thy grace;
And all delusion end.
5 Relieve the 'opprest whene'er they sigh,
On vile oppressors tread;
And be thy church exalted high
With Christ its glorious head.
PSALM 141. Part 4. L. M.
Watchfulness and brotherly love.
1 ON thee, my gracious God, I cali,
And at thy footstool humbly fall;
Make haste to hear my suppliant voice,
And let my soul in thee rejoice.
2 As incense offer'd to my King
To thee my cheerful thanks I bring;
O may my nightly worship rise
Sweet as the evening sacrifice.
3 I'll watch my mouth; for thro the lips
How oft the word of mischief slips;
No wicked thought, no vile intent,
Shall thro that sacred door have vent.
4 O may the righteous, when I stray,
Smite and reprove my wand'ring way;
Their gentle words, like ointment shed,
Shall never bruise, but cheer mine head.
5 When I behold them prest with grief,
I'll cry to heaven for their relief;
From Satan's snares I'll draw their feet,
And they shall own my words were sweet.
PSALM 141. Part 2. L. M.
Lead us not into temptation.
1 PRESERVE our souls, eternal King,
From every false and wicked thing;
While sinners all our steps surround,
True to the Lord may we be found.
2 The sons of earth, who roll in vice,
In vain our watchful feet entice,
Our cautious souls shall ne'er incline
To taste their bread, or drink their wine.
3 But should we sin, when fools invite,
Us may the righteous kindly smite,
The gentle words the faithful use
Shall on our heads like oil diffuse.*
4 Their judges must be quite o'erthrown,
When God shall make his judgments known;
The saints shall tread them with their feet,
And hear my words divinely sweet.
5 Our bones are scatter'd at our graves,
How proud the boasting foe behaves;
As wood the laboring axman cleaves,
So his unsparing hand bereaves.
6 Eternal God, in whom we trust,
Our foes shall know that God is just;
The men, who now thy saints provoke,
Shall fall beneath thy heaviest stroke.
PSALM 141. C. M.
The uncorrupted christian.
1 TO heaven I send mine evening cry,
In mercy, Lord, attend;
As incense rising thro the sky,
So let my prayer ascend.
2' I would the restless tongue control,
And guard my thoughts within;
Nor let the way to thee, my soul,
Become the door to sin.
3 With men, who roll in every vice,
I'll neither dine nor sup,
*To diffuse, to pour out, to spread, to scatter.
Their dainties me shall ne'er entice
To touch their golden cup.
4 But should the tempting world invite,
And I from God remove,
O may the righteous gently smite,
And every friend reprove.
5 Their gentle words like lenient oil
Shall never break mine head,
I'll rise victorious every foil,*
And on the tempter tread.
6 If Satan should entrap their feet,
I'll warn my friends with care,
And they shall own my words were sweet,
When they have 'scap'd the snare.
PSALM 142. C. M.
God is the hope of the helpless.
1 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,
But God beheld my way,
On either side I found my foes
Were watchful to betray.
3 For me they set a secret snare,
And rag'd without control;
While not a mortal seem'd to care
If they devour'd my soul.
4 Then from the dark and dismal cave
I thus my God addrest;
"O Lord, mine hope beyond the grave, Be thou my present rest.
* Foil, a defeat, a miscarriage.
5 Behold me brought exceeding low,
In mercy now attend,
And let my foes, who vex me, know,
That Jesus is my friend.
6 My soul from this sad prison bring
That I may praise thy name;
Surrounding saints with me shall sing
And tell thy deeds of fame.
Complaint of heavy afflictions in mind and body. 1 GIVE ear, Almighty God, give ear, My suppliant cry vouchsafe to hear, In righteousness my prayer attend, And swift as thought an answer send. 2 For all the crimes that I have done, I plead the merits of thy Son;
But should thy law its own demand,
No flesh could in thy presence stand.
3 Opprest with loads of guilt and sin,
My soul is desolate within;
My thoughts in musing silence trace
The former wonders of thy grace.
4 In darkness like the blind I grope,
Till I perceive a glimpse of hope;
O, could I hear thy morning voice,
How would my sorrowing soul rejoice.
5 As plants revive with morning dew,
So does thy grace my soul renew,
To heaven I stretch abroad mine hands,
And thirst for God like parched lands.
6 For God I thirst, for God I sigh,
And lift my weary soul on high,
For God sit morning all the day,
And wear the tedious hours away.
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