PSALM XVIII.

O LORD, thy mercy, my sure hope,
Above the heav'nly spheres ascends;
Thy sacred truth's unmeasur'd scope
Beyond th' expanse of sky extends.

Thy justice like the hills remains,
Unfathom'd depths thy judgments are;
Thy providence the world sustains,
The whole creation is thy care.

Since of thy goodness all partake,
With what assurance should the just
Thy fost'ring wing their refuge make,
And saints in thy protection trust!

D

PSALM XIX.

Part First.

FRET not thyself at wicked men,
Or their ungodly gains;

Nor envious be at all the wealth
They get by sinful means.

For, as the tender grass is cut,
And withers soon away;
So shall their great prosperity
Fade quickly and decay.

But put thy trust in God, the Lord,
To virtue give thy mind;

So shalt thou blessed be on earth, And plenty in it find.

PSALM XIX.

Part Second.

THE Lord the just man's way doth guide,.
And gives him good success;
In whatso'er he undertakes,
God doth him greatly bless.

The just man, though he fall, shall not
Be wholly cast away;

Because the Lord, with his own hand,
Doth him support and stay.

I have been young, and now am old,
Yet did I never see

The just forlorn, or void of hope,
Expos'd to misery.

PSALM XX.

LORD, teach me so to count the years
And months already past,
That so I may consider well

How short my term may last!

Lord, thou hast measur'd out my days,
In compass as a span;
Mine age is nothing unto thee,
So vain a thing is man.

Man passeth like a shade, in vain
He doth himself employ

In heaping wealth, and cannot sce
Who shall that wealth enjoy.

PSALM XXI,

HAPPY the man whose tender care
Relieves the poor distrest;
When troubles compass him around,
The Lord will give him rest.

If he, in languishing estate,
O'erwhelm'd with sickness lie,
The Lord will easy make his couch,
And inward strength supply.

Secure of this, to thee, my God,
I thus my prayer address;

56

Lord, for thy mercy heal my soul,