5 Such honours never come by chance, Nor do the winds promotion blow; But God the Judge doth one advance, 'Tis he that lays another low.
6 No vain pretence to royal birth
Shall raise a tyrant to the throne;
Th' impartial Sovereign of the earth
Will make the rights of men be known.
7 His hand will yet uphold the just;
And whilst he tramples on the proud,
And lays their glory in the dust,
Our lips shall sing his praise aloud.
Altered from WATTS.
PSALM LXXVI Common Metre. # or b
God's guardian Care of his People.
1 IN Judah, God of old was known,
His name in Israel great;
In Salem stood his sacred throne,
And Sion was his seat.
2 From Sion went his dreadful word,
And broke the threat'ning bow;
The spear, the arrow, and the sword,
And crush'd th' Assyrian foe.
3 What are the earth's wide kingdoms else
But mighty hills of prey ?
The hill, on which Jehovah dwells,
Is glorious more than they.
4 What power can stand before thy sight,
When once thy wrath appears?
- When heaven shines round with dreadful
The earth lies still and fears.
5 When God, by his own sovereign grace,
Appears to save th' oppress'd,
The wrath of man shall work his praise,
And he'll restrain the rest..
PSALM LXXVII. Common Metre.
Comfort derived from ancient Providences.
1 WHEN overwhelm'd with pain and grief,
Beneath thy chastening rod;
Depriv'd of comfort and relief,
We look to thee, our God.
2 Wilt thou for ever cast us off?
And will thy wrath prevail ?
Hast thou forgot thy tender love?
And will thy promise fail?
3 But faith forbids this hopeless thought,
And checks this doubting frame;
We know the works thy hand has wrought,
Thy hand is still the same.
4 Long did the sons of Jacob lie,
By Egypt's yoke oppress'd;
Didst thou refuse to hear their cry,
And give thy people rest?
5 In thine own way, thy chosen sheep
Must hear thy mighty call;
Must venture through the parted deep,
Beside the liquid wall.
6 Strange was their journey through the sea,
A path before unknown!
Terrors attend their wondrous way,
But mercy leads them on.
7.Though trackless waves of ocean hide
Thy footsteps from our sight;
We'll follow where thy hand shall guide,
For thou will lead us right.
PSALM LXXVIII. First Part. C. M. # or b
Religious Education of Children.
1 GIVE ear, ye children, to my law,
Devout attention lend;
Let the instructions of my mouth
Deep in your hearts descend.
2 My tongue, by inspiration taught,
Shall parables unfold;
Dark oracles, but understood,
And own'd for truths of old :
3 Which we from sacred registers
Of ancient times have known;
And our forefathers' pious care
To us have handed down.
4. Let children learn the mighty deeds
Which God perform'd of old;
Which in our younger years we saw,.
And which our fathers told.
5 Our lips shall tell them to our sons,
And they again to theirs;
That generations yet unborn
May teach them to their heirs.
6 Thus shall they learn, in God alone
Their hope securely stands ;
That they may ne'er forget his works,
But practise his commands.
Ver. 19, 20.
A Table in the Wilderness.
1 PARENT of universal good,
We own thy bounteous hand,
Which did so rich a table spread,
Ev'n in a desert land.
2 Struck by thy power, the flinty rocks
In gushing torrents flow;
The feather'd wanderers of the air,
Thy guiding instinct know.
3 From pregnant clouds, at thy command, Descends celestial bread;
And by light drops of pearly dew
Are numerous armies fed.
4 Supported thus, thine Israel march'd,
The promis'd land to gain;
And shall thy children now begin
To seek their God in vain ?
5 Are all thy stores exhausted now ?
Or does thy mercy fail ?
That faith should languish in our breast,
And anxious care prevail ?
6 Ye base unworthy fears, begone,
And wide disperse in air;
For we deserve our Father's rod,
When we distrust his care.
PSALM LXXIX. Long Metre.
The Devastation of War.
1 BEHOLD, O God, how cruel foes
Our peaceful heritage invade;
Their lawless tribute they impose,
And in the dust our towns are laid.
2 To rav'nous birds, our flesh they gave,
Slaughter'd on fields with crimson dyed;
The cheap indulgence of a grave
Is by inhuman foes deny'd.
3 How long, O Lord, shall we endure ?
Wilt thou not hear the captive's cry?
Rescue, by thine almighty power,
The trembling wretch, condemn'd to die.
4 Remember not our former guilt,
But save us by thy boundless grace;
Then shall our wastes again be built,
And all our mouths be fill'd with praise.
Altered from BARLOW.
PSALM LXXX. Long Metre.
The Vineyard of God laid waste.
1 GREAT Shepherd of thine Israel,
Who didst between the cherubs dwell,
And lead the tribes, thy chosen sheep,
Safe through the desert and the deep :
2 Thy church deserted now appears;
Shine from on high, dispel our fears;
Turn us to thee, thy love restore,
We shall be sav'd, and sigh no more.
3 Hast thou not planted with thy hand,
A lovely vine in this our land ?
Did not thy power defend it round,
And heavenly dews enrich the ground?
4 How did the spreading branches shoot,
And bless thy people with its fruit!
But now, O Lord, look down and see
Thy mourning vine, thy lovely tree!
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