8. Those who behold thine honour in the dust,
Shall own, though late, thy punishment is just; And learn, that neither fraud, nor gold can save, From dire destruction's desolating wave.
9. But I, with fruit and blossoms, crown'd shall be, With health and strength, like a green Olive tree : Ev'n God's own Courts, shall be my dwelling place; There shall I know the influence of his Grace.
10. There shall my foul pour forth her grateful fong,
Which to eternity I will prolong;
With me the Saints, their sacrifice shall join,
In never-ending harmony divine.
I. GOD, my strength, bestow thy grace,
Thy feeble servant save;
For cruel men, an impious race,
Would thurst me to the grave.
2. I cry to thee, in my distress,
Give ear to my complaint:
I, with long watching, am consum'd,
And with my forrows faint.
3. Strangers to thee, and thy pure laws,
With perfecuting ire.
Oppressive multitudes combin'd,
Against my foul conspire.
Mad in their rage, no God they fear;
Thy vengeance they provoke:
Dark caves they make my dwelling place;
My bed, the flinty rock.
5. Yet still my Helper thou hast been,
Although my friends are few;
My life, and theirs, thou hast preserv'd,
By mercies ever new.
6. But furely impious men shall feel,
That while they scorn thy wrath,
Vengeance, though flow, shall overtake,
And fink them down in death.
7. Then, grateful, I my facrifice,
Will to thy altars bring;
Incense of praise I'll offer up,
To heav'ns Almighty King.
8. Because secure 'midst winds and waves,
Thou didst support my head;
Whilst shipwrecked facrilegious men,
Were number'd with the dead.
Y heart is fix'd, to thee I'll raife,
An early fong of grateful praise;
The pfaltery and harp I'll join,
To tell my glory's wholly thine.
2. While yet the stars their rays diffuse;
Before the Sun exales the dews;
I'll praise the glory of thy Name,
Instructing others to the fame.
3. Beyond the bounds of Judah's lot,
In nations strange, in lands remote;
Thy mighty works, in days of old,
Shall to aftonish'd ears be told.
4. Sublime, thy darling mercy's height,
Reaches beyond the orbs of light;
And where th' etherial therial kingdom ends,
Thy truth inviolate extends.
5. Exalt thyself, thy Pow'r display,
O'er realms of everlasting day,
And let a weight of glory roll,
Above the earth from pole to pole.
6. Lord, let thy all pervading eye,
Look down from thy bright throne on high;
Rebuke the malice of my foes;
And give a respite to my woes.
7. I in thy holiness will trust,
Great Parent, Guardian of the Just:
By thee, my glory and my guide;
I'll Shechem, and her lands, divide.
8. Gilead, Manafseh, are my own,
Annex'd to Judah's regal throne.
By thee sustain'd, my hand prevails,
To measure Succoth's fertile vales.
9. Mount Ephraim's forces in the field,
Shall be to Ifrael's King a shield,
Judah shall plead mild Virtue's cause;
And rule the Tribes by wholesome laws.
10. The lofty pride of Moab, I'll break,
My yoke shall gall his stubborn neck;
I'll humble Edom's fierce disdain;
And bind him in a captive chain.
11. My host in number, like the sand,
I'll pour on proud Philistia's land;
Her shore's will yield a plenteous spoil,
The wages of my warlike toil.
12. But who to * Rabbah's walled pride,
Undaunted, will our warriors guide:
What gen'rous power will lend his aid,
While we proud Edom's land invade.
13. Great God of armies, wilt not thou,
To Ifrael's children favour shew,
Their cruel threats our breasts alarm,
O fave us by thy potent arm.
14. Slighting thy aid, was Ifrael's blame;
His strength a bruised reed became;
But thou alone, our foes can'st wound,
And tread indignant to the ground.
* Rabbah. The capital of the Children of Ammon.
PSALM CXXXVII. PARAPHRASED.
W
I. Gall'd by a Tyrant's lawless sway;
HEN in Chaldea's land we lay,
In filent musing grief we stood,
On * Chebar's banks, by † Ulais' flood.
2. Our lutes untun'd, our harps unstrung,
Neglected on the willows hung;
Our tears increas'd the rolling tide,
Which at our feet did gently glide.
3. Our themes of grief were Zion's woes ;-
Our captive state ;-our cruel foes ;-
Who, in rude mirth, upon us came;
And did our God, and laws, blafpheme.
4. Let's hear your songs, they proudly cry'd,
And lay your pensive cares afide;
Come, let the hills and dales rejoice,
With your soft Anthem's sacred noise.
5. Alas! no pleasing strain shall rise,
Whilst Salem in her ruins lies.
What joy can music's voice impart,
To cheer the broken, bleeding heart?
6. We hapless men, are captives led;
And from our State the glory's fled;
Even Salem's self a ruin'd heap;
Makes Judah's guardian Angels weep.
7. First Zion's praise our mouths did fill;
From her our hands first learn'd their skill;
Our tongues shall to our palates cleave,
Ere we for her forget to grieve.
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