2 My heart was fashion'd by thy hand,
My service is thy due:
O make thy servant understand
The duties he must do.
3 Since I'm a stranger here below,
Let not thy path be hid;
But mark the road my feet should go,
And be my constant guide.
Ver. 26.
4 When I confess'd my wandering ways,
Thou heard'st my soul complain :
Grant me the teachings of thy grace,
Or I shall stray again.
5 If God to me his statutes shew,
And heavenly truth impart,
His work for ever I'll pursue,
His law shall rule my heart.
Ver. 50, 71.
6 This was my comfort when I bore
Variety of grief;
It made me learn thy word the more, And fly to that relief.
7 In vain the proud deride me now;
f'll ne'er forget thy law,
Nor let that blessed gospel go,
Whence all my hopes I draw.
Ver. 27, 171.
3 When I have learn'd my father's will,
I'll teach the world his ways;
My thankful lips inspir'd with zeal
Shall loud pronounce his praise.]
PSALM CXIX. Tenth Part. (C. M.)
Pleading the Promises.
1 BEHOLD thy waiting servant, Lord,
Devoted to thy fear;
Remember and confirm thy word,
For all my hopes are there.
Ver. 41, 58, 107.
2 Hast thou not writ salvation down,
And promis'd quickening grace?
Doth not my heart address by throne?
And yet thy love delays.
3 Mine eyes for thy salvation fail;
O bear thy servant up;
Nor let the scoffing lips prevail,
Who dare reproach my hope.
Ver. 49, 74.
4 Didst thou not raise my faith, O Lord?
Then let thy truth appear:
Saints shall rejoice in my reward,
And trust as well as fear.
PSALM CXIX. Eleventh Part. (C. M.)
Breathing after Holiness.
THAT the Lord would guide my ways
To keep his statutes still!
O that my God would grant me grace
To know and do his will!
20 send thy Spirit down to write
Thy law upon my heart!
Nor let my tongue indulge deceit,
Nor act the liar's part.
3 From vanity turn off my eyes:
Let no corrupt design,
Nor covetous desires arise
Within this soul of mine.
4 Order my footsteps by thy word,
And make my heart sincere;
Let sin have no dominion, Lord,
But keep my conscience clear.
Ver. 176.
5 My soul hath gone too far astray,
My feet too often slip;
Yet since I've not forgot thy way,
Restore thy wandering sheep.
Ver. 35.
6 Make me to walk in thy commands,
'Tis a delightful road;
Nor let my head, nor heart, nor hands,
Offend against my God.
PSALM CXIX. Twelfth Part. (C. M.) Breathing after Comfort and Deliverance. Ver. 153.
1 MY God, consider my distress,
Let mercy plead my cause ;
Tho' I have sinn'd against thy grace,
I can't forget thy laws.
2 Forbid, forbid the sharp reproach
Which I so justly fear:
Uphold my life, uphold my hopes,
Nor let my shame appear.
3 Be thou a surety, Lord, for me,
Nor let the proud oppress;
But make thy waiting servant see
The shinings of thy face.
4 My eyes with expectation fail, My heart within me cries,
"When will the Lord his truth fulfil,
"And make my comforts rise?"
Ver. 132.
5 Look down upon my sorrows, Lord,
And shew thy grace the same
As thou art ever wont t'afford
To those that love thy name.
PSALM CXIX. Thirteenth Part. (C. M.)
Holy Fear and Tenderness of Conscience.
Ver. 10.
1 WITH my whole heart I've sought thy face,
O let me never stray
From thy commands, O God of grace,
Nor tread the sinners' way.
2 Thy word I've hid within my heart
To keep my conscience clean,
And be an everlasting guard
From every rising sin.
3 I'm a companion of the saints
Who fear and love the Lord;
My sorrows rise, my nature faints,
When men transgress thy word.
Ver. 161, 163.
4 While sinners do thy gospel wrong,
My spirit stands in awe;
My soul abhors a lying tongue,
But loves thy righteous law.
5 My heart with sacred reverence hears
The threatenings of thy word:
My flesh with holy trembling fears
The judgments of the Lord.
6 My God, I long, I hope, I wait
For thy salvation still;
While thy whole law is my delight,
And I obey thy will.
PSALM CXIX. Fourteenth Part. (C. M.) Benefit of Afflictions, & Support under them. Ver. 153, 81, 82.
1 CONSIDER all my sorrows, Lord,
my deliverance send;
My soul for thy salvation faints;
When will my troubles end?
Ver. 71.
2 Yet I have found, 'tis good for me
To bear my Father's rod;
Afflictions make me learn thy law,
And live upon my God.
Ver. 50.
3 This is the comfort I enjoy
When new distress begins,
I read thy word, I run thy way,
And hate my former sius.
Ver. 92.
4 Had not thy word been my delight
When earthly joys were fled,
My soul opprest with sorrow's weight
Had sunk amongst the dead.
5 I know thy judgments, Lord, are right,
Tho' they may seem severe;
The sharpest sufferings I endure
Flow from thy faithful care.
Ver. 67.
6 Before I knew thy chastening rod
My feet were apt to stray;
But now I learn to keep thy word,
Nor wander from thy way.
PSALM CXIX. Fifteenth Part. (C.M.)
THAT thy statutes every hour
Might dwell upon my mind!
Thence I derive a quickening power,
And daily peace I find.
2 To meditate thy precepts, Lord,
Shall be my sweet employ;
My soul shall ne'er forget thy word,
Thy word is all my joy.
3 How would I run in thy commands,
If thou my heart discharge
From sin and Satan's hateful chains,
And set my feet at large!
4 My lips with courage shall declare
Thy statutes and thy name:
I'll speak thy word, tho' kings shall hear,
Nor yield to sinful shame.
Ver. 61, 69, 70.
5 Let bands of persecutors rise
To rob me of my right,
Let pride and malice forge their lies,
Thy law is my delight.
6 Depart from me, ye wicked race,
Whose bands and hearts are ill:
I love my God, I love his ways,
And must obey his will.
PSALM CXIX. Sixteenth Part. (C. M.)
Prayer for Quickening Grace.
Ver. 25, 37.
1 MY soul lies cleaving to the dust:
Lord, give me life divine;
For vain desires and every lust
Turn off these eyes of mine.
2 I need the influence of thy grace
To speed me in thy way,
Lest I should loiter in my race,
Or turn my feet astray.
3 When sore afflictions press me down,
I need thy quickening powers;
Thy word that I have rested on
Shall help my heaviest hours.
4 Are not thy mercies sovereign still?
And thou a faithful God?
Wilt thou not grant me warmer zeal
To run the heavenly road?
|