5 Not fruits, nor wines that tempt our taste,
Nor all the joys our senses know,
Could make me so divinely blest,
Or raise my cheerful passions so.
6 My life itself, without thy love,
No taste of pleasure could afford;
"Twould but a tiresome burden prove,
If I were banish'd from the Lord.
Amidst the wakeful hours of night,
When busy cares afflict my head,
One thought of thee gives new delight,
And adds refreshment to my bed.
8 I'll lift my hands, I'll raise my voice,
While 1 have breath to pray or praise;
This work shall make my heart rejoice,
And spend the remnant of my days.
PSALM 63.-S. M. [*]
Seeking God.
M This joy, to call thee mine;
God, permit my tongue
And let my early cries prevail
To taste thy love divine.
Not travellers in desert lands,
Can pant for water more.
Within thy churches, Lord,
I long to find my place;
Thy power and glory to behold,
And feel thy quickening grace.
. For life without thy love
No relish can afford;
No joy can be compar'd to this,
To serve and please the Lord.
To thee I lift my hands,
And praise thee while I live;
Not the rich dainties of a feast
Such food or pleasure give.
In wakeful hours of night,
I call my God to mind;
I think how wise thy counsels are,
And all thy dealings kind. }
Since thou hast been my help,
To thee my spirit flies,
And on thy watchful providence
My cheerful hope relies.
My soul in safety keeps:
I follow where my Father leads,
And he supports my steps.
PSALM 65.-1st Part. L. M. [b] Ver. 1-5. Public prayer and praise. 1 THE praise of Zion waits for thee,
My God, and praise becomes thy house;
There shall thy saints thy glory see,
And there perform their public vows.
20 thou, whose mercy bends the skies
To save when humble sinners pray;
All lands to thee shall lift their eyes,
And islands of the northern sea.
3 Against my will my sins prevail,
But grace shall purge away their stain;
The blood of Christ will never fail
To wash my garments white again.
4 Blest is the man whom thou shalt choose
And give him kind access to thee;
Give him a place within thy house,
To taste thy love divinely free.
5 Let Babel fear when Zion prays;
Babel prepare for long distress,
When Zion's God himself arrays
In terror and in righteousness.
6 With dreadful glory God fulfils
What his afflicted saints request;
And with almighty wrath reveals
His love to give his churches rest.
7 Then shall the flocking nations run
To Zion's hill, and own their Lord;
The rising and the setting sun
Shall see the Saviour's name ador'd.
*PSALM 65.-2d Part. L. M. [*] Ver. 5-13. Divine Providence if air, earth, and sea; or, the God of nature and grace.
HE God of our salvation hears
The groans of Zion mix'd with tears;
Yet when he comes with kind designs,
Through all the way his terror shines.
2 On him the race of man depends,
Far as the earth's remotest ends,
Where the Creator's name is known
By nature's feeble light alone.
3 Sailors, that travel o'er the flood,
Address their frighted souls to God,
When tempests rage, and billows roar,
At dreadful distance from the shore.
He bids the noisy tempests cease;
He calms the raging crowd to peace,
When a tumultuous nation raves,
Wild as the winds, and loud as waves.
5 Whole kingdoms, shaken by the storm,
He settles in a peaceful form;
Mountains establish'd by his hand,
Firm on their old foundation stand.
6 Behold his ensigns sweep the sky,
New comets blaze, and lightnings fly;
The heathen lands, with swift surprise,
From the bright horrors turn their eyes.
7 At his command, the morning ray
Smiles in the east, and leads the day;
He guides the sun's declining wheels,
Over the tops of western hills.
8 Seasons and times obey his voice;
The evening and the morn rejoice
To see the earth made soft with showers,
Laden with fruit, and dress'd in flowers.
9 'Tis from his watery stores on high,
He gives the thirsty ground supply;
He walks upon the clouds, and thence
Doth his enriching drops dispense,
10 The desert grows a fruitful field;
Abundant food the vallies yield;
The vallies shout with cheerful voice,
And neighbouring hills repeat their joys.
11 The pastures smile in green array;
There lambs and larger cattle play;
The larger cattle and the lamb,
Each in his language speaks thy name.
I
12 Thy works pronounce thy power divine; O'er every field thy glories shine;
Through every month thy gifts appear; Great God! thy goodness crowns the year.
PSALM 65.-1st Part. C. M. [*]
A prayer-hearing God, and the Gentiles called.
RAISE waits in Zion, Lord, for thee;
There shall our vows be paid;
Thou hast an ear when sinners pray,
All flesh shall seek thine aid.
2 Lord, our iniquities prevail,
But pardoning grace is thine;
And thou wilt grant us power and skill
To conquer every sin.
3 Blest are the men whom thou wilt choose,
To bring them near thy face;
Give them a dwelling in thine house,
'To feast upon thy grace.
4 In answering what thy church requests, Thy truth and terror shine,
And works of dreadful righteousness
Fulfil thy kind design.
5 Thus shall the wondering nations see
The Lord is good and just:
And distant islands fly to thee,
And make thy name their trust.
6 They dread thy glittering tokens, Lord, When signs in heaven appear;
But they shall learn thy holy word,
And love, as well as fear.
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