593}

I will

Warning to magistrates. UDGES, who rule the world by laws, Will ye despise the righteous cause, When th' injur'd poor before you stands? Dare ye condemn the righteous poor, And let rich sinners 'scape secure, While gold and greatness bribe your hands?

2 Have ye forgot, or never knew, That God will judge the judges too? High in the heavens his justice reigns; Yet you invade the rights of God, And send your bold. decrees abroad, To bind the conscience in your chains. 3 A poison'd arrow is your tongue, The arrow sharp, the poison strong, And death attends where'er it wounds: You hear no counsels, cries or tears; So the deaf adder stops her ears

Against the power of charming sounds. 4 Break out their teeth, eternal God, Those teeth of lions dy'd in blood;

And crush the serpents in the dust: As empty chaff, when whirlwinds rise, Before the sweeping tempest flies, So let their hopes and names be lost. 5Th Almighty thunders from the sky, Their grandeur melts, their titles die, As hills of snow dissolve and run, Or snails that perish in their slime, Or births that come before their time, Vain births, that never see the sun. Thus shall the vengeance of the Lord Safety and joy to saints afford;'

And all that bear shall join and say, "Sure there's a God that rules on high, "A God that hears his children cry, "And will their sufferings well repay."

12 Why will ye then frame wicked laws? Or why support th' unrighteous cause? When will ye once defend the poor, That sinners vex the saints no more? 3 They know not, Lord, nor will they know;

Dark are the ways in which they go: Their name of earthly gods is vain, For they shall fall and die like men. 4 Arise, O Lord, and let thy Son Possess his universal throne, And rule the nations with his rod; He is our Judge, and he our God.

SICKNESS AND RECOVERY.

To souls that feel the frown; Lord, 'twas thy hand advanc'd me high, Thy hand hath cast me down.

My locks like wither'd leaves appear,
And life's declining light
Grows faint, as evening shadows are
That vanish into night.

10 But thou forever art the same,
O my eternal God!
Ages to come shall know thy name,
And spread thy works abroad.
11 Thou wilt arise, and show thy face;
Nor will my Lord delay
Beyond th' appointed hour of grace,
That long expected day.

12 He hears his saints, he knows their cry,
And by mysterious ways,
Redeems the prisoners doom'd to die,
And fills their tongues with praise.

596}

PSALM 39. 3d Part. C. M. b

Plympton, Colchester. Sick-bed devotion; or, pleading without repining.

OD of my life, look gently down, Behold the pains I feel; But I am dumb before thy throne, Nor dare dispute thy will. 2 Diseases are thy servants, Lord; They come at thy command ; I'll not attempt a murmuring word Against thy chastening, hand. 3. Yet I may plead with humble cries, "Remove thy sharp rebukes;" My strength consumes, my spirit dies, Through thy repeated strokes. 4 Crush'd as a moth beneath thy hand, We moulder to the dust; Our feeble powers can ne'er withstand, And all our beauty's lost. 5 [This mortal life decays apace,

How soon the bubble's broke! Adam and all his numerous race Are vanity and smoke] 6 Pm but a sojourner below,

As all my fathers were;
May I be well prepar'd to go,
When I the summons hear.

7 But if my life be spar'd a while,
Before my last remove,
Thy praise shall be my business still
And I'll declare thy love.

2 Yet I have found 'tis good for me To bear my Father's rod;

6

Verse 75.

know thy judgments, Lord, are right, The sharpest sufferings I endure Though they may seem severe : Flow from thy faithful care.

Verse 74,

5.Thy hands have made my mortal frame,
Thy Sprit form'd my soul within ;
Teach me to know thy wondrous name,
And guard me safe from death and sin.
6 Then all that love and fear the Lord,
At my salvation shall rejoice;
For I have hoped in thy word;,
And made thy grace my only choice,

599

Blendon, Armley. Temptations in sickness overcome.

And live upon my God,

When thou with kindness dost

chastise;

But thy fierce wrath I cannot bear; O let it not against me rise! 2 Pity my languishing estate, And ease the sorrows which I feel; The wounds thine heavy hand hath made, O let thy gentler touches heal! 3 See how I pass my weary days, In sighs and groans; and when 'tis night, My bed is water'd with my tears; My grief consumes and dims my sight. Look how the powers of nature mourn! How long, Almighty God, how long When shall thine hour of grace return? When shall I make thy grace my song? 5 I feel my flesh so near the grave, My thoughts are tempted to despair: But graves can never praise the Lord, For all is dust and silence there. 6 Depart, ye tempters, from my soul; And all despairing thoughts, depart; My God, who hears my humble moan, Will ease my flesh, and cheer my heart.

PSALM 6. C. M. bor Plymouth, London. Complaint in sickness; or, diseases healed. Nanger, Lord, rebuke me not, Withdraw the dreadful sto Nor let thy fury grow so hot Against a feeble" worm.

IN

2 My soul's bow'd down with heavy cares,
My flesh with pain oppress'd;
My couch is witness to my tears,
My tears forbid my rest.
3 Sorrow and pain wear out my days;
I waste the night with cries,
Counting the minutes as they pass,
Till the slow morning rise.
4 Shall I be still tormented more?
Mine eyes consum'd with grief?
How long, my God, how long before
Thine hand afford relief?

5 He hears when dust and ashes speak;
He pities all our groans;
He saves us for his mercy's sake,
And heals our broken bones."
The virtue of his sovereign word
Restores our fainting breath;
But silent graves praise not the Lord,
Nor is he known in death.

3

Shall walk all day beneath his shade, And there at night shall rest his head. 2 Then will I say, "My God, thy power "Shall be my fortress and my tower: “I, that am form'd of feeble dust, "Make thine almighty arm my trust." Thrice happy man! thy Maker's care Shall keep thee from the fowler's snare ; Satan, the fowler, who betrays Unguarded souls a thousand ways. 4 Just as a hen protects her brood (From birds of prey that seek their blood) Under her feathers, so the Lord Makes his own arm his people's guard. 5 If burning beams of noon conspire To dart a pestilential fire, God is their life, his wings are spread To shield them with an healthful shade. 6 If vapours, with malignant breath, Rise thick, and scatter midnight death, Israel is safe: The poison'd air Grows pure, if Israel's God be there. PAUSE.

7 What though a thousand at thy side,
At thy right hand ten thousand died?
Thy God his chosen people saves,
Among the dead, amid the graves.
8 So when he sent his angel down
To make his wrath in Egypt known,
And slew their sons, his careful eye
Pass'd all, the doors of Jacob by.

9 But if the fire, or plague, or sword, Receive commission from the Lord To strike his saints among the rest, Their very pains and deaths are blest. 10 The sword, the pestilence, or fire, Shall but fulfil their best desire; From sins and sorrows set them free,

And bring thy children, Lord, to thee.