For dogs have compass'd me: a rout Of wicked me beset; My hands they and my feet have dug Ev'n as a lion would. My bones I may tell all of them; My Cloathes they part among themselves, And on my Robe throw lots. But, O Eternal One, be not Thou far estrang'd from me. O thou that art my strength make haste With succor unto me. Save my Soul from the Sword; from the Dogs paw my Only one. From lions mouth save me, and bear Me from the Wild-Goats horns. I will declare thy Name to those I will praise thee in the middest of Who fear th' Eternal God, praise Him; Glorify Him; and fear Him all You seed of Israel. For He hath not despised nor loath'd, In the great Congregation now From Thee shall be my praise; Before such as do fear Him now I will perform my Vows. The poor shall eat and have enough; They'll praise the Eternal God, Who seek for Him; your heart shall live To all Eternity. All the Worlds bounds remembring shall Turn to th' Eternal God; And of the Nations all the Tribes, Bow down before His face. For unto the Eternal God The Kingdom doth belong; Out of the sunshine, warm and soft and bright, Out of the sunshine into darkest night; I oft would faint with sorrow and affright, Only for this-I know He holds my hand, So whether in a green or desert land I trust, although I may not understand. And by still waters? No, not always so; Ofttimes the heavy tempests round me blow, And o'er my soul the waves and billows go. And when the storm beats loudest, and I cry Aloud for help, the Master standeth by And whispers to my soul: "Lo! it is I." Above the tempest wild I hear Him say: "Beyond this darkness lies the perfect day; In every path of thine I lead the way." So whether on the hilltop high and fair I dwell, or in the sunless valley where The shadows lie-what matters? He is there, And more than this; where'er the pathway lead, He gives to me no helpless, broken reed. But His own hand sufficient for my need. So where He leadeth I can safely go; And in the blest hereafter I shall know Why, in His wisdom, He hath led me so. ANONYMOUS. THE TWENTY-THIRD PSALME. THE God of love my shepherd is, And he that doth me feed: While he is mine, and I am his, What can I want or need? He leads me to the tender grasse, Or if I stray, he doth convert, And bring my minde in frame: And all this not for my desert But for his holy name. Yea, in death's shadie black abode Nay, thou dost make me sit and dine, Surely thy sweet and wondrous love GEORGE HERBERT (1593-1633). PSALM XXIII. THE Lord my pasture shall prepare, When in the sultry glebe I faint, Or on the thirsty mountain pant, To fertile vales and dewy meads My weary, wandering steps He leads, Though in the paths of death I tread, Though in a bare and rugged way, Through devious lonely wilds, I stray, Thy bounty shall my wants beguile; The barren wilderness shall smile, With sudden greens and herbage crowned, And streams shall murmur all around. JOSEPH ADDISON (1672-1719). PSALM XXIV. EARTH is the Lord's! And all its fulness His! And they who therein dwell. Who shall ascend His holy place on high? He shall receive The blessings of the Lord! The perfect righteousness Do seek, such is the race O Jacob, seek Thy face. Lift up, O gates, Lift up your heads on high! Doors of eternity! Of glory, shall come in! In battle mighty He! Lift up, O gates! Lift up your heads on high, Of glory, shall come in! PSALM XXV. To God in whom I trust, Those who on thee rely, Be that the shameful lot of such To me thy truth impart, And lead me in thy way; For thou art he who brings me help, On thee I wait all day. Thy mercies and thy love, To Israel's chosen race And in the midst of all their wants, EDWARD CLARE. PSALM XXVI. JUDGE me, O Lord, for I have walk'd In mine integrity; I trusted also in the Lord, Slide therefore shall not I. Try heart and reins, O God: With persons vain I have not sat, So to thine holy altar go, That I, with voice of thanksgiving, With sinners gather not my soul, Corrupting bribes do fill. But as for me, I will walk on Do thou redeem me, and O Lord, Be merciful to me. My foot upon an even place Within the congregations Th' Eternal I will bless. REVISED SCOTCH VERSION. PSALM XXVII, 4. אחת שאלתי מאת ד' How precious is that one desire Of David in his song A sacred treasure for the soul, A shelter from the wrong. To see God's beauty all his life; To be allowed to peer Within His temple for the truthTo seek His glory there. Thus, should the hour of trouble come, A sure and secret hiding place A simple thought, a simple prayer. ARCHIBALD Ross. PSALM XXVIII. THOU art, O Lord my strength and stay, To them that go to grave. Repute me not among the sort Of wicked and pervert: That speake right faire unto their friends And think ful il in hart. According to their handywork As they deserve in deede : And after their inventions, Let them receive their meede. For they regard nothing God's works Therefore he will them and their seede To render thanks unto the Lord, How great a cause have I: My voice, my praier, and my complaint That heard so willingly. He is my shield and fortitude, My hope, my health, my hart's refuge, He is our strength and our defence, Thy people and thy heritage, Lord, blesse, guide, and preserve: Increase them Lord and rule their harts PSALM XXIX. YE princes' sonnes, yield to the Lorde, Quho sittis most gloriously upon The uoyce of God on uattiris ringis, And makis a wondrousse sound; Strong gloriouse God doth thunder, his uoyce On uattiris that abound: The uoyce of God cummis semely furth, His uoyce cummis forth with micht; Jehoua's uoyce the cedres brekis, Euen Leban's cedres wicht, And makis thaime as a calf to skipp Hudge Leban, Sirion eik, Lyke to the faime of vnicornis, Will leap quhen he doth speik. Jehoua's uoice makis hyndis to calue, And sittis a King for aye; The same Jehoua great doth blesse KING JAMES THE FIRST (1566-1625) PSALM XXX. LORD God thy praise I will declare, Yea from the dungeon and the pit, GEORGE WITHER (1588-1667) [PSALM XXXI: 15.] MY TIMES ARE IN THY HAND. FATHER, I know that all my life And the changes that are sure to come, But I ask Thee for a present mind, I ask Thee for a thoughful love, I would not have the restless will Wherever in the world I am, I have a fellowship with hearts And a work of lowly love to do For the Lord on whom I wait. So I ask Thee for the daily strength, And mind to blend with outward life If Thou be glorified. And if some things I do not ask, I would have my Spirit filled the more There are briers besetting every path, In a service which Thy will appoints, For my inmost heart is taught "the truth" That makes Thy children "free"; |