E'en from my youth, till age prevail'd,
God's mercy ne'er the righteous fail'd;

And blessing on his seed descends.

10 Let mercy dwell within your heart,
And from iniquity depart,

So shall your lot be length of days;
For He, who judgment loves, will still
Preserve his saints secure from ill,
While the ungodly race decays.

The end of the wicked, and of the godly.

11 THE gay, the thoughtless, I have seen Like the young bay-trees, fresh and green,

That spread their verdant branches round; But they were gone, like fleeting thought, And though in ev'ry place I sought,

No sign or trace of them was found.

12 Observe the perfect man with care,
And mark the bliss the righteous share,
Their roughest days in peace will end;
But on the closing days of those,
Who dare God's sacred will oppose,

One common ruin shall attend.

13 God to the just will aid afford,
Their sure salvation is the Lord,
Their strength in time of need is He:
Because on him they still depend,
He will his timely succour send,

And from the wicked set them free.

PSALM 38.

The third penitential Psalm, deprecating the wrath of God.

1 THY chast'ning wrath, O Lord, restrain,
Tho' we deserve it all;

Nor on us let the dreadful storm
Of thy displeasure fall.

2 Submit thy will to heav'ns high Lord, His faith thy trust-thy rule his word; In him delight, on him depend;

Him choose thy guide, thy way, thy end. 3 So shall his love thy wishes grant, His care anticipate thy want; And bid thy works in light serene, Fair as the rising morn be seen.

Patient trust recommended.

4 ON the Lord with patience stay;
Stay in silence, nor repine,
Tho' succeed the sinner's way,
Tho' he work his dark design.
5 Angry thoughts behind thee cast,
Throw the wrathful mood aside;
Fret not, lest thy hand at last
In malignant deeds be tried.
6 Who indulge in deeds of hate,

Quick excision shall be theirs:
Who on God with patience wait,
Of earth's blessings they are heirs.
7 Yet a breath-the wicked's gone;
Seek his place; in vain ye seek.
Heirs of the earth the meek alone;
Plenteous peace shall cheer the meek.

The blessedness and security of the godly in this life.

8 A LITTLE, if God's favour bless, Is more than all the rich possess;

The just man's portion ever lasts; He, when distress o'erwhelms the earth, Shall be unmov'd; and, e'en in dearth, The happy fruits of plenty tastes. 9 The good man's way is God's delight; He orders all his steps aright,

And with his guiding hand befriends.

E'en from my youth, till age prevail'd,
God's mercy ne'er the righteous fail'd;
And blessing on his seed descends.

10 Let mercy dwell within your heart,
And from iniquity depart,

So shall your lot be length of days;
For He, who judgment loves, will still
Preserve his saints secure from ill,
While the ungodly race decays.

The end of the wicked, and of the godly.

11 THE gay, the thoughtless, I have seen Like the young bay-trees, fresh and green,

That spread their verdant branches round; But they were gone, like fleeting thought, And though in ev'ry place I sought,

No sign or trace of them was found.

12 Observe the perfect man with care,
And mark the bliss the righteous share,
Their roughest days in peace will end;
But on the closing days of those,
Who dare God's sacred will oppose,

One common ruin shall attend.

13 God to the just will aid afford,

Their sure salvation is the Lord,
Their strength in time of need is He:
Because on him they still depend,
He will his timely succour send,

And from the wicked set them free.

PSALM 38.

The third penitential Psalm, deprecating the wrath of God.

1 THY chast'ning wrath, O Lord, restrain,
Tho' we deserve it all;

Nor on us let the dreadful storm
Of thy displeasure fall.

2 Wounded by thee, unceasing pain
Runs thro' the conscious mind;
Thy hand lies heavy on our heart,
To constant grief consign'd.

3 Our sins, which to a deluge swell,
Our sinking heads o'erflow;
And for our feeble strength to bear
Too vast a burden grow.

4 All our desire to thee is known,
Thine eye counts ev'ry tear;
And ev'ry sigh, and ev'ry groan,
Is notic'd by thine ear.

5 Forsake us not, O Lord our God,
Nor far from us depart;

Make haste to our relief, O Lord,
Thou our salvation art.

PSALM 39.

A Funeral, for which this Psalm is appointed, is the best comment upon it.

The shortness and vanity of human life.

1 LORD, let me know my term of days,
How soon my life shall end;

The num'rous train of ills disclose
Which this frail state attend.

2 My life, thou know'st, is but a span,
A cipher sums my years:
And ev'ry man in best estate,
But vanity appears.

3 Man, like a shadow, vainly walks,
With fruitless cares opprest:
He heaps up wealth, but cannot tell
By whom 'twill be possest.

4 Why should I then, on worthless toys,
With anxious heart attend?

On thee alone, my stedfast hope
Shall ever, Lord, depend.

Devout supplication for a respite, until prepared for the last great change.

5 LORD! how thy chastisements impair
The human form, however fair!
How frail the strongest frame we see,
If thou its mortal doom decree!

6 So does the fretting moth consume
The curious texture of the loom :
Such, man, thy state;-then humbly own,
That vanity and man are one.

7 Lord! let our sorrows reach thine ears,
O mark our sighs, our groans, our fears!
God of our fathers! here, as they,
We walk, the pilgrims of a day.

8 Spare us awhile, in mercy spare;
Our strength renew; our hearts prepare,
Ere, life's short circuit wander'd o'er,
Departing, we are seen no more,

PSALM 40.

A song of praise for the resurrection of Christ, or for the deliverance of his people from sin and danger.---See Rom. viïïî. 8. ---Eph. i. 19, 20.

1 I WAITED meekly for the Lord, Till he should give a kind reply:

He did his gracious aid afford,

And heard from heaven my humble cry.

2 He took me from the dismal pit,

When deeply sunk in miry clay;
Firm on a rock he plac'd my feet,
And led my footsteps in the way.

3 The wonders he for me has wrought,
Shall fill my mouth with songs of praise;
And others, to his service brought,
To hopes of like deliv'rance raise.

G