2 He proves the righteous, marks their path; In him the weak are strong;

But violence provokes his wrath;
The Lord abhorreth wrong.

3 God on the wicked will rain down
Brimstone and fire and snares;
The gloom and tempest of his frown;
-This portion shall be theirs.

4 The righteous Lord will take delight
Alone in righteousness;

The just are pleasing in his sight,
The humble he will bless.

PSALM XIII.

1 How long wilt thou, O God of grace,
Forget thy wonted love?

How long conceal thy shining face,
Nor bid the cloud remove?

2 How long shall my dejected soul,
Thus pond'ring o'er her woes,

In vain endeavour to conceal

The power

of inward foes?

3 Lord, hear my prayer

and heal

Arise with cheering light,

(c. M.)

my woes;

Or soon these failing eyes will close
In everlasting night.

4 The powers of darkness will rejoice
To see my life decay,

And triumph with insulting voice,
Around their trembling prey.

5 But, Lord, thy mercy hitherto
Has been, my only trust;
Let mercy now my joys renew,
And raise me from the dust.

5 Then shall my heart and tongue proclaim
The bounties of my God;

My songs with grateful rapture flame,
And spread thy praise abroad.

PSALM XIV. 1-3, 7.

(L. M.)

1 There is no God, the wicked say,
And thus would send their fears away:
Hence their profane discourse proceeds;
Hence their corrupt and impious deeds.
2 The Lord look'd down with searching eye,
From where he keeps his throne on high,
Inquiring on this world's abode,

Who understand and seek their God:
3 Alas, he saw them all astray,
Each walking his corrupted way;
All to the paths of sin are gone,
And none is righteous; no, not one.
4 Lord, bring redemption from the skies!
From Zion bid salvation rise!

Then shall thy ransom'd Jacob sing,
And Israel all his praises bring.

PSALM XV. (c. M.)

Appointed by the church for Ascension day, as exhibiting the character of him who ascended, and of all who shall ascend to the heavenly Zion.

1 Who shall inhabit on thy hill,

O God of Holiness?

Whom will the Lord admit to dwell

So near his throne of grace?

2 The man who walks in upright ways, And works with righteous hands;

Who trusts his Maker's promises,
And follows his commands.

3 He speaks the meaning of his heart,
Nor slanders with his tongue;
Delights not in a false report,

Nor does his neighbour wrong.

4 The wealthy sinner he contemns,
Loves all that fear the Lord;
And though to his own hurt he swears,
He still performs his word.

5 His hands disdain a golden bribe,
And never wrong the poor:
This man on Zion's hill shall stand,
There dwell for evermore.

PSALM XVI. 8--11.

(c. M.)

St. Peter and St. Paul apply these verses to the resurrection of

Christ.

1 I strive each action to approve
To God's all seeing eye;

No danger shall my hopes remove,
Because he still is nigh.

2 Therefore my heart all grief defies,
My glory does rejoice;

My flesh shall rest, in hope to rise
Wak'd by his powerful voice.

3 Thou Lord, when I resign my breath,
My soul from hell shalt free,
Nor let thy holy one in death
The least corruption see.

4 Thou shalt the paths of life display
Which to thy presence lead,

Where pleasures dwell without allay,
And joys that never fade.

PSALM XVII. 14, 15.

1 The pleasures of this world below
Are all the bliss that sinners know;
'Tis all they seek, they take their shares,
And leave the rest among their heirs.

2 But what they value, I resign;
Lord, 'tis enough that thou art mine;
I shall behold thy blissful face,
And stand complete in righteousness.
3 This life's a dream, an empty show;
But the bright world, to which I go,
Hath joys substantial and sincere;
When shall I wake and find me there!
4 O glorious hour! O blest abode!
I shall be near and like my God!
And flesh and sin no more control
The sacred pleasures of the soul.

PSALM XVIII. 6--15.、

(L. M.)

1 In deep distress I rais'd my voice on high: From heav'n he bow'd to hear the humble cry; Then dread convulsions shook the solid ground; Wav'd the tall woods, and quak'd the hills around;

Forth rush'd a smoky tempest through the skies, And round all ether flames began to rise.

2 To earth he came; the heavens before him bow'd; Beneath his feet deep midnight stretch'd her shroud;

Cherubic hosts his sunbright chariot form;
His wings the whirlwind, and his path the storm;

12

Around his car thick clouds their curtains spread, And wrapt the concave in a boundless shade. 3 Before his path o'erwhelming splendors came; The clouds dissolv'd; all nature felt the flame; From his dark throne a voice in thunder broke, The wide world trembled as th' Eternal spoke: His foes to vanquish angry blasts conspire,

Showers of dread hail, and coals of burning fire. 4 Through the vast void his arrows wing'd their way;

His lightnings blaz'd insufferable day;

Oppress'd, o'erthrown, or scatter'd on the plain
Fled his pale foes, or strew'd the fields with
slain:

Th'affrighted floods their secret channels show'd,
And earth's disclos'd foundations own'd her
God.

PSALM XIX.

PART I. 1-6.

1 The spacious firmament on high,

With all the blue ethereal sky,

(D. L. M.)

And spangled heav'ns, a shining frame,

Their great original proclaim.

Th' unwearied sun, from day to day,
Doth his Creator's pow'r display,
And publishes to every land
The work of an almighty hand.

2 Soon as the evening shades prevail,

The

takes moon

up

the wond'rous tale,

And, nightly, to the listening earth
Repeats the story of her birth:

While all the stars that round her burn,
And all the planets in their turn,