5 How great deliverance thou hast wrought
Before the sons of men!
The lying lips to silence brought,
And made their boastings vain!
6 Thy children, from the strife of tongues,
Shall thy pavilion hide,
Guard them from infamy and wrongs,
And crush the sons of pride.
7 Within thy secret presence, Lord,
Let me for ever dwell;
No fenced city, wall'd and barr'd,
Secures a saint so well.
Psalm 32:1. S. M.
Forgiveness of sins upon confession.
1 O blessed souls are they
Whose sins are cover'd o'er!
Divinely blest, to whom the Lord
imputes their guilt no more.
2 They mourn their follies past,
And keep their hearts with care;
Their lips and lives without deceit,
Shall prove their faith sincere.
3 While I conceal'd my guilt
I felt the festering wound,
Till I confess'd my sins to thee,
And ready pardon found.
4 Let sinners learn to pray,
Let saints keep near the throne;
Our help in times of deep distress,
Is found in God alone.
Psalm 32:2. First Part. L. M.
Free pardon and sincere obedience;
or, Confession and forgiveness.
1 Happy the man to whom his God
No more imputes his sin,
But wash'd in the Redeemer's blood,
Hath made his garments clean!
2 Happy, beyond expression, he
Whose debts are thus discharg'd;
And from the guilty bondage free,
He feels his soul enlarg'd.
3 His spirit hates deceit and lies,
His words are all sincere;
He guards his heart, he guards his eyes,
To keep his conscience clear.
4 While I my inward guilt supprest,
No quiet could I find;
Thy wrath lay burning in my breast,
And rack'd my tortur'd mind.
5 Then I confess'd my troubled thoughts,
My secret sins reveal'd;
Thy pardoning grace forgave my faults,
Thy grace my pardon seal'd.
6 This shall invite thy saints to pray,
When, like a raging flood,
Temptations rise, our strength and stay
Is a forgiving God.
Psalm 32:3. L. M.
Repentance and free pardon;
or, Justification and sanctification.
1 Blest is the man, for ever blest,
Whose guilt is pardon'd by his God,
Whose sins with sorrow are confess'd,
And cover'd with his Saviour's blood.
2 Blest is the man to whom the Lord
Imputes not his iniquities,
He pleads no merit of reward,
And not on works, but grace relies.
3 From guile his heart and lips are free,
His humble joy, his holy fear,
With deep repentance well agree,
And join to prove his faith sincere.
4 How glorious is that righteousness
That hides and cancels all his sins!
While a bright evidence of grace
Thro' his whole life appears and shines.
Psalm 32:4. Second Part. L. M.
A guilty conscience eased by confession and pardon.
1 While I keep silence, and conceal
My heavy guilt within my heart,
What torments doth my conscience feel!
What agonies of inward smart!
2 I spread my sins before the Lord,
And all my secret faults confess;
Thy gospel speaks a pard'ning word
Thine Holy Spirit seals the grace.
3 For this shall every humble soul
Make swift addresses to thy seat;
When floods of huge temptations roll,
There shall they find a blest retreat.
4 How safe beneath thy wings I lie,
When days grow dark, and storms appear!
And when I walk, thy watchful eye
Shall guide me safe from every snare.
Psalm 33:1. First Part. C. M.
Works of creation and providence.
1 Rejoice, ye righteous, in the Lord,
This work belongs to you:
Sing of his name, his ways, his word,
How holy, just, and true!
2 His mercy and his righteousness
Let heaven and earth proclaim;
His works of nature and of grace
Reveal his wondrous name.
3 His wisdom and almighty word
The heavenly arches spread;
And by the Spirit of the Lord
Their shining hosts were made.
4 He bid the liquid waters flow
To their appointed deep;
The flowing seas their limits know,
And their own station keep.
5 Ye tenants of the spacious earth,
With fear before him stand;
He spake, and nature took its birth,
And rests on his command.
6 He scorns the angry nations' rage,
And breaks their vain designs;
His counsel stands thro' every age,
And in full glory shines.
Psalm 33:2. Second Part. C. M.
Creatures vain, and God all-sufficient.
1 Blest is the nation where the Lord
Hath fix'd his gracious throne;
Where he reveals his heavenly word,
And calls their tribes his own.
2 His eye, with infinite survey,
Does the whole world behold;
He form'd us all of equal clay,
And knows our feeble mould.
3 Kings are not rescu'd by the force
Of armies from the grave;
Nor speed nor courage of an horse
Can the bold rider save,
4 Vain is the strength of beasts or men
To hope for safety thence;
But holy souls from God obtain
A strong and sure defence.
5 God is their fear, and God their trust,
When plagues or famine spread,
His watchful eye secures the just
Amongst ten thousand dead.
6 Lord, let our hearts in thee rejoice,
And bless us from thy throne;
For we have made thy word our choice,
And trust thy grace alone.
Psalm 33:3. First Part. As the 113th Psalm.
Works of creation and providence.
1 Ye holy souls, in God rejoice,
Your Maker's praise becomes your voice;
Great is your theme, your songs be new:
Sing of his name, his word, his ways,
His works of nature and of grace,
How wise and holy, just and true.
2 Justice and truth he ever loves,
And the whole earth his goodness proves,
His word the heavenly arches spread;
How wide they shine from north to south!
And by the Spirit of his mouth
Were all the starry armies made.
3 He gathers the wide-flowing seas,
Those watery treasures know their place,
In the vast storehouse of the deep:
He spake, and gave all nature birth;
And fires, and seas, and heaven, and earth,
His everlasting orders keep.
4 Let mortals tremble and adore
A God of such resistless power,
Nor dare indulge their feeble rage:
Vain are your thoughts, and weak your hands;
But his eternal counsel stands,
And rules the world from age to age.
Psalm 33:4. Second Part. As the 113th Psalm.
Creatures vain, and God all-sufficient.
1 O Happy nation, where the Lord
Reveals the treasure of his word,
And builds his church his earthly throne!
His eye the heathen world surveys,
He form'd their hearts, he knows their ways;
But God their Maker is unknown.
2 Let kings rely upon their host,
And of his strength the champion boast;
In vain they boast, in vain rely;
In vain we trust the brutal force,
Or speed, or courage of an horse,
To guard his rider, or to fly.
3 The eye of thy compassion, Lord,
Doth more secure defence afford
When death or dangers threatening stand;
Thy watchful eye preserves the just,
Who make thy name their fear and trust,
When wars or famine waste the land.
4 In sickness or the bloody field,
Thou our physician, thou our shield,
Send us salvation from thy throne;
We wait to see thy goodness shine;
Let us rejoice in help divine,
For all our hope is God alone.
Psalm 34:1. First Part. L. M.
God's care of the saints; or, Deliverance by prayer.
1 Lord, I will bless thee all my days,
Thy praise shall dwell upon my tongue;
My soul shall glory in thy grace,
While saints rejoice to hear the song.
2 Come, magnify the Lord with me,
Come, let us all exalt his name;
I sought th' eternal God, and he
Has not expos'd my hope to shame.
3 I told him all my secret grief,
My secret groaning reach'd his ears;
He gave my inward pains relief,
And calm'd the tumult of my fears.
4 To him the poor lift up their eyes,
Their faces feel the heavenly shine;
A beam of mercy from the skies
Fills them with light and joy divine.
6 His holy angels pitch their tents
Around the men that serve the Lord;
O fear and love him, all his saints,
Taste of his grace and trust his word.
6 The wild young lions, pinch'd with pain
And hunger, roar thro' all the wood;
But none shall seek the Lord in vain,
Nor want supplies of real good.
Psalm 34:2. 11-22. Second Part. L. M.
Religious education; or, Instructions of piety.
1 Children in years and knowledge young,
Your parents' hope, your parents' joy,
Attend the counsels of my tongue,
Let pious thoughts your minds employ.
2 If you desire a length of days,
And peace to crown your mortal state,
Restrain your feet from impious ways,
Your lips from slander and deceit.
3 The eyes of God regard his saints,
His ears are open to their cries;
He sets his frowning face against
The sons of violence and lies.
4 To humble souls and broken hearts
God with his grace is ever nigh;
Pardon and hope his love imparts
When men in deep contrition lie.
5 He tell their tears, he counts their groans,
His Son redeems their souls from death;
His Spirit heals their broken bones,
They in his praise employ their breath.
Psalm 34:3. 1-10. First Part. C. M.
Prayer and Praise for eminent deliverance.
1 I'll bless the Lord from day to day;
How good are all his ways!
Ye humble souls that use to pray,
Come, help my lips to praise.
2 Sing to the honour of his name,
How a poor sufferer cry'd,
Nor was his hope expos'd to shame,
Nor was his suit deny'd.
3 When threatening sorrows round me stood,
And endless fears arose,
Like the loud billows of a flood,
Redoubling all my woes;
4 I told the Lord my sore distress
With heavy groans and tears,
He gave my sharpest torments ease,
And silenc'd all my fears.