7 We are expos'd all day to die
As martyrs for thy cause,
As sheep for slaughter bound we lie
By sharp and bloody laws.
8 Awake, arise, almighty Lord,
Why sleeps thy wonted grace?
Why should we look like men abhorr'd,
Or banish'd from thy face?
9 Wilt thou for ever cast us off
And still neglect our cries?
For ever hide thine heavenly love
From our afflicted eyes?
10 Down to the dust our soul is bow'd,
And dies upon the ground;
Rise for our help, rebuke the proud,
And all their powers confound.
11 Redeem us from perpetual shame,
Our Saviour and our God;
We plead the honours of thy Name,
The merits of thy blood.
Psalm 45:1. S. M.
The glory of Christ; the success of
the gospel; and the Gentile church.
1 My Saviour and my King,
Thy beauties are divine;
Thy lips with blessings overflow,
And every grace is thine.
2 Now make thy glory known,
Gird on thy dreadful sword,
And ride in majesty to spread
The conquests of thy word.
Strike thro' thy stubborn foes,
Or melt their hearts t'obey,
While justice, meekness, grace, and truth,
Attend thy glorious way.
4 Thy laws, O God, are right;
Thy throne shall ever end;
And thy victorious gospel proves
A sceptre in thy hand.
5 [Thy Father and thy God
Hath without measure shed
His Spirit, like a joyful oil,
T'anoint thy sacred head.]
6 [Behold, at thy right hand
The Gentile church is seen,
Like a fair bride in rich attire,
And princes guard the queen.]
7 Fair bride, receive his love,
Forget thy father's house;
Forsake thy gods, thy idol gods,
And pay thy Lord thy vows.
8 O let thy God and King
Thy sweetest thoughts employ;
Thy children shall his honours sing
In palaces of joy.
Psalm 45:2. C. M.
The personal glories and government of Christ.
1 I'll speak the honours of my King,
His form divinely fair;
None of the sons of mortal race
May with the Lord compare.
2 Sweet is thy speech and heavenly grace
Upon thy lips is shed;
Thy God, with blessings infinite,
Hath crown'd thy sacred head.
3 Gird on thy sword, victorious Prince,
Ride with majestic sway;
Thy terrors shall strike thro' thy foes,
And make the world obey.
4 Thy throne, O God, for ever stands;
Thy word of grace shall prove
A peaceful sceptre in thy hands,
To rule the saints by love.
5 Justice and truth attend thee still
But mercy is thy choice;
And God, thy God, thy soul shall fill
With most peculiar joys.
Psalm 45:3. First Part. L. M.
The glory of Christ, and power of his gospel.
1 Now be my heart inspir'd to sing
The glories of my Saviour-king,
Jesus the Lord; how heavenly fair
His form! how 'bright his beauties are!
2 O'er all the sons of human race
He shines with a superior grace,
Love from his lips divinely flows,
And blessings all his state compose.
3 Dress thee in arms, most mighty Lord,
Gird on the terror of thy sword,
In majesty and glory ride
With truth and meekness at thy side.
4 Thine anger, like a pointed dart,
Shall pierce the foes of stubborn heart;
Or words of mercy kind and sweet
Shall melt the rebels at thy feet.
5 Thy throne, O God, for ever stands,
Grace is the sceptre in thy hands;
Thy laws and works are just and right,
Justice and grace are thy delight.
6 God, thine own God, has richly shed
His oil of gladness on thy head,
And with his sacred Spirit blest
His first-born Son above the rest.
Psalm 45:4. Second Part. L. M.
Christ and his church; or, The mystical marriage.
1 The king of saints, how fair his face,
Adorn'd with majesty and grace!
He comes with blessings from above,
And wins the nations to his love.
2 At his right hand our eyes behold
The queen array'd in purest gold;
The world admires her heavenly dress,
Her robe of joy and righteousness.
3 He forms her beauties like his own;
He calls and seats her near his throne:
Fair stranger, let thine heart forget
The idols of thy native state.
4 So shall the King the more rejoice
In thee, the favourite of his choice;
Let him be lov'd and yet ador'd,
For he's thy Maker and thy Lord.
5 O happy hour, when thou shalt rise
To his fair palace in the skies,
And all thy Sons (a numerous train)
Each like a prince in glory reign!
6 Let endless honours crown his head;
Let every age his praises spread;
While we with cheerful songs approve
The condescensions of his love.
Psalm 46:1. First Part.
The church's safety and triumph
among national desolations.
1 God is the refuge of his saints,
When storms of sharp distress invade;
Ere we can offer our complaints
Behold him present with his aid.
2 Let mountains from their seats be hurl'd
Down to the deep, and buried there;
Convulsions shake the solid world,
Our faith shall never yield to fear.
3 Loud may the troubled ocean roar,
In sacred peace our souls abide,
While every nation, every shore,
Trembles, and dreads the swelling tide.
4 There is a stream whose gentle flow
Supplies the city of our God;
Life, love, and joy still gliding thro',
And watering our divine abode.
5 That sacred stream, thine holy word,
That all our raging fear controls:
Sweet peace thy promises afford,
And give new strength to fainting souls.
6 Sion enjoys her monarch's love,
Secure against a threatening hour;
Nor can her firm foundations move,
Built on his truth, and arm'd with pow'r.
Psalm 46:2. Second Part.
God fights for his church.
1 Let Sion in her King rejoice,
Tho' tyrants rage and kingdoms rise;
He utters his almighty voice,
The nations melt, the tumult dies.
2 The Lord of old for Jacob fought,
And Jacob's God is still our aid;
Behold the works his hand has wrought,
What desolations he has made!
3 From sea to sea, thro' all the shores,
He makes the noise of battle cease;
When from on high his thunder roars,
He awes the trembling world to peace.
4 He breaks the bow, he cuts the spear,
Chariots he burns with heavenly flame;
Keep silence all the earth, and hear
The sound and glory of his Name.
5 "Be still, and learn that I am God,
"I'll be exalted o'er the lands,
"I will be known and fear'd abroad,
"But still my throne in Sion stands."
6 O Lord of hosts, almighty King,
While we so near thy presence dwell,
Our faith shall sit secure, and sing
Defiance to the gates of hell.
Psalm 47.
Christ ascending and reigning.
1 O for a shout of sacred joy
To God the sovereign King!
Let every land their tongues employ,
And hymns of triumph sing.
2 Jesus our God ascends on high,
His heavenly guards around
Attend him rising thro' the sky,
With trumpet's joyful sound.
3 While angels shout and praise their King,
Let mortals learn their strains;
Let all the earth his honour sing;
O'er all the earth he reigns.
4 Rehearse his praise with awe profound,
Let knowledge lead the song,
Nor mock him with a solemn sound
Upon a thoughtless tongue.
5 In Israel stood his ancient throne,
He lov'd that chosen race;
But now he calls the world his own,
And heathens taste his grace.
6 The British islands are the Lord's,
There Abraham's God is known,
While powers and princes, shields and swords,
Submit before his throne.
Psalm 48:1. 1-8. First Part.
The church is the honour and safety of a nation.
1 [Great is the Lord our God,
And let his praise be great;
He makes his churches his abode,
His most delightful seat.
2 These temples of his grace,
How beautiful they stand!
The honours of our native place,
And bulwarks of our land.]
3 In Sion God is known
A refuge in distress;
How bright has his salvation shone
Thro' all her palaces!
4 When kings against her join'd,
And saw the Lord was there,
In wild confusion of the mind
They fled with hasty tear.
5 When navies tall and proud
Attempt to spoil our peace,
He sends his tempests roaring loud,
And sinks them in the seas.
6 Oft have our fathers told,
Our eyes have often seen,
How well our God secures the fold
Where his own sheep have been.
7 In every new distress
We'll to his house repair.
We'll think upon his wondrous grace,
And seek deliverance there.
Psalm 48:2. 10-14. Second Part.
The beauty of the church; or,
Gospel worship and order.
1 Far as thy name is known
The world declares thy praise;
Thy saints, O Lord, before thy throne
Their songs of honour raise.
2 With joy let Judah stand
On Sion's chosen hill,
Proclaim the wonders of thy hand,
And counsels of thy will.
3 Let strangers walk around
The city where we dwell,
Compass and view thine holy ground,
And mark the building well.
4 The orders of thy house,
The worship of thy court,
The cheerful songs, the solemn vows;
And make a fair report.
5 How decent and how wise!
How glorious to behold!
Beyond the pomp that charms the eyes,
And rites adorn'd with gold.
6 The God we worship now
Will guide us till we die,
Will be our God while here below,
And ours above the sky.
Psalm 49:1. 8-14. First Part. C. M.
Pride and death; or, The vanity of life and riches.
1 Why doth the man of riches grow
To insolence and pride,
To see his wealth and honours flow
With every rising tide?
2 [Why doth he treat the poor with scorn,
Made of the self-same clay,
And boast as tho' his flesh was born
Of better dust than they?]
3 Not all his treasures can procure
His soul a short reprieve,
Redeem from death one guilty hour,
Or make his brother live.
4 [Life is a blessing can't be sold,
The ransom is too high;
Justice will ne'er be brib'd with gold
That man may never die.]
5 He sees the brutish and the wise,
The timorous and the brave,
Quit their possessions, close their eyes,
And hasten to the grave.
6 Yet 'tis his inward thought and pride,--
"My house shall ever stand;
"And that my name may long abide,
"I'll give it to my land."
7 Vain are his thoughts, his hopes are lost,
How soon his memory dies!
His name is written in the dust
Where his own carcase lies.