Thou art my strength, O Lord! Thee will I loue,
Thou art my Rocke, which nothing can remoue:
My God, in Whome my trust I will repose,
My Sauiour, sheild and horne, against my foes;
Lord, most praise worthy, pray will I to Thee
Soe shall I from my foes protected bee;
When deadly sorrowes did besett mee round,
And floods of wickednes did mee surhound[193]
When paines of hell I felt in my desease,
And pangs of death upon my soule did sease;
On GOD I callèd in that instant truble,
And my complaints unto the Lord did dubble:
But when His wrath and vengeance kindled were,
The Earth did quake, and mountaines shooke for feare,
And coles grew redd with His inflaminge jre;
Hee bowed the heauens, and did descend withall,
And shadowes darke beneath His feet did fall:
Hee ridinge on the CHERUBINS did fly,
And with the wingèd windes was borne on high;
Darkness His clossett, His pauilion wide
Made of blacke clouds, His face a while did hide;
But at His presence right away they flew
When haile and coles of fire abroad Hee threw;
The Lord from heauen did send His thunder lowd
With fire and haile from out the broken cloud;
A shower of arrowes on His foes did fall,
His thunderboults and lightenings slewe them all;
Fountaines were dride and the earthe's foundation mou'd
When synners, in His wrath, the Lord reprou'd;
But Hee from heauen shall send His angell's downe
And take mee vp when waters would mee drowne;
Hee from my foe, too mightie and too strong,
Shall saue mee when Hee doth mee mightie wrong,
Preuentinge mee [in] my disastrous day:
But then the Lord was my support and stay;
When I was captiue, Hee did sett mee free,
And brought mee forth because Hee fauoured mee.
He shall reward mee as my dayes bee right,
And hands be cleane[194]: soe shall Hee mee requite;
For I still kept his pathes, and did not shunn
To walke therein, as other men haue done:
But euer sett[195] His lawes before mine eyes,
And neuer did His holy words dispise.
My heart was vncorrupt before Him still,
Pursuinge goodnes and eschewinge ill;
Hee shall reward mee as my deeds bee right,
And hands bee cleane: soe shall He mee requite.
Unto the good Thou wilt Thy goodnes show,
And righteous men Thy righteousnes shall know;
The pure of heart shall Thee behold most pure
But froward men Thy curses shall endure;
Them will God raise, which under pressures ly,
And proud men humble which doe looke soe high;
Hee shall sett up for mee a candle bright,
My God shall turne my darkness vnto light.
Through Thee, an host of men, I conquere shall,
And with Thy helpe transcend the highest wal;[196]
GOD'S way is pure, His word is tride with fire;[197]
Hee heals all them which unto Him retire;
For who is God? or who hath strength and power
Except our Lord, our God and only our?
Hee girdeth mee with furniture to fight,
And guideth mee, and houldeth mee upright;
My feet as swift as HART'S feet Hee doth make,
And vp to honnor's tower Hee doth mee take;
Hee giues such strength unto my fingers weake,
As that my arme a bowe of steele shall breake.
Thy hands shall bee my safety and protection,
Thou shalt aduance mee with Thy sweet correction;
Thou for my feet shalt make a passage wide,
Soe as my steps shall neuer goe aside;
I shall pursue, and in pursuite outgoe,
And neuer turne till I haue quelld my foe;
When I him smite[198] he shall not rise at all,
If once at my victorious feet hee fall.
Thou hast girded mee with a sword of strength,
Wherewith I shall subdue my foes at length;
For thou shalt turne the stubburne necke about
Of them that hate mee till, I root them out;
Then shall they crie (but helpe there shall be non)
Euen to the Lord, Who shall not heare their mone.
My foes to powder I shall breake and bray
And tread them down like mire amid the way.
Thou my rebellious subjects shalt accord,
And ouer Heathen Nations make mee Lord;
A people whome I knowe not shall mee serue,
And with base adulation mee obserue;
These Aliens all, shall faint and bee dismaied
And in their strongest Castles bee afraid.
Liue Lord! my strength: and blessed bee therefore
And praisèd bee my Sauiour euermore,
Who doth repay my foes with vengeance due,
And unto mee my vassals doth subdue;
Who doth not only saue but sett mee high
Aboue my foes, and there[199] feirce crueltie.
For this, both of my thanks and praise to Thee,
The Heathen Nations witneses shall bee;
For wealth and power and blessings manie moe,
On Dauid and his race Thou shalt bestowe.
[Footnote 193: = surround: as 'trihumph' for triumph. Cf. Psalm xxxv.
line 37. G.]
[Footnote 194: Inadvertently written 'cleare.' G.]
[Footnote 195: 'My' written and erased here. G.]
[Footnote 196: 'Wal' is supplied in a more recent hand. G.]
[Footnote 197: In the MS. following on the line "God's way ......
fire," is this:
"All those that trust in Him will He vphold."
The Original enables us to see that this was a variation not settled
on. The first form was evidently as in the text, but the second line,
"Hee heals," &c., not being quite the thought of the Original, Davies
went nearer it in the new line, "All those," &c., thinking perhaps of
varying the first line to "tride as gold;" but on reflection, seeing
that was bad, left it as at first, albeit he must have neglected to
cancel "All those," &c. I have not hesitated to withdraw a line the
retention of which would leave it without its fellow. G.]
[Footnote 198: The MS. reads 'sute' but as above, Query--contracted for
'smite'? G.]
[Footnote 199: = their. G.]