A plain translation. Praise to our Creator. Ye nations round the earth, rejoice Before the Lord, your sovereign King; Serve him with cheerful heart and voice, With all your tongues his glory sing. The

v.1-11 S. M. Waiting for pardon and direction. I Lift my soul to God, My trust is in his name: Let not my foes that seek my blood Still triumph in my shame. Sin,

A song for the fifth of November. Had not the Lord, may Isr’el say, Had not the Lord maintained our side, When men, to make our lives a prey, Rose like the swelling of

The Pharisee and publican. Luke 18:10ff. Saints, at your heav’nly Father’s word Give up your comforts to the Lord; Behold how sinners disagree, The publican and Pharisee! One doth his righteousness proclaim, The other

Pleading with God under desertion. How long, O Lord, shall I complain, Like one that seeks his God in vain? Canst thou thy face for ever hide, And I still pray, and be denied?

Why did the nations join to slay The Lord’s anointed Son? Why did they cast His laws away And tread His gospel down? The Lord, that sits above the skies, Derides their rage below;

The nativity of Christ. Luke 1:30ff; 2:10ff Behold, the grace appears! The promise is fulfilled; Mary, the wondrous virgin, bears, And Jesus is the child. [The Lord, the highest God, Calls him his only

Abraham’s blessing on the Gentiles. Gen. 17:7; Rom. 15:8; Mk 10:14. How large the promise, how divine, To Abram and his seed! “I’ll be a God to thee and thine, Supplying all their need.”

Faith of things unseen. Heb. 11 Faith is the brightest evidence Of things beyond our sight, Breaks through the clouds of flesh and sense, And dwells in heav’nly light. It sets times past in

The church the birth-place of the saints. God in his earthly temple lays Foundations for his heav’nly praise: He likes the tents of Jacob well, But still in Zion loves to dwell. His mercy

Intemperance punished and pardoned. Vain man, on foolish pleasures bent, Prepares for his own punishment; What pains, what loathsome maladies, From luxury and lust arise! The drunkard feels his vitals waste, Yet drowns his

Condescending grace. Psa. 138:6. When the Eternal bows the skies To visit earthly things, With scorn divine he turns his eyes From towers of haughty kings. He bids his aweful chariot roll Far downward

The distemper, folly, and madness of sin Sin, like a venomous disease, Infects our vital blood; The only balm is sovereign grace, And the physician, God. Our beauty and our strength are fled, And

Christ dying, rising, interceding, and reigning. Acts 4:24, etc. [Maker and sovereign Lord Of heav’n, and earth, and seas, Thy providence confirms thy word, And answers thy decrees. The things so long foretold By

God incomprehensible and sovereign. [Can creatures to perfection find Th’ eternal, uncreated Mind? Or can the largest stretch of thought Measure and search his nature out? ‘Tis high as heav’n, ’tis deep as hell

v.17-21 C. M. Public praise for deliverance from death. Lord, thou hast heard thy servant cry And rescued from the grave; Now shall he live; and none can die, If God resolve to save.

v.1-7 L. M. Safety in public diseases and dangers. He that hath made his refuge God Shall find a most secure abode, Shall walk all day beneath his shade, And there at night shall

Comfort derived from ancient providences. “How awful is thy chast’ning rod!” May thy own children say: “The great, the wise, the dreadful God! How holy is his way!” I’ll meditate his works of old,

Man mortal, and God eternal A mournful song at a funeral. Through every age, eternal God, Thou art our rest, our safe abode; High was thy throne ere heav’n was made, Or earth thy

v.12-14 C. M. Love to enemies. Behold the love, the gen’rous love, That holy David shows; Hark, how his sounding bowels move To his afflicted foes! When they are sick his soul complains, And

Submission and deliverance; or, Abraham offering up his son. Gen. 22:6, etc. Saints, at your heav’nly Father’s word Give up your comforts to the Lord; He shall restore what you resign, Or grant you

Breathing after holiness. Ver. 5,33 O that the Lord would guide my ways To keep his statutes still! O that my God would grant me grace To know and do his will! Ver. 29

The blessedness of gospel times. Isa. 52:2,7-10; Mt. 13:16,17. How beauteous are their feet Who stand on Zion’s hill! Who bring salvation on their tongues, And words of peace reveal! How charming is their

The Divine Perfections. How shall I praise th’ eternal God, That infinite Unknown? Who can ascend his high abode, Or venture near his throne? [The great Invisible! he dwells Concealed in dazzling light; But

The business and blessedness of glorified saints. Rev. 7:13ff. “What happy men, or angels, these, That all their robes are spotless white? Whence did this glorious troop arrive At the pure realms of heav’nly

The song of Simeon; or, Death made desirable. Luke 2:27ff Lord, at thy temple we appear, As happy Simeon came, And hope to meet our Savior here; O make our joys the same! With

v.1-7 L. M. Blessing God for his goodness to soul and body. Bless, O my soul, the living God, Call home thy thoughts that rove abroad; Let all the powers within me join In

The heavens declare thy glory, Lord, In every star thy wisdom shines; But when our eyes behold thy word, We read thy name in fairer lines. The rolling sun, the changing light, And night

v.20,21,27-31 C. M. Christ’s sufferings and kingdom. “Now from the roaring lion’s rage, O Lord, protect thy Son, Nor leave thy darling to engage The powers of hell alone.” Thus did our suff’ring Savior

The true God our refuge; or, Idolatry reproved. Not to ourselves, who are but dust, Not to ourselves is glory due, Eternal God, thou only just, Thou only gracious, wise, and true. Shine forth

The privileges of the living above the dead. Isa. 38:18,19. Awake, my zeal; awake, my love, To serve my Savior here below, In works which perfect saints above And holy angels cannot do. Awake,

The magistrate’s Psalm. Mercy and judgment are my song; And since they both to thee belong, My gracious God, my righteous King, To thee my songs and vows I bring. If I am raised

Prayer for deliverance answered. Isa. 26:12,20,21. In thine own ways, O God of love, We wait the visits of thy grace, Our soul’s desire is to thy name, And the remembrance of thy face.

Youth and judgment. Eccl. 11:9. Ye sons of Adam, vain and young, Indulge your eyes, indulge your tongue, Taste the delights your souls desire, And give a loose to all your fire; Pursue the

High in the heav’ns, eternal God, Thy goodness in full glory shines; Thy truth shall break through ev’ry cloud That veils and darkens thy designs. For ever firm thy justice stands, As mountains their

Israel saved, and the Assyrians destroyed. In Judah God of old was known; His name in Isr’el great; In Salem stood his holy throne, And Zion was his seat. Among the praises of his

Christ, or Wisdom, obeyed or resisted. Prov. 8:34-36. Thus saith the Wisdom of the Lord, “Blest is the man that hears my word, Keeps daily watch before my gates, And at my feet for

v.5,13-19,22,23 C. M. Deliverance from death. Unto thine hand, O God of truth, My spirit I commit; Thou hast redeemed my soul from death, And saved me from the pit. The passions of my

v.10-14 S. M. The beauty of the church; or, Gospel worship and order. Far as thy name is known, The world declares thy praise; Thy saints, O Lord, before thy throne, Their songs of

Christ’s humiliation, exaltation, and triumph. Phil. 2:8,9; Mark 15:20,24,29; Col. 2:15. The mighty frame of glorious grace, That brightest monument of praise That e’er the God of love designed, Employs and fills my lab’ring

v.1-5 C. M. Man frail, and God eternal. Our God, our help in ages past, Our hope for years to come, Our shelter from the stormy blast, And our eternal home. Under the shadow

Christ’s compassion to the weak and tempted. Heb. 4:15,16; 5:7; Matt. 12:20. With joy we meditate the grace Of our High Priest above; His heart is made of tenderness, His bowels melt with love.

v.1-8 L. M. Charity to the poor; or, Pity to the afflicted. Blest is the man whose bowels move, And melt with pity to the poor; Whose soul, by sympathizing love, Feels what his

v.23-87 C. M. The way and end of the righteous and the wicked. My God, the steps of pious men Are ordered by thy will; Though they should fall, they rise again, Thy hand

Christ’s kingdom and priesthood. Jesus, our Lord, ascend thy throne, And near the Father sit; In Zion shall thy power be known, And make thy foes submit. What wonders shall thy gospel do! Thy

v.1,2,6 C. M. A song of praise. In God’s own house pronounce his praise, His grace he there reveals; To heav’n your joy and wonder raise, For there his glory dwells. Let all your

v.1-8 L. M. Waiting for an answer to prayer; or, Deliverance begun and completed. Lord, thou hast called thy grace to mind, Thou hast reversed our heavy doom; So God forgave when Isr’el sinned,

The blessing of God on the business and comforts of life. If God succeed not, all the cost And pains to build the house are lost; If God the city will not keep, The

By Nature all men are sinners. Fools in their heart believe and say “That all religion’s vain; There is no God that reigns on high, Or minds th’ affairs of men.” From thoughts so

A guilty conscience eased by confession and pardon. While I keep silence, and conceal My heavy guilt within my heart, What torments doth my conscience feel! What agonies of inward smart! I spread my