4 A soul opprest with sin's desert,
My God will ne'er despise;
A humble groan, a broken heart
Is our best sacrifice.
Psalm 53. 4-6.
Victory and deliverance from persecution.
1 Are all the foes of Sion fools,
Who thus devour her saints?
Do they not know her Saviour rules,
And pities her complaints?
2 They shall be seiz'd with sad surprise;
For God's revenging arm
Scatters the bones of them that rise
To do his children harm.
3 In vain the sons of Satan boast
Of armies in array:
When God has first despis'd their host,
They fall an easy prey.
4 O for a word from Sion's King
Her captives to restore!
Jacob with all his tribes shall sing,
And Judah weep no more.
Psalm 55:1. 1-8 16-18 22. C. M.
Support for the afflicted and tempted soul.
1 O God, my refuge, hear my cries,
Behold my flowing tears,
For earth and hell my hurt devise,
And triumph in my fears.
2 Their rage is levell'd at my life,
My soul with guilt they load,
And fill my thoughts with inward strife
To shake my hope in God.
3 With inward pain my heart-strings sound,
I groan with every breath;
Horror and fear beset me round
Amongst the shades of death,