3 "Stretch thy desires abroad,
"And I'll supply them well
"But if ye will refuse your God,
"If Israel will rebel,
4 "I'll leave them," saith the Lord,
"To their own lusts a prey,
"And let them run the dangerous road,
"'Tis their own chosen way.
5 "Yet O! that all my saints
"Would hearken to my voice!
"Soon I would ease their sore complaints,
"And bid their hearts rejoice.
6 "While I destroy their foes,
"I'd richly feed my flock,
"And they should taste the stream that flows
"From their eternal Rock."
Psalm 82. God the supreme Governor; or, Magistrates warned.
1 Among th' assemblies of the great,
A greater Ruler takes his seat;
The God of heaven, as Judge, surveys
Those gods on earth and all their ways.
2 Why will ye then frame wicked laws?
Or why support th' unrighteous cause?
When will ye once defend the poor,
That sinners vex the saints no more?
3 They know not, Lord, nor will they know,
Dark are the ways in which they go;
Their name of earthly gods is vain,
For they shall fall and die like men.
4 Arise, O Lord, and let thy Son
Possess his universal throne,
And rule the nations with his rod;
He is our judge, and he our God.
Psalm 83.
A complaint against persecutors.