Rejoyce yee righteous in the Lord, and singe;
To giue God thankes, it is a comely thinge:
Singe prayses unto Him and sett your songs
To harpe and lute, that speaketh with ten tongues;
Singe to the Lord a new composèd songe,
With chearefull heart and with affection stronge;
For His most holy Word is euer true,
And all His workes His constancie doe shew.
Hee loueth right and justice euermore,
And with His blessinge Hee the earth doth store;
For by His word the heauens created were;
His breath made euery Starr and euery sp'ere;[213]
The Seas, as in a Storehouse Hee doth keepe,
And heapes them up as treasures in the deepe;
The earth before the Lord shall quake for feare,
And all that dwell on His round Center here:
Hee spake, and they were made; at His commaund
The heauens began to moue, the earth to stand.
Counsells of princes and of Nations great,
And peoples' plotts, His wisdome doth defeat;
But God's owne counsell, purpose and decree,
Eternall stand, and cannot frustrate bee.
That Nation hath true happines and blisse,
Whose God and Lord, the Lord Jehouah is;
Downe from the highest heauen the Lord did looke,
And of all men a full suruey Hee tooke;
From Heauen aboue the Lord did cast His eye,
And all mens wayes and wanderings did espie.
Hee formèd all their hearts, and understands
Their thoughts, their words, and workes of all their hands.
The greatest armies cannot saue a Kinge,
Nor strength unto a stronge man safety bringe;
His trust is vaine who trusteth in his horse,
And seekes deliuerance by soe small a force;
With gracious eye the Lord behoulds the just,
Which Him doe feare and in His mercie trust:
In tyme of dearth their hungrie soules to feed
And from deathe's jawes to rescue them with speed.
Our soules with patience for the Lord haue staid,
Who is our only sheild, support and aid;
Our hearts shall Him as our true joy embrace,
For wee our only trust in Him doe place.
Thy mercie Lord to us exceeded bee,
According to the hope wee haue in Thee.
PSALM XXXIV.
Lord euermore will I giue thankes to Thee,
And in my mouth Thy praise shall euer bee;
My soule shall boast that shee Thy seruant is,
The humble shall be glad to heare of this;
Come then, O come, and let vs praise the Lord,
And magnifie His name with sweet accord.
I sought the Lord by prayer which He did heare,
And saued mee from that ill my soule did feare.
Looke towards God, thou shalt enlightenèd bee,
And no foule shame shall euer light on thee.
The poor man's crie, the Lord doth quickly heare,
And doth for all his trubles quitt him cleare;
Such as feare God His Angell guards them all,
From euery mischeife that may them befall.
O taste the Lord, and see how sweet Hee is,
The man that trusts in Him liues still in bliss.
O feare the Lord, yee that are saints of His,
Who feare the Lord noe needfull thinge shall misse.
Rich become poore, and lyons hungrie bee,
But such as feare the Lord noe want shall see.
Come then yee children, listen and giue eare,
And I will teach you this religious feare:
What man art thou that longest long to liue,
And wouldst that God to thee good dayes should giue;
Refraine thy tongue from speaking ill the while,
And from thy lipps let there proceed noe guile;
Doe that is good, decline from that is ill,
Seeke peace with God and men, and hould it still.
Upon good men God casts a gentle eye,
And bends a gentle eare unto their crye.
But to the wicked shewes an angrie browe,
Till they bee quite exterpèd, root and bow;[214]
But when the righteous cry, the Lord doth heare them
And from all trubles absolutely cleare them;
God's present helpe the Lord['s own folk] doth finde,
And such Hee saues as are of humble minde.
The righteous into many trubles fall,
But God's sweet mercy brings them out of all;
Their very bones so keepe and count doth Hee,
As not one broken nor one lost, shall bee.
But some foule death shall on the wicked light,
And they which hate the just, shall perish quite;
But of his seruants, God the Sauiour is;
They trust in Him, their hope they cannot misse.
PSALM XXXV.
Plead Thou my cause, O Lord my Advocate!
Against all those with whome I haue debate;
Fight against them that doe against mee fight,
Take up Thy shield, and helpe mee with Thy might;
Lift up Thy launce, stopp them which mee pursue,
Say to my soule, I am Thy Sauiour true;
Let shame on them which seeke my ruin light,
And with confusion turne them all to flight.
Let them bee like the dust before the winde,
With God's feirce angell followinge them behinde;
Set them in slipperie wayes, and darke withall,
And let God's Angell smite them as they fall;
For they have spred a nett and dig'd a pitt,
Euen without cause to catch my soule in it:
But in that pitt let them fall vnawares,
And bee entangled in their proper snares;
But thou my soule, whom God[215] thus guides from ill,
Rejoyce in Him, and His saluation still;
My bones shall say, Lord who is like to Thee?
Who poore weake men from their strong foe dost free:
False witnesses arose with oathes untrue,
And chargèd mee with things I neuer knew;
They to my greife did ill for good requite,
And recompenc't my kindnes with dispight;
Yet in their sicknes I did sackcloth weare,[216]
And fast and pray with many a secret teare;
I could not more for friend or brother mourne,
Or if my mother to her graue were borne:
But in my woe they made great mirth and glee,
The very abjects mockt and mowde[217] at mee;
Base flatterers and jesters came withall,
[And] gnasht their teeth to show their bitter gall.
How long shall this bee Lord? my soule withdraw
From these men's wrongs, and from the lyon's jaw:
Soe in Thy Church shall I my thankes proclaime,
And in our Great Assembly praise Thy name;
Let not my foes trihumph[218] on mee againe,
Nor with their mockinge eyes shew their disdaine;
They meet and parte, but peace they doe not seeke
But to supplant the peaceable and meeke;
They gape and drawe their mouthes in scornefull wise,
And cry, fie, fie, wee sawe it with our eyes.
But Thou their deed (O Lord!) dost alsoe see;
Then bee not silent soe, nor farr from mee.
Awake, stand up O God and Lord of Might,
Auenge my quarrell, judge my cause aright;
To Thy doome rather lett mee fall or stand
Then subject bee to their insultinge hand;
Then they should say, soe, soe, these things goe right,
We haue our will, and haue deuour'd him quite.
Shame bee to them that joy in my mischance,
And which to cast mee downe themselues aduance;
Let them bee glad that my wellwishers bee,
And blesse the Lord that hath soe blessèd mee.
As for my tongue it shall sett forth Thy praise,
And celebrate Thy justice all my dayes.
PSALM XXXVI.
The wicked man's bould sinnes my heart doe tell,
Noe feare of God before his eyes doth dwell;
Yet flattereth hee himselfe in his owne sight,
Untill his hatefull deeds bee brought to light;
His words are lies, and most deceiptfull too,
He leaues of[f] quite all honest deeds to doe;
Hee on his bed doth nought but mischeife muse,
Hee shunns noe ill and noe good way doth choose;
Thy mercie Lord doth to the heauens extend,
Thy faithfullnes doth to the Cloudes assend;
Thy justice stedfast as a mountaine is,
Thy judgements deepe as is the great Abisse;
Thy noble mercirs saue all liueinge thinges,
The sonnes of men creepe underneath Thy winges:
With Thy great plenty they are fedd at will,
And of Thy pleasure's streame they drinke their fill;
For euen the well of life remaines with Thee,
And in Thy glorious light wee light shall see;
To them that know Thee, Lord, bee loveinge still,
And just to them whose heart intends noe ill;
Let not the foot of pride tread on my Crowne
Nor the hand of the vngodly cast mee downe:
False are the wicked in their slippery wayes,
And haue no power againe themselues to raise.
PSALM XXXVII.
If ill men prosper doe not Thou repine,
Nor enuy them though they[219] in glory shyne;
For as the grasse they shall be mowen away,
And as greene hearbes shall turne to withered hay:
Trust thou in God and still bee doinge good,
And thou shalt neuer want noe house nor food;
Delight in Him, Hee shall to thee jmparte,
The full desires and wishes of Thy heart;
On Him rely, to Him thy way commend,
And Hee shall bringe it to a blessed end;
Thine vpright light shall shine like the morninge light;
And Thy just dealinge like the noone-day bright;
Bee still and frett not, but God's leasure stay
Though wicked men doe prosper in their way;
Suppresse Thine anger, let offences die,
Lest thou be mouèd to offend thereby;
Expect a while, obserue what will befall;
Th' ungodly shall bee gon, their place and all.
The Lord shall root out sinners out of hand,
When good men and their heires shall hould their Land.
Meeke persons shall enjoy the earthe's encrease,
And shall abound in plentie and in peace;
Against the just the wicked haue combin'd,
And in dispight their teeth at them they grinde;
But God with scorne behoulds them from the skie,
For that Hee sees their day of ruin nigh;
The vngodly drawes his sword and bends his bowe
To slay the just, the weake to ouerthrowe:
But his bent bowe shall breake and make him start,
And his owne sword shall peirce his wicked heart;
That little which the just enioyes with peace,
'Tis better then th' ungodlie's great encrease;
For th' armes of jmpious men the Lord will breake,
And giue the righteous strength when they are weake;
The just man's dayes the Lord doth know and see,
That his inheritance shall endlessse bee;
The tymes of danger shall not him confound,
And in the dayes of dearth, hee shall abound;
Thy foes O Lord, shall perish and consume
Like fatt of lambes, and vanish into fume;
Th' ungodly want and borrow, but repay not
The good men frankly giue, [and] yet decay not;
Their seat is firme whom God hath best belou'd
But such as Hee doth[220] curse shall bee remou'd.
The good man's goings soe directeth Hee
As it most pleasinge to Himselfe may bee;
Oft falls the just, yet is not cast away,
For God's owne hand is his support and stay;
Though I am ould, the just man or his seed
I neuer sawe forsaken or in need;
Hee doth giue daily almes, and frankly lend,
Which makes his offspringe blessèd in the end;
Shun to doe ill, bee euer doinge well,
And euermore thou shalt in safety dwell;
The Lord who loueth right, forsaketh neuer,
Those that are His, but keepeth them for euer;
His children Hee correcteth now and then,
But roots out quite the race of wicked men.
As long as Heauen shall moue and Earth shall stand,
The righteous men inherit shall the Land;
The just man's mouth is wisedome's flowinge well,
His tongue, of truth and judgement loues to tell;
And in his heart the lawe of God doth bide,
Which makes him walke vpright and neuer slide;
The wicked sees the just with enuious eye,
And lies in waite to wound him mortally;
But God will neuer leaue him to his hands,
Nor him condemne when hee in judgement stands:
Then wait thou on the Lord, and keepe His way,
Hee shall thy patience with promotion pay;
Thy dwellinge in the Land shall stablisht bee,
When thou the fall shalt of the wicked see.
The vngodly in great power myselfe haue seene,
Soe that he flourisht like a bay-tree greene;
But soone's[221] I passèd by, and gon was hee,
His place I sought, but noe where could it see;
Keepe a cleare conscience, right and truth intend,
For that brings peace and comfort in the end;
When sinners shall at once together fall,
And in the end shall be extèrpèd all;
But good mens' safety doth from God proceed,
Who is their strength in truble, helpe at need;
Against the wicked Hee assists the just,
And recues them, because in Him they trust.