8 Mine enemies revile me all the day long: and they that are mad upon me, are sworn together against me.

9 For I have eaten afhes as it were bread: and mingled my drink with weeping;

10 And that because of thine indignation and wrath: for thou haft taken me up, and caft me down.

11 My days are gone like a fhadow: and I am withered like grass. 12 But thou, O Lord, fhalt endure for ever: and thy remembrance throughout all generations.

13 Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Sion: for it is time that thou have mercy upon her, yea, the time is come.

14 And why? thy fervants think upon her ftones: and it pitieth them to fee her in the duft.

15 The heathen fhall fear thy Name, O Lord: and all the kings of the earth thy Majefty;

16 When the Lord shall build up Sion: and when his glory shall appear;

17 When he turneth him unto the prayer of the poor deftitute: and despiseth not their defire;

18 This fhall be written for thofe that come after: and the people which fhall be born fhall praise the Lord.

19 For he hath looked down from his fanctuary: out of the heaven did the Lord behold the earth;

20 That he might hear the mournings of fuch as are in captivity: and deliver the children appointed unto death;

21 That they may declare the Name of the Lord in Sion: and his worship at Jerusalem;

22 When the people are gathered together: and the kingdoms alfo to ferve the Lord.

23 He brought down my ftrength in my journey: and shortened my days.

24 But I said, O my God, take me not away in the midst of mine able fituation, exprefs alfo their firm truft in God that glorious condition as should attract the admiration of he would deliver them, and reinftate them in fuch a all Nations.

age: as for thy years, they endure throughout all generations. 25 Thou, Lord, in the beginning haft laid the foundation of the earth and the heavens are the work of thy hands.

26 They fhall perish, but thou shalt endure: they all shall wax old as doth a garment;

27 And as a vefture fhalt thou change them, and they shall be changed: || but thou art the same, and thy years fhall not fail. 28 The children of thy fervants fhall continue: and their feed fhall ftand faft in thy fight.

Pfalm 103. Benedic, anima, mea.

RAISE the Lord, O my foul: and all that is within me praise

PR

Praise his holy Name.

2 Praise the Lord, O my foul: and forget not all his benefits; 3 Who forgiveth all thy fin: and healeth all thine infirmities; Who faveth thy life from destruction: and crowneth thee with mercy and loving kindness;

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5 Who fatisfieth thy mouth with good things: making thee young and lufty as an eagle.

6 The Lord executeth righteousness and judgment: for all them that are oppreffed with wrong.

7 He fhewed his ways unto Mofes: his works unto the children of Ifrael.

8 The Lord is full of compaffion and mercy: * and of great goodness.

long-fuffering 9 He will not alway be chiding: neither keepeth he is anger

for ever.

|| But thou art the fame, and thy years shall not fail. All other things are changeable and perishable; even the frame of the Heavens above, and the foundations of the Earth beneath: but God is the fame, the Same unchangeable through all Eternity: and therefore his love of Virtue, and his hatred of Vice, his promifes to the godly, and his threatnings against the Wicked will be always fure, fixed, and fully determined.

This is an Hymn of Thanksgiving: and is perhaps one of the moft beautiful and elegant in the

whole facred collection. The Poet herein celebrates the numerous benefits of God to Mankind, both temporal and fpiritual: and earnestly exhorts others to imitate his example. But particularly he difplays the infinite goodness and mercy of God: whereby he, tho' eternal, condefcends to take care of the frail, fleeting, fhort lived human fpecies, and lastly invites Angels and all created Beings to join with him in praifing the Lord.

Long-fuffering. Let Sinners however take heed

10 He hath not dealt with us after our fins: nor rewarded us

according to our wickedneffes.

11 For look how high the heaven is in comparison of the earth: fo great is his mercy alfo toward them that fear him.

12 Look how wide alfo the east is from the weft: fo far hath he fet our fins from us.

13 Yea, like as a father pitieth his own children: even fo is the Lord merciful unto them that fear him.

14 For he knoweth whereof we are made: he remembereth that we are but duft.

15 The days of man are but as grafs: for he flourisheth as a flower of the field.

16 For as foon as the wind goeth over it, it is gone: and the place thereof shall know it no more.

17 But the merciful goodness of the Lord endureth for ever and ever upon them that fear him: and his righteousness upon childrens children;

18 Even upon fuch as keep his covenant: and think upon his commandments to do them.

19 The Lord hath prepared his feat in heaven: and his kingdom ruleth over all.

20 O praise the Lord, ye angels of his, ye that excel in ftrength: ye that fulfil his commandment, and hearken unto the voice of his words.

21 O praise the Lord, all ye his hofts: ye fervants of his that do his pleasure.

22 O speak good of the Lord, all ye works of his, in all places of his dominion: praise thou the Lord, O my foul.

EVENING PRAYER.

* Pfalm 104. Benedic, anima mea.

how they abuse his patience: for God recompenfeth to the impenitent for the flowness of his punishment by the weight of it. For as St. Paul well obferves in the 2d of Romans, they that defpife the riches of God's

goodness and forbearance, and long. Juffering (not confider ing that his goodness leadeth them to Repentance) treafure up unto themfelves wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.

S. Day xx. RAISE the Lord, O my foul: O Lord my God, thou art become exceeding glorious, thou art clothed with majesty and

PRA

honour.

2 Thou deckeft thyfelf with light as it were with a garment: and fpreadeft out the heavens like a curtain.

3 Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters: and maketh the clouds his chariot, and walketh upon the wings of the wind.

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4 He maketh his angels spirits: and his ministers a flaming fire. 5 He laid the foundations of the earth: that it never should move at any time.

6 Thou coveredft it with the deep like as with a garment: the waters ftand in the hills.

7 At thy rebuke they flee: at the voice of thy thunder they are afraid.

8 They go up as high as the hills, and down to the valleys beneath: even unto the place which thou haft appointed for them. 9 Thou haft fet them their bounds which they shall not pass: neither turn again to cover the earth.

10 He sendeth the springs into the rivers: the hills.

All beafts of the field drink thereof: quench their thirst.

which run among

and the wild affes

12 Befide them fhall the fowls of the air have their habitation: and fing among the branches.

13 He watereth the hills from above: the earth is filled with the fruit of thy works.

14 He bringeth forth grass for the cattle: and green herb for the fervice of men.

The Pfalmift here celebrates the power, wifdom and goodness of God by a furvey of his Works of Creation and Providence. The language and fenti

ments of this Pfalm are incomparably beautiful and poetical.

R.

15 That he may bring food out of the earth, and wine that maketh glad the heart of man: and oil to make him a cheerful countenance, and bread to ftrengthen mans heart.

16. The trees of the Lord alfo are full of fap: even the cedars of Libanus which he hath planted.

17 Wherein the birds make their nefts: and the fir-trees are a dwelling for the stork.

18 The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats: and so are the ftony rocks for the conies.

19. He appointed the moon for certain feafons: and the fun knoweth his going down.

20 Thou makeft darkness that it may be night: wherein all the beafts of the foreft do move.

21 The lions roaring after their prey: do feek their meat from God.

22 The fun ariseth, and they get them away together: and lay them down in their dens.

23 Man goeth forth to his work, and to his labour: until the evening.

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24 *O Lord, how manifold are thy works: in wisdom hast thou made them all, the earth is full of thy riches.

25 So is the great and wide fea alfo: wherein are things creeping innumerable, both fmall and great beasts.

26 There go the fhips, and there is that Leviathan: whom thou haft made to take his paftime therein.

27 Thefe wait all upon thee: that thou mayeft give them meat in due feafon.

28. When thou giveft it them, they gathered it: and when thou openeft thy hand, they are filled with good.

29 When thou hideft thy face, they are troubled: when thou

O Lord how manifold are thy Works in Wisdom, c. As the vifible things of the Creation naturally lead to the knowledge of God; fo fhould they induce us alfo to worship him as God-cheerfully to obey his commands-humbly to adore his difpenfations

and, where our fhort-fighted Understandings are not able to comprehend his counfels, ftill to acknowledge that he is wife and just and good in all his dealings to wards the Children of Men.