PSALM CXXXVII,

1, 2. By Babel's waters, there we sat,
And thought on Zion's towers and wept;
And there, upon the willow trees,
We hung our sad and silent harps.

3. For they that led us captive came, And asked of our grief a song:

Yea, they that bruised us, call'd for mirth, "Come, sing us now a song of Zion."

4, 5. How shall we sing Jehovah's song To strangers, in a heathen land? If thee, Jerusalem, I forget,

Let my right hand forget her power!

6. When I no more remember thee,
My tongue be to my palate glued :
Unless Jerusalem I prefer

Above my chiefest, dearest joy.

7. O Lord, on Edom's sons avenge

Jerusalem's day of shame and woe:
"Destroy her, lay her waste," they cried,
"Destroy her, rase her to the ground."

8. Daughter of Babylon, for whom

Impending desolation waits,

Blest be the man that deals with thee,

As thou, proud Queen, with us hast dealt.

9. Yea, blessed shall that man be call'd,
Who thy destructions on thee turns ;
And who thy little ones shall take,
And dash them down upon the stones.

PSALM CXXXVIII

By David.

1, 2. LORD, Thee with all my heart I'll praise; To Thee, before the gods, I'll sing;

To Thee my worship I will pay,
And towards thy holy temple bow.

2, 3. Yea, for thy loving-kindness' sake
And for thy truth thy name I'll praise :
For Thou thy name hast lifted high,
And o'er the earth made known thy word:
Thou heard'st me when on Thee I call'd,
Thou breathed'st strength into my soul.

4, 5, 6. All kings shall praise Thee, when they hear
Thy words, and learn thy judgments, Lord:
And in the Lord's ways they shall walk,
And of the Lord's great glory sing,
Who, throned on high, the lowly owns,
But views with distant glance the proud.

7. If snares and troubles hem me round,
Thou shalt preserve me: Thou thine hand
Against my foes' fell rage shalt stretch,
And with thy right hand set me free.

8. The Lord shall all his promised grace
To me and to my seed fulfil:

Thy goodness, Lord, endures for ever,
Forsake not Thou thy handiwork!

PSALM CXXXIX.

To the chief musician. By David.

1, 2. LORD, Thou hast search'd me out, and knowest me; Thou know'st my sitting down, and rising up:

My dawning thoughts, imperfect and remote,
Before thy prescience revealed lie.

3, 4. My walk Thou notest, and dost watch my bed,
And Thou art conversant with all my ways:

Though not a sound escapeth from my tongue,
My words, unspoken, are all known to Thee.

5, 6. Behind, before, I'm compass'd by thy power; Above me and around, I feel thy hand:

Too wonderful for me this knowledge is;

:

'Tis high indeed above my reach it towers.

7, 8. O whither from thy Spirit shall I go?
Or whither from thy presence shall I flee?

If up to heaven I mount, there, Lord, art Thou;
If down in hell I lie-behold, Thou'rt there!

9, 10. If on the morning's wings I take my flight, And past the furthest bounds of ocean dwell, There also shall I find thy guiding hand,

And thy right hand shall still uphold me there.

11, 12. With fears of death when darkness scares my soul, The night itself around me glows with light:

For with Thee darkness is not dark, and night
Like day doth shine: darkness and light are one.

13, 14. For Thou didst fashion all my inward parts,
And shelter me within my mother's womb:
Thee will I praise for this most marvellous frame,
Marvellous thy works: they fill my soul with awe.

15, 16. Not hid from Thee my

substance was, when first
In earth's dark loom its lineaments were wrought:
The matter, yet unshaped, thine eyes beheld,
And in thy book each day was written down-
Whilst none was yet-of its predestined life.

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17, 18. How precious to me are thy thoughts of love,
How great the sum of all thy mercies, Lord:
To count them, they're more numerous than the sand;
With Thee I sleep, Thou fill'st my waking hours.

19, 20. Wilt Thou not slay the wicked, O my God?
Depart then from me, all ye men of blood!
For lo, thine enemies blaspheme thy name,
And with their perjuries thy vengeance mock.

21, 22. Do not I hate all them that hate Thee, Lord?
And do not those that grieve Thee, vex my soul?
With perfect hatred I have hated them,

And all thine enemies I count as mine.

23, 24. Search me, O Lord, and throughly sift my heart;
Try me, and penetrate my inmost thoughts:

See that no wickedness defile my soul,

And lead me in the everlasting way.

PSALM CXL.

To the chief musician. A psalm of David.

1, 2, 3. DELIVER me, O Lord, from evil men,
Protect me from the man of violence :

Guard me from them whose hearts are set on wrong,

Who all day long are gathering for war,

Whose whetted tongues are sharp as serpents' fangs,

And adders' poison lurks within their lips.