9 Thou God, our shield, look on the face Of thy anointed dear. 10 For one day in thy courts to be Than dwell in tents, and rich abode, II For God the Lord, both sun and shield, Gives grace and glory bright; 12 Lord God of Hosts that reign'st on high, That man is truly blest, Who only on thee doth rely, JOHN MILTON (1608-1674). PSALM LXXXV. I THY land to favor graciously 2 The iniquity thou didst forgive That wrought thy people woe; And all their sin, that did thee grieve, Hast hid where none shall know. 3 Thine anger all thou hadst removed, And calmly didst return From thy fierce wrath which we had proved Far worse than fire to burn. 4 God of our saving health and peace, 5 Wilt thou be angry without end, For ever angry thus? Wilt thou thy frowning ire extend 6 Wilt thou not turn, and hear our voice, And us again revive; That so thy people may rejoice 7 Cause us to see thy goodness Lord, To us thy mercy shew; Thy saving health to us afford, 8 And now what God the Lord will speak, I will go straight and hear; To his dear saints he will speak peace, But let them never more 9 Surely to such as do him fear And glory shall ere long appear 10 Mercy and Truth that long were missed Now joyfully are met; Sweet Peace and Righteousness have kissed, And hand in hand are set. II Truth from the earth, like to a flower, Shall bud and blossom then; 12 The Lord will also then bestow Our land shall forth in plenty throw 13 Before him Righteousness shall go, His royal harbinger: Then will be come, and not be slow, JOHN MILTON (1608-1674). PSALM LXXXVI. I THY gracious ear, O Lord, incline, 2 Preserve my soul, for I have trod 3 Pity me, Lord, for daily thee I call; 4. Oh, make rejoice Thy servant's soul; for, Lord, to thee I lift my soul and voice. 5 For thou art good, thou, Lord, art prone To pardon, thou to all Art full of mercy, thou alone To them that on thee call. 6 Unto my supplication, Lord, Give ear, and to the cry Thy hearing graciously. 7I in the day of my distress Will call on thee for aid; 8 Like thee among the gods is none, 9 The nations all whom thou hast made Shall come, and all shall frame To bow them low before thee, Lord, 10 For great thou art, and wonders great II Teach me, O Lord, thy way most right, I in thy truth will bide, To fear thy name my heart unite, 12 Thee will I praise, O Lord my God, With my whole heart, and blaze abroad Thy name for evermore. 13 For great thy mercy is toward me, 14 O God! the proud against me rise, 15 But thou, Lord, art the God most mild, Readiest thy graces to show, 16 Oh, turn to me thy face at length, 17 Some sign of good to me afford, And be ashamed; because thou, Lord, JOHN MILTON (1608-1674). 4 Reckoned I am with them that pass Down to the dismal pit; I am a man, but weak, alas! And for that name unfit. 5 From life discharged and parted quite In horrid deeps to mourn. hovers 7 Thy wrath, from which no shelter saves, Full sore doth press on me; Thou break'st upon me all thy waves And all thy waves break me. 8 Thou dost my friends from estrange, me And mak'st me odious, 9 Through sorrow, and affliction great 10 Wilt thou do wonders on the dead? Shall the deceased arise, And praise thee from their loathsome bed With pale and hollow eyes? II Shall they thy loving kindness tell 13 But I to thee, O Lord, do cry, 14 Why wilt thou, Lord, my soul forsake, And hide thy face from me, While I thy terrors undergo, 16 Thy fierce wrath over me doth flow. They fly me now whom I have loved, JOHN MILTON (1608-1674). PSALM LXXXIX. THE praises of thy wonder, Lord, The heavens shall express: And in the congregation Of saints thy faithfulness. For who in heaven with the Lord May once himself compare? Who is like God among the sons Of those that mighty are? Great fear in meeting of thy saints O thou that art the Lord of hosts, Is like to thee, who compass'd round Ev'n in the raging of the sea Thou over it dost reign; And when the waves thereof do swell, Thou stillest them again. PSALMODY OF THE FREE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND (1895). THE FIRST SIX VERSES OF THE NINETIETH PSALM. O THOU, the first, the greatest Friend, Of all the human race! Whose strong right hand has ever been Their stay and dwelling-place! Before the mountains heaved their heads Beneath Thy forming hand, |