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6 They jointly own his powerful sway;
The beasts that prey or graze;
The bird that wings his airy way;
The fish that cuts the seas.

70 thou, to whom all creatures bow
Within this earthly frame,
Through all the world how great art thou,
How glorious is thy name!

PSALM II.

From the 9th of David.

1 TO celebrate thy praise, O Lord!
I will my heart prepare,

To all the listening world thy works,
Thy wondrous works declare.

2 The thought of them shall to my soul
Exalted pleasures bring;

Whilst to thy name, O thou most High,
Triumphant praise I sing.

3 The Lord forever lives, who has
His righteous throne prepar'd,
Impartial justice to dispense,
To punish or reward.

4 God is a constant, sure defence
Against oppressing rage:

As troubles rise, his needful aids
In our behalf engage.

5 All those who have his goodness prov'd,
Will in his truth confide;
Whose mercy ne'er forsook the man
That on his help rely'd.

PSALM III.

From the 19th of David.

THE heavens declare thy glory, Lord,
Which that alone can fill ;

The firmament and stars express
Their great Creator's skill.

2 The dawn of each returning day
Fresh beams of knowledge brings ;
From darkest night's successive rounds
Divine instruction springs.

3 Their pow'rful language to no realm
Or region is confin'd;

'Tis nature's voice, and understood
Alike by all mankind.

4 Their doctrine does its sacred sense
Through earth's extent display;
Whose bright contents the circling sun
Does round the world convey.

5 From east to west, from west to east,
His restless course he goes;
And through his progress cheerful light
And vital warmth bestows.

PSALM IV.

From the 33d of David.

1 LET all the just, to God, with joy,
Their cheerful voices raise:
For well the righteous it becomes,
To sing glad songs of praise.

2 For faithful is the word of God;
His works with truth abound;
He justice loves, and all the earth
Is with his goodness crown'd.

3 By his almighty word, at first,

Heaven's glorious arch was rear'd; And all the beaut'ous hosts of light At his command appear'd.

4 The swelling floods, together roll'd, He makes in heaps to lie ;

And lays, as in a storehouse, safe,
The wat'ry treasures by.

5 Let earth, and all that dwell therein,
Before him, trembling, stand;
For when he spake the word, 'twas made;
'Twas fix'd at his command.

6 Whate'er the mighty Lord decrees,
Shall stand forever sure:
The settled purpose of his heart
To ages shall endure.

PSALM V.

SECOND METRE.

The 93d of David.

1 WITH glory clad, with strength array'd,
The Lord, that o'er all nature reigns,
The world's foundations strongly laid,
And the vast fabrick still sustains.

2 How surely 'stablish'd is thy throne?
Which will no change or period see;
For thou, O Lord, and thou alone,
Art God from all eternity.

3 The floods, O Lord, lift up their voice,
And toss the troubled waves on high;
But God above can still their noise,
And make the angry sea comply.

4 Thy promise, Lord, is ever sure :
And they that in thy house would dwell,
That happy station to secure,
Must still in holiness excel.

PSALM VI.

From the 95th of David.

1 O COME, loud anthems let us sing; Loud thanks to our Almighty King:

For we our voices high should raise, When our salvation's Rock we praise. 2 Into his presence let us haste,

To thank him for his favours past :
To him address, in joyful songs,
The praise that to his name belongs.

3 For God, the Lord, enthron'd in state,
Is, with unrival'd glory, great;

A King, superior far, to all,
Whom by his title, God, we call.

4 The depths of earth are in his hand,
Her secret wealth at his command;
The strength of hills, that threat the skies,
Subjected to his empire lies.

5 The rolling ocean's vast abyss,
By the same sov'reign right, is his;
'Tis mov'd by his almighty hand,
Who form'd and fix'd the solid land.

60 let us to his courts repair,
And bow with adoration there;
Down on our knees, devoutly, all,
Before the Lord, our maker, fall.

PSALM VII.

The 100th of David.

1 WITH one consent, let all the earth
To God their cheerful voices raise,
Glad homage pay, with awful mirth,
And sing before him songs of praise.

2 Convinc'd that he is God alone,

From whom both we and all proceed; We, whom he chooses for his own, The flock which he vouchsafes to feed. 3 O enter then his temple gate,

Thence to his courts devoutly press;

And still your grateful hymns repeat,
And still his name with praises bless.
For he's the Lord supremely good;
His mercy is forever sure;

His truth, which all times firmly stood,
To endless ages shall endure.

PSALM VIII.

From the 104th of David.

1 BLESS God, my soul! Thou, Lord alone,
Possessest empire without bounds;
With honour thou art crown'd; thy throne
Eternal majesty surrounds.

2 With light thou dost thyself enrobe,
And glory for a garment take;
Heav'n's curtains stretch beyond the globe,
Thy canopy of state to make.

8 God builds on liquid air, and forms
His palace chambers in the skies;
The clouds his chariots are, and storms
The swift-wing'd steeds with which he flies.
As bright as flame, as swift as wind,
His ministers heav'n's palace fill,
To have their sundry tasks assign'd;
All proud to serve their sov'reign's will.
5 Earth on her centre fix'd he set,
Her face with water overspread;
Nor proudest mountains dar'd, as yet
To lift above the waves their head.

6 But when thy awful face appear'd,

Th' insulting waves dispers'd; they fled, When once thy thunder's voice they heard, And by their haste confess'd their dread. Thence up by secret tracks they creep, And, gushing from the mountains side, Through vallies travel to the deep Appointed to receive their tide.

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