Part 45 (2/2)
4 Frighted to hear the tempest roar, They pant with fluttering breath, And, hopeless of the distant sh.o.r.e, Expect immediate death.]
5 Then to the Lord they raise their cries, He hears the loud request, And orders silence thro' the skies, And lays the floods to rest.
6 Sailors rejoice to lose their fears, And see the storm allay'd: Now to their eyes the port appears; There let their vows be paid.
7 'Tis G.o.d that brings them safe to land; Let stupid mortals know That waves are under his command, And all the winds that blow,
8 O that the sons of men would praise The goodness of the Lord!
And those that see thy wondrous ways, Thy wondrous love record.
Psalm 107:6. Last Part.
Colonies planted; or, Nations blest and punished.
A psalm for New England.
1 When G.o.d, provok'd with daring crimes, Scourges the madness of the times, He turns their fields to barren sand, And dries the rivers from the land.
2 His word can raise the springs again, And make the wither'd mountains green, Send showery blessings from the skies, And harvests in the desert rise.
3 [Where nothing dwelt but beasts of prey, Or men as fierce and wild as they; He bids th' opprest and poor repair, And builds them towns and cities there.
4 They sow the fields, and trees they plant, Whose yearly fruit supplies their want: Their race grows up from fruitful stocks, Their wealth increases with their flocks.
5 Thus they are blest; but if they sin, He lets the heathen nations in, A savage crew invades their lands, Their princes die by barbarous hands.
6 Their captive sons, expos'd to scorn, Wander unpity'd and forlorn; The country lies unfenc'd, untill'd, And desolation spreads the field.
7 Yet if the humbled nation mourns, Again his dreadful hand he turns; Again he makes their cities thrive, And bids the dying churches live.]
8 The righteous, with a joyful sense, Admire the works of providence; And tongues of atheists shall no more Blaspheme the G.o.d that saints adore.
9 How few, with pious care, record The wondrous dealings of the Lord!
But wise observers still shall find The Lord is holy, just, and kind.
Psalm 109. 1-5 31.
Love to enemies, from the example of Christ.
1 G.o.d of my mercy and my praise, Thy glory is my song; The sinners speak against thy grace With a blaspheming tongue.
2 When in the form of mortal man Thy Son on earth was found, With cruel slanders, false and vain, They compa.s.s'd him around.
3 Their miseries his compa.s.sion move, Their peace he still pursu'd; They render hatred for his love, And evil for his good.
4 Their malice rag'd without a cause, Yet, with his dying breath, He pray'd for murderers on his cross, And blest his foes in death.
5 Lord, shall thy bright example s.h.i.+ne In vain before my eyes?
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