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BY the Bishops, the Clergy, and the Laity of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, in Convention, this 13th day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-nine—

This translation of the Whole Book of Psalms into Metre, with Hymns, is set forth, and allowed to be sung in all Congregations of the said Church, before and after Morning and Evening Prayer, and also before and after Sermons, at the discretion of the Minister.

And it shall be the duty of every Minister of any Church, either by standing directions, or from time to time, to appoint the Portions of Psalms which are to be sung.

And further, it shall be the duty of every Minister, with such assistance as he can obtain from persons skilled in music, to give order concerning the Tunes to be sung, at any time, in his Church: And, especially, it shall be his duty to suppress all light and unseemly music, and all indecency and irreverence in the performance; by which vain and ungodly persons profane the service of the Sanctuary.

Stereotyped by D. & G. Bruce, No. 27 William-street, New-York.

PSALMS OF DAVID, IN METRE.

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with timely fruit does bend,'

He still shall flourish, and success all his designs attend.

4 Ungodly men, and their attempts, no lasting root shall find;

Untimely blasted and dispersed like chaff before the wind.

8" Ask, and receive thy full demands;
"thine shall the heathen be;
"The utmost limits of the lands

"shall be possess'd by thee.

9"Thy threatening sceptre thou shalt shake
"and crush them every where;
"As massy bars of iron break
"the potter's brittle ware."

10 Learn then, ye princes; and give ear,
ye judges of the earth;

11 Worship the Lord with holy fear;
rejoice with awful mirth.

12 Appease the Son with due respect,
your timely homage pay:
Lest he revenge the bold neglect,
incensed by your delay.

13 If but in part his anger rise,
who can endure the flame?

5 Their guilt shall strike the wicked dumb Then blest are they, whose hope relies

before their Judge's face:

No formal hypocrite shall then among the saints have place.

6 For God approves the just man's ways; to happiness they tend:

But sinners, and the paths they tread, shall both in ruin end.

PSALM 2.

restless and ungovern'd rage, Why do the heathen storm?

Why in such rash attempts engage, as they can ne'er perform?

2 The great in council and in might their various forces bring;

Against the Lord they all unite, and his anointed King.

S"Must we submit to their commands ?" presumptuously they say:

"No, let us break their slavish bands, "and cast their chains away."

But God, who sits enthroned on high, and sees how they combine, Does their conspiring strength defy, and mocks their vain design.

5 Thick clouds of wrath divine shall break on his rebellious foes;

And thus will he in thunder speak

to all that dare oppose: 6"Though madly you dispute my will, "the King that I ordain, "Whose throne is fix'd on Sion's hill, "shall there securely reign." 7 Attend, O earth, whilst I declare God's uncontroll'd decree:

Thou art my Son; this day, my heir, have I begotten thee.

on his most holy name.

PSALM 3.

HOW many, Lord, of late are grown
And as their numbers hourly rise,
the troublers of my peace!

so dos their rage increase.
2 Insulting, they my soul upbraid,
and him whom I adore;

"The God in whom he trusts," say they,
"shall rescue him no more."

3 But thou, O Lord, art my defence;
on thee my hopes rely;
Thou art my glory, and shall yet
lift up my head on high.

4 Since whensoe'er, in like distress,
to God I made my prayer,
He heard me from his holy hili;
why should I now despair?

5 Guarded by him, I laid me down
my sweet repose to take;
For I through him securely sleep,
through him in safety wake.
6 No force nor fury of my foes
my courage shall confound,
Were they as many hosts as men,
that have beset me round.

7 Arise, and save me, O my God,
who oft hast own'd my cause,
And scatter'd oft these foes to me,
and to thy righteous laws.
8 Salvation to the Lord belongs;
he only can defend:

His blessings he extends to all
that on his power depend.
PSALM 4

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Lord, thou art my righteous Judge to my complaint give enr:

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Thou still redeem'st me from distress;
have mercy, Lord, and hear.
2 How long will ye, O sons of men,
to blot my fame devise?
How long your vain designs pursue,
and spread malicious lies?
S Consider that the righteous man
is God's peculiar choice;
And when to him I make my prayer,
he always hears my voice.

4 Then stand in awe of his commands,
flee every thing that's ill,
Commune in private with your hearts,
and bend them to his will.
5 The place of other sacrifice
let righteousness supply;
And let your hope, securely fix'd,
on God alone rely.

6 While worldly minds impatient grow more prosperous times to see; Still let the glories of thy face shine brightly, Lord, on me.

7 So shall my heart o'erflow with joy, more lasting and more true Than theirs, who stores of corn and wine successively renew.

8 Then down in peace I'll lay my head, and take my needful rest; No other guard, O Lord, I crave, of thy defence possess'd.

PSALM 5.

Laccept my secret prayer;
ORD, hear the voice of my complaint,

2 To thee alone, my King, my God,
will I for help repair.

3 Thou in the morn my voice shalt hear,
and with the dawning day
To thee devoutly I'll look up,
to thee devoutly pray.

4 For thou the wrongs that I sustain
can'st never, Lord, approve,
Who from thy sacred dwelling-place
all evil dost remove.

5 Not long shall stubborn fools remain
unpunish'd in thy view;

All such as act unrighteous things thy vengeance shall pursue.

6 The slandering tongue, O God of truth., by thee shall he destroy'd,

Who hat'st alike the man in blood and in deceit employ'd.

7 But when thy boundless grace shall me to thy loved courts restore,

On thee I'll fix my longing eyes, and humbly thee adore.

8 Conduct me by thy righteous laws, for watchful is my foe;

Therefore, O Lord, make plain the way wherein I ought to go.

Their throat is a devouring grave;

they flatter with their tongue. 10 By their own counsels let them fall oppress'd with loads of sin;

For they against thy righteous laws have harden'd rebels been.

11 But let all those who trust in thee, with shouts their joy proclaim; Let them rejoice whom thou preserv❜st, and all that love thy name.

12 To righteous men, the righteous Lord his blessing will extend; And with his favour all his saints, as with a shield, defend.

PSALM 6.

HY dreadful anger, Lord, restrain,
Tand spare a wretch forlorn;
Correct me not in thy fierce wrath,
'too heavy to be borne.

2 Have mercy, Lord; for I grow faint, unable to endure

The anguish of my aching bones,
which thou alone canst cure.
3 My tortured flesh distracts my mind,
and fills my soul with grief;
But, Lord, how long wilt thou delay
to grant me thy relief?

4 Thy wonted goodness, Lord, repeat,
and ease my troubled soul;
Lord, for thy wondrous mercy's sake,
vouchsafe to make me whole.

5 For after death no more can I
thy glorious acts proclaim,
No prisoners of the silent grave
can magnify thy name.

6 Quite tired with pain, with groaning faint, no hope of ease I see;

The night, that quiets common griefs, is spent in tears by me.

7 My beauty fades, my sight grows dim my eyes with weakness close; Old age o'ertakes whilst I think

me,

on my insulting foes.

8 Depart, ye wicked; in my wrongs
ye shall no more rejoice,
For God, I find, accepts my tears,
and listens to my voice.

9, 10 He hears, and grants my humble

prayer;

and they that wish my fall,

Shall blush and rage to see that God protects me from them all.

PSALM 7.

Lord my God, since I have places my trust alone in thee,

From all my persecutors' rage

do thou deliver me.

2 To save me from my threat'ning foe, Lord, interpose thy power;

9 Their mouth vents nothing but deceit;Lest, like a savage lion, he

their heart is set on wrong;

my helpless soul devour.

8,4 Tf I am guilty, or did e'er against his peace combine; Nay, if I had not spared his life, who sought unjustly miue; 5 Let then to persecuting foes my soul become a prey;

Let them to earth tread down my life, in dust my honour lay.

6 Arise, and let thine anger, Lord, In my defence engage; Exait thyself above my foes, and their insulting rage: Awake, awake, in iny behalf, the judgment to dispense, Which thou hast righteously ordain'd for injured innocence.

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7 So to thy throne, adoring crowds
shall still for justice fly:

Ch: therefore, for their sake, resume
thy judgment-seat on high.
Impartial Judge of all the world,
I trust my cause to thee;
According to my just deserts,
so let thy sentence be.

9 Let wicked arts and wicked men
together be o'erthrown;

But guard the just, thou God, to whom
the hearts of both are known.

10, 11 God me protects, not only me,
but all of upright heart;
And daily lays up wrath for those
who from his laws depart.
12 If they persist, he whets his sword,
his bow stands ready bent;

15 Ev'n now, with swift destruction wing'd,
his pointed shafts are sent.
14 The plots are fruitless which
unjustly did conceive;

my foe

15 The pit he digg'd for me, has proved
bis own untimely grave.

16 On his own head his spite returns,
whilst I from harm am free;
On him the violence is fall'n,

which he design'd for me.

17 Therefore will I the righteous ways of Providence proclaim;

I'll sing the praise of God most high, and celebrate his name.

PSALM 8.

Thou, to whom all creatures how
within this earthly frame,

Through all the world how great art thou!
how glorious is thy name!

In heaven thy wondrous acts are sung,
nor fully reckon'd there;

2 And yet thou mak'st the infant tongue
thy boundless praise declare.
Through thee the weak confound the strong,
and crush their haughty foes;
And so thou quell'st the wicked throng,
that thee and thine oppuse

13 When heaven, thy beauteous work on
high,

employs my wondering sight;
The moon, that nightly rules the sky,
with stars of feebler light;

4 What's man, say I, that, Lord, thou lov's
to keep him in thy mind?

Or what his offspring, that thou prov'st to them so wondrous kind?

5 Him next in power thou didst create
to thy celestial train;

6 Ordain'd, with dignity and state,
o'er all thy works to reign.

7 They jointly own his powerful sway;
the beasts that prey or graze;

8 The bird that wings its airy way;
the fish that cuts the seas.

90 Thou, to whom all creatures bow
within this earthly frame,

Through all the world how great art thou!
how giorious is thy name!
PSALM 9.

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 Thou mad'st my haughty foes to turn
their backs in shameful flight:
Struck with thy presence, down they fell,
they perish'd at thy sight.

4 Against insulting foes advanced,
thou didst my cause maintain;
My right asserting from thy throne,
where truth and justice reign.
5 The insolence of heathen pride
thou hast reduced to shame;
Their wicked offspring quite destroy'd,
and blotted out their name.

6 Mistaken foes, your haughty threats
are to a period come;

Our city stands, which you design'd

to make our common tomb.

7, 8 The Lord for ever lives, who has
his righteous throne prepared,
Impartial justice to dispense,
to punish or reward.

9 God is a constant sure defence
against oppressing rage;

As troubles rise, his needful aids

in our behalf engage.

10 All those who have his goodness proved
will in his truth confide;

Whose mercy ne'er forsook the man
that on his help rely'd.

11 Sing praises therefore to the Lord,
from Zion, his abode;

Proclaim his deeds, till all the world
confess no other God.

PART II.

12 When he inquiry makes for blood,
he'll call the poor to mind:
The injured humble man's complaint
relief from him shall find.

13 Take pity on my troubles, Lord,
which spiteful focs create,
Thou that hast rescued me so oft
from death's devouring gate.
14 In Sion then I'll sing thy praise
to all that love thy name;
And, with loud shouts of grateful joy,
thy saving power proclaim.

15 Deep in the pit they digg'd for me,
the heathen pride is laid;
Their guilty feet to their own snare
are heedlessly betray'd.

16 Thus, by the just return he makes,
the mighty Lord is known;

While wicked men by their own plots,
are shamefully o'erthrown.
17 No single sinner shall escape,
by privacy obscured;

Nor nation, from his just revenge,
by numbers be secured.

18 His suffering saints, when most distress'd,
he ne'er forgets to aid;
Their expectations shall be crown'd,
though for a time delay'd.

19 Arise, O Lord, assert thy power,
and let not man o'ercome;
Descend to judgment, and pronounce
the guilty heathen's doom.

20 Strike terror through the nations round, till, by consenting fear,

They to each other, and themselves, but mortal men appear.

PSALM 10.

They think their vain designs shall thrive,

from all misfortunes free.

7 Vain and deceitful is their speech,
with curses fill'd, and lies;

By which the mischief of their heart
they study to disguise.

8 Near public roads they lie conceal'd,
and all their art employ,

The innocent and poor at once
to rifle and destroy.

9 Not lions, couching in their dens,
surprise their heedless prey
With greater cunning, or express
more savage rage than they.

10 Sometimes they act the harmless man,
and modest looks they wear;
That so deceived, the

poor may
their sudden onset fear.

PART II.

less

11 For God, they think, no notice takes
of their unrighteous deeds;
He never minds the suffering poor,
nor their oppression heeds.

12 But thou, O Lord, at length arise,
stretch forth thy mighty arm;
And, by the greatness of thy power,
defend the poor from harm.
13 No longer let the wicked vaunt,
and, proudly boasting, say,
"Tush, God regards not what we do;
"he never will repay."

14 But sure thou seest, and all their deeds
impartially dost try;

The orphan, therefore, and the poor,
on thee for aid rely.

15 Defenceless let the wicked fall,
of all their strength bereft;

Confound, O God, their dark designs,
till no remains are left.

THY presence why withdraw'st thou, 16 Assert thy just dominion, Lord,

Lord?

why hid'st thou now thy face,

When dismal times of deep distress
call for thy wonted grace?

2 The wicked, swell'd with lawless pride,
have made the poor their prey;
O let them fall by those designs
which they for others lay.

8 For straight they triumph, if success
their thriving crimes attend;
And sordid wretches, whom God hates,
perversely they commend.

4 To own a power above themselves,
their haughty pride disdains;

And therefore in their stubborn mind
no thought of God remains.
5 Oppressive methods they pursue,
and all their foes they slight;
Because thy judgments uncbserved,
are far above their sight.

8 They fondly think their prosperous state
shall unmolested be;

which shall for ever stand; Thou who the heathen didst expel from this thy chosen land.

17 Thou hear st the humble supplicants
that to thy throne repair;

Thou first prepar'st their hearts to pray,
and then accept's their prayer.
18 Thou in thy righteous judgment, weigh'st
the fatherless and poor;

That so the tyrants of the earth

may persecute no more.
PSALM 11.

SING

INCE I have placed my trust in God, a refuge always nigh,

Why should I, like a tumorous bird,

to distant mountains fly?

2 Behold, the wicked bend their bow,
and ready fix their dart,
Lurking in ambush to destroy

the men of upright heart.

S When once the firm assurance fails, which public faith unparts,

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