The Works of William Mason :: :: University of Virginia Library

God of my praise, proclaim my wrongs;
For well thou know'st this wounded heart
Has foster'd those, whose faithless tongues
Their rancour at thy servant dart,
And load me, while in prayer I mourn,
With curses, calumny, and scorn.

II

Seize him, some impious Judge (they cry)
Arraign him, Satan! on his head
Let vengeance fall, and instantly
Exalt an alien in his stead;
While mendicants, and far from home,
His widow'd wife and children roam.

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III

Extortion, Rapine, ruthless pair,
Be yours to seize his wide domain,
Nor lenient Pity drop a tear
For him, or for his orphan train:
And, 'till oblivion blots his name,
Be his to bear his Parent's shame.

IV

For why? rejoicing to distress,
He vex'd the poor, the helpless slew;
Eager to curse, yet slow to bless;
Let curses then his steps pursue,
Like water through his entrails spread,
Like oil his every bone pervade.

V

Be these his vesture, these enclose
Each limb, and clinging gird him round,
'Tis thus, great God, my vengeful foes
With insults dire thy servant wound:
That servant who, on suppliant knee,
Father of mercy, mourns to thee.

VI

O hear, and heal my bleeding heart,
Ere, like the locust swept away
By sudden storm, I hence depart,
Or flitting shade at close of day:

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For see, through fasting how I pine;
How swift my health and strength decline!

VII

All that behold me, shake in scorn
Their head; but thou, benignant Lord,
Canst save the wretch howe'er forlorn;
Make then my foes thy power record;
Prove that their curse can ne'er oppress
The Man thy mercy deigns to bless.

VIII

Cloth'd with confusion, let them fly;
While I in grateful hymns prolong
Thy praise, and fir'd with holy joy
Hail thee, the Sovereign of my song,
Whose arm shall save, whose shield secure
From wrongs the righteous and the poor.

For a defence of this interpretation, see Dr. Sykes's introduction to his paraphrase on the Hebrews.—Mr. Green's translation of the Psalms.—Dr. Lowth and Kennicot, in a note (in loco) to Merrick's Version, though Merrick himself translates it otherwise. See also an Italian Version of Mattei, who follows the interpretation of Marino. —See these proofs collected in the Notes to Mr. Keat's Sermon, preached at Chelsea, April 6th, 1794.

July 1795.

This title is employed to distinguish this mode of versifying both from literal translation and paraphrase. See Essay on Psalmody, page 182.