University of Virginia Library

PSALM XXXVII.

Nor e'er let Sinners, in Success elate,
Disturb thy Soul, or impious Doubts create:
Nor e'er at prosp'rous Guilt in Thought repine,
To wish the transitory Grandeur thine.
Shorn as the Grass shall fall their faded Pride:
Like sickly Plants, in sultry Summer dry'd.
Rely on God; employ thyself in Good:
Inhabit Earth, and rest secure of Food.
In him be thy Delight, who shall impart
Thy Wish complete to gratify thy Heart:
Thy Conduct to the Deity commend;
And trust on him to give a prosp'rous End.
He shall thy question'd Innocence display,
As from the Cloud breaks forth th' emergent Ray:
And thy Integrity shall then be shown,
Bright as the Sun on his Meridian Throne.
Then persevere; and to the Lord resign'd
Attend his Will, with Constancy of Mind:
Nor envy him who in his Way proceeds
To ripen dark Design to guilty Deeds.
From Ire and Indignation clear thy Breast:
Habitual Discontent will Sin suggest.
For from the Root shall perish the Profane:
The Patient shall the Heritage obtain,
The Impious, Mark! how in a Moment's Space
He vanishes away! his former Place
Nor curious Eye, nor searching Thought can trace.
But by the Mild the Land shall be possess'd,
In Affluence, Peace, and Plenitude of Rest.
The Godless Wretch against the Man upright
Consults; and grinds his horrid Teeth for Spight:
Him shall the Lord deride; in whose Survey
Are seen the near Approaches of his Day.
His Sword the Wicked draws, he bends his Bow,
To slay the Just, and lay th' Unhappy low:
The fatal Sword shall pierce the Master's Heart,
And the perfidious Bow to Shivers start.
The Competence of pious Men is more
Than all the Miser's Mass of hoarded Ore.
While God supports the Just, disarm'd and broke
The Sinner's Arm shall disappoint the Stroke.
He sees the Term which yet remains behind
Of future Years to righteous Men assign'd:
That their Inheritance no Change shall know;
No Fears perplex them in the Days of Woe.
Suffic'd with Plenty, tho' penurious Dearth
And meagre Famine desolate the Earth.
Soon shall the Impious perish; O! how soon
The rebel Foes of Heav'ns high Lord are gone;
Like Fat of Lambs which sacred Flames consume;
Or in the apter Semblance of their Fume.
The Wicked borrows, heedless of his Day,
And means to circumvert, but not repay:
While kind Compassion, ready to impart,
Diffuses Wealth, and opens all the Heart.
These bless'd by God, their fertile Glebe shall keep:
But those his vengeful Curse away shall sweep.
He of the Good shall guide the Steps aright,
And still observes his Progress with Delight:
Tho' he may fall, not fall'n for ever down
The Lord supports, and raises him o'erthrown.
From blooming Youth to this Decline of Age,
As long Experience ripen'd ev'ry Stage,
This Truth I still attest, I never saw
The Care of Heav'n from pious Men withdraw:
Nor helpless Orphans of the Just, unfed
From unrelenting Strangers ask their Bread.
His Charity, who does the Loan dispense,
Entails on them the Guard of Providence.
Then fly from Guilt, endeavour to excel
In virtuous Deeds, and so for ever dwell.
For still the Lord with Pleasure shall respect
The Right; nor leave his Servants to neglect;
Them with incessant Goodness he defends:
While rooted up the Race of Sinners ends.
The Pious shall the wealthy Soil divide
In Heritage; and ever there reside.
The Mouth of righteous Men maintains the Cause
Of sacred Prudence, and impartial Laws:
Firm in their Hearts the Lord's Decrees abide,
Nor ever fears their steady Foot to slide.
The Wicked waits, and seeks the Just to slay:
The Lord shall not resign the destin'd Prey
To cruel Hands; nor when he shall appear
At his Tribunal, pass a Doom severe.
Then trust on him, and tread his Paths with Care;
And he shall raise thee his Domain to share:
When on his Foes his vengeful Wrath shall fall,
Thyself shall see the Ruin of them all.
I oft myself the impious Man have seen
In Heighth of Pow'r with an exalted Mien;
So the fair Laurel spreads her hardy Green:
He pass'd away, behold! and was no more;
Nor cou'd my Eye his vanish'd Place explore.
But mark the perfect Man; and fix thy Sight
Intent on him who well observes the Right:
How gently he from human Toil shall cease;
Compos'd and wrap'd in everlasting Peace.
But the Transgressors, as in Guilt combin'd,
Together shall a like Destruction find:
At once they end. But God in Days of Woe
Does Strength and Succour on the Just bestow:
Thou, Lord! shall aid, relieve, and set them free
From lawless Man; for they confide in thee.