Psalm XCIV.
1
O Lord our God, to whom alone
All vengeance doth belong;
Whose right it is to judge the cause
Of them that suffer wrong.
2
Appear, thou judge of all the earth,
And from thy holy throne,
Requite the proud and insolent,
For all that they have done.
3
How long, O Lord, shall wicked men,
Insult and triumph thus?
How long shall they exalt themselves,
And speak hard things of us?
4
They crush thy chosen people, Lord,
And heritage oppress:
The widow and the stranger slay,
And kill the fatherless.
5
And yet they say, God will not see
The things that are below:
But when, O fools, will ye be wise,
Or brutish people know.
6
Shall he that hearing gave to man,
Depriv'd of hearing be?
Or shall the Lord that form'd the eye,
No power have to see?
7
Shall he, that nations doth instruct,
An understanding want?
Or he that teaches man to know
Himself be ignorant?
8
Yea sure it is, that all things here
The Lord doth plainly see:
From whom no vain or idle thought,
Can once concealed be.
9
O blest is he whom God corrects,
Who by his law is taught:
In trouble thou wilt give him rest,
When wicked men are caught.
10
For thou thy flock and heritage,
Wilt not forsake nor fail:
Till righteousness restored be,
And uprightness prevail.
11
For who against the wicked men,
Will to my succour come?
Unless the Lord had been my help,
I had been almost dumb.
12
But when I said, my foot doth slip,
Thy mercy me upheld:
Thy comforts Lord amidst my thoughts
Did sweetest pleasure yield.
13
With those unrighteous magistrates
Thou never wilt consent,
Who to establish wickedness,
Mischievous laws invent.
14
They meet together to consult
Against the just man's blood:
And study how they may condemn
The innocent and good.
15
But thou art my defence, O Lord,
Against this wicked race:
Thou art the God in whom I trust,
My rock and hiding place.
16
And thou wilt bring upon their heads,
Their own iniquities:
And cut them off by wicked plots,
Themselves did first devise.
