PSALM CVII.
1
To God above from All below
Let hymns of praise ascend;
Whose Blessings unexhausted flow,
Whose Mercy knows no end.
2
But chief by Those his name he blest,
To whom his aid he gave;
Beheld them by the Foe oppress'd,
And reach'd his arm to save.
3
To East, to West, to South, to North,
Condemn'd awhile to roam,
His hand in pity brought them forth,
And call'd the Wand'rers home.
4
Behold them o'er the Desert stray,
A helpless, hopeless, Train:
Some City, where their steps to stay,
They seek, but seek in vain.
5
Ah! what shall chear their fainting mind,
Or what their woes assuage,
To thirst's afflictive pain consign'd,
And famine's fiercest rage?
6
Distress'd, to God they make their pray'r:
He guides, direct, their feet;
And, safe in his protecting care,
They reach their destin'd feat.
7
O then that All would bless his Name,
Whose Mercy thus they prove,
And pleas'd from age to age proclaim
The wonders of his Love:
8
That Love, whose gifts with thankful breast
The Sons of want divide,
And find their ev'ry grief redress'd,
Their ev'ry wish supplied.
9
These erst he bade th' Avenger's hand
In Death's dark shades detain;
And added to the iron band
Affliction's heavier chain.
10
Such is the Doom to those assign'd,
Who, frantic, durst withstand
The Counsels of th' Almighty Mind,
And spurn his just Command.
11
O'erwhelm'd with deepest woe they lie,
And sinking to the grave:
No pitying ear attends their cry;
No hand is nigh to save.
12
Distress'd, to God they make their pray'r;
He, instant, near them stands,
Dispells the gloom of black Despair,
And breaks their stubborn bands.
13
O then that All would bless his Name,
Whose Mercy thus they prove,
And pleas'd from age to age proclaim
The wonders of his Love:
14
That Love, that oft its succour gives,
The Captive's woes to heal,
The gates of brass in sunder cleaves,
And bursts the bars of steel.
15
Beneath his terrors bid to groan,
Behold the impious Band
The fruits of Folly reap, and own
The Justice of his hand.
16
Estrang'd from food, their languid soul
The needful meal forgoes:
Life feels its current faintly roll,
And hastens to its close.
17
Distress'd, to God they make their pray'r;
And Nature, joyous, sees
His Word her ruin'd strength repair,
Her fiercest tortures ease.
18
O then that All would bless his Name,
Whose Mercy thus they prove,
And pleas'd from age to age proclaim
The wonders of his Love:
19
That Realms of various tongue would sing
His Acts in frequent lays,
And yield to Heav'n's eternal King
The sacrifice of praise.
20
Who o'er the Waves from shore to shore
The gifts of Commerce bear,
The wonders of the Deep explore,
And own that God is there.
21
By These his Works are seen; his Ways
By These are understood:
He speaks the word; the Storm obeys,
And rising lifts the Flood.
22
Now high as Heav'n the Bark ascends,
Now seeks the depth below:
Each heart beneath the terror bends,
And melts with inward woe.
23
As gorg'd with wine, in wild amaze
They reel from side to side:
Nor Hope survives, their souls to raise,
Nor Reason wakes to guide.
24
Distress'd, to God they make their pray'r;
Obedient to his Will,
The Storms that rag'd their rage forbear,
The Seas that roar'd are still.
25
Each grief, each fear, at once resign'd,
They see their labour o'er;
Then led by Him their haven find,
And touch the wish'd for shore.
26
O then that All would bless his Name,
Whose Mercy thus they prove,
And pleas'd from age to age proclaim
The wonders of his Love:
27
That Salem in her sacred shrine
His praise with thankful tongue
Would utter; while her Elders join
To swell the festal song.
28
He bids; and lo a burning Waste,
Where roll'd the floods before;
And, touch'd by the descending blast,
The springs are seen no more.
29
Sad witness of some dire offence,
Behold the fertile soil
No more its wonted gists dispense,
But mock the tiller's toil.
30
He bids; and o'er the Desert wide
The liquid Lake is spread:
New springs the thirsty earth divide,
And murm'ring lift the head.
31
There Myriads, late with hunger wan,
By Him assembled, meet;
There pleas'd the future City plan,
And fix their sure Retreat.
32
And now they sow the foodful grain,
The tender vine they rear;
Now waves the harvest o'er the plain,
And plenty crowns the year.
33
Blest in his care, the Sires with joy
A num'rous race behold;
Nor dares Disease their herds annoy,
Or waste the peopled fold.
34
Anon, if, sunk with heaviest woe,
They feel oppression's pow'r;
If civil rage, or conqu'ring foe,
Their boasted strength devour;
35
Though, humbled from their state, awhile
Their Princes feel his rod,
And wander o'er a barren soil,
By human step untrod,
36
His hand affords the wish'd release;
Collects their scatter'd train;
And bids them like the flocks increase,
That fill the verdant plain.
37
Such Truths his Servants shall attest,
And, joyful, wake the song;
While shame the Impious shall invest,
And chain their speechless tongue.
38
His Works attentive while it sees,
The Heav'n-instructed Mind
Shall own how equal his Decrees,
His Providence how kind.
