The Psalms of David ‎#CXXIX

CXXIX. Persecutors punished

1 Up from my youth, may Isr'el say,
Have I been nurs'd in tears;
My griefs were constant as the day,
And tedious as the years.

2 Up from my youth I bore the rage
Of all the sons of strife;
Oft they assail'd my riper age,
But not destroy'd my life.

3 Their cruel plough had torn my flesh
With furrows long and deep,
Hourly they vex'd my wounds afresh,
Nor let my sorrows sleep.

4 The Lord grew angry on his throne,
And with impartial eye,
Measur'd the mischiefs they had done,
Then let his arrows fly.

5 How was their insolence surpriz'd,
To hear his thunders roll!
And all the foes of Sion seiz'd
With horror to the soul!

6 Thus shall the men that hate the saints
Be blasted from the sky;
Their glory fades, their courage faints,
And all their prospects die.

7 [What tho' they flourish tall and fair,
They have no root beneath;
Their growth shall perish in despair,
And lie despis'd in death.]

8 [So corn that on the house-top stands,
No hope of harvest gives;
The reaper ne'er shall fill his hands,
Nor binder fold the sheaves:

9 It springs and withers on the place;
No traveller bestows
A word of blessing on the grass,
Nor minds it as he goes.]

Text Information

• First Line: Up from my youth, may Isr'el say
• Title: Persecutors punished
• Meter: Common Metre
• Language: English
• Publication Date: 1780
• Scripture:
  Psalm 129
• Notes: Now Public Domain.

Tune Information

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