Psalm CXLIV

I. Blest be the Lord, my strength, my shield,
Amid the dangers of the field;
'Tis he instructs me for the fight,
And arms me with resistless might.

II. His constant love, his saving pow'r,
Is my defence, my sacred tow'r;
Rebellion hears his potent word,
And my glad people own their Lord.

III. Lord, what is man, that he should share
Thy kind regard, thy constant care?
Can all the weak, the wretched race,
Deserve such condescending grace?

IV. Man's short existence, frail at best,
Is empty vanity confest;
His life, a shadow, fleets away,
And leaves no traces of its stay.

V. Descend from heav'n, almighty Lord,
And earth shall tremble at thy word;
The smoking hills with conscious fear,
Shall own their awful Maker near.

VI. While thy keen-pointed light'nings fly,
Like flaming arrows thro' the sky,
My foes dispers'd shall rise no more,
Nor dare the terrors of thy pow'r.

VII. O let thy potent arm controul
These threat'ning waves that round me roll,
These sons of vanity that rise,
With fraudful hands and impious lies.

VIII. Then shall thy name new songs inspire,
And wake to joy the sounding lyre,
And ev'ry tuneful string shall raise
In various notes, my grateful praise.

IX. 'Tis pow'r divine, 'tis God alone,
Whom kings preserv'd in dangers, own;
Who saves, in war's tumultuous strife,
From raging swords his servant's life.

X. O Lord, thy saving pow'r oppose
To these invading threat'ning foes;
These strangers to thy sacred laws,
Whose boast is vain, and false their cause.

XI. Then shall our sons beneath thy care,
Grow up like plants erect and fair;
Our daughters shall like pillars rise,
Where royal buildings charm the eyes.

XII. Then plenty shall our stores increase,
Plenty, the lovely child of peace;
The fold it's fleecy wealth shall yield,
And pour its thousands o'er the field.

XIII. The well-fed ox shall then afford
His chearful labours to his lord;
No more shall cruel plunder reign,
Nor want nor misery complain.

XIV. O happy people! favour'd state!
Whom such peculiar blessings wait;
Happy! who on the Lord depend,
Their God, their guardian, and their friend.

Source: Poems on Subjects Chiefly Devotional, Vol. 2 #240