O Lord my God, since I have placed

1 O Lord, my God, since I have plac'd
my trust alone in thee,
From all my persecutors rage
do thou deliver me.
2 To save me from my threat'ning foe,
Lord interpose thy pow'r;
Lest, like a savage lion, he
my helpless soul devour.
3, 4 If I am guilty, or did e'er
against his peace combine;
Nay, if I have not spar'd his life,
Who fought unjustly mine;

5 Let then to persecuting foes,
my soul become a prey;
Let them to earth tread down my life,
in dust my honor lay.
6 Arise, and let thine anger, Lord,
in my defence engage;
Exalt thyself above my foes,
and there insulting rage:
Awake, awake, in my behalf
the judgment to dispense,
Which thou hast righteously ordain'd
for injur'd innocence.

7 So to thy throne adoring crowds
shall still for justice fly:
Oh! therefore for their sake, resume
thy judgment-seat on high.
8 Impartial Judge of all the world,
I trust my cause to thee;
According to my just deserts
so let thy sentence be.

9 Let wicked arts and wicked men,
together be o'erthrown;
But guard the just, thou God, to whom
the hearts of both are known.
10, 11 God me protects, not only me,
but all of upright heart;
And daily layslaws depart.

12 If they persist, he whets his sword,
his bow stands ready bent;
13 Ev'n now, with swift destruction wing'd,
his pointed shafts are sent.
14 The plots are fruitless, which my foe
unjustly did conceive:
15 The pit he digg'd for me, has prov'd
his own untimely grave.

16 On his own head his spite returns,
whilst I from harm am free;
On him the violence is fall'n,
which he design'd for me.
17 Therefore will I the righteous ways
of providence proclaim;
I'll sing the praise of God most High,
and celebrate his Name.

Source: The Whole Book of Psalms: in metre; with hymns suited to the feasts and fasts of the church, and other occasions of public worship #VII