He will not always chide, neither will He keep His anger for ever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward them that fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him. For he knoweth our frame; He remembereth that we are dust. As for man, his days are as grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone, and the place thereof shall know it no more. But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear Him, and His righteousness unto children's children; To such as keep His covenant, and to those that remember His commandments to do them. The Lord hath prepared His throne in the heavens; and His kingdom ruleth over all. Bless the Lord, ye His angels, that excel in strength, that do His commandments, hearkening unto the voice of His word. Bless ye the Lord, all ye His hosts; ye ministers of his, that do His pleasure. Bless the Lord, all His works in all places of His dominion: bless the Lord, O my soul. PSALM CXXX. OUT of the depths have I cried unto Thee, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications. If Thou, Lord, shouldst mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with Thee, that Thou mayest be feared. I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in His word do I hope. My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning. PSALM. [From Wasse's Devotions.] COME, let us praise the goodness of God, who orders every thing for the best; our life and our death are equally His care. The Lord casts us down upon the bed of sickness, and draws the curtain between the world and us, Shutting out all its vain designs; and contracting our business to a little chamber. In that quiet solitude He speaks to our hearts, and sets our whole life, as in a mirror, before us. There He discovers to us the treachery of the world, and invites us by the exhibition of its vanity, to prepare for a better. Thither He sends His messengers of peace, to perfect our reconciliation. O! how different are the thoughts of that hour from those of careless, unreflecting health! How do we now censure what we once esteemed! How easily are we led to wiser resolutions, When our unruly senses are rebuked with pains, and the fears of death teach the rashness of our minds sobriety; When the occasions of sin are removed from our way, and every thing about us exhorts to repentance. Adored be Thy name, O Lord! whose mercy sanctifies into a blessing even the chastisement of Thy rod. Thou bringest us low, to awaken our humility, and prescribest sickness to cure our infirmity. Thou commandest, and the grave is inexorable; with it is no respect of persons. Thou tellest us by experience that all must die: but kindly hidest in clouds and darkness the time and place; That everywhere we may be upon our guard, and, through all our days, may be looking for the summons. Thou teachest us by the removal of those whom we love, to renew the contemplation of our own grave, and the wholesome thoughts of a future world. Let not, O Lord! these gracious designs be lost upon us; but let such scenes be attended with the most serious reflections upon our own mortality. And O! cause every meditation of this nature to make us the more diligent in preparing for our latter end. PSALM. [By Mrs. Barbauld.] LIFT up thyself, O mourning soul! lift up thyself, raise thine eyes that are wet with tears! Why are thine eyes wet with tears? Why are they bent continually upon the earth? And why dost thou go mourning as one forsaken of thy God? O, thou that toilest ever, and restest not; thou that wishest ever, and art not satisfied; thou that carest ever, and art not stablished; why dost thou toil and wish? Why is thine heart withered with care, and why are thine eyes sunk with watching? |