Psalms of David 38
38
PSALM XXXVIII.
C. M.
1Thy chast’ning wrath, O Lord, restrain,
Though I deserve it all;
Nor let at once on me the storm
Of thy displeasure fall.
2In ev’ry wretched part of me
Thy arrows deep remain;
Thy heavy hand’s afflicting weight
I can no more sustain.
3My flesh is one continued wound,
Thy wrath so fiercely glows;
Betwixt my punishment and guilt
My bones have no repose.
4My sins, that to a deluge swell,
My sinking head o’erflow,
Affor my feeble strength to bear
Too vast a burden grow.
5Stench and corruption fill my wounds,
My folly’s just return;
6With, trouble I am warp’d and bow’d,
And all day long I mourn.
7A loath’d disease afflicts my loins,
Infecting ev’ry part;
8With sickness worn, I groan and roar,
Through anguish of my heart.
The Second Part.
9But, Lord, before thy searching eyes
All my desires appear;
And sure my groans have been too loud
Not to have reach’d thine ear.
10My heart’s opprest, my strength decay’d,
My eyes depriv’d of light;
11Friends, lovers, kinsmen, gaze aloof
On such a dismal sight.
12Meanwhile the foes that seek my life
Their snares to take me set;
Vent slanders, and contrive all day
To forge some new deceit.
13But I, as if both deaf and dumb,
Nor heard, nor once replied;
14Quite deaf and dumb, like one whose tongue
With conscious guilt is tied.
15For, Lord, to thee I do appeal,
My innocence to clear;
Assur’d that thou, the righteous God,
My injur’d cause wilt hear.
16Hear me, said I, lest my proud foes
A spiteful joy display,
Insulting if they see my foot
But once to go astray.
17And, with continual grief opprest,
To sink I now begin:
18To thee, O Lord, I will confess,
To thee bewail my sin.
19But whilst I languish, my proud foes
Their strength and vigour boast;
And they that hate me without cause
Are grown a dreadful host.
20E’en they, whom I oblig’d, return
My kindness with despite;
And are my enemies, because
I choose the path that’s right.
21Forsake me not, O Lord my God,
Nor far from me depart;
22Make haste to my relief, O thou,
Who my salvation art.
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Psalms of David 38: MP1696
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First published 1696, improved 1698.
Psalms of David 38
38
PSALM XXXVIII.
C. M.
1Thy chast’ning wrath, O Lord, restrain,
Though I deserve it all;
Nor let at once on me the storm
Of thy displeasure fall.
2In ev’ry wretched part of me
Thy arrows deep remain;
Thy heavy hand’s afflicting weight
I can no more sustain.
3My flesh is one continued wound,
Thy wrath so fiercely glows;
Betwixt my punishment and guilt
My bones have no repose.
4My sins, that to a deluge swell,
My sinking head o’erflow,
Affor my feeble strength to bear
Too vast a burden grow.
5Stench and corruption fill my wounds,
My folly’s just return;
6With, trouble I am warp’d and bow’d,
And all day long I mourn.
7A loath’d disease afflicts my loins,
Infecting ev’ry part;
8With sickness worn, I groan and roar,
Through anguish of my heart.
The Second Part.
9But, Lord, before thy searching eyes
All my desires appear;
And sure my groans have been too loud
Not to have reach’d thine ear.
10My heart’s opprest, my strength decay’d,
My eyes depriv’d of light;
11Friends, lovers, kinsmen, gaze aloof
On such a dismal sight.
12Meanwhile the foes that seek my life
Their snares to take me set;
Vent slanders, and contrive all day
To forge some new deceit.
13But I, as if both deaf and dumb,
Nor heard, nor once replied;
14Quite deaf and dumb, like one whose tongue
With conscious guilt is tied.
15For, Lord, to thee I do appeal,
My innocence to clear;
Assur’d that thou, the righteous God,
My injur’d cause wilt hear.
16Hear me, said I, lest my proud foes
A spiteful joy display,
Insulting if they see my foot
But once to go astray.
17And, with continual grief opprest,
To sink I now begin:
18To thee, O Lord, I will confess,
To thee bewail my sin.
19But whilst I languish, my proud foes
Their strength and vigour boast;
And they that hate me without cause
Are grown a dreadful host.
20E’en they, whom I oblig’d, return
My kindness with despite;
And are my enemies, because
I choose the path that’s right.
21Forsake me not, O Lord my God,
Nor far from me depart;
22Make haste to my relief, O thou,
Who my salvation art.
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First published 1696, improved 1698.