Psalm XVII

Lord hear the right, attend my cry;
Unto my [humble] suit give heed,
Which doth not from hypocrisie
Or [false and] feigned lips proceed.

And let my sentence in Judgment
Come [forth] from thy [own] righteous mouth;
And let thine eye behold and judge
[All things] in equity and truth.

My heart thou many ways hast prov'd
And visited in [waking] night;
Thou hast try'd me, and nothing found
[I hope] but what's in men upright.
To keep my mouth, left it transgress,
My [watchful] soul resolved hath;

Thy word kept me from bad mens works,
And the destroyers [hurtful] path.

Hold up my goings in thy paths,
Left that my [sliding] foot offend.

I call'd on thee, for thou wilt hear;
[O God] to my request attend.

Shew me thy loving kindness great,
[O thou] that sav'st by thy right hand
Those that do trust thee, from the men
That do against them [rise and] stand

Keep me as th' apple of the eye
Hide me under thy [shady] wing,

From wicked men that me oppress,
And [deadly] foes encompassing.

They are inclos'd in their own fat;
Their [boasting] mouth doth speak proudly:

Us they have compass'd in our steps,
[Down-lookt] to earth they set their eye.

Like Lions greedy of their prey,
And like the [lurking] Lion's whelp;

Rise, Lord, and disappoint these men,
Cast them down; [and] be [thou] my help

Deliver thou my threatned life
From those [ill men] that are thy sword;
Men of the world, who are thy hand,
And [can but] do thy will, O Lord.
They have their portion in this life,
And seem with [many] Children blest;
Their bellies thy provision fills,
[Dying] their Children have the rest.

But as for me, in righteousness
Thy [pleased] face I hope to see;
And with thy likeness when I wake
I [fully] satisfy'd shall be.