Religion
Psalm XCII: A Psalm or Song for the Sabbath-day
From Paraphrase on the Psalms of David in Metre (1692)
To render thanks to God, it is
A good and [very] pleasant thing;
And to thy name, O thou most high,
[Joyntly] thy praises for to sing.
Thy loving kindness to shew forth
[Early] in the first morning's light;
And to declare thy faithfulness
With [evening] songs, even in the night.
On a ten-stringed instrument,
And on the [pleasant] Psaltery;
And on the sweet and warbling Harp,
With solemn [sound and] melody.
For thou, Lord, by thy wondrous works
Hast made thy servant's [heart most] glad;
And I will triumph in the works
Which thy own hand hath [done and] made.
How great, O Lord, are all thy works?
And [very] deep thy counsels be:
Brutish men understand not this;
[Carnal] fools cannot these things see.
That when the wicked spring as grass,
And [a while] sinners flourish all;
It is that they for ever may
Into [deserv'd] destruction fall.
But thou, O Lord, who dost them judge,
In glory dost [the same] remain;
And thou on high in Majesty
[O're all] for evermore dost reign.
For lo, thine enemies, O Lord,
Thy [wicked] enemies perish shall;
The workers of iniquity
[By thee] shall be dispersed all.
But like the horns of Unicorns
My head [and power] wilt thou exalt;
And me thy chosen one anoint
With [fresh and] holy Oyl thou shalt.
Mine eyes also shall see the fall
Of all my [wicked] enemies;
Mine ears shall hear of their defeat,
Who [falsly] did against me rise.
As Palm-trees flourish full of fruit,
The just shall [likewise] flourish so;
Like the Cedars of Lebanon
They shall increase and [prosperous] grow.
Those who in God's most holy house
Are [firmly] planted by his grace,
Shall flourish in the Courts of God,
By the beams of his [pleased] face.
Their old age shall not fruitless be,
But [good and] plenteous fruit shall bring;
When flesh decays they shall be fat,
And [ever] green and flourishing.
To shew us that our faithful Lord,
Who my sure rock [and hope] hath bin,
Is upright; and unrighteousness
None is, or [ever] was in him.
Cite this poem
MLA
Baxter, Richard. “Psalm XCII: A Psalm or Song for the Sabbath-day.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/baxter/91/.
Chicago
Baxter, Richard. “Psalm XCII: A Psalm or Song for the Sabbath-day.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/baxter/91/.
Read this poem with the Codex →