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Pfalm xxxiv. Benedicam Domino.

Will alway give thanks unto the Lord: his praife shall ever be in my mouth.

2 My foul fhall make her boast in the Lord: the humble fhall hear thereof, and be glad.

3 O praise the Lord with me: and let us magnify his Name together.

4 I fought the Lord, and he heard me: yea, he delivered me out of all my fear.

5 They had an eye unto him, and were lightened and their faces were not afhamed.

6 Lo, the poor crieth, and the Lord heareth him: yea, and faveth him out of all his troubles.

7 The Angel of the Lord tarrieth round about them that fear him and delivereth them.

8 O tafte, and fee, how gracious the Lord is: bleffed is the man that trufteth in him.

9 O fear the Lord, ye that are his Saints for they that' fear him lack nothing.

10 The lions do lack and fuffer hunger: but they who feek the Lord fhall want no manner of thing that is good. II Come, ye children, and hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

12 What man is he that lufteth to live: and would fain fee good days?

13 Keep thy tongue from evil: and thy lips that they fpeak no guile.

14 Efchew evil, and do good: feek peace and enfue it. 15 The eyes of the Lord are over the righteous and his ears are open unto their prayers.

16 The countenance of the Lord is against them that do evil to root out the remembrance of them from the earth. 17 The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth them: and delivereth them out of all their troubles.

18 The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a contrite heart and will fave fuch as be of an humble spirit.

19 Great are the troubles of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of all:

20 He keepeth all his bones: fo that not one of them is broken.

21 But misfortune fhall flay the ungodly and they that hate the righteous fhall be defolate.

22 The Lord delivereth the fouls of his fervants: and all they that their trust in him, fhall not be deftitute.

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MORNING

PRAYER.

Pfalm xxxv. Judicame me, Domine.

Lead thou my caufe, O Lord, with them that strive with me and fight thou against them that fight against

2 Lay hand upon the fhield and buckler: and ftand up to help me.

3 Bring forth the fpear, and ftop the way against them that perfecute me: fay unto my foul, I am thy falvation.

4 Let them be confounded, and put to fhame, that seek after my foul let them be turned back, and brought to confufion, that imagine mitchief for me.

5 Let them be as the duft before the wind and the Angel of the Lord fcattering them.

6 Let their way be dark and flippery and let the Angel of the Lord perfecute them.

PRACTICAL

OBSERVATIONS..

Pfalm xxxiv.] In this pfalm we are taught, i. That the Lord never fails to hear and deliver the righteous who call upon him in their diftrefs, and employs even angels for their defence. 2. David in this pfalm seems thoroughly affected with a fenfe of God's goodness, and the happiness which thofe experience who are partakers of his love; and defcribes, in a beautiful manner, the nature of piety, exhorting the faints to live always in the fear of the Lord, to be fincere in their words and actions, to Ay from evil, do good, and feek peace. He fets before us the inestimable. benefits and advantages of holinefs, fince they that fear the Lord can lack nothing; his eyes being always over the righteous, his ears open to their cries, and if they are expofed to many misfortunes, he delivers them from them all at the lak; whereas he tets his face against the wicked for their deftruction. Nothing can be of greater ufe, than continually to call to mind thefe divine and excellent leffons, to have them continually before our eyes and in our hearts.

7 For they have privily laid their net to destroy me without a caufe: yea, even without a caufe have they made a pit for my foul.

8 Let a fudden deftruction come upon him unawares, and his net that he hath laid privily catch himfelf: that he may fall into his own mifchief.

9 And, my foul, be joyful in the Lord: it shall rejoice in his falvation.

10 All my bones fhall fay, Lord, who is like unto thee, who deliverest the poor from him that is too ftrong for him: yea, the poor, and him that is in mifery, from him that Spoileth him?

11 False witneffes did rife up: they laid to my charge things that I knew not.

12 They rewarded me evil for good to the great difcomfort of my foul.

13 Nevertheless, when they were fick, I put on fackcloth, and humbled my foul with fafting: and my prayer fhall

turn into mine own bofom.

14 I behaved myself as though it had been my friend, or my brother: I went heavily as one that mourneth for his

mother.

15 But in mine adversity they rejoiced, and gathered themfelves together: yea, the very abjects came together against me unawares, making mouths at me, and ceased not. 16 With the flatterers were bufy mockers: who gnashed upon me with their teeth.

17 Lord, how long wilt thou look upon this: O deliver my foul from the calamities which they bring on me, and my darling from the lions.

18 So will I give thee thanks in the great congregation: I will praise thee among much people.

19 O let not them that are mine enemies triumph over me ungodly neither let them wink with their eyes that hate me without a caufe.

20 And why their communing is not for peace: but they imagine deceitful words against them that are quiet in

the land.

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21 They

21 They gaped upon me with their mouths, and said: Fie on thee, fie on thee, we faw it with our eyes.

22 This thou haft feen, O'Lord: hold not thy tongue then, go not far from me, O Lord.

23 Awake, and ftand up to judge my quarrel: avenge thou my caufe, my God, and my Lord.

24 Judge me, O Lord my God, according to thy righteoufness and let them not triumph over me.

25 Let them not fay in their hearts, There, there, so would we have it: neither let them fay, We have devoured him.

26 Let them be put to confufion and fhame together that rejoice at my trouble: let them be clothed with rebuke and difhonour that boaft themselves against me.

27 Let them be glad and rejoice that favour my righteous dealing yea, let them fay alway, Bleffed be the Lord, who hath pleasure in the profperity of his fervant.

28 And as for my tongue, it fhall be talking of thy righteousness and of thy praise all the day long.

MY

Pfalm xxxvi. Dixit injuftus.

Y heart fheweth me the wickednefs of the ungodly:
that there is no fear of God before his eyes.

2 For he flattereth himself in his own fight: until his abominable fin be found out.

3. The words of his mouth are unrighteous, and full of deceit he hath left off to behave himself wifely, and to do good.

4 He imagineth' mifchief upon his bed, and hath fet himfelf in no good way: neither doth he abhor any thing that is evil.

PRACTICAL OBSERVATIONS.

Pfalm xxxv.] We muft not conclude from what David fays here againft His enemies, that we are allowed to with evil to those who injure us, or to rejoice when any evil happens to them. We are to remember, that the enemies of David were enemies to God himself; and that David, as a prophet, and one who had an exprefs promife of the divine affiftance, might denounce deftruction against thofe who oppofed him.

PRAC

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5 Thy mercy, O Lord, reacheth unto the heavens and thy faithfulness unto the clouds.

6 Thy righteoufnels ftandeth like the ftrong mountains: thy judgments are like the great deep.

7 Thou, Lord, fhalt fave both man and beaft: How excellent is thy mercy, O God: and the children of men fhall put their truft under the fhadow of thy wings.

8 They fhall be fatisfied with the plenteoufnefs of thy house and thou fhalt give them drink of thy pleasures, as out of the river.

9 For with thee is the well of life: and in thy light thall we fee light.

10 O continue forth thy loving kindnefs unto them that know thee and thy righteoufnefs unto them that are true of heart.

11 O let not the foot of pride come against me: and let not the hand of the ungodly caft me down.

12 There are they fallen, all that work wickedness: they are caft down, and fhall not be able to ftand.

F

EVENING PRAYER.
Pfalm xxxvii. Noli emulari.

RET not thyfelf becaufe of the ungodly neither be
thou envious against the evil-doers.

PRACTICAL

OBSERVATIONS.

Pfalm. xxxvi.] 1. In this. pfalm we have a defcription of the fentiments and behaviour of the wicked and ungodly, who have no fear of God before their eyes, but flatter themselves, and are confirmed more and more in their wickedness, and without any dread of evil feek only to hurt others. 2. David here obferves, that the righteous have very different fentiments; that they adore the power and justice of God, manifefted in his works and all his judgments; that they are transported with the confideration of his immenfe goodness, and the favours he bestows on those who love him and put their trust in him. The reading of this pfalm teaches us to avoid all impiety, and to cleave fedfatly to God by a fincere love and holy fear, that we may rejoice in him with righteoufnefs, and fay with David, "O God, how precious is thy goodness! the children of men hide them felves under the fhadow of thy wings. We fhall be Latisfied with the fatnefs of thy house, and thou shalt give us to drink of the rivers of thy pleafures."

PRAC.

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