4 What if the springs of life were broke,
And flesh and heart should faint! 
God is my soul’s eternal rock,
The strength of every saint.

5 Behold the sinners that remove
Far from thy presence die;
Not all the idol gods they love
Can save them when they cry.

6 But to draw near to thee, my God,
Shall be my sweet employ;
My tongue shall sound thy works abroad,
And tell the world my joy.

Psalm 73:3. 22 3 6 17-20.  L. M.
The prosperity of sinners cursed.

1 Lord, what a thoughtless wretch was I,
To mourn, and murmur, and repine
To see the wicked plac’d on high,
In pride and robes of honour shine!

2 But O their end, their dreadful end! 
Thy sanctuary taught me so: 
On slippery rocks I see them stand,
And fiery billows roll below.

3 Now let them boast how tall they rise,
I’ll never envy them again;
There they may stand with haughty eyes,
Till they plunge deep in endless pain.

4 Their fancy’d joys, how fast they flee! 
Just like a dream when man awakes;
Their songs of softest harmony
Are but a preface to their plagues.

5 Now I esteem their mirth and wine
Too dear to purchase with my blood;
Lord, ’tis enough that thou art mine,
My life, my portion, and my God.

Psalm 73:4.  S. M.
The mystery of providence unfolded.

1 Sure there’s a righteous God,
Nor is religion vain,
Tho’ men of vice may boast aloud,
And men of grace complain.

2 I saw the wicked rise,
And felt my heart repine,
While haughty fools with scornful eyes
In robes of honour shine.

3 [Pamper’d with wanton ease, Their flesh looks full and fair, Their wealth rolls in like flowing seas, And grows without their care.

4 Free from the plagues and pains
That pious souls endure,
Thro’ all their life oppression reigns
And racks the humble poor.

5 Their impious tongues blaspheme
The everlasting God;
Their malice blasts the good man’s name,
And spreads their lies abroad.

6 But I with flowing tears
Indulge my doubts to rise
“Is there a God that sees or hears
“The things below the skies?”]

7 The tumults of my thought
Held me in hard suspense,
Till to thy house my feet were brought
To learn thy justice thence.

8 Thy word with light and power
Did my mistakes attend;
I view’d the sinners’ life before,
But here I learnt their end.

9 On what a slippery steep
The thoughtless wretches go;
And O that dreadful fiery deep
That waits their fall below.

10 Lord, at thy feet I bow,
My thoughts no more repine;
I call my God my portion now,
And all my powers are thine.

Psalm 74. 
The church pleading with God
under sore persecutions.

1 Will God for ever cast us off? 
His wrath for ever smoke
Against the people of his love,
His little chosen flock?