Metrical Psalter 1650:
1 O Lord, how are my foes increas'd?
against me many rise.
2 Many say of my soul, For him
in God no succour lies.
3 Yet Thou my shield and glory art,
th' uplifter of mine head.
4 I cry'd, and, from His holy hill,
the Lord me answer made.
5 I laid me down and slept; I wak'd;
for God sustained me.
6 I will not fear though thousands ten
set round against me be.
7 Arise, O Lord; save me, my God;
for Thou my foes hast stroke
all on the cheek-bone, and the teeth
of wicked men hast broke.
8 Salvation doth appertain
unto the Lord alone:
Thy blessing, Lord, for evermore
Thy people is upon.
Notes by John Brown of Haddington:
A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son.
Having beheld the royal dignity of my Redeemer, let me here behold the joy, the peace, the safety of the redeemed, amidst their distresses innumerable. Here David, driven from his holy capital and high throne, by his rebellious son Absalom, (1.) Complains to his God of the number and malice of his enemies, ver. 1-2. (2.) He encourageth himself in his God, as the source and subject-matter of his safety, joy, and honour, ver. 3. (3.) He recollects, how, on former occasions, his troubles had driven him to his prayers; how he had always found God ready to hear and grant his requests; how safe and easy he had lived under his protection; and how effectually he had broken the power and restrained the malice of his enemies, ver. 4-5, 7. ( 4.) Triumphantly trusting in God, as the salvation and blesser of his people, he silenceth all his fears, and pours forth his prayers for new protection and deliverance, ver. 6, 8.
Think, my soul, of Jesus, who, when bulls of Bashan compassed Him about, trusted in God, that He would deliver Him. In all my distress, let me pour out my heart before him, believing in him as God, even my God. Let me always rejoice in the great God my Saviour. Let me trust in Him at all times, that as He hath delivered, and doth deliver, so He will deliver me.
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God’s hymnbook found in the middle of your Bible has a place within my life; the songs touch the heart and therefore cause me to value them as precious. May I ask, is it precious to you? You may of course read from it, but have you neglected to sing from it? Consider our Saviour sung from it here upon earth. He sung from it, because He loved it, was in full agreement with its place within the worship of God, and, further, desired to set you an example. These inspired songs were sung from His heart, and He knew great comfort and joy in singing them. My dear friends, He desires you, and wants you to sing from them. “Let me here thy voice”, Song of Solomon 2: 14.
Let every minister promote this glorious hymnbook. Let every church and home have a Psalter. Let these glorious Psalms, hymns and songs that we have in the Psalter, be sung with such freshness, and be heard from every Church and Chapel of this old country of ours! May God yet bless the cause of Psalmody in a great way, to the glory of His name, and to the blessing of His Church.
Aaron J Lewis
