ALEPH .

1.

How blest, who Thee, great God, obey,
And stedfast walk th' all-perfect way!
How blest, whose hearts with will intire
Thy presence seek, Almighty Sire;
Whose feet thy guidance own; whose mind
Has each nefarious act declin'd.

2.

Thy voice has charg'd us to fulfil
The dictates of thy heav'nly Will;
Such, Lord, thy charge; and O may I
Attentive to the task apply,
Trust in thy Aid, thy Works record,
And mark the Precepts of thy Word.

3.

My steps conform'd to thy Decrees,
Nor shame nor dread my Soul shall seize;
Thy Precepts on my mind impress'd
Shall swell with joy my faithful breast,
Thy Justice prompt my tongue to raise
The song of gratitude and praise.

4.

Thy Law my love shall claim: Do Thou
Thy ear to my petition bow;
O treat me not with cold disdain,
Let not my Vows return in vain,
Nor leave me, helpless and forlorn,
The absence of thy grace to mourn.

Beth .

1.

How, early wise, shall Youth, O say,
In Innocence direct its way?
Thy Word its steps, to Thee resign'd,
The ever faithful Guide shall find.

2.

Hail, best Instructor! Thee my Thought
With full desire, great God, has sought;
O let me not, by Error's sway
Impell'd, from thy direction stray.

3.

Thy Precept, in my breast conceal'd,
From Sin's assault my heart shall shield:
Blest is thy Name, eternal Lord!
O write within my mind thy Word:

4.

That Word, whose rules from day to day
My lips with grateful zeal display;
These, my best wealth, my treasur'd store
I keep, and view them o'er and o'er.

5.

Thy Dictates still, my constant joy,
My soul's attention shall employ;
Nor aught shall from my sight withdraw
Thy path, or from my thought thy Law.

G IMEL .

1.

Thy Mercy let thy Servant see,
Grant me to live conform'd to Thee,
And let my Soul, each mist away,
The wonders of thy Law survey.

2.

Behold me, absent from my home,
Through Life's wild maze a Pilgrim roam,
Nor Thou to my desiring eye
Thy Word's directing beams deny.

3.

With ardent zeal, with strong desire,
My thoughts to thy Decrees aspire;
With servent hope thy paths I tread
By Mercy and by Truth outspread.

4.

O Thou, whose threat the proud subdues,
Whose wrath the sinner's steps pursues,
My soul, of each transgression pure,
From scorn and fierce reproach secure.

5.

While Princes with malignant aim
Assembled wound my honest fame,
My Life, thy will its fix'd pursuit,
Shall each opprobrious tongue refute.

6.

Thy Laws my ev'ry thought controul,
While, fill'd with sacred joy, my Soul
Its ever faithful Friends in These
And inmates of its counsel sees.

D ALETH .

1.

Low in the dust my soul is laid;
O reach me, Lord, thy promis'd aid;
Thou, as my heart its guilt avow'd,
Thy pitying ear, great God, hast bow'd;
Let thy Commands my footsteps lead;
O give me, Lord, thy paths to tread;
And let me, lesson'd in thy way,
The wonders of thy Grace survey:

2.

While on my soul, that melts with woe,
That Grace its succours shall bestow,
(Such hope thy Word has bid me form;)
Let me, with holy transport warm,
And privileg'd thy Law to learn,
From Error's path abhorrent turn;
Averse from each injurious art,
Let falsehood from my lips depart.

3.

Truth, Lord, my steady thoughts pursue,
Thy Judgments fix'd before my view
In full display: Exempt from shame
O give me Thou by These to frame
My course; and mark with what delight,
(As onward These my steps invite,)
Its bands by Thee dissolv'd, my Soul
Anticipates the distant goal.

H E .

1.

Teach me, O teach me, Lord, thy Way;
So to my life's remotest day,
By thy unerring Precepts led,
My willing feet its paths shall tread.

2.

Inform'd by Thee, with sacred awe
My heart shall meditate thy Law,
And with celestial Wisdom fill'd
To Thee its full obedience yield.

3.

Give me to know thy Words aright,
(Thy Words, my soul's supreme delight)
That, purg'd from thirst of gold, my mind
In Them its better wealth may find.

4.

O turn from Vanity mine eye,
To Me thy quick'ning strength supply,
And with thy promis'd mercy chear
A heart devoted to thy fear.

5.

O vindicate my Name from wrong,
And silence the reproachful tongue;
My dreaded shame, great God, remove;
Thy Judgments, Lord, my thoughts approve.

6.

Thy wise Commands my breast inflame;
O haste, and to my inmost frame
Permit thy Justice to dispense
Its all-reviving influence.

V AU .

1.

O let me, Lord, thy Mercy know;
Thy promis'd health, great God, bestow;
So from my Soul, on Thee reclin'd,
Shall each reproach an answer find.

2.

My trust thy Judgments, mightiest Lord,
Support; O let not then thy Word
(Thy Word, by Truth eternal seal'd)
Be ever from my lips withheld:

3.

That Word to Life's extremest stage
My just remembrance shall engage,
My Soul to thy Decrees incline,
And make the paths of freedom mine.

4.

The Heav'n-taught truths that warm my breast
My tongue to Monarchs shall suggest,
And, rapt with zeal, each check disclaim
Of servile dread, and infant shame.

5.

Thy Dictates on my Thoughts impress'd
With sweet delight shall fill my breast;
Thy Law, Jehovah , still shall share
My ardent Love, my constant Care;

6.

And, while from Thee with lifted hands
Pleas'd I receive its just commands,
My Life, submitted to its rein,
Shall speak them not receiv'd in vain.

Z AIN .

1.

Thy promises, Almighty Sire,
Accomplish: These my hope inspire;
These, when oppress'd with ills I lie,
With vital strength my soul supply;
Nor loud reproach nor hostile scorn
My heart from thy obedience turn:
Amid my woes, through ages past
In long memorial backward trac'd,
Thy Judgments have my trust upheld,
And sorrow's heaviest cloud dispell'd.

2.

How trembles, Lord, my heart to see
The souls that err from thy Decree!
Long as within this seat of clay,
My house of Pilgrimage, I stay,
Thy Statutes are my Song; thy Name
Wakes in my breast the holy flame,
That heav'n-ward lifts my thoughtful soul,
When night's dark shades invest the pole.
What hopes, great God, are mine, what joy,
While thy Commands my care employ!

C HETH .

1.

My heart's best portion, Lord, art Thou;
To Thee my Thoughts obedience vow:
To Thee with ardent zeal I pray;
Thy promis'd mercy, Lord, display.

2.

While back my yet unfinish'd race
With scrutiny severe I trace,
Thy Law with full delight I greet,
And turn to Thee my willing feet.

3.

With studious haste I ran, I flew,
Intent thy Dictates to pursue,
Nor These forget, though troops of foes
Amid their snare my steps inclose.

4.

Thy just Decrees within my breast
Revolv'd, I quit my bed of rest,
And pleas'd, at midnight's awful hour,
In thanks to Thee my spirit pour.

5.

I mark where'er the souls I find
To Thy Commands, great God, inclin'd;
I mark them, and with such reside
In friendship's strictest bands ally'd.

6.

That Mercy, Lord, whose beams extend
Far as to Earth's remotest end,
That Mercy to my Soul impart,
And grave thy precepts on my heart.

T ETH .

1.

My grateful heart thy Love has known,
O Thou, whose words and deeds are one;
O still that Love impart, and store
My Soul with thy celestial Lore,
Whose thought its full assent resigns
To what thy sacred Will injoins.

2.

In devious paths awhile I trod,
Ere yet corrected by thy rod;
But from thy just and perfect Law
Fair Virtue's Lessons now I draw,
And, disciplin'd, great Sire, by Thee,
Obsequious bow to thy Decree.

3.

Thy Mercies, Lord, exhaustless flow;
O give my Soul thy Will to know:
While Crouds, whose hearts thy fear disclaim,
With studied falsehood blast my fame,
Thee, Lord, I seek; by thy Command
My Acts, my Thoughts, directed stand.

4.

Amidst their rage, with joyful view
My heart thy Precepts can pursue,
While folly theirs from truth withholds,
And round them wraps its thickest folds:
Behold them, Lord, in Error lost,
Thy Law reject with impious boast.

5.

Blest be thy hand, severely kind,
Whose stroke recall'd my erring Mind,
And urg'd me, as to Thee I turn,
Thy hallow'd Institutes to learn,
And, taught their worth, to prize them more
Than heaps of Ophir 's richest ore.

J OD .

1.

Thy plastic art, throughout my frame,
Each limb, each nerve, great God, proclaim;
O give me Thou with mind sincere
To learn th' Instructions of thy Fear:

2.

So shall the Souls, that Fear who know,
With social joy, my God, o'erflow,
And pleas'd my constant heart approve,
That waits, with Them, thy plighted Love.

3.

Thy Judgments praise eternal claim,
Wise, just, and good; with friendliest aim
Thy faithful hand each woe I feel
Inflicts, and wounds me but to heal.

4.

O let thy promis'd mercy shed
Its quick'ning effluence on my head,
And comfort to my Soul instil,
That loves the dictates of thy Will.

5.

Let shame th' Aggressors proud repay,
Who seek my footsteps to betray:
Thine aid I ask, eternal Lord,
And treasure in my heart thy Word.

6.

With Me in sacred friendship join
The souls that to thy fear incline,
And from the well-spring of thy Law
Exhaustless streams of knowledge draw.

7.

O never from my constant heart
Let thy Decrees, great God, depart,
So shall I thence, by Thee renew'd,
Guilt, and its offspring Shame, exclude.

C APH .

1.

Behold, while wearied with delay
My soul, my sight, consume away,
Thy Servant o'er th' ethereal plain
Send the long look, but send in vain.

2.

O when, to my expecting eyes,
When shall thy wish'd Salvation rise,
Through struggling clouds its promis'd ray
Transmit, and o'er me pour the day?

3.

Fast as the wine-exhausted hide
Amid the circling smoke is dried,
I waste; yet never from my heart
Shall thy Commands, great God, depart.

4.

How long shall I my days, O say,
In sad succession roll'd survey;
How long to haughtiest insult yield,
Thy vengeance from my foes withheld?

5.

The Proud, thy Precepts who despise,
(Thy Precepts, Lord, how just, how wise!)
With causeless rage their pits prepare;
O haste, and make my life thy care.

6.

How nigh had Conquest crown'd their aim,
And rooted from the earth my name!
While still thy paths, eternal God,
With undiverted step I trod.

7.

O let thy Mercy to my heart
Its life-sustaining pow'r impart;
So shall my Soul with sacred awe,
And just observance, hear thy Law.

L AMED .

1.

Fix'd in the Heav'ns, eternal Lord,
On firmest basis rests thy Word;
Thy Truth, unconscious of decay,
Sees wasting ages roll away.

2.

Pois'd on its centre by thy hand
Earth long has stood, and yet shall stand:
The whole Creation, ev'ry hour,
Subservient owns thy sov'reign Pow'r.

3.

How had I perish'd, 'midst my woes,
But that within my bosom rose
The joys which thy Injunctions yield,
And each invading grief dispell'd!

4.

O never, never, shall my heart,
Forgetful, from thy Law depart,
Which, instant, kindliest succour gave,
And wrought my rescue from the grave.

5.

Behold me, Lord, behold me thine;
Thy ear to my request incline,
And save a Soul whose wakeful Thought
With fervent zeal thy Truths has sought.

6.

And though with secret art their snare
The impious for my Life prepare,
Thy Precepts still, my constant joy.
My fix'd attention shall employ.

7.

Mine eyes Perfection's limit see
Through Nature's Works; but thy Decree
No period, mightiest Monarch, knows,
Nor bounds of space its breadth inclose.

M EM .

1.

With what desire, great God, I burn
Thy sacred Oracles to learn!
Each day, each hour, with stedfast mind
Thy Truths I meditate, and find
The knowledge, to my foes denied,
To Me in fullest weight supplied.

2.

My Teachers, while from out thy Law
The lessons of my life I draw,
My guidance ask; the Aged Me
Their Elder in discretion see,
As, onward led, with steady pace
The Heav'n-appointed paths I trace.

3.

O with what zeal my bosom burn'd,
With joy the heav'nly precept learn'd!
How have I kept my feet from ill,
Intent thy Mandate to fulfil,
My ear to discipline resign'd,
Nor ever from its rules declin'd!

4.

In full satiety of joy
Absorpt, thy Words my thought employ,
And sweeter on my palate dwell
Than honey dropping from its cell:
My Soul, by thy Instruction, wise,
From Error's path abhorrent flies.

N UN .

1.

Thy Law, from Sinai 's mount reveal'd,
A lantern to my feet shall yield,
A light, whose beams shall o'er me dwell,
And night's incircling shades dispel.

2.

Thy Precepts (thus my tongue has sworn,
Nor aught my purpose, Lord, shall turn;)
Thy Precepts, just, and wise, and true,
My steps, unwearied, shall pursue.

3.

Beneath a weight of woes I bend;
Thy promis'd aid, my God; extend:
My lips their willing off'rings pay;
Accept them, gracious Lord, I pray.

4.

Thy Judgments to my longing eyes
Display; while dangers round me rise,
My soul just ready to resign,
To These my thoughts I still incline.

5.

No impious force, or hostile snare,
Shall alienate from These my care;
Nor e'er shall Sin my steps betray
From these in devious Paths to stray.

6.

These, while their worth my Soul inflames,
Its lasting heritage it claims,
And pleas'd the dictates of thy Will
To life's last period shall fulfil.

S AMECH .

1.

Far hence each Superstition vain,
Wild offspring of the human brain;
The Truths that fill thy hallow'd page
My happier choice, great God, engage;
Safe on thy Word my trust I build,
O Thou, my Refuge, and my Shield.

2.

Ye impious, from my sight away;
My Soul shall God's behests obey:
O ever faithful to thy Word,
Do Thou thy vital strength afford;
Thy help impart, eternal Sire,
Nor let my hope in shame expire.

3.

Sustain'd by thy Almighty aid,
What danger shall my Soul invade?
Nor error's cloud, nor arts of sin,
My soul from thy obedience win;
In vain shall these their force apply
To turn from thy Decrees mine eye.

4.

Subverted by their own deceit,
And spurn'd beneath thy conqu'ring feet,
Thy wrath the rebel tribes deplore;
Spurn'd, — as the dross, that from the ore
(Amid the glowing furnace caft)
Is sever'd by the fiery blast.

5.

For this, with ardent Love thy Law
I seek; for this, while rev'rent Awe
And holy Horror shake my frame,
Thy dreaded judgments I proclaim;
And, wrapt in fear, most mighty Lord,
Thy pow'r, thy righteousness record.

A IN

1.

While Justice o'er my life presides,
Each act, each word, each purpose guides,
Friend of the guiltless! nigh me stand,
And save me from th' Oppressor's hand.

2.

O still thy wonted grace disclose;
Still in my quarrel interpose
Thine arm, nor let my haughty foe
Exulting triumph in my woe.

3.

My wasting eyes with earnest view
Thy promis'd health, my God, pursue:
Thy mercies to thy Servant show,
Give me each Heav'n-taught rule to know.

4.

Behold me, Lord, behold me thine,
And let thy influence on me shine,
Till, each illusion purg'd away,
My Soul thy mystic Truths survey.

5.

Thy wise Injunctions cast aside,
The sons of Insolence and Pride
With oft-repeated crimes demand
Th' unwilling vengeance from thy hand.

6.

Thy Dictates on my thought impress'd
With sweet delight shall fill my breast;
Not Gold like. These my love shall claim,
Gold sev'n times tortur'd in the flame.

7.

These, Lord, I keep, thy Works record,
And mark the precepts of thy word,
Trust in thine aid, and, fix'd, decree
To shun each path that leads from Thee.

P E .

1.

O how the Wonders of thy Law
My heart to just obedience awe!
What streams of purest knowledge yield
Thy Words in full display reveal'd!
By These the Souls untaught before
To heights of heav'nly science soar.

2.

With earnest zeal, and anxious thought
Thy words my panting bosom sought;
With thirst, with sacred thirst I burn'd;
To These my op'ning mouth I turn'd,
And from thy Precept wise and true
Its life-imparting spirit drew:

3.

What grace thy Saints are blest to know,
That grace on Me, great God, bestow;
Thy Dictates to my soul convey,
And level to my steps thy way;
Redeem from Error's growth my mind,
Nor leave one baleful root behind.

4.

O save me from Oppression's hand;
So shall my soul thy wise command
Observe, and, lesson'd in thy fear,
The precepts of thy law revere:
Indulgent on thy servant shine,
And make the paths of knowledge mine.

5.

My tears, great God, my zeal disclose,
And down the copious torrent flows,
As oft, with inward anguish torn,
Thy violated Laws I mourn
By guilty Souls, whose Love of ill
To rash Transgression prompts their will.

T SADDI .

1.

Hail, Arbiter supreme! thy Will
Truth, Equity, and Justice seal;
Truth, Justice, Equity, thy Voice
Prescribes to favour'd Israel 's choice;
These while my foe presumptuous spurns,
With zeal consum'd my bosom burns.

2.

O how thy Precepts, in the fire
Long prov'd, thy servant's Love inspire!
To indigence and scorn resign'd,
These still I seek with studious mind;
Nor cease with constant thought to trace
The acts of thy stupendous grace.

3.

Eternal Rectitude is thine;
Truth to thy Laws adjusts its line;
Thy Laws, my Soul's best comfort found,
When pains and sorrows wrapt me round:
Thy just Decrees shall Time survive;
Them teach me, and my Soul shall live.

K OPH .

1.

O Maker, Guide, and Judge of All!
With earnest voice to Thee I call;
To Thee I call; propitious hear;
So shall the Precepts of thy fear
My Soul inform, and, Thou my aid,
My ev'ry Act by These be sway'd.

2.

Ere yet the dawn has streak'd the sky,
God of my Life, to Thee I cry;
My hope (nor shall that hope be vain,)
Thy sacred promises sustain:
On thy Decrees, great God, intent,
My Thoughts the early watch prevent.

3.

O let thy Mercy, while I pray,
My night illumine, guide my day,
Thy Word within my inmost frame
Awake the everliving flame,
And, instant, to my breast dispense
Its all-reviving influence.

4.

Behold a Croud, from Thee estrang'd,
In dire alliance near me rang'd;
But Thou, my God, art nearer still:
My Soul the dictates of thy Will
Fix'd on eternal base has view'd,
And owns them wise, and just, and good.

R ESH .

1.

Behold my griefs; my Soul preserve;
For ne'er from thy direction swerve
My thoughts: Do Thou my cause defend;
O let thy word its aid extend.

2.

In vain thy grace the Souls would heal,
Whose crimes their just rejection seal;
Who, bold each impious deed to try,
Thy Laws oppose, thy Pow'r defy.

3.

O let thy Mercy, Lord, (how great
That Mercy!) on thy Servant wait,
Its beams in full effusion give,
And teach my fainting heart to live.

4.

While hostile Crouds around me stand,
My steps I gaide by thy Command
Unvarying, and indignant see
The Souls whose Will has err'd from Thee.

5.

Behold what love, what full delight,
Thy Precepts in my breast excite,
And let thy Favour o'er my head
Its vital pow'r incessant shed.

6.

With truth thy Word, great God, was crown'd,
Ere time began its restless round:
Thy Laws through length of days extend,
First, midst, and last, and without end.

S CHIN .

1.

While princely Pow'r, without a cause,
The threat'ning sword against me draws,
My mind, to thy Commands applied,
Them fears, nor owns a fear beside.

2.

My heart with secret transport swells,
While studious on thy Word it dwells;
Nor wealthiest spoils such joy bestow,
New wrested from the prostrate foe.

3.

To Lies averse, thy Laws I love;
Thy just Decrees my Thoughts approve;
And sev'n times, each revolving day,
To Thee my grateful vows I pay.

4.

Great is the peace prepar'd for All,
Whose willing feet obey thy Call;
Great is the peace for such prepar'd,
Nor aught their footsteps shall retard.

5.

Thy health, my God, I wait, thy Will
With unremitted zeal fulfil,
And wrapt in love and filial fear
The Heav'n-descended Truths revere.

6.

Thy Truths my soul reveres: Each day,
Thy wife Instructions I obey,
Assur'd that to thy searching eyes
My life's whole path conspicuous lies.

T AU .

1.

O let my cries thy heav'nly seat
Approach; my pray'r indulgent meet,
And give (for on thy Word relies
My hope;) O give me to be wise.

2.

Behold, (for Mercy lives in Thee;)
Behold me suppliant bend the knee,
And let thy promis'd aid dispel
The clouds of grief that o'er me dwell.

3.

Thy sacred Precepts taught to know,
How shall my lips, great God, o'erflow
With praise, and, touch'd with holy flame,
The justice of thy Laws proclaim!

4.

While pleas'd I bow to thy Command,
Reach, in my rescue, reach thy hand;
Do Thou, whose Dictates warm my heart,
Thy long-expected health impart.

5.

O let my Soul, to life restor'd,
Thy Love in lasting hymns record,
While o'er my head its beams shall shine,
And make thy great Salvation mine.

6.

Thine eyes in Me the Sheep behold,
Whose feet have wander'd from the fold,
That, guideless, helpless, strives in vain
To find its safe retreat again;

7.

Now listens, if perchance its ear
The Shepherd's well-known voice may hear,
Now, as the tempests round it blow,
In plaintive accent vents its woe.

8.

Great Ruler of this earthly Ball,
Do Thou my erring steps recall:
O seek thou Him who Thee has sought,
Nor turns from thy Decrees his thought.