Since those alone the Lord has blest
Who do from sin refrain,
He therefore grants what I request [8],
And hears when I [9] complain.
Then shall my soul with more divine
And solid joys abound;
Than they with stores of corn and wine,
Those earthly riches, crown'd [10].
[7] That is, they say false
things falsely.-I will discover
the doctor's secret of making
coherence and connexions in
the Psalms, that he brags of in
his title and preface: he lays
violent hands on certain parti.
cles (such as, and, when, since,
for, but, thus, so, &c.) and
presses them to his service on
all occasions, sore against their
wills, and without any regard
whether the sense will admit
them or not.
[8] It is plain the doctor ne-
ver requested to be a poet.
[9] If your requests be granted, why do you complain?
[10] I have heard of a crown or garland of corn; but a crown of wine is new, and can hardly be explained, unless we suppose the wine to the wine to be in
And thus confiding, Lord, in thee,
I take my calm repose [1];
For thou each night protectest me,
From all my [2] treacherous foes.
Thy heavy hand restrain;
[3] With mercy, Lord, correct:
Do not ([4] as if in high disdain)
My helpless soul reject.
For how shall I sustain
[5] Those ills which now I bear? My vitals are consum'd with pain,
[] My soul oppress'd with care!
Lord, I have pray'd in [7] vain,
So long, so much opprest; my
My very [8] cries increase my pain,
And tears prevent my rest:
These do my sight impair,
And flowing eyes decay;
While to my enemies I fear
Thus [9] to become a prey.
If I've not spar'd him, though he's grown
My causeless [1] enemy;
Then let my life and fortune [2] crown
Become to him a prey.
But, Lord, thy kind assistance [3] lend;
Arise in my defence:
According to thy laws [4] contend
For injured innocence.
[9] That is, he is afraid of
becoming a prey to his enemies
while his eyes are sore.
[1] If he be grown his cause-
less enemy, he is no longer
guiltless.
[2] He gives a thing before
he has it, and gives it to him
that has it already; for Saul is
the person meant.
[3] But why lend? does he
design to return it back when
he has done with it?
[4] Profane rascal! he
makes it a struggle and con-
tention between God and the
wicked.
That all the nations that oppose
May then confess thy power;
Therefore assist my righteous cause,
That they may thee adore:
For equal judgment, Lord, to thee,
The nations [1] all submit;
Be therefore [2] merciful to me,
And my just soul acquit [3].
Thus, by God's gracious providence [4],
I'm still preserv'd secure,
Who all the good and just defends
With a resistless [5] power.
[1] Yet, in the very verse
before, he talks of nations that
oppose.
[2] because all nations sub-
mit to God, therefore God must
be merciful to Dr. Gibbs.
[3] Of what?
Poor David never could
acquit
A criminal like thee,
Against his Psalms who
could commit
Such wicked poetry.
[4] Observe the connexion.
[5] That's right, doctor;
but there will be no contend-
ing, as you desired a while ago.
'Tis wonderful that Providence
Should save thee from the
halter,
Who hast in numbers without
All men he does with justice view,
And their iniquity
With direful vengeance can pursue,
Or patiently [6] pass by.
Lo! now th' inflictions [7] they design'd
By others to be born,
Even all the mischiefs [8] in their mind,
Do on themselves return.
O'er all the birds that mount the air,
And fish that in the floods appear [9].
Confounded at the sight of thee,
My foes are put to flight [1].
Thus thou, great God of equity,
Dost still assert my right [2].
[6] That is no great mark
of viewing them with justice.
God has wiser ends for passing
by his vengeance on the wick-
ed, you profane dunce!
[7] Ay, but what sort of
things are these inflictions?
[8] If the mischiefs be in
their mind, what need they re-
turn on themselves; are they
not there already?
[9] Those, I think, are not
very many: they are good fish
when they are caught, but tiil
then we have no great sway over
them.
[1] The doctor is mistaken;
for, when people are confound-
ed, they cannot fly.
[2] Against Sternhold and Hopkins,
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