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PSALM 142. C.M.
God is the hope of the helpless. (cont.)

2	My God, who all my burdens knows,    Knows ev'ry way I take.
3	On ev'ry side I cast mine eye,    And found my helpers gone; While friends and strangers pass'd me by    Neglected or unknown.
4	Then did I raise a louder cry,    And call'd thy mercy near; "Thou art my portion, when I die:    "Be thou my refuge here."
5	Lord, I am brought exceeding low;    Now let thine ear attend, And make my foes, who vex me, know,    I've an Almighty Friend.
6	From my sad prison set me free;    Then shall I praise thy name: And holy men shall join with me,    Thy kindness to proclaim.

PSALM 143. L.M.
Mourning under afflictions in mind and body.

1	MY righteous Judge, my gracious God! Hear, when I spread my hands abroad, And cry for succour from thy throne: O make thy truth and mercy known!
2	Let judgment not against me pass; Behold, thy servant pleads thy grace: Should justice call me to thy bar, No living man is guiltless there.
3	Look down in pity, Lord, and see The mighty woes that burden me: Down to the dust my life is brought, Like one long buried and forgot.
4	I dwell in darkness and unseen, My heart is desolate within;

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PSALM 143. L.M.
Mourning under afflictions in mind and body. (cont.)

4	My thoughts in musing silence trace The ancient wonders of thy grace.
5	Thence I derive a glimpse of hope To bear my sinking spirits up; I stretch my hands to God again, And thirst, like parched lands, for rain.
6	For thee I thirst, I pray, I mourn; When will thy smiling face return? Shall all my joys on earth remove? And God for ever hide his love?
7	My God, thy long delay, to save, Will sink thy pris'ner to the grave; My heart grows faint, and dim mine eye; Make haste to help before I die.
8	The night is witness to my tears, Distressing pains, distressing fears: O, might I hear thy morning voice, How would my wearied pow'rs rejoice!
9	In thee I trust, to thee I sigh, And raise my grieved soul on high; For thee sit waiting all the day, And wear the tiresome hours away.
10	Break off my fetters, Lord, and show Which is the path, my feet should go; If snares and foes beset the road, I flee to hide me near my God.
11	Teach me to do thy holy will, And lead me to thy heavenly hill; Let the Good Spirit of thy love Conduct me to thy courts above.
12	Then shall my soul no more complain; The tempter then shall rage in vain: And flesh, that was my foe before, Shall never vex my spirit more.