Scripture Verse

Preserve me, O God: for in Thee do I put my trust. Psalm 16:1

Introduction

Words: Will­iam Wrang­ham (1784–1832). De­light in God and His peo­ple.

Music: Hil­ki­ah Lo­well Ma­son, The Mod­ern Psalm­ist (Bos­ton, Mas­sa­chu­setts: John H. Wil­kins & Ri­chard B. Car­ter, 1839), page 61 (🔊 pdf nwc).

If you know where to get a good pic­ture of Wrang­ham (head & shoul­ders, at least 200×300 pix­els),

portrait
Lowell Mason (1792–1872)

Lyrics

Preserve Thy faithful servant, Lord,
Who art the refuge of the just;
To me Thy sheltering aid afford,
For in Thine arm alone I trust.

The saints, who dwell the earth around,
I view with pleasure and delight;
But they who other gods have found,
I cast with horror from my sight.

I will not mingle with the throng
Whose guilt their sorrow multiplies;
I will not name them with my tongue,
Nor join their bloody sacrifice.

God is my portion here below:
’Tis He who shall my lot maintain;
His bounty makes my cup o’erflow,
And frees my anxious soul from pain.

Thou shalt unto my longing eyes
The path of endless life display:
Where, in Thy presence, joys arise
Which neither languish nor decay.