Scottish Psalter and Paraphrases

¹The mighty God, the Lord, hath spoke,

and call’d the earth upon,

Ev’n from the rising of the sun

unto his going down.

²From out of Sion, his own hill,

where the perfection high

Of beauty is, from thence the Lord

hath shined gloriously.

³Our God shall come, and shall no more

be silent, but speak out:

Before him fire shall waste, great storms

shall compass him about.

⁴He to the heavens from above,

and to the earth below,

Shall call, that he his judgments may

before his people show.

⁵Let all my saints together be

unto me gathered;

Those that by sacrifice with me

a covenant have made.

⁶And then the heavens shall declare

his righteousness abroad:

Because the Lord himself doth come;

none else is judge but God.

⁷Hear, O my people, and I’ll speak;

O Israel by name,

Against thee I will testify;

God, ev’n thy God, I am.

⁸I for thy sacrifices few

reprove thee never will,

Nor for burnt-off ‘rings to have been

before me offer’d still.

⁹I’ll take no bullock nor he-goats

from house nor folds of thine:

¹⁰For beasts of forests, cattle all

on thousand hills, are mine.

¹¹The fowls are all to me well known

that mountains high do yield;

And I do challenge as mine own

the wild beasts of the field.

¹²If I were hungry, I would not

to thee for need complain;

For earth, and all its fulness, doth

to me of right pertain.

¹³That I to eat the flesh of bulls

take pleasure dost thou think?

Or that I need, to quench my thirst,

the blood of goats to drink?

¹⁴Nay, rather unto me, thy God,

thanksgiving offer thou:

To the most High perform thy word,

and fully pay thy vow:

¹⁵And in the day of trouble great

see that thou call on me;

I will deliver thee, and thou

my name shalt glorify.

¹⁶But God unto the wicked saith,

Why should’st thou mention make

Of my commands? how dar’st thou in

thy mouth my cov’nant take?

¹⁷Sith it is so that thou dost hate

all good instruction;

And sith thou cast’st behind thy back,

and slight’st my words each one.

¹⁸When thou a thief didst see, then straight

thou join’dst with him in sin,

And with the vile adulterers

thou hast partaker been.

¹⁹Thy mouth to evil thou dost give,

thy tongue deceit doth frame.

²⁰Thou sitt’st, and ‘gainst thy brother speak’st,

thy mother’s son to shame.

²¹These things thou wickedly hast done,

and I have silent been:

Thou thought’st that I was like thyself,

and did approve thy sin:

But I will sharply thee reprove,

and I will order right

Thy sins and thy transgressions

in presence of thy sight.

²²Consider this, and be afraid,

ye that forget the Lord,

Lest I in pieces tear you all,

when none can help afford.

²³Who off’reth praise me glorifies:

I will shew God’s salvation

To him that ordereth aright

his life and conversation.