IN speechless silence do nor hold,
O God, thy tongue always:
O God, even thou, I say, that art
the God of all my praise.
[verse 1] The wicked and the guileful mouth
on me disclosed be:
And they with false and lying tongues
have spoken unto me.
〈◊〉〈◊〉 They did beset me round about
with words of hateful spight:
Without all cause of my desert
against me they did light.
〈◊〉〈◊〉 For my good will they were my foes,
but then 'gan I to pray:
My good with ill, my friendliness
with hate they did repay.
〈◊〉〈◊〉 Set thou the wicked over him,
to have the upper hand:
It his right hand eke suffer thou
his hateful foe to stand.
When he is judged, let him then
condemned be therein:
And let the prayer that he makes
be turned into sin.
〈◊〉〈◊〉 Few be his days, his charge also
let thou another take:
His children let be fatherless,
his wife a widow make.
[verse 10] Let his off-spring be vagabonds,
to beg and seek their bread:
Wandring out of the wasted place
where erst they have been fed.
[verse 11] Let covetous extortioners
catch all his goods and store:
And let the stranger spoil the fruit
of all his toil before.
[verse 12] Let there be none to pity him,
let there be none at all
That on his children fatherless
will let their mercy fall.