ther state of existence, to converse with scenes,
and objects, and companions, that are altogether new--what can support
her under such tremblings of thought, such fear, such anxiety, such
apprehensions, but the casting of all her cares upon Him who first gave
her being, who has conducted her through one stage of it, and will be
always with her, to guide and comfort her in her progress through
eternity?

David has very beautifully represented this steady reliance on God
Almighty in his twenty-third Psalm, which is a kind of pastoral hymn, and
filled with those allusions which are usual in that kind of writing. As
the poetry is very exquisite, I shall present my reader with the
following translation of it:

I.

The Lord my pasture shall prepare,
And feed me with a shepherd's care;
His presence shall my wants supply,
And guard me with a watchful eye;
My noonday walks He shall attend,
And all my midnight hours defend.

II.

When in the sultry glebe I faint,
Or on the thirsty mountain pant;
To fertile vales and dewy meads
My weary, wand'ring steps He leads;
Where peaceful rivers, soft and slow,
Amid the verdant landscape flow.

III.

Though in the paths of death I tread,
With gloomy horrors overspread,
My steadfast heart shall fear no ill,
For thou, O Lord, art with me still;
Thy friendly crook shall give me aid,
And guide me through the dreadful shade.

IV.

Though in a bare and rugged way,
Through devious, lonely wilds I stray,
Thy bounty shall my pains beguile:
The barren wilderness shall smile
With sudden greens and herbage crowned,
And streams shall murmur all around.

***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ESSAYS AND TALES***

******* This file should be named 2791.txt or 2791.zip *******

This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/7/9/2791

Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
will be renamed.

Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules,
set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
protect the PROJECT