Judges, who rule the world by laws,
Will ye des­pise the right­eous cause,
When th’in­jured poor be­fore you stands?
Dare ye con­demn the right­eous poor,
And let rich sin­ners ’scape se­cure,
When gold and great­ness bribe your hands?

Have ye for­got, or ne­ver knew,
That God will judge the judg­es, too?
High in the heav’ns His jus­tice reigns;
Yet you in­vade the rights of God,
And send your bold de­crees abroad,
To bind the con­science in your chains.

A poi­soned ar­row is your tongue,
The ar­row sharp, the poi­son strong,
And death at­tends where’er it wounds:
You hear no coun­sels, cries, or tears;
So the deaf ad­der stops her ears
Against the pow­er of charm­ing sounds.

Break out their teeth, eter­nal God,
Those teeth of li­ons dyed in blood;
And crush the ser­pents in the dust;
As emp­ty chaff, when whirl­winds rise
Before the sweep­ing tem­pests flies,
So let their hopes and names be lost.

Th’Almigh­ty thun­ders from the sky,
Their gran­deur mel­ts, their ti­tles die,
As hills of snow dis­solve and run.
Or snails that per­ish in their slime,
Or births that come be­fore their time,
Vain births, that ne­ver see the sun.

Thus shall the ven­geance of the Lord
Safety and joy to saints af­ford;
And all that hear shall join and say,
Sure there’s a God that rules on high,
A God that hears His child­ren cry,
And will their suf­fer­ings well re­pay.