Prepare the slaughter-house for his children--for the guilt

of their fathers.
They shall not rise nor possess the earth, nor fill the earth

with cities.
For I am up against them, saith the Lord of Hosts.
I will cut off from Babylon the name and remnant,
Both son and grandson, saith the Lord of Hosts.
I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of

water.
With the besom of destruction will I sweep it, saith the
Lord of Hosts.

(Ch. xiv. 1-23.)

1

PART XIII.

SONGS OF TRIUMPH — THE DIVINE VINDICATION—THE

MESSIANIC KING.

Assyria's conduct rebuked.
Ah! thou that spoilest, and thou wast not spoiled !
That dealest treacherously to those who were not treacherous

to thee!
When thou shalt cease spoiling, thou shalt be spoiled !
When thou ceasest treachery, treachery shall be for thee !
O Lord ! Be gracious unto us! We have waited for Thee.
Be Thou our arm every morning, in trouble our salvation.
At the noise of a tumult, the peoples fled :
At the lifting up of Thyself, the nations were scattered.
Your spoil is gathered—like the gathering of the caterpillar :
As the running to and fro of locusts, he runs upon it!
The Lord is exalted! He dwelleth on high !
He hath filled Zion with justice, and righteousness.

A store of salvation is the stability of thy times,
Wisdom and knowledge. The fear of the Lord is his

treasure !

Behold! their valiant ones—they are crying without !
The ambassadors of peace—they are weeping bitterly!
The highways are deserted! The travellers cease!
The treaty is broken! Cities are despised! He regardeth

no one ! The land mourns and fades ! Lebanon is ashamed, and

withers away! Sharon is a desert! Bashan and Carmel cast their leaves !

“Now will I arise : " saith the Lord !
“Now will I be exalted : now will I lift up Myself !
Ye shall conceive chaff-ye shall bring forth stubble.
Your own breath, like fire, shall devour you.
The peoples shall be as the burnings of lime:
As thorns cut off shall they be burned in the fire.”
Hear

ye that are far off, what I have done ! And ye that are near, acknowledge My might!” The sinners in Zion are afraid ! The hypocrites are seized

with fear! “Who can dwell with the devouring fire? Who of us with

everlasting burnings ?” “He that walketh aright, that speaketh uprightly : He that despiseth the gain of oppression—that refuseth

bribes! That will not hear of bloodshed—that looketh not on evil !

He shall dwell on high! Munitions of rocks shall be his

defence! Bread shall be given him : his waters shall be sure.

Thine eyes shall see the king in beauty--the land stretching

wide.” Thine heart thinks over its alarm—"Where is the scribe? Where the weigher of tribute ? Where the counter of the

towers ?” The strange people thou shalt not see people of an unknown

tongue, Of a stammering tongue not understood !

Look

upon Zion—the city of our feasts! Thine eyes shall

see Jerusalem A peaceful habitation—an abiding tabernacle; Her stakes shall never be removed, nor her cords broken. The Lord shall there be our glory! In the place of broad

rivers and streams No oared galley shall go--no gallant ship shall pass. The Lord is our judge ! The Lord is our Law-Giver ! The Lord is our King ! He will save us ! Thy tacklings are loosed! Their mast they could not stay,

nor spread the sail. The prey of a great spoil is divided—the lame seize the prey!

The inhabitant of the land no more sayeth—“I am sick.” Those who dwell therein have their iniquity forgiven.

(Ch. xxxiii. 1-24.)

The terrible Day of the Lord. Against Edom.

Come near, ye nations, hear! And hearken, ye peoples ! Let the land hear, and its fulness ! The world and all that

it contains ! For the wrath of the Lord is on the nations: His fury on

all their hosts!

He is utterly destroying them : He is delivering to the

slaughter. Their slain are being cast out, and their dead bodiesThe smell of them is going up: the mountains melt with

their blood. All the host of heaven is dissolved—the heavens are rolled

together as a scroll. All their host are falling down—as a falling vine leaf-a

falling fig! For My sword is bathing itself in the heavens ! Behold! It comes down upon Edom-upon the people

under curse for judgment. The sword of the Lord is filled with blood-it is moistened

with fat. With the blood of lambs and goats—with the fat of the

kidneys of rams. For the Lord hath a sacrifice in Bozrah—a great slaughter

in Edom's land. Wild oxen shall be struck down with them, bullocks and

bulls ! Their land shall be soaked with blood—their dust moist

with fat! For 'tis the day of the Lord's vengeance—the year of Re

compense in Zion's Cause ! Its streams are turned into pitch ; its dust becomes brim

stone; Its land becomes burning pitch! Burning night and day! Its smoke shall go up for ever : for ever it shall lie waste. None shall pass through it, for ever and ever ! The cormorant and the hedge-hog shall possess it : owls

and ravens shall dwell in it. He shall stretch out upon it the line of confusion, and the

plummet of emptiness.

To call the kingdom, nobles there shall be none : all her

princes shall be nothing. Thorns shall come up in her palaces : nettles and brambles

in her fortresses. It shall be an habitation of dragons-a court for owls ! The wild cats and hyenas shall meet there : the wild goat

shall cry to his fellow. The screech owl also shall rest there—it shall find for itself

a place of rest. There shall the arrowsnake nest, lay and hatch, and gather

in its shadow. There shall the vultures also be gathered, every one with

her mate. Seek ye the scroll of the Lord, and read—“None faileth,

none wants her mate, For My Mouth—it hath commanded: My Spirit-it hath

gathered them." He hath cast their lot : His Hand hath divided it unto them

by line.

They shall possess it for ever: from generation to genera

tion shall they dwell therein. (Ch. xxxiv. 1-17.)

A Song of Hopeful Anticipation for God's People.

The wilderness and the parched land—they shall be glad,
The desert shall rejoice: it shall blossom, as the rose :
It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and

singing ! The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, Carmel and

Sharon's excellency, These shall see the glory of the Lord, the excellency of our

God.