Drove back the liquid mass To form a pathway; bade the waters flee, Thus shall return Jehovah's ransomed ones, I, even I, am he that comfort gives, Who art thou that thou fearest wretched dust, Nor will in thy Creator place thy trust, Who stretched forth the heavens, and framed the earth? Yet still thou fearest the oppressor's hand, As if it were just ready to burst forth. And where doth now th' oppressor's fury stand? With speed approaches he, Who comes to set the captive free; That he may not in dungeon meet his death, Nor yet by wasting famine yield his breath. For I am God, thy Lord; By my almighty word The ocean's depths I clave, And stilled the roaring wave: Jehovah, Lord of hosts will help afford. Lo, I have set my words within thy mouth, Awake, awake, Jerusalem! Stand up, Who from God's hand hath drunk the cup of wrath! For her two sorrows who shall grief afford? Is taken in a snare, as a wild bull, With God's rebuke and wrath drenched to the full. Wherefore, O thou afflicted, hear my word, And thou, who drunken art, but not with wine, But this into the hands of those I send Who occupy the proud oppressor's seat; And cry to thee, Down to the dust descend, That we may trample thee beneath our feet! And as the ground thy body hast thou placed, Yea, even as the street to those that passed. CHAPTER LII. AWAKE, O Sion, in thy strength, Arouse thee from the dust at length! Thus saith the Lord, For nothing were ye sold; Nor shall with gold or silver be restored. In Egypt's bonds my people toiled of old; Now these in servile chains Assyria's legions hold. What shall I do to vindicate my fame? Since all my people thus are cast away, And their proud conquerors their taunts proclaim, How beautiful upon the hills appear The harbinger of peace to all around, Arise behold thy God Jehovah reigns! Thy watchers shout, together raise their voice, Ye ruins of Jerusalem, rejoice; For God hath comforted his holy place. Jehovah hath made bare his arm in sight of every nation, And earth's remotest bounds have seen the work of our salvation. Depart, depart; touch no polluted thing, I grant success to this CHAPTER LIII. SAY, who to our report will credence grant? He was despised, and by mankind rejected, We hid our faces, we his woes neglected, We scorned his words, and gave them no belief; Verily, our infirmities he bore, And of our sorrows had the heavy store. We deemed God's wrathful judgments him had found, We all of us like erring sheep have strayed, And each to his own way hath turned aside. |