Page images
PDF
EPUB

And ye
shall feast on wealth from every coast,
And in their glory shall ye make your boast.
Ye for your shame shall have a twofold share,
And ye your lot shall in their portion bear;
For in their land ye shall have heritage,
And joy shall ye possess from age to age.
I am Jehovah, who love equity,
And who abhor rapine and injury;

I their reward with faithfulness will grant,
And with them make a lasting covenant;
Among the Gentiles shall their seed be known,
Their offspring mid the nations shall be shown;
And every eye that sees them shall confess
They are the seed Jehovah's self doth bless.

I in Jehovah greatly will rejoice,

And in my God my soul shall lift her voice;
For I in his salvation have been clad,
His robe of righteousness hath made me glad,
E'en as the mitred crown the bridegroom bears,
And as the gems in which the bride appears.
For as the soil sends forth the tender leaves,
And germinates the seeds which it receives,
So shall the Lord cause judgment to spring forth,
And praise, in presence of assembled earth.

CHAPTER LXII.

FOR Sion's sake I will not silence hold,
And for Jerusalem I will not stay,
Till she her beams of righteousness unfold,
And her salvation as a torch display.
And every eye shall own thy righteousness;
Thy exaltation all the kings shall see;
For a new name thy glory shall express,
Which the Almighty's mouth shall give to thee:
Thou in his hand shall be a splendid crown,
And as a royal diadem be shown.

Forsaken one! no more shall they exclaim;
Nor Desolate, be termed at every hand.
My object of delight, shall be thy name;
The wedded matron, I will call thy land.
For the Almighty shall in thee delight;
In marriage bonds thy land united be;
And as a youth vows to a maid doth plight,
Shall thy Restorer join himself to thee;
And as the bridegroom glories in his bride,
So shalt thou be thy God Jehovah's pride.

O Sion, in thy turrets high
Have I set watch continually;
By day no rest they keep,

By night they shall not sleep.
Ye that proclaim

Jehovah's name,

Hold not your words within your breast,

Nor yet let him in silence rest,

Till he establish and he raise

Jerusalem to be an everlasting praise.

God by his hand hath sworn, and hath decreed,
Thy corn no more thy enemies shall feed,
Nor shall the sons of strangers drink thy wine;
Thy harvest thou shalt reap, it shall be thine;
Thy vintage gather in my holy name,
And in my sacred courts shall drink the same.

Prepare thy state,

Pass through the gate,

On high be every causeway thrown,
Remove away each stumbling stone,

And be the standard to the nations shown.

Jehovah hath proclaimed to all the earth,

[ocr errors]

Sion, behold! thy Saviour cometh forth ! With him his mighty recompense he leads, And his reward his radiant path precedes. They shall be called The holy Sion's sons, And be surnamed Jehovah's ransomed ones; And thou this glorious title shall awaken, The much desired, The city unforsaken.

CHAPTER LXIII.

WHO from Edom comes victorious,
Clothed in Botsra's raiment glorious?

And in robes of crimson dight
Marcheth onward in his might?
I, that publish righteousness;
I, the great one to redress.
Why is thy apparel red,

As those that in the wine-vat tread ?

I have trod the press alone;

Of the peoples there was none;
And I crushed them in my wrath,
In my anger trod them forth;
Their blood upon my robe remained,
All my garments I have stained:
I my vengeance will dispense,
'Tis my year of recompense.
Lo, there was no helping hand;
I marvelled there was none to stand;
So my arm brought my salvation,
I was upheld by indignation,
And my anger these have found;

I have trampled them around,

And spilled their life-blood on the ground.

The goodness of Jehovah I record,

Yea, I will tell the praises of the Lord,
And the great mercies rendered from his hand,
His loving-kindness unto Israel's band.
For said he, Surely these my sons shall be;
They will not prove apostate unto me:

He saved them, to their griefs he lent his aid,
And his bright presence manifest was made;
Yea, he redeemed in love and tenderness,
Through all the days of old gave them redress.
They grieved his Holy Spirit, they rebelled,
So he became their foe, their pride he quelled.

He called to mind Moses of yore,

How through the sea his flock he bore,

And how within the prophet's breast
He bade his Holy Spirit rest,
He made his glorious arm attend,
And Moses through the march defend,
And in their sight the waters clave,
That he a lasting name might have;
He led them through the mighty main,
Like a free courser in the plain;
As herds descending to the vale,
Jehovah's spirit led them all.

Yea, thus hast thou thy people brought,
And for thy own great name hast wrought.

« PreviousContinue »