And comfort thee, To mournful Sion saith her Lord; Thy warfare ended, Grace is extended; Blessings upon thy head are poured. In deserts bare Those shouts declare "Make straight a highway for our God! Each vale be raised, Mountains displaced; Ye rough and crooked, be ye trod." Jehovah's glory Shall shine before ye; Behold it, sons of every nation! B Hear from God's mouth, Both north and south, The joyful tidings of salvation. A voice saith, "Cry!" And what shall I proclaim? All flesh is grass, its goodliness the same; It withers as the winds around it pass: This people verily is nought but grass. The blasts of heaven the feeble buds may sever, But God's unfailing word shall stand for ever. With strength lift up thy voice, O thou that bidd'st Jerusalem rejoice! Proclaim it in all ears; Cry unto Judah, "Mark the glorious sight! Ye distant cities, Lo! your God appears." Jehovah, sovereign Lord, Against the mighty ones shall raise the sword: He brings his recompence. Like tender shepherd shall he feed his flock, And be the weak and nursling's sure defence. Who hath gathered the seas in the palm of his hand? And who with a metre the heavens hath spanned? Who the dust of the earth in a measure hath laid? And where are the scales which the mountains have weighed? Say, who hath directed the mind of the Lord? And whose is the counsel he deigns to record? All the beasts of its forest an offering vile. And what are the nations? As nought in his sight; Less than nothing are they, and as vanity, light. Unto what semblance liken ye the Lord? The workman will some costly image mould, And laboureth to forge its silver chains. To carve the image which his house retains. He sitteth on the circle of the world? Dense swarms to him its myriads represent: He as a veil extends the firmament, Which as his vast pavilion is unfurled. The great ones of the earth to nought he brings, That not a vestige shall they leave behind. B 2 Yea, they shall not be sown, they shall not grow, They wither instantly if he but blow: They shall be borne like chaff before the wind. To whom will ye compare Jehovah then? Lift up your eyes on high, Say who hath formed the starry host of heaven? He calleth forth the armies of the sky, He hath to each a name and station given: By his command their trackless path they steer; At his almighty word none faileth to appear. Why, O Jacob, dost thou sayWherefore, Israel, speak'st thou thus, Jehovah doth not see my way; Our God hath no regard or thought for us? Say, hast thou never known? hast thou not heard, Jehovah is the Everlasting One? By his creative power the earth was reared, He faints not, he his endless course doth run; Unsearchable himself, he tries all hearts; And to the poor and weak his strength imparts. Even the noble youths shall faint at length, And thou the young men's utter fall shalt view; But they that wait on God shall gather strength; Like eagles they their vigour shall renew; They shall press forward, with increasing pace Shall run, and not be wearied in the race. CHAPTER XLI. APPROACH, ye nations, with your minds renewed, Who from the east the righteous man hath called, He follows them, in safety he is brought, And by a way his feet had never known: Who hath performed it? who this work hath wrought? Who, in all generations, this hath done? The great Jehovah's self this deed will claim, The first, and with the last; I am the same. All this the distant nations saw, |