Lo, men's vile ways their sentiments declare, "Their actions illustrate and lay them bare!

O, man! they tell as plainly what thou art, "As trees are known by sweet or bitter fruit !

"Thine heart, proud Solyma, of wickedness
"O cleanse; no longer 'gainst thy God transgress!
"Still happy thou, but can thy mind be turn'd,
"My mercy yet to thee I will extend :*

But love thy God, Him honor and adore,

"Thee He'll protect, no foe thou needest fear.
"But, sottish race! you'll neither heed nor hear
“My gracious call, repent, nor for Me care;
"Then must your sins compel severity,

"And your own faults cause your own misery."
Ho! give the signal,-sound the war alarm,—
For thy defence prepare Jerusalem!—
Assemble, Judah, for the bloody fight,t
And to the fortress take thy speedy flight;
The lion roaring from the thicket comes, (26)
In dreadful rage, he to the carnage runs,
Thy dwellings thirsting to depopulate,
Thy cultur'd vineyards waste and devastate!
As fiery whirlwinds sweep the fruitful fields,
Behold! the Desolator comes and spoils;
The old, the young, the impotent, and strong,
The lovely daughter and the warlike son,
'Scape not the grasp of his devouring jaws,
In blood delights, so pitiless destroys.

;

Thy cultur'd grounds, with overwhelming force,
He'll overrun, and thy strong holds possess ;
Jerusalem, its temple, walls, and towers,
Shall prostrate fall before his deadly powers;
Of those escaping death he'll captives make,
For seventy years, to wear the slavish yoke;
Then, mercy I'll again extend to thee,
Thou shalt in peace thy native country see;
Thy loved city, temple, palaces,

From rubbish all, to exaltation rise.
But thou, undutiful, ungrateful yet,

Wilt disregard Me, and My goodness slight;
With thy prosperity returns thy pride
And all its lusts; which, cause thee to deride
Thy God, resume thy former wicked state,
His laws transgress, His clemency forget;*
And thy iniquity complete, its measure full,
Redoubled sorrow on thy head will fall.
A mighty people from a foreign coast,

Shall rush against thee with a numerous host (27)
Of warriors fierce, of ancient martial fame,
To utter language that's to thee unknown;
Thy sustenance with greediness to eat,
Thy fruitful fields, like locusts, devastate.
Thy flocks, thy herds, to take away by force,
Destroy thy figs and vines before thy face;
Thy stately mansions plunder and consume,
Thus thee deprive of ever loved home.

* See chap. v. vi. and vii.

Swords breathing flame attend this conquering foe,
And horrid carnage tracks his paths of wo: (28)
Foul Tophet's fill'd with heaps of putrid slain,
And black-burnt Hinnom's made a crimson plain; (29)
There corpse on corpse uncoffin'd, putrid lie,
To shrou'd the dead, the living are too few;
The wood, the grove, the mountain, and the vale,
Do each and all, proclaim the mournful tale;
The hungry lion needs not hunt for prey,
Thou yield'st a store to cram his craving maw :
So thirsts thy foe for Israelitish blood,
He kills until he's weary of the deed.
Still, thee he shall not solely extirpate,
A remnant yet shall live; and separate
Remain, dispers'd, to bear pride's sullen frown,
The people's scoff, each giddy nation's scorn,
Among them mark'd for an apparent curse,
A taunting jest, a contumelious hiss.
Reproached, huffed, persecuted, thou,
On earth an outcast everywhere shalt be,
Till art repentant and obedient found,
Then I'll restore to thee thy native land.
To thee a final end shall not be put,
Though thy tormentors all be routed out;
For thou shalt flourish when thy foes are gone,
Remain to see a happy state return;

Wilt love thy God, Him honor and obey.

No more desert Him, go no more astray.

Now, 'tis my charge to sing the cheering strain, And thy rich mercy, Gracious God, proclaim.

Behold a BRANCH* shall rise from David's seed,
And beauteous foliage far extended spread:

A KING shall reign, and duly execute

Strict justice, judgment, equity, and right.+

HE shall be call'd the LORD our RIGHTEOUSNESS; Lo! this the PRINCE who all the earth will bless; And under HIM shall Judah safely dwell,

And Israel in splendidness excel ;‡

Protected, shielded, by His favouring hand,

Peace, holiness, and plenty, grace their land.
Dissentions are forgot, no longer known,
And enmity to other regions flown,

They're purg'd of crime, from evil ways reclaim'd,
As virgins chaste, with purity adorn'd.

Their scatter'd tribes in harmony shall meet
From distant climes, and happy union greet;
Unerring, HE life's devious course direct,
His potent arm in safety still protect.
His goodness hearts instinctively shall feel,
True wisdom guide, and love elate the soul.§
To cleanse from sin not wanted sacrifice,
He's the oblation,-He directs, by grace,
Man to his Saviour, how to Him adore,
And happy makes His flock for evermore.
The rich, the poor, the child, the old, the young,

To know their God shall anxious be to learn ;

To love, and to obey, their first delight,

And heartily impiety to hate;

* That this prophecy belongs solely to the Messiah, no one with propri

ety can deny, or pretend to dispute.

+ See chap. xxiii.

‡ Ibid xxxiii.

§ Ibid xxxi.

Thy laws, Great God, He'll write internally,
Make nations truly serve and rev'rence Thee.
Now pious shepherds kindly feed their care;
Their word, their work, Thy mercies to declare:
With knowledge just, and understanding bright,
They teach the truth, they lead the flock aright.

Now Babylon, 'tis mine thy fate to tell,
Impiety shall surely cause thy fall ;*
Though lofty seated on the rolling wave,
Euphrates' floods shall not from justice save;
Nor can thy treasures; for thine end is come,
Omnipotence has seal'd thy final doom.

Assemble, martial princes of the north!
Display your banners!-hostile issue forth !—
Collect the shields !-your arrows polish bright,-
The Median warrior's roused to the fight !—
Thy conquest, Bell, shall crown his martial deeds:
Advance the standards !-Let the prancing steeds
Pounce round the walls!-Ye valiant powers,
Make rubbish of great Babel's mighty tow'rs!--
Prepare the ambush !-march it to destroy !-
Go, veil'd in darkness !-silently deploy !—
Be dry, ye floods !-Let pass the chosen bands!—
Ye brazen gates fly ope at their commands !-
Hark Babel! how in midst of thee they shout!-
Ha! how thy sons, their safety seek by flight!-
But bend the bow!-let fly the barbed dart!—
The deadly shaft aim at the cowards' heart!-

*See chap, lx. and xli.