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And through it make a trodden way. Yea, all of it I waste will lay. To dig or dress it none shall care: But thorns and briers it shall bear.

5.

The clouds I also will compel,

That there no rain descend for this; For lo the house of Israèl

The Lord of Armies' vineyard is:
And Judah is that plant of his,
That pleasant one, who forth hath
brought

Oppression, when he judgment sought.
He seeking justice, found therein,
In lieu thereof, a crying sin.

THE SECOND SONG OF ESAI.

Esai. xii.

I.

LORD, I will sing to Thee,

For thou displeased wast,

And yet withdrew'st thy wrath from me,
And sent me comfort hast.
Thou art my health, on whom

A fearless trust I lay;

For thou, oh Lord! thou art become My strength, my song, my stay!

2.

And with rejoicing now,

Sweet waters we convey,

Forth of those springs whence life doth flow;

And thus, we therefore say, Oh, sing unto the Lord;

His name and works proclaim; Yea, to the people bear recórd That glorious is his name.

3.

Unto the Lord, oh sing,

For wonders he hath done,

And many a renowned thing,

Which through the earth is known. Oh sing aloud, all ye

On Sion-hill that dwell;
For, lo, thy Holy One in thee
Is great, oh Israèl!

GEORGE WITHER (1588-1667).

PARAPHRASE.

(Isaiah xii.)

O LIVING Lord, I still will laud Thy name,

For though Thou wert offended once with me,

Thy heavy wrath is turned from me again,

And graciously Thou now dost comfort me.

Behold, the Lord is my salvation,

I trust in Him, and fear not any power;

He is my song, the strength I lean upon, The Lord God is my loving Saviour.

Therefore with joy out of the Well of Life

Draw forth sweet water which it doth afford;

And in the day of trouble and of strife Call on the name of God, the living Lord.

Extol His works and wonders to the sun;

Unto all people let His praise be shown;

Record in song the marvels He hath done,

And let His glory through the world be blown.

Cry out aloud, and shout on Zion's hill, I give thee charge that this proclaimèd be:

The great and mighty King of Israèl Now only dwelleth in the midst of thee.

MICHAEL DRAYTON (1563-1631).

THE DESTRUCTION OF
BABYLON.

(From Isaiah xiii: 2—22.)

LIFT up a banner on the lofty hill;
Let the loud trumpet every valley fill;
Call forth the tribes whose arms can
wield the sword,

And let the chiefs and nobles hear the
Lord!

"I, the Almighty, call; by my decree,

Ye are my ministers; go, fight for me!"

Whence that deep roar, like thunder heard afar,

Or nations fiercely crowding to the war?

'Tis the tumultuous rush of countless bands,

That flock to execute the Lord's commands;

With eager joy from climes remote they

come,

Far as the extremest verge of heaven's vast dome.

Howl, howl, O Babylon, and shriek for fear;

Howl! for the dreadful day of God is

near.

Then hearts shall melt, arms faint, and strength decay;

Courage, like morning dreams, shall fade away,

With dread each man his fellow shall inspire,

And every eye dart forth consuming fire.

The firmament shall mourn in gloomiest night;

Nor sun, nor moon, nor stars shall shed their light;

The heavens shall tremble, the firm earth shall move,

At the fierce anger of the Lord above. A man more scarce than purest gold shall be;

Not Ophir's precious wedge more rare than he,

As flies the timid lamb or hunted roe To its own herd-swift shall the stranger go.

For who remain shall die-not costliest

gem

From the impending doom shall ransom them;

All, all must die. Proud Babylon shall stand

No more a waste like tainted Sodom's land.

On its cursed site shall spring no pas

ture green,

Nor Arab's tent nor shepherd's fold be seen;

Thither shall ravenous desert-beasts repair,

And owls shall shriek and satyrs gambol there.

There is a way, and a holy way, Where the unclean foot shall never tread,

But from it the lowly shall not stray, To it the penitent shall be led.

No lion shall rouse him from his lair, Nor wild beast rave in foaming rage; But the redeemed of the earth shall there

Pursue their peaceful pilgrimage.

The ransomed of God shall return to him

With a chorus of joy to an angel's lay;

With a tear of grief shall no eye be dim, For sorrow and sighing shall flee

away.

JOHN GARDINER CALKINS BRAINARD (1796-1828).

THE PRAYER OF HEZEKIAH. Esai. xxxvii: 15.

I.

O LORD of Hosts, and God of Israel! Thou who between the Cherubims doth dwell;

Of all the world thou only art the King, And heaven and earth unto their form didst bring.

2.

Lord, bow thine ear; to hear attentive be;

Lift up thine eyes, and deign, O Lord,

to see

What words Sennacherib hath cast abroad,

And his proud message to the living God!

3.

Lord, true it is, that lands and kingdoms all

Are to the king of Ashur brought in thrall;

Yea, he their gods into the fire hath thrown,

For gods they were not, but of wood and stone.

4.

Man's work they were, and men destroy'd them have;

Us, therefore, from his power vouchsafe

to save,