There the Arab shall not pitch his tent, Nor the shepherds make their flocks to lie down there. And the satyrs shall revel there. The jackals shall howl in their palaces, And the dragons in their magnificent pleasure-houses; And her days shall not be prolonged. Then it shall come to pass, that thou shalt Utter this song over the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor, the exactor of golden tribute ceased! Jehovah hath broken the staff of the wicked, The rod of the tyrants. The whole earth is at rest, they break forth into song. The fir-trees also exult over thee, Babylon, And the cedars of Lebanon say, Since thou art cast down, no axe-man has come up against us. All the kings of the nations will accost thee, and say, Art thou also become feeble, as we are, And become like unto us? Those that gaze upon thee shall say, Is this the man who made the earth to quake, And legions to tremble? Who made the earth a desert, And laid waste the cities thereof ? Who dismissed not his prisoners to their homes? All the kings of the nations, yea, all, repose in glory, Every one in his own place; But thou art cast out from thy sepulchre As a loathsome branch; as the raiment of those That go down to the stones of the pit; As a carcass trodden under foot! I will make it, Babylon, a possession for the porcupine 18. THE HEBREW MINSTREL'S LAMENT. FROM the hills of the West, as the sun's setting beam. "Awake, harp of Judah, that slumbering hast hung Ere the hand that now strikes thee lies mouldering and low. "Ah, where are the choirs of the glad and the free "And where are the mighty, who went forth in pride "O Judah, a lone, scattered remnant remain, "No beauty in Sharon, on Carmel no shade; 19. JERUSALEM AVENGED. BABYLON was captured by the Persians about the year 538 B. C., during a night of royal debauchery, when the king, Belshazzar, made conspicuous use of the golden vessels of the Jewish Temple, which Nebuchadnezzar had stolen. King Cyrus, the Persian, diverted the Euphrates River from its bed, and entered the city by the empty channel. The prediction of Isaiah, uttered about the year 712 B. C., was fulfilled as to Babylon, and every new discovery adds confirmation to its accuracy. THE king was on his throne; the satraps thronged the hall; In that same hour and hall, the fingers of a hand Along the letters ran, and traced them like a wand. The monarch saw and shook, and bade no more rejoice; Chaldea's seers are good, but here they have no skill, But now they were not sage; they saw, but knew no more. A captive in the land, a stranger and a youth, "Belshazzar's grave is made, his kingdom passed away; BYRON. 20. A NATION'S STRENGTH. Psalm xxxiii. LET all the earth fear the Lord : Let all the inhabitants of the earth stand in awe of him: The Lord bringeth the counsels of nations to naught, The counsel of the Lord standeth forever, Blessed is that nation whose God is the Lord, The Lord looketh down from heaven, He beholdeth all the sons of men; From the place of his habitation he looketh forth Upon all the inhabitants of the earth, He that fashioneth the hearts of them all, That considereth all their works. There is no king that is saved by the multitude of an host, A mighty man is not delivered by great strength; An horse is a vain thing for safety, Neither shall he deliver any by his great power. Behold, the 21. THE PATRIOT'S CRY. PARAPHRASE OF PSALM CXXXVII. Verses 1, 2, and 3. By Babylon's still waters we sat down and wept; Would awaken our bosoms to gladness once more,- Verses 4, 5, and 6. But how could we sing the high song of the Lord Would cluster regrets for the land of our birth? Verses 7, 8, and 9. Remember the children of Edom, O God, When the day of Jerusalem's vengeance is found. And thou, O daughter of Babylon, doomed to the dust, Who meteth thee measure thou gavest to us, And leaveth thee, shattered, to ruin and time! HENRY B. CARRINGTON. |