On mountain tops, above the hills,
And draw the wondering eyes.
2 To this the joyful nations round,
All tribes and tongues shall flow; Up to the hill of God, they'll say, And to his house, we'll go.
3 The beam that shines from Zion hill
Shall lighten every land;
The King who reigns in Salem's towers
Shall all the world command.
4 Among the nations He shall judge;
His judgments truth shall guide;
His sceptre shall protect the just,
And quell the sinner's pride.
5 No strife shall rage, nor hostile feuds
Disturb those peaceful years;
To ploughshares men shall beat their swords,
To pruning-hooks their spears.
6 No longer hosts encountering hosts,
Shall crowds of slain deplore;
They hang the trumpet in the hall,
And study war no more.
7 Come then, O house of Jacob! come
To worship at his shrine;
And, walking in the light of God,
With holy beauties shine.
A Light to lighten the Gentiles.-Isa. ix. 2-8.
1 THE race that long in darkness pined,
Have seen a glorious light;
The people dwell in day, who dwelt
In death's surrounding night.
2 To hail thy rise, Thou better Sun!
The gathering nations come,
Joyous, as when the reapers bear
The harvest-treasures home.
3 For Thou our burden hast removed, And quell'd the oppressor's sway; Quick as the slaughter'd squadrons fell, In Midian's evil day.
4 To us a child of Hope is born,
To us a Son is given:
Him shall the tribes of earth obey,
Him, all the hosts of heaven.
5 His name shall be the Prince of Peace, For evermore adored,
The Wonderful, the Counsellor,
The great and mighty Lord.
6 His power, increasing, still shall spread;
His reign no end shall know;
Justice shall guard his throne above,
And peace abound below.
The Pilgrim's Song.-Isa. xxxv. Ɛ—10.
1 SING, ye redeemed of the Lord,
Your great Deliverer sing;
Pilgrims, for Zion's city bound,
Be joyful in your king.
2 See the fair way his hand hath made,
How peaceful and how plain:
The simplest traveller shall not err,
Nor seek the road in vain.
3 No ravening lion shall destroy,
Nor lurking serpent wound;
Safety, support, and heavenly joy,
Through all the way are found.
4 A hand divine shall lead you on,
Along the blissful road;
Till to the sacred mount ye rise,
And city of your God.
5 There garlands of immortal joy,
Shall bloom on every head;
While pain, and sorrow, and distress,
Like shadows all are fled.
6 Proceed in your Redeemer's strength,
Pursue his footsteps still :
And let the prospect cheer your eyes,
While you ascend the hill.
Christ's Advent foretold.-Isa. xlii, l—13. .. 1 BEHOLD my servant! see Him rise Exalted in my might!
Him have I chosen, and in Him
I place supreme delight.
2 On Him, in rich effusion pour'd,
My Spirit shall descend;
My truths and judgments He shall show
To earth's remotest end.
3 Gentle and still shall be his voice,
No threats from Him proceed;
The smoking flax He shall not quench,
Nor break the bruised reed.
4 The feeble spark to flames He'll raise,
The weak will not despise;
Judgment He shall bring forth to truth,
And make the fallen rise.
5 The progress of his zeal and power
Shall never know decline,
Till foreign lands, and distant isles,
Receive the law diyine.
6 He who erected heaven's bright arch,
And bade the planets roll,
Who peopled all the climes of earth,
And form'd the human soul:-
7 Thus saith the Lord, Thee have I raised, My Priest did Thee install;
In right I raised Thee, and in strength
I'll succour whom I call.
8 I will establish with the lands
A covenant in Thee,
To give the Gentile nations light,
And set the prisoners free.
9 Asundez burst the gates of brass ;
The iron fetters fall;
And gladsome light, and liberty,
Are straight restored to all.
10 I am the Lord, and by the name-
Of great Jehovah known;
No idol shall usurp my praise,
Nor moant into my throne.
Il Lo! former scenes, predicted once;
Conspicuous rise to view;.
And future scenes, predicted now,
Shall be accomplish'd too.
12 Sing to the Lord in joyful strains;
Let earth his praise resound,
Ye who upon the ocean dwell,
And fill the isles around..
13 O city of the Lord! begin
The universal song;
And let the scatter'd villages
The cheerful notes prolong.
14 Let Kedar's wilderness afar
Lift up its lonely voice,
And let the tenants of the rock
With accents rude rejoice;
15 Till midst the streams of distant lands,
The islands sound his praise;
And all combined, with one accord,
Jehovah's glories raise..
Hope against hope.-Isa. 1. 10.
I WHO is the weak believer, who
Doth still his dreary way pursue,
Inspired with true religious fear,
And following Christ with heart sincere?
Obedient to thy Saviour's voice,
Yet canst thou not in Him rejoice,
Or taste the comforts of his grace,
Or find a God who hides his face?
2 Jesus is vanish'd from thy sight:
No glimpse of bliss, or gleam of light
To cheer thee in the desert way,
Or promise a return of day;
No evidence of things unseen,
But wars without, and fears within,
No witness of thy sins forgiven,
No ray of hope on this side heaven!
3 Poor, tempted soul, what canst thou do?
Hope against hope, that God is true;
His nature in his name confess,
His wisdom, power, and righteousness.
The Lord, whom now thou canst not see,
Whate'er He is, He is for thee;
Expect, and thou shalt surely prove,
That God in Christ is perfeet love.
4 Till then, on Him thy spirit stay, Whose death hath borne thy sins away; Conform'd to Jesus in his blood,
With him cry out" My God, my God!
My God, my God, I hold Thee fast,
Till nature's latest pang is past;
Into thy hands my soul resign,
And then-Thou art for ever mine."
The Lord mighty to save.-Isa. li. 9.
1 ARM of the Lord, awake, awake,
Thine own immortal strength put on!
With terror clothed hell's kingdom shake,
And cast thy foes with fury down!
|