And the widows of Asshur are loud in their wail,
And the idols are broke in the temple of Baal;
And the might of the Gentile, unsmote by the sword,
Hath melted like snow in the glance of the Lord!

LORD BYRON

64

SONG OF THE JEWS

IN THE BABYLONIAN CAPTIVITY
King of kings! and Lord of lords!
Thus we move, our sad steps timing
To our cymbals' feeblest chiming,
Where Thy house its rest accords.
Chased and wounded birds are we,
Through the dark air fled to Thee;
To the shadow of Thy wings,
Lord of lords! and King of kings!

Behold, O Lord, the heathen tread

The branches of Thy fruitful vine,
That its luxurious tendrils spread

O'er all the hills of Palestine.
And now the wild boar comes to waste
E'en us, the greenest boughs, and last,
That, drinking of Thy choicest dew,
On Zion's hill, in beauty grew.

No! by the marvels of Thine hand,
Thou wilt save Thy chosen land!
By all Thine ancient mercies shown;
By all our fathers' foes o'erthrown;

By the Egyptians' car-borne host,
Scattered on the Red Sea coast;
By that wide and bloodless slaughter
Underneath the drowning water.
Like us in utter helplessness,
In their last and worst distress-
On the sand and sea-weed lying,
Israel poured her doleful sighing;
While before, the deep sea flowed,
And behind, fierce Egypt rode—
To their fathers' God they prayed-
To the Lord of hosts for aid.

On the margin of the flood
With lifted rod the prophet stood;
And the summoned east wind blew,
And aside it sternly threw

The gathered waves that took their stand

Like crystal rocks, on either hand,
Or walls of sea-green marble piled
Round some irregular city-wild.

Then the light of morning lay
On the wonder-pavèd way,
Where the treasures of the deep
In their caves of coral sleep.
The profound abysses, where
Was never sound from upper air,
Rang with Israel's chanted words,
King of kings! and Lord of lords!

Then with bow and banner glancing,
On exulting Egypt came,

With her chosen horsemen prancing,

And her cars on wheels of flame;

In a rich and boastful ring

All around her furious king.

But the Lord from out His cloud,
The Lord looked down upon the proud;
And the host drave heavily

Down the deep bosom of the sea.

With a quick and sudden swell
Prone the liquid ramparts fell;
Over horse and over car,
Over every man of war,
Over Pharaoh's crown of gold

The loud thundering billows rolled.

As the level waters spread,

Down they sank, they sank like lead;
Sank without a cry or groan;
And the morning-sun that shone
On myriads of bright-armed men,
Its meridian radiance then

Cast on the sea, beating as before,
Against a silent, solitary shore.

HENRY HART MILMAN

65

GOOD TIDINGS TO ZION

Isaiah lii. 7

On the mountain's top appearing,
Lo, the sacred herald stands,
Welcome news to Zion bearing,
Zion, long in hostile lands:
Mourning captive,

God Himself will loose thy bands.

Has thy night been long and mournful?
Have thy friends unfaithful proved?
Have thy foes been proud and scornful,
By thy sighs and tears unmoved?
Cease thy mourning;

Zion still is well-beloved.

God, thy God will now restore thee;
He Himself appears thy Friend;

All thy foes shall flee before thee;

Here their boasts and triumphs end:
Great deliverance

Zion's King vouchsafes to send.

Enemies no more shall trouble;

All thy wrongs shall be redressed; For thy shame thou shalt have double, In thy Maker's favor blest;

All thy conflicts

End in everlasting rest.

THOMAS KELLEY

66

HABAKKUK'S PRAYER

Habakkuk iii. 17-18

Yet though the fig-tree should no burden bear,
Though vines delude the promise of the year;
Yet though the olive should not yield her oil,
Nor the parch'd glebe reward the peasant's toil;
Though the tired ox beneath his labors fall,
And herds in millions perish from the stall;
Yet shall my grateful strings

Forever praise Thy name;

Forever Thee proclaim

The everlasting God, the mighty King of kings.

WILLIAM BROOME

67

HYMN OF PRAISE

Habakkuk iii. 17-18

Praise to God, immortal praise,
For the love that crowns our days;
Bounteous source of every joy!
Let Thy praise our tongues employ.

For the blessings of the field;
For the stores the gardens yield;
For the vine's exalted juice;
For the generous olive's use;