O QL. XXIII.

Isaiah, xlii. 1,-13.

.I.

BEHOLD my servant! see him rise exalted in my might!

Him have I chosen, and in him
I place supreme delight.

II.

On him, in rich effusion pour'd, my Spirit shall descend;

My truths and judgments he shall show

to earth's remotest end.

III.

Gentle and still shall be his voice; no threats from him proceed; The smoking flax he shall not quench, nor break the bruised reed.

IV.

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.

V.

The progress of his zeal and pow'r
shall never know decline,
Till foreign lands, and distant isles,
receive the law divine.

Vi.

He who erected heav'n's bright arch,
and bade the planets roll,
Who peopled all the climes of earth,
and form'd the human soul,

VII.

Thus saith the Lord, Thee have I rais❜d, my prophet thee install;

In right I've rais'd thee, and in strength I'll succour whom I call.

VIII.

I will establish with the lands

a covenant in thee,

To give the Gentile nations light, and set the pris❜ners free.

IX.

Asunder burst the gates of brass; the iron fetters fall;

And gladsome light, and liberty, are straight restor❜d to all.

X.

I am the Lord, and by the name
of great Jehovah known;
No idol shall usurp my praise,
nor mount into my throne.

XI.

Lo! former scenes, predicted once, conspicuous rise to view; And future scenes, predicted now, shall be accomplish'd too.

XII.

Sing to the Lord in joyful strains! let earth his praise resound, Ye who upon the ocean dwell, and fill the isles around!

XIII.

O city of the Lord! begin th'universal song;

And let the scatter'd villages the cheerful notes prolong.

XIV.

Let Kedar's wilderness afar lift up its lonely voice,

And let the tenants of the rock with accents rude rejoice;

XV.

'Till midst the streams of distant lands,
the islands sound his praise;
And all combin'd, with one accord,
Jehovah's glories raise.

A

XXIV.

ISAIAH, xlix. 13,-17.

I.

YE heav'ns send forth your song of praise!

earth, raise your voice below! Let hills and mountains join the hymn, and joy thro' nature flow.

II.

Behold how gracious is our God! hear the consoling strains

In which he cheers our drooping hearts, and mitigates our pains.

Cease ye, when days of darkness come, in sad dismay to mourn,

As if the Lord could leave his saints forsaken or forlorn.

IV.

Can the fond mother e'er forget
the infant whom she bore?
And can its plaintive cries be heard,
nor move compassion more?

V.

She may forget; nature may fail
a parent's heart to move;
But Zion on my heart shall dwell
in everlasting love.

VI.

Full in my sight, upon my hands
I have engrav'd her name;
My hands shall build her ruin'd walls,
and raise her broken frame.

How

XXV.

ISAIAH, liii.

I.

OW few receive with cordial faitl the tidings which we bring?

How few have seen the arm reveal'd of heaven's eternal King?