shalt be a blessing: and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed.* Thou rememberedst the covenant which thou didst make with Abraham, and the oath which thou madest unto Isaac; and didst confirm the same unto Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant; saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance: when they were but a few men in number; yea, very few, and strangers in it. When they went from one nation to another, from one kingdom to another people, thou sufferedst no man to do them wrong; yea, thou didst reprove kings for their sakes.+ Thou broughtest them out also from the land of Egypt, and didst spread a cloud for covering by day, and fire to give light in the night. Thou openedst the rock, and waters gushed out. Thou feddest them with manna from heaven, and gavest them the land that flowed with milk and honey.‡ We bless thee, that to thy chosen people thou * Gen. xii. 1—4. † Psalm cv. 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14. Psalm cv. 37, 38, 39. 41, 42. P didst give thine oracles,*—that they had the adoption, and the glory, and the covenant, the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises. We bless thee, that at sundry times, and in divers manners, thou didst speak in times past unto the fathers by the prophets,‡-those holy men of God, who spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost, and prophesied of the grace that should come unto us, testifying before hand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. O the depth both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out !§ One generation cometh and another passeth away, but the word of the Lord endureth for ever. When the Lord shall build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory. He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer. This shall be written for the generation to come and the people which shall be created shall praise the Lord. For he hath looked down from * Rom. iii. 2. + Rom. ix. 4. Heb. i. 1. || 2 Peter i. 21. § Rom. xi. 33. the height of his sanctuary; from heaven did the Lord behold the earth; to hear the groaning of the prisoner; to free them that are appointed to death; to declare the name of the Lord in Zion, and his praise in Jerusalem; when the people are gathered together, and the kingdoms to serve the Lord.* Thou hast also given us, by the mouth of thy servants, a sure word of prophecy, saying, Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough : places plain and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.+ Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth: I have put my spirit *Psalm cii. 16-23. + Isaiah xl. 1—6. upon him; he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the streets. A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth. He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth; and the isles shall wait for his law.* He shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief, and we hid as it were our faces from him he was despised, and we esteemed him not.† The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing; the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon; they shall see the glory of God, and the * Isaiah xlii. 1-5. + Isaiah liii. 2, 3. excellency of our God.* And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, : shall be grass, with reeds and rushes. And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called, The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; no lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon; but the redeemed shall walk there.t Now, Lord, lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation. * Isaiah xxxv. 1—3. + Isaiah xxxv. 7, 8, 9, 10. |