mtif P^ if r. Ml ' I ( ♦ JUL 9/1922 * ^j. ^^ .^\- ^iteiui sttt# . . .^\z Section ^q^^ THE MODERN READER'S BIBLE FOR SCHOOLS THE MACMILLAN COMPANY NEW YORK • BOSTON ■ CHICAGO • DALLAS ATLANTA • SAN FRANCISCO MACMILLAN & CO., Limited LONDON • BOMBAY ■ CALCUTTA MELBOURNE THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, Ltd. TORONTO SC1'.\ . !5^ 922 '^\\>\^. OT. ^nalisl^. \<=\ZZ .'^^^\^tc\ THE ' MODERN READER'S BIBLE FOR SCHOOLS * JUL 271922 BY RICHARD G. MOULTON, M.A. (Camb.), Ph.D. (Penn.) PROFESSOR (emeritus) OF LITERARY THEORY AND INTERPRETATION IN THE UNI\^RSITY OF CHICAGO Npm fork THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 1922 All rights reserved Copyright, 1922, By the MACMILLAN COMPANY Set up and electro typed. Published January, 1922. Printed in the Jnited States of America PREFACE It is hoped that the title of this work will not be misconstrued to suggest a mere class room manual. The expression "Schools" covers a great variety of people, from university and other mature students to quite young people. It is for the particular teacher, or director of study, to discriminate the kind of instruction needed in each case. But it is desirable that there should be some presenta- tion of Scripture in literary form which may be used by all types of students. To furnish this has been the purpose of this and the companion New Testament volume. The Old Testament is the portion of sacred literature that stands most in need of the principle upon which the Modern Reader's Bible is based — the representation of literary structure in the printed page. Here, in place of straightforward narrative or epistolary discussion, we encounter dramatic and lyric outpourings of high complexity, often in forms unfamiliar to the modern reader. Yet the literary form is an essential of interpretation : it is obvious that the very same sequence of words will produce on the mind quite different impressions according as the words are part of history or discourse or dialogue. Traditionally this difficulty has been met by detailed exegesis and notes. But annotation is inter- ruption, and exegesis is at best a necessary evil, conflicting with the rapid play of thought w^hich belongs to the highest hterary style. It is certain that if the array of comments and helps which we associate with Bible study had been appHed to the novels and short stories which have such a hold on the rising generation, these novels and stories would never have attained their popularity. Even the indication of chapter and verse divisions in ordinary Bibles is responsible for much of the neglect of Bible reading; such divisions are not allowed to appear in the text of the present work, though an Index at the end makes it easy to connect anything in the text with the traditional chapters and verses. On the other hand, when the literary structure is automatically reflected to the Preface § eye in the printed page, great part of the necessity for notes dis- appears. From the educational, as distinguished from the reUgious, point of view, the Old Testament is the most important part of the Bible. Our whole modern civiHzation and culture rests upon the coales- cence, in the old Roman world, of Greek and Hebrew thought. We should look for a reflection of this in our higher education. Unfortunately our educational systems crystallized into their present forms when the Hellenic factor was being unduly empha- sized. They do full justice to Greek Classics. But the correspond- ing Hebrew Classics they leave to religious study, that is to speciali- zation; as a result these Biblical classics have fallen out of general culture, to the scandal of our higher education. Yet there is not a single point that can be urged as to the educational importance of the Greek Classics, which does not tell equally in favour of the Biblical Classics; it being assumed of course that these appear in their full Hterary dress, and not in the broken verses of mediaeval commentators. It may well happen that a reader who has been saturating himself with the imaginative flights of Isaiah or Habak- kuk or Joel, may turn to his Pindar and be conscious of a drop, rather than a rise, in poetry. But the word "classics" imperfectly describes the literature of the Old Testament. Unlike the Greek classics, which are inde- pendent works, the counterparts of these in the Bible link them- selves one to another, making thus the higher unity of the Old Testament as a whole — the spiritual evolution of Israel as pre- sented by itself. It is this feature of the Old Testament which the present volume specially emphasizes: the combination of historic outline, no more than is suflicient to bind other works together, with the higher hterature of creative picture and discourse for emphasis. The teacher using this volume will do well to fasten first upon the unity of the whole, as presented in conspectus on page 8, and worked out in more detail in Chapter First. The subsequent chapters show the spirit of the whole, enlarging from simple story and song to the rich experience reflected in prophetic and lyric masterpieces. Finally, the poem that makes the last twenty-seven chapters of the traditional book of Isaiah brings the whole to a climax; it presents dramatically the nations of the world <§^ Preface summoned to the Bar of God to hear the Divine interpretation of history in the mission of Israel to the Nations. In this thought the whole of the Old Testament becomes a unity; and in this unity the Old Testament joins on to the New. This volume, and the companion volume of the New Testa- ment, have carried one step further than before the underlying principle of the Modern Reader's Bible. The great obstacle to the appreciation of Scripture in its traditional form has been the indiscriminate mixture of great and small, text and note, matter and appendix, poetry and prose. What w^as issued as the Modern Reader's Bible simply discriminated these to the eye of the reader, as is done in all other printed books. But in a work specifically intended for use in education it becomes possible to add to all this the device of selection and even of condensation. The purpose in the use of these is the same as before, to clear the perspective of what is being read, the less important being sometimes omitted to make the more important stand out. And there is less objection to the use of selection and condensation in the case of the Bible because the full text is in everybody's hand. The editor of these volumes has himself had a long experience as a teacher, in which he has seen many hundreds of university and other students turned from prejudice to enthusiasm for the Bible simply by its presenta- tion in literary form. His counsel to his fellow teachers would be to concentrate their efforts on the simple and straightforward reading of Holy Scripture, unhampered even by explanation, in the way most other books are read. When this has been secured the Bible may be left to take care of itself. Richard D. Moulton. Tunbridge Wells, November, 192 1. vu CONTENTS PAGE Introduction: The Old Testament: Its Literary Character and underlying Plan of Arrangement , i Chapter I. Old Testament History Interwoven with Story and Song 7 II. Transition from History to Collected Literature 139 III. Collected Books of the Prophets 173 IV. Collected Psalms and Lyrics of Israel 269 V. The Poem of "Zion Redeemed" [Isaiah 40- 66J as Climax of the Old Testament 367 VI. The Books of Wisdom: Intermediate between the Old and the New Testament 387 Notes: Notes to Particular Passages or Books 464 General Notes 509 Indexes: Index I. Connecting the Selections in this work with the Chap- ter and Verse arrangement of ordinary Bibles 522 General Index 533 Map THE MODERN READER'S BIBLE FOR SCHOOLS Introduction THE OLD TESTAMENT: ITS LITERARY CHARACTER AND UNDERLYING PLAN OF ARRANGEMENT Introduction -g> The Modern Reader's Bible for Schools is in two volumes, dealing respectively with the Old and the New Testament. The New Testament volume has already appeared. The Introduction to that volume contains explanations belonging to the work as a whole. It explains how what is called The Modern Reader's Bible is not a new translation, but is the ordinary Bible (revised version) so printed as to bring out to the eye the literary form and structure of each portion of Scripture, such structural presentation being essential, as in other books, for following the meaning of what is read. It has further been explained that the word "Schools" in the title of the present work is intended to cover a variety of readers, from classes of young people to students at a university, besides readers outside educational institutions who may be Bible students. The principles of the adaptation of The Modern Reader's Bible for such use have been indicated. There is first the omission of what in the full Bible is of the nature of documentary appendices, valuable for the specialist, but a serious interruption to reading for literary purposes. And in regard to the rest of the Bible, con- densation has, in certain places, been used, minor passages being omitted to make the main drift stand out clear. The books con- stituting the New Testament, with what explanations seem neces- sary, make up the New Testament volume. The present volume deals exclusively with the Old Testament. When from the literary point of view we approach the Old Testa- ment, our first impression is of a library; a library of books by various authors, in various literary forms, and belonging to different periods. The literary student of this Old Testament will desire to form a clear idea of these books as independent literary works; just as a student of secular literature would desire to have a distinct conception of Browning, or Sophocles, or of the Iliad. This purpose has been kept in view throughout the present work. Besides direct explanation, it is hoped that the use of marginal titles and page headings will keep the separate books of Scripture clear to the reader's eye. But it is an imperfect description of the Old Testament to speak of it merely as a library. The books have come to us from remote antiquity; those who initiated the collection of these books have § Literary Structure of the Old Testament impressed upon Ihem a certain arrangement, bringing out the interconnection of the separate books, and making the whole a literary unity — the religious development of the People of Israel as presented by themselves. To form a clear conception of the Old Testament as a whole is not less important than the appreciation of the separate books. For such a conception of the whole we naturally turn first to the title — ^The Old Testament. The word has changed its meaning in modern English; in the language of our translators 'Testament' was the equivalent of 'Covenant.' This word 'covenant' is a legal term expressing the relation between two parties, for example, between the vendor and the purchaser of an estate. The Old Testament is devoted to the mutual relations between God and the ancient Nation of Israel; just as the New Testament — which first appears in one of the Old Testament books — deals with the relations between God and individual hearts. When we study in detail the arrangement which seems to under- lie the successive books, we find this arrangement undergoing a change about the middle of the Old Testament. The first half (more precisely, two-fifths) appears to be History. The rest seems to be made up of collections of various literary works. From the Book of Genesis to the end of the Books of Kings we seem to be having continuous history of Israel. When, however, we examine more closely, we see that it is history blending with other literary forms. Fully to appreciate this point it is necessary to lay down a Hterary distinction not always observed. This is the dis- tinction between History and Story. Both are narrative. History is narrative appealing to the sense of record and the connection of things. Story is narrative appealing to the imagination, the emotions, and the whole of our spiritual nature. There is a popular misunderstanding upon this point, which supposes History to be truth (by which is meant matter of fact), whereas Story is matter of imagination. But this will not bear examination. The parables of Jesus are story, not history; yet no one thinks of these parables as other than the highest truth. Matter of fact can be story, and imagination can be used to illuminate history. The distinction lies in the mode of presentation. When the narrative (as said before) appeals merely to the sense of record and the connection of 3 Introduction' -g> things we have history; to make story the imagination and the emotions must be touched. When this distinction has been taken we can say that the earUer part of the Old Testament contains an alternation of History and Story; occasionally Song, or even Oratory, taking the place of Story. The point is lost in the traditional Bible, which has nothing to indicate literary structure; in the Modern Reader's Bible the use of a title for each story prepares the reader for the change of mental attitude required. We can now understand fully the literary char- acter of this first half of the Old Testament. Wliat appears on the surface to be History is in reality only historic outline, a framework holding together the literature of Story or Song, through which the spirit of the course of history is brought out. All this is a con- sideration of the highest literary importance. There can be no more potent way of dealing with history than thus to use the higher forms of literature to bring out the emphasis and the high lights of historic development. Quite apart from its sacred character the Old Testament would, from this consideration alone, be amongst the most important pieces of literature in the world. When we turn to the latter half of the Old Testament, there is no difficulty in seeing its dominant purpose of collecting various liter- ary works which have a place in the historic development of Israel. But the individual books do not always stand in the order which might have been expected. It must be remembered that the collec- tion of books making up our Old Testament was accomplished by ancient Scribes working for the Hebrew people. Apparently, the position of particular books in the whole series is partly determined by the use of these books in the ritual of Hebrew religion. We are concerned here with the literary study of the Bible, and it seems legitimate so far to depart from the order of books in the traditional Bible as to restore the connectedness of the whole. We find three collections of literary works. We have the col- lected Books of the Prophets; the collected Psalms and Lyrics of Israel; and the collected Books of Wisdom. The first presents no difficulty. The sixteen Books of the Proph- ets follow immediately upon the historic outline that makes the earlier half of the Old Testament; the prophetic books supple- ment the later parts of that historic outline in the same way in § Literary Structure of the Old Testament which, in the earher parts, story and song were used to emphasize history. In the collection of Lyrics, besides two isolated books of the Old Testament we have the great Book of Psalms. This is a miscel- laneous collection of lyric poems, with no perceptible plan of ar- rangement. But certain of these psahns bear upon their surface indications of connection with great occasions of Israel's history. In the present work these psalms are transferred to appropriate places in the historic outline. The lyrics that remain suggest their own arrangement, an arrangement based upon grouping according to subject matter. It is different when we come to the collected Books of Wisdom. Wisdom is the Scriptural name for philosophy; but, unlike the usage of that word in modern times. Biblical wisdom is limited to the philosophy of human life. Three books scattered through the Old Testament contain this wisdom: the Books of Job, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. To these it is desirable to add two books taken from what is known as the Apocrypha. The apocryphal books — which in earlier times used to stand between the Old and the New Testament — differ from the books making up the Bible itself by a difference belonging to theology. Theologians have laid down that books of the Bible are authoritative in matters of religious faith, while the books constituting the Apocrypha are to be read only for edification. Such a distinction does not affect literary study. Two of the books of the Apocrypha, Ecclesiasticus and The Wisdom of Solomon, are not only of high literary interest, but also are essential for bringing out the connectedness and unity of wisdom literature. When we take the five Books of Wisdom together, we find that they disconnect themselves from the history of Israel. The wisdom they contain belongs to personal, not to national life. And the detailed study of these wisdom books suggests how they go outside the range of the Old Testament, and are intermediate between the Old and the New Testaments. It might seem as if what has just been said would tend to impair the connectedness and unity of the Old Testament as a whole. But there is a consideration on the other side. The collected Books of the Prophets include a most important work of prophecy which in the traditional Bible is out of its proper place. It is an anonymous 5 Introduction § book, and lacks even a subject-title. By some unexplained accident in the transmission of the Bible through the centuries this anony- mous prophecy has been attached to the Book of Isaiah — of which it constitutes the last twenty-seven chapters. It is altogether unconnected with the Book of Isaiah; it belongs to a late age. The general drift of this great work of prophecy may be conveyed by giving a title, the Poem of " Zion Redeemed." One feature of this prophecy is its bearing upon the interconnection of the Old Testa- ment as a whole. The poem is dramatic; and one of its dramatic scenes presents the Nations of the world summoned to the Bar of God, to hear a Divine interpretation of all history. This interpreta- tion of history is the indication by God of the Nation of Israel as his Servant; the service is to bring other nations to the knowledge of Is- rael's God. But Israel has been unfaithful to its high mission, and has fallen into the prison houses of Babylon; it has been delivered by the conquering career of Cyrus the Persian. It emerges from captivity reawakened to its high mission, and with this mission purified and exalted. The effect of this wonderful poem is to strike a unity through the different parts of the Old Testament, and to exhibit its underlying thought as a whole. Enough has been said to explain the arrangement of the present work, which is an interpretation of the arrangement underlying the books of the Old Testament as they have come down to us, freeing the sequence of books from accidental variations. The First Chap- ter of this work contains the Historic Outline of the history of Israel; it is history interwoven with story and song. This is the earlier half of the Old Testament, supplemented by historic psalms from the collected lyrics. The Second Chapter deals with the change from the first to the second half of the Old Testament, the Transition from History to Literature. The Third Chapter contains the Books of the Prophets; the Fourth the collected Psalms and Lyrics. The Fifth Chapter deals with the Poem of Zion Redeemed, presenting this as the Climax of the Old Testament. Then the Sixth Chapter will deal with the collected Books of Wisdom, as Intermediate between the Old Testament and the New. Each chapter contains the essential parts of the Biblical books belonging to it, with what comment is necessary to make their interconnection clear. There will follow Notes, dealing with difficulties of detail. CHAPTER I OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY INTERWOVEN WITH STORY AND SONG The course of history constituting the earlier half of the Old Testament falls into three main divisions, with subdivisions. One feature of the whole is the way in which the Chosen People of God changes from the Nation of Israel into the single Kingdom of Judah, and finally into the Jewish Church. Early History of the Chosen Nation The World before the Call of Abraham The Patriarchs: The Chosen People as a Family The Exodus: Consolidation into a Nation during the Emigration to the Land of Promise Deuteronomy: The Chosen Nation as a Theocracy, with the Farewell of Moses to Israel The Judges: Transition from Theocracy to Secular Mon- archy Kings and Prophets: Secular Government of Kings with Spiritual Opposition of Prophets Reigns of David and Solomon The Schism: Kingdoms of Israel and Judah side by side The Chosen Nation replaced by the Kingdom of Judah The Captivity and Return Stories and Songs of the Captivity The Return: The Chosen Nation transformed into the Jewish Church EARLY HISTORY OF THE CHOSEN NATION THE WORLD BEFORE THE CALL OF ABRAHAM The word 'Testament' means 'Covenant/ and the Old Testa- ment is the Hterature presenting the Covenant, or mutual relations, between God and the Chosen Nation of Israel. But ^ , ^ r 1 • T 1 1 . -1 Genesis i-ii the first ancestor oi this Israel does not appear until the twelfth chapter of the Bible. The eleven preceding chapters are introductory: they present the World before the Call of the Chosen Nation. In place of a covenant with a particular people, we have covenants between God and all mankind represented by common ancestors, Adam and Noah. The starting point is the celebration, in the form of a Story [or rhythmic chant: see Notes], of the creation of the world. The Creation of the World In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was waste and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep: and the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said. Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the dark- ness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morn- ing, one day. And God said. Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day. And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was 9 History and Story § so. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering to- gether of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good. And God said, Let the earth put forth grass, herb yielding seed, and fruit tree bearing fruit after its kind, wherein is the seed thereof, upon the earth: and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, herb yielding seed after its kind, and tree bearing fruit, wherein is the seed thereof, after its kind: and God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, a third day. And God said. Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons and for days and years: and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And God made the two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day. And God said. Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and let fowl fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. And God created the great sea-monsters, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kinds, and every winged fowl after its kind: and God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying. Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day. And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after its kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after its kind: and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth after its kind, and the cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the ground after its kind: and God saw that it was good. And God said. Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. And God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he <§- Early History of the Chosen Nation him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them: and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat: and to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. And the heaven and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and hal- lowed it: because that in it he rested from all his work which God had created and made. What follows represents the appearance of sin in the world: the Story of the Temptation in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve, the first ancestors of mankind, dwell in the paradise or garden of Eden, the enjoyment of which is free to them, except for one for- bidden tree, symbolically named the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil: the eating of its fruit would involve death. A supernatural Tempter, in the form of a serpent endowed with speech, persuades Eve to doubt the threat of death; she eats of the forbidden fruit, and brings Adam to eat of it. God appears to denounce the sin, which has brought toil and suffering and death into the world. Adam and Eve are driven out of the paradise. In the next generation sin takes the form of crime. We have the Story of Cain and Abel: two children of Adam, the one a feeder of flocks, the other a cultivator of the ground. Cain broods over a suspicion that the offerings of Abel are more acceptable to God than his own; in a moment of hate he slays his brother. The curse of God drives him to be a wanderer over the earth. Mankind multiplies, and the whole world is corrupt. The History and Story -Q> Story of the Flood exhibits this corrupt world destroyed by water. But Noah, "a righteous man," is instructed to make an ark to float upon the waters; and in this ark himself and his family, and representatives of all kinds of living creatures, are preserved. When Noah emerges from the ark, thus a second ancestor of all mankind, God enters into a new covenant with him; the rainbow (as a bridge of light between heaven and earth) is made the per- petual symbol of God's covenant with all mankind. One more historic stage belongs to this introductory section. As men multiply, and overspread the earth, they gradually fall apart from one another by diversity of speech. Story of Babel And the whole earth was of one language and of one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there. And they said one to another. Go to, let us make brick, and bum them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar. And they said. Go to, let us build us a city, and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven, and let us make us a name; lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. And the Lord said. Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is what they begin to do: and now nothing will be withholden from them, which they purpose to do. Go to, let us go down, and there confound their lan- guage, that they may not understand one another's speech. So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. Therefore was the name of it called 'Babel'; because the Lord did there 'con- found' the language of all the earth: and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth. Thus is brought out the rise of diverging languages, which imply diverging nations, with their separations and hostihties. All this must precede what is the theme of the Old Testament itself: how one particular nation is called out from the other nations, I will make thee swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife for my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell: but thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac. And the servant said unto him, Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land: must I needs bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest? And Abraham said unto him. Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither again. The Lord, the God of heaven, that took me from my father's house, and from the land of my nativity, and that spake unto me, and that sware unto me, saying. Unto thy seed will I give this land; he shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife for my son from thence. And if the woman be not willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be clear from this my oath; only thou shalt not bring my son thither again. And the servant sware to Abraham concerning this matter. And the servant took ten camels, of the camels of his master, and departed; having all goodly things of his master's in his hand: and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of Nahor. And he made the camels to kneel down without the city by the well of water at the time of evening, the time that women go out to draw water. And he said, O Lord, the God of my master Abraham, send me, I pray thee, good speed this day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham. Behold, I stand by the foun- tain of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water: and let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say. Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed kindness unto my master. And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder: and the damsel was very fair to look upon. And she went down to the fountain, and filled her pitcher, and came up. And the servant ran to meet her, and said. Give me to drink, I pray thee, a little water of thy pitcher. And she said, 14 § Early History of the Chosen Nation Drink, my lord: and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink. And when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will draw for thy camels also, until they have done drinking. And she hasted, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw, and drew for all his camels. And the man looked stedfastly on her; holding his peace, to know whether the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not. And it came to pass, as the camels had done drinking, that the man took a golden ring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold; and said. Whose daughter art thou? tell me, I pray thee. Is there room in thy father's house for us to lodge in? And she said unto him, I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, which she bare unto Nahor. She said moreover unto him, We have both straw and provender enough, and room to lodge in. And the man bowed his head, and worshipped the Lord. And he said. Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who hath not forsaken his mercy and his truth toward my master: as for me, the Lord hath led me in the way to the house of my master's brethren. And the damsel ran, and told her mother's house according to these words. And Rebekah had a brother, and his name was Laban: and Laban ran out unto the man, unto the fountain. And it came to pass, when he saw the ring, and the bracelets upon his sister's hands, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying. Thus spake the man unto me; that he came unto the man; and, behold, he stood by the camels at the fountain. And he said. Come in, thou blessed of the Lord; wherefore standest thou without? for I have prepared the house, and room for the camels. And the man came into the house, and he ungirded the camels; and he gave straw and provender for the camels, and water to wash his feet and the men's feet that were with him. And there was set meat before him to eat: but he said, I will not eat, until I have told mine errand. And he said. Speak on. And he said, I am Abraham's servant. And the Lord hath blessed my master greatly; and he is become great: and he hath given him flocks and herds, and silver and gold, and menservants and maidservants, and camels and asses. And Sarah my master's wife bare a son to my master when she was old: and unto him hath he given all History and Story -g> that he hath. And my master made me swear, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife for my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell: but thou shalt go unto my father's house, and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son. And I said unto my master, Peradventure the woman will not follow me. And he said unto me, The Lord, before whom I walk, will send his angel with thee, and prosper thy way: and thou shalt take a wife for my son of my kindred, and of my father's house: then shalt thou be clear from my oath, when thou comest to my kindred; and if they give her not to thee, thou shalt be clear from my oath. And I came this day unto the fountain, and said, O Lord, the God of my master Abraham, if now thou do prosper my way which I go: behold, I stand by the fountain of water; and let it come to pass, that the maiden which cometh forth to draw, to whom I shall say. Give me, I pray thee, a little water of thy pitcher to drink; and she shall say to me. Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy camels: let the same be the woman whom the Lord hath appointed for my master's son. And before I had done speaking in mine heart, behold, Rebekah came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down unto the fountain, and drew: and I said unto her, Let me drink, I pray thee. And she made haste, and let down her pitcher from her shoulder, and said. Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: so I drank, and she made the camels drink also. And I asked her, and said. Whose daughter art thou? And she said, The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bare unto him : and I put the ring upon her nose, and the bracelets upon her hands. And I bowed my head, and worshipped the Lord, and blessed the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, which had led me in the right way to take my master's brother's daughter for his son. And now if ye will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me: and if not, tell me; that I may turn to the right hand, or to the left. Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said. The thing proceedeth from the Lord: we cannot speak unto thee bad or good. Behold, Rebekah is before thee, take her, and go, and let her be thy master's son's wife, as the Lord hath spoken. And it came to pass, that, when Abraham's servant heard their words, he bowed himself down to the earth unto the Lord. And the servant brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and i6 § Early History of the Chosen Nation raiment, and gave them to Rebekah: he gave also to her brother and to her mother precious things. And they did eat and drink, he and the men that were with him, and tarried all night; and they rose up in the morning, and he said. Send me away unto my master. And her brother and her mother said, Let the damsel abide with us a few days, at the least ten; after that she shall go. And he said unto them, Hinder me not, seeing the Lord hath prospered my way; send me away that I may go to my master. And they said. We will call the damsel, and inquire at her mouth. And they called Rebekah, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go. And they sent away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham's servant, and his men. And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her. Our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of ten thousands, and let thy seed possess the gates of those which hate them. And Rebekah arose, and her damsels, and they rode upon the camels, and followed the man: and the servant took Rebekah, and went his way. And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, there were camels coming. And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel. And she said unto the servant, What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us? And the servant said. It is my master: and she took her veil, and covered herself. And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her: and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death. In the next generation the succession of the Chosen People is still further narrowed. Isaac has two sons, Esau and Jacob. Esau is summoned by his father in his old age to receive his final blessing. But Jacob, countenanced by his mother, personates his brother Esau, taking advantage of Isaac's blindness. He thus intercepts the blessing of the firstborn ; to Esau is given an inferior lot, to be the ancestor of kindred peoples (Edomites) but not of the Chosen Nation itself. Jacob has to flee for his life. In the story of the Flight of Jacob is found an incident illustrating the growing spiritual influences coming into the patriarchal family life. 17 History and Story § Jacobus Dream And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba, and went toward Haran. And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, be- cause the sun was set ; and he took one of the stones of the place, and put it under his head, and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord the God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; and thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the famiHes of the earth be blessed. And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee whithersoever thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of. And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said. Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not. And he was afraid, and said. How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put under his head, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. And he called the name of that place Beth-el. And Jacob vowed a vow, saying. If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, so that I come again to my father's house in peace, then shall the Lord be my God, and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee. As ancestor of the nation to come Jacob has his name changed to a spiritual name, Israel ("striven with God"), and the patriarchal family are henceforward known as the "Children of Israel." Ja- cob's sons give their names to what will be the Tribes of the future nation. They are twelve in number: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher. But the importance of one of them, Joseph, is shown in the fact i8 <§^ Early History of the Chosen Nation that Joseph's sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, are treated as if giving names to divisions of the nation Hke tribes. It is this Joseph who brings the Patriarchal section of the history to its climax. His adventures bring the Children of Israel into connection with the dominant civilization of the world, that of Egypt. This appears in the most elaborate and (in a literary sense) complete among the early Biblical stories. Joseph and His Brethren * Joseph and his Brethren in Canaan Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and Joseph brought the evil report of them unto their father. Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, be- cause he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours. And his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren; and they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him. And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it to his brethren : and they hated him yet the more. And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed: for, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves came round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf. And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words. And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it to his brethren, and said. Behold, I have dreamed yet a dream; and, behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars made obeisance to me. And he told it to his father, and to his brethren; and his father rebuked him, and said unto him. What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth? And his brethren envied him ; but his father kept the saying in mind. And his brethren went to feed their father's flock in Shechem. And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? come, and I will send thee unto them. And he said to him. Here am I. And he said to him, Go now, see whether it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flock; and bring me word 19 History and Story ^ again. So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem. And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wan- dering in a field: and the man asked him, saying. What seekest thou? And he said, I seek my brethren: tell me, I pray thee, where they are feeding the flock. And the man said. They are departed hence: for I heard them say. Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan. And they saw him afar off, and before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him. And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer Cometh. Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into one of the pits, and we will say, An evil beast hath devoured hun: and we shall see what will become of his dreams. And Reuben said unto them. Shed no blood; cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but lay no hand upon him: that he might deliver him out of their hand, to restore him to his father. And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stript Joseph of his coat, the coat of many colours th9,t was on him; and they took him, and cast him into the pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it. And they sat down to eat bread : and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a travelling company of Ish- maelites came from Gilead, with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt. And Judah said unto his brethren. What profit is it if we slay our brother and con- ceal his blood? Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother, our flesh. And his brethren hearkened unto him; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And they brought Joseph into Egypt. And Reu- ben returned unto the pit; and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit; and he rent his clothes. And he returned unto his brethren, and said. The child is not; and I, whither shall I go? And they took Joseph's coat, and killed a he-goat, and dipped the coat in the blood; and they sent the coat of many colours, and they brought it to their father; and said, This have we found: know now whether it be thy son's coat or not. And he knew it, and said. It is my son's coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt torn in pieces. And Jacob rent his garments, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days. And all his sons and all § Early History of the Chosen Nation his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be com- forted; and he said, For I will go down to the grave to my son mourning. Joseph as a Slave in Egypt And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hand of the Ishmaelites, which had brought him down thither. And the Lord was with Joseph and he was a prosperous man ; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. And his master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand. And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he ministered unto him : and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand. And it came to pass from the time that he made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; and the blessing of the Lord was upon all that he had, in the house and in the field. And he left all that he had in Joseph's hand; and he knew not aught that was with him, save the bread which he did eat. And Joseph was comely and well favoured. And it came to pass after these things, that his master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and as she spake to Joseph day by day, he hearkened not unto her. And it came to pass about this time, that he went into the house to do his work; and there was none of the men of the house there within. And she caught him by his garment: and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out. And she laid up his garment by her, until his master came home. And she spake unto him according to these words, saying, The Hebrew servant, which thou hast brought unto us, came in unto me to mock me: and it came to pass, as I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment by me, and fled out. And it came to pass, when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spake unto him, saying. After this manner did thy servant to me; that his wrath was kindled. And Joseph's master took him, and put him into the prison, the place where the king's prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison. But the Lord was with Joseph, and shewed kindness unto him, and gave him favour in the sight 21 History and Story -g> of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison com- mitted to Joseph's hand all the prisoners that were in the prison; and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it. The keeper of the prison looked not to any thing that was under his hand, because the Lord was with him; and that which he did, the Lord made it to prosper. And it came to pass after these things, that the butler of the king of 'Egypt and his baker offended their lord the king of Egypt. And Pharaoh was wroth against his two ofhcers, against the chief of the butlers, and against the chief of the bakers. And he put them in ward in the house of the captain of the guard, into the prison, the place where Joseph was bound. And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he ministered unto them: and they continued a season in ward. And they dreamed a dream both of them, each man his dream, in one night, each man accord- ing to the interpretation of his dream, the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, which were bound in the prison. And Joseph came in unto them in the morning, and saw them, and, behold, they were sad. And he asked Pharaoh's officers that were with him in ward in his master's house, saying. Wherefore look ye so sadly today? And they said unto him. We have dreamed a dream, and there is none that can interpret it. And Joseph said unto them, Do not interpretations belong to God? tell it me, I pray you. And the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, In my dream, behold, a vine was before me; and in the vine were three branches: and it was as though it budded, and its blossoms shot forth; and the clusters thereof brought forth ripe grapes: and Pharaoh's cup was in my hand; and I took the grapes, and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup, and I gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand. And Joseph said unto him. This is the interpretation of it: the three branches are three days; within yet three days shall Pharaoh lift up thine head, and restore thee unto thine office: and thou shalt give Pharaoh's cup into his hand, after the former manner when thou wast his butler. But have me in thy remembrance when it shall be well with thee, and shew kindness, I pray thee, unto me, and make mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house: for indeed I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews: and here also have I done nothing that they should put me into <§- Early Histoiy of the Chosen Nation the dungeon. When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said unto Joseph, I also was in my dream, and, behold, three baskets of white bread were on my head: and in the upper- most basket there was of all manner of bakemeats for Pharaoh; and the birds did eat them out of the basket upon my head. And Joseph answered and said. This is the interpretation thereof: the three baskets are three days; within yet three days shall Pharaoh lift up thy head from off thee, and shall hang thee on a tree; and the birds shall eat thy flesh from off thee. And it came to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, that he made a feast unto all his servants: and he Hfted up the head of the chief butler and the head of the chief baker among his servants. And he restored the chief butler unto his butlership again; and he gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand: but he hanged the chief baker: as Joseph had interpreted to them. Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgat him. Hou.' in one day Joseph passed from a Slave to a Prime Minister And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed: and, behold, he stood by the river. And, behold, there came up out of the river seven kine, well favoured and fatfleshed; and they fed in the reed-grass. And, behold, seven other kine came up after them out of the river, ill favoured and leanfleshed; and stood by the other kine upon the brink of the river. And the ill favoured and leanfleshed kine did eat up the seven well favoured and fat kine. So Pharaoh awoke. And he slept and dreamed a second time: and, behold, seven ears of com came up upon one stalk, rank and good. And, behold, seven ears, thin and blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them. And the thin ears swallowed up the seven rank and full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and, behold, it was a dream. And it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled; and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all the wise men thereof: and Pharaoh told them his dream; but there was none that could interpret them unto Pharaoh. Then spake the chief butler unto Pharaoh, saying, I do remember my faults this day: Pharaoh was wroth with his servants, and put me in ward in the house of the captain of the 23 History and Story § guard, me and the chief baker: and we dreamed a dream in one night, I and he; we dreamed each man according to the interpre- tation of his dream. And there was with us there a young man, an Hebrew, servant to the captain of the guard; and we told him, and he interpreted to us our dreams; to each man according to his dream he did interpret. And it came to pass, as he interpreted to us, so it was; me he restored unto mine office, and him he hanged. Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon: and he shaved himself, and changed his raiment, and came in unto Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I have dreamed a dream, and there is none that can inter- pret it: and I have heard say of thee, that when thou hearest a dream thou canst interpret it. And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying. It is not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace. And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, In my dream, behold, I stood upon the brink of the river: and, behold, there came up out of the river seven kine, fatfleshed and well favoured; and they fed in the reed-grass: and, behold, seven other kine came up after them, poor and very ill favoured and leanfieshed, such as I never saw in all the land of Egypt for badness: and the lean and ill favoured kine did eat up the first seven fat kine: and when they had eaten them up, it could not be knowTi that they had eaten them; but they were still ill favoured, as at the beginning. So I awoke. And I saw in my dream, and, behold, seven ears came up upon one stalk, full and good: and, behold, seven ears, withered, thin, and blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them: and the thin ears swal- lowed up the seven good ears: and I told it unto the magicians; but there was none that could declare it to me. And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one: what God is about to do he hath declared unto Pharaoh. The seven good kine are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years: the dream is one. And the seven lean and ill favoured kine that came up after them are seven years, and also the seven empty ears blasted with the east wind; they shall be seven years of famine. That is the thing which I spake unto Pharaoh: what God is about to do he hath shewed unto Pharaoh. Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt : and there shall arise after them seven years of famine; and all the plenty shall be forgotten 24 ^ Early History of the Chosen Nation in the land of Egypt; and the famine shall consume the land; and the plenty shall not be known in the land by reason of that famine which followeth; for it shall be very grievous. And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice, it is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass. Now therefore let Pharaoh look out a man discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint overseers over the land, and take up the fifth part of the land of Egypt in the seven plenteous years. And let them gather all the food of these good years that come, and lay up corn under the hand of Pharaoh for food in the cities, and let them keep it. And the food shall be for a store to the land against the seven years of famine, which shall be in the land of Egypt; that the land perish not through the famine. And the thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all his servants. And Pharaoh said unto his servants. Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom the spirit of God is? And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou: thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou. And Pharaoh took off his signet ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph's hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck; and he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee: and he set him over all the land of Egypt. Joseph and his Brethren in Egypt And the seven years of plenty, that was in the land of Egypt, came to an end. And the seven years of famine began to come, according as Joseph had said: and there was famine in all lands; but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. And all countries came into Egypt to Joseph for to buy corn; because the famine was sore in all the earth. Now Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, and Jacob said unto his sons, Why do ye look one upon another? And he said. Behold, I have heard that there is corn in Egypt: get you down 25 History and Story § thither, and buy for us from thence; that we may live, and not die. And Joseph's ten brethren went down to buy corn from Egypt. But Benjamin, Joseph's brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren; for he said, Lest perad venture mischief befall him. And the sons of Israel came to buy among those that came; for the famine was in the land of Canaan. And Joseph was the governor over the land; he it was that sold to all the people of the land: and Joseph's breth- ren came, and bowed down themselves to him with their faces to the earth. And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but made himself strange unto them, and spake roughly with them; and he said unto them. Whence come ye? And they said. From the land of Canaan to buy food. And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him. And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them, and said unto them. Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land ye are come. And they said unto him. Nay, my lord, but to buy food are thy servants come. We are all one man's sons; we are true men, thy servants are no spies. And he said unto them. Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land ye are come. And they said. We thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not. And Joseph said unto them. That is it that I spake unto you, saying. Ye are spies: hereby ye shall be proved: by the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come hither. Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother, and ye shall be bound, that your words may be proved, whether there be truth in you : or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are spies. And he put them all together into ward three days. And Joseph said unto them the third day. This do, and live; for I fear God: if ye be true men, let one of your brethren be bound in your prison house; but go ye, carry corn for the famine of your houses: and bring your youngest brother unto me; so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die. And they did so. And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us. And Reuben answered them, saying. Spake I not unto you, saying. Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore also, behold, his blood is required. And they knew not that Joseph 26 <§- Early History of the Chosen Nation understood them; for there was an interpreter between them. And he turned himself about from them, and wept; and he returned to them, and spake to them, and took Simeon from among them, and bound him before their eyes. Then Joseph commanded to fill their vessels with corn, and to restore every man's money into his sack, and to give them provision for the way: and thus was it done unto them. And they laded their asses with their com, and departed thence. And as one of them opened his sack to give his ass prov- ender in the lodging place, he espied his money; and, behold, it was in the mouth of his sack. And he said unto his brethren. My money is restored; and, lo, it is even in my sack: and their heart failed them, and they turned trembling one to another, saying. What is this that God hath done unto us? And they came unto Jacob their father unto the land of Canaan, and told him all that had befallen them: saying. The man, the lord of the land, spake roughly with us, and took us for spies of the country. And we said unto him. We are true men; we are no spies: we be twelve brethren, sons of our father; one is not, and the young- est is this day with our father in the land of Canaan. And the man, the lord of the land, said unto us. Hereby shall I know that ye are true men; leave one of your brethren with me, and take corn for the famine of your houses, and go your way: and bring your youngest brother unto me: then shall I know that ye are no spies, but that ye are true men: so will I deliver you your brother, and ye shall traffick in the land. And it came to pass as they emptied their sacks, that, behold, every man's bundle of money was in his sack: and when they and their father saw their bundles of money, they were afraid. And Jacob their father said unto them. Me have ye be- reaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye w^ill take Benjamin away: all these things are against me. And Reuben spake unto his father, saying. Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee: deliver him into my hand, and I will bring him to thee again. And he said. My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he only is left: if mischief befall him by the way in the which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave. And the famine was sore in the land. And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the corn which they had brought out of Egypt, 27 History and Story § their father said unto them, Go again, buy us a little food. And Judah spake unto him, saying. The man did solemnly protest unto us, saying, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you. If thou wilt send our brother with us, we will go down and buy thee food: but if thou wilt not send him, we will not go down: for the man said unto us, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you. And Israel said. Wherefore dealt ye so ill with me, as to tell the man whether ye had yet a brother? And they said. The man asked straitly concerning ourselves, and concerning our kindred, saying, Is your father yet alive? have ye another brother? and we told him according to the tenor of these words: could we in any wise know that he would say, Bring your brother down? And Judah said unto Israel his father, Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go; that we may live, and not die, both we, and thou, and also our little ones. I will be surety for him; of my hand shalt thou require him : if I bring him not unto thee, and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame for ever: for except we had lingered, surely we had now returned a second time. And their father Israel said unto them, If it be so now, do this; take of the choice fruits of the land in your vessels, and carry down the man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spicery and myrrh, nuts, and ahnonds: and take double money in your hand; and the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks carry again in your hand; peradventure it was an oversight: take also your brother, and arise, go again unto the man: and God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may release unto you your other brother and Benjamin. And if I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved. And the men took that present, and they took double money in their hand, and Benjamin; and rose up, and went down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph. And when Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house. Bring the men into the house, and slay, and make ready; for the men shall dine with me at noon. And the man did as Joseph bade; and the man brought the men into Joseph's house. And the men were afraid, because they were brought into Joseph's house; and they said, Because of the money that was returned in our sacks at the first time are we brought in ; that he may seek occasion against us, and fall upon us, and take us for bondmen, and our asses. And they came near to the 28 <§- Early History of the Chosen Nation steward of Joseph's house, and they spake unto him at the door of the house, and said, Oh my lord, we came indeed dovra at the first time to buy food : and it came to pass, when we came to the lodging place, that we opened our sacks, and, behold, every man's money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight: and we have brought it again in our hand. And other money have we brought down in our hand to buy food : we know not who put our money in our sacks. And he said, Peace be to you, fear not: your God, and the God of your father, hath given you treasure in your sacks: I had your money. And he brought Simeon out unto them. And the man brought the men into Joseph's house, and gave them water, and they washed their feet; and he gave their asses provender. And they made ready the present against Joseph came at noon: for they heard that they should eat bread there. And when Joseph came home, they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house, and bowed down themselves to him to the earth. And he asked them of their welfare, and said. Is your father well, the old man of whom ye spake? Is he yet alive? And they said, Thy servant our father is well, he is yet alive. And they bowed the head, and made obeisance. And he hf ted up his eyes, and saw Benjamin his brother, his mother's son, and said. Is this your youngest brother, of whom ye spake unto me? And he said, God be gracious unto thee, my son. And Joseph made haste; and he sought where to weep; and he entered into his chamber, and wept there. And he washed his face, and came out; and he refrained himself, and said, Set on bread. And they set on for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians, which did eat with him, by themselves: because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that is an abomination unto the Eg>^tians. And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth: and the men marvelled one with another. And he took and sent messes unto them from before him: but Benjamin's mess was five times so much as any of theirs. And they drank and were merry with him. And he commanded the steward of his house, saying. Fill the men's sacks with food, as much as they can carr>', and put every man's money in his sack's mouth. And put my cup, the silver cup, in the sack's mouth of the youngest, and his com money. And he 29 History and Story -g> did according to the word that Joseph had spoken. As soon as the morning was Hght, the men were sent away, they and their asses. And when they were gone out of the city, and were not yet far off, Joseph said unto his steward, Up, follow after the men; and when thou dost overtake them, say unto them. Wherefore have ye re- warded evil for good? Is not this it in which my lord drinketh, and whereby he indeed divineth? ye have done evil in so doing. And he overtook them, and he spake unto them these words. And they said unto him, Wherefore speaketh my lord such words as these? God forbid that thy servants should do such a thing. Behold, the money, which we found in our sacks' mouths, we brought again unto thee out of the land of Canaan: how then should we steal out of thy lord's house silver or gold? With whomsoever of thy servants it be found, let him die, and we also will be my lord's bondmen. And he said. Now also let it be according unto your words: he with whom it is found shall be my bondman ; and ye shall be blameless. Then they hasted, and took down every man his sack to the ground, and opened every man his sack. And he searched, and began at the eldest, and left at the youngest: and the cup was found in Benja- min's sack. Then they rent their clothes, and laded every man his ass, and returned to the city. And Judah and his brethren came to Joseph's house; and he was yet there: and they fell before him on the ground. And Joseph said unto them, What deed is this that ye have done? know ye not that such a man as I can indeed divine? And Judah said, What shall we say unto my lord? what shall we speak? or how shall we clear ourselves? God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants: behold, we are my lord's bondmen, both we, and he also in whose hand the cup is found. And he said, God forbid that I should do so: the man in whose hand the cup is found, he shall be my bondman; but as for you, get you up in peace unto your father. Then Judah came near unto him, and said. Oh my lord, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my lord's ears, and let not thine anger burn against thy servant : for thou art even as Pharaoh. My lord asked his servants, saying. Have ye a father, or a brother? And we said unto my lord. We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, a little one; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother, and his father loveth htm. And thou saidst 30 <§- Early History of the Chosen Nation unto thy servants, Bring him down unto me, that I may set mine eyes upon him. And we said unto my lord, The lad cannot leave his father: for if he should leave his father, his father would die. And thou saidst unto thy servants. Except your youngest brother come down with you, ye shall see my face no more. And it came to pass when we came up unto thy servant my father, we told him the words of my lord. And our father said, Go again, buy us a little food. And we said. We cannot go down: if our youngest brother be with us, then will we go down: for we may not see the man's face, except our youngest brother be with us. And thy servant my father said unto us. Ye know that my wife bare me two sons: and the one went out from me, and I said, Surely he is torn in pieces; and I have not seen him since: and if ye take this one also from me, and mischief befall him, ye shall bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave. Now therefore when I come to thy servant my father, and the lad be not with us; seeing that his life is bound up in the lad's life; it shall come to pass, when he seeth that the lad is not with us, that he will die: and thy servants shall bring down the gray hairs of thy servant our father with sorrow to the grave. For thy servant became surety for the lad unto my father, saying. If I bring him not unto thee, then shall I bear the blame to my father for ever. Now therefore, let thy servant, I pray thee, abide instead of the lad a bondman to my lord ; and let the lad go up with his brethren. For how shall I go up to my father, and the lad be not with me? lest I see the evil that shall come on my father. Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried, Cause every man to go out from me. And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren. And he wept aloud: and the Egyptians heard, and the house of Pharaoh heard. And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph ; doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence. And Joseph said unto his brethren. Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother whom ye sold into Egypt. And now be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life. For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and there are yet five years in the which there shall be neither plowing 31 History and Story § nor harvest. And God sent me before you to preserve you a rem- nant in the earth, and to save you aUve by a great deliverance. So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and ruler over all the land of Egypt. Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry not: and thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me, thou, and thy children, and thy children's children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou hast: and there will I nourish thee; for there are yet five years of famine; lest thou come to poverty, thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast. And, behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaketh unto you. And ye shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen; and ye shall haste and bring down my father hither. .And he fell upon his brother Ben- jamin's neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck. And he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them: and after that his brethren talked with him. And the fame thereof was heard in Pharaoh's house, saying, Joseph's brethren are come: and it pleased Pharaoh well, and his servants. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Say unto thy brethren. This do ye; lade your beasts, and go, get you into the land of Canaan; and take your father and your households, and come unto me: and I will give you the good of the land of Eg3^t, and ye shall eat the fat of the land. Now thou art commanded, this do ye; take you wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your father, and come. Also regard not your stuff; for the good of all the land of Egypt is yours. And the sons of Israel did so: and Joseph gave them wagons according to the commandment of Pharaoh, and gave them provision for the way. To all of them he gave each man changes of raiment; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver, and five changes of raiment. And to his father he sent after this manner; ten asses laden with the good things of Egypt, and ten she-asses, laden with corn and bread and victual for his father by the way. So he sent his brethren away, and they departed: and he said unto them, See that ye fall not out by the way. :i2 <§- Early History of the Chosen Nation Journey of the Children of Israel into Egypt And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Ca- naan unto Jacob their father. And they told him, saying, Joseph is yet alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt. And his heart fainted, for he beheved them not. And they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said unto them: and when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived: and Israel said, It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive: I will go and see him before I die. And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beer-sheba, and offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac. And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here am I. And he said, I am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Eg)^t; for I will there make of thee a great nation: I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up again: and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes. And Jacob rose up from Beer- sheba: and the sons of Israel carried Jacob their father, and their little ones, and their wives, in the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry him. And they took their cattle, and their goods, which they had gotten in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt, Jacob, and all his seed with him: his sons, and his sons' sons with him, his daughters, and his sons' daughters, and all his seed brought he with him into Egypt. And he sent Judah before him unto Joseph, to shew the way before him unto Goshen; and they came into the land of Goshen. And Joseph made ready his chariot, and went up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen; and he presented himself unto him, and fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while. And Israel said unto Joseph, Now let me die, since I have seen thy face, that thou art yet alive. Then Joseph went in and told Pharaoh, and said. My father and my brethren, and their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have, are come out of the land of Canaan; and, behold, they are in the land of Goshen. And from among his brethren he took five men, and presented them unto Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said unto his brethren. What is your occupation? And they said unto 2,Z History and Story § Pharaoh, Thy servants are shepherds, both we, and our fathers. And they said unto Pharaoh, To sojourn in the land are we come; for there is no pasture for thy servants' flocks; for the famine is sore in the land of Canaan: now therefore, we pray thee, let thy servants dwell in the land of Goshen. And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, saying, Thy father and thy brethren are come unto thee: the land of Eg}^t is before thee; in the best of the land make thy father and thy brethren to dwell: in the land of Goshen let them dwell: and if thou knowest any able men among them, then make them rulers over my cattle. And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and set him before Pharaoh: and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, How many are the days of the years of thy life? And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage. And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from the presence of Pharaoh. And Joseph placed his father and his brethren, and gave them a possession in the land of Eg\^t, in the best of the land, as Pharaoh had commanded. And Joseph nourished his father, and his brethren, and all his father's house- hold, with bread, according to their families. THE EXODUS: CONSOLIDATION OF THE NATION DURING THE EMIGRATION TO CANAAN The second section of the history may be entitled ''The Exodus ": that is, the Emigration from Eg\T3t to the Canaan which is the Books of Land of Promise for the Chosen People. This period Exodus, Levit- of emigration is the period during which the People icus, and jg being gradually consolidated, from a loose aggrega- ^"^ ^^^ tion of families under the name "Children of Israel" to the highly organized Nation of Israel. Accordingly, in the full Bible, this section is filled w^th a long succession of constitutional and statistical documents, such as in modem literature would appear as Appendices to historical works. "The Exodus" covers 34 § Early History of the Chosen Nation three books of the Bible {Exodus ^ Leviticus, Numbers), which are really one continuous book; the first part is so named as recording the departure from Egypt; the second name empha- sizes the instructions to the Levites, or ecclesiastical police; the third title "Numbers" is equivalent to "Statistics." But the emphatic points of the narrative are embodied in Story or Song. At the opening we have the elaborate Story of the Plagues of Egypt. The Children of Israel have become slaves to the Egyp- tians. Moses, the destined deliverer, is cast out as a babe to perish in the river Nile: he is rescued by Pharaoh's daughter, and brought up at court. When grown to man's estate Moses, together with Aaron, the head of the future priesthood, is commissioned by God to lead his people out of Egypt. Pharaoh resists, and there follow the Ten Plagues sent on the Egyptian People. The water of the Nile is turned into blood; there follow plagues of frogs, lice, flies; a murrain is sent upon the cattle, and boils on the Egyptians them- selves; hailstones mingled with fire desolate the land, and what is left is devoured by swarms of locusts. Then follows three days' darkness, " even darkness which may be felt." Finally, an angel destroys the firstborn of all the families of Egypt in a single night. During this night the households of Israel are commanded to cele- brate a sacrifice, and stain the posts of their houses with the blood of the victims, in order that the destroying angel might "pass over'^ these houses: this originates the great festival of Israel, the "Pass- over," commemorating the deliverance from Egypt. Thus at length the People pass out of Egypt. But the Egyptians, changing their minds, pursue the Children of Israel to the very edge of the Red Sea: the waters of this Sea suddenly open, and Israel passes through on dry land ; when the Egyptian army attempts to follow the returning waters overwhelm them. This supreme deliverance is celebrated in one of the great Songs of Israel. Song of Triumph at the Red Sea All Together I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously: The horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. 35 History and Story § The Lord is my strength and song, And he is become my salvation: This is my God, and I will praise him; My father's God, and I will exalt him. Men The Lord is a man of war: The Lord is his name. Pharaoh's chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea: And his chosen captains are sunk in the Red Sea. The deeps cover them: They went down into the depths like a stone. WoaiEN Sing ye to the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously: The iiorse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. 2 Men Thy right hand, O Lord, is glorious in power, Thy right hand, O Lord, dasheth in pieces the enemy. And in the greatness of thine excellency thou overthrowest them that rise up against thee: Thou sendest forth thy wrath, it consumeth them as stubble. And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were piled up. The floods stood upright as an heap; The deeps were congealed in the heart of the sea. The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil: My lust shall be satisfied upon them ; I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them. Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them: They sank as lead in the mighty waters. ■ 36 ^ Early History of the Chosen Nation Women Sing ye to the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously: The horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. 3 Men Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods? Who is Hke thee, glorious in holiness, Fearful in praises, doing wonders? Thou stretchedst out thy right hand, The earth swallowed them. Thou in thy mercy hast led the people which thou hast redeemed: Thou hast guided them in thy strength to thy holy habitation. The peoples have heard, they tremble: Pangs have taken hold on the inhabitants of Philistia. Then were the dukes of Edom amazed; The mighty men of Moab, trembling taketh hold upon them: All the inhabitants of Canaan are melted away. Terror and dread falleth upon them; By the greatness of thine arm they are as still as a stone; Till thy people pass over, O Lord, Till the people pass over which thou hast purchased. Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance. The place, O Lord, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in. The sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have estabhshed. The Lord shall reign for ever and ever. Women Sing ye to the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously: The horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. From this Red Sea the People set out on a long wandering of forty years in the wilderness, while they are being gradually trained into a nation by Divine legislation spoken through the mouth of Moses. A daily rain of Manna, or bread from heaven, 37 History and Story -Q> feeds them ; they drink of a stream that follows them from a rock smitten by the rod of Moses. Conflicts take place with the peoples of the wilderness. The central incident of this era is the giving of the law on mount Sinai. Law of the Ten Commandments from Sinai And the Lord said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments, and be ready against the third day: for the third day the Lord will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai. And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it: whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death: no hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live: when the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount. And Moses went down from the mount unto the people, and sanctified the people; and they washed their garments. And he said unto the people. Be ready against the third, day. And it came to pass on the third day, when it was morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of a trumpet exceeding loud; and all the people that were in the camp trembled. And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount. And mount Sinai was altogether on smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly. And when the voice of the trumpet waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice. And God spake all these words, saying: I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have none other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image, nor the likeness of any form that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth : thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am 38 -g Early History of the Chosen Nation a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, upon the third and upon the fourth generation of them that hate me; and shewing mercy unto thousands, of them that love me and keep my commandments. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain ; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. SLx days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is a sabbath unto the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh say: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. Thou shalt do no murder. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false vv^itness against thy neighbour. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidser- vant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's. And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the voice of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they trembled, and stood afar off. And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die. And Moses said unto the people. Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before you, that ye sin not. And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was. Towards the close of the forty years another incident is em- bodied in the Story of Balaam and Balak. Balak is king of the Moabites, a mountain people of the wilderness; he is apprehensive of conflict between his own people and the new People of Israel. Balaam is a worshipper of Israel's God in the home country from 39 History and Story ^ which Abraham had originally migrated; he is a man susceptible of Divine visions of inspiration, which the heathen world around mistakes for magic. Thus it is as a magician that Balaam is hired by Balak to curse Israel; Balaam (who knows nothing of Israel) after some hesitation obeys the summons, resolving however to speak nothing but what God shall put into his mouth. Balaam views the new people from the mountainous region of Moab; and, after preliminary ceremonies, retires to a solitude and surrenders himself to inspiration from God. When he returns, the result is the opposite of what Balak desired. From Aram hath Balak brought me. The king of Moab from the mountains of the East: Come, curse me Jacob, And come, defy Israel. How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? And how shall I defy, whom the Lord hath not defied? For from the top of the rocks I see him, And from the hills I behold him : Lo, it is a people that dwell alone, And shall not be reckoned among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob, Or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, And let my last end be like his! From a new point of view the process is repeated, with a like result. When Balaam is taken to a third point of view he turns round to gaze at Israel's camp, and his eye is struck by its orderly arrangement, part of the Divine organization of Israel. How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, Thy tabernacles, O Israel! As valleys are they spread forth, As gardens by the river side. As lign-aloes which the Lord hath planted, As cedar trees beside the waters. Water shall flow from his buckets, And his seed shall be in many waters, 40 <§- Early History of the Chosen Nation And his king shall be higher than Agag, And his kingdom shall be exalted. God bringeth him forth out of Egypt; He hath as it were the strength of the wild-ox: He shall eat up the nations his adversaries, And shall break their bones in pieces, And smite them through with his arrows. Blessed be every one that blesseth thee. And cursed be every one that curseth thee. Thus three times the intended curse has been transformed into a blessing, and king Balak angrily dismisses Balaam, but not before a new burst of inspiration has pictured the triumph of Israel over the wilderness peoples. The documentary appendices deal minutely with such subjects as statistics of the tribes, the order of their marching, and their boundaries in the land of Canaan; specifications for the building of the Tabernacle, which had its ''Holy of Hohes," containing the ark of the Covenant; consecration of priests and service of Levites; regulations for the Passover and other feasts, and regular sacrifices; especially, hygienic regulations affecting clean and unclean meats, with precautions against the plague of leprosy. All this sums up under the name 'holiness,' which at this period means ceremonial separateness of Israel from surrounding nations. In the collected lyrics of Israel there appear, not one, but four National Anthems, expressive of different stages of the history of Israel. One of these belongs to the present era, and in primitive poetry of solo and chorus breathes the spirit of the life in the wil- derness. National Hymn of the Wilderness SOLO. — O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: CHORUS. — For his mercy endureth for ever. solo. — O give thanks unto the God of gods: CHORUS. — For his mercy endureth for ever. SOLO. — O give thanks unto the Lord of lords: CHORUS. — For his mercy endureth for ever. 41 History and Story -§> SOLO. — To him who alone doeth great wonders: CHORUS. — For his mercy endureth for ever. II SOLO. — To him that by understanding made the heavens: CHORUS. — For his mercy endureth for ever. SOLO. — To him that spread forth the earth above the waters: CHORUS. — For his mercy endureth for ever. SOLO. — To him that made great Hghts: CHORUS. — For his mercy endureth for ever: SOLO. — The sun to rule by day: CHORUS. — For his mercy endureth for ever: SOLO. — The moon and stars to rule by night: CHORUS. — For his mercy endureth for ever. Ill SOLO. — To hun that smote Egypt in their firstborn: CHORUS. — For his mercy endureth for ever: SOLO. — And brought out Israel from among them: CHORUS. — For his mercy endureth for ever: SOLO. — With a strong hand, and with a stretched out arm: CHORUS. — For his mercy endureth for ever. SOLO. — To him which divided the Red Sea in sunder: CHORUS. — For his mercy endureth for ever: SOLO. — And made Israel to pass through the midst of it: CHORUS. — For his mercy endureth for ever: SOLO. — But overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea: CHORUS. — For his mercy endureth for ever. IV SOLO. — To him which led his people through the wilderness: CHORUS. — For his mercy endureth for ever. SOLO. — To him which smote great kings: CHORUS. — For his mercy endureth for ever: SOLO. — And slew famous kings: CHORUS. — For his mercy endureth for ever: 42 <§- Early History of the Chosen Nation SOLO. — Sihon king of the Amorites: CHORUS. — For his mercy endureth for ever: SOLO. — And Og king of Bashan: CHORUS. — For his mercy endureth for ever: SOLO. — And gave their land for an heritage: CHORUS. — For his mercy endureth for ever: SOLO. — Even an heritage unto Israel his servant: CHORUS. — For his mercy endureth for ever. V SOLO. — Who remembered us in our low estate: CHORUS. — For his mercy endureth for ever: SOLO. — And hath delivered us from our adversaries: CHORUS. — For his mercy endureth for ever. SOLO. — He giveth food to all flesh: CHORUS. — For his mercy endureth for ever. SOLO. — O give thanks unto the God of heaven: CHORUS. — For his mercy endureth for ever. DEUTERONOMY: THE THEOCRACY ESTABLISHED, AND FAREWELL OF MOSES TO ISRAEL The era of the wilderness is brought to a climax by the Book of Deuteronomy: the Farewell of Moses to Israel. Its literary form is a succession of orations, with song, having all the effect of a dramatic movement. The opening situation pre- i, fr» sents Moses, who alone appreciates the Promised teronomy^^' Land, informed by God that he is to see it with his eyes, but never to enter it. This Announcement of his Deposition is the subject of the first oration. The second is the Delivery of the Covenant to the Leaders and Elders. The commands of God which hitherto Moses has made by word of mouth are now em- bodied in a written Book of the Covenant, which at the end of this oration is read at length, and handed over to the custody of the Levites and Elders. The oration itself is a solemn appeal for 43 History and Story -§> the observance of this covenant. It contains one passage which, after the recovery of the Book of Deuteronomy in the reign of Josiah, was repeated by every pious IsraeUte every day of his Ufe. Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord: and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be upon thine heart: and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou Hest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be for frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the door posts of thy house, and upon thy gates. The third oration is connected with a solemn ritual. One of the institutions of the Promised Land was to be the Ceremonial of the Blessing and the Curse. Two adjoining mountains were named, Gerizim the Mountain of the Blessing, and Ebal the Mountain of the Curse; the twelve tribes were divided, six on each of these mountains; in the valley between was the Ark of the Covenant surrounded by Priests and Levites: each Blessing and each Curse was intoned by these, the People answering Amen. In this case some undulating ground in the Jordan valley takes the place of the two mountains, and the Ceremonial is rehearsed. Before it is completed Moses interrupts, and in language of oratory goes over the ground of the blessings and curses. Oration at the Rehearsal of the Blessing and Curse And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his command- ments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all the nations of the earth: and all these blessings shall come upon thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God. Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. Blessed 44 § Early History of the Chosen Nation shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the young of thy flock. Blessed shall be thy basket and thy kneadingtrough. Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out. The Lord shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thee: they shall come out against thee one way, and shall flee before thee seven ways. The Lord shall command the blessing upon thee in thy bams, and in all that thou puttest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. The Lord shall estabHsh thee for an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee; if thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, and walk in his ways. And all the peoples of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the Lord; and they shall be afraid of thee. And the Lord shall make thee plenteous for good, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers to give thee. The Lord shall open unto thee his good treas- ury- the heaven to give the rain of thy land in its season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow. And the Lord shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath ; if thou shalt hearken unto the command- ments of the Lord thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them; and shalt not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to ser\'e them. But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee. Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field. Cursed shall be thy basket and thy kneadingtrough. Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, the increase of thy kine, and the young of thy flock. Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out. The Lord shall send upon thee cursing, discomfiture, and rebuke, in all that thou puttest thine hand unto for to do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou 45 History and Story ^ perish quickly; because of the evil of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me. The Lord shall make the pestilence cleave unto thee, until he have consumed thee from off the land, whither thou goest in to possess it. The Lord shall smite thee with consumption, and with fever, and with inflammation, and with fiery heat, and with the sword, and wdth blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou perish. And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron. The Lord shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed. The Lord shall cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies: thou shalt go out one way against them, and shalt flee seven ways before them: and thou shalt be tossed to and fro among all the kingdoms of the earth. And thy carcase shall be meat unto all fowls of the air, and unto the beasts of the earth, and there shall be none to fray them away. The Lord shall smite thee with the boil of Egypt, and with the emerods, and with the scurvy, and wdth the itch, whereof thou canst not be healed. The Lord shall smite thee with madness and with blindness, and with astonishment of heart: and thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways: and thou shalt be only oppressed and spoiled alway, and there shall be none to save thee. Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her: thou shalt build an house, and thou shalt not dwell therein: thou shalt plant a vine- yard, and shalt not use the fruit thereof. Thine ox shall be slain before thine eyes, and thou shalt not eat thereof: thine ass shall be violently taken away from before thy face, and shall not be restored to thee: thy sheep shall be given unto thine enemies, and thou shalt have none to save thee. Thy sons and thy daughters shall be given unto another people, and thine eyes shall look, and fail with longing for them all the day: and there shall be nought in the power of thine hand. The fruit of thy ground, and all thy labours, shall a nation which thou knowest not eat up; and thou shalt be only oppressed and crushed alway: so that thou shalt be mad for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see. The Lord shall smite thee in the knees, and in the legs, with a sore boil, whereof thou canst not be healed, from the sole of thy foot unto the crown of thy head. The Lord shall bring thee, and thy king which thou shalt set over thee, unto 46 <§- Early History of the Chosen Nation a nation which thou hast not known, thou nor thy fathers; and there shalt thou serve other gods, wood and stone. And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all the peoples whither the Lord shall lead thee away. Thou shalt carry much seed out into the field, and shalt gather little in; for the locust shall consume it. Thou shalt plant vineyards and dress them, but thou shalt neither drink of the wine, nor gather the grapes; for the worm shall eat them. Thou shalt have olive trees throughout all thy borders, but thou shalt not anoint thyself with the oil; for thine olive shall cast its fruit. Thou shall beget sons and daughters, but they shall not be thine; for they shall go into captivity. All thy trees and the fruit of thy ground shall the locust possess. The stranger that is in the midst of thee shall mount up above thee higher and higher; and thou shalt come down lower and lower. He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him: he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail. And all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be destroyed ; because thou hearkenedst not unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded thee: and they shall be upon thee for a sign and for a wonder, and upon thy seed for ever. Be- cause thou servedst not the Lord thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, by reason of the abundance of all things: therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the Lord shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee. The Lord shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand; a nation of fierce countenance, which shall not regard the person of the old, nor shew favour to the young: and he shall eat the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit of thy ground, until thou be destroyed: which also shall not leave thee com, wine, or oil, the increase of thy kine, or the young of thy flock, until he have caused thee to perish. And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fenced walls come down, wherein thou trustedst, throughout all thy land: and he shall besiege thee in all thy gates throughout all thy land, which the Lord thy God hath given thee. And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, the 47 History and Story § flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters which the Lord thy God hath given thee; in the siege and i;i the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall straiten thee. The man that is tender among you, and very delicate, his eye shall be evil toward his brother, and toward the wife of his bosom, and toward the remnant of his chil- dren which he hath remaining: so that he will not give to any of them of the flesh of his children whom he shall eat, because he hath nothing left him ; in the siege and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemy shall straiten thee in all thy gates. The tender and delicate woman among you, which would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil toward the husband of her bosom, and toward her son, and toward her daughter; and toward her young one that cometh out from between her feet, and toward her children which she shall bear; for she shall eat them for want of all things secretly: in the siege and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemy shall straiten thee in thy gates. If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name, the lord thy god; then the Lord will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, even great plagues, and of long continuance, and sore sicknesses, and of long continuance. And he will bring upon thee again all the diseases of Egypt, which thou wast afraid of; and they shall cleave unto thee. Also every sickness, and every plague, which is not written in the book of this law, them will the Lord bring upon thee, until thou be destroyed. And ye shall be left few in number, whereas ye were as the stars of heaven for multitude; because thou didst not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God. And it shall come to pass, that as the Lord rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you; so the Lord will rejoice over you to cause you to perish, and to destroy you; and , ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest in to possess it. And the Lord shall scatter thee among all peoples, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou nor thy fathers, even wood and stone. And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, and there shall be no rest for the sole of thy foot: but the Lord shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of 48 ^ Early History of the Chosen Nation eyes, and pining of soul: and thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear night and day, and shalt have none assurance of thy life: in the morning thou shalt say, Would God it were even! and at even thou shalt say, Would God it were morning! for the fear of thine heart which thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see. And the Lord shall bring thee into Egypt again with ships, by the way whereof I said unto thee, Thou shalt see it no more again: and there ye shall sell yourselves unto your enemies for bondmen and for bondwomen: and no man shall buy you. A fourth oration contains further words of threatening and of mercy; at its close Moses takes a solemn farewell of the people, and installs Joshua as Leader in his place. He then feels an inspira- tion to put his message in the form of poetry. My doctrine shall drop as the rain. My speech shall distil as the dew; As the small rain upon the tender grass, And as the showers upon the herb. This Song of Moses emphasizes the idea of Israel as the peculiar people of God. For the Lord's portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance. He found him in a desert land, And in the waste howling wilderness; He compassed him about, he cared for him, He kept him as the apple of his eye: As an eagle that stirreth up her nest, That fluttereth over her young. He spread abroad his wings, he took them, He bare them on his pinions: The Lord alone did lead him. And there was no strange god with him. 49 History and Story -@> The finale of the dramatic movement is the Passing of Moses. Representatives of the several tribes come out from the people and line the path by which Moses passes: he speaks blessings to each tribe. Then, taking in at one view the whole People of Israel, he speaks the final blessing. There is none like unto God, O Jeshurun, Who rideth upon the heaven for thy help, And in his excellency on the skies. The eternal God is thy dwelling place. And underneath are the everlasting arms. The general effect of the book is to present Israel fully as a Theocracy: a people under the special government of God. As the history proceeds, this conception is weakened by secular influences from outside. THE JUDGES: TRANSITION FROM THEOCRACY TO SECULAR MONARCHY The idea of a Theocracy, a people with no government but that of the invisible God, appeals to the spiritually minded; the masses of the people clamor for kings like the kings of the nations around, who may lead them in battle. The conflict of these ideas character- izes the next period of the history. ''In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes." These words do not mean anarchy, but local government, without any system of central or national rule. But from time to time, in emergencies, particular individuals are raised up, who exercise temporary or local kingship for some years. The name for these in the Bible is "Judges"; and "The Judges" is the title that de- scribes the transition period. It covers three Biblical books, Joshua, Judges, I Samuel. Joshua, appointed by Moses as his successor, is the first of those Book of who thus 'judged' Israel. Under his leadership the Joshua people enter the Promised Land, the passage of the Jordan recalling the wonders of the Red Sea. 50 His feet they hurt with fetters; He was laid in chains of iron: Until the time that his word came to pass; The word of the Lord tried him. The king sent and loosed him; Even the ruler of peoples, and let him go free. He made him lord of his house, And ruler of all his substance: To bind his princes at his pleasure, And teach his senators wisdom. Israel also came into Egypt; And Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham. And he increased his people greatly, And made them stronger than their adversaries. He turned their heart to hate his people, To deal subtilly with his servants. He sent Moses his servant, And Aaron whom he had chosen. They set among them his signs, And wonders in the land of Ham. He sent darkness, and made it dark; And they rebelled not against his words. He turned their waters into blood, And slew their fish. Their land swarmed with frogs. In the chambers of their kings. He spake, and there came swarms of flies, And lice in all their borders. He gave them hail for rain, And flaming fire in their land. He smote their vines also and their fig trees: And brake the trees of their borders. He spake, and the locust came. And the cankerworm, and that without number. And did eat up every herb in their land. And did eat up the fruit of their ground. 54 Q Early History of the Chosen Nation He smote also all the firstborn in their land, The chief of all their strength. And he brought them forth with silver and gold: And there was not one feeble person among his tribes. Egypt was glad when they departed; For the fear of them had fallen upon them. He spread a cloud for a covering; And fire to give light in the night. They asked, and he brought quails. And satisfied them with the bread of heaven. He opened the rock, and waters gushed out; They ran in the dry places like a river. For he remembered his holy word, And Abraham his servant. And he brought forth his pe6ple with joy, And his chosen with singing. And he gave them the lands of the nations; And they took the labour of the peoples in possession: That they might keep his statutes. And observe his laws. l^allelufal) When the people fall under the oppression of Jabin, king of Canaan, Deborah, a woman, rouses resistance; and Book of with the aid of Barak as commander in chief brings Judges victory. The startling incidents of this war are the subject of one of the most famous odes of ancient literature. Song of Deborah Men. For that the leaders took the lead in Israel — Women. For that the people offered themselves willingly — All. Bless ye the Lord. Prelude Men. Hear, O ye kings — Women. Give ear, O ye princes — 55 History and Story -g> Men. I, even I, will sing unto the Lord — Women. I will sing praise to the Lord, the God of Israel. All. Lord, when thou wentest forth out of Seir, When thou marchedst out of the field of Edom, The earth trembled, the heavens also dropped, Yea, the clouds dropped water. The mountains flowed down at the presence of the Lord, Even yon Sinai at the presence of the Lord, the God of Israel. I. The Desolation Men. In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, In the days of Jael, The highways were unoccupied, And the travellers walked through byways; The rulers ceased in Israel, They ceased — Women. Until that I, Deborah, arose. That I arose a mother in Israel. They chose new gods; Then was war in the gates: Was there a shield or spear seen Among forty thousand in Israel? My heart is toward the governors of Israel — Ye that offered yourselves willingly among the people — Bless ye the Lord! Tell of it, ye that ride on white asses, Ye that sit on rich carpets, And ye that walk by the way: — Far from the noise of archers. In the places of drawing water: — All. There shall they rehearse the righteous acts of the Lord, Even the righteous acts of his rule in Israel. Men. Women. All. Men. Women. 2. The Muster All. Then the people of the Lord went down to the gates- {Men. Awake, awake, Deborah, Awake, awake, utter a song: — S6 Women. They fought from heaven, The stars in their courses fought against Sisera. The river Kishon swept them away, — That ancient river, the river Kishon! Men. O my soul, march on with strength! Then did the horsehoofs stamp By reason of the pransings. The pransings of their strong ones. Women. Curse ye Meroz, said the angel of the Lord, Curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof; Because they came not to the help of the Lord, To the help of the Lord against the mighty! 4. The Retribution Men. Blessed above women shall Jael be, the wife of Heber the Kenite, Blessed shall she be above women in the tent! He asked water, and she gave him milk; She brought him butter in a lordly dish. She put her hand to the nail, And her right hand to the workman's hammer; And with the hammer she smote Sisera. She smote through his head. Yea, she pierced and struck though his temples. At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay: At her feet he bowed, he fell: Where he bowed, there he fell down dead! Women. Through the window she looked forth, and cried, The mother of Sisera, through the lattice, ''Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why tarry the wheels of his chariots?" Her wise ladies answered her, Yea, she returned answer to herself, "Have they not found. Have they not divided the spoil? A damsel, two damsels to every man; S8 <§^ Early History of the Chosen Nation To Sisera a spoil of divers colours, A spoil of divers colours of embroidery, Of divers colours of embroidery on both sides, on the necks of the spoil!" All. So let thine enemies perish, O Lord: But let them that love him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might! A great name among the Judges is Gideon. The land is invaded by Midianites, and other nomadic peoples, formidable through their numbers, which cover the ground like a locust plague. Gideon at first has difficulty in believing that so obscure a person as himself can be called by God to be a deliverer of Israel. And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast spoken, behold, I will put a fleece of wool on the threshing-floor; if there be dew on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the ground, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast spoken. And it was so: for he rose up early on the morrow, and pressed the fleece together, and wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowlful of water. And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine anger be kindled against me, and I will speak but this once: let me prove, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew. And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground. His summons to Israel brings together a vast but disorganized crowd. Proclamation is made that all who are fearful and trem- bling may depart: two out of every three act on this. The remain- ing ten thousand undergo another test: they are led a rapid march in which they cross a stream; the most eager lap the water like a dog as they cross, whereas the majority kneel down to drink. This test reduces Gideon's forces to three hundred men! At this stage Gideon and his armour-bearer steal by night into the enemy's camp. They overhear two Midianites talking; one tells a dream 59 History and Stoty § of a barley cake falling upon a tent and overturning it; the other interprets this as signifying the sword of Gideon. This sign of apprehension among the enemy suggests to Gideon the manufac- ture of a panic. The three hundred approach the enemy in the darkness of night, each man holding a sword in one hand, and in the other a torch covered by a pitcher. At a signal the pitchers are smashed and the lights flash out: the three hundred charge do\\Ti the hill. In such a panic the vast numbers of the foe augment the confusion, and the Midianites are totally routed. The con- clusion of the Story of Gideon exactly expresses the spirit of this transition period. ''Then the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule thou over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son's son also: for thou hast saved us out of the hand of Midian. And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the Lord shall rule over you." The spirit of the period is again illustrated when Abimelech, an illegitimate son of Gideon, after his father's death persuades the men of Shechem to anoint him as king of Israel. He has slaughtered (as he supposes) his seventy legitimate brothers. But one who has escaped confronts the triumphal procession, and, in a famous fable, expresses contempt for secular monarchy as contrasted with the idea of theocracy. Jotham's Fable The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and they said unto the olive tree, Reign thou over us. But the olive tree said unto them. Should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me they honour God and man, and go to wave to and fro over the trees? And the trees said to the fig tree. Come thou, and reign over us. But the fig tree said unto them. Should I leave my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to wave to and fro over the trees? And the trees said unto the vine. Come thou, and reign over us. And the \dne said unto them. Should I leave my wdne, which cheereth God and man, and go to wave to and fro over the trees? Then said all the trees unto the bramble, Come thou, and reign over us. And the bramble said unto the trees. If in truth ye anoint 60 <§- Early History of the Chosen Nation me king over you, then come and put your trust in my shadow: and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon. Another of the Judges is Jephthah, who deHvers Israel from the Ammonites. On his way to the battle he makes a Vow to God, that if he is victorious, ''whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace" shall be offered as a burnt offering to the Lord. His own daughter meets hun with timbrels and dances: and the rash vow has to be carried out. A cluster of stories are associated with Samson as Judge of Israel. When the people are cowed under the oppression of the Philistines, not only does Samson champion them in battle, but his physical exuberance overflows in practical jokes that make the enemy ridiculous; such as fastening torches to foxes' tails and sending these amongst the enemy's corn, or slaying a thousand men with the jawbone of an ass. Samson falls in love with a Philistine woman, and this Delilah betrays him, coaxing from him the secret of his miraculous strength, which lies in the unshorn locks which have distinguished him as a * Nazirite,' vowed to God's service. The Philistines capture and blind Samson; and in a public feast require him to exhibit feats of strength. The feast has a tragic ending. And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. And they called for Samson out of the prison house; and he made sport before them : and they set him between the pillars. And Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand. Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house resteth, that I may lean upon them. Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport. And Samson called unto the Lord, and said, O Lord God, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be avenged of the Philistines for one of my two eyes. And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars 6i History and Story -§> upon which the house rested, and leaned upon them, the one with his right hand, and the other with his left. And Samson said. Let me die with the Phihstines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his Ufe. In contrast with incidents like these, and forming a separate book of the Bible, we find the Story of Ruth and Naomi, which Book of Ruth pictu^^s the domestic life of the times. Naomi is a famous beauty of the town of Bethlehem. Under a visitation of famine she, with her husband Elimelech and her two boys, takes refuge in the land of Moab. There Elimelech dies; and as the boys grow up wives are found for them in two Moabi- tish girls, Orpah and Ruth. Before any children are born of these marriages the two young men die, both on the same day. Thus there is danger of the family of Elimelech becoming extinct. The famine having ended, Naomi sets out on her return to the town of Bethlehem, and her daughters in law respectfully escort her on the first stage of the journey. When Naomi turns round to dismiss them, a sudden impulse overpowers Ruth, and she refuses to be separated. Intreat me not to leave thee, And to return from following after thee: For whither thou goest, I will go; And where thou lodgest, I will lodge; Thy people shall be my people, And thy God my God; Where thou diest, will I die, And there will I be buried: The Lord do so to me, And more also. If aught but death part thee and me. Thus Ruth and her mother in law settle down in Bethlehem in extreme poverty. When the time of barley harvest comes round, Ruth, like other women of the place, goes to assist the reapers. 62 § Early History of the Chosen Nation She attracts the notice of Boaz, a wealthy landholder, who loads her with little attentions at the rustic feast. When Ruth reports this to her mother in law, Naomi recognizes the name Boaz as that of a ''near kinsman" to Elimelech. This refers to a curious custom of ancient hfe, by which, when a family was in danger of becoming extinct, the next of kin might be called upon to redeem the family estate and act as husband to the widow. By direction of Naomi Ruth claims this of Boaz: Boaz is wilhng enough, but knows he is not quite the next of kin. In a formal legal ceremony Boaz calls upon the real next of kin to do his duty: he hesitates, and suggests that Boaz is next in succession. Thus Boaz is legally obliged to marry the young woman he loves. The child born of this marriage proves in time the grandfather of David, and a Moabite woman has a place in the ancestry of Israel's Messiah. We have the beginning of a new era marked by the rise into prominence of the 'Prophet.' This is the name applied under the Theocracy to the individuals through whom the First Book will of God is made known to the people. A judge of Samuel of Israel at the time is Eli, a good old man, assisted by sons who are men of extremely vicious habits. A certain child Samuel has been devoted by his mother to the service of God, and waits upon the aged Eli. A story narrates in detail the call of this child to the office of Prophet. Call of the Child Samuel to be a Prophet And the child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before EH. And the word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no open vision. And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place, (now his eyes had begun to wax dim, that he could not see,) and the lamp of God was not yet gone out, and Samuel was laid down to sleep, in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was; that the Lord called Samuel: and he said. Here am I. And he ran unto Eli, and said. Here am I; for thou calledst me. And he said, I called not; He down again. And he went and lay down. And the Lord called yet again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said. Here am I; for thou calledst 63 History and Story -@> me. And he answered, I called not, my son; lie down again. Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, neither was the word of the Lord yet revealed unto him. And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said. Here am I; for thou calledst me. And EH perceived that the Lord had called the child. Therefore EH said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say. Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his place. And the Lord came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel said, Speak; for thy servant heareth. And the Lord said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle. In that day I will perform against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from the beginning even unto the end. For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever, for the iniquity which he knew, because his sons did bring a curse upon themselves, and he re- strained them not. And therefore I have sworn unto the house of EH, that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be purged wdth sacri- fice nor offering for ever. And Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel feared to shew Eli the vision. Then Eli called Samuel, and said, Samuel, my son. And he said. Here am I. And he said, What is the thing that the Lord hath spoken unto thee? I pray thee hide it not from me: God do so to thee, and more also, if thou hide any thing from me of all the things that he spake unto thee. And Samuel told him every whit, and hid nothing from him. And he said. It is the Lord: let him do what seemeth him good. And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan even to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was estabHshed to be a prophet of the Lord. The doom of EH is soon fulfilled. In the war with the PhiHstines the Ark of the Covenant is captured by the enemy: the shock of this news kills Eli. Gradually Samuel grows to be judge, a judge who is also a prophet. Through him is conveyed the command of God to yield to the demands of the people, and give them kings after the fashion of the nations around. First, Samuel is inspired to anoint Saul, a Benjamite of splendid physical gifts and a great 64 ^ Early History of the Chosen Nation military leader. Thus Saul is the first king of Israel, but a king under tutelage of a prophet. A divine command is conveyed to Saul through Samuel to destroy a certain wicked nation; when Saul imperfectly executes this task, Samuel makes known to him that he is rejected from the rule of Israel. Samuel anoints another man, David, to be king, not immediately, but upon the death of Saul. We now commence a long succession of stories turning upon the feud of these two men, Saul and David. David comes into public prominence through the incident of Gohath. This is a Philistine giant, who challenges the hosts of Israel to single com- bat; the youth David meets him armed with nothing more than a sling and stones, and slays the giant. The women of Israel celebrate this achievement in songs of which the refrain is — Saul hath slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands. This seems the origin of the long feud between the reigning king and the king that is to be. But a strange thing comes about. Jonathan, son of Saul, who in the regular course would have suc- ceeded to the throne, is knit to David by a passionate friendship. The succession of stories is filled with attempts by Saul on David's life, David always forbearing to injure ''the Lord's Anointed," and with protecting kindnesses of Jonathan. All this culminates in the Battle of Gilboa between Israel and the Philistines, in which the Philistines are victorious, and both Saul and Jonathan are slain. By this circumstance David becomes king. His first act is to compose a beautiful elegy over Saul and Jonathan. David's Lament Thy glory, O Israel, Is slain upon thy high places! How are the mighty — Fallen! Tell it not in Gath, Publish it not in the streets of Ashkelon ; Lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, Lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph, 65 History and Story -g> Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew nor rain upon you, Neither fields of offerings: For there the shield of the mighty was vilely cast away, The shield of Saul, as of one not anointed with oil. From the blood of the slain. From the fat of the mighty. The bow of Jonathan turned not back. And the sword of Saul returned not empty. Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives, And in their death they were not divided ; They were swifter than eagles. They were stronger than lions. Ye daughters of Israel, Weep over Saul, Who clothed you in scarlet delicately. Who put ornaments of gold upon your apparel. How are the mighty — Fallen in the midst of the battle! O Jonathan, Slain upon thy high places, I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: Very pleasant hast thou been unto me: Thy love to me was wonderful. Passing the love of women. How are the mighty — Fallen! And the weapons of war — Perished! 60 KINGS AND PROPHETS SECULAR GOVERNMENT OF KINGS WITH SPIRITUAL OPPOSITION OF PROPHETS REIGNS OF DAVID AND SOLOMON We now reach the main epoch of Old Testament history. Israel has kings, succeeding by natural descent, like the kings of other nations. But the idea of the Theocracy is kept ahve Second Book by a succession of inspired Prophets. When the kings, of Samuel like David and his son Solomon, are themselves devoted to the Theocracy, prophecy is quiescent; as soon as David falls into per- sonal sin, prophets begin to appear. Like the administration and opposition of modem political systems, this epoch may be described as a Secular Government of Kings with Spiritual Opposition of Prophets. The literature is made up of outline annals of the secular government with elaborate stories of the prophetic opposition. David exhibits a twofold greatness. He is the supreme warrior of the age, under whom foes are subdued and the kingdom is consolidated. He is also a great pioneer in the art of Israel : designer of the Temple which his son erected, and founder of the higher poetry. His greatest achievement on the military side is the capture from the Jebusites of an ancient hill fortress, deemed impregnable; under the name of 'Jerusalem' he makes this newly captured fortress into the metropolis of the kingdom of God on earth. This Jerusalem is inaugurated in an elaborate religious and military ceremony, the Ark of the Covenant being escorted from its temporary home in the country to the royal city. The day's ceremony can be traced in detail, and it is easy, from the collected lyrics of Israel, to fit into the narrative the five anthems chosen. David's Inauguration of Jerusalem And David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom into the city of David with joy. And it was so, that 67 History and Story § when they that bare the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fathng. And David danced before the Lord with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod. Starting of the Procession I will extol thee, O Lord; for thou hast raised me up, And hast not made my foes to rejoice over me. O Lord my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me. 0 Lord, thou hast brought up my soul from Sheol; Thou hast kept me alive from among them that go down to the pit. Sing praise unto the Lord, O ye saints of his. And give thanks to his holy name. For his anger is but for a moment; His favour is for a life time: Weeping may tarry for the night, But joy Cometh in the morning. As for me, I said in my prosperity, 1 shall never be moved ; Thou, Lord, of thy favour hadst made my mountain to stand strong: Thou didst hide thy face; I was troubled, I cried to thee, O Lord; And unto the Lord I made supplication: ' What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? ' Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth? ' Hear, O Lord, and have mercy upon me: 'Lord, be thou my helper.' Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing; Thou hast loosed my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness: To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever. 68 § The Kings and the Prophets So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet. Anthem at the Foot of the Hill FIRST CHOIR The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof; The world, and they that dwell therein. For he hath founded it upon the seas, And established it upon the floods. Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? SECOND CHOIR He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; WTio hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, And hath not sworn deceitfully. He shall receive a blessing from the Lord, And righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is the generation of them that seek after him , That seek thy face, O God of Jacob. A^ithem before the Gates first CHOIR Lift up your heads, O ye gates; And be ye Hft up, ye ancient doors: And the King of Glory shall come in. SECOND choir Who is the King of Glory? first choir The Lord strong and mighty. The Lord mighty in battle. 69 History and Story -Q- FIRST CHOIR Lift up your heads, O ye gates; Yea, lift them up, ye ancient doors: And the King of Glory shall come in. SECOND CHOIR Who is this King of Glory? FIRST CHOIR The Lord of Hosts, He is the King of Glory. . . . And they brought in the ark of the Lord, and set it in its place, in the midst of the tent that David had pitched for it: and David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. Dedication Hymn: for the Tabernacle of David Lord, remember for David all his affliction: How he sware unto the Lord, And vowed unto the Mighty One of Jacob : Surely I will not come into the tabernacle of my house, nor go up into my bed; I will not give sleep to mine eyes, or slumber to mine eyelids; Until I find out a place for the Lord, A tabernacle for the Mighty One of Jacob. Lo, we heard of it in Ephrathah: We found it in the field of the wood. We will go into his tabernacles; We will worship at his footstool. Arise, O Lord, into thy resting place; Thou, and the ark of thy strength. Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness; And let thy saints shout for joy. And David dealt among all the people, even among the whole multitude of Israel, both to men and women, to every one a cake 70 *Q- The Kings and the Prophets of bread, and a portion of flesh, and a cake of raisins. So all the people departed every one to his house. Then David returned to bless his household. A nthem before the House of David I will sing of mercy and judgment: Unto thee, O Lord, will I sing praises. I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way: Oh when wilt thou come unto me? I will walk within my house \^'ith a perfect heart: I will set no base thing before mine eyes. I hate the work of them that turn aside; It shall not cleave unto me. A froward heart shall depart from me: I will know no evil thing. WTioso privily slandereth his neighbour, him will I destroy: Him that hath an high look and a proud heart will I not suffer. Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me: He that walketh in a perfect way, he shall minister unto me. He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house: He that speaketh falsehood shall not be established before mine eyes. Morning by morning will I destroy all the wicked of the land; To cut off all the workers of iniquity from the City of the Lord. The general spirit of David's military career he sums up in a magnificent Ode of Triumph. A Song of Victory I love thee, O Lord, my strength: The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; My God, my strong rock, in him will I trust; My shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower. I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: So shall I be saved from mine enemies. History and Story -Q> The cords of death compassed me, And the floods of ungodHness made me afraid. The cords of Sheol were round about me: The snares of death came upon me. In my distress I called upon the Lord, And cried unto my God : He heard my voice out of his temple, And my cry before him came into his ears. Then the earth shook and trembled, The foundations also of the mountains moved And were shaken, because he was wroth. There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, And fire out of his mouth devoured: Coals were kindled by it. He bowed the heavens also, and came down; And thick darkness was under his feet. And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: Yea, he flew swiftly upon the wings of the wind. He made darkness his hiding place, his pavilion round about him; Darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies. At the brightness before him his thick clouds passed, Hailstones and coals of fire. The Lord also thundered in the heavens, And the Most High uttered his voice; Hailstones and coals of fire. And he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; Yea, lightnings manifold, and discomfited them. Then the channels of waters appeared. And the foundations of the world were laid bare, At thy rebuke, O Lord, At the blast of the breath of thy nostrils. He sent from on high, he took me; He drew me out of many waters. He delivered me from my strong enemy, And from them that hated me, for they were too mighty for me. 72 § The Kings and the Prophets They came upon me in the day of my calamity: But the Lord was my stay. He brought me forth also into a large place; He delivered me, because he delighted in me. The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness; According to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me. For I have kept the ways of the Lord, And have not wickedly departed from my God. For all his judgements were before me, And I put not away his statutes from me. I was also perfect with him, And I kept myself from mine iniquity. Therefore hath the Lord recompensed me according to my right- eousness. According to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight. With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; With the perfect man thou wilt shew thyself perfect; With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; And with the perverse thou wilt shew thyself froward. For thou wilt save the afflicted people; But the haughty eyes thou wilt bring down. But David falls into grievous sin. He is smitten with the beauty of a woman, Bath-sheba, wife of one of his soldiers, Uriah. David contrives to have Uriah set in the forefront of a battle, where he is killed by the enemy, and David takes Bath-sheba to wife. Im- mediately he is encountered by the prophet Nathan. Nathan the Prophet and his Parable And the Lord sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor. The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds: but the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own morsel, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as 73 History and Story -g> a daughter. And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him, but took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him. And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the Lord liveth, the man that hath done this is worthy to die: and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity. And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul; and I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah ; and if that had been too little, I would have added unto thee such and such things. Wherefore hast thou despised the word of the Lord, to do that which is evil in his sight? thou hast smitten Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon. Now, therefore, the sword shall never depart from thine house. Prophetic stories relate in detail the unceasing feuds and crimes in the family of David. They culminate in the Revolt of Absalom, who ingratiates himself with the people, and starts a rebellion in which David and his followers are obliged to flee from Jerusalem. At last the armies of David overthrow the rebels, and Absalom is slain: his father mourning over him to the very last. "O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!" The reign of Solomon is as much an era of peace as his father's reign had been an age of war. The boundaries of the king- First Book dom are gradually extended; commerce flourishes, of Kings and Jerusalem is filled with wealth and splendor. Three points are specially to be noted as to Solomon and his reign. As David had been a pioneer in poetry and art, so his son is the patron of philosophy, or ''wisdom"; and for a long period the sayings or writings of the "wise men" are given out in the name of Solomon. This wisdom partly takes the form of intercourse between princes, which consists in exchange of riddles or deep sayings. The queen of distant Sheba comes on a visit of 74 ^ The Kings and the Prophets admiration; when she has listened to Solomon, and seen the splen- dor of his city, " there was no more spirit in her." Again: Solomon surrenders his heart to the charms of women, chiefly foreigners: *'he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart" from Israel's religion. But the great achievement of the reign was the carrying out a scheme which David had designed, but was unable to accomplish: the building of a permanent Temple, to take the place of the pre- vious Tabernacle. This is executed by Solomon on a magnificent scale: Solomon's Temple becomes the wonder of the world. It is dedicated by the king in a solemn ceremonial, and Solomon's prayer on this occasion is preserved. From Solomon's Dedicatory Prayer But will God in very deed dwell on the earth? behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded ! Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O Lord my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer which thy servant prayeth before thee this day: that thine eyes may be open towards this house night and day, even toward the place whereof thou hast said, My name shall be there: to hearken unto the prayer which thy servant shall pray toward this place. And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: yea, hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place; and when thou hearest, forgive. If a man sin against his neighbour, and an oath be laid upon him to cause him to swear, and he come and swear before thine altar in this house: then hear thou in heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, condemning the wicked, to bring his way upon his own head; and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness. When thy people Israel be smitten down before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee; if they turn again to thee, and confess thy name, and pray and make supplication unto thee in this house: then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest unto their fathers. When 75 History and Story g> heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou dost afflict them: then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, when thou teachest them the good way wherein they should walk; and send rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people for an inheritance. If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence, if there be blasting or mildew, locust or caterpiller; if their enemy besiege them in the land of their cities; whatsoever plague, whatsoever sickness there be; what prayer and supplication soever be made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, which shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands toward this house: then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and render unto every man according to all his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men;) that they may fear thee all the days that they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers. Moreover concerning the stranger, that is not of thy people Israel, when he shall come out of a far country for thy name's sake; (for they shall hear of thy great name, and of thy mighty hand, and of thy stretched out arm;) when he shall come and pray toward this house; hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for; that all the peoples of the earth may know thy name, to fear thee, as doth thy people Israel, and that they may know that this house which I have built is called by thy name. If thy people go out to battle against their enemy, by whatsoever way thou shalt send them, and they pray unto the Lord toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house which I have built for thy name: then hear thou in heaven their prayer and their suppli- cation, and maintain their cause. If they sin against thee, (for there is no man that sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captive unto the land of the enemy, far off or near; yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they are carried captive, and turn again, and make supplication unto thee in the land of them that carried them captive, saying. We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have dealt wickedly; if they return unto thee 76 this day, and wilt serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be thy servants for ever. But he forsook the counsel of the old men which they had given him, and took counsel with tlie young men that were grown up with him, that stood before him. And he said unto them, What counsel give ye that we may return answer to this people, who have spoken to me, saying, IVIake the yoke that thy father did put upon us lighter? And the young men that were grown up with him spake unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou say unto this people that spake unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it lighter unto us; thus shalt thou speak unto them. My little linger is thicker than my father's loins. And now whereas my father did lade you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke: my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions. So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king bade, saying, Come to me again the third day. And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the counsel of the old men which they had given him ; and spake to them after the counsel of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke: my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions. So the king heark- ened not unto the people; and when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not unto them, the people answered the king, saying. What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: to your tents, O Israel: now see to thine own house, David. So Israel departed unto their tents. But as for the children of Israel which dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them. Jeroboam, the leader of this revolt, is the first king of Northern Israel. He establishes altars and religious observances, intended at first for the worship of Jehovah, so that the northern people should not be obliged to go into Judah to the Temple of Jerusalem. But such religion is soon perverted to the idolatry of the surround- ing nations. Later on Samaria is founded as metropolis of this northern kingdom, intended to be a counterweight to Jerusalem. The historic outline endeavors to keep side by side, as far as 7S § The Schism of Israel and Judah chronology will permit, the two kingdoms of Israel and Judah. For the most part we have only a succession of unimportant names of kings, with a brief indication how they did "that which was right," or "not right," in the sight of the Lord. The climax of this part of the history is reached with the reign of Ahab, king of Israel. He appears as a man not without a sense of the true God, but led into infinite evil, chiefly by his wife Jezebel, a princess of Tyre. Under her influence northern Israel is Hooded with the idolatry of Baal. It is a situation like this which brings the prophetic order into the greatest prominence, and we have the greatest names in the earlier prophetic history, Elijah and Elisha. Stories of the Prophet Elijah Elijah and the Prophets of Baal And Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty and two years. And Ahab the son of Omri did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord above all that were before him. And he took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zido- nians, and went and served Baal, and worshipped him. And he reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. And Elijah the Tishbite said unto Ahab, As the Lord, the God of Israel, liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word. And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, Get thee hence, and turn thee east- ward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. So he went and did ac- cording unto the word of the Lord: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook. And it came to pass after many days, that the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year, saying. Go, shew thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth. And Elijah went to shew himself unto Ahab. And the famine was sore in Samaria. And Ahab called Obadiah, which was over the household. (Now 79 History and Story § Obadiah feared the Lord greatly: for it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, that Obadiah took an hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.) And Ahab said unto Obadiah, Go through the land, unto all the fountains of water, and unto all the brooks: perad ven- ture we may find grass and save the horses and mules alive, that we lose not all the beasts. So they divided the land between them to pass throughout it: Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself. And as Obadiah was in tlie way, behold, Elijah met him: and he knew him, and fell on his face, and said. Is it thou, my lord Elijah? And he answered him. It is I: go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here. And he said, WTierein have I sinned, tliat thou wouldest deliver thy servant into the hand of Ahab, to slay me? As the Lord thy God liveth, there is no nation or kingdom, whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee: and when they said. He is not here, he took an oath of the kingdom and nation, that they found thee not. And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord. Behold, Elijah is here. And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from thee, that tlie spirit of the Lord shall carry thee whither I know not; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot hnd thee, he shall slay me: but I thy servant fear the Lord from my youth. Was it not told my lord what I did when Jezebel slew the prophets of the Lord, how I hid an hundred men of the Lord's prophets by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water? And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here: and he shall slay me. And Elijah said. As the Lord of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, I will surely shew myself unto him today. So Obadiah went to meet Aliab, and told him: and Ahab went to meet Elijah. And it came to pass, when .\hab saw Elijah, that Aliab said unto him, Is it thou, thou troubler of Israel? And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father's house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed tlie Baalim. Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the Asherah four hundred, which eat at Jezebel's table. So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together unto mount Carmel. And Elijah came near unto 80 § The Schism of Israel and Judah all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word. Then said Elijah unto the people, I,. even I only, am left a prophet of the Lord; but Baal's prophets are four hundred and lifty men. Let them therefore give us two bullocks; and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, and put no fire under: and I will dress tlie other bullock, and lay it on the wood, and put no fire under. And call ye on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord: and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said. It is well spoken. And Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal, Choose you one bullock for yourselves, and dress it tirst; for ye are many; and call on the name of your god, but put no fire under. And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped about the altar which was made. And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said. Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is musing, or he is gone aside, or he is on a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked. And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lances, till the blood gushed out upon them. And it was so, when midday was past, that they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening oblation; but there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded. And Elijah said unto all the people. Come near unto me; and all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was thrown down. And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of the Lord came, saying, Israel shall be thy name. And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord; and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed. And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid it on the wood. And he said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt offering, and on the wood. And he said, Do it the second time; and they did it the second tune. And he said. Do it the diird time; and they did it the third time. And the watei' Si Histoty and Story -§> ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also \s*ith water. And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening oblation, that EHjah the prophet came near, and said, O Lord, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, let it be kno\Mi this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy senant, and that I have done all these thmgs at thy word. Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou. Lord, art God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again. Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt offering, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and Ucked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they feU on their faces: and they said. The Lord, he is God: the Lord, he is God. And EHjah said unto them. Take the prophets of Baal: let not one of them escape. And they took them: and EUjah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there. And EHjah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink: for there is the sound of abun- dance of rain. So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And EHjah went up to the top of Carmel: and he bowed himseh down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees. And he said to his servant. Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said. There is nothing. And he said. Go again seven times. And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said. Behold, there ariseth a cloud out of the sea, as smaU as a man's hand. And he said. Go up, say unto Ahab, ^lake ready thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not. And it came to pass in a Httle while, that the heaven grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode and went to Jezreel. And the hand of the Lord was on Elijah: and he girded up his loins, and ran before .Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel. Elijah in the Desert And .\hab told Jezebel all that EHjah had done, and withal how he had slain aU the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto EHjah, sa}-ing. So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy Hfe as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time. And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongeth to Judah, and <§] The Schism of Israel and Judah left his servant tlieri-. liul he himself went a clay's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers. And he lay down and slept under a junij)er tree; and, behold, an angel touched him, and said unto him. Arise and eat. And he looked, and, behold, there was at his head a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again. And the angel of the Lord came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee. And he arose, and did' eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God. And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said unto him. What doest thou here, Elijah? And he said, 1 have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword: and I, even I only, am left; anrl they seek my life, to take it away. And he said, Go forth, anrl stanrl upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: anrl after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapi)ed his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah? And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. And the Lord saifl unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: anrl when thou comest, thou shalt anoint Hazael to be king over Syria: and Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Ihrael: and Elisha the son of Shaphat shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room. And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth from the 83 History and Story ^ sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay: and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay. Yet will I leave me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him. So he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was ploughing, with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth: and Elijah passed over unto him, and cast his mantle upon him. And he left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said. Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow thee. And he said unto him. Go back again; for what have I done to thee? And he returned from following him, and took the yoke of oxen, and slew them, and boiled their flesh with the instruments of the oxen, and gave unto the people, and they did eat. Then he arose, and went after Elijah, and ministered unto him. The Story of Xaboth''s Vineyard And it came to pass after these things, that Xaboth the JezreeHte had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. .\nd .\hab spake unto Xaboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near unto my house; and I will give thee for it a better \'ineyard than it: or, if it seem good to thee, I \sill give thee the worth of it in money. And Xaboth said to .Ahab, The Lord forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee. And Ahab came into his house hea\y and displeased because of the word which Xaboth the JezreeHte had spoken to him: for he had said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And he laid him do\Mi upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread. But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said unto him, WTiy is thy spirit so sad, that thou eatest no bread? And he said unto her, Because I spake unto Xaboth the JezreeUte, and said unto him. Give me thy vineyard for money; or else, if it please thee, I will give thee another vineyard for it: and he answered, I will not give thee my vineyard. And Jezebel his wife said unto him, Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel? arise, and eat bread, and let thine heart be merr}^: I will give thee the \dneyard of Na- both the Jezreelite. So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, and 84 § The Schism of Israel and Judah sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters unto the elders and to the nobles that were in his city, and that dwelt with Naboth. And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and set Na- both on high among the people: and set two men, sons of Belial, before him, and let them bear witness against him, saying, Thou didst curse God and the king. And then carry him out, and stone him, that he die. And the men of his city, even the elders and the nobles who dwelt in his city, did as Jezebel had sent unto them, according as it was written in the letters which she had sent unto them. They proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people. And the two men, sons of Belial, came in and sat before him: and the men of Belial bare witness against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth did curse God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, that he died. Then they sent to Jeze- bel, saying, Naboth is stoned, and is dead. And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned, and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give thee for money: for Naboth is not alive, but dead. And it came to pass, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it. And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, sa}dng, Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, which dwelleth in Samaria: behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, whither he is gone dowTi to take possession of it. And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? and thou shalt speak unto him, saying. Thus saith the Lord, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs hck thy blood, even thine. And Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me, O mine enemy? And he answered, I have found thee: because thou hast sold thyself to do that which is evil in the sight of the Lord. Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will utterly sweep thee away, and will cut off from Ahab every man child, and him that is shut up and him that is left at large in Israel. And of Jezebel also spake the Lord, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the rampart of Jezreel. And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sack- History and Story -g> cloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly. And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? be- cause he humbleth himself before me I will not bring the evil in his days: but in his son's days will I bring the evil upon his house. Ascent of Elijah to Heaven And it came to pass when the Lord would take up Elijah by a whirlwind into heaven, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me as far as Beth-el. And EHsha said. As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So thy went down to Beth-el. And the sons of the prophets that were at Beth-el came forth to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head today? And he said, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace. And Elijah said unto him, EUsha, tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Jericho. And he said. As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho. And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came near to Elisha, and said unto him, Know- est thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head today? And he answered. Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace. And Elijah said unto him. Tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Jordan. And he said. As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And they two went on. And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood over against them afar off: and they two stood by Jordan. And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground. And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. And he said. Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so. And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, which parted them 86 § The Schism of Israel and Judah both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And EUsha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and the horsemen thereof! And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces. He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan. And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they were divided hither and thither: and Elisha went over. And when the sons of the prophets which were at Jericho over against him saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. The reign of Ahab, king of Israel, is partly contemporary with that of Jehoshaphat of Judah. This Jehoshaphat reigns in the spirit of the theocracy; but his conciliatory temperament brings him into connection with Ahab, and the two appear together in alliance against Syria, the common foe. This culminates in the Battle of Ramoth-Gilead, which is presented in a prophetic story. Story of Micaiah and the Battle of Ramoth-Gilead And they continued three years without war between Syria and Israel. And it came to pass in the third year, that Jehoshaphat the king of Judah came down to the king of Israel. And the king of Israel said unto his servants. Know ye that Ramoth-gilead is ours, and we be still, and take it not out of the hand of the king of Syria? And he said unto Jehoshaphat, Wilt thou go with me to battle to Ramoth-gilead? And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, I am as thou art, my people as thy people, my horses as thy horses. And Jehoshaphat said unto the king of Israel, Inquire, I pray thee, at the word of the Lord today. Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said unto them. Shall I go against Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up; for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king. But Jehoshaphat said. Is there not here besides a prophet of the Lord, that we might inquire of him? 87 History and Story ^ And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord, Micaiah the son of Imlah: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so.' Then the king of Israel called an officer, and said. Fetch quickly Micaiah the son of Imlah. Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah sat each on his throne, arrayed in their robes, in an open place at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before them. And Zedekiah the son of Chena- anah made him horns of iron, and said, Thus saith the Lord, With these shalt thou push the Syrians, until they be consumed. And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to Ramoth-gilead, and prosper: for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king. And the messenger that went to call Micaiah spake unto him, say- ing. Behold now, the words of the prophets declare good unto the king with one mouth: let thy word, I pray thee, be like the word of one of them, and speak thou good. And Micaiah said, As the Lord liveth, what the Lord saith unto me, that will I speak. And when he was come to the king, the king said unto him, Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall we forbear? And he answered him. Go up, and prosper; and the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king. And the king said unto him. How many times shall I adjure thee that thou speak unto me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord? And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the mountains as sheep that have no shepherd: and the Lord said. These have no master; let them return every man to his house in peace. And the king of Israel said to Jehosha- phat, Did I not tell thee that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil? And he said. Therefore hear thou the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left. And the Lord said. Who shall entice Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead? And one said on this manner; and another said on that manner. And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the Lord, and said, I will entice him. And the Lord said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said. Thou shalt entice him, and shalt prevail also: go forth, and do so. Now § The Schism of Israel and Judah therefore, behold, the Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets; and the Lord hath spoken evil concerning thee. Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near, and smote Micaiah on the cheek, and said. Which way went the spirit of the Lord from me to speak unto thee? And Micaiah said, Behold, thou shalt see on that day, when thou shalt go into an inner chamber to hide thyself. And the king of Israel said. Take Micaiah, and carry him back unto Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king's son; and say, Thus saith the king. Put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I come in peace. And Micaiah said, If thou return at all in peace, the Lord hath not spoken by me. And he said. Hear, ye peoples, all of you. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead. And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself, and go into the battle; but put thou on thy robes. And the king of Israel disguised himself, and went into the battle. Now the king of Syria had commanded the thirty and two captains of his chariots, saying. Fight neither with small nor great, save only with the king of Israel. And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said. Surely it is the king of Israel; and they turned aside to fight against him: and Jehoshaphat cried out. And it came to pass, when the cap- tains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, that they turned back from pursuing him. And a certain man drew his bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness: wherefore he said unto the driver of his chariot, Turn thine hand, and carry me out of the host; for I am sore wounded. And the battle increased that day: and the king was stayed up in his chariot against the Syrians, and died at even: and the blood ran out of the wound into the bottom of the chariot. And there went a cry throughout the host about the going down of the sun, saying. Every man to his city, and every man to his country. So the king died, and was brought to Samaria; and they buried the king in Samaria. And they washed the chariot by the pool of Samaria; and the dogs licked up his blood; and they washed the armour; according unto the word of the Lord which he spake. 89 History and Story § Unimportant names follow, of kings of both countries. Elisha, Second Book successor to the prophetic leadership of Elijah, re- of Kings mains conspicuous as a power, both in the kingdom of Israel, and even to some extent in the land of the Syrian foe. Stories of the Prophet Elisha The Shunammite's Son And it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread. And she said unto her husband. Behold now, I perceive that this is a holy man of God, which passeth by us continually. Let us make, I pray thee, a little chamber on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick: and it shall be, when he cometh to us, that he shall turn in thither. And it fell on a day, that he came thither, and he turned into the chamber, and lay there. And he said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunammite. And when he had called her, she stood before him. And he said unto him. Say now unto her. Behold, thou hast been careful for us with all this care; what is to be done for thee? wouldest thou be spoken for to the king, or to the captain of the host? And she answered, I dwell among mine own people. And he said, What then is to be done for her? And Gehazi answered, Verily she hath no son. And he said, Call her. And when he had called her, she stood in the door. And he said, At this season, when the time cometh round, thou shalt embrace a son. And she said, Nay, my lord, thou man of God, do not lie linto thine handmaid. And the woman bare a son at that season, when the time came round, as Elisha had said unto her. And when the child was grown, it fell on a day, that he went out to his father to the reapers. And he said unto his father. My head, my head! And he said to his servant. Carry him to his mother. And when he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died. And she went up, and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and shut the door upon him, and went out. And she called unto her husband, and said, 90 <§- The Schism of Israel and Judah Send me, I pray thee, one of the servants; and one of the asses, that I may run to the man of God and come again. And he said, Wherefore wilt thou go to him today? it is neither new moon nor sabbath. And she said, It shall be well. Then she saddled an ass, and said to her servant, Drive, and go forward; slacken me not the riding, except I bid thee. So she went and came unto the man of God to mount Carmel. And it came to pass, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to Gehazi his servant, Behold, yonder is the Shunammite: run, I pray thee, now to meet her, and say unto her, Is it well with thee? is it well with thy husband? is it well with the child? And she answered. It is well. And when she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught hold of his feet. And Gehazi came near to thrust her away; but the man of God said. Let her alone, for her soul is vexed within her; and the Lord hath hid it from me, and hath not told me. Then she said. Did I desire a son of my lord? did I not say, Do not deceive me? Then he said to Gehazi, Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thine hand, and go thy way: if thou meet any man, salute him not; and if any salute thee, answer him not again: and lay my staff upon the face of the child. And the mother of the child said. As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And he arose, and followed her. And Gehazi passed on before them, and laid the staff upon the face of the child; but there was neither voice, nor hearing. Wherefore he returned to meet him, and told him saying. The child is not awaked. And when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid upon his bed. He went in therefore, and shut the door upon them twain, and prayed unto the Lord. And he went up, and lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands: and he stretched himself upon him; and the flesh of the child waxed warm. Then he returned, and walked in the house once to and fro; and went up, and stretched himself upon him: and the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes. And he called Gehazi, and said, Call this Shunammite. So he called her. And when she was come in unto him, he said. Take up thy son. Then she went in, and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground; and she took up her son, and went out. 91 History and Story § Naaman and Gehazi Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the Lord had given victory unto Syria: he was also a mighty man of valour, but he was a leper. And the Syrians had gone out in bands, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman's wife. And she said unto her mis- tress. Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! then would he recover him of his leprosy. And one went in, and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the maid that is of the land of Israel. And the king of Syria said. Go to, go, and I will send a letter unto the king of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment. And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying. And now when this letter is come unto thee, be- hold, I have sent Naaman my servant to thee, that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy. And it came to pass, when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he rent his clothes, and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy? but consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketli a quarrel against me. And it was so, when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying. Wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes? let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel. So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariots, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha. And EHsha sent a messenger unto him, saying. Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean. But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Be- hold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place, and recover the leper. Are not Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage. And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, would- est thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith 92 <§ The Schism of Israel and Judah to thcc, Wash, and be clean? Then went he down, and dipped him- self seven limes in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his tlesli came again like nnto the tlesh of a little cliild, and he was clean. And lie returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him: and he said, Behold now, I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel: now therefore, I pray thee, take a present of th>' servant. But he said. As the Lord li\etli, before whom I stand, 1 will receive none. And he urged him to take it; but he refused. .\nd Naaman siiid, If not, yet I pray thee let there be given to thy servant two mules' burden of earth; for thy servant will henceforth olTer neither burnt olTering nor sacrifice unto other gods, but unto the Lord. In this tiling tlie Loro pardon thy servant; when my master goeth into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and lie leaneth on my hand, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, when I bow my- self in the house of Rimmon, the Lord pardon thy servant in this thing. And lie said unto him, Go in peace. So he departed from him a little way. But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, saitl, Behold, my master hath spared this Naaman the Syrian, in not receiving at his hands that which he brought: as the Lord liveth, I will run after him, and take somewhat of him. So Gehazi ft)llowed after Naaman. And when Naaman saw one running after him, he lighted down from tlw: chariot to meet him, and said, Is all well? And he said. All is well. My master liath sent me, saying. Behold, even now there be come to me from the hill country of K|)hniim two young men of the sons of the ])rophets; give them, I pray thee, a talent of silver, and two clianges of raiment. And Naaman said. Be content, take two talents. And lie urged him, and bound two talents of siher in two bags, witli two changes of raiment, and laid them u\Hm two of his servants; and they bare them l)efore him. And wluMi he came to the hill, he took tliem from their hand, and bestowed them in the house: and he let the men go, and they de- parted. But he went in, and stood before his master. And Elisha said unto him, Whence comest thou, Gehazi? And he said. Thy servant went no whither. And he said unto him, Went not mine heart with thee, when the man turned again from his chariot to meet thee? Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments, 93 History and Story -g> and oliveyards and vineyards, and sheep and oxen, and menser- vants and maidservants? The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed for ever. And he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow. The Expedition against Elisha Now the king of Syria warred against Israel ; and he took counsel with his servants, saying. In such and such a place shall be my camp. And the man of God sent unto the king of Israel, saying, Beware that thou pass not such a place; for thither the Syrians are coming down. And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of; and he saved him- seK there, not once nor twice. And the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said unto them, Will ye not shew me which of us is for the king of Israel? And one of his servants said. Nay, my lord, O king: but EHsha, the prophet that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bed-chamber. And he said, Go and see where he is, that I may send and fetch him. And it was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan. Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city about. And when the servant of the man of God was risen early and gone forth, behold, an host with horses and chariots was round about the city. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do? And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. And Ehsha prayed, and said. Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the Lord, and said. Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. And Elisha said unto them, This is not the way, neither is this the city: follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom ye seek. And he led them to Samaria. And it came to pass, when they were come into Samaria, that Elisha said, Lord, open the eyes of these men, that they may see. And 94 ^ Judah as the Chosen People the Lord opened their eyes, and they saw; and, behold, they were in the midst of Samaria. And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw them. My father, shall I smite them? shall I smite them? And he answered. Thou shalt not smite them: wouldest thou smite those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow? set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master. And he prepared great provision for them: and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. And the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel. At length we reach the Fall of Israel. The growing corruption of the people, and their idolatry, bring a visitation from God in an invasion of the armies of the king of Assyria. The people of northern Israel are carried away captives into the far east. The Assyrian brings from Babylon and other cities settlers who are established in Samaria and surrounding cities. In time, a plague of lions leads these settlers to fear that they are under the wrath of the God of the land : a priest from the captives of Israel is brought to teach the religion of Jehovah. So in Samaria and the adjoining country we have a motley people who "feared the Lord and served their own gods"; and this half Jewish half pagan people are for a long period to come found in the region that once was the northern kingdom of Israel. THE CHOSEN NATION REPLACED BY THE KINGDOM OF JUDAH We here reach a turning point in Old Testament history. The nation of Israel, as a whole, passes out of view; one part of it, the Kingdom of Judah, takes its place as the Chosen People of God. This is celebrated in an elaborate lyric poem, the third of the four national anthems of Israel: the National Hymn of the Kingdom of Judah. After a long prelude the poem exhibits what is a favorite" figure of Hebrew poetry — the * pendulum rhythm,' by which a poem sways backward and forward between two thoughts. In this case 95 History and Story § one of the two is Divine energy on behalf of Israel; the other is the human frailty that for ever defeats the Divine purposes. The cuhnination is that the other tribes are flung aside, and Judah becomes the People of God. National Hymn of the Kingdom of Judah Give ear, O my people, to my law: Incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old: Which we have heard and known, And our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, Telling to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, And his strength, and his wondrous works that he hath done. For he established a testimony in Jacob, And appointed a law in Israel, Which he commanded our fathers. That they should make them known to their children: That the generation to come might know them. Even the children which should be born ; Who should arise and tell them to their children: That they might set their hope in God, And not forget the works of God, But keep his commandments: And might not be as their fathers, A stubborn and rebellious generation; A generation that set not their heart aright, And whose spirit was not stedfast with God. The children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows. Turned back in the day of battle. They kept not the covenant of God, And refused to walk in his law; And they forgat his doings. And his wondrous works that he had shewed them. 96 § Judah as the Chosen People Marvellous things did he in the sight of their fathers, In the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan. He clave the sea, and caused them to pass through; And he made the waters to stand as an heap. In the day-time also he led them with a cloud, And all the night with a light of fire. He clave rocks in the wilderness, And gave them drink abundantly as out of the depths. He brought streams also out of the rock. And caused waters to run down like rivers. Yet went they on still to sin against him, To rebel against the Most High in the desert. And they tempted God in their heart By asking meat for their lust. Yea, they spake against God: ' Can God prepare a table in the wilderness? 'Behold, he smote the rock, that waters gushed out, 'And streams overflowed; ' Can he give bread also? 'Will he provide flesh for his people?' Therefore the Lord heard, and was wroth; And a fire was kindled against Jacob, And anger also went up against Israel; ' Because they believed not in God, And trusted not in his salvation. Yet he commanded the skies above, And opened the doors of heaven; And he rained down manna upon them to eat, And gave them of the corn of heaven. Man did eat the bread of the mighty: He sent them meat to the full. He caused the east wind to blow in the heaven: And by his power he guided the south wind. He rained flesh also upon them as the dust, And winged fowl as the sand of the seas: And he let it fall in the midst of their camp, 97 History and Story ^ Round about their habitations. So they did eat, and were well filled; And he gave them that they lusted after. They were not estranged from their lust, Their meat was yet in their mouths, When the anger of God went up against them, And slew of the fattest of them, And smote down the young men of Israel. For all this they sinned still. And believed not in his wondrous work. Therefore their days did he consume in vanity. And their years in terror. When he slew them, then they inquired after him: And they returned and sought God early. And they remembered that God was their rock. And the Most High God their redeemer. But they flattered him with their mouth. And lied unto him with their tongue. For their heart was not right with him. Neither were they faithful in his covenant. But he, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity. And destroyed them not : Yea, many a time turned he his anger away. And did not stir up all his wrath. And he remembered that they were but flesh; A wind that passeth away, and cometh not again. How oft did they rebel against him in the wilderness, And grieve him in the desert! And they turned again and tempted God, And provoked the Holy One of Israel. They remembered not his hand, Nor the day when he redeemed them from the adversary. How he set his signs in Egypt, And his wonders in the field of Zoan; And turned their rivers into blood. And their streams, that they could not drink. 98 <§^ Judah as the Chosen People He sent among them swarms of flies, which devoured them; And frogs, which destroyed them. He gave also their increase unto the caterpiller, And their labour unto the locust. He destroyed their vines with hail, And their sycomore trees with frost. He gave over their cattle also to the hail, And their flocks to hot thunderbolts. He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger, Wrath, and indignation, and trouble, A band of angels of evil. He made a path for his anger; He spared not their soul from death, But gave their life over to the pestilence; And smote all the firstborn in Egypt, The chief of their strength in the tents of Ham: But he led forth his own people like sheep. And guided them in the wilderness like a flock. And he led them safely, so that they feared not: But the sea overwhelmed their enemies. And he brought them to the border of his sanctuary, To this mountain, which his right hand had purchased. He drove out the nations also before them, And allotted them for an inheritance by line. And made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents. Yet they tempted and rebelled against the Most High God, And kept not his testimonies; But turned back, and dealt treacherously like their fathers: They were turned aside like a deceitful bow. For they provoked him to anger with their high places. And moved him to jealousy with their graven images. When God heard this he was wroth, And greatly abhorred Israel: So that he forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, The tent which he placed among men; And delivered his strength into captivity. And his glory into the adversary's hand. 99 History and Story §> He gave his people over also unto the sword; And was wroth with his inheritance. Fire devoured their young men ; And their maidens had no marriage-song. Their priests fell by the sword ; And their widows made no lamentation. Then the Lord awaked as one out of sleep, Like a mighty man that shouteth by reason of wine. And he smote his adversaries backward : He put them to a perpetual reproach. Moreover he refused the tent of Joseph, And chose not the tribe of Ephraim ; But chose the tribe of Judah, The mount Zion which he loved. And he built his sanctuary like the heights, Like the earth which he hath established for ever. He chose David also his servant. And took him from the sheepfolds: From following the ewes that give suck he brought him, To feed Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance. So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart; And guided them by the skilfulness of his hands. When we reach this period in which the Kingdom of Judah stands for the Chosen People the historic literature of the Old Testament somewhat changes its character. It should be noted that the books designated in our Bibles as I Samuel, II Samuel, I Kings, II Kings are really a continuous narrative, and were at one time denominated as the Four Books of Kings. I Samuel covers the latter part of the era of the Judges, with the lives of Samuel and Saul, ending with the Battle of Gilboa. II Samuel opens with David's Lament over Saul and Jonathan, and con- tinues to the end of David's reign. I Kings begins with the acces- sion of Solomon, and continues to the Battle of Ramoth-gilead. II Kings carries on the history, including the Fall of northern Israel, and the separate kingdom of Judah to its end. The absence of the interrupting prophetic Story is partly due to the fact that <§^ Judah as the Chosen People the idolatrous kingdom of Israel, the great field for prophetic action, has disappeared. Another reason is that the prophets who figure at this time, such as Isaiah, are men of varied literary activity, and their prophetic ministry appears in the Collected Books of the Prophets, which are the subject of Chapter III. In the separate Kingdom of Judah the first great name is Heze- kiah. He is a king devoted to the ideal of the Theocracy, in the spirit of which he makes great reforms and carries out great under- takings. But in his reign we have the supreme danger to the liberty of the Chosen People in the Assyrian invasions of Sennac- herib which threaten to overwhelm Judah. The invading armies pour forth haughty scorn at the idea of defence. Thus saith the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you; for he shall not be able to deliver you out of his hand: neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying, The Lord will surely deliver us, and this city shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make your peace with me, and come out to me; and eat ye every one of his vine, and every one of his fig tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his own cistern; until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vine- yards, a land of oil olive and of honey, that ye may five, and not die: and hearken not unto Hezekiah, when he persuadeth you, saying, The Lord will deliver us. Hath any of the gods of the nations ever delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath, and of Arpad? where are the gods of Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Ivvah? have they delivered Samaria out of my hand? Who are they among all the gods of the countries, that have delivered their country out of my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jeru- salem out of my hand? At this challenge Hezekiah "rent his clothes, and covered him- self with sackcloth, and went into the house of the Lord." The prophet Isaiah is sent to reassure him, and meets Assyrian defiance with prophetic scorn. History and Story § Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, Whereas thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria, I have heard thee. This is the word that the Lord hath spoken concerning him : The virgin daughter of Zion hath despised thee and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee. Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice and lifted up thine eyes on high? even against the Holy One of Israel. By thy messengers thou hast reproached the Lord, and hast said, With the multitude of my chariots am I come up to the height of the mountains, to the innermost parts of Lebanon; and I will cut down the tall cedars thereof, and the choice fir trees thereof: and I will enter into his farthest lodging place, the forest of his fruitful field. I have digged and drunk strange waters, and with the sole of my feet will I dry up all the rivers of Egypt. Hast thou not heard how I have done it long ago, and formed it of ancient times? now have I brought it to pass, that thou shouldest be to lay waste fenced cities into ruinous heaps. Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, they were dismayed and confounded; they were as the grass of the field, and as the green herb, as the grass on the housetops, and as corn blasted before it be grown up. But I know thy sitting down, and thy going out, and thy coming in, and thy raging against me. " Because of thy raging against me, and for that thine arrogancy is come up into mine ears, therefore will I put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest. And this shall be the sign unto thee: ye shall eat this year that which groweth of itself, and in the second year that which springeth of the same; and in the third year sow ye, and reap, and plant vine- yards, and eat the fruit thereof. And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward. For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and out of mount Zion they that shall escape: the zeal of the Lord shall perform this. Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come unto this city, nor shoot an arrow there, neither shall he come before <§ Judah as the Chosen People it with shield, nor cast a mount against it. By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and he shall not come unto this city, saith the Lord. For I will defend this city to save it, for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake. And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the Lord went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when men arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses. So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh. And it came to pass, as he w^as worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer smote him with the sword: and they escaped into the land of Ararat. And Esar-haddon his son reigned in his stead. This overw^helming danger, and sudden and mysterious deliver- ance, leave a powerful impression which inspires a group of poems, two of which follow. Sennacherib Psalms God our Refuge and Strength God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. Therefore will we not fear, though the earth do change, And though the mountains be moved in the heart of the seas; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled. Though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. The lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge. There is a river, the streams whereof make glad the city of God, The holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her at the dawn of morning. The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved: He uttered his voice, the earth melted. The lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge. 103 History and Story -g> Come, behold the works of the Lord, What desolations he hath made in the earth. He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; He breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; He burneth the chariots in the fire. Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. The lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge. Song of Deliverance Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised. In the city of our God, in his holy mountain. Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth, Is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, The city of the great King. God hath made himself known in her palaces for a refuge. For, lo, the kings assembled themselves, They passed by together. They saw it, then were they amazed; They were dismayed, they hasted away. Trembling took hold of them there; pain, as of a woman in travail. As with the east wind that breaketh the ships of Tarshish. As we have heard, so have we seen In the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God: God will establish it for ever. We have thought on thy lovingkindness, O God, in the midst of thy temple. As is thy name, O God, so is thy praise unto the ends of the earth: Thy right hand is full of righteousness. Let mount Zion be glad, let the daughters of Judah rejoice, because of thy judgements. Walk about Zion, and go round about her: 104 § Judah as the Chosen People Tell the towers thereof, mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces; That ye may tell it to the generation following. For this God is our God for ever and ever: He will be our guide even unto death. Hezekiah is succeeded by Manasseh, a wicked ruler, who in captivity repents,* and returns to work good. In time we reach the great reign of Josiah, chief of the reforming kings. The main inci- dent of his time is the accidental discovery, made during the repair- ing of the Temple, of a "book of the law," which is really the Book of Deuteronomy, already treated. The contrast between the Book of the Covenant, as it appears in Deuteronomy, and the life of Judah at the time of its discovery, produces a religious shock, and leads to a religious revival and renewal of the covenant with God. And the king sent, and they gathered unto him all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem. And the king went up to the house of the Lord, and all the men of Judah and all the inhabi- tants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the people, both small and great: and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of the Lord. And the king stood by the pillar, and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord, and to keep his commandments, and his testimonies, and his statutes, with all his heart, and all his soul, to con- firm the words of this covenant that were written in this book: and all the people stood to the covenant. And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the door, to bring forth out of the temple of the Lord all the vessels that were made for Baal, and for the Asherah, and for all the host of heaven: and he burned them without Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried the ashes of them unto Beth-el. And he put down the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the * This however appears only in the Books of Chronicles, and is one of the re- markable differences between these and the Books of Kings. [Below, pp. 141-3.] History and Story ^ places round about Jerusalem; them also that burned incense unto Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the host of heaven. The reform, however thorough, is only temporary; but the spirit of Deuteronomy becomes a force affecting all subsequent prophetic literature. A series of evil kings succeed. Finally, we have the Fall of Judah, corresponding in detail to the Fall of Israel; and Assyrian forces carry away the people of Judah into the far east. io6 THE CAPTIVITY AND RETURN STORIES AND SONGS OF THE CAPTIVITY The Old Testament gives no historic outUne of the Captivity; yet the life of the ])eriod is brought home to us in songs, and stories, from the collected literature of Israel. Especially noticeable are the Stories of Babylonian Captives in the prophetic Book of Daniel; and the Story of Esther which makes a se]:)arate book of the Bible. One of the chief books of the Pro])hets, that of Ezekiel, pictures a colony of captives by the River Chebar. National Hymn of the Captivity l^allelufal) O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: For his mercy endureth for ever. Who can utter the mighty acts of the Lord, Or shew forth all his ])raise? Blessed are they that kee]) judgement, And he that doeth righteousness at all times. Remember me, O Lord, with the favour that thou bearest unto thy people; O visit me with thy salvation: That I may see the prosperity of thy chosen, That I may rejoice in the gladness of thy nation, That I may glory with thine inheritance. We have sinned with our fathers. We have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly. Our fathers understood not thy wonders in Egypt; They remembered not the multitude of thy mercies; But were rebellious at the sea, even at the Red Sea. Nevertheless he saved them for his name's sake. That he might make his mighty power to be known. 107 History and Story § He rebuked the Red Sea also, and it was dried up: So he led them through the depths, as through a wilderness. And he saved them from the hand of him that hated them, And redeemed them from the hand of the enemy. And the waters covered their adversaries: There was not one of them left. Then believed they his words; They sang his praise. They soon forgat his works; They waited not for his counsel: But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, And tempted God in the desert. And he gave them their request; But sent leanness into their soul. They envied Moses also in the camp. And Aaron the saint of the Lord. The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, And covered the company of Abiram. And a fire was kindled in their company; The flame burned up the wdcked. They made a calf in Horeb, And worshipped a molten image. Thus they changed their glory For the likeness of an ox that eateth grass. They forgat God their saviour. Which had done great things in Egypt; Wondrous works in the land of Ham, And terrible things by the Red Sea. Therefore he said that he would destroy them, Had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach, To turn away his wrath, lest he should destroy them. Yea, they despised the pleasant land, They believed not his word; But murmured in their tents, And hearkened not unto the voice of the Lord. 1 08 § The Captivity Therefore he lifted up his hand unto them, That he would overthrow them in the wilderness: And that he would overthrow their seed among the nations, And scatter them in the lands. They joined themselves also unto Baal-peor, And ate the sacrifices of the dead. Thus they j^rovoked him to an<2;er with their doings; And the plague brake in upon them. Then stood up Phinehas, and executed judgement: And so the plague was stayed. And that was counted unto him for righteousness, Unto all generations for evermore. They angered him also at the waters of Meribah, So that it went ill mth Moses for their sakes: Because they were rebellious against his spirit, And he spake unadvisedly with his lips. They did not destroy the peoples, As the Lord commanded them: But mingled themselves with the nations. And learned their works: And they served their idols; Which became a snare unto them: Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto de- mons, And shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters. Whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan; And the land was j^oUuted with blood. Thus were they defiled with their works, And went a whoring in their doings. Therefore was the wrath of the Lord kindled against his people, And he abhorred his inheritance. And he gave them into the hand of the nations; And they that hated them ruled over them. Their enemies also o])pressed them, And they were brought into subjection under their hand. 109 History and Story -g> Many times did he deliver them; But they were rebellious in their counsel, And were brought low in their iniquity. Nevertheless he regarded their distress, When he heard their cry: And he remembered for them his covenant. And repented according to the multitude of his mercies. He made them also to be pitied Of all those that carried them captives. Save us, O Lord our God, And gather us from among the nations, To give thanks unto thy holy name. And to triumph in thy praise. Elegy: Babylon and Jerusalem I By the rivers of Babylon, There we sat down, yea, we wept, When we remembered Zion. Upon the willows in the midst thereof We hanged up our harps. For there they that led us captive required of us songs, And they that wasted us required of us mirth: ^ Sing us one of the songs of Zion.' How shall we sing the Lord's song In a strange land? II If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, Let my right hand forget her cunning; Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, If I remember thee not; If I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy. Remember, O Lord, against the children of Edom the day of Jerusalem; <§- The Captivity Who said, Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof. O daughter of Babylon, that art to be destroyed, Happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us; Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the rock. Elegy: Jerusalem in Heaps O God, the heathen are come into thine inheritance; Thy holy temple have they defiled; They have laid Jerusalem on heaps. The dead bodies of thy servants have they given to be meat unto the fowls of the heaven. The flesh of thy saints unto the beasts of the earth. Their blood have they shed like water round about Jerusalem; And there was none to bury them. We are become a reproach to our neighboursj A scorn and derision to them that are round about us. How long, O Lord, wilt thou be angry for ever? Shall thy jealousy burn like fire? Pour out thy wrath upon the heathen that know thee not, And upon the kingdoms that call not upon thy name. For they have devoured Jacob, And laid waste his habitation. Remember not against us the iniquities of our forefathers: Let thy tender mercies speedily prevent us: For we are brought very low. Help us, O God of our salvation. For the glory of thy name: And deliver us, and purge away our sins, For thy name's sake. Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is their God? Let the revenging of the blood of thy servants which is shed Be known among the heathen in our sight. History and Story ^ Let the sighing of the prisoner come before thee; According to the greatness of thy power preserve thou those that are appointed to death; And render unto our neighbours sevenfold into their bosom Their reproach, wherewith they have reproached thee, O Lord. So we thy people and sheep of thy pasture will give thee thanks for ever: We will shew forth thy praise to all generations. Stories of the Captives in Babylon The Burning Fiery Furnace Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. Then Nebu- chadnezzar the king sent to gather together the satraps, the dep- uties, and the governors, the judges, the treasurers, the counsel- lors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. Then the satraps, the deputies, and the governors, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, were gathered together unto the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Then the herald cried aloud. To you it is commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sack- but, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up: and whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. Therefore at that time, when all the peoples heard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and all kinds of music, all the peoples, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshipped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and brought accusation against the Jews. They answered and said to Nebuchadnezzar the king: O king, live for ever. Thou, O king, hast made a decree, that every man that shall hear the sound of the ^ The Captivity cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, shall fall down and worship the golden image: and whoso falleth not down and worshippeth, shall be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. There are certain Jews whom thou hast appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor w^orship the golden image which thou hast set up. Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury com- manded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. Then they brought these men before the king. Nebuchadnezzar answered and said unto them, Is it of purpose, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed- nego, that ye serve not my god, nor worship the golden image which I have set up? Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the image w^hich I have made, well : but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that god that shall deliver you out of my hands? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace; and he will de- liver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his \isage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego : therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace seven times more than it was wont to be heated. And he commanded certain mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. Then these men were bound in their hosen, their tunics, and their mantles, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Therefore because the king's commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in 113 History and Story g> haste: he spake and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the aspect of the fourth is like a son of the gods. Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace: he spake and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, ye servants of the Most High God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, came forth out of the midst of the fire. And the satraps, the deputies, and the governors, and the king's counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, that the fire had no power upon their bodies, nor was the hair of their head singed, neither were their hosen changed, nor had the smell of fire passed on them. Nebuchadnezzar spake and said: Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king's word, and have yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor wor- ship any god, except their own God. Therefore I make a decree, that every people, nation, and language, which speak any thing amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill: because there is no other god that is able to deliver after this sort. Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, in the province of Babylon. The Dream of the Tree that was cut down 'Nebuchadnezzar the king, unto all the peoples, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth: peace be multiplied unto you. It hath seemed good unto me to shew the signs and wonders that the Most High God hath wrought toward me. How great are his signs! and how mighty are his wonders! his kingdom is an everlast- ing kingdom, and his dominion is from generation to generation. ' I Nebuchadnezzar was at rest in mine house, and flourishing in my palace. I saw a dream which made me afraid; and the thoughts upon my bed and the visions of my head troubled me. Therefore made I a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon before me, that they might make known unto me the interpretation of the dream. Then came in the magicians, the enchanters, the Chaldeans, 114 <§- The Captivity and the soothsayers: and I told the dream before them; but they did not make known unto me the interpretation thereof. But at the last Daniel came in before me, whose name was Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods: and I told the dream before him, saying, O Belteshazzar, master of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in thee, and no secret troubleth thee, tell me the visions of my dream that I have seen, and the interpretation thereof. ' Thus were the visions of my head upon my bed: I saw, and be- hold a tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was great. The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth. The leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all: the beasts of the field had shadow under it, and the fowls of the heaven dwelt in the branches thereof, and all flesh was fed of it. I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and, behold, a watcher and an holy one came down from heaven. He cried aloud, and said thus: "Hew down the tree, and cut off his branches, shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit : let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from his branches. Nevertheless leave the stump of his roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth: let his heart be changed from man's, and let a beast's heart be given unto him; and let seven times pass over him: to the intent that the living may know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will and setteth up over it the low- est of men." This dream I king Nebuchadnezzar have seen: and thou, O Belteshazzar, declare the interpretation, forasmuch as all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known unto me the interpretation; but thou art able, for the spirit of the holy gods is in thee. ' Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was astonied for a while, and his thoughts troubled him. The king answered and said, Belteshazzar, let not the dream, or the interpretation, trouble thee. Belteshazzar answered and said. My lord, the dream be to them that hate thee, and the interpretation thereof to thine ad- versaries. The tree that thou sawest, which grew, and was strong, 115 History and Story g> whose height reached unto the heaven, and the sight thereof to all the earth; whose leaves were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all; under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and upon whose branches the fowls of the heaven had their habitation; it is thou, O king, that art grown and become strong : for thy great- ness is grown, and reacheth unto heaven, and thy dominion to the end of the earth. And whereas the king saw a watcher and an holy one coming down from heaven, and saying. Hew down the tree, and destroy it; nevertheless leave the stump of the roots thereof in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, till seven times pass over him; this is the interpretation, O king, and it is the decree of the Most High, which is come upon my lord the king: that thou shalt be driven from men, and thy dw^eUing shall be with the beasts of the field, and thou shalt be made to eat grass as oxen, and shalt be wet with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over thee; till thou know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots; thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule. Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor; if there may be a lengthening of thy tranquilUty. 'AH this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar. At the end of twelve months he was walking in the royal palace of Babylon. The king spake and said. Is not this great Babylon, which I have built for the royal dwelhng place, by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty? While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying: "O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken: the kingdom is departed from thee. And thou shalt be driven from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field; thou shalt be made to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee; until thou know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. " The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnez- zar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hair was grown like ii6 which had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of hons, them, -their children, and their wives; and the lions had the mastery of them, and brake all their bones in pieces, or ever they came at the bottom of the den. Story of Esther The Story of Esther makes a separate book of the Bible. Here the spirit of history and of story seem to amalgamate. We Book of are introduced to a vast empire, of many provinces Esther ^^d different peoples, organized elaborately under the rule of king Ahasuerus. A Jewish maiden, Esther, is for her beauty advanced to be the chief queen of Ahasuerus. Her cousin and guardian, Mordecai, hovers about the precincts of the court to keep an eye upon his late ward; he thus has an opportunity of detecting a dangerous conspiracy against the life of Ahasuerus. Among the subject peoples of this empire are the Agagites, a people hostile to the Jews. A man of this people, Haman, becomes a favorite of the king, and it is decreed that all men shall bow the knee before him throughout the empire. This is obeyed by all but the Jewish Mordecai, who will not bow the knee. In revenge Haman procures from the king a decree to extirpate the whole race of the Jews throughout the empire; and, with great solemnity, a day is chosen by lot for this massacre. Esther the queen is brought to intercede for her people. Now it came to pass on the third day, that Esther put on her royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the king's house, over against the king's house: and the king sat upon his royal throne in the royal house, over against the entrance of the house. And it was so, when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, that she obtained favour in his sight: and the king held out to Esther the golden sceptre that was in his hand. So Esther drew near, and touched the top of the sceptre. Then said the king unto her. What wilt thou, queen Esther? and what is thy request? it shall be given thee even to the half of the kingdom. And Esther said. If it seem good unto the king, let the king and Haman come this day unto the banquet that I have prepared for him. Then the king said. <§- The Captivity Cause Haman to make haste, that it may be done as Esther hath said. So the king and Haman came to the banquet that Esther had prepared. And the king said unto Esther at the banquet of wine, What is thy petition? and it shall be granted thee: and what is thy request? even to the half of the kingdom it shall be performed. Then answered Esther, and said. My petition and my request is; if I have found favour in the sight of the king, and if it please the king to grant my petition, and to perform my request, let the king and Haman come to the banquet that I shall prepare for them, and I will do tomorrow as the king hath said. Then went Haman forth that day joyful and glad of heart: but when Haman saw Mordecai in the king's gate, that he stood not up nor moved for him, he was filled with wrath against Mordecai. Nevertheless Haman refrained himself, and went home; and he sent and fetched his friends and Zeresh his wife. And Haman recounted unto them the glory of his riches, and the multitude of his children, and all the things wherein the king had promoted him, and how he had advanced him above the princes and servants of the king. Haman said more- over. Yea, Esther the queen did let no man come in with the king unto the banquet that she had prepared but myself; and tomorrow also am I invited by her together with the king. Yet all this availeth me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate. Then said Zeresh his wife and all his friends unto him. Let a gallows be made of fifty cubits high, and in the morning speak thou unto the king that Mor- decai may be hanged thereon: then go thou in merrily with the king unto the banquet. And the thing pleased Haman; and he. caused the gallows to be made. On that night could not the king sleep; and he commanded to bring the book of records of the chronicles, and they were read before the king. And it was found written, that Mor- decai had told of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king's chamberlains, of those that kept the door, who had sought to lay hands on the king Ahasuerus. And the king said, What honour and dignity hath been done to Mordecai for this? Then said the king's servants that ministered unto him, There is 123 History and Story § nothing done for him. And the king said, Who is in the court? Now Haman was come into the outward court of the king's house, to speak unto the king to hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for him. And the king's servants said unto him, Behold, Haman standeth in the court. And the king said, Let him come in. So Haman came in. And the king said unto him. What shall be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honour? Now Haman said in his heart. To whom would the king delight to do honour more than to my- self? And Haman said unto the king. For the man whom the king delighteth to honour, let royal apparel be brought w^hich the king useth to wear, and the horse that the king rideth upon, and on the head of which a crown royal is set: and let the ap- parel and the horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king's most noble princes, that they may array the man withal w^hom the king delighteth to honour, and cause him to ride on horse- back through the street of the city, and proclaim before him, Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delighteth to honour. Then the king said to Haman, Make haste, and take the apparel and the horse, as thou hast said, and do even so to Mordecai the Jew, that sitteth at the king's gate: let nothing fail of all that thou hast spoken. Then took Haman the apparel and the horse, and arrayed Mordecai, and caused him to ride through the street of the city, and proclaimed before him, Thus shall it be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honour. And Mordecai came again to the king's gate. But Haman hasted to his house, mourning and having his head covered. And Haman re- counted unto Zeresh his wife and all his friends every thing that had befallen him. Then said his wise men and Zeresh his wife unto him, If Mordecai, before whom thou hast begun to fall, be of the seed of the Jews, thou shalt not prevail against him, but shalt surely fall before him. While they were yet talking with him, came the king's chamberlains, and hasted to bring Haman unto the banquet that Esther had prepared. So the king and Haman came to banquet with Esther the queen. And the king said again unto Esther on the second day 124 *Shew us thy mercy, 0 Lord, 'And grant us thy salvation. ' I will hear what God the Lord will speak: ' For he will speak peace unto his people, 'And to his saints: ' But let them not turn again to folly.' Surely his salvation is nigh them that fear him; That glory may dwell in our land. Mercy and truth are met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Truth springeth out of the earth; And righteousness hath looked down from heaven. Yea, the Lord shall give that which is good; And our land shall yield her increase. Righteousness shall go before him; And shall make his footsteps a way to walk in. Memoirs of the Return How Nehemiah rebuilt the Walls of Jerusalem Now it came to pass in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace, that Hanani, one of my breth- ren, came, he and certain men out of Judah; and I asked them con- cerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. And they said unto me. The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great afflic- tion and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire. And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days; and I fasted and prayed before the God of heaven, and said, I beseech thee, O Lord, the God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments: let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hearken unto the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee at this time, day and night, for <§ Return from Captivity: the Jewish Church the children of Israel thy servants, while I confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: yea, I and my father's house have sinned. We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the stat- utes, nor the judgements, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses. Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou command- edst thy servant Moses, saying: 'If ye trespass, I will scatter you abroad among the peoples: but if ye return unto me, and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts were in the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to cause my name to dwell there.' Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand. O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, w^ho de- Hght to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. (Now I was cupbearer to the king.) And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, when wine was before him, that I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king. Now I had not been beforetime sad in his presence. And the king said unto me. Why is thy counte- nance sad, seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing else but sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid. And I said unto the king. Let the king live for ever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' sepulchres, heth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire? Then the king said unto me. For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven. And I said unto the king. If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favour in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers' sepulchres, that I may build it. And the king said unto me, (the queen also sitting by him,) For how long shall thy journey be? and when wilt thou return? So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time. Moreover I said unto the king, If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the river, that they may let me pass through till I come unto Judah; and a letter unto Asaph the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the 129 History and Story g> gates of the castle which appertaineth to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into. And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me. Then I came to the governors beyond the river, and gave them the king's letters. Now the king had sent with me captains of the army and horsemen. And when Sanballat the Horonite, and To- biah the servant, the Ammonite, heard of it, it grieved them exceed- ingly, for that there was come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel. So I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days. And I arose in the night, I and some few men with me; neither told I any man what my God put into my heart to do for Jerusalem: neither was there any beast with me, save the beast that I rode upon. And I w^ent out by night by the valley gate, even toward the dragon's well, and to the dung gate, and \dewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down, and the gates thereof were consumed with fire. Then I went on to the fountain gate and to the king's pool: but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass. Then wxnt I up in the night by the brook, and viewed the wall; and I turned back, and entered by the valley gate, and so returned. And the rulers knew not whither I went, or what I did; neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work. Then said I unto them. Ye see the e\dl case that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach. And I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also of the king's w^ords that he had spoken unto me. And they said. Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for the good work. But it came to pass that, when Sanballat heard that we builded the w^all, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews. And he spake before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said. What do these feeble Jews? will they fortify themselves? will they sacrifice? will they make an end in a day? will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, seeing they are burned? Now Tobiah the Ammonite w^as by him, and he said. Even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall break dow^n their stone wall. (Hear, O our God; for we are despised: and turn back their reproach 130 are separated upon the wall, one far from another: in what place soever ye hear the sound of the trumpet, resort ye thither unto us; our God shall fight for us. So we wrought in the work: and half of them held the spears from the rising of the morning till the stars appeared. Likewise at the same time said I unto the people. Let every one with his servant lodge within Jerusalem, that in the night they may be a guard to us, and may labour in the day. So neither I, nor my brethren, nor my servants, nor the men of the guard which followed me, none of us put off our clothes, every one went with his weapon to the water. Now it came to pass, when it was reported to Sanballat and Tobiah, and to Geshem the Arabian, and unto the rest of our enemies, that I had builded the wall, and that there was no breach left therein; (though even unto that time I had not set up the doors in the gates;) that Sanballat and Geshem sent unto me, saying. Come, let us meet together in one of the villages in the plain of Ono. But they thought to do me mischief. And I sent messengers unto them, saying, I am doing a great w^ork, so that I cannot come dow^n: why should the w^ork cease, whilst I leave it, and come dow^n to you? And they sent unto me four times after this sort; and I answered them after the same manner. Then sent Sanballat his servant unto me in like manner the fifth time with an open letter in his hand; wherein was written. It is reported among the nations, and Gashmu saith it, that thou and the Jews think to rebel; for which cause thou buildest the wall: and thou w^ouldest be their king, according to these words. And thou hast also appointed prophets to preach of thee at Jerusalem, saying, There is a king in Judah: and now shall it be reported to the king according to these words. Come now therefore, and let us take counsel together. Then I sent unto him, saying, There are no such things done as thou sayest, but thou feignest them out of thine ow^n heart. For they all would have made us afraid, saying. Their hands shall be weakened from the work, that it be not done. But now, O God, strengthen thou my hands. And I went unto the house of Shemaiah w^ho was shut up; and he said. Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us shut the doors of the temple: for they will come to slay thee; yea, in the night will they come to slay thee. And I said, 132 ^ Return from Captivity: the Jewish Church Should such a man as I flee? and who is there, that, being such as I, would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in. And I discerned, and, lo, God had not sent him: but he pronounced this prophecy against me: and Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. For this cause was he hired, that I should be afraid, and do so, and sin, and that they might have matter for an evil report, that they might reproach me. Remember, O my God, Tobiah and Sanballat according to these their works, and also the prophetess Noadiah, and the rest of the prophets, that would have put me in fear. So the wall was finished in the twenty and fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty and two days. And it came to pass, when all our enemies heard thereof, that all the heathen that were about us feared, and were much cast down in their own eyes: for they perceived that this work was wrought of our God. And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites out of all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem, to keep the dedication with gladness, both with thanksgivings, and with singing, with cymbals, psalteries and with harps. And the sons of the singers gathered themselves together, both out of the plain round about Jerusalem, and from the villages. Then I brought up the princes of Judah upon the wall, and appointed two great com- panies that gave thanks and went in procession. Whereof one went on the right hand upon the wall toward the dung gate: (and Ezra the scribe w^as before them:) and by the fountain gate, and straight before them, they w^ent up by the stairs of the city of David, at the going up of the wall, above the house of David, even unto the w^ater gate eastward. And the other company of them that gave thanks went to meet them, and I after them, with the half of the people, upon the wall, above the tower of the furnaces, even unto the broad wall; and above the gate of Ephraim, and by the old gate, and by the fish gate, and the tower of Hananel, and the tow^r of Hammeah, even unto the sheep gate: and they stood still in the gate of the guard. So stood the two companies of them that gave thanks in the house of God, and I, and the half of the rulers with me. And the singers sang loud, with Jezrahiah their overseer. And they offered great sacrifices that day, and rejoiced; for God had made them rejoice with great joy; and the women also and the children re- joiced: so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard even afar off. 133 History and Story -g> The Renewal of the Covenant under Ezra And when the seventh month was come, the children of Israel were in their cities. And all the people gathered themselves to- gether as one man into the broad place that was before the water gate; and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded to Israel. And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation, both men and women, and all that could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month. And he read therein before the broad place that was before the water gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women, and of those that could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the law. And Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood, which they had made for the purpose. And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people; (for he was above all the people;) and when he opened it, all the people stood up: and Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with the lifting up of their hands: and they bowed their heads, and w^orshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground. Also the Levites caused the people to understand the law: and the people stood in their place. And they read in the book, in the law of God, distinctly; and they gave the sense, so that they understood the reading. And Nehemiah, which was the Tirshatha, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites that taught the peo- ple, said unto all the people. This day is holy unto the Lord your God; mourn not, nor weep. For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law. Then he said unto them. Go your w^ay, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, ajud send portions unto him for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye grieved; for the joy of the Lord is your strength. So the Le\dtes stilled all the people, saying. Hold your peace, for the day is holy; neither be ye grieved. And all the people went their way to eat, and to drink, and to send portions, and to make great mirth, because they had understood the words that were declared unto them. Now in the twenty and fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, and with sackcloth, and earth 134 § Return from Captivity: the Jewish Church upon them. And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers. And they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of the Lord their God a fourth part of the day; and another fourth part they confessed, and worshipped the Lord their God. Then the Le\ites said: "Stand up and bless the Lord your God from everlasting to everlasting: and blessed be thy glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise. Thou art the Lord, even thou alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all things that are thereon, the seas and all that is in them, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven wor- shippeth thee. Thou art the Lord the God, who didst choose Abram, and broughtest him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, and gavest him the name of Abraham; and foundest his heart faithful before thee, and madest a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Jebusite, and the Girgashite, even to give it unto his seed, and hast performed thy words; for thou art righteous. And thou sawest the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heardest their cry by the Red Sea; and shewedst signs and wonders upon Pharaoh, and on all his servants, and on all the people of his land; for thou knewest that they dealt proudly against them; and didst get thee a name, as it is this day. And thou didst divide the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; and their pur- suers thou didst cast into the depths, as a stone into the mighty waters. Moreover thou leddest them in a pillar of cloud by day; and in a pillar of fire by night, to give them light in the way wherein they should go. Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and gavest them right judgements and true laws, good statutes and commandments: and madest known unto them thy holy sabbath, and commandedst them commandments, and statutes, and a law, by the hand of Moses thy servant; and gavest them bread from heaven for their hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and commandedst them that they should go in to possess the land which thou hadst Hfted up thine hand to give them. But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their neck, and hearkened not 135 History and Story § to thy commandments, and refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonder^ that thou didst among them; but hardened their neck, and in their rebeUion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy, and forsookest them not. Yea, when they had made them a molten calf, and said, This is thy God that brought thee up out of Egypt, and had wrought great provocations; yet thou in thy manifold mercies for- sookest them not in the wilderness: the pillar of cloud departed not from over them by day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to shew them light, and the way wherein they should go. Thou gavest also thy good spirit to instruct them, and withheldest not thy manna from their mouth, and gavest them water for their thirst. Yea, forty years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness, and they lacked nothing; their clothes waxed not old, and their feet swelled not. Moreover thou gavest them kingdoms and peoples, which thou didst allot after their portions: so they possessed the land of Sihon, even the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og king of Bashan. Their children also multi- pliedst thou as the stars of heaven, and broughtest them into the land, concerning w^hich thou didst say to their fathers, that they should go in to possess it. So the children wTnt in and possessed the land, and thou subduedst before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gavest them into their hands, with their kings, and the peoples of the land, that they might do with them as they would. And they took fenced cities, and a fat land, and possessed houses full of all good things, cisterns hew^n out, vineyards, and oliveyards, and fruit trees in abundance: so they did eat, and were filled, and became fat, and delighted themselves in thy great good- ness. Nevertheless they were disobedient, and rebelled against thee, and cast thy law behind their back, and slew thy prophets which testified against them to turn them again unto thee, and they wrought great provocations. Therefore. thou deliveredst them into the hand of their adversaries, who distressed them: and in the time of their trouble, w^hen they cried unto thee, thou heardest from heaven; and according to thy manifold mercies thou gavest them saviours who saved them out of the hand of their adversaries. But after they had rest, they did evil again before thee: therefore leftest 136 § Return from Captivity: the Jewish Church thou them in the hand of their enemies, so that they had the domin- ion over them: yet when they returned, and cried unto thee, thou heardest from heaven; and many times didst thou deHver them according to thy mercies; and testifiedst against them, that thou mightest bring them again unto thy law: yet they dealt proudly, and hearkened not unto thy commandments, but sinned against thy judgements, (which if a man do, he shall live in them,) and withdrew the shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not hear. Yet many years didst thou bear with them, and testifiedst against them by thy spirit through thy prophets: yet would they not give ear: therefore gavest thou them into the hand of the peo- ples of the lands. Nevertheless in thy manifold mercies thou didst not make a full end of them, nor forsake them; for thou art a gra- cious and merciful God. ''Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the terrible God, who keepest covenant and mercy, let not all the travail seem little before thee, that hath come upon us, on our kings, on our princes, and on our priests, and on our prophets, and on our fathers, and on all thy people, since the time of the kings of Assyria unto this day. Howbeit thou art just in all that is come upon us; for thou hast dealt truly, but we have done wickedly: neither have our kings, our princes, our priests, nor our fathers, kept thy law, nor hearkened unto thy commandments and thy testimonies, wherewith thou didst testify against them. For they have not served thee in their kingdom, and in thy great goodness that thou gavest them, and in the large and fat land which thou gavest before them, neither turned they from their wicked works. Behold, we are servants this day, and as for the land that thou gavest unto our fathers to eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof, behold, we are servants in it. And it yieldeth much increase unto the kings whom thou hast set over us because of our sins: also they have power over our bodies, and over our cattle, at their pleasure, and we are in great distress. And yet for all this we make a sure covenant, and write it; and our princes, our Levites, and our priests, seal unto it." This portion of Scripture reaches an appropriate close with this ceremonial presentation of the history of Israel as the history of a 137 History and Story § broken covenant, together with a solemn renewal, to stand for ever, of the covenant between the Chosen People and its God. But the great achievement of the Men of the Return was the collection of the nation's great literature, and the organized ar- rangement of it which has come down from them to the rest of the world. The next section of this work deals with the transition from History to Collected Literature. 138 CHAPTER II TRANSITION FROM HISTORY TO COLLECTED LITERATURE Structure of the Old Testament § The Introduction to this work has brought out how the Old Testament is a succession of independent books with an inter- connection that makes the whole the history of the Chosen People of God. It has also indicated that, when we study the plan of arrangement which underlies the succession of books, this is found to undergo a remarkable change about the middle of the Old Testament. Up to the dividing line what we find seems to be con- tinuous history; though on closer inspection the history is seen to- be an historic framework, the spirit of the whole being given in special literary forms, such as story and song. After the dividing line the relative proportions of history and literature are reversed: the latter part of the Old Testament appears as collections of literary works, any connection with an historic movement being left for inference by the reader. . In the present chapter we are to consider this difference between the earlier and the latter parts of the Old Testament, this transition from what is mainly history to what is mainly literature. In part, the transition is due to the spirit of the age in which the constituent parts of the Bible were brought together. In part, the change depends upon the nature of the literary w^orks that are being collected. We know nothing in detail of the mode in which the separate elements of our Bible were united. But an ancient tradition, which seems to have much probabiUty in it, connects this work with the era of the Return from Captivity, and specifically names "Ezra the Scribe" as its leading spirit. From this period on- ward the ' Scribes ' appear as a distinct literary class, whose primary work is making copies of the Law; it would fit in with the regular functions of such a literary class that it should set about the work of collecting and arranging books. The leaders of the Return from Captivity were men animated by the high purpose of reinstating the Chosen People of God after their fall into captivity. They re- built the walls of the Holy City; they set up the Temple and restored the Temple services. But the Israel of their day was no longer a simple nation distinguished only by a mission to other nations; it had become a great Hterary people, producing works of poetry and prose of high order. The restoration ideal would extend from what was directly connected with religion to the further task of gathering together what would make a great national literature. 140 ^ Transition from History to Literature In the literary product of this age of the Return from Captivity one portion is to be described, not by the word 'collection,' but by the word 're\dsion.' This relates to the history of Israel. Every Bible reader mil have noticed that the history of Israel, in the important epoch that commences with the accession of David, is duplicated in the Old Testament. One version is contained in the Four Books of Kings, as they were formerly called, which in our Bibles are named the two Books of Samuel and the two Books of Kings. The other version is found in what are ^1^^ p^j-gt ^nd called the two Books of Chronicles. The history Second Books in the Books of Kings is the work of prophets, who ^^ Chronicles are its chief heroes. The history in the Books of Chronicles is ecclesiastical history. We have seen that with the Return from Captivity the Hebrew nation has been transformed into the Jewish Church; prophets henceforward fall into the background, and the leading spirits of the new era are priests and scribes. The new spirit of the era calls for a re-telling of the national history. It is instructive to compare the two series of historic books. Both are dealing with the same matter, the history of the nation from the accession of David to the end. Considerable sections of the two histories are in identical language, or nearly so. But there are marked differences. The most conspicuous difference has ref- erence to the northern kingdom of Israel; this bulks large in the history of the Kings, it is almost entirely absent from the history of the Chronicles. The mere fact of the schism in Israel, and the rise of the separate kingdoms, is narrated in the Books of Chronicles precisely as in the Books of Kings. But the fact once being stated, the ecclesiastical history seems to regard the revolting northern kingdom as having fallen outside the church; it can be ignored, though this northern kingdom appears indirectly in the chronicle ■ history where this relates wars that take place between Judah and Israel. This difference carries with it another, of great importance. The kingdom of Israel, being given over to idolatry, was the nat- ural sphere for the activities of the prophets; the achievements of Elijah and Elisha are the most prominent parts of the history of the kings. All this disappears from the Books of Chronicles. There is a similar absence of prophetic stories in the chronicle history in connection with the reign of David. The dissension 141 . Structure of the Old Testament -g> among the children of David, with the revolt of Absalom and the disputed succession of Solomon, all of which is told at full length in the Books of Kings, has no representation in the Books of Chronicles. It will be remembered that when the prophet Nathan rebukes the sin of David in the matter of Uriah the Hittite he de- clares that for this sin the sword shall never depart from David's house. Thus all the poHtical history that arises out of family troubles of David is regarded as fulfilment of Nathan's prophecy. It is germane to the prophetic history of the kings; it is out of place in the ecclesiastical history of the chronicles. Even where the two histories are dealing with the same topic the difference between the prophetic and the ecclesiastical spirit can show itself. No single incident brings out the contrast of the two versions better than the reign of Abijah (called in The Kings Abijam). The prophetic account of the reign is a brief notice of the wickedness of the king, so great that only for David's sake was the succession continued in his family. Also mention is made of wars between Israel and Judah. The chronicler relates these wars at length, and in particular gives a fine address of Abijah to the enemy, in which the whole spirit of The Chronicles is concentrated. Ought ye not to know that the Lord, the God of Israel, gave the kingdom over Israel to David for ever, even to him and to his sons by a covenant of salt? Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the servant of Solomon the son of David, rose up, and rebelled against his lord. And there were gathered unto him vain men, sons of Belial, which strengthened themselves against Reho- boam, the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was young and tenderhearted, and could not withstand them. And now ye think to withstand the kingdom of the Lord in the hand of the sons of David; and ye be a great multitude, and there are with you the golden calves which Jeroboam made you for gods. Have ye not driven out the priests of the Lord, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and have made you priests after the manner of the peoples of other lands? so that whosoever cometh to consecrate himself with a young bullock and seven rams the same may be a priest of them that are no gods. But as for us, the Lord is our God, and we have not forsaken him; and we 142 § Transition from History to Literature have priests ministering unto the Lord, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites in their work; and they burn unto the Lord every morning and every evening burnt offerings and sweet incense: the shewbread also set they in order upon the pure table; and the candlestick of gold with the lamps thereof to burn every evening: for we keep the charge of the Lord our God; but ye have forsaken him. And behold, God is with us at our head, and his priests with the trumpets of alann to sound an alarm against you. O children of Israel, fight ye not against the Lord, the God of your fathers; for ye shall not prosper. The battle that follows this address is a complete victory for the true worshippers of God. Of the wickedness of Abijah the Chron- icle contains nothing beyond possibly this equivocal hint: But Abijah waxed mighty, and took unto himself fourteen wives, and begat twenty and two sons and sixteen daughters. It may be added that the two books of the Bible called after the names of Ezra and Nehemiah are a continuation of the Books of Chronicles, covering the period of the Return from Books of Ezra Captivity. In the historic outline of the previous and Nehemiah chapter, which is founded on the prophetic history of the kings, these two books were used to make the final section. This was possible because these two books, unlike the Books of Chronicles of which, they are the continuation, admit the personal memoirs of Ezra and Nehemiah, which are counterparts to the prophetic stories that characterize the history of the kings. Besides this revised history w^e owe to the Men of the Return from Captivity three important collections of literary works. These are the collected Books of the Prophets; the collected Psalms and Lyrics of Israel; and the collected Books of Wisdom. These three collections will be treated in subsequent chapters of this work. But at this point it is desirable to deal with some general considera- tions affecting the three collections and the understanding of the Bible as a whole. Perhaps no single thing is more important for the appreciation of the Old Testament than a clear grasp of the word prophecy, a word 143 Structure of the Old Testament @> popularly misunderstood. The cause of this misunderstanding is simple: the word has entirely changed its meaning in modern times. In the English of to-day ' prophecy ' has no meaning except ' predic- tion.' It is often supposed that such meaning is impHed in the word itself, as if prophecy was speaking bejorehattd. But this is a false etymology. The pro in prophecy is not the pro that means before- hand, as in programme, but the other pro that means in place of, as in pronoun. As a pronoun is a word used in place of a noun, so a prophet is one who speaks in place of God, a mouthpiece of God. Books of prophecy, like other books, may happen to contain pre- dictions, but this is no essential part of what the w^ord means. As an expositor of the subject has put it, ''Etymologically it is certain that neither prescience nor prediction are implied by the term used in the Hebrew, Greek, or English language." * Whoever speaks in the name of God is a ' prophet ' : the Biblical word has no other meaning. When Israel was founded as a theocracy, it was necessary that the will of the Divine ruler should be made known through such a man as Moses: and so Moses is called a prophet. The word is applied in one of the National Hymns (above, page 53) to the whole people of Israel as witnesses for God to the nations: Touch not mine anointed oneSy And do my prophets no harm. When in the course of time secular government was established in Israel, we have seen how a spiritual opposition arose, led by proph- ets, who are thus mouthpieces for God in the sense of standing for the idea of the theocracy as against secular rulers. In addition to all this it is necessary to note an important dis- tinction between the earlier and the later prophets. The earlier prophets, men of the type of Elijah and Elisha, were men of action; they lived their prophecy, rather them spoke it. Accordingly they come into literature, not as authors, but as heroes of stories told by others. The later prophets, such as Isaiah and Jeremiah, without ceasing to be men of action, were also men of letters: the poets, orators, dramatists, of a literary age. Isaiah and Jeremiah minis- tered to their times as political leaders precisely in the way that * Smith's Bible Dictionary y Article, "Prophet." 144 «§- Transition from History to Literature Elijah and Elisha had ministered to an earlier age. But Isaiah and Jeremiah do a great deal more than this. The matter and spirit of the prophecy they had adapted to particular occasions they pro- ceed, as authors, to generalize, stripping it of occasional references, and remaking it into a universal message. Such elevation of the prophetic message from connection with particular occasions to what is ideal and universal in its import is not a matter of inference only. An interesting incident has been pre- served in the Book of Jeremiah which exhibits this generalizing process as going on before our eyes. I cite this portion of Jeremiah (with omission of a few superfluous names), and it is worthy of care- ful study. Jeremiah: The Burning of the Roll A7td it came to pass in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son ofJosiah, king of Judah, that this word came unto Jeremiah from the Lord, saying: Take thee a roll of a book, and write therein all the words that I have spoken unto thee against Israel, and against Judah, and against all the nations, from the day I spake unto thee, from the days of Josiah, even unto this day. It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the evil which I purpose to do unto them; that they may return every man from his evil way; that I may forgive their iniq- uity and their sin. Then Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Ne- riah; and Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the Lord, which he had spoken unto him, upon a roll of a book. And Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying, I am shut up; I cannot go into the house of the Lord: therefore go thou, and read in the roll, which thou hast written from my mouth, the words of the Lord in the ears of the people in the Lord's house upon the fast day: and also thou shalt read them in the ears of all Judah that come out of their cities. It may be they will present their suppUcation before the Lord, and will return every one from his evil way: for great is the anger and the fury that the Lord hath pronounced against this people. And Baruch the son of Neriah did according to all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, reading in the book the words of the Lord in the Lord's house. 145 Structure of the Old Testament g> Now it came to pass in the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the ninth month, that all the people in Jerusalem, and all the people that came from the cities of Judah unto Jerusalem, proclaimed a fast before the Lord. Then read Baruch in the book the words of Jeremiah in the house of the Lord, in the chamber of Gemariah the son of Shaphan the scribe, in the upper court, at the entry of the new gate of the Lord's house, in the ears of all the people. And when Micaiah the son of Gemariah, had heard out of the book all the words of the Lord, he went down into the king's house, into the scribe's chamber: and, lo, all the princes sat there. Then Micaiah declared unto them all the words that he had heard, when Baruch read the book in the ears of the people. Therefore all the princes sent Jehudi the son of Nethaniah unto Baruch, saying, Take in thine hand the roll wherein thou hast read in the ears of the people, and come. So Baruch took the roll in his hand, and came unto them. And they said unto him, Sit down now, and read it in our ears. So Baruch read it in their ears. Now it came to pass, when they had heard all the words, they turned in fear one toward another, and said unto Baruch, We will surely tell the king of all these words. And they asked Baruch, saying, Tell us now, How didst thou write all these words at his mouth? Then Baruch answered them. He pronounced all these words unto me with his mouth, and I wrote them with ink in the book. Then said the princes unto Baruch, Go, hide thee, thou and Jeremiah; and let no man know where ye be. And they went in to the king into the court; but they had laid up the roll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe; and they told all the words in the ears of the king. So the king sent Jehudi to fetch the roll: and he took it out of the chamber of Elishama the scribe. And Jehudi read it in the ears of the king, and in the ears of all the princes which stood beside the king. Now the king sat in the winter house in the ninth month: and there was a fire in the brasier burning before him. And it came to pass, when Jehudi had read three or four leaves, that the king cut it with the penknife, and cast it into the fire that was in the brasier, until all the roll was consumed in the fire that was in the brasier. And they were not afraid, noi: rent their garments, neither the king, nor any of his servants that heard all these words. More- over Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah had made intercession 146 § Transition from History to Literature to the kin2[ that he would not burn the roll: but he would not hear them. And the king commanded Jerahmeel the king's son, and Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel, to take Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet: but the Lord hid them. Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, after that the king had burned the roll, and the words which Baruch wTote at the mouth of Jeremiah, saying: Take thee again another roll, and write in it all the former words that were in the first roll, which Jehoiakim the king of Judah hath burned. The prophet, it appears, is "shut up": prevented by imprison- ment or by illness from appearing in public. Under these circum- stances the Di\nne command comes to him to write in a book "all the words that I have spoken unto thee against Israel, and against Judah, and against all the nations, from the day that I spake unto thee, from the days of Josiah, even unto this day. " Thus a course of prophetic ministration extending over a long term of years is to be committed to writing. Yet the narrative makes it clear that what Jeremiah dictates to his secretary Baruch is not longer than what can be read at a sitting. Baruch proceeds to read this to one circle after another of the court and people. It is graphically brought out how the reading produces a sense of novelty and a panic among those who listen. That there is something novel in the incident is particularly clear at one point: And they asked Baruch, saying, Tell us now. How didst thou write all these \vords at his mouth? Then Baruch answered them. He pronounced all these words unto me with his mouth, and I wrote them with ink in the book. There can be nothing novel in the idea of dictating to a secretary. There can be nothing novel in a book, for it is a literary age, and part of the action takes place in the chamber of the scribes. Nor can the panic be due merely to the general character of the Divine denunciations, for it is made clear that what is written is what Jeremiah has been speaking day after day through all these years. The novelty and the sense of panic are due to a change w^hich this incident reveals as coming over the public conception of prophecy. 147 Structure of the Old Testament g> Hitherto prophecy has been conceived of as something inseparable from the presence of the prophet, a sort of sacred delirium; if prophets in their inspired moments are troublesome to the pubhc they can be ''shut up." It now appears that, apart from the pres- ence of the prophet, the spirit of the prophecy can enter into litera- ture. It further appears that the ministrations of a lifetime, adapted by the prophet to all varieties of surrounding circumstances, can be condensed and intensified into a message of universal import. The recognition of such generalized prophecy is an important condition for true interpretation of the prophetic books. The opening of the Book of Isaiah is a prophecy which has been felici- tously entitled "The Great Arraignment." It is given below (page 182): let the reader study it, and side by side with it let him study an oration in the Book of Deuteronomy (above, page 44). Both give us discourse of the most exalted eloquence. But there is a difference. As we follow the oration of Moses we feel in every line the presence of an audience, and connection with a great occasion — the Rehearsal of the Blessing and the Curse. In the discourse of Isaiah there is nothing to suggest the immediate presence of an audience, and nothing to suggest any particular occasion. Very likely the matter of Isaiah's discourse has been used by him fifty or a hundred times in his encounters \Aith king or people. But in "The Great Arraignment" the modifying circum- stances of such encounters have disappeared, and only the essential spirit remains. It is the function of literature in its higher forms thus to idealize what it contains. The ministration of a prophet to particular people in particular circumstances belongs to history, and is occasional in its scope. Literature as distinguished from his- tory is eternal in its outlook; the literary prophecy comes home to the present age as much as to the age of the prophet. In this particular case the generalized prophecy has taken the form of discourse. But all the higher forms of literature will serve the same purpose; especially what are called creative forms of literature, involving the imagination, such as drama, song, story. And here it seems desirable to indicate certain literary forms which are special to the Bible, and indeed quite unfamiliar in modern literature. I propose to deal with three of such special forms, illustrating them by notable examples. A study of these three 148 §- Literary Types : The Doom Form forms will be a preparation for reading the Books of the Prophets; for no utterance can produce its full effect upon a reader who is unfamiliar with the literary mould in which the utterance is cast. First, we have the Doom Form. The name is given to it from its regular use in what are called Doom Prophecies. Besides their addresses to Israel the prophets are accus- The Doom tomed to make denunciations of foreign peoples, Form enemies of the Chosen People of God: we have the Doom of Baby- lon, of Egypt, of Moab. Usually these Doom Prophecies are found to have the particular literary form under discussion. Struc- turally, the Doom Form implies two separate elements: prose monologue, interrupted at intervals by outbursts of lyrics. The passages of prose monologue, when read by themselves apart from the lyric interruptions, will be found to be continuous monologue of Deity, God denouncing judgment against the evil nations. The interrupting lyrics do not come from particular speakers; like the chorales in a modern oratorio they are impersonal, and they are found to be realizations or celebrations, from point to point, of what the Divine word brings forward. I instance the most celebrated of these Doom Prophecies. Isaiah's Doom of Babylon Set ye up an ensign upon the bare mountain, lift up the voice unto them, wave the hand, that they may go into the gates of the nobles. I have commanded my consecrated ones, yea, I have called my mighty men for mine anger, even them that exult in my majesty. The noise of a multitude in the mountains. Like as of a great people! The noise of a tumult Of the kingdoms of the nations gathered together! The Lord of Hosts Mustereth the Hosr for the battle; They come from a far country, From the uttermost part of heaven: 149 Structure of the Old Testament § Even the Lord, and the weapons of his indignation, To destroy the whole land. Howl ye, for the Day of the Lord is at hand: As destruction from the Almighty shall it come. Therefore shall all hands be feeble, and every heart of man shall melt: and they shall be dismayed; pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman in travail; they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be faces of flame. Behold, the Day of the Lord cometh. Cruel, with wrath and fierce anger; To make the land a desolation. And to destroy the sinners thereof out of it. For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. I will make a man more rare than fine gold, even a man than the pure gold of Ophir. Therefore I will make the heavens to tremble, and the earth shall be shaken out of her place, in the wrath of the Lord of hosts, and in the day of his fierce angeo*. And it shall come to pass, that as the chased roe, and as sheep that no man gathereth, they shall turn every man to his own people, and shall flee every man to his own land. Every one that is found shall be thrust through; and every one that is taken shall fall by the sword. Their infants also shall be dashed in pieces before their eyes; their houses shall be spoiled. Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver, and as for gold, they shall not delight in it. And their bows shall dash the young men in pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eye shall not spare children. And Babylon, The glory of kingdoms, The beauty of the Chaldeans' pride. Shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. 150 <§ Literary Types: The Doom Form It shall never be inhabited, Neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation ; ^ Neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; Neither shall shepherds make their flocks to lie down there. But wild beasts of the desert shall He there; And their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; And ostriches shall dwell there, And satyrs shall dance there. And wolves shall cry in their castles, And jackals in the pleasant palaces: And her time is near to come, And her days shall not be prolonged. For the Lord will have compassion on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land: and the stranger shall join himself with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob. And the peoples shall take them, and bring them to their place: and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of the Lord for servants and for handmaids: and they shall take them captive, whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their oppressors. And it shall come to pass in the day that the Lord shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy trouble, and from the hard service w^herein thou wast made to serve, that thou shalt take up this parable against the king of Babylon, and say: How hath the oppressor ceased! The golden city ceased! The Lord hath broken the staff of the wicked, The sceptre of the rulers; He that smote the peoples in wrath with a continual stroke, That ruled the nations in anger. Is persecuted. And none hindereth! The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: They break forth into singing: 151 Structure of the Old Testament -Q' Yea, the fir trees rejoice at thee, And the cedars of Lebanon: * Since thou art laid down, ' No feller is come up against us.' Hell from beneath is moved for thee. To meet thee at thy coming: It stirreth up the dead for thee, Even all the chief ones of the earth; It hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations, All they shall answer and say unto thee: * Art thou also become weak as we? 'Art thou become like unto us? ' Thy pomp is brought down to hell, And the noise of thy viols: The worm is spread under thee. And worms cover thee. How art thou fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground. Which didst lay low the nations! And thou saidst in thine heart, ' I will ascend into heaven, 'I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; * And I will sit upon the mount of congregation, ' In the uttermost parts of the north: 'I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; ' I will be like the Most High.' Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell. To the uttermost parts of the pit. They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee. They shall consider thee: ' Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, 'That did shake kingdoms; ' That made the world as a wilderness, and overthrew the cities thereof, ' That let not loose his prisoners to their home? ' 152 <§- Literary Types: The Doom Form All the kings of the nations, all of them, sleep in glory, Every one in his own house: But thou art cast forth away from thy sepulchre, Like an abominable branch, As the raiment of those that are slain. That are thrust through with the sword, That go down to the stones of the pit; As a carcase trodden under foot. Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, thou hast slain thy people; the seed of evil- doers shall not be named for ever. Prepare ye slaughter for his children for the iniquity of their fathers; that they rise not up, and possess the earth, and fill the face of the world with cities. And I will rise up against them, saith the Lord of hosts, and cut off from Babylon name and remnant, and son and son's son, saith the Lord. I will also make it a possession for the porcupine, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the Lord of hosts. What appears as prose in this prophecy is found to be continuous monologue, and monologue of Deity, the 'T" of these passages always indicating the speaker as God. The interrupting lyrics give no suggestion of personal speakers; lyric strains, so to speak, sound out of the void to second and expatiate upon what the words of God proclaim. No sooner has the opening monologue suggested Deity summoning his supernatural ministers to a work of judgment than the lyric strains bring home to us the noise of a multitude in the mountains, hosts mustering for a work of destruction. The Di- vine voice speaks of the panic and horrors of judgmen^t; the lyric strain tells of a Day of the Lord cruel with fierce anger. The Divine picture of impending doom has reached its cUmax: suddenly the interrupting lyrics indicate Babylon as the object of this judgment, and follow with a doleful picture of utter desolation, wild creatures roaming over what had been the site of the world's metropolis. The speech of Deity then announces how this over- throw of Babylon is a deliverance of his chosen people from their 153 Structure of the Old Testament g> oppressor. The lyrics now take form as a regular ode, and (what is unusual in Doom prophecies) this ode is put into the mouth of deHvered Israel. It is an ode of scornful triumph over a fallen oppressor; and reaches a climax in the imagery of the underworld, into which Babylon has fallen, while the inhabitants of this under- world, the earher oppressors of the earth, peer curiously at the newcomer, wondering how he has fallen from his pomp to be- come weaker than themselves. The Divine monologue briefly concludes, with the reiterated thought of Babylon the haughty swept from the earth with the besom of destruction. The second of the three literary forms is the Rhapsody, a name given to the Spiritual Dramas of the Bible. To the modern The Rhaosodv ^^^ drama suggests the theatre. The Hebrew people had no theatre; but the strong creative instinct of its poets could project a drama wholly in the region of the spiritual. To speak in theatrical terms we should have to say that the scene of such rhapsodies is the whole universe; their period is all time; God is the hero of the drama, and Providence is its plot. In a modern drama w^e follow a movement of events brought out by dialogue of individual speakers in specific scenes. The rhapsodies have their dialogue. The speakers include such as God and the Celestial Hosts; Israel appears, Israel Suffering or Israel Repentant; the Saved and the Doomed, the East and the West, answer one another. There is often one who speaks in the name of God, yet is not God — the Voice of Prophecy may express the idea. Not infrequently we have ' Voices,' ' Cries,' with no more of personality than these words imply. Monologue is made to do the work of dialogue; especially where the Divine monologue, apostrophizing nations or classes, makes them thereby present to the scene; or where it alternates between judgment and mercy, indignation and tenderness. Impersonal lyrics, as in the Doom Form, dwell upon particular points of the movement. For scenery, such scenery as belongs to a spiritual drama is brought home to us by flashes of \dsion, or by a descriptive voice that may be entitled 'The Prophetic Spectator.' In so spiritual a region other literary forms beside dialogue, even prose discourse, may help to carry forward the movement of events. And this is always a movement 154 <§- Literary Types: The Rhapsody of Divine Providence ordering the universe, that which the Bible expresses by its word 'Judgement.' We may take for illustration a grand poem that fills the whole Book of Joel. It is sometimes entitled, The Rhapsody of the Locust Plague; for, without the word 'locust' being used, a mysterious description (page 158) of advancing foes reads like a riddling suggestion of a locust plague. This rhapsody is made up of seven successive Visions (like the Acts of a drama), with the turning point of the movement in the centre. JOEL'S RHAPSODY OF THE LOCUST PLAGUE I. — The Land Desolate and Mourning Old Men Hear this, ye old men. And give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land! Hath this been in your days, Or in the days of your fathers? Tell ye your children of it, And let your children tell their children, And their children another generation. That which the palmerworm hath left Hath the locust eaten; And that which the locust hath left Hath the cankerworm eaten; And that which the cankerworm hath left Hath the caterpillar eaten. Revellers Awake, ye drunkards, and weep, And howl all ye drinkers of wine, Because of the sweet wine; For it is cut off from your mouth! For a nation is come up upon my land. Strong, and without number; His teeth are the teeth of a lion, 155 Structure of the Old Testament § And he hath the jaw teeth of a great lion. He hath laid my vine waste, And barked my fig tree: He hath made it clean bare, and cast it away; The branches thereof are made white. Priests Lament like a virgin Girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth! The meal offering and the drink offering Is cut off from the house of the Lord: The priests, the Lord's ministers, mourn. The field is wasted, The land mourneth; For the corn is wasted, The new wine is dried up, The oil languisheth. Husbandmen Be ashamed, O ye husbandmen, Howl, O ye vinedressers. For the wheat, and for the barley; For the harvest of the field is perished! The wine is withered. And the fig tree languisheth; The pomegranate tree, The palm tree also, and the apple tree, Even all the trees of the field are withered: For joy is withered away from the sons of men. Priests Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests; Howl, ye ministers of the altar; Come, lie all night in sackcloth, Ye ministers of my God: For the meal offering and the drink offering Is withholden from the house of your God! 156 § Literary Types : The Rhapsody The Whole People Sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the old men and all the inhabitants of the land unto the house of the Lord your God, and cry unto the Lord : Alas for the day! for the day of the Lord is at hand! And as destruction from the Almighty shall it come. Is not the meat cut off before our eyes. Yea, joy and gladness from the house of our God? The seeds rot under their clods: The garners are laid desolate, The barns are broken down; For the corn is withered. How do the beasts groan! The herds of cattle are perplexed. Because they have no pasture; Yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate. O Lord, to thee do I cry: For the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilder- ness, And the flame hath burned all the trees of the field. Yea, the beasts of the field pant unto thee: For the water brooks are dried up, And the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wild- erness. II.— The Judgement Advancing Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, And sound an alarm in my holy mountain; Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble! For the Day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand; a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, as the 157 Structure of the Old Testament § dawn spread upon the mountains; a great people and a strong, there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after them, even to the years of many generations! A fire devoureth before them; And behind them a flame burneth: The land is as the garden of Eden before them, And behind them a desolate wilderness! Yea, and none hath escaped them. The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so do they run. Like the noise of chariots on the tops of the mountains do they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array. At their presence the peoples are in anguish: All faces are waxed pale: They run like mighty men; They climb the wall like men of war; And they march every one on his ways. And they break not their ranks: neither doth one thrust another; they march every one in his path: and they burst through the weapons, and break not off their course. They leap upon the city; They run upon the wall; They climb up into the houses; They enter in at the windows like a thief. The earth quaketh before them; The heavens tremble: The sun and the moon are darkened. And the stars withdraw their shining. And the Lord uttereth his voice before his army; for his camp is very great; for he is strong that executeth his word: for the Day of the Lord is great and very terrible; and who can abide it? 158 § Literary Types: The Rhapsody III. — Repentance at the Last Moment The Lord Yet even now, saith the Lord, turn ye unto me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: and rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy, and repenteth him of the evil. The People Who knoweth whether he will not turn and repent, and leave a blessing behind him, even a meal offering and a drink offering unto the Lord your God? Blow the trumpet in Zion, Sanctify a fast. Call a solemn assembly: Gather the people, Sanctify the congregation, Assemble the old men. Gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: Let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, And the bride out of her closet. Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say: Priests Spare thy people, O Lord, And give not thine heritage to reproach, That the nations should use a b3rvvord against them; Wherefore should they say among the peoples. Where is their God? IV. — Relief and Restoration Then was the Lord jealous for his landj and had pity on his people. The Lord Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith: and I will no more make you a reproach among 159 Structure of the Old Testament § the nations: but I will remove far off from you the northern army, and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, his forepart into the eastern sea, and his hinder part into the western sea; and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things. Fear not, O land, be glad and rejoice; for the Lord hath done great things. Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field; for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do >deld their strength. Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God: for he giveth you the former rain in just measure, and he causeth to come down for you the rain, the former rain and the latter rain, in the first month. And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats shall overflow with wine and oil. And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you. And ye shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and shall praise the name of the Lord your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed. And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your God, and there is none else: and my people shall never be ashamed. V. — Afterward The Lord And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: and also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those that escape, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant w^hom the Lord doth call. For, behold, m those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity 1 60 VII.— The Holy Mountain and Eternal Peace The Lord So shall ye know that I am the Lord your God, dwelling in Zion my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down sweet wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the brooks of Judah shall flow w^ith waters; and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the Lord, and shall water the Valley of Acacias. Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness, for the violence done to the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land. But Judah shall be inhabited for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation. And I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed: for the Lord dwelleth in Zion. The imagination is called upon to follow through seven successive Visions a continuous movement. The first Vision presents the Land of Judah desolate and mourning. This is brought home to us — as it might be in a modern oratorio — by a succession of choruses. A Chorus of old men cry out upon a desolation never seen in their days or in the days of their fathers before them ; a Chorus of revel- lers awake from their revelry to find how famine has eaten up the means of revelling; a Chorus of priests cry that there is nothing left for offerings to the Lord; a Chorus of husbandmen tell of fields and vineyards despoiled. Then the various choruses seem to draw to- gether into a Chorus of the whole People of Judah, painting the utter ruin of their land. With the second Vision the Judgment is seen advancing to a chmax. The sudden sound of the trumpet seems to proclaim a Day of Judgment begun. In a combination of prose and verse (something like the Doom form) we have pictured the progress of a mysterious foe, in front of them the land like the garden of Eden, behind them a desolate wilderness. Now the foe is close at hand; there is darkness and rocking earthquake, and for cUmax a Voice recognized as the Voice of the God of Judgment. The third Vision opens with a surprise: the Voice of God is a voice calling to repentance, and there is a response from the People, 162 <§- Literary Types : Emblem Prophecy Who knoweth whether he will not turn and leave a blessing behind him? The fourth Vision brings the turning point: a God changing from judgment to mercy. The speech of God is not to be read as a promise: what omnipotence speaks our imagination reads as visibly present, and the earth is seen to lose its horrors and become smiling nature again. The movement continues to a fifth Vision: an ' Afterward ' of sanctification for high and low. If we have signs of judgment, it is now judgment on behalf of Judah against the na- tions of the world. In the sixth Vision this new judgment is ad- vancing to its climax. Voices are heard, summoning the nations of the earth "to the valley of the Lord's Decision," calling Jehovah's hosts "to the valley of the Lord's Decision"; the prophetic specta- tor has a glimpse of "multitudes, multitudes, in the valley of the Lord's Decision. " Then again all is darkness and earthquake; un- til, with the seventh Vision, the darkness has passed, and the Holy Mountain of Peace stands out from a ruined world. The w^ork of Providence has run its full course, and judgment has changed into salvation. We have yet to deal with a third of the literary forms distin- guishing the Bible from modern literature. This is Emblem Prophecy. I will speak first of the simpler examples Emblem of this that are to be found in any of the prophetic Prophecy books; and then of the elaboration of Emblem Prophecy that characterises the Book of Ezekiel. In modern times we are accustomed to sermons on texts, the text being usually a verse or two from the Bible. Similar dis- courses on texts are found in the Books of Wisdom. But in the prophetic books the text of a discourse is an object-text: something exhibited to the eye, or sounded to the ear, makes a starting point for preaching. Ezekiel will appear holding in his hand the broken fragments of a stick, which he proceeds to join together: this is text sufficient for a sermon on the healing of the feud between Israel and Judah. Jeremiah appears in the public streets wearing the wooden collar of the slave: he is to speak of the enslavement of the na- tions by Nebuchadnezzar. Suddenly, one of the hostile prophets runs up to him and snaps the wooden collar in two: the "two pieces" of the collar in the hands of Hananiah become a text 163 Structure of the Old Testament § for the false prophet's proclamation that within "two years" the sacred vessels of the Lord will be brought back to Jerusalem. Or, the emblem text is some reiterated cry. In the famous preaching of Jonah to the men of Nineveh there is no sermon in our sense of the word. The prophet advancing slowly through the vast city at every few yards ejaculates, "Yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown": this, and nothing more. But the reiteration of the mysterious words at last produces a panic, which brings the city and its king to repentance. Such emblem texts are part of a widespread tendency in ancient literature to use dumb show as a prelude to discourse or dramatic action. Every reader will remember how in Shakespeare's Hamlet is introduced the play of the Murder of Gonzago; this murder play is preluded by a piece of dumb show in which poison is seen being poured into the ear of a sleeper. The principle underlying such usage is that dumb show is mysterious, and raises a sense of wonder; when the action or dis- course follows it strikes a mental attitude in the audience which has been quickened into receptivity. But in the Book of Ezekiel emblem prophecy can go far beyond this, and produces passages that seem difficult to readers who are unprepared for them. I cite, as it stands in the Book of Ezekiel, an example of this elaborate emblem prophecy, and will then go into the question of its interpretation. Ezekiel: The Mimic Siege of Jerusalem Thou also, son of man, take thee a tile, and lay it before thee, and pourtray upon it a city, even Jerusalem: and lay siege against it, and build forts against it, and cast up a mount against it; set camps also against it, and plant battering rams against it round about. And take thou unto thee an iron pan, and set it for a wall of iron be- tween thee and the city: and set thy face toward it, and it shall be besieged, and thou shalt lay siege against it. This shall be a sign to the house of Israel. Moreover lie thou upon thy left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it: according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon it, thou shalt bear their iniquity. For I have appointed the years of their iniquity to be unto thee a number of 164 <§- Literary Types : Emblem Prophecy days, even three hundred and ninety days: so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. And again, when thou hast accom- pHshed these, thou shalt lie on thy right side, and shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah; forty days, each day for a year, have I appointed it unto thee. And thou shalt set thy face toward the siege of Jerusalem, with thine arm uncovered; and thou shalt prophesy against it. And, behold, I lay bands upon thee, and thou shalt not turn thee from one side to another, till thou hast accom- plished the days of thy siege. Take thou also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentils, and millet, and spelt, and put them in one vessel, and make thee bread thereof; according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon thy side, even three hundred and ninety days, shalt thou eat thereof. And thy meat which thou shalt eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels a day: from time to time shalt thou eat it. And thou shalt drink water by measure, the sixth part of an hin: from time to time shalt thou drink. And thou shalt eat it as barley cakes, and thou shalt bake it in their sight with dung that Cometh out of man. And the Lord said. Even thus shall the children of Israel eat their bread unclean, among the nations whither I will drive them. Moreover he said unto me. Son of man, behold, I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem: and they shall eat bread by weight, and with carefulness; and they shall drink water by measure, and with astonishment: that they may want bread and water, and be astonied one with another, and pine away in their iniquity. And thou, son of man, take thee a sharp sword, as a barber's razor shalt thou take it unto thee, and shalt cause it to pass upon thine head and upon thy beard: then take thee balances to weigh, and divide the hair. A third part shalt thou burn in the fire in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are fulfilled; and thou shalt take a third part, and smite with the sword round about it; and a third part thou shalt scatter to the wind, and I will draw out a sword after them. And thou shalt take thereof a few in number, and bind them in thy skirts. And of these again shalt thou take, and cast them into the midst of the fire, and burn them in the fire; therefrom shall a fire come forth into all the house of Israel. 165 Structure of the Old Testament -g> The most varied interpretations have been put upon this passage by commentators. Some have taken so Hterally the words of the Divine instructions that they have fancied Ezekiel — in the spirit of a St. Symeon Styhtes — lying on his side for more than a year to- gether as a protest against the sins of Israel and Judah. Other commentators have whittled away the expressions in the text so as to make them mere metaphors. The key to the interpretation of this prophecy is to remember that an emblem is only the text, or brief starting point, for discourse. We know, in the case of Ezekiel, that the people are accustomed to come to the house of the prophet, and await the moment of his inspiration; further, we know that these assembhes are daily meetings. The significance of the passage quoted is that for four hundred successive days the text of the daily sermon is some item of the diverse emblematic action pre- scribed to the prophet; he may be seen attacking or defending, deahng with conditions of famine or exile, prostrating himself for a shorter period when the question is of Judah's doom, for a longer period when it is the doom of more guilty Israel. What Ezekiel would do in the way of dumb show on any single day need not occupy more than a minute or couple of minutes: then dumb show would give place to spoken discourse. The chapter that follows the passage given above is a simimary of the matter that would make the four hundred discourses. That a single type of emblem, with what it typifies, should be reiterated without break for daily min- istrations extending over more than a year will not seem strange to one who follows the situation of the prophet Ezekiel and the captives to whom he ministers. But Emblem Prophecy in Ezekiel can go even further then this. So far I have assumed that the emblem is no more than the text or starting point of a discourse. But in certain parts of the Book of Ezekiel the emblematic action is maintained through the whole of a discourse. We get a unique form of art, in which oratory and his- trionic action move side by side, each enhancing the other. I will cite an extreme case, only premising that what is here given need not necessarily be understood as the discourse of a single occasion; it may be a grouping of four different discourses all turning upon the same symbolism of the Sword. i66 <§ Literary Types : Emblem Prophecy Ezekiel: The Sword of the Lord And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face toward Jerusalem, and drop thy word toward the sanctuaries, and prophesy against the land of Israel : and say to the land of Israel, Thus saith the Lord: Behold, I am against thee, and will draw forth my sword out of its sheath, and will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked. Seeing then that I will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked, therefore shall my sword go forth out of its sheath against all flesh from the south to the north: and all flesh shall know that I the Lord have drawn forth my sword out of its sheath; it shall not return any more. Sigh therefore, thou son of man; with the breaking of thy loins and with bitterness shalt thou sigh before their eyes. And it shall be, when they say unto thee. Wherefore sighest thou? that thou shalt say. Because of the tidings, for it cometh: and every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be feeble, and every spirit shall faint, and all knees shall be weak as water: behold, it cometh, and it shall be done, saith the Lord God. * And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy, and say. Thus saith the Lord: Say, A SWORD, A sword, It is sharpened. And also furbished: It is sharpened that it may make a slaughter; It is furbished that it may be as lightning! * Shall we then make mirth? The Rod of my son, it contemneth every tree.' And it is given to be furbished That it may be handled: The sword, it is sharpened, yea, it is furbished, To give it into the hand of the slayer. Cry and howi, son of man: for it is upon my people, it is upon all the princes of Israel: they are delivered over to the sword with my peo- 167 Structure of the Old Testament g pie: smite therefore upon thy thigh. For there is a trial; and what if even the Rod that contemneth shall be no more? saith the Lord God. Thou therefore, son of man, prophesy, and smite thine hands together. And let the sword be doubled the third time; The sword of the deadly wounded: It is the sword of the great one that is deadly wounded Which compasseth them about. I have set the point of the sword against all their gates, That their heart may melt, And their stumblings be multiplied: Ah! it is made as lightning! It is pointed for slaughter — Gather thee together, go to the right; Set thyself in array, go to the left — Whithersoever thy face is set. I will also smite mine hands together, and I will satisfy my fury: I the Lord have spoken it. The word of the Lord came unto me again, saying, Also, thou son of man, appoint thee two ways that the sword of the king of Baby- lon may come; they twain shall come forth out of one land: and mark out a place, mark it out at the head of the way to the city. Thou shalt appoint a way, for the sword to come to Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and to Judah in Jerusalem the defenced. For the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination : he shook the arrows to and fro, he consulted the teraphim, he looked in the liver. In his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem, to set battering rams, to open the mouth in the slaughter, to lift up the voice with shouting, to set battering rams against the gates, to cast up mounts, to build forts. O deadly wounded wicked one, the prince of Israel, whose day is come, in the time of the iniquity of the end; thus saith the Lord God: Remove the mitre, and take off the crown: this shall be i68 ^ Literary Types : Emblem Prophecy no more the same: exalt that which is low, and abase that which is high. I will overturn, overturn, overturn it: this also shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him. And thou, son of man, prophesy, and say. Thus saith the Lord God concerning the children of Ammon, and concerning their re- proach; and say thou: * A sword, a sword is drawn, ' For the slaughter it is furbished: ' To cause it to devour, ' That it may be as lightning: ' whiles they see vanity unto thee, whiles they divine lies unto thee? to lay thee upon the necks of the wdcked that are deadly wounded, whose day is come, in the time of the punishment of the end. (Cause it to return into its sheath.) In the place where thou wast created, in the land of thy birth, will I judge thee. And I will pour out mine indignation upon thee; I will blow upon thee with fire of my wrath: and I will deliver thee into the hand of brutish men, skilful to destroy. Thou shalt be for fuel to the fire; thy blood shall be in the midst of the land; thou shalt be no more remembered: for I the Lord have spoken it. How are we to understand the emblematic action in such prophecy or prophecies of the Sword? At the outset Ezekiel is seen standing before the expectant audi- ence with no more of emblematic action than is implied in his gazing steadily in a particular direction — the well known direction of the Holy Land, much as Daniel in praying would open his window to- wards Jerusalem. This of itself would serve for a prophetic text. But it is supplemented by another: the prophet suddenly draws a sw^ord out of its sheath, and the military action that follows presents the sword of the Lord falHng upon all flesh. Then the sword is flung aside, and the prophet is seen writhing in agony, an agony so reaUstic that the audience cannot restrain their cries as to what all this means. This gives Ezekiel his opportunity: his agony was the 169 Structure of the Old Testament ^ agony of a smitten world, under which every spirit should faint and all knees become weak as water. Now we have an entire change in the symbolism of the sword. It must be remembered that in antiquity all mechanical arts were carried on to music, each trade having its trade song. (A faint rehc of this survives, as when w^e see sailors hauling in a rope to a rude chant, or French washerwomen beating clothes in the brook to a traditional jingle.) Ezekiel is chanting the Song of the Sword- maker at his work, the lengthening clauses of the song suggesting the approach of the deadly weapon to completion. For a single moment the symboHsm turns to the other side of the conflict: the careless foe all unconscious of what is preparing against him. "Shall we then make mirth? The Rod of my son it con- temneth every tree." The song of the sword goes on gathering force, until at the word ' slayer ' all changes to the howls and contortions of the foe on whom the Divine sword has fallen; the flashings of the sword now have become lightnings striking right and left. There is yet another variation. The point of the sword is seen tracing a line on the ground; it is a forked line, like the branching of ways. Some emblematic action of shaking a quiver, or other mode of divination, makes the meaning complete: the king of Babylon has reached the branching of ways, one leading tow^ards Ammon and one towards Jerusalem, and the lot has decided him for the Jerusalem road. Horrors of war follow against guilty Israel and its prince. Once more we hear the song of the sword, but in a totally different tone: it is no longer the chant of the workman, but the mockery of Israel's envious neighbors, as they gloat over the sword of the Lord about to descend upon Israel. Suddenly, the prophet plunges the sword into its sheath: the looked for judgment on Israel is restrained. But Divine indignation w^ill visit mocking Ammon. If in Emblem Prophecy of this type there is, to the modern reader, much that seems strange, and hardly credible, he should bear in mind two considerations. First, Emblem Prophecy is only a single variety of what w^as a widespread tendency of ancient life, masterpiece of prophetic literature. Under the title of " The Rhap- sody of Zion Redeemed" this will be treated in a chapter by itself, and \\-ill be claimed as the climax of the Old Testament. The other two collections of literary works made by the Men of the Return from Captivity can be left to the two chapters in which they are treated, and need little discussion at this point. In the collection of the lyrics of Israel the main thing is of course the Book of Psalms. This is a miscellaneous collection, without any observable plan of arrangement. Yet here we can see something analogous to the distinction in the prophetic books between what is occasional and historical and what is of general and universal import. Certain of the psalms — like the Sennacherib songs, and the anthems of David's inauguration of Jerusalem — bear on their surface indications of connection with particular phases of the his- tory' of Israel. These psalms, in the present work, have been transferred to appropriate places in the Historic Outline. For what remains, the question is not of chronological succession but of a grouping according to the subject-matter. And when we come to the collected Books of Wisdom, all connection with the history of Israel disappears. Wisdom has its reference to personal, not to national life. And in the chapter dealing with these Books of Wis- dom we shall see reasons for placing the whole as something inter- mediate between the Old and the New Testaments. In bringing this chapter to a close one final remark may be added. The chapter has had to do with ti distinction, in the Old Testament, between what is occasional in the history- of Israel and what is literature of general and universal import. But it must never be forgotten that the history- of Israel is itself a thing of universal im- port. In the natural course of religious development we have first the religion that is national and then the religion that is personal. But the two are in a sense one. The nation is the individual "writ large." The Old Covenant between God and a Chosen Nation meets, in the Book of Jeremiah, a ''New Covenant" between God and individual hearts. The Church of the New Testament is the heir of the Israel of the Old Testament. The value of the Bible as the foundation of modern religion would be considerably dimin- ished if its readers failed to see in God's dealing with a nation a varied presentation of his dealings with the individual life. CHAPTER III COLLECTED BOOKS OF THE PROPHETS Isaiah Jonah Jeremiah Ezekiel Daniel Hosea Joel Amos Obadiah Micah Nahum Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai Zechariah Malachi 173 In the traditional Bible the Books of the Prophets stand as on the preceding page, without any apparent principle of arrangement. In this work they are grouped as follows. I. Prophecies with historic setting in Old Testament history Northern Israel before its fall Kingdom of Judah: in its flour- ishing period (culminating in the reign of Hezekiah) Kingdom of Judah: its decline and fall The Captivity: before and after the fall of Jerusalem Close of the Captivity, and the Return Hosea — a native Amos — a missionary from Judah Isaiah — a statesman of the capi- tal Micah — a country prophet Zephaniah Jeremiah Daniel (in Babylon) Ezekiel (a colony near the river Chebar) Haggai Zechariah (anonymous) Malachi (that is My Messenger) II. Prophecies of Foreign Nations or of Ideal Judgment The Chaldean Empire at its Habakkuk height Nineveh: at its height of power Jonah in its fall Nahum Edom Obadiah Ideal Picture of Judgment Joel III. Climax of the Old Testament The Rhapsody of Zion Redeemed [Chapters 40-66 of the traditional Book of Isaiah] 174 BOOK OF HOSEA Hosea is one of two prophets whose ministiy is to Northern Israel before its fall. In a style of rugged obscurity it presents a country gangrened with corruption. Its two most striking prophecies turn upon two powerful images. In one of them the idea is the fallen wife, whom her husband seeks to reclaim. This has been often interpreted (though without sufficient grounds) to be a picture of the relation between the pro- phet and his erring wife. In the prophecy cited below the image is the yearning of a father for his prodigal son. By a most interesting literary device the form of dialogue is thrown around the alternating moods of Deity — righteous indignation and passionate tenderness; until at the close repentant Ephraim comes into the dialogue, and the last note is reconciliation. The Yearning of God The Lord When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.— As they called them, so they went from them: they sacrificed unto the Baalim, and burned incense to graven images. — Yet I taught Ephraim to go; I took them on my arms; but they knew not that I healed them. I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love; and I was to them as they that take off the yoke on their jaws, and I laid meat before them. — He shall not return into the land of Egypt; but the Assyrian shall be his king, because they refused to return. And the sword shall fall upon his cities, and shall consume his bars, and devour them, because of their own counsels. And my people are bent to back- sliding from me: though they call them to him that is on high, none at all will lift himself up. — 175 Books of the Prophets § How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? how shall I deliver thee, Israel? how shall I make thee as Admah? how shall I set thee as Zeboim? mine heart is turned within me, my compassions are kindled together. I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim: for I am God, and not man; the Holy One in the midst of thee: and I will not come in wrath. They shall walk after the Lord, who shall roar like a lion: for he shall roar, and the children shall come trembling from the west. They shall come trembling as a bird out of Egypt, and as a dove out of the land of Assyria: and I will make them to dwell in their houses, saith the Lord. — Ephraim hath provoked to anger most bitterly: therefore shall his blood be left upon him, and his reproach shall his Lord return unto him. When Ephraim spake with trembling he exalted himself in Israel: but when he offended in Baal, he died. And now they sin more and more, and have made them molten images of their silver, even idols according to their own understanding, all of them the work of the craftsmen: they say of them, Let the men that sacrifice kiss the calves. Therefore they shall be as the morning cloud, and as the dew that passeth early away, as the chaff that is driven with the whirlwind out of the threshing-floor, and as the smoke out of the chimney. — Yet I am the Lord thy God from the land of Egypt; and thou knowest no god but me, and beside me there is no saviour. I did know thee in the wilderness, in the land of great drought. Accord- ing to their pasture, so were they filled; they were filled, and their heart was exalted: therefore have they forgotten me. — Therefore am I unto them as a lion: as a leopard will I watch by the way: I will meet them as a bear that is bereaved of her whelps, and will rend the caul of their heart: and there will I devour them like a lion; the wild beast shall tear them. It is thy destruction, O Israel, that thou art against me, against thy help. Where now is thy king, that he may save thee in all thy cities? and thy judges, of whom thou saidst, Give me a king and princes? I have given thee a king in mine anger, and have taken him away in my wrath. — I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death : O death, where are thy plagues? O grave, where is thy destruction? — 176 <§- Northern Israel: Hosea and Amos Repentance shall be hid from mine eyes. Though he be fruitful among his brethren, an east wind shall come, the breath of the Lord coming up from the wilderness, and his spring shall become dry, and his fountain shall be dried up: it shall spoil the treasure of all pleasant vessels. Samaria shall bear her guilt; for she hath re- belled against her God: they shall fall by the sword; their infants shall be dashed in pieces. Repentant Israel. — O Israel, return unto the Lord thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity. Take with you words, and return unto the Lord: say unto him. Take away all iniquity, and accept that which is good: so will we render as bullocks the offering of our lips. Asshur shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses: neither will we say any more to the work of our hands. Ye are our gods: for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy. The Lord. — I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him. I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall blossom as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon. His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon. They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive as the corn, and blossom as- the vine: the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon. Ephraim. — What have I to do any more with idols? The Lord. — I have answered, and will regard him. Ephraim. — I am like a green fir tree — The Lord. — From me is thy fruit found. BOOK OF AMOS Whereas Hosea was a native of the northern kingdom, Amos is a missionary to it from southern Judah. This appears in an interest- ing digression, in which Amos inveighs against attempts to stop his ministry. {Then Amaziah the priest of Beth-el sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, Amos hath conspired against thee in the midst of the house of Israel: the land is not able to bear all his words. For thus Amos saith, Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel 177 Books of the Prophets g» shall surely be led away captive ant of his land. Also Amaziah said unto A mos, O thou seer, go, flee thee away into the land oj Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there: but prophesy not again any more at Beth-el: for it is the king's sanctuary, and it is a royal house. Then answered Amos, and said to Amaziah, I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet's son; but I was an herdman, and a dresser of sycamore trees: and the Lord took me from foil aw- ing the flock, and the Lord said unto me. Go, prophesy unto my people Israel. Xorw therefore Jtear thou the word of the Lord: Thou sayest, Prophesy not against Israel, and drop not thy word against the house of Isaac; therefore thus saith the Lord: Thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by the sword, and thy land shall be divided by line; and thou thyself shall die in a land that is unclean, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of his land.) As a whole, the book is rhapsodic in form, denouncing corruption. But the movement is broken by parenthetic digressions, in which the prophet seems to turn upon those who are opposing his ministr\'. One of these digressions is the noble outburst of denunciation which is here given. Prepare to Meet Thy God Come to Beth-el — and transgress; to Gilgal — and multiply trans- gression; and bring your sacrifices every morning, and your tithes every three days; and offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving of that which is leavened, and proclaim free\sill offerings and pubUsh them: For this liketh you, O ye children of Israel, Saith the Lord God. And I also have given you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and want of bread in all your places: Yet have ye not returned unto me, Saith the Lord. 178 <§- Northern Israel : Hosea and Amos And I also have withholden the rain from you, when there were yet three months to the harvest: and I caused it to rain upon one city, and caused it not to rain upon another city: one piece was rained upon, and the piece whereupon it rained not withered. So two or three cities wandered unto one city to drink water, and were not satisfied: Yet have ye not returned unto me, Saith the Lord. I have smitten you with blasting and mildew : the multitude of your gardens and your vineyards and your fig trees and your olive trees hath the palmerworm devoured : Yet have ye not returned unto me, Saith the Lord. I have sent among you the pestilence after the manner of Egypt: your young men have I slain with the sword, and have carried away your horses; and I have made the stink of your camp to come up even into 3^our nostrils: Yet have ye not returned unto me, Saith the Lord. I have overthrown some among you, as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and ye were as a brand plucked out of the burning: Yet have ye not returned unto me, Saith the Lord. Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: And because I will do this unto thee. Prepare to meet thy God, O Israel. For^ lo, he that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth; the Lord, the God of hosts, is his name. 179 BOOK OF ISAIAH The title is here appUed to the iirst thirty-nine chapters of the Book of Isaiah as it appears in traditional Bibles. The chapters that follow these embody an independent poem, product of a differ- ent period, which in the accidents of literary history has been joined to the book of the historical Isaiah. Under the title, The Rhapsody of Zion Redeemed, this will appear in its proper place (below, chapter V). The ministry of Isaiah belongs to tlie kingdom of Judah during its flourishing period, mainly in tlie reign of Hezekiah. All the dift'erent sides of prophetic activity are represented. One side of tlie prophet's work is his daily ministry, in which he encounters king or people as a political or spiritual leader. One notable example of tliis, Isaiah's leadership during the crisis of Sennacherib's invasion, has already appeared in its place in tlie outline of Old Testament history (above, page 102). His action in an earlier crisis, occurring in tlie reign of Ahaz, when northern Israel and Syria made a confederacy against Judah, is tlie basis of the prophecy which appears below under the title ^'The Child Immanuel and tlie Child Wonderful." The more important side of prophetic energy (as already pointed out, above, page 145) is where tJie substance of such daily ministr>^ is worked up afresh, stripped of occasional references, and made into a message which is general and universal in its appeal. The vision prophecy which constitutes the Call of Isaiah strikes the key note of such prophetic message. We have side by side (i) the Golden Age of tlie Future, often associated with the expression, ''the mountain of the Lord"; (2) tlie purging Judgment, through which this Golden Age is to be reached, and reached only by the faithful remnant. Sometimes this higher prophecy takes the form of oratorical discourses. Several of Isaiah's discourses are given below. Or the I So <§- Judah : Isaiah prophetic message is cast in highly imaginative and dramatic scenes, of which the fullest example is the Rhapsody, the drama laid in the region of the spiritual (above, page 154). These are illustrated below in the Prophecy of Assyrian Invasion, and in the oracles cast in the figure of the Watclmian. Isaiah's Rhapsody of Judgment is the most typical example of Divine Judgment portrayed in purely ideal pictures, dissociated from particular time or place. The Doom Prophecy, specially directed against foreign foes, has already been illustrated in Isaiah's Doom of Babylon (above, page 149). From the literary point of view Isaiah has always been recognized as in the inner circle of the world's great poets. But his peculiar forms of poetry, and especially his rapid and unexpected transi- tions of thought, are so different from what is familiar in secular poetry, that the student will here stand specially in need of the Notes which elucidate the selected portions of Scripture. (See be- low pp. 4S4-S.) After an utterance of Isaiah has been studied with the aid of these notes, it will need a second or third reading of the text, before justice will be done to the literary grandeur of Isaiah's writings. SELECTIONS FROM ISAIAH *** IsaiaKs prophecy Doom of Babylon has been given in the previous chapter {page 140). The Call of the Prophet In the year that king Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another: Chorus of Seraphim. — Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts! Answering Chorus. — The fulness of the whole earth is his glory! And the foundations of the thresholds were moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I : i8i Books of the Prophets § Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: For mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts! Then flew one of the seraphim unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: and he touched my mouth with it, and said: Lo, this hath touched thy lips; And thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying. Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then I said, Here am I; send me. And he said, Go, and tell this people. Hear ye indeed, but under- stand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and under- stand with their heart, and turn again, and be healed. Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered. Until cities be waste without inhabitant, and houses without man, and the land become utterly waste, and the Lord have removed men far away, and the forsaken places be many in the midst of the land. And if there be yet a tenth in it, it shall again be eaten up: as a tere- binth, and as an oak, whose stock remaineth when they are felled, so the holy seed is the stock thereof. The Great Arraignment Hear, 0 heavens, and give ear, O earth, for the Lord hath spoken: I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider. Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evil-doers, children that deal corrupth^: they have forsaken the Lord, they have de- spised the Holy One of Israel, they are estranged and gone back- ward. Why will ye be still stricken, that ye revolt more and more? 182 Judah is fallen: because their tongue and their doings are against the Lord, to provoke the eyes of his glory. The shew of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have rewarded evil unto themselves. Say ye of the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the doing of his hands shall be done to him. As for my people, children are their oppres- sors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths. The Lord standeth up to plead, and standeth to judge the peoples. The Lord will enter into judgement with the elders of his people, and the princes thereof: It is ye that have eaten up the vineyard; the spoil of the poor is in your houses: what mean ye that ye crush my people, and grind the face of the poor? saith the Lord, the Lord of hosts. Moreover the Lord said. Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet: therefore the Lord will smite the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion. In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their anklets, and the cauls, and the crescents; the pendants, and the bracelets, and the mufflers; the head tires, and the ankle chains, and the sashes, and the perfume boxes, and the amulets; the rings, and the nose jewels; the festival robes, and the mantles, and the shawls, and the satchels; the hand mirrors, and the fine linen, and the turbans, and the veils. And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet spices there shall be rottenness; and instead of a girdle a rope; and instead of well set hair baldness; and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth: branding instead of beauty. Thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy mighty in the war. And her gates shall lament and mourn; and she shall be desolate and sit upon the ground. And seven women shall take hold of one man in that day, saying. We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name; take thou away our reproach. In that day shall the branch of the Lord he beautiful and glorious^ and the fruit of the land shall be excellent and comely for them that are 1 86 <§- Judah : Isaiah escaped of Israel. And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem: when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof, by the blast of judgement, a7ui by the blast of burning. A lui the Lord will create over the whole habitation of mount Zion, and over her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for over all the glory shall be spread a canopy. And there shall be a pavilion for a shadow in the day-time from the heat, and for a refuge and for a covert from storm and from rain. Parable of the Vineyard Let me sing of my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved had a vineyard In a very fruitful hill: And he made a trench about it, And gathered out the stones thereof, And planted it with the choicest vine, And built a tower in the midst of it. And also hewed out a winepress therein: And he looked that it should bring forth grapes — and it brought forth wild grapes! And now, O inhabitants of Jeru- salem and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard. What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? Wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes? And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; I will break down the fence thereof, and it shall be trodden down: and I will lay it waste; it shall not be pruned nor hoed; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and 187 Books of the Prophets @> the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgement, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry. The Covenant with Death Woe to the crown of pride of the drunkards of Ephraim, and to the fading flower of his glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fat valley of them that are overcome with wine! Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong one; as a tempest of hail, a destroying storm, as a tempest of mighty waters overflowing, shall he cast down to the earth with the hand. The crown of pride of the drunk- ards of Ephraim shall be trodden under foot: and the fading flower of his glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fat valley, shall be as the firstripe fig before the summer; which when he that looketh upon it seeth, while it is yet in his hand he eateth it up. In that day shall the Lord of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of his people: and for a spirit of judgement to him that sitteth in judgement, and for strength to them that turn back the battle at the gate. But these also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are gone astray; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are gone astray through strong drink ; they err in vision, they stumble in judgement. For all tables are full of vomit and filthiness, so that there is no place clean. — ' Whom will he teach knowledge? and whom will he make to understand the message? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts? For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon Hne; here a little, there a little.' — Nay, but by men of strange lips and with another tongue will he speak to this people: to whom he said. This is the rest, give ye rest to him that is weary; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear. Therefore shall the word of the Lord be unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, there a little; that they may go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken. Wherefore hear the word of the Lord, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusa- lem: Because ye have said. We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us; for we have made lies § Judah: Isaiah our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves: therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone of sure foundation: he that beheveth shall not make haste. And I will make judgement the Hne, and righteousness the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place. And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it. As often as it passeth through, it shall take you; for morning by morning shall it pass through, by day and by night: and it shall be nought but ter- ror to understand the message. For the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it; and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in it. For the Lord shall rise up as in mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon; that he may do his work, his strange work, and bring to pass his act, his strange act. Now therefore be ye not scorners, lest your bands be made strong: for a consummation, and that determined, have I heard from the Lord, the Lord of hosts, upon the whole earth. Give ye ear, and hear my voice; hearken, and hear my speech. Doth the plowman plow continually to sow? doth he continually open and break the clods of his ground? When he hath made plain the face thereof, doth he not cast abroad the fitches, and scatter the cummin, and put in the wheat in rows and the barley in the ap- pointed place and the spelt in the border thereof? For his God doth instruct him aright, and doth teach him. For the fitches are not threshed with a sharp threshing instrument, neither is a cart wheel turned about upon the cummin; but the fitches are beaten out with a staff, and the cummin with a rod. Is bread corn crushed? Nay, he will not ever be threshing it, and driving his cart wheels and his horses over it; he doth not crush it. This also cometh forth from the Lord of hosts, which is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in wisdom. The Utter Destruction and the Great Restoration I Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye peoples: let the earth hear, and the fulness thereof; the world, and all things that 189 Books of the Prophets g> come forth of it. For the Lord hath indignation against all the nations, and fury against all their host: he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter. And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll : and all their host shall fade away, as the leaf f adeth from off the vine, and as a fading leaf from the fig tree. For it is the day of the Lord's vengeance, the year of recompence in the controversy of Zion. And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burn- ing pitch. It shall not be quenched night nor day ; the smoke thereof shall go up for ever: from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever. But the pelican and the porcupine shall possess it; and the owl and the raven shall dwell therein: and he shall stretch over it the line of confusion, and the plummet of emptiness. They shall call the nobles thereof to the kingdom, but none shall be there; and all her princes shall be noth- ing. And thorns shall come up in her palaces, nettles and thistles in the fortresses thereof: and it shall be an habitation of jackals, a court for ostriches. And the wild beasts of the desert shall meet with the wolves, and the satyr shall cry to his fellow; yea, the night- monster shall settle there, and shall find her a place of rest. There shall the arrowsnake make her nest, and lay, and hatch, and gather under her shadow: yea, there shall the kites be gathered, every one with her mate. Seek ye out of the book of the Lord, and read: No one of these shall be missing. None shall want her mate: For my mouth it hath commanded. And his spirit it hath gathered them. And he hath cast the lot for them, and his hand hath divided it unto them by line: they shall possess it for ever, from generation to generation shall they dwell therein. n The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, 190 <§- Judah : Isaiah 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 the Lord, the excellency of our God. Strengthen ye the weak hands, And confirm the feeble knees; Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: Behold, your God will come with vengeance, With the recompence of God he will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. And the glowing sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water: in the habitation of jackals, where they lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes. And an high way shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, yea fools, shall not err therein. No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast go up thereon, they shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there: and the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads: they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. The Child Immanuel and the Child Wonderful I And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to war against it; but could not prevail against it. And it was told the house of David, saying, Syria is confederate with Ephraim. And his heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the forest are moved with the wind. 191 Books of the Prophets -g> II Then said the Lord unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, in the high way of the fuller's field; and say unto him, Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither let thine heart be faint, because of these two tails of smoking firebrands — ^For the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria, 'And of the son of Remaliah.' — Because Syria hath counselled evil against thee, Ephraim also, and the son of Remaliah, — 'Let us go up against Judah, and vex it, 'And let us make a breach therein for us, 'And set up a king in the midst of it, even the son of Tabeel,' — thus saith the Lord God : It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass: — 'For the head of Syria is Damascus, 'And the head of Damascus is Rezin:^ — and within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be broken in pieces, that it be not a people: — 'And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, 'And the head of Samaria is Remaliah' s son.'' — If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established. Ill And the Lord spake again unto Ahaz, saying, Ask thee a sign of the Lord thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above. But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord. And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; is it a small thing for you to weary men, that ye will weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; behold, a virgin is with child, 192 <§- Judah: Isaiah and beareth a son, and shall call iiis name ' God-with-us.' * Butter and honey shall he eat, when he knoweth to refuse the evil, and choose the good. For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land whose two kings thou abhorrest shall be forsaken. IV And the Lord spake unto me yet again, saying, Forasmuch as this people hath refused the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah's son, now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the River, strong and many, even the king of Assyria and all his glory: and he shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his banks: and he shall sweep onward into Judah, he shall overflow and pass through; he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O God-with-us! * Make an uproar, O ye peoples, And ye shall be broken in pieces; (And give ear, all ye of far countries;) Gird yourselves. And ye shall be broken in pieces; Gird yourselves, And ye shall be broken in pieces, Take counsel together. And it shall be brought to nought; Speak the word. And it shall not stand: For God is with us.f VI {The Boastful Foe) ^And they shall pass through it, hardly bestead and hungry: *And it shall come to pass that, when they shall be hungry, ^They shall fret themselves, 'And curse their king and their God: * Immanuel. f Immanu El. 193 Books of the Prophets § 'Aitd turn their faces upward, 'And they shall look unto the earth: 'And, behold, distress and darkness, 'The gloom of anguish.' Judah's Rejoinder And thick darkness shall be driven away; For there shall be no gloom to her that was in anguish. {The Boastful Foe) 'In the former time he brought into contempt 'The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali; 'But in the latter time hath he made it glorious, 'By the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the nations.^ Judah's Rejoinder The people that walked in darkness Have seen a great light; They that dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, Upon them hath the light shined. {The Boastful Foe) 'Thou hast multiplied the nation, 'Thou hast increased their joy: 'They joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, 'As men rejoice when they divide the spoil.'' Judah's Rejoinder For the yoke of his burden And the staff of his shoulder, The rod of his oppressor, Thou hast broken as in the day of Midian. For all the armour of the armed man in the tumult. And the garments rolled in blood. Shall even be for burning. For fuel of fire. 194. <§^ Judah: Isaiah vn For UNTO us a child is born Unto us a son is given; And the government shall be upon his shoulder: And his name shall be called, Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government, And of peace, there shall be no end Upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom; To establish it, and to uphold it with judgement, And with righteousness, from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts shall perform this. Prophecies of the Watchman The Oracle of Silence Voice out of Seir Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night? The Watchman The morning cometh. And also the night: If ye will inquire, inquire ye; Come ye again. The Oracle of the Wilderness of the Sea As whirlwinds in the South sweep through, It cometh from the wilderness, From a terrible land! A grievous vision is declared unto me; the treacherous dealer dealeth treacherously, and the spoiler spoileth. 195 Books of the Prophets ■§> ''Go up, O Elam; Besiege, O Media; All the sighing thereof will I make to cease. " Therefore are my loins filled with anguish; pangs have taken hold upon me, as the pangs of a woman in travail: I am pained so that I cannot hear, I am dismayed so that I cannot see. My heart panteth, horror hath affrighted me: the twilight that I desired hath been turned into trembling unto me. ''They prepare the table, They spread the carpets, They eat, they drink: Rise up, ye princes, anoint the shield. " For thus hath the Lord said unto me. Go, set a watchman; let him declare what he seeth: and when he seeth a troop, horsemen in pairs, a troop of asses, a troop of camels, he shall hearken diligently with much heed. And he cried as a lion: The Watchman O Lord, I stand continually upon the watch-tower in the daytime, And am set in my ward whole nights: And, behold, here cometh a troop of men, Horsemen in pairs. The Lord Babylon is fallen, Is fallen; And all the graven images of her gods are broken unto the ground. O thou my threshing, and the corn of my floor: that which I have heard from the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have I declared unto you. Prophecy of Assyrian Invasion Ho Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, the staff in whose hand is mine indignation! I will send him against a profane nation, and 196 return: a consumption is determined, overflowing with righteous- ness. For a consummation, and that determined, shall the Lord, the Lord of hosts, make in the midst of all the earth. Therefore thus saith the Lord, the Lord of hosts: O my people that dwellest in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrian: though he smite thee with the rod, and lift up his staff against thee, after the manner of Egypt. For yet a very little while, and the indignation shall be accomplished, and mine anger, in their destruction. And the Lord of hosts shall stir up against him a scourge, as in the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb: and his rod shall be over the sea, and he shall lift it up after the manner of Egypt. And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall depart from off thy shoul- der, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed by reason of fatness. II Behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, shall lop the boughs with terror: and the high ones of stature shall be hewn down, and the lofty shall be brought low. And he shall cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, and Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one. And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots shall bear fruit: and the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; and his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: but with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatUng together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall He down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the basilisk's den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall 198 <§- Judah: Isaiah be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the root of Jesse, which standeth for an ensign of the peoples, unto him shall the nations seek; and his resting place shall be glorious. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall remain, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Path- ros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and they that vex Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim. And they shall fly down upon the shoulder of the Philistines on the west; together shall they spoil the children of the east: they shall put forth their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them. And the Lord shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian Sea; and with his scorching wind shall he shake his hand over the River, and shall smite it into seven streams, and cause men to march over dryshod. And there shall be an high way for the remnant of his people, which shall remain, from Assyria; like as there was for Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt. And in that day thou shalt say: Song in that Day I will give thanks unto thee, O Lord; For though thou wast angry with me, Thine anger is turned away, And thou comfortest me. Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid: For the Lord Jehovah is my strength and song; And he is become my salvation. Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. 199 Books of the Prophets -g> Well Song in that Day Give thanks unto the Lord, Call upon his name, Declare his doings among the peoples. Make mention that his name is exalted. Sing unto the Lord, for he hath done excellent things: Let this be known in all the earth. Cry aloud, and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: For great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee. A Rhapsody of Judgement I Voice of Prophecy. — Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scat- tereth abroad the inhabitants thereof. And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so \vith her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him. The earth shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled; for the Lord hath spoken this word. Vision. — The earth mourneth andfadeth away; the world languish- eth andfadeth away; the lofty people of the earth do languish. Voice of Prophecy. — The earth also is polluted under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. There- fore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are found guilty: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left. Vision continued. — The new wine mourneth, the vine languisheth, all the merryhearted do sigh; the mirth of tabrets ceaseth, the noise of them that rejoice endeth, the joy of the harp ceaseth. <§- Judah : Isaiah Voice of Prophecy. — ^They shall not drink wine with a song; strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it. Vision continued. — The city of confusion is broken down; every house is shut up, that no man may come in. There is a crying in the streets because of the wine; all joy is darkened, the mirth of the land is gone. In the city is left desolation, and the gate is smitten with destruc- tion. Voice of Prophecy. — For thus shall it be in the midst of the earth among the peoples, as the shaking of an olive tree, as the grape gleanings when the vintage is done. These shall lift up their voice, they shall shout. Voices from the West. — For the Majesty of the Lord! Voices from the East. — Wherefore glorify ye the Lord in the east! Voices from the West. — Even the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, in the isles of the sea! Voices of the Doomed. — From the uttermost part of the earth have we heard songs, glory to the righteous. But I said, I pine away, I pine away, woe is me! the treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously; yea, the treacherous dealers have dealt very treacherously. Voice of Prophecy. — Fear, and the pit, and the snare are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth. And it shall come to pass, that he who fieeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that Cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare. n Vision. — For the windows on high are opened, and the foundations of the earth do shake. The earth is utterly broken, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly. Voice of Prophecy. — The earth shall stagger like a drunken man, and shall be moved to and fro like a hut; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it, and it shall fall, and not rise again. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall punish Books of the Prophets {§> the host of the high ones on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth. And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited. Then the moon shall be con- founded, and the sun ashamed. For the Lord of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his elders shall be glory. Song of the Elders 0 Lord, thou art my God; I will exalt thee; 1 will praise thy name; For thou hast done wonderful things. Even counsels of old, in faithfulness and truth. For thou hast made of a city an heap; Of a defenced city a ruin: A palace of strangers to be no city; It shall never be built. Therefore shall the strong people glorify thee. The city of the terrible nations shall fear thee. For thou hast been a strong hold to the poor, A strong hold to the needy in his distress, A refuge from the storm, A shadow from the heat, When the blast of the terrible ones Is as a storm against the wall. As the heat in a dry place Shalt thou bring down the noise of strangers; As the heat by the shadow of a cloud, The song of the terrible ones shall be brought low. Voice of Prophecy. — ^And in this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all peoples a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well <§- Judah : Isaiah refined. And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the cov- ering that is cast over all peoples, and the veil that is spread over all nations. Voices of the Saved. — He hath swallowed up death for ever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the reproach of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it. Song in that Day Lo, this is our God; We have waited for him, And he will save us: This is the Lord; We have waited for him, We will be glad and rejoice in his salvation. Voice of Prophecy. — For in this mountain shall the hand of the Lord rest, and Moab shall be trodden down in his place, even as straw is trodden down in the water of the dunghill. And he shall spread forth his hands in the midst thereof, as he that swimmeth spreadeth forth his hands to swim: and he shall lay low his pride together with the craft of his hands. And the fortress of the high fort of thy walls hath he brought down, laid low, and brought to the ground, even to the dust. Song in the Land of Judah We have a strong city; Salvation will he appoint for walls and bulwarks. Open ye the gates, That the righteous nation which keepeth truth may enter in. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace. Whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the Lord for ever: For in the Lord Jehovah is a Rock of Ages. 203 Books of the Prophets -g> For he hath brought down them that dwell on high, the lofty city: He layeth it low, he layeth it low, even to the ground; He bringeth it even to the dust. The foot shall tread it down; Even the feet of the poor, And the steps of the needy. The way of the just is uprightness: Thou that art upright dost direct the path of the just. Yea, in the way of thy judgements, O Lord, Have we waited for thee; To thy name and to thy memorial Is the desire of our soul. With my soul have I desired thee in the night; Yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: For when thy judgements are in the earth, The inhabitants of the world learn righteousness. Let favour be shewed to the wicked, Yet will he not learn righteousness; In the land of uprightness will he deal wrongfully. And will not behold the majesty of the Lord. Ill Prophetic Spectator. — ^Lord, thy hand is lifted up, yet they see not; but they shall see thy zeal for the people, and be ashamed; yea, fire shall devour thine adversaries. Voices of the Saved. — ^Lord, thou wilt ordain peace for us: for thou hast also wrought all our works for us. O Lord our God, other lords beside thee have had dominion over us; but by thee only will we make mention of thy name. Prophetic Spectator. — The dead live not, the deceased rise not: therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish. Voices of the Saved. — ^Thou hast increased the nation, O Lord, 204 <§- Judah : Isaiah thou hast increased the nation; thou art glorified: thou hast en- larged all the borders of the land. Prophetic Spectator. — Lord, in trouble have they visited thee, they poured out a prayer when thy chastening was upon them. Voices of the Doomed. — Like as a woman with child, that draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain and crieth out in her pangs; so have we been before thee, O Lord. We have been with child, we have been in pain, we have as it were brought forth wind; we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth; neither have inhabitants of the world been bom. God {to the Saved). — Thy dead shall live: my dead bodies shall arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in the dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast forth the dead. Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself for a little moment, until the indignation be over- past. For, behold, the Lord cometh forth out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain. Voice of Prophecy. — In that day the Lord with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the swift serpent, and leviathan the crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea. Song in that Day A Vineyard of wine, (sing ye of it,) I the Lord do keep it; I will water it every moment: Lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day. Fury is not in me: Would that the briers and thorns were against me in battle! I would march upon them, I would bum them together. Or else let him take hold of my strength, That he may make peace with me: Yea, let him make peace with me. 205 Books of the Prophets § In days to come shall Jacob take root; Israel shall blossom and bud: And they shall fill the face of the world with fruit. Prophetic Spectator. — Hath he smitten him as he smote those that smote him? or is he slain according to the slaughter of them that were slain by him? In measure, when thou sendest her away, thou dost contend with her; he hath removed her with his rough blast in the day of the east wind. Therefore by this shall the iniq- uity of Jacob be purged, and this is all the fruit to take away his sin; when he maketh all the stones of the altar as chalkstones that are beaten in sunder, so that the Asherim and the sun-images shall rise no more. Vision. — For the defenced city is solitary, an habitation deserted and forsaken, like the wilderness: there shall the calf feed, and there shall he lie down, and consume the branches thereof. Voice of Prophecy. — When the boughs thereof are withered, they shall be broken off; the women shall come and set them on fire: for it is a people of no understanding; therefore he that made them ,will not have compassion upon them, and he that formed them will show them no favour. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall beat out his com, from the flood of the River unto the brook of Egypt, and ye shall be gathered, one by one, O ye children of Israel. And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great trumpet shall be blown; and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and they that were outcasts in the land of Egypt; and they shall worship the Lord in the Holy Mountain at Jeru- salem. 206 BOOK OF MICAH Micah is a contemporary of Isaiah; and, like Isaiah, ministers to Judah in its flourishing period. But there is nothing in the Book of Micah corresponding to the work of Isaiah .in Jerusalem, in which he is seen in intercourse with kings as a political leader. Micah may be thought of as a country prophet. The subject of the book is the universal social corruption, and the advancing judgment of God. A special note of the book is the strange conflict of religion and morals: th2 people, and especially their leaders, full of religious self-confidence, in the thought that they are the chosen people of God, while there is nothing but violation of the moral law, of which they are the chosen representatives to the nations of the earth. In one brief prophecy, which is among the gems of prophetic literature, this ''controversy between God and his own people" is presented under the figure of a forensic trial; with God as Plaintiff, the People as Defendant, and the Mountains as Judges. The judgment pronounces the enduring foundations of the spiritual world to be Justice, Mercy, and a sense of the Presence of God. The Lord's Controversy before the Mountains The Lord. — Arise, contend thou before the mountains, and let the hills hear thy voice. Hear, O ye mountains, the Lord's con- troversy, and ye enduring foundations of the earth: for the Lord hath a controversy with his people, and he will plead with Israel. O my people, what have I done unto thee? and wherein have I wearied thee? testify against me. For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of bondage; and I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. O my people, remember now w^hat Balak king of Moab consulted, and what Ba- laam the son of Beor answered him; remember from Shittim unto Gilgal, that ye may know the righteous acts of the Lord. The People. — Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and 207 Books of the Prophets -g> bow myself before the high God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? The Mountains. — ^He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? BOOK OF ZEPHANIAH With Zephaniah we reach the era of the decline and fall of Judah and Jerusalem. He is traditionally a descendant of king Hezekiah in the fourth generation. The whole book is a single literary work, an extended example of the ' Doom Prophecy' (above, page 149), with its monologue of the God of Judgment and the interrupting lyrics that celebrate what the monologue puts forth. But it is the Doom of Judah and Jerusalem, not of foreign peoples. A special note of this poem is the transition at the close to the future, with its pledge of purification and triumph. Passage from Zephaniah For then will I turn to the peoples a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve him with one consent. From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia my suppliants, even the daughter of my dispersed, shall bring mine offering. In that day shalt thou not be ashamed for all thy doings, wherein thou hast transgressed against me: for then I will take away out of the midst of thee thy proudly exulting ones, and thou shalt no more be haughty in my holy mountain. But I will leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the name of the Lord. The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth: for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid. 208 § Judah : Micah and Zephaniah Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; Be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. The Lord hath taken away thy judgements, He hath cast out thine enemy: The king of Israel, even the Lord, is m the midst of thee: Thou shalt not fear evil any more. In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not: O Zion, let not thine hands be slack. The Lord thy God is in the midst of thee, A mighty one who will save : He will rejoice over thee with joy, he \vill rest in his love. He will joy over thee with singing. I will gather them that sorrow for the solemn assembly, who were of thee: to w^hom the burden upon her was a reproach. Behold, at that time I will deal with all them that afflict thee: and I will save her that halteth, and gather her that was driven away; and I will make them a praise and a name, whose shame hath been in all the earth. At that time will I bring you in, and at that time will I gather you: for I will make you a name and a praise among all the peoples of the earth, when I bring again your captivity before your eyes, saith the Lord. 209 BOOK OF JEREMIAH No name in the roll of prophets is greater than that of Jeremiah. He ministers to Judah in the days of her dechne and fall; a period including the long siege of Jerusalem by the Chaldean armies, the capture of the city, the carrying of the people into the far east, and the miserable experience of those who are left behind. A distinguish- ing mark of this book is its biographical character. It is not that the successive prophecies stand in chronological order; the arrange- ment is rather a classification of different types of prophecy. But Jeremiah, more than any other prophet, gives us with the Divine inspiration the circumstances under w^hich it came to him; he records, moreover, his own personal intercourse with God. Thus the general impression left by the book is that of a Prophetic Autobiography. The important type of prophecy in which the Divine message, dissociated from particular occasions, is given in general terms, and often in imaginative pictures, is in this book represented chiefly by tw^o literary compositions. One may be entitled The Prophet's Manifesto. This word is used to describe what appears in several of the prophetic books, a single literary composition summing up the whole life work of a prophet. In the case of Jeremiah this is a long and elaborate prophecy, given below in a somewhat condensed form. It is highK rhapsodic in character; yet it is to be described, not as a Rhapsody, but as a Rhapsodic Discourse. It opens with the plaintive oratory w^hich is so characteristic of this prophet, and in- veighs against the defection of Judah under a profusion of images, chiefly that of the adulterous wife. But at certain points it is as if a curtain was suddenly lifted, and realistic scenes of judgment pass be- fore our eyes wdth the force of dramatic movement. Again: we have the Rhapsody of the Drought. Here a lyric picture of desolation is followed by dialogue between the stricken People and the Prophet. The Di\dne Being enters into the dialogue; but, by a powerful dramatic effect, he seems at first to refuse to answer the despairing § Judah: Jeremiah People direct, and speaks only to the Prophet; at the close, the peni- tence of Judah draws from God a direct address, with promises of mercy. The Doom Prophecies on foreign nations appear in this book in several poems, some of them highly elaborate. A variation of this type of prophecy is found in a poem that may be entitled The Ballad of the Battle of Carchemish. Judah, and northern Israel while it lasts, with Syria and other countries, form a chain of minor kingdoms, at the two ends of which are two mighty empires, that of Babylon (or Chaldea) on the northeast, and that of Egypt on the south. The perpetual question is whether these kingdoms, cor- rupted by sin, can resist absorption into one or other of these em- pires. Between Babylon and Egypt the prophetic sympathy is always for Babylon. For the Chaldeans, though they make captive, leave their subject peoples free in religion; whereas the influence of Egypt is always for moral corruption. During the life of Jeremiah these two empires clash: in the Battle of Carchemish the Egyptians are totally routed by the armies of Babylon. This epoch-making event is celebrated by Jeremiah in a poem that is the nearest approach Scripture makes to the secular ballad. But, as already intimated, it is the hfe of the prophet that con- stitutes the main prophetic message of Jeremiah. Attached to the brief account of the Call of Jeremiah to the prophetic office is a par- ticular sentence, which recurs several times in the course of the book, and presents under a striking figure the general attitude of Jeremiah to all that is around him. For, behold, I have made thee this day a defenced city, and an iron pillar, and brasen walls, against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the priests thereof, and against the people of the land. And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee: ■for I am with thee, saith the Lord, to deliver thee. The besieged city: this images the life of Jeremiah; a life that is for ever on the defence, with no prospect of triumph except the triumph of never giving in. It is not surprising that a tone of melancholy should run through the writings of such a prophet. Books of the Prophets § Woe is me, my mother, that thou hast borne me a man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth ! I have not lent on usury, neither have men lent to me on usury; yet every one of them doth curse me. As against imiversal unpopularity Jeremiah has a sense of irresis- tible inspiration. And if I say, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name, then there is in mine heart as it were a burn- ing fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with forbearing, and I cannot contain. The impression left by the succession of discourses is that, for a long time, Jeremiah is an unsuccessful and obscure prophet. The exact dates which he attaches to several of his writings enables us to say that it was in the fifth year of Jeremiah's ministry that there occurred the incident which for a time revolutionized the religious history of Judah — the discovery of the Book of Deuteron- omy (above, page 105). The influence of this incident on the life of the prophet was that it turned him, for a time, into a missionary. The great revival described in the historic books seems to have affected chiefly the capital; Jeremiah is commissioned by God to "preach the covenant" to the cities of Judah. His mission is a total failure: ''According to the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah!" Moreover, in his native city of Anathoth, to which he preaches his message, a conspiracy is discovered against the proph- et's life. This seems to drive Jeremiah to despair; the consolation he receives from God is a call to fresh effort. If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? and though in a land of peace thou art secure, yet how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan? The turning point in the life of Jeremiah seems to be associated with his discourses founded on the image of the Potter and his Clay. ^ Judah: Jeremiah And when the vessel that he made of the clay was marred in the hand of the potter, he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it. Then the word of the Lord came to me," saying, O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the Lord. We must remember that the main point of the pohtical situa- tion against which the true prophets had to contend was the blind religious confidence of rulers and false prophets in the position of Judah as the Chosen People of God, whom God for his own sake must protect. The inspired suggestion that the Divine Potter might unmake the chosen vessel, and make it into a vessel of dishonor — this stung the patriotic false pride of Judah. We find Jeremiah at the head of a public demonstration, leading a proces- sion of "elders of the people and elders of the priests"; a potter's bottle is borne aloft, and the procession passes through "the gate of potsherds" to the valley of destruction, where a discourse of Divine denunciation is brought to a cUmax by the smashing of the bottle on the ground. The procession re-forms, to repeat this demonstra- tion in the precincts of the Temple itself; Jeremiah is arrested by the Temple police, and from that moment he appears as the leader of the party of the righteous prophets against their foes. A long succession follows of vivid scenes of such conflict and leadership. At one moment there is a lull in the siege of Jerusalem, as the Chaldean armies are withdrawn to face the danger from Egypt. The populace of Jerusalem pour out of the city to revisit the sur- rounding country, Jeremiah amongst them. His enemies take advantage of this to arrest him on a charge of "falling away to the Chaldeans"; he is cast into a miserable dungeon, but rescued, partly by secret friends, and in part through the fears of the reign- ing king Zedekiah, who is too weak to resist the false prophets and rulers, but has a haunting fear of the Lord's vengeance. When the city finally falls, there is a momentary change in the fortunes of the prophet. By direct command of Nebuchadrezzar, the king of Babylon, the leaders of the besieging army show the highest re- spect to Jeremiah; and he is given the option of accompanying the captives to Babylon, or remaining behind. He elects to remain with "the poor of the people, which had nothing," left by the policy of 213 Books of the Prophets -g> the victorious Chaldeans in the ruined country. A war of factions among this people follows; and at one point the faction that favors Egypt triumphs. They seek the prophetic authority of Jeremiah to sanction their retreat to luxurious Egypt; when Jeremiah refuses, they, carry him off by main force. In Egypt Jeremiah is seen ministering to these refugees. They not only defy his prophetic authority, but hold him responsible for all the evil that has come upon them. Then all the men which knew that their wives burned incense unto other gods, and all the women that stood by, a great assembly, even all the people that dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying, As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the Lord, we will not hearken unto thee. But we will certainly perform every word that is gone forth out of our mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, as we have done, we and our fathers, our kings and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: for then had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil. But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine. And when we burned incense to the queen of heaven, and poured out drink offerings unto her, did we make her cakes to worship her, and pour out drink offerings unto her, without our husbands? Then Jeremiah said unto all the people, to the men, and to the women, even to all the people which had given him that answer, saying: The incense that ye burned in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, ye and your fathers, your kings and your princes, and the people of the land, did not the Lord remember them, and came it not into his mind? so that the Lord could no longer bear, because of the evil of your doings, and because of the abominations which ye have committed; therefore is your land become a desolation, and an astonishment, and a curse, without inhabi- tant, as it is this day. Because ye have burned incense, and because ye have sinned against the Lord, and have not obeyed 214 <§- Judah : Jeremiah the voice of the Lord, nor walked in his law, nor in his statutes, nor in his testimonies; therefore this evil is happened unto you, as it is this day. And this melancholy picture of the unpopular prophet closes all that authentic history reveals of the life of Jeremiah. A notable feature of this, as of other Biblical books, is the Pro- phetic Sentence: brief sayings, which may or may not have origin- ated with some particular prophet, but which pass floating from mouth to mouth, like proverbs of prophecy. Several of these are found in the Book of Jeremiah. But the most notable of these Sentences, and indeed the most notable point in the whole ministry of Jeremiah, is his prophecy of the New Covenant. Just when the Old Covenant, between God and an unfaithful People, is falling into ruin, Jeremiah has a vision of a New Covenant between God and individual hearts. When we remember the equivalence of the words 'covenant' and 'testament,' we see that the glory of Jeremiah is to be the foreshadower of the New Testament. SELECTIONS FROM JEREMIAH *-i.* Jeremiah's prophecy The Burning of the Roll has appeared in the previous chapter (page 145). The Prophet's Manifesto And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Go, and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the Lord: I remember for thee the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals; how thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown. Israel w^as holiness unto the Lord, the firstfruits of his increase: all that devour him shall be held guilty; evil shall come upon them, saith the Lord. Hear ye the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel; thus saith the Lord: What unrighteousness have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me, and have w^alked after vanity, and are become vain? Neither said they, where is the Lord that brought us up out of the land of Egypt; that led us through the wilderness, through a land of 215 Books of the Prophets -g> deserts and of pits, through a land of drought and of the shadow of death, through a land that none passed through, and where no man dwelt? And I brought you into a plentiful land, to eat the fruit thereof and the goodness thereof; but when ye entered, ye defiled my land, and made mine heritage an abomination. Wherefore I will yet plead with you, saith the Lord, and with your children's children will I plead. For pass over to the isles of Kittim, and see; and send unto Kedar, and consider diligently; and see if there hath been such a thing. Hath a nation changed their gods, which yet are no gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit. Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the Lord. For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of Hving waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water. Is Israel a servant? is he a homeborn slave? why is he become a prey? The young lions have roared upon him, and yelled: and they have made his land waste; his cities are burned up, without inhabi- tant. I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed: how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me? For though thou wash thee with lye, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before me, said the Lord God. As the thief is ashamed when he is found, so is the house of Israel ashamed; they, their kings, their princes, and their priests, and their prophets; which say to a stock. Thou art my father; and to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth: for they have turned their back unto me, and not their face: but in the time of their trouble they will say. Arise, and save us. But where are thy gods that thou hast made thee? let them arise, if they can save thee in the time of thy trouble: for according to the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah. Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me, "My father, thou art the guide of my youth?" "Will he retain his anger for ever? will he keep it to the end? " n And the Lord said unto me. Backsliding Israel hath shewn her- self more righteous than treacherous Judah. Go, and proclaim 216 § Judah: Jeremiah these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the Lord; I will not look in anger upon you: for I am merciful, saith the Lord, I will not keep anger for ever. Return, O backsliding children, saith the Lord; for I am a husband unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion: and I will give you shepherds according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding. And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the Lord, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the Lord; neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more. At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the stubbornness of their evil heart. In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I gave for an inheritance unto your fathers. A voice is heard upon the bare heights, the weeping and the supplica- tions of the children of Israel; for that they have perverted their way, they have forgotten the Lord their God. The Lord. — Return, ye backsliding children, I will heal your backslidings. The People. — Behold, we are come unto thee; for thou art the Lord our God. Truly in vain is the help that is looked for from the hills, the tumult on the mountains: truly in the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel. But the shameful thing hath devoured the labour of our fathers from our youth; their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters. Let us lie down in our shame, and let our confusion cover us: for we have sinned against the Lord our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even unto this day: and we have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God. The Lord. — If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the Lord, unto me shalt thou return: and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of my sight, then shalt thou not be removed; and thou shalt swear, As the Lord liveth, in truth, in judgement, and in righteous- 217 Books of the Prophets -g> ness; and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory. Ill For thus saith the Lord to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns. Circum- cise yourselves to the Lord, lest my fury go forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings. The Lord. — Declare ye in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem; and say, Blow ye the trumpet in the land: cry aloud and say, Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the fenced cities. Set up a standard toward Zion: flee for safety, stay not: for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction. A lion is gone up from his thicket, and a destroyer of nations; he is on his way, he is gone forth from his place; to make thy land desolate, that thy cities be laid waste, without inhabitant. The People. — For this gird you with sackcloth, lament and howl: for the fierce anger of the Lord is not turned back from us. The Lord. — And it shall come to pass at that day, that the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes; and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall wonder. The Prophet. — ^Ah, Lord God! surely thou hast greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall have peace; whereas the sword reacheth unto the soul. A Cry to Judah and Jerusalem. — A hot wind from the bare heights in the wilderness toward the daughter of my people, not to fan, nor to cleanse. The Lord. — A full wind from these shall come for me: now will I also utter judgements against them. Behold, he shall come up as clouds, and his chariots shall be as the whirlwind: his horses are swifter than eagles. The People. — Woe unto us! for we are spoiled. The Prophet. — O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thine evil thoughts lodge within thee? A Voice from Dan and the Hills of Ephraim. — Make ye mention to the nations; behold, publish against Jerusalem, that 218 <§- Judah : Jeremiah watchers come from a far country, and give out their voice against the cities of Judah. The Lord. — As keepers of a field are they against her round about; because she hath been rebelHous against me, saith the Lord. Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee; this is thy wickedness; for it is bitter, for it reacheth unto thine heart. The People. — My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart; my heart is disquieted in me; I cannot hold my peace; be- cause thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war. Destruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole land is spoiled: suddenly are my tents spoiled, and my curtains in a moment. How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet? The Lord. — For my people is foolish, they know me not; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge. IV Vision. — / beheld the earth, and, lo, it was waste and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved to aiidfro. I beheld, ajtd, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful field was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the Lord, and before his fierce anger. The Lord. — The whole land shall be a desolation; yet will I not make a full end. For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black: because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and I have not repented, neither w^ll I turn back from it. Vision continued. — The whole city fleeth for the noise of the horsemen and bowmen; they go into the thickets, and climb up upon the rocks: every city is forsaken, and not a man dwelleth therein. The Lord. — ^And thou, when thou art spoiled, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothest thyself wdth scarlet, though thou deckest 219 Books of the Prophets -Q> thee with ornaments of gold, though thou enlargest thine eyes with paint, in vain dost thou make thyself fair; thy lovers despise thee, they seek thy life. Vision continued. — For I have heard a voice as of a woman in travail, the anguish as of her that hringeth forth her first child, the voice of the daughter of Zion, that gaspeth for breath, that spreadeth her hands, saying, Woe is me now! for my soulfainteth before the murderers. The Lord. — Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see novv% and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that doeth justly, that seeketh truth; and I will pardon her. And though they say, As the Lord liveth; surely they swear falsely. The Prophet. — O Lord, do not thine eyes look upon truth? thou hast stricken them, but they were not grieved; thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return. Then I said. Surely these are poor: they are fooHsh; for they know not the way of the Lord, nor the judgement of their God: I will get me unto the great men, and will speak unto them; for they know the way of the Lord, and the judgement of their God. But these with one accord have broken the yoke, and burst the bands. The Lord. — Wherefore a Hon out of the forest shall slay them, a wolf of the evenings shall spoil them, a leopard shall watch over their cities, every one that goeth out thence shall be torn in pieces: because their transgressions are many, and their backsHdings are increased. Shall I not visit for these things? saith the Lord: and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this? VI The Lord {to the Enemy). — Go ye up upon her walls, and destroy; but make not a full end: take away her branches: for they are not the Lord's. 220 <§- Judah : Jeremiah The Lord. — For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have deah very treacherously against me, saith the Lord. They have denied the Lord, and said. It is not he; neither shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see sword nor famine: and the prophets shall become \^'ind, and the word is not in them: thus shall it be done unto them. Wherefore thus saith the Lord, the God of hosts. Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them. Lo, I will bring a nation upon you from far, O house of Israel: it is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language thou knowest not, neither understandest what they say. Their quiver is an open sepulchre, they are all mighty men. And they shall eat up thine harvest, and thy bread, which thy sons and thy daugh- ters should eat: they shall eat up thy flocks and thine herds: they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig trees: they shall beat down thy fenced cities, wherein thou trustest, with the sword. But even in those days, saith the Lord, I will not make a full end with you. And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, Wherefore hath the Lord our God done all these things unto us? then shalt thou say unto them. Like as ye have forsaken me, and served strange gods in your land, so shall ye serve strangers in a land that is not yours. Declare ye this in the house of Jacob, and publish it in Judah, saying. Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not: Fear ye not me? saith the Lord: will ye not tremble at my presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea, by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it? and though the waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it. But this people hath a revolting and a rebellious heart; they are revolted and gone. Shall I not visit for these things? saith the Lord: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this? A wonderful and horrible thing is come to pass in the land; the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof? A Cry out of the North. — Flee for safety, ye children of Benjamin, out of the midst of Jerusalem, and blow the trumpet in Books of the Prophets -g> Tekoa, and raise up a signal on Beth-haccherem: for evil looketh forth from the north, and a great destruction. The Lord. — ^The comely and delicate one, the daughter of Zion, will I cut off. Shepherds with their flocks shall come unto her; they shall pitch their tents against her round about; they shall feed every one in his place. The Enemy. — Prepare ye war against her; arise, and let us go up at noon. The People. — Woe unto us! for the day declineth, for the shadows of the evening are stretched out. The Enemy. — ^Arise, and let us go up by night, and let us destroy her palaces. For thus hath the Lord of hosts said. Hew ye down trees, and cast up a mount against Jerusalem: this is the city to be visited; she is wholly oppression in the midst of her. The Lord. — ^As a well casteth forth her waters, so she casteth forth her wickedness: violence and spoil is heard in her; before me continually is sickness and wounds. Be thou instructed, O Jeru- salem, lest my soul be alienated from thee; lest I make thee a desola- tion, a land not inhabited. VII The Lord. — ^Thus saith the Lord of hosts, They shall throughly glean the remnant of Israel as a vine; turn again thine hand as a grapegatherer into the baskets. To whom shall I speak and testify, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of the Lord is become unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it. Therefore I am full of the fury of the Lord; I am weary with holding in: pour it out upon the children in the street, and upon the assembly of young men to- gether: for even the husband with the wife shall be taken, the aged with him that is full of days. And their houses shall be turned unto others, their fields and their wives together: for I will stretch out my hand upon the inhabitants of the land, saith the Lord. For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely. They have healed also the hurt of my people hghtly, saying. Peace, peace; when there is no peace. Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they 222 § Judah : Jeremiah were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore they shall fall among them that fall: at the time that I visit them they shall be cast down, saith the Lord. Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls: but they said. We will not walk therein. And I set w^atchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet; but they said. We will not hearken. Therefore hear, ye nations, and know, O congregation, what is among them. Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened unto my words; and as for my law, they have rejected it. To what purpose cometh there to me frankincense from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a far country? your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices pleasing unto me. Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will lay stumbhngblocks before this people : and the fathers and the sons together shall stumble against them; the neighbour and his friend shall perish. The Lord. — Thus saith the Lord, Behold a people cometh from the north country; and a great nation shall be stirred up from the uttermost parts of the earth. They lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea, and they ride upon horses; every one set in array, as a man to the battle, against thee, O daughter of Zion. The People. — We have heard the fame thereof; our hands wax feeble: anguish hath taken hold of us, and pangs as of a woman in travail. Go not forth into the field, nor walk by the way; for there is the sword of the enemy, and terror on every side. O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth, and wallow thyself in ashes: make thee mourning, as for an only son, most bitter lamentation; for the spoiler shall suddenly come upon us. A Rhapsody of the Drought Jtidah mourneth, mid the gates thereof languish; they sit in black upon the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up. And their nobles send their little ones to the waters: they come to the 223 Books of the Prophets -g> pits, and find no water; they return with their vessels empty: they are ashamed attd confounded, and cover their heads. Because of the ground which is chapt, for that no rain hath been in the land, the plowmen are ashamed, they cover their heads. Yea, the hind also in the field calveth, and forsaketh her young, be- cause there is no grass. And the wild asses stand on the bare heights, they pant for air like jackals; their eyes fail, because there is no herbage. Repentant Israel. — ^Though our iniquities testify against us, work thou for thy name's sake, O Lord: for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against thee. O thou hope of Israel, the saviour thereof in the time of trouble, why shouldest thou be as a sojourner in the land, and as a wayfaring man that turn- eth aside to tarry for a night? Why shouldest thou be as a man astonied, as a mighty man that cannot save? yet thou, 0 Lord, art in the midst of us, and we are called by thy name; leave us not. The Prophet. — ^Thus saith the Lord unto this people, Even so have they loved to wander; they have not refrained their feet: there- fore the Lord doth not accept them; now will he remember their iniquity, and visit their sins. The Lord {to the Prophet). — Pray not for this people for their good. When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and oblation, I will not accept them: but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestil- ence. The Prophet. — ^Ah, Lord God! behold, the prophets say unto them. Ye shall not see the sword, neither shall ye have famine; but 1 will give you assured peace in this place. The Lord. — ^The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake I unto them: they prophesy unto you a lying vision, and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their own heart. Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning the prophets that prophesy in my name, and I sent them not, yet they say. Sword and famine shall not be in this land: By sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed. And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets 224 <§-Judah: Jeremiah of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; and they shall have none to bury them, them, their wives, nor their sons, nor their daughters: for I will pour their wickedness upon them. And thou shalt say this w^ord unto them, " Let mine eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease; for the virgin daughter of my people is broken with a great breach, with a very grievous wound. If I go forth into the field, then behold the slain with the sword! and if I enter into the city, then behold them that are sick with famine! for both the prophet and the priest go about in the land and have no knowledge." Repentant Israel. — Hast thou utterly rejected Judah? hath thy soul loathed Zion? why hast thou smitten us, and there is no healing for us? We looked for peace, but no good came; and for a time of healing, and behold dismay! We acknowledge, O Lord, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers: for we have sinned against thee. Do not abhor us, for thy name's sake; do not disgrace the throne of thy glory: remember, break not thy covenant with us. Are there any among the vanities of the heathen that can cause rain? or can the heavens give showers? art not thou he, O Lord our God? therefore we will wait upon thee; for thou hast made all these things. The Lord {to the Prophet). — Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind could not be toward this people: cast them out of my sight, and let them go forth. And it shall come to pass, when they say unto thee, Whither shall we go forth? then thou shalt tell them. Thus saith the Lord: Such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are for the famine, to the famine; and such as are for captivity, to captivity. And I will appoint over them four kinds, saith the Lord: the sword to slay, and the dogs to tear, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the earth, to devour and to destroy. And I will cause them to be tossed to and fro among all the kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah king of Judah, for that which he did in Jerusalem. For who shall have pity upon thee, O Jerusalem? or who shall bemoan thee? or who shall turn aside to ask of thy welfare? Thou hast rejected me, saith the Lord, thou art gone backward: therefore have I stretched out my hand against thee, and destroyed thee; I am weary with repenting. And I have fanned 225 Books of the Prophets -g> them with a fan in the gates of the land; I have bereaved them of children, I have destroyed my people; they have not returned from their ways. Their widows are increased to me above the sand of the seas: I have brought upon them against the mother of the young men a spoiler at noonday: I have caused anguish and terrors to fall upon her suddenly. She that hath borne seven languisheth; she hath given up the ghost; her sun is gone down while it was yet day; she hath been ashamed and confounded: and the residue of them will I. deliver to the sword before their enemies, saith the Lord. The Prophet. — Woe is me, my mother, that thou hast borne me a man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth! I have not lent on usury, neither have men lent to me on usury; yet every one of them doth curse me. The Lord {to the Prophet). — Verily I will strengthen thee for good; verily I will cause the enemy to make supplication unto thee in the time of evil and in the time of affliction. The Lord {to the People). — Can one break iron, even iron from the north, and brass? Thy substance and thy treasures will I give for a spoil without price, and that for all thy sins, even in all thy borders. And I will make thee to serve thine enemies in a land which thou knowest not: for a fire is kindled in mine anger, which shall burn upon you. Repentant Israel. — O Lord, thou knowest: remember me, and visit me, and avenge me of my persecutors; take me not away in thy longsuffering : know that for thy sake I have suffered reproach. Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy words were unto me a joy and the rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts. I sat not in the assembly of them that make merry, nor rejoiced: I sat alone because of thy hand; for thou hast filled me with indignation. Why is my pain perpetual, and my wound incurable, which refuseth to be healed? wilt thou indeed be unto me as a deceitful brook, as waters that fail? The Lord. — ^Therefore thus saith the Lord: If thou return, then will I bring thee again, that thou mayest stand before me; and if thou take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth: they shall return unto thee, but thou shalt not return unto them. 226. § Judah : Jeremiah The Battle of Carchemish Order ye the buckler and shield, and draw near to battle ; Harness the horses, and get up, ye horsemen, and stand forth with your helmets; Furbish the spears, put on the coats of mail. Wherefore have I seen it? they are dismayed, And are turned backward, and their mighty ones are beaten down, And are fled apace, and look not back. Terror is on every side, saith the Lord, Let not the swift flee away, nor the mighty man escape: In the north by the river Euphrates have they stumbled and fallen. Who is this that riseth up like the Nile, Whose waters toss themselves like the rivers? Egypt riseth up like the Nile, And his waters toss themselves like the rivers; And he saith, I will rise up, I will cover the earth; I will destroy the city and the inhabitants thereof. Go up, ye horses; and rage, ye chariots; and let the mighty men go forth: Cush and Put, that handle the shield; And the Ludim, that handle and bend the bow. For that day is a day of the Lord, the Lord of hosts, A day of vengeance, that he may avenge him of his adver- saries: And the sword shall devour and be satiate, And shall drink its fill of their blood: For the Lord, the Lord of hosts, hath a sacrifice In the north country by the river Euphrates. Go up into Gilead, and take bahn, O virgin daughter of Egypt: In vain dost thou use many medicines; There is no healing for thee. 227 Books of the Prophets -g> The nations have heard of thy shame, and the earth is full of thy cry: For the mighty man hath stumbled against the mighty, They are fallen both of them together. Sentences Thus saith the Lord: Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth, and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgement, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord. * Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that they shall no more say. As the Lord liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; but. As the Lord liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all the countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land. The New Covenant Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an hus- band unto them, saith the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord ; I will put my law in their inward parts, and in their heart will I write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people: and they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying. Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin will I remember no more. 228 BOOK OF DANIEL This book, as it has come down to us, is made up of two very different parts. An introduction relates how Daniel and three others — "of the seed royal and of the nobles; youths in whom was no blemish, but well favoured, and skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability to stand in the king's palace" — are among the Judean captives carried to Babylon; they rise to the highest positions in the government of the country. This is followed by a succession of Stories, magnificently told, which present these men by their wisdom and their characters revealing their God as supreme over the gods of the nations. Then the character of the book changes to Vision Prophecies, which in mystical and obscure language seem to fore-shadow mutations in world history. The essential part of the book has already appeared in the Outline of Old Testament History, among the Stories of the Captivity. (Above, pp. 112-22.) 229 BOOK OF EZEKIEL Ezekiel was a priest, who with a band of Judean captives was carried away by the Chaldean army into the far east. The cap- tives were settled as a colony at Telabib, near the River Chebar — probably a tributary of the Euphrates. The impression in the Book of Ezekiel is that they were, at all events in religious matters, a self-governing community, under direction of "elders of Israel." To this community Ezekiel ministered as prophet for some twelve years before the fall of Jerusalem and for an indefinite period after. It thus is clear that the position of Ezekiel is very different from that of the other prophets, who ministered to Judah and Jeru- salem in the home land. And the spirit of the book reveals change and development in the conception of prophecy itself. We may perhaps express this as the Transition of the Ancient Prophet into the Modern Pastor. The new aspects of the prophetic office will be most clearly grasped if we study carefully the Call of Ezekiel. In contrast with the simple incidents which constituted the call to the ministry of Isaiah and Jeremiah we here have an elaborate experience, the narration of which covers several chapters of the book. It is ac- companied throughout by a supernatural blaze of glory, described in mystic and highly symbolic language; the manifestation of Divine presence overwhelms Ezekiel, casting him into trances, and bearing him by invisible forces from place to place. Three times the movement of this theophany pauses, and in each case a word of commission is given to the prophet. The first time Ezekiel recovers from the shock of contact with Deity, this is the command he receives: And he said unto me. Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them. For thou art not sent to a people of a strange speech and of an hard language, but to the house of Israel; not to many peoples of a strange at length in the previous part of this work — the dumb show with which Ezekiel introduces his discourses. In the Hght of this situ- ation we understand the symbolism of the Mimic Siege, some frag- ment of which (we have seen) served as text for four hundred successive daily discourses. Similar dumb show, extended to a greater or less degree, seems to introduce other discourses of Ezekiel. The prophet eats "bread of trembling" when he is about to touch upon the panic of the besieged; more elaborately upon another occasion, when the same topic is to be taken up, he is seen bringing out household stuff for removing, and then, as if in a sudden accession of panic, moving with his face covered as if to suggest a sudden escape by night. Sometimes the emblem text is a gesture again and again reiterated: the prophet is to smite with his hands, stamp with his foot, set his face to the south. Or we have audible instead of visible emblems: reiteration throughout a discourse of such panic words as "It cometh!" "The end is come!" Sometimes a proverb, or narrated parable, makes the emblem text. In one case the expectant attitude of the audience is made into an emblem. One of Ezekiel's emblem topics is spe- cially appealing. Just before the fall of Jerusalem the prophet's wife suddenly dies. The prophet's whole demeanour in this bereave- ment is made symbolic: though the "desire of his eyes" is taken away at a stroke, he is to mourn only in silence, for so the people, when the city of their desire is fallen, will have no heart to weep, but "ye shall pine away in your iniquities, and moan one toward another." In this part of the book of Ezekiel there is much that comes as strange to the modern mind. Indeed, we may have difficulty in even understanding what we read, until we bring ourselves to realize that we have, in Ezekiel, an artist of consummate histrionic powers — one of the world's great actors. More than once we find, in the course of the dumb show, excited interruptions from the audience before the prophet, who are impatient to learn the signifi- cance of what is being emblematically portrayed. If this sug- gestion startles any reader, he should note an interesting passage which gives direct evidence that, before the shock of the city's fall, the fellow captives of Ezekiel are inclined to look upon him as a histrionic artist, rather than a mouthpiece of Divine judgment. 234 gird them with sackcloth, and they shall weep for thee in bitterness of soul with bitter mourning. And in their wailing they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and lament over thee, saying, ' Who is there like Tyre, like her that is brought to silence in the midst of the sea? ' Wlien thy wares went forth out of the seas, thou filledst many peo- ples; thou didst enrich the kings of the earth with the multitude of thy riches and of thy merchandise. In the time that thou wast broken by the seas in the depths of the waters, thy merchandise and all thy company did fall in the midst of thee. All the inhabi- tants of the isles are astonished at thee, and their kings are horribly afraid, they are troubled in their countenance. The merchants among the peoples hiss at thee; thou art become a terror, and thou shalt never be any more. The Shepherds of Israel and the Divine Shepherd And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying. Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, even to the shepherds. Thus saith the Lord God: Woe unto the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the sheep? Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill the fatlings; but ye feed not the sheep. The dis- eased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was dri\'en away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with rigour have ye ruled over them. And they were scattered, because there was no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, and were scattered. IVIy sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my sheep were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and there was none that did search or seek after them. Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: As I live, saith the Lord God, surely forasmuch as my sheep be- came a prey, and my sheep became meat to all the beasts of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherd search for my sheep, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my sheep; therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord; Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I am against the shepherds; 240 <§-The Captivity: Ezekiel and I will require my sheep at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the sheep; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; and I will deliver my sheep from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them. For thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I myself, even I, will search for my sheep, and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered abroad, so will I seek out my sheep; and I will deliver them out of all places whither they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. And I will bring them out from the peoples, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land; and I will feed them upon the mountains of Israel, by the watercourses, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them with good pasture, and upon the mountains of the height of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie down in a good fold, and on fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel. I myself will feed my sheep, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord God. I will seek that which was lost, and will bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: and the fat and the strong I will destroy; I will feed them in judgement. And as for you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, as well the rams as the he-goats. Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have fed upon the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pasture? and to have drunk of the clear waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet? And as for my sheep, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet, and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet. Therefore thus saith the Lord God unto them: Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and the lean cattle. Because ye thrust with side and with shoulder, and push all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad; therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle. And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. And I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David prince among them; I the 241 Books of the Prophets -g> Lord have spoken it. And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause evil beasts to cease out of the land: and they shall dwell securely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods. And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in its season; there shall be showers of blessing. And the tree of the field shall yield its fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be secure in their land; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I have broken the bars of their yoke, and have delivered them out of the hand of those that served themselves of them. And they shall no more be a prey to the heathen, neither shall the beast of the earth devour them; but they shall dwell securely, and none shall make them afraid. And I will raise up unto them a plantation for re- nown, and they shall be no more consumed with famine in the land, neither bear the shame of the heathen any more. And they shall know that I the Lord their God am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, saith the Lord God. And ye my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are men: and I am your God, saith the Lord God. The Dry Bones and the Breath of the Lord The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he carried me out in the spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones; and he caused me to pass by them round about: and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and lo, they were very dry. And he said unto me. Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest. Again he said unto me. Prophesy over these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the Lord. So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold an earthquake, and the bones came to- gether, bone to his bone. And I beheld, and lo, there were sinews upon them, and flesh came up, and skin covered them above: 242 §-The Captivity: Ezekiel but there was no breath in them. Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O Breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may Hve. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they Hved, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army. Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say. Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are clean cut off. Therefore prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, O my people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel. And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, and caused you to come up out of your graves, O my people. And I will put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I will place you in your own land: and ye shall know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, saith the Lord. 243 BOOKS OF HAGGAI AND ZECHARIAH It is natural to read these two books together. They represent prophecy addressed to the Men of the Return from the Captivity. They contain words of encouragement to the rebuilders of the Temple. They also illuminate the main feature of this era: how the Chosen Nation of Israel has changed into the Jewish Church. Prophetic authority is given to the new constitution, the govern- ment formed by union of priest Vvith prince, represented in Joshua and Zerubbabel. A much quoted passage from the Book of Haggai (cited below) brings out a moment of singular interest: how the completion of the Temple, which is a theme of exultation to the younger men, moves to weeping the older men who can remember the glory of the former Temple. From the literary point of view one of these prophecies has great interest. The Sevenfold Vision of Zechariah is the most extended example in Scripture of the use of the dream form. We have dream within dream: a scene of dreamland is kept before us throughout, while into this as into a frame are fitted successively a series of special visions. Thus when we read — And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep— the context shows that this means, not that the prophet was waked out of sleep into reaUty, but out of the general dream scene into an inner dream. These special visions are simply emblem proph- ecies: hieroglyphic forms are seen for a moment, each a token of a fresh mercy of God to Israel. But through the enveloping vision there seems to run a suggestion of the most awe-inspiring of Israel's religious functions — the Ceremonial of the Blessing and the Curse, proclaimed in the old days from Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim. So here we have "the two mountains" — mentioned 244 <§ The Return: Haggai and Zechariah abruptly without any explanation — and the spirit of the whole vision is that the Curse which had rested on Israel for threescore and ten years is to give place to a series of Blessings. In the bottom between these two mountains — where of old the people would have stood — myrtle trees make a screen of dream mystery as the vision opens; gradually among these m^Ttle trees horsemen are discerned, and these "walk to and fro through the earth" as ministers of Jehovah's pleasure. They are heard to make their report that all the earth sitteth still and is at rest. Thereupon another voice appeals to the Lord: How long before his indignation at his people shall yield to mercy? Then follows an exquisite touch of dream mystery. It is not unlike the conclusion to Tennyson's Vision of Sin: I heard a voice upon the slope Cry to the summit, ' Is there any hope? ' To which an answer peal'd from that high land. But in a tongue no man could understand. So here, in answer to the angelic appeal for mercy an answer is heard, and the dreamer knows that it is ''good words, even com- fortable words:" but it needs the interpreting Angel to translate from the unknown tongue into plain words, of Jehovah sore dis- pleased with the nations that are at ease, Jehovah returning to his Jerusalem with mercies. The special visions begin. In the first are seen shadowy Horns — symbol of proud oppressors, and shadowy figures of Smiths fraying these horns and casting them down. Then the Young Man hasten- ing w^ith his reed to measure Jerusalem is stopped : Jerusalem shall know no bounds. In the third vision we have a parallel to the Council in Heaven of Job: the Adversary is doing his office against the High Priest Joshua, but is rebuked as over zealous, while for Joshua the prisoner's mourning garments are changed into robes of exaltation. The figure of the Golden Candlestick symboUzes the completion of the Temple by Zerubbabel. In another wave of vision the two ' Sons of Oil ' are seen beside the Candlestick — • two "olive branches which by means of the two golden spouts empty the golden oil out of themselves:" the sequel makes this a symbol of the double ministry of prince and priest which is to 245 Books of the Prophets -g> govern the new era. In the sixth vision the Flying Roll of the Curse purges crime out of the land; in the seventh, the figure of Wicked- ness between the ephah and the talent of lead suggests the evil lurking in the traffic of weights and measures, and is seen borne away to the farthest quarters of the earth. Then we are back in the enveloping vision, with the whole scene intensified: the two mountains glow like brass, and from the screen of myrtle grove, not horses only, but horses and chariots hurry to all points of the compass with their Divine mandates. The last word of the vision proclaims how one of these embassies has quieted the Lqrd's spirit in the north country of Babylonian oppression. It should be noted that the title ^Book of Zechariah' as here used appUes only to the first nine chapters of the Book of Zechariah in traditional Bibles. The chapters that follow these comprise certain anonymous prophecies which in the course of time came to be linked on to the Book of Zechariah. One of these contains a single passage of interest from the use of it in the New Testament. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: Behold, thy King cometh unto thee: He is just, and having salvation; Lowly, and riding upon an ass. Even upon a colt the foal of an ass. Passage from the Book of Haggai Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people, saying. Who is left among you that saw this house in its former glory? and how do ye see it now? is it not in your eyes as nothing? Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the Lord; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the Lord, and work: for I am with you, saith the Lord of hosts, according to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, and my spirit abode among you : fear ye not. For thus saith the Lord of hosts: Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, 246 <§^ The Return : Haggai and Zechariah and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; and I will shake all nations, and the desirable things of all nations shall come, and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of hosts. The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, saith the Lord of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the Lord of hosts. The Sevenfold Vision of Zechariah Upon the four and twentieth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Shebat, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the Lord unto Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, the prophet, saying: The Vision Opens I saw in the night, and behold a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees that were in the bottom; and be- hind him there were horses, red, sorrel, and white. Then said I, O my lord, what are these? And the angel that talked with me said unto me, I will shew thee what these be. And the man that stood among the myrtle trees answered and said. These are they whom the Lord hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth. And they answered the angel of the Lord that stood among the myrtle trees, and said. We have walked to and fro through the earth, and, behold, all the earth sitteth still, and is at rest. Then the angel of the Lord answered and said, O Lord of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which thou hast had indignation these threescore and ten years? And the Lord answered the angel that talked with me with good words, even comfortable words. So the angel that talked with me said unto me. Cry thou, saying. Thus saith the Lord of hosts: I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jeal- ousy. And I am very sore displeased with the nations that are at ease: for I was but a little displeased, and they helped forward the affliction. Therefore thus saith the Lord: I am returned to Jeru- salem with mercies; my house shall be built in it, saith the Lord of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth over Jerusalem. Cry yet again, saying. Thus saith the Lord of hosts: My cities shall yet 247 Books of the Prophets -@> overflow with prosperity; and the Lord shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem. Horns and Smiths And I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and behold four horns. And I said unto the angel that talked with me. What be these? And he answered me, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem. And the Lord shewed me four smiths. Then said I, What come these to do? And he spake, saying. These are the horns which scattered Judah, so that no man did lift up his head: but these are come to fray them, to cast down the horns of the nations, which lifted up their horn against the land of Judah to scatter it. The Measuring Line And I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and behold a man with a measuring line in his hand. Then said I, Whither goest thou? And he said unto me. To measure Jerusalem, to see what is the breadth thereof, and what is the length thereof. And, behold, the angel that talked with me went forth, and another angel went out to meet him, and said unto him. Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as villages without walls, by reason of the multitude of men and cattle therein. ''For I, saith the Lord, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and I will be the glory in the midst of her. Ho ho, flee from the land of the north, saith the Lord : for I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heaven, saith the Lord. Ho Zion, escape, thou that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon." For thus saith the Lord of hosts: After glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye. For, behold, I will shake mine hand over them, and they shall be a spoil to those that served them: and ye shall know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me. " Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the Lord. And many nations shall join themselves to the Lord in that day, and shall be my peo- ple: and I will dwell in the midst of thee": and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto thee. And the Lord shaU inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land, and shall yet choose <§- The Return : Haggai and Zechariah Jerusalem. Be silent, all flesh, before the Lord: for he is waked up out of his holy habitation. The High Priest and the Adversary And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and the Adversary standing at his right hand to be his adversary. And the Lord said unto the Adversary, The Lord rebuke thee, O Adversary; yea, the Lord that hath chosen Jeru- salem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel. And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take the filthy garments from off him. And unto him he said. Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with rich apparel. And he said. Let them set a fair diadem upon his head. So they set a fair diadem upon his head, and clothed him with garments; and the angel of the Lord stood by. And the angel of the Lord protested unto Joshua, saying. Thus saith the Lord of hosts: If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou also shalt judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts, and I will give thee a place of access among these that stand by. Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou and thy fellows that sit before thee; for they are men which are a sign: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the Branch. For behold, the stone that I have set before Joshua; upon one stone are seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbour under the vine and under the fig tree. The Golden Candlestick And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep. And he said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have seen, and behold, a candle- stick all of gold, with its bowl upon the top of it, and its seven lamps thereon; there are seven pipes to each of the lamps, which are upon the top thereof: and two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof. And 249 Books of the Prophets -g> I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord? Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord. Then he answered and spake unto me, saying: This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, "Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the head stone with shoutings of Grace, grace, unto it. " Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying. The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto you. For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel, even these seven, which are the eyes of the Lord; they run to and fro through the whole earth. The Sons of Oil Then answered I, and said unto him. What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof? And I answered the second time, and said unto him. What be these two olive branches, which by means of the two golden spouts empty the golden oil out of themselves? And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said. No, my lord. Then said he. These are the two Sons of Oil, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth. The Flying Roll Then again I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and behold, a flying roll. And he said unto me, What seest thou? And I answered, I see a flying roll; the length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits. Then said he unto me. This is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole land: for every one that stealeth shall be purged out on the one side according to it; and every one that sweareth shall be purged out on the other side according to it. I will cause it to go forth, saith the Lord of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by my name: and it shall abide in the 250 § The Return: Haggai and Zechariah midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof. The Ephah and the Talent Then the angel that talked with me went forth, and said unto me, Lift up now thine eyes, and see what is this that goeth forth. And I said. What is it? And he said, This is the ephah that goeth forth. He said moreover, This is their resemblance in all the land: (and, behold, there was lifted up a talent of lead:) and this is a woman sitting in the midst of the ephah. And he said, This is Wickedness; and he cast her down into the midst of the ephah: and he cast the weight of lead upon the mouth thereof. Then lifted I up mine eyes, and saw, and behold, there came forth two women, and the wind was in their wings: now they had wings like the wings of a stork: and they Ufted up the ephah between the earth and the heaven. Then said I to the angel that talked with me. Whither do these bear the ephah? And he said unto me, To build her an house in the land of Shinar: and when it is prepared, she shall be set there upon her own base. The Vision Closes , And again I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and behold, there came four chariots out from between the two mountains; and the mountains were mountains of brass. In the first chariot were red horses; and in the second chariot black horses; and in the third chariot white horses; and in the fourth chariot grisled bay horses. Then I answered and said unto the angel that talked with me, What are these, my lord? And the angel answered and said unto me. These are the four winds of heavens, which go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth. The chariot wherein are the black horses goeth forth toward the north country; and the white went forth after them; and the grisled went forth toward the south country. And the bay went forth, and sought to go that they might walk to and fro through the earth: and he said. Get you hence, walk to and fro through the earth. So they walked to and fro through the earth. Then cried he upon me, and spake unto me, saying, Behold, they that go toward the north country have quieted my spirit in the north country. Books of the Prophets -g> BOOK OF MALACHI The word ' Malachi ' is not, as traditionally understood, a per- sonal name. It signifies ' My Messenger ' ; and is the subject-title for an anonymous book of prophecy. The book has a special interest in revealing the latest phase of thought in Old Testament history; the fixed idea of the Old Testament, the anticipation of a Messiah, has taken a speciahzed form in the looking for a ' Mes- senger,' who should precede the Messiah and prepare the way for him. The passages from the book cited below illustrate this, and show how the end of the Old joins on to the beginning of the New Testament. Passages from the Book of Malachi Behold, I send My Messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in, behold, he cometh, saith the Lord of hosts. But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap : and he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver; and they shall offer unto the Lord offerings in righteousness. Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in ancient years. And I will come near to you to judgement; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers; and against those that op- press the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the Lord of hosts. For I the Lord change not; therefore ye, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed. Ye have said, ' It is vain to serve God: and what profit is it that we have kept his charge, and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of hosts? And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are built up; yea, they tempt God, and are delivered.' Then they that feared the Lord spake one with <§- ' Malachi : ' or ^ My Messenger ' another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard, and a book of remem- brance was written before him, for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name. And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in the day that I do make, even a peculiar treasure; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. Then shall ye return and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not. For, behold, the day cometh, it bumeth as a furnace: and all the proud, and all that work wickedness, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. But unto you that fear my name shall the sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and gambol as calves of the stall. And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I do make, saith the Lord of hosts. Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, even statutes and judgements: behold, I will send you Elijah the Prophet before the great and terrible day of the Lord come. And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers; lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. 2S3 BOOK OF HABAKKUK We now reach the prophetic books which have no historic setting in Old Testament history. They contain prophecies over foreign peoples; or purely ideal pictures of judgment. The Book of Habakkuk is made up of a single literary composi- tion, a Rhapsody of the Chaldeans. It is recognized as containing some of the most sublime of all lyric poetry. It is also, notwith- standing its brevity, a typical example of rhapsodic form. We have three 'Acts,' or advancing stages in this spiritual drama. The first Act opens up a Mystery of Divine Providence: that the Chaldeans, most wicked of the nations, are permitted to destroy nations less guilty than themselves. This is brought out in the simple form of dialogue between God and the Prophet. In the second Act we reach the Divine Solution of the mystery, in the view of the Chaldeans as an unconscious instrument of righteous judgment, to be cast away when their work is done. Here dialogue suddenly changes to the doom form, and the victim nations are heard triumphing over fallen Chaldea. But such triumphing is for the future; we thus have a further advance in the third Act, where the Divine judgment is realized as visibly present. The Prophet who has prayed for this judgment trembles as he beholds it. The form of this third Act is a lyric ode. Habakkuk^s Rhapsody of the Chaldeans /. — The Mystery The Prophet. — O Lord, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear? I cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save. Why dost thou shew me iniquity, and cause me to look upon perverse- ness? for spoiHng and violence are before me: and there is strife, and contention riseth up. Therefore the law is slacked, and judgement doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the right- eous; therefore judgement goeth forth perverted. 254 <§- The Chaldeans : Habakkuk The Lord. — Behold ye among the nations, and regard, and won- der marvellously: for I work a work in your days, which ye will not believe though it be told you. For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation; which march through the breadth of the earth, to possess dwelUng places that are not theirs. They are terrible and dreadful: their judgement and their dignity proceed from themselves. Their horses also are swifter than leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves; and their horsemen bear themselves proudly: yea, their horsemen come from far; they fly as an eagle that hasteth to devour. They come all of them for vio- lence; their faces are set eagerly as the east wind; and they gather captives as the sand. Yea, he scoffeth at kings, and princes are a derision unto him: he deride th every strong hold; for he heapeth up dust, and taketh it. Then shall he sweep by as a wind, and shall pass over, and be guilty: even he whose might is his god. The Prophet. — Art not thou from everlasting, O Lord my God, mine Holy One? thou diest not. O Lord, thou hast ordained him for judgement; and thou, O Rock, hast established him for correction. Thou that art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and that canst not look on perverseness, wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and boldest thy peace when the wicked swalloweth up the man that is more righteous than he; and makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things, that have no ruler over them? He taketh up all of them with the angle, he catcheth them in his net, and gathereth them in his drag: therefore he rejoiceth and is glad. Therefore he sacrificeth unto his net, and bumeth incense unto his drag; because by them his portion is fat, and his meat plenteous. Shall he therefore empty his net, and not spare to slay the nations continually? //. — The Solution The Prophet. — I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will look forth to see what he will speak by me, and what I shall answer concerning my complaint. The Lord. — Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for the appointed time, and it hasteth toward the end, and shall not lie: though it tarry, 255 Prophecies to the External World § wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not delay. Behold, his soul is puffed up, it is not upright in him : but the just shall live in his faithfulness. Yea, moreover, wine is a treacherous dealer, a haughty man, and that keepeth not at home; who enlarge th his desire as hell, and he is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all peoples. Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say: Doom of the Chaldeans Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his, — How long? — And that ladeth himself with pledges! Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall exact usury of thee, and awake that shall vex thee, and thou shalt be for booties unto them? Because thou hast spoiled many nations, all the remnant of the peoples shall spoil thee; because of men's blood, and for the vio- lence done to the land, to the city and to all that dwell therein. Woe to him that getteth an evil gain for his house, That he may set his nest on high, That he may be delivered from the hand of evil! Thou hast consulted shame to thy house, by cutting off many peoples, and hast sinned against thy soul. For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it. Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, And stablisheth a city by iniquity! Behold, is it not of the Lord of hosts that the peoples labour for the fire, and the nations weary themselves for vanity? For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. 256 §The Chaldeans: Habakkuk What profiteth the graven image, that the maker thereof hath graven it; the molten image, and the teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusteth therein, to make dumb idols? — Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; To the dumb stone, Arise! Shall this teach? Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it. But the Lord is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him! ///. — Jehovah come to Judgement O Ix)RD, I have heard the report oj thee, and am afraid: O IjORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years, In the midst of the years make it known: In wrath remember mercy! God Cometh from Teman, And the Holy One from Mount Paran. His glory covereth the heavens, And the earth is full of his praise. And his brightness is as the light; He hath rays coming forth from his hand; And there is the hiding of his power. Before him goeth the pestilence, And fiery bolts go forth at his feet. He standeth and shake th the earth; He beholdeth, and driveth asunder the nations: And the eternal mountains are scattered. The everlasting hills do bow; His ways are everlasting. I see the tents of Cushan in affliction; The curtains of the land of Midian do tremble. Is the Lord displeased against the rivers? Is thine anger against the rivers, or thy wrath against the sea, 257 Prophecies to the External World -g> That thou dost ride upon thine horses, Upon thy chariots of salvation? Thy bow is made quite bare; Sworn are the chastisements of thy word. Thou dost cleave the earth with rivers; The mountains see thee and are afraid; The tempest of waters passe th by; The deep uttereth his voice, And lifteth up his hands on high; The sun and moon stand still in their habitation At the light of thine arrows as they go, At the shining of thy glittering spear. Thou dost march through the land in indignation, Thou dost thresh the nations in anger. Thou art come for the salvation of thy people, For the salvation of thine anointed: Thou dost smite off the head from the house of the wicked. Laying bare the foundation even unto the neck. Thou dost pierce with his own staves the head of his warriors: They came as a whirlwind to scatter me, (Their rejoicing was as to devour the poor secretly:) Thou dost tread the sea with thine horses, the surge of mighty waters. / heard, and my belly trembled, My lips quivered at the voice; Rottenness entered into my bones, and I trembled in my place: That I should rest waiting for the day of trouble. When he that shall invade them in troops cometh up against the people. For though the fig tree shall not blossom, Neither shall fruit be in the vines; The labour of the olive shall fail, And the fields shall yield no meat; The flock shall be cut off from the fold, And there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, 258 § Nineveh : Jonah and Nahum / will joy in the God of my salvation. Jehovah, the Lord, is my strength, And he maketh my feet like hinds' feet, And will make me to walk upon mine high places. BOOKS OF JONAH AND NAHUM These two books of prophecy should be read together. They both deal with the mighty city of Nineveh. In the order of the story presented, Jonah comes first, displaying Nineveh at its height of power, while Nahum pictures its fall. But in the scale of spiritual development the order is reversed: Nahum stands at the same point as Ohadiah — rejoicing over the fall of the Lord's enemies; Jonah., starting with the same thought, carries us forward to the supremacy of mercy over judgment. The Book of Jonah is the single case of the prophetic story in the Books of the Prophets: Jonah appears as hero, not as author. It contains again the single example of a prophet's disobedience to his call. The truth revealed is twofold, corresponding to the two stages of the story. The first part of the story rests upon the idea, so difficult to the modem mind, of Deity as a local power. Their god is a god of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we: but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. (/ Kings 20 ^•^.) So Jonah, shrinking from his mission to the far east, takes ship at Joppa for the farthest west. So the crew of mariners, each from a different country, call each on his own god, when the great wind is hurled into the sea. Jonah, waked from sleep to encounter the full situation, recognizes in an instant the whole truth: the true God he worships has a dominion that covers the whole world. His own lips speak his doom: unwillingly the mariners fling him into the sea, and he is miraculously rescued. At this point of the book comes the poem called in our versions, The Prayer of Jonah. It is a song of deliverance; and the trouble 259 Prophecies to the External World -g> from which the singer has been delivered is, in the plainest language, described as an immersion in the sea. For thou didst cast me into the depth, In the heart of the seas; And the flood was round about me, All thy waves and thy billows passed over me . . . The waters compassed me about. Even to the soul. The deep was round about me; The weeds were wrapped about my head. But to a single line of this song — Out of the belly of hell cried I — a commentator has appended a most prosaic footnote, explaining how the meaning is the belly of a whale that received and vomited Jonah. Had the page-setting which we now use for all literature been early applied to the Bible, it would have been obvious to every eye that this is only a commentator's footnote, in full keeping with the fanciful thoughts which distinguished early ages of com- mentary.* Thus the question is not, as is commonly supposed, whether the incident of the whale is a real or a mythical incident. The question is, whether it is a part of the Bible at all; and the suggestion is that it is an addition of a commentator, and, more- over, an addition that is in manifest contradiction to the sacred text. The story resumes, and Jonah goes on his mission to preach repentance: a wave of spiritual terror and contrition passes over * A similar confusion of text and note applies to one of the references to Jonah in the New Testament, and has the effect of making the mention of the whale appear as if it were part of the words of Christ, though it is foreign to the lesson Jesus is drawing from the story of Jonah; a lesson which he repeats three times. This is fully explained in the New Testament volume of this work, page 401. 260 § Nineveh: Jonah and Nahum the vast city, and the judgment is stayed. Jonah in righteous indignation remonstrates with God. The mercy of Jehovah is no new idea to the prophet: he says that the motive of his dis- obedience to the former mandate was his fear that God would not stand by his prophet's threatenings. So confident is Jonah in this remonstrance that he proceeds to build a booth outside the walls "till he might see what would become of the city." A Divine object lesson follows. A gourd plant grows up to shelter the watcher from the heat, and is loved by Jonah for its beauty. Suddenly he sees it laid low by a worm. Again the prophet "does well to be angry" at the sight of the fair overcome by the foul. This brings the Divine word of inspiration: If Jonah can feel pity for a mere piece of vegetation, may not God feel pity for Nineveh, with its sixscore thousand helpless children and its still more helpless cattle? Mercy has hitherto, in the prophet's mind, been the special privi- lege of God's peculiar people: the new revelation is that God's mercy is as world wide as his dominion. The Book of Nahum is made up of a single literary composition, presenting the fall of the mighty Nineveh. After a brief meditation on the God of judgment and of mercy it takes the form of a Doom Prophecy. Its great literary interest is the brilliantly realistic passages, which picture the great city suddenly meeting its doom. The Prophetic Story of Jonah /. — The Flight to Tarshish Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying. Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. And he went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. But the Lord hurled a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken. Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god; and they cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it unto them. But 261 Prophecies to the External World -g> Jonah was gone down into the innermost parts of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep. So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not. And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah. Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us; what is thine occupation? and whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou? And he said unto them, I am an Hebrew; and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land. Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, What is this that thou hast done? (For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them.) Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? for the sea grew more and more tempestuous. And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you. . Nevertheless the men rowed hard to get them back to the land, but they could not: for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them. WTiere- fore they cried unto the Lord, and said, We beseech thee, O Lord, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O Lord, hast done as it pleased thee. So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging. Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly; and they offered a sacrifice unto the Lord, and made vows. //. — TJie Prayer of Jonah I called out of mine affliction unto the Lord, And he answered me; Out of the belly * of hell cried I, And thou heardest my voice. * And the Lord prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah; and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. Then Jonah prayed unto the Lord his God out of the fish's belly. 262 <§- Nineveh : Jonah and Xahum For thou didst cast me into the depth, In the heart of the seas; And the flood was round about me, All thy waves and thy billows passed over me. And I said, I am cast out from before thine eyes: Yet I will look again toward thy holy temple. The waters compassed me about, Even to the soul. The deep was round about me; The weeds were wrapped about my head. I went do^sTi to the bottoms of the mountains; The earth with her bars closed upon me for ever. Yet hast thou brought up my life from tlje pit, O Lord my God: When my soul fainted \sithin me, I remembered the Lord; And my prayer came in unto thee, Into thine holy temple. They that regard King vanities forsake their o^\Tl mercy: But I \sill sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that which I have vowed: Salvation is of the LoRD.f ///. — The Preaching at yineveh And the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time, say- ing. Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee. So Jonah arose, and went unto Xineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Xow Xineveh was an exceeding great city, of three da\-5' journey. -\nd Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried, and said. Yet forty daj's, and Nineveh shall be overthrown. And the people of Nineveh believed God; and they proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. .\nd the tidings reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and laid his ^ And the Lord spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land- 263 Prophecies to the External World ^ robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he made proclamation and published through Nineveh, by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying: 'Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water: but let them be covered with sackcloth, both man and beast, and let them cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands. Who knoweth whether God will not turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not? ' And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, which he said he would do unto them: and he did it not. But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. And he prayed unto the Lord, and said, I pray thee, O Lord, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I hasted to flee unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and full of compassion, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy, and repentest thee of the evil. Therefore now, O Lord, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live. And the Lord said, Doest thou well to be angry? Then Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would become of the city. And the Lord God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his evil case. So Jonah was exceeding glad because of the gourd. But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd, that it withered. And it came to pass, when the sun arose, that God prepared a sultry east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and requested for himself that he might die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live. And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry even unto death. And the Lord said: Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night: and should not I have pity on Nineveh, that great city; wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot dis- cern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle? 264 <§- Nineveh : Jonah and Nahum Passages from the Book of Nahum The Lord is a jealous God and avengeth; the Lord avenge th and is full of wrath ; the Lord taketh vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies. The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, and will by no means clear the guilty: the Lord hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet. He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it dry, and drieth up all the rivers: Bashan languisheth, and Carmel, and the flower of Lebanon languisheth. The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt; and the earth is upheaved at his presence, yea, the world, and all that dwell therein. Who can stand before his indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? his fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken asunder by him. The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that put their trust in him. But with an overrunning flood he will make a full end of the place thereof, and will pursue his enemies into darkness. * He that dasheth in pieces is come up before thy face: Keep the munition; watch the way; Make thy loins strong, Fortify thy power mightily. The shield of his mighty men is made red: The valiant men are in scarlet: The chariots flash with steel in the day of his preparation, And the spears are shaken terribly. The chariots rage in the streets. They justle one against another in the broad ways: The appearance of them is like torches, They run like the lightnings. He remembereth his worthies : They stumble in their march; They make haste to the wall thereof. And the mantelet is prepared. 265 Prophecies to the External World § The gates of the rivers are opened, and the palace is dissolved: And Huzzab is uncovered; she is carried away; And her handmaids mourn as with the voice of doves, Tabering upon their breasts. But Nineveh hath been from of old like a pool of water; Yet they flee away: 'Stand, stand' — But none looketh back. Take ye the spoil of silver, Take the spoil of gold: For there is none end of the store, The glory of all pleasant furniture. She is empty, and void, and waste: And the heart melteth, and the knees smite together; And anguish is in all loins. And the faces of them all are waxed pale. Where is the den of the lions, And the feeding place of the young lions, Where the lion and the lioness walked, The lion's whelp, and none made them afraid? Thy shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria, Thy worthies are at rest : Thy people are scattered upon the mountains, And there is none to gather them. There is no assuaging of thy hurt; Thy wound is grievous : All that hear the bruit of thee clap the hands over thee: For upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually? 266 Obadiah, Joel BOOK OF OBADIAH This shortest of the prophetic books is a single prophecy, the Doom of Edom. The Edomites were a kindred people to Israel, descendants of Esau. The point of the denunciation is their cruelty to Israel in the hour of Israel's affliction. Passage from the Book of Obadiah For the violence done to thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever. In the day that thou stood- est on the other side, in the day that strangers carried away his substance, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem even thou wast as one of them. But look not thou on the day of thy brother in the day of his disaster, and rejoice not over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; neither speak proudly in the day of distress. Enter not into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity; yea, look not thou on their affliction in the day of their calamity, neither lay ye hands on their substance in the day of their calamity. And stand thou not in the crossway, to cut off those of his that escape: and deliver not up those of his that remain in the day of distress. For the day of the Lord is near upon all the nations: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee; thy dealing shall return upon thine own head. For as ye have drunk upon my holy mountain, so shall all the nations drink continually, yea, they shall drink, and swallow down, and shall be as though they had not been. But in mount Zion there shall be those that escape, and it shall be holy; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions. And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame: and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall burn among them, and devour them:. and there shall not be any remaining to the house of Esau; for the Lord hath spoken it. BOOK OF JOEL The book consists of a single poem, the Rhapsody of the Locust Plague. It has already appeared (above, page 155) as a typical illustration of rhapsodic form. 267 CHAPTER IV COLLECTED PSALMS AND LYRICS OF ISRAEL The Book of Psalms Lamentations The Song of Songs The Book of Psalms in the traditional Bible is a miscellaneous col- lection, without any apparent principle of arrangemetit. I ft this work the Psalms are grouped as below. For the significafice of the group- ing, as well as for the interpretation of particular poe^ns, see the Notes {below, pages 4gj-j02). National Psalms "^ it The four National Anthems of Israel, the Sennucherib Psalms, arid certain others of these National Psalms, have been transferred to appropriate places in the Historic Outline. Psalms of Nature Psalms of Judgment or Providence Psalms of Religious Experience Psalms of Prayer, Trust, Consecration Liturgies Festal Hymns and Anthems Lamentations: A Dirge over Fallen Jerusalem The Song of Songs, which is Solomon's 270 The Tree and the Chajf A Prefatory Psalm Blessed is the man that u\dketh nat in the eounsel of the 7cieked, \or standeth in the way of sinners, \or sitteth in the seat of the seornfuL But his delii^ht is in the law of the Lord; And in his law doth he meditate day and nii^ht. And he shall be like a Tree planted by the streams of water, That brin;;eth forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also doth not wither: A nd whatsoreer he doeth sJiall prosper. The wieked are not so; But are like the ChatJ whieh the 7C'ind driveth away. Therefore the wieked shall not stand in the judi^cment, Xor sinners in the eont^ret^ation of the rii^hteous. For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: But the way of tJie wieked sJiall perish. 371 NATIONAL PSALMS Song of the Lord's Anointed Why do the nations rage, And the peoples imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, Against the Lord, and against his Anointed: ' Let us break their bands asunder. And cast away their cords from us.' He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: The Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, And vex them in his sore displeasure: " Yet I have set My King Upon my holy hill of Zion." Jehovah's King I will tell of the decree: The Lord said unto me, "Thou art my son; ''This day have I begotten thee. "Ask of me, and I will give the nations for thine inheritance, "And the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. "Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; "Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel." Now therefore be wise, O ye kings: Be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the I opd wUh fear, .ixid rejoice with trembling. 272 § National Hymns and Anthems Kiss the son, lest he be angry, And ye perish in the way, For his wrath will soon be kindled. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him. King and Priest The Lord saith unto my lord, "Sit thou at my right hand, ''Until I make thine enemies thy footstool." The Lord shall stretch forth the rod of thy strength out of Zion: Rule thou in the midst of thine enemies. Thy people offer themselves willingly in the day of thy power; On the mountains of holiness, from the womb of the morning, thy youth are to thee as the dew. The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, "Thou art a priest for ever "After the order of Melchizedek. " The Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath. He shall judge among the nations — the places are full of dead bodies — He shall strike through the head over a wide land: He shall drink of the brook in the way, therefore shall he lift up the head. A Dynasty of Righteousness Thine house and thy kingdom shall he made sure for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever. Give the king thy judgements, O God, And thy righteousness unto the king's son. He shall judge thy people with righteousness, And thy poor with judgement. 273 Psalms and Lyrics § The mountains shall bring peace to the people, And the hills, in righteousness. He shall judge the poor of the people, He shall save the children of the needy. And shall break in pieces the oppressor. They shall fear thee while the sun endureth, And so long as the moon, throughout all generations. He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: As showers that water the earth. In his days shall the righteous flourish; And abundance of peace, till the moon be no more. He shall have dominion also from sea to sea. And from the River unto the ends of the earth. They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; And his enemies shall lick the dust. The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: The kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: All nations shall serve him. For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth; And the poor, that hath no helper. He shall have pity on the poor and needy, And the souls of the needy he shall save. He shall redeem their soul from oppression and violence; And precious shall their blood be in his sight: And they shall live; and to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba: And men shall pray for him continually; They shall bless him all the day long. There shall be abundance of com in the earth upon the top of the mountains; The fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon: And they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth. His name shall endure for ever; His name shall be continued as long as the sun: And men shall be blessed in him; All nations shall call him happy. 274 'Q- National Hymns and Anthems Zion Mother of Nations ZION His foundation in the holy mountains the Lord loveth; Even the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God. I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon as among them that know me: Behold Philistia, and Tyre, with Ethiopia; This one was bom there. Yea, of Zion it shall be said, This one and that one was bom in her; And the Most High himself shall establish her. The Lord shall count, when he writeth up the peoples, This one was born there. They that sing as well as they that dance shall say, All my fountains are in thee. A Processional Hymn Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered; Let them also that hate him flee before him. As smoke is driven away, So drive them away: As wax melteth before the fire. So let the wicked perish at the presence of God. But let the righteous be glad; let them exult before God; Yea, let them rejoice with gladness. Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: Cast up a high way for him that rideth through the deserts; His name is jah; And exult ye before him. A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation. 275 Psalms and Lyrics -g> God setteth the solitary in families: He bringeth out the prisoners into prosperity: But the rebellious dwell in a parched land. O God, when thou wentest forth before thy people, When thou didst march through the wilderness; The earth trembled, the heavens also dropped at the presence of God: Yon Sinai at the presence of God, the God of Israel. Thou, O God, didst send a plentiful rain, Thou didst confirm thine inheritance, when it was weary. Thy congregation dwelt therein: Thou, O God, didst prepare of thy goodness for the poor. The Lord giveth the word: The women that pubhsh the tidings are a great host. ^ Kings of armies flee, they flee, And she that tarrieth at home divideth the spoil ' — ^Will ye lie among the sheepfolds? ' — 'The wings of a dove covered with silver and her pinions with yellow 'When the Almighty scattered kings therein It was as when it snoweth in Zalmon.' — A mountain of God is the mountain of Bashan; An high mountain is the mountain of Bashan. Why look ye askance, ye high mountains, at the mountain which God hath desired for his abode? Yea, the Lord will dwell in it for ever. 'The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands upon thousands ' — The Lord is among them, Sinai is in the sanctuary. ' Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led thy captivity captive, thou hast received gifts among men ' — Yea, among the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell with them. II Blessed be the Lord, who daily beareth our burden. Even the God who is our salvation. 276 § National Hymns and Anthems God is unto us a God of deliverances; And unto jehovah the Lord belong the issues from death. But God shall smite through the head of his enemies, The hairy scalp of such an one as goeth on still in his guiltiness. The Lord said, I will bring again from Bashan, I will bring them again from the depths of the sea: That thou mayest dip thy foot in blood, That the tongue of thy dogs may have its portion from thine enemies. They have seen thy goings, O God, Even the goings of my God, my King, into the sanctuary. The singers went before, the minstrels followed after, In the midst of the damsels playing with timbrels. Bless ye God in the congregations. Even the Lord, ye that are of the fountain of Israel. There is little Benjamin their ruler, The princes of Judah and their council, The princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali. Thy God hath commanded thy strength: Strengthen, O God, that which thou hast wrought for us. Because of thy temple at Jerusalem kings shall bring presents unto thee. Rebuke the wild beast of the reeds. The multitude of the bulls, with the calves of the peoples, Every one submitting himself with pieces of silver; Scatter thou the peoples that delight in war. Princes shall come out of Egypt; Ethiopia shall haste to stretch out her hands unto God. Sing unto God, ye kingdoms of the earth; O sing praises unto the Lord; To him that rideth upon the heavens of heavens, which are of old: Lo, he uttereth his voice, and that a mighty voice. Ascribe ye strength unto God: His excellency is over Israel, And his strength is in the skies. 277 Psalms and Lyrics § O God, thou art terrible out of thy holy places: The God of Israel, he giveth strength and power unto his people. Blessed be God. A Royal Marriage Hymn My heart overfloweth with a goodly matter: I speak the things which I have made touching the king: My tongue is the pen of a ready writer. Thou art fairer than the children of men; Grace is poured into thy lips: Therefore God hath blessed thee for ever. Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O mighty one, Thy glory and thy majesty. And in thy majesty ride on prosperously, In behalf of truth and meekness and righteousness: And thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things. Thine arrows are sharp — the peoples fall under thee — In the heart of the king's enemies. Thy throne is the throne of God for ever and ever: A sceptre of equity is the sceptre of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated wickedness: Therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee With the oil of gladness above thy fellows. All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia; Out of ivory palaces stringed instruments have made thee glad. Kings' daughters are among thy honourable women: At thy right hand doth stand the queen in gold of Ophir. Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; Forget also thine own people, and thy father's house; So shall the king desire thy beauty: For he is thy Lord; and worship thou him. And the daughter of Tyre shall be there with a gift; Even the rich among the people shall intreat thy favour. 278 § National H3nnns and Anthems The king's daughter within the palace is all glorious: Her clothing is inwrought with gold. She shall be led unto the king in broidered work: The virgins her companions that follow her shall be brought unto thee. With gladness and rejoicing shall they be led: They shall enter into the king's palace. Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children, Whom thou shalt make princes in all the earth. I will make thy name to be remembered in all generations: Therefore shall the peoples give thee thanks for ever and ever. From Elegiac Ode: The Covenant of David Abhorred I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever: With my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all genera- tions. For I have said, Mercy shall be built up for ever; Thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very heavens. "I have made a covenant with my chosen, "I have sworn unto David my servant; "Thy seed will I establish for ever, "And build up thy throne to all generations." And the heavens shall praise thy wonders, O Lord; Thy faithfulness also in the assembly of the holy ones. For who in the skies can be compared unto the Lord? Who among the sons of the mighty is like unto the Lord, A God very terrible in the council of the holy ones, And to be feared above all them that are round about him? O Lord God of hosts, who is a mighty one, like unto thee, O jah? And thy faithfulness is round about thee. 279 Psalms and Lyrics § Thou rulest the pride of the sea: When the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them. Thou hast broken Rahab in pieces, as one that is slain; Thou hast scattered thine enemies with the arm of thy strength. The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine: The world and the fulness thereof, thou hast founded them. The north and the south, thou hast created them: Tabor and Hermon rejoice in thy name. Thou hast a mighty arm: Strong is thy hand, and high is thy right hand. Righteousness and judgement are the foundation of thy throne: Mercy and truth go before thy face. Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: They walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance. In thy name do they rejoice all the day: And in thy righteousness are they exalted. For thou art the glory of their strength: And in thy favour our horn shall be exalted. For our shield belongeth unto the Lord; And our king to the Holy One of Israel. But thou hast cast off and rejected, Thou hast been wroth with thine anointed. Thou hast abhorred the covenant of thy servant: Thou hast profaned his crown even to the ground. Thou hast broken down all his hedges; Thou hast brought his strong holds to ruin. All that pass by the way spoil him: He is become a reproach to his neighbours. 280 <§- National Hymns and Anthems Thou hast exalted the right hand of his adversaries; Thou hast made all his enemies to rejoice. Yea, thou turnest back the edge of his sword, And hast not made him to stand in the battle. Thou hast made his brightness to cease, And cast his throne down to the ground. The days of his youth hast thou shortened: Thou hast covered him with shame. How long, O Lord, wilt thou hide thyself for ever? How long shall thy wrath burn like fire? O remember how short my time is: For what vanity hast thou created all the children of men! What man is he that shall live and not see death, That shall deliver his soul from the power of Sheol? Lord, where are thy former mercies, Which thou swarest unto David in thy faithfulness? Remember, Lord, the reproach of thy servants; How I do bear in my bosom the reproach of all the mighty peoples; Wherewith thine enemies have reproached, O Lord, Wherewith they have reproached the footsteps of thine anointed. Thoughts from the Song of Moses I * The Eternal God is thy dwelling place.* Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place In all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth. Or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world. Even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. 281 Psalms and Lyrics -g> Thou turnest man to dust; And sayest, Return, ye children of men. For a thousand years in thy sight Are but as yesterday when it passeth, And as a watch in the night. Thou earnest them away as with a flood; They are as a sleep. In the morning they are like grass which groweth up: In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up; In the evening it is cut down, and withereth. For we are consumed in thine anger, And in thy wrath are we troubled. Thou hast set our iniquities before thee. Our secret sins in the light of thy countenance. For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: We bring our years to an end as a tale that is told. The days of our years are threescore years and ten, Or even by reason of strength fourscore years; Yet is their pride but labour and sorrow; For it is soon gone, and we fly away. Who knoweth the power of thine anger, And thy wrath according to the fear that is due unto thee? So teach us to number our days. That we may get us an heart of wisdom. Return, O Lord; how long? And let it repent thee concerning thy servants. O satisfy us in the morning with thy mercy; That we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afilicted us. And the years wherein we have seen evil. Let thy work appear unto thy servants, And thy glory upon their children. 282 <§- National Hymns and Anthems And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us: And establish thou the work of our hands upon us; Yea, the work of our hands establish thou it. n ' Underneath are the everlasting arms.'' He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, 'He is my refuge and my fortress; *My God, in whom I trust.' For he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, And from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with his pinions. And under his wings shalt thou take refuge: His truth is a shield and a buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night. Nor for the arrow that fiieth by day; For the pestilence that w^alketh in darkness. Nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side. And ten thousand at thy right hand; But it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold, And see the reward of the wicked. 'For thou, O Lord, art my refuge!' Thou hast made the Most High thy habitation: There shall no evil befall thee. Neither shall any plague come nigh thy tent. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, To keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, Lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: The young lion and the serpent shalt thou trample under feet. "Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: "I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. 283 Psalms and Lyrics -g> "He shall call upon me, and I will answer him; *'I will be with him in trouble: "I will deUver him, and honour him. "With long life will I satisfy him, "And shew him my salvation." 284 PSALMS OF NATURE Song of the Thunderstorm Give unto the Lord, O ye sons of the mighty, Give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name: Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. The voice of the Lord is upon the waters: The God of glory thundereth. Even the Lord upon many waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful; The voice of the Lord is full of majesty. The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars; Yea, the Lord breaketh in pieces the cedars of Lebanon. He maketh them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young wild-ox. The voice of the Lord cleaveth the flames of fire. The voice of the Lord shaketh the wilderness; The Lord shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh. The voice of the Lord maketh the hinds to calve, And strippeth the forests bare: And in his temple every thing saith. Glory. The Lord sat as king at the flood; Yea, the Lord sitteth as king for ever. The Lord will give strength unto his people; The Lord will bless his people with peace. 28s Psalms and Lyrics -g> Jehovah's Immovable Throne The Lord reigneth; he is apparelled with majesty; The Lord is apparelled, he hath girded himself with strength. The world also is stabhshed, that it cannot be moved: Thy throne is established of old: thou art from everlasting. The floods have Hfted up, O Lord, The floods have lifted up their voice; The floods lift up their waves. Above the voices of many waters, The mighty breakers of the sea, The Lord on high is mighty. Thy testimonies are very sure: HoUness becometh thine house, O Lord, for evermore. Man The Viceroy of God O Lord, our Lord, How excellent is thy name in all the earth! Who hast set thy glory upon the heavens. Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou estabUshed strength, Because of thine adversaries. That thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger. When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers. The moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him but Httle lower than God, And crownest him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; Thou hast put all things under his feet: 286 <§- Psalms of Nature All sheep and oxen, Yea, and the beasts of the field; The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, Whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas. O Lord, our Lord, How excellent is thy name in all the earth! The Heavens Above and the Law Within The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech. And night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language; Their voice cannot be heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, And their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, And rejoiceth as a strong man to run his course. His going forth is from the end of the heaven, And his circuit unto the ends of it: And there is nothing hid from the heat thereof. The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul: The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever: The judgements of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them is thy servant warned: In keeping of them there is great reward. 287 Psalms and Lyrics § Who can discern his errors? Clear thou me from hidden faults. Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: Then shall I be perfect, And I shall be clear from great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my rock, and my redeemer. The World Within and the World Without Bless the Lord, O my soul. And all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul. And forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; Who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; Who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mer- cies: Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; So that thy youth is renewed hke the eagle. The Lord executeth righteous acts. And judgements for all that are oppressed. He made known his ways unto Moses, His doings unto the children of Israel. The Lord is full of compassion and gracious, Slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide; Neither will he keep his anger for ever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins. Nor rewarded us after our iniquities. <§- Psalms of Nature For as the heaven is high above the earth, So great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, So far hath he removed our transgressions from us. Like as a father pitieth his children. So the Lord pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame; He remembereth that we are dust. As for man, his days are as grass; As a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. For the wind passe th over it, and it is gone: And the place thereof shall know it no more. But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to. everlasting upon them that fear him, And his righteousness unto children's children; To such as keep his covenant. And to those that remember his precepts to do them. The Lord hath established his throne in the heavens; And his kingdom ruleth over all. Bless the Lord, ye angels of his, Ye mighty in strength; That fulfil his word. Hearkening unto the voice of his word. Bless the Lord, all ye his hosts; Ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure. Bless the Lord, all ye his works. In all places of his dominion. IbHH tljr tons, (§ mg Haul n Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, thou art very great; Thou art clothed with honour and majesty: Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment; 289 Psalms and Lyrics -g> Who stretchest out the heavens Hke a curtain; Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters; Who maketh the clouds his chariot; Who walketh upon the wings of the wind; Who maketh winds his messengers; His ministers a flaming fire. Who laid the foundations of the earth, That it should not be moved for ever. Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a vesture; The waters stood above the mountains. At thy rebuke they fled; At the voice of thy thunder they hasted away ; They went up by the mountains, they went down by the valleys. Unto the place which thou hadst founded for them. Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass over; That they turn not again to cover the earth. He sendeth forth springs into the valleys; They run among the mountains: They give drink to every beast of the field; The wild asses quench their thirst. By them the fowl of the heaven have their habitation. They sing among the branches. He watereth the mountains from his chambers: The earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works. He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, And herb for the service of man: That he may bring forth food out of the earth. And wine that maketh glad the heart of man, And oil to make his face to shine. And bread that strengtheneth man's heart. The trees of the Lord are satisfied; . The cedars of Lebanon, which he hath planted: 290 ^ Psalms of Nature Where the birds make their nests: As for the stork, the fir trees are her house; The high mountains are for the wild goats; The rocks are a refuge for the conies. He appointed the moon for seasons: The sun knoweth his going down. Thou makest darkness, and it is night; Wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth. ^ The young lions roar after their prey, And seek their meat from God. The sun ariseth, they get them away, And lay them down in their dens. Man goeth forth unto his work And to his labour until the evening. O Lord, how manifold are thy works! In wisdom hast thou made them all: The earth is full of thy riches. Yonder ii the sea, great and wide. Wherein are things creeping innumerable, Both small and great beasts. There go the ships; There is leviathan, whom thou hast formed to take his pastime therein. These wait all upon thee, That thou mayest give them their meat in due season. That thou givest unto them they gather: Thou openest thine hand. They are satisfied with good: Thou hidest thy face. They are troubled; Thou takest away their breath. They die, and return to their dust: Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created; And thou renewest the face of the ground. 2gi Psalms and Lyrics -g> Let the glory of the Lord endure for ever; Let the Lord rejoice in his works: Who looketh on the earth, and it trembleth; He toucheth the mountains, and they smoke. I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have any being. Let my meditation be sweet unto him: I will rejoice in the Lord. Let sinners be consumed out of the earth, And let the wicked be no more. 292 PSALMS OF JUDGEMENT OR PROVIDENCE A Vision of Judgement The God of gods, the Lord, hath spoken, And called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof. Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined forth. Our God Cometh, and shall not keep silence: A fire devoureth before him. And it is very tempestuous round about him. He calleth to the heavens above, And to the earth, that he may judge his people: "Gather my saints together unto me; "Those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice": And the heavens declare his righteousness; For God is judge himself. GOD Hear, O my people, and I will speak; 0 Israel, and I will testify unto thee: 1 am God, even thy God. I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices; And thy burnt offerings are continually before me. I will take no bullock out of thy house. Nor he-goats out of thy folds. For every beast of the forest is mine, And the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the mountains: And the wild beasts of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: For the world is mine, and the fulness thereof. Will I eat the flesh of bulls, Or drink the blood of goats? 293 Psalms and Lyrics -g> Offer unto God the sacrifice of thanksgiving; And pay thy vows unto the Most High: And call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me. But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, And that thou hast taken my covenant in thy mouth? Seeing thou hatest instruction, And castest my words behind thee. When thou sawest a thief, thou consentedst with him, And hast been partaker with adulterers. Thou givest thy mouth to evil. And thy tongue f rameth deceit. Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; Thou slanderest thine own mother's son. These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; Thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thy- self: But I will reprove thee. And set them in order before thine eyes. Now consider this, ye that forget God, Lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver: Whoso offereth the sacrifice of thanksgiving glorifieth me; And to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God. Song of the Redeemed O give thanks into the Lord; for he is good: For his mercy endureth for ever. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, Whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the adversary; And gathered them out of the lands. From the east and from the west, from the north and from the south. 294 <§- Judgement or Providence They wandered in the wilderness in a desert way; They found no city of habitation. Hungry and thirsty, Their soul fainted in them. Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, And he delivered them out of their distresses. He led them also by a straight way, That they might go to a city of habitation. Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, And for his wonderful works to the children of men! For he satisfieth the longing soul, And the hungry soul he filleth with good. Such as sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, Being bound in affliction and iron; Because they rebelled against the words of God, And contemned the counsel of the Most High: Therefore he brought down their heart with labour; They fell down, and there was none to help. Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, And he saved them out of their distresses. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death. And brake their bands in sunder. Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, And for his wonderful works to the children of men! For he hath broken the gates of brass. And cut the bars of iron in sunder. Fools because of their transgression, And because of their iniquities, are afflicted. Their soul abhorreth all manner of meat; And they draw near unto the gates of death. Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, And he saveth them out of their distresses. He sendeth his word, and healeth them, And delivereth them from their destructions. 295 Psalms and Lyrics -g> Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, And for his wonderful works to the children of men! And let them offer the sacrifices of thanksgiving, And declare his works with singing. They that go down to the sea in ships, That do business in great waters; These see the works of the Lord, And his wonders in the deep. For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind. Which lifteth up the waves thereof. They mount up to the heaven, They go down again to the depths: Their soul melteth away because of trouble. They reel to and fro, And stagger like a drunken man, And are at their wits' end. Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, And he bringeth them out of their distresses. He maketh the storm a calm, So that the waves thereof are still. Then are they glad because they be quiet; So he bringeth them unto the haven where they would be. Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness. And for his wonderful works to the children of men ! Let them exalt him also in the assembly of the people, And praise him in the seat of the elders. n He turneth rivers into a wilderness. And watersprings into a thirsty ground; A fruitful land into a salt desert. For the wickedness of them that dwell therein. He turneth a wilderness into a pool of water. And a dry land into watersprings. And there he maketh the hungry to dwell, That they may prepare a city of habitation; 296 <§^ Judgement or Providence And sow fields, and plant vineyards, And get them fruits of increase. He blesseth them also, so that they are multiplied greatly; And he suffereth not their cattle to decrease. Again, they are minished and bowed down Through oppression, trouble and sorrow. He poureth contempt upon princes. And causeth them to wander in the waste, where there is no way. Yet setteth he the needy on high from affliction, And maketh him families like a flock. The upright shall see it, and be glad; And all iniquity shall stop her mouth. Whoso is wise shall give heed to these things. And they shall consider the mercies of the Lord. Judgement of a Corrupt World The fool hath said in his heart. There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works; There is none that doeth good. The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there were any that did understand. That did seek after God. They are all gone aside; they are together become filthy; There is none that doeth good, No, not one. " Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge, " Who eat up my people as they eat bread, "And call not upon the Lord?" There w^ere they in great fear, for God is in the generation of the righteous. Ye put to shame the counsel of the poor, But the Lord is his refuge. 297 Psalms and Lyrics § LORD, How Long? Lord, how long shall the wicked, How long shall the wicked triumph? They prate, they speak arrogantly: All the workers of iniquity boast themselves. They break in pieces thy people, O Lord, And afflict thine heritage. They slay the widow and the stranger. And murder the fatherless. And they say. The Lord shall not see. Neither shall the God of Jacob consider. Consider, ye brutish among the people: And ye fools, when will ye be wise? He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? He that formed the eye, shall he not see? He that chastiseth the nations, shall not he correct, Even he that teacheth man knowledge? The Lord knoweth the thoughts of man. That they are vanity. Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O Lord, And teachest out of thy law; That thou mayest give him rest from the days of adversity, Until the pit be digged for the wicked. For the Lord will not cast off his people, Neither will he forsake his inheritance. For judgement shall return unto righteousness: And all the upright in heart shall follow it. Who will rise up for me against the evil-doers? Who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity? Unless the Lord had been my help, My soul had soon dwelt in silence. 298 § Judgement or Providence When I said, My foot slippeth; Thy mercy, O Lord, held me up. In the multitude of my thoughts within me Thy comforts delight my soul. Meditation: The Prosperity of the Wicked Fret not thyself because of evil-doers. Neither be thou envious against them that work unrighte- ousness. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, And wither as the green herb. Trust in the Lord, and do good; So shalt thou dwell in the land, and feed securely. Delight thyself also in the Lord; And he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord; Trust also in him, and he shall bring it to pass. And he shall make thy righteousness to go forth as the light, And thy judgement as the noonday. Rest in the Lord, And wait patiently for him; Fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, Because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath : Fret not thyself, it tendeth only to evil-doing. For evil-doers shall be cut off: But those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the land. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: Yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and he shall not be. But the meek shall inherit the land; And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. 299 Psalms and Lyrics § A man's goings are established of the Lord; And he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: For the Lord upholdeth him with his hand. I have been young, and now am old; Yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging their bread. All the day long he dealeth graciously, and lendeth; And his seed is blessed. I have seen the wicked in great power, And spreading himself like a green tree in its native soil. But one passed by, and, lo, he was not: Yea, I sought him, but he could not be found. Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: For the latter end of that man is peace. As for transgressors, they shall be destroyed together: The latter end of the wicked shall be cut off. The Mystery of Prosperous Wickedness Surely God is good to Israel, Even to such as are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet were almost gone; My steps had well nigh slipped. For I was envious at the arrogant, When I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For there are no bands in their death: But their strength is firm. They are not in trouble as other men; Neither are they plagued like other men. Therefore pride is as a chain about their neck; Violence covereth them as a garment. 300 <§- Judgement or Providence Their eyes stand out with fatness: They have more than heart could wish. They scoff, and in wickedness utter oppression: They speak loftily. They have set their mouth in the heavens, And their tongue walketh through the earth. Therefore his people return hither: And waters of a full cup are wrung out by them. And they say, 'How doth God know? ' And is there knowledge in the Most High? * Behold, these are the wicked; * And, being alway at ease, they increase in riches.' Surely in vain have I cleansed my heart, And washed my hands in innocency; For all the day long have I been plagued, And chastened every morning. If I had said, I will speak thus; Behold, I had dealt treacherously with the generation of thy children. When I thought how I might know this, It was too painful for me: Until I went into the sanctuary of God, And considered their latter end. Surely thou settest them in slippery places: Thou castest them down to destruction. How are they become a desolation in a moment! They are utterly consumed with terrors. As a dream when one awaketh; So, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image. (For my heart was grieved, And I was pricked in rrty reins: So brutish was I, and ignorant; I was as a beast before thee!) 301 Psalms and Lyrics -g> Nevertheless I am continually with thee: Thou hast holden my right hand. Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, And afterward receive me with glory. Whom have I in heaven but thee? And there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth: But God is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever. For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: Thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee. But it is good for me to draw near unto God: I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all thy works. 302 PSALMS OF RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE An Anthem of Deliverance The Lord is my Kght and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid? When evil-doers came upon me To eat up my flesh, Even mine adversaries and my foes, They stumbled and fell. Though an host should encamp against me, My heart shall not fear: Though war should rise against me, Even then will I be confident. One thing have I asked of the Lord, That will I seek after; That I may dwell in the house of the Lord All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord, And to inquire in his temple. For in the day of trouble he shall keep me secretly in his pavilion : In the covert of his tabernacle shall he hide me; He shall lift me up upon a rock, And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me; And I will offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the Lord. 'Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice: ' Have mercy also upon me, and answer me. 30s Psalms and Lyrics -Q> '" Seek ye my face" — ' My heart said unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek. ' Hide not thy face from me; ' Put not thy servant away in anger. * Thou hast been my help, cast me not oflF: ^ Neither forsake me, O God of my salvation. * When my father and my mother forsake me, ' The Lord will take me up. * Teach me thy way, O Lord, ^ And lead me in a plain path because of mine enemies; ' DeUver me not over unto the will of mine adversa- ries: * For false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty.' — I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the U\ing. Wait on the Lord: be strong, and let thine heart take courage; Yea, wait thou on the Lord. Blessedness of the Forgiven Soul Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no guile. When I kept silence, my bones waxed old Through my roaring all the day long. For day and night thy hand was hea\y upon me: My moisture was changed as with the drought of summer. 304 § Religious Experience I acknowledged my sin unto thee, And mine iniquity have I not hid: I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; And thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. For this let every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found: Surely when the great waters overflow they shall not reach unto him. Thou art my hiding place; thou wilt preserve me from trouble; Thou wilt compass me about with songs of deliverance. "I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt ''I will counsel thee with mine eye upon thee." Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no under- standing: Whose trappings must be bit and bridle to hold them in, else they will not come near unto thee. Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: But he that trusteth in the Lord, mercy shall compass him about. Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye righteous: And shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart. A Twice-told Deliverance In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed: Deliver me in thy righteousness. Bow down thine ear unto me; deliver me speedily: Be thou to me a strong rock, an house of defence to save me. For thou art my rock and my fortress; Therefore for thy name's sake lead me and guide me. Pluck me out of the net that they have laid privily for me, For thou art my strong hold. 305 Psalms and Lyrics -g> Into thine hand I commend my spirit: Thou hast redeemed me, O Lord, thou God of truth. I hate them that regard lying vanities: But I trust in the Lord. I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy, for thou hast seen my affliction; Thou hast known my soul in adversities: And thou hast not shut me up into the hand of the enemy; Thou hast set my feet in a large place. Have mercy upon me, O Lord, for I am in distress: Mine eye wasteth away with grief. Yea, my soul and my body. For my life is spent with sorrow and my years with sighing: My strength faileth because of mine iniquity, And my bones are wasted away. Because of all mine adversaries I am become a reproach, Yea, unto my neighbours exceedingly. And a fear to mine acquaintance: They that did see me without fled from me; I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind: I am like a broken vessel. For I have heard the defaming of many, terror on every side: While they took counsel together against me. They devised to take aw^ay my life. But I trusted in thee, O Lord: I said. Thou art my God, My times are in thy hand. Deliver me from the hand of mine enemies and from them that persecute me; Make thy face to shine upon thy servant, Save me in thy lovingkindness. Let me not be ashamed, O Lord, for I have called upon thee: Let the wicked be ashamed; Let them be silent in Sheol. Let the lying lips be dumb: Which speak against the righteous insolently, With pride and contempt. 306 <§- Religious Experience Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee, Which thou hast wrought for them that put their trust in thee, before the sons of men! In the covert of thy presence shalt thou hide them from the plottings of man: Thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues. Blessed be the Lord: For he hath shewed me his marvellous lovingkindness in a strong city. As for me, I said in my haste, I am cut off from before thine eyes: Nevertheless thou heardest the voice of my supplications when I cried unto thee. O love the Lord, all ye his saints: The Lord preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer. Be strong, and let your heart take courage, All ye that hope in the Lord. The Right Hand of the Most High Changeth Not I will cry unto God with my voice; Even unto God with my voice, and he will give ear unto me. In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord: My hand was stretched out in the night, and slacked not; My soul refused to be comforted. I remember God, and am disquieted: I complain, and my spirit is overwhelmed. Thou holdest mine eyes watching: I am so troubled that I cannot speak. I have considered the days of old. The years of ancient times. 307 Psalms and Lyrics -g> I call to remembrance my song in the night: I commune with mine own heart: And my spirit made diligent search. * Will the Lord cast off for ever? ' And will he be favourable no more? * Is his mercy clean gone for ever? ' Doth his promise fail for evermore? ' Hath God forgotten to be gracious? ' Hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies? * And I said, This is my infirmity — That the right hand of the Most High doth change! I will make mention of the deeds of the Lord; For I will remember thy wonders of old. I will meditate also upon all thy work, And muse on thy doings. Thy way, O God, is in holiness: Who is a great god like unto God? Thou art the God that doest wonders: Thou hast made known thy strength among the peoples. Thou hast with thine arm redeemed thy people, The sons of Jacob and Joseph. The waters saw thee, O God; The waters saw thee, they were afraid: The depths also trembled. The clouds poured out w^ater; The skies sent out a sound: Thine arrows also went abroad; The voice of thy thunder was in the whirlwind; The Hghtnings Hghtened the world : The earth trembled and shook. Thy way was in the sea, 308 <§- Religious Experience And thy paths in the great waters, And thy footsteps were not known. Thou leddest thy people Hke a flock, By the hand of Moses and Aaron. Salvation in Extremity My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words, of my roaring? 0 my God, I cry in the day-time, but thou answerest not; And in the night season, and am not silent. But thou art holy, O thou that inhal)itest the praises of Israel. Our fathers trusted in thee: They trusted, and thou didst deliver them. They cried unto thee, and were deUvered: They trusted in thee, and were not ashamed. But I am a worm, and no man; A reproach of men, and despised of the people. All they that see me laugh me to scorn: They shoot out the lip, they shake the head: ' Commit thyself unto the Lord; let him deliver him: * Let him deliver him, seeing he delighteth in him.' But thou art he that took me out of the womb : Thou didst make me trust when I was upon my mother's breasts. 1 was cast upon thee from the womb : Thou art my God from my mother's belly. Be not far from me; for trouble is near; For there is none to help. Many bulls have compassed me: Strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round. They gape upon me with their mouth, As a ravening and a roaring lion. I am poured out like water. And all my bones are out of joint; 309 Psalms and Lyrics -§> My heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels; My strength is dried up like a potsherd; And my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; And thou hast brought me into the dust of death. For dogs have compassed me: The assembly of evil-doers have inclosed me; They pierced my hands and my feet. I may tell all my bones: They look and stare upon me; • They part my garments among them, And upon my vesture do they cast lots. But be not thou far off, O Lord: O thou my succour, haste thee to help me. Deliver my soul from the sword; My darling from the power of the dog. Save me from the lion's mouth — Yea, from the horns of the wild-oxen thou hast answered me. I will declare thy name unto my brethren: In the midst of the congregation will I praise thee. Ye that fear the Lord, praise him; All ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; And stand in awe of him, all ye the seed of Israel. For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; Neither hath he hid his face from him; But when he cried unto him, he heard. The Searcher of Hearts is Thy Maker O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, Thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou searchest out my path and my lying down, And art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue. But, lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether. 310 <§- Religious Experience Thou hast beset me behind and before, And laid thine hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high, I cannot attain unto it. Whither shall I go from thy spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning. And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, And thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall overwhelm me, And the light about me shall be night; Even the darkness hideth not from thee, But the night shineth as the day: The darkness and the light are both alike to thee. For thou hast possessed my reins: Thou hast covered me in my mother's womb. I will give thanks unto thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: Wonderful are thy works; And that my soul knoweth right well. My frame was not hidden from thee, When I was made in secret. And curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see mine unperfect substance. And in thy book were all my members written, Which day by day were fashioned. When as yet there was none of them. How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: When I awake, I am still with thee. Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God: Depart from me therefore, ye bloodthirsty men. 311 Psalms and Lyrics -§> For they speak against thee wickedly, And thine enemies take thy name in vain. Do not I hate them, O Lord, that hate thee? And am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee? I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies. Search me, O God, and know my heart: Try me, and know my thoughts; And see if there be any way of wickedness in me, And lead me in the way everlasting. Prayer of a Sin-stricken Conscience Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: According to the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: And my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, And done that w^hich is evil in thy sight: That thou mayest be justified when thou speakest, And be clear when thou judgest. Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; And in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: And in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness; That the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. Hide thy face from my sins, And blot out all mine iniquities. 312 <§- Religious Experience Create in me a dean heart, O God; And renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; And take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation: And uphold me with a free spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; And sinners shall be converted unto thee. Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation; And my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. O Lord, open thou my lips; And my mouth shall shew forth thy praise. For thou delightest not in sacrifice; else would I give it: Thou hast no pleasure in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: A broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. Exiled from the House of God As the hart panteth after the water brooks, So panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: When shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my meat day and night. While they continually say unto me. Where is thy God? These things I remember. And pour out my soul within me, How 1 went with the throng, and led them to the house of God, With the voice of joy and praise, a multitude keeping holyday. Why art thou cast down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God: For I shall yet praise him, Who is the health of my countenance, And my God. 313 Psalms and Lyrics -§> My soul is cast down within me: Therefore do I remember thee from the land of Jordan, And the Hermons, from the hill Mizar. Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: All thy waves and thy billows are gone over me. Yet the Lord will command his lovingkindness in the day-time, And in the night his song shall be with me, Even a prayer unto the God of my life. I will say unto God my rock, Why hast thou forgotten me? Why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? As with a sword in my bones, mine adversaries reproach me; While they continually say unto me, Where is thy God? Why art thou cast down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God: For I shall yet praise him, Who is the health of my countenance^ And my God. Judge me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation: O deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man. For thou art the God of my strength; why hast thou cast me off? Why go I m,ourning because of the oppression of the enemy? O send out thy light and thy truth; Let them lead me: Let them bring me unto thy holy hill, And to thy tabernacles. Then will I go unto the altar of God, Unto God my exceeding joy: And upon the harp will I praise thee, O God, my God. Why art thou cast down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God: For I SHALL yet praise him. Who is the health of my countenance, And my God. 314 § Religious Experience A Struggle with Despair I I said, I will take heed to my ways that I sin not with my tongue; I will keep my mouth with a bridle while the wicked is before me. I was dumb with silence; I held my peace, and had no comfort; And my sorrow was stirred; My heart was hot within me; While I was musing the fire kindled: Then spake I with my tongue. Lord, make me to know mine end. And the measure of my days, what it is; Let me know how frail I am. Behold, thou hast made my days as handbreadths; And mine age is as nothing before thee: Surely every rrtan at his best estate is altogether vanity: Surely every man walketh in a vain shew: Surely they are disquieted in vain: He heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them. II And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in thee. Deliver me from all my transgressions: Make me not the reproach of the foolish. I was dumb, I opened not my mouth, because thou didst it. Remove thy stroke away from me: I am consumed by the blow of thine hand. When thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity. Thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth: Surely every man is vanity. Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear unto my cry; Hold not thy peace at my tears: 315 Psalms and Lyrics @ For I am a stranger with thee, A sojourner, as all my fathers were. O spare me, that I may recover strength, Before I go hence, and be no more. The Declining Life and the Abiding Lord Hear my prayer, O Lord, and let my cry come unto thee. Hide not thy face from me in the day of my distress: Incline thine ear unto me; In the day when I call answer me speedily. For my days consume away like smoke, And my bones are burned as a firebrand. My heart is smitten like grass, and withered; For I forget to eat my bread: By reason of the voice of my groaning my bones cleave to my flesh. I am like a pelican of the wilderness; I am become as an owl of the waste places. I watch, and am become Like a sparrow that is alone upon the housetop. Mine enemies reproach me all the day; They that are mad against me do curse by me. For I have eaten ashes like bread, and mingled my drink with weeping. Because of thine indignation and thy wrath: For thou hast taken me up, and cast me away. My days are like a shadow that declineth; And I am withered like grass. But thou, O Lord, shalt abide for ever; And thy memorial unto all generations. Thou shalt arise, And have mercy upon Zion: 316 <§- Religious Experience For it is time to have pity upon her, Yea, the set time is come. For thy servants take pleasure in her stones j And have pity upon her dust. So the nations shall fear the name of the Lobd, A nd all the kings of the earth thy glory: For the Lord hath built up Zion, He hath appeared in his glory. He hath regarded the prayer of the destitute, And hath not despised their prayer. This shall be written for the generation to come: And a people which shall be created shall praise the Lord, For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary; From heaven did the Lord behold the earth; To hear the sighing of the prisoner; To loose those that are appointed to death: That men may declare the name of the Lord in Zion, And his praise in Jerusalem; When the peoples are gathered together, And the kingdoms, to serve the Lord. He weakened my strength in the way; He shortened my days. I said, O my God, take me not away in the midst of my days: Thy years are throughout all generations. Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth; And the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: Yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; As a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed; But thou art the same, And thy years shall have no end. The children of thy servants shall continue, And their seed shall be estabhshed before thee. 317 PSALMS OF PRAYER, TRUST, CONSECRATION The Drama of Night and Morning Night Lord, how are mine adversaries increased! Many are they that rise up against me. Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. But thou, O Lord, art a shield about me; My glory, and the lifter up of mine head. I cry unto the Lord with my voice. And he answereth me out of his holy hill. Morning I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the Lord sustaineth me. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of the people. That have set themselves against me round about. Arise, O Lord; save me, O my God: For thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the cheek bone; Thou hast broken the teeth of the wicked. Salvation belongeth unto the Lord: Thy blessing be upon thy people. An Evening Prayer Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness; Thou hast set me at large when I was in distress: Have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer. 318 § Prayer, Trust, Consecration O ye sons of men, how long shall my glory be turned into dishonour? How long will ye love vanity, and seek after falsehood? But know that the Lord hath set apart him that is godly for himself: The Lord will hear when I call unto him. Stand in awe, and sin not: Commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, And put your trust in the Lord. Many there be that say, Who will shew us any good? Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us. Thou hast put gladness in my heart. More than they have when their corn and their wine are increased. In peace will I both lay me down and sleep : For thou, Lord, in solitude makest me dwell in safety. A Morning Prayer Give ear to my words, O Lord, Consider my meditation. Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God; For unto thee do I pray. O Lord, in the morning shalt thou hear my voice; In the morning will I order my prayer unto thee, and will keep watch. For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: Evil shall not sojourn with thee. The arrogant shall not stand in thy sight : Thou hatest all workers of iniquity. Thou shalt destroy them that speak lies: The Lord abhorreth the bloodthirsty and deceitful man. But as for me, in the multitude of thy lovingkindness will I come into thy house: In thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple. 319 Psalms and Lyrics § An Answer to Prayer 0 Lord, rebuke me not in thine anger, Neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure. Have mercy upon me, O Lord; for I am withered away; 0 Lord, heal me; for my bones are vexed: My soul also is sore vexed. And thou, O Lord, how long? Return, O Lord, deliver my soul: Save me for thy lovingkindness' sake. For in death there is no remembrance of thee: In Sheol who shall give thee thanks? 1 am weary with my groaning; Every night make I my bed to swim; 1 water my couch with my tears. Mine eye wasteth away because of grief; It waxeth old because of all mine adversaries. Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity; For the Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping. The Lord hath heard my supplication; The Lord will receive my prayer. All mine enemies shall be ashamed and sore vexed : They shall turn back, they shall be ashamed suddenly. Under the Protection of Jehovah The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to He down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restore th my soul: He guideth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 320 ^ Prayer, Trust, Consecration Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For thou art with me: Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me In the presence of mine enemies: Thou hast anointed my head with oil; My cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: And I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. A Song of Trust In the Lord put I my trust — How say ye to my soul, 'Flee as a bird to your mountain? 'For, lo, the wicked bend the bow, * They make ready their arrow upon the string, ' That they may shoot in darkness at the upright in heart. ^ 'If the foundations be destroyed, ' What can the righteous do? ' The Lord is in his holy temple, The Lord, his throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men. The Lord trieth the righteous: But the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth. Upon the wicked he shall rain snares; Fire and brimstone and burning wind shall be the portion of their cup. — For the Lord is righteous; He loveth righteousness: The upright shall behold his face. 321 Psalms and Lyrics ^ A Song of Personal Consecration Preserve me, O God : For in thee do I put my trust. I have said unto the Lord, 'Thou art my Lord, 'I have no good beyond thee:' Unto the saints that are in the earth, 'They are the excellent in whom is all my delight. ' Their sorrows shall be multiphed that exchange the Lord for an- other god: Their drink offerings of blood will I not offer. Nor take their names upon my lips. The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: Thou maintainest my lot. The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; Yea, I have a goodly heritage. I will bless the Lord, who hath given me counsel: Yea, my reins instruct me in the night seasons. I have set the Lord always before me: Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: My flesh also shall dwell in safety. For thou wilt not leave my soul to Sheol; Neither wilt thou suffer thine holy one to see corruption. Thou wilt shew me the path of life: In thy presence is fulness of joy; In thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore. The Consecrated Life Lord, who shall sojourn in thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly, And worketh righteousness. And speaketh truth in his heart. 2,22 § Prayer, Trust, Consecration He that slandereth not with his tongue, Nor doeth evil to his friend, Nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour. In whose eyes a reprobate is despised; But he honoureth them that fear the Lord. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not. He that putteth not out his money to usury. Nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved. God of My Life O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: My soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee, In a dry and weary land, where no water is. So have I looked upon thee in the sanctuary. To see thy power and thy glory. For thy lovingkindness is better than life; My hps shall praise thee. So will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; And my mouth shall praise thee with joyful Hps; When I remember thee upon my bed. And meditate on thee in the night watches. For thou hast been my help, And in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice. My soul followeth hard after thee: Thy right hand upholdeth me. But those that seek my soul shall be destroyed; They shall go into the lower parts of the earth. They shall be given over to the power of the sword : They shall be a portion for foxes. Psalms and Lyrics -g> But the king shall rejoice in God: Every one that sweareth by him shall glory; For the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped. Evil Unbounded and Infinite Good The transgression of the wicked uttereth its oracle within his heart, There is no fear of God before his eyes. For he flattereth himself in his own eyes, That his iniquity shall not be found out and be hated. The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit: He hath left off to be wise and to do good. He deviseth iniquity upon his bed; He setteth himself in a way that is not good; He abhorreth not evil. Thy lovingkindness, O Lord, is in the heavens; Thy faithfulness reacheth unto the skies. Thy righteousness is like the mountains of God; Thy judgements are a great deep: O Lord, thou preservest man and beast. How precious is thy lovingkindness, O God! And the children of men take refuge under the shadow of thy wings. They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; And thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures. For with thee is the fountain of life: In thy light shall we see light. From the Alphabet of the Law A Blessed are they that are perfect in the way, Who walk in the laui of the Lord. A Blessed are they that keep his t^sttmonira. That seek him with the whole heart. 324 ^ Prayer, Trust, Consecration A Yea, they do no unrighteousness; They walk in his Uiagfi. A Thou hast commanded us thy prrrrjita. That we should observe them diligently. A Oh that my ways were established To observe thy atatutf a t A Then shall I not be ashamed, When I have respect unto all thy rontttianbtttruta. A I will give thanks unto thee with uprightness of heart, When I learn thy righteous |ub0^mrntB. A I will observe thy atatutPB: O forsake me not utterly. 'B Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy wnri. iB With my whole heart have I sought thee: 0 let me not wander from thy rnmmanbut^nta. iB Thy math have I laid up in mine heart. That I might not sin against thee. iB Blessed art thou, O Lord: Teach me thy atatutra. IB With my lips have I declared All the ;itb3?mrnta of thy mouth. iB I have rejoiced in the way of thy ttBtxmanxBB, As much as in all riches. IB 1 will meditate in thy prrrr^ta And have respect unto thy ways. iB I will delight myself in thy atatutPB: 1 will not forget thy word. 325 LITURGIES A Liturgy Praise Praise waiteth for thee, O God, in Zion: And unto thee shall the vow be performed. Prayer O thou that hearest prayer, Unto thee shall all flesh come. Penitence Iniquities prevail against me: As for our transgressions, thou shalt purge them away. Aspiration Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to ap- proach unto thee, That he may dwell in thy courts: *We shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, ' The holy place of thy temple.' Confession of Faith By terrible things thou wilt answer us in righteousness, O God of our salvation; Thou that art the confidence of all the ends of the earth. And of them that are afar off upon the sea. Which by his strength setteth fast the mountains; Being girded about with might: 326 -g- Liturgies Which stilleth the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, And the tumult of the peoples. They also that dwell in the uttermost parts are afraid at thy tokens: Thou makest the outgoings of the morning and evening to rejoice. Adoration Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it, Thou greatly enrichest it; the river of God is full of water: Thou providest them corn, when thou hast so prepared the earth. Thou waterest her furrows abundantly; thou settlest the ridges thereof: Thou makest it soft \\ith showers; thou blessest the springing thereof. Thou crownest the year with thy goodness; And thy paths drop fatness. They drop upon the pastures of the \\'ilderness : And the hills are girded \\ith joy. The pastures are clothed with flocks; The valleys also are covered over with corn; They shout for joy, they also sing. A Liturgy Thanksgiving I waited patiently for the Lord; And he incHned unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay: And he set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise xmto our God: Many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord. 327 Psalms and Lyrics -§> ' Blessed is the man that maketh the Lord his trust, ' And respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies. ' Many, O Lord my God, are the wonderful works which thou hast done, 'And thy thoughts which are to us- ward: ' They cannot be set in order unto thee; * If I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.' Confession of Faith Sacrifice and offering thou hast no delight in; {Mine ears hast thou opened:) Burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required. Then said I, Lo, I am come; {In the roll of the book it is prescribed to me:) I delight to do thy will, O my God; {Yea, thy law is within my heart.) I have published righteousness in the great congregation; {Lo, I will not refrain my lips, O Lord, thou knowest.) I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation: I have not concealed thy lovingkindness and thy truth from the great congregation. Supplication Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me, O Lord: Let thy lovingkindness and thy truth continually preserve me. For innumerable evils have compassed me about, Mine iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up; They are more than the hairs of mine head, and my heart hath failed me. Be pleased, 0 Lord, to deliver me: Make haste to help me, O Lord. 328 <§- Liturgies Let them be ashamed and confounded together that seek after my soul to destroy it: Let them be turned backward and brought to dishonour that dehght in my hurt. Let them be desolate by reason of their shame that say unto me, Aha, Aha. Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: Let such as love thy salvation say continually. The Lord be magnified. But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me: Thou art my help and my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God. Litany of the Oppressed Give ear to my prayer, O God; And hide not thyself from my supplication. Attend unto me, and answer me: I am restless in my complaint, and moan; Because of the voice of the enemy. Because of the oppression of the wicked. For they cast iniquity upon me, And in anger they persecute me. My heart is sore pained within me: And the terrors of death are fallen upon me. Tearfulness and trembling are come upon me. And horror hath overwhelmed me. And I said. Oh that I had wings like a dove! Then would I fly away, and be at rest Lo, then would I wander far off, I would lodge in the wilderness. I would haste me to a shelter From the stormy wind and tempest. 329 Psalms and Lyrics § Cast thy burden upon the Lord, And he shall sustain thee: He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. But thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction: Bloodthirsty and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; But I will trust in thee. 330 FESTAL HYMNS AND ANTHEMS A Song of God's House How lovely are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts! My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord; My heart and my flesh cry out unto the living God. Yea, the sparrow hath found her an house, And the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, Even thine altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God. Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: They will be still praising thee. Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; In whose heart are the high ways to Zion. Passing through the valley of Weeping they make it a place of springs; Yea, the early rain covereth it with blessings. They go from strength to strength, Every one of them appeareth before God in Zion. 'O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer: ' Give ear, O God of Jacob. ' Behold, O God our shield, 'And look upon the face of thine anointed.' (For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand : I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, Than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.) 'For the Lord God is a sun and a shield: 'The Lord will give grace and glory: 'No good thing will he withhold from them that walk up- rightly. 'O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.* 331 Psalms and Lyrics -§> A Festal Response THE HIGH PRIEST The Lord bless thee, And keep thee; The Lord make his face to shine upon thee, And be gracious unto thee; The Lord Hft up his countenance upon thee, And give thee peace! The People God be merciful unto us, and bless us, And cause his face to shine upon us; That thy way may be known upon earth, Thy saving health among all nations. Let the peoples praise thee, O God, Let all the peoples praise thee. 0 let the nations be glad. And sing for joy: For thou shalt judge the peoples with equity. And govern the nations upon earth. Let the peoples praise thee, O God, Let all the peoples praise thee. The earth hath yielded her increase: God, even our own God, shall bless us. God shall bless us; And all the ends of the earth shall fear him.. Let the peoples praise thee, O God, Let all the peoples praise thee. Votive Hymn: My Soul shall make her Boast in the LORD Introduction 1 will bless the Lord at all times: His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: The meek shall hear thereof, and be glad. 332 <§- Festal Hymns and Anthems SOLO 0 magnify the Lord with me, And let us exalt his name together. 1 sought the Lord, and he answered me, And delivered me from all my fears. They looked unto him, and were lightened: And their faces shall never be confounded. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles. CHORUS The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, And delivereth them. O taste and see that the Lord is good : Blessed is the man that trusteth in him. O fear the Lord, ye his saints: For there is no want to them that fear him. The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: But they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing. SOLO Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord. What man is he that desireth life. And loveth many days, that he may see good? Keep thy tongue from evil. And thy lips from speaking guile. Depart from evil, and do good; Seek peace, and pursue it. CHORUS The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous, And his ears are open unto their cry. The face of the Lord is against them that do evil. To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. 333 Psalms and Lyrics -g> The righteous cried, and the Lord heard, And deHvered them out of all their troubles. The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, And saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. SOLO Many are the afflictions of the righteous: But the Lord delivereth him out of them all. He keepeth all his bones : Not one of them is broken. CHORUS Evil will slay the wicked: And they that hate the righteous shall be condemned. The Lord redeemeth the soul of his servants: And none of them that trust in him shall be condemned. Votive Hymn: I will triumph in the Works of thy Hands It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, And to sing praises unto thy name, O Most High: To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning. And thy faithfulness every night, With an instrument of ten strings, and with the psaltery; With a solemn sound upon the harp. For thou. Lord, hast made me glad through thy work; I will triumph in the works of thy hands. How great are thy works, O Lord! Thy thoughts are very deep. A brutish man knoweth not; Neither doth a fool understand this: When the wicked spring as the grass, And when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; It is that they shall be destroyed for ever: But thou, O LoRDj art on high for evermore. For, lo, thine enemies, O Lord, for, lo, thine enemies shall perish; All the workers of iniquity shall be scattered. 334 § Festal Hymns and Anthems But my horn hast thou exalted Hke the horn of the wild-ox: I am anointed with fresh oil. Mine eye also hath seen my desire on mine enemies, Mine ears have heard my desire of the evil-doers that rise up against me. The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They that are planted in the house of the Lord Shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; They shall be full of sap and green: To shew that the Lord is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him. 335 FESTAL ANTHEM: JEHOVAH REIGNETH I CHORUS O come, let us sing unto the Lord: Let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation* Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, Let us make a joyful noise unto him with psalms. SEMICHORUS For the Lord is a great God, And a great King above all gods. In his hand are the deep places of the earth; The heights of the mountains are his also. The sea is his, and he made it; And his hands formed the dry land. CHORUS O come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. SEMICHORUS For he is our God, And we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. "Today," (Oh that ye would hear his voice!) "Harden not your heart, as at Meribah, "As in the day of Massah in the wilderness: "When your fathers tempted me, "Proved me, and saw my work: "Forty years long was I grieved with that generation, "And said. It is a people that do err in their heart, "And they have not known my ways: "Wherefore I sware in my wrath, that they should not enter into my rest." 336 <§ Festal Hymns and Anthems CHORUS O sing unto the Lord a new song: Sing unto the Lord, all the earth. Sing unto the Lord, bless his name; Shew forth his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations, His marvellous works among all the peoples. SEMICHORUS For great is the Lord, and highly to be praised: He is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are idols: But the Lord made the heavens. Honour and majesty are before him: Strength and beauty are in his sanctuary. CHORUS Give unto the Lord, ye kindreds of the peoples, Give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name. Bring an offering, and come into his courts. O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: Tremble before him , all the earth. SEMICHORUS Say among the nations. The Lord reigneth: The world also is stablished that it cannot be moved: He shall judge the peoples with equity. chorus Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof; Let the field exult, and all that is therein; Then shall all the trees of the wood sing for joy: — ■ 337 Psalms and Lyrics § SEMICHORUS Before the Lord, for he cornet^; For he cometh to judge the e^-rth: He shall judge the world with righteousness, And the peoples with his truth. n FIRST SEMICHORUS The Lord reigneth; let the earth rejoice; Let the multitude of isles be glad. Clouds and darkness are round about him: Righteousness and judgement are the foundation of his throne. A fire goeth before him, And burneth up his adversaries round about. His lightnings lightened the world: The earth saw, and trembled. The hills melted like wax at the presence of the Lord, At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. The heavens declare his righteousness, And all the peoples have seen his glory. SECOND SEMICHORUS Ashamed be all they that serve graven images, That boast themselves of idols: Worship him, all ye gods. Zion heard, and was glad. And the daughters of Judah rejoiced ; Because of thy judgements, O Lord. For thoU;, Lord, art most high above all the earth: Thou art exalted far above all gods. O ye that love the Lord, hate evil: He preserve th the souls of his saints; He delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked. 338 <§- Festal Hymns and Anthems Light is sown for the righteous, And gladness for the upright in heart. Be glad in the Lord, ye righteous; And give thanks to his holy name. m CHORUS O sing unto the Lord a new song — SEMICHORUS For he hath done rnarvellous things: His right hand, and his holy arm, hath wrought salvation for him. The Lord hath made known his salvation: His righteousness hath he openly shewed in the sight of the- nations. He hath remembered his mercy and his faithfulness to- ward the house of Israel: All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. CHORUS Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth : Break forth and sing for joy, yea, sing praises. Sing praises unto the Lord with the harp; With the harp and the voice of melody. With trumpets and sound of comet Make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord. Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof; The world, and they that dwell therein; Let the floods clap their hands; Let the hills sing for joy together — SEMICHORUS Before the Lord, For he cometh to judge the earth: He shall judge the world with righteousness, And the peoples with equity. 339 Psalms and Lyrics -§> IV SOLO AND CHORUS The Lord reigneth; let the peoples tremble: He dwelleth between the cherubim; let the earth be moved. The Lord is great in Zion; And he is high above all the peoples. Let them praise thy great and terrible name: Holy is he. The king's strength also loveth judgement; Thou dost estabhsh equity, Thou executest judgement and righteousness in Jacob. Exalt ye the LORD our God, And worship at his footstool: Holy is he. Moses and Aaron among his priests, And Samuel among them that call upon his name; They called upon the Lord, and he answered them. He spake unto them in the pillar of cloud: They kept his testim.onies, and the statute that he gave them. Holy is he. Thou answeredst them, O Lord our God: Thou wast a God that forgavest them,, Though thou tookest vengeance of their doings. Exalt ye the LORD our God, And worship at his holy hill; For the LORD our God is holy. V chorus Make a jo5^ul noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness: Come before his presence with singing. 340 ^ Festal Hymns and Anthems SEMICHORUS Know ye that the Lord he is God: It is he that hath made us, and we are his; We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. CHORUS Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, And into his courts with praise: Give thanks unto him, and bless his name. SEMICHORUS For the Lord is good; His mercy endureth for ever; And his faithfulness unto all generations. 341 VOTIVE ANTHEM: THE EGYPTIAN HALLEL /. — Prefatory Meditation J^allelufali I will give thanks unto the Lord with my whole hearty In the council of the upright, and in the congregation. The works of the Lord are great, Sought out of all them that have pleasure therein. His work is honour and majesty: And his righteousness endureth for ever. He hath made his wonderful works to be remembered: The Lord is gracious and full of compassion. He hath given meat unto them that fear him; He will ever be mindful of his covenant. He hath shewed his people the power of his works j In giving them the heritage of the nations. The works of his hands are truth and judgement; All his precepts are sure. They are established for ever and ever, They are done in truth and uprightness. He hath sent redemption unto his people; He hath commanded his covenant for ever: Holy and reverend is his name. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all they that do thereafter: His praise endureth for ever. 342 <§- Festal Hymns and Anthems l^allelufal) Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, That delighteth greatly in his commandments. His seed shall be mighty upon earth: The generation of the upright shall be blessed. Wealth and riches are in his house: And his righteousness endureth for ever. Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: He is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous. Well is it with the man that dealeth graciously and lendeth, He shall maintain his cause in judgement. For he shall never be moved; The righteous shall be had in everlasting remembrance. He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: His heart is fixed, trusting hi the Lord. His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, Until he see his desire upon his adversaries. He hath dispersed, he hath given to the needy; His righteousness endureth for ever: His horn shall be exalted with honour. The wicked shall see it, and be grieved; He shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away: The desire of the wicked shall perish. II. — General Doxology l^allelufat) CHORUS OF PRIESTS Praise, O ye servants of the Lord, Praise the name of the Lord. Blessed be the name of the Lord From this time forth and for evermore. 343 Psalms and Lyrics -g> From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same The Lord's name is to be praised. The Lord is high above all nations, And his glory above the heavens. CHORUS OF THE PEOPLE Who is like unto the Lord our God, that hath his seat on high, That humbleth himself to regard the heavens and the earth? He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, And lifteth up the needy from the dunghill; That he may set him with princes. Even with the princes of his people. He maketh the barren woman to keep house. And to be a joyful mother of children. l^aUelufat) ///. — Song of the Exodus CHORUS When Israel went forth out of Egypt, The house of Jacob from a people of strange language; Judah became his sanctuary, Israel his dominion. FIRST SEMICHORUS The sea saw it, and fled; Jordan was. driven back. The mountains skipped like rams, The Uttle hills like young sheep. SECOND SEMICHORUS What aileth thee, O thou sea, that thou fleest? Thou Jordan, that thou turnest back? Ye mountains, that ye skip like rams; Ye little hills, like young sheep? 344 <§- Festal Hymns and Anthems CHORUS Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord, At the presence of the God of Jacob; Which turned the rock into a pool of water, The flint into a fountain of waters. IV. — Doxology of Israel CHORUS OF PRIESTS Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory. For thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake. Wherefore should the nations say, Where is now their God? But our God is in the heavens: He hath done whatsoever he pleased. Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. They have mouths, but they speak not; Eyes have they, but they see not; They have ears, but they hear not; Noses have they, but they smell not; They have hands, but they handle not; Feet have they, but they walk not; Neither speak they through their throat. They that make them shall be like unto them; Yea, every one that trusteth in them. THE PEOPLE O Israel, trust thou in the Lord: He is their help and their shield. THE PRIESTS O house of Aaron, trust ye in the Lord: He is their help and their shield. 345 Psalms and Lyrics -g> PRIESTS AND PEOPLE .^i: Ye that fear the Lord, trust in the Lord: He is their help and their shield. THE PEOPLE The Lord hath been mindful of us; he will bless us; He will bless the house of Israel; He will bless the house of Aaron. He will bless them that fear the Lord, Both small and great. THE PRIESTS The Lord increase you more and more, You and your children. THE PEOPLE Blessed are ye of the Lord, Which made heaven and earth. PRIESTS AND PEOPLE The heavens are the heavens of the Lord; But the earth hath he given to the children of men. The dead praise not the Lord, Neither any that go down into silence; But we will bless the Lord from this time forth and for evermore. V. — Votive Song of the Worshipper I love the Lord, because he hath heard my voice and my suppli cations. Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, Therefore will I call upon him as long as I live. 346 <§- Festal H\TTins and Anthems The cords of death compassed me, And the pains of Sheol gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow. Then called I upon the name of the Lord: 0 Lord, I beseech thee, deliver my soul. Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; Yea, our God is merciful. The Lord preserveth the simple: 1 was brought low, and he saved me. Return unto thy rest, O my soul; For the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee. For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling. I will walk before the Lord in the land of the Uving. I believe, for I will speak: I was greatly afflicted; I said in my haste, All men are a lie. What shall I render unto the Lord For all his benefits toward me? I will take the cup of salvation, And call upon the name of the Lord. / will pay my vows unto the Lord, Yea, in the presence of all his people. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. O Lord, truly I am thy servant : I am thy servant, the son of thine handmaid; Thou hast loosed my bonds. I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, And will call upon the name of the Lord. / will pay my vows unto the Lord, Yea, in the presence of all his people; In the courts of the Lord's house. In the midst of thee, O Jerusalem. I^alleluial) 347 Psalms and Lyrics -g> VI. — Doxology of the Nations FULL CHORUS O praise the Lord, all ye nations; Laud him, all ye peoples. For his mercy is great toward us; And the truth of the Lord endureth for ever. VII. — Processional Hymn worshipper and people O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: For his mercy endureth for ever. Let Israel now say, That his mercy endureth for ever. Let the house of Aaron now say, That his mercy endureth for ever. Let them now that fear the Lord say, That his mercy endureth for ever. worshipper Out of my distress I called upon the Lord: The Lord answered me and set me in a large place. The Lord is on my side; I will not fear: What can man do unto me? The Lord is on my side among them that help me: Therefore shall I see my desire upon them that hate me. CHORUS OF PEOPLE It is better to trust in the Lord Than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord Than to put confidence in princes. 348 <§- Festal Hymns and Anthems WORSHIPPPER All nations compassed me about — CHORUS OF PEOPLE In the name of the Lord I will cut them off. WORSHIPPER They compassed me about; Yea, they compassed me about: CHORUS OF PEOPLE In the name of the Lord I will cut them off. WORSHIPPER They compassed me about like bees; They are quenched as the fire of thorns: CHORUS OF PEOPLE In the name of the Lord I will cut them off. WORSHIPPER Thou didst thrust sore at me that I might fall: But the Lord helped me. The Lord is my strength and song; And he is become my salvation. The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tents of the righteous: The right hand of the Lord doeth valiantly. CHORUS OF PEOPLE The right hand of the Lord is exalted: The right hand of the Lord doeth valiantly. 349 Psalms and Lyrics -§> WORSHIPPER I shall not die, but live, And declare the works of the Lord. The Lord hath chastened me sore: But he hath not given me over unto death. Open to me the gates of righteousness: I will enter into them, I will give thanks unto the Lord. The Temple gates open, and disclose the Priests awaiting the Procession PRIESTS This is the gate of the Lord; The righteous shall enter into it. WORSHIPPER I will give thanks unto thee, for thou hast answered me, And art become my salvation. The stone which the builders rejected Is become the head of the corner. CHORUS or PEOPLE This is the Lord's doing; It is marvellous in our eyes. This is the day which the Lord hath m^de; We will rejoice and be glad in it. Save now, we beseech thee, O Lord: O Lord, we beseech thee, send now prosperity. PRIESTS Blessed be he that entereth in the name of the Lord: We have blessed you out of the house of the Lord. FULL CHORUS The Lord is God, and he hath given us light: Bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar. 350 <§- Festal Hymns and Anthems WORSHIPPER Thou art my God, and I will give thanks unto thee: Thou art my God, I will exalt thee. FULL CHORUS O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: For his mercy endureth for ever. 351 HALLELUJAH: A FESTAL ANTHEM Prefatory Meditation I will extol thee, my God, O King; And I will bless thy name for ever and ever. Every day will I bless thee; And I will praise thy name for ever and ever. Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised; And his greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall laud thy works to another, And shall declare thy mighty acts. Of the glorious majesty of thine honour, And of thy wondrous works, will I meditate. And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts; And I will declare thy greatness. They shall utter the memory of thy great goodness, And shall sing of thy righteousness. The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; Slow to anger, and of great mercy. The Lord is good to all; And his tender mercies are over all his works. All thy works shall give thanks unto thee, 0 Lord; And thy saints shall bless thee. They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom. And talk of thy power; To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, And the glory of the majesty of his kingdom. Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And thy dominion endureth throughout all generations. The Lord upholdeth all that fall. And raiseth up all those that be bowed down. The eyes of all wait upon thee; And thou givest them their meat in due season. 352 <§- Festal Hymns and Anthems Thou openest thine hand, And satis jiest the desire of every living thing. The Lord is righteous in all his ways, And gracious in all his works. The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, To all that call upon him in truth. He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him; He also will hear their cry, and will save them. The Lord preserveth all them that love him; But all the wicked will he destroy. My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord; And let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever, l^allelufat) FIRST CHORUS Praise the Lord, O my soul. While I live will I praise the Lord: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being. SECOND CHORUS Put not your trust in princes, Nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; In that very day his thoughts perish. Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, Whose hope is in the Lord his God: Which made heaven and earth, The sea, and all that in them is; Which keepeth truth for ever; Which executeth judgement for the oppressed; Which giveth food to the hungry: The Lord looseth the prisoners; 353 Psalms and Lyrics -g> The Lord openeth the eyes of the bhnd; The Lord raiseth up them that are bowed down; The Lord loveth the righteous; The Lord preserve th the strangers; He upholdeth the fatherless and widow; But the way of the wicked he turneth upside down. The Lord shall reign for ever, Thy God, O Zion, unto all generations. l^allcluial) l^allcluiati FIRST CHORUS For it is good to sing praises unto our God; For it is pleasant, and praise is comely. SECOND CHORUS The Lord doth build up Jerusalem; He gathereth together the outcasts of Israel. He healeth the broken in heart, And bindeth up their wounds. He telleth the number of the stars; He giveth them all their names. Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite. The Lord upholdeth the meek: He bringeth the wicked down to the ground. FIRST CHORUS Sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving; Sing praises upon the harp unto our God: 354 § Festal Hymns and Anthems SECOND CHORUS Who covereth the heaven with clouds, Who prepareth rain for the earth, Who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains. He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry. He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: He taketh no pleasure in the legs of a man. The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him, In those that hope in his raercy. FIRST CHORUS Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem; Praise thy God, O Zion. second chorus For he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates'J He hath blessed thy children within thee. He maketh peace in thy borders; He filleth thee with the finest of the wheat. He sendeth out his commandment upon earth; His word runneth very swiftly. He giveth snow like wool; He scattereth the hoar frost like ashes. He casteth forth his ice like morsels: Who can stand before his cold? He sendeth out his word, and melteth them: He causeth his wind to blow, and the waters flow. He sheweth his word unto Jacob, His statutes and his judgements unto Israel. He hath not dealt so with any nation: And as for his judgements, they have not known them. l^allelufat) * 355 Psalms and Lyrics §> J^allelufat) FIRST CHORUS Praise ye the Lord from the heavens: Praise him in the heights. Praise ye him, all his angels: Praise ye him, all his host. Praise ye him, sun and moon: Praise him, all ye stars of light. Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, And ye waters that be above the heavens. SECOND CHORUS Let them praise the name of the Lord: For he commanded, and they were created. He hath also stablished them for ever and ever: He hath made a decree which shall not pass away. FIRST CHORUS Praise the Lord from the earth, Ye dragons, and all deeps: Fire and hail, snow and vapour; Stormy wind, fulfilling his word: Mountains and all hills; Fruitful trees and all cedars: Beasts and all cattle; Creeping things and flying fowl: Kings of the earth and all peoples; Princes and all judges of the earth: Both young men and maidens; Old men and children: SECOND CHORUS Let them praise the name of the Lord; For his name alone is exalted: 356 <§• Festal Hymns and Anthems His glory is above the earth and heaven. And he hath Hf ted up the horn of his people, The praise of all his saints; Even of the children of Israel, a people near unto him. l^allelufatj FIRST CHORUS Sing unto the Lord a new song, And his praise in the assembly of the saints. Let Israel rejoice in him that made him: Let the children of Zion be joyful in their King. Let them praise his name in the dance: Let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp. SECOND CHORUS For the Lord taketh pleasure in his people: He will beautify the meek with salvation. FIRST CHORUS Let the saints exult in glory: Let them sing for joy upon their beds. Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, And a two-edged sword in their hand: SECOND CHORUS To execute vengeance upon the nations, And punishments upon the peoples; To bind their kings with chains, And their nobles with fetters of iron; To execute upon them the judgement written: This honour have all his saints. l^allelufai) * 357 Psalms and Lyrics -g> c^alleluial) FIRST CHORUS. — Praisc God in his sanctuary: SECOND CHORUS. — Praise him in the firmament of his power. FIRST CHORUS. — Praise him for his mighty acts: SECOND CHORUS. — Praise him according to his excellent greatness. FIRST CHORUS. — Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: SECOND CHORUS. — Praisc him with the psaltery and harp. FIRST CHORUS. — Praise him with the timbrel and dance: SECOND CHORUS. — Praise him with stringed instruments and the pipe. FIRST CHORUS. — Praise him upon the loud cymbals: SECOND CHORUS. — Praise him upon the high sounding C3mibals. FULL CHORUS Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. l^allelufal) 358 LAMENTATIONS The Book of Lamentations — traditionally ascribed (though with- out sufficient grounds) to the prophet Jeremiah — is a Dirge over Fallen Jerusalem. It must be remembered that Palestine, like other ancient countries, had bands of professional mourners, who were called in on occasions of bereavement, or other seasons of mourning. It is not surprising to find that poems produced in this formal way are constructed upon highly artificial schemes of rhythm or other lyrical devices. Thus, sometimes successive fines in their initial letters follow the alphabet, and there is more than one system of alphabetical arrangement. Again, the stock metre of a dirge is founded on a long fine, so constructed that the latter half of it is weaker than the first fialf; the effect is what modern music would indicate by the sign < > : compare (above, page 65) David's Lament over Saul and Jonathan. It is obvious that technical devices of this kind will not easily pass from one language to another; but, the idea once caught, it is easy, in reading aloud, to keep up the effect. The matter of the Dirge is an endless reiteration of woe; its appeal has much pathos. The poem is here represented by a few well known passages. Passages from Lamentations How doth the city sit solitary that was full of people! How is she become as a widow, she that was great among the nations! Princess among the provinces, how is she become tributary! She weepeth sore in the night, and her tears are on her cheeks; Among all her lovers she hath none to comfort her; All her friends have dealt treacherously with her, they are become her enemies. 359 Psalms and Lyrics -§> Judah is gone into captivity because of affliction, and because of great servitude; She dwelleth among the heathen, she findeth no rest: All her persecutors overtook her within the straits. The ways of Zion do mourn, because none come to the solemn assembly; All her gates are desolate, her priests do sigh; Her virgins are afflicted, and she herself is in bitterness. Her adversaries are become the head, her enemies prosper; For the Lord hath afflicted her for the multitude of her trans- gressions : Her young children are gone into captivity before the adversary. And from the daughter of Zion all her majesty is departed: Her princes are become like harts that find no pasture. And they are gone without strength before the pursuer. Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? Behold and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, Wherewith the Lord hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger. From on high hath he sent fire into my bones, and it prevaileth against them; He hath spread a net for my feet, he hath turned me back; He hath made me desolate and faint all the day. The yoke of my transgressions is bound by his hand; they are knit together; They are come up upon my neck; he hath made my strength to fail: The Lord hath delivered me into their hands against whom, I am not able to stand. * 360 § Book of Lamentations It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord. It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. Let him sit alone and keep silence, because he hath laid it upon him. Let him put his mouth in the dust ; if so be there may be hope. Let him give his cheek to him that smite th him; let him be filled full with reproach. For the Lord will not cast off for ever. For though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion ac- cording to the multitude of his mercies. For he doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men. 361 THE SONG OF SONGS This part of Scripture has been traditionally treated as devotional literature. Spiritual significances have been attached to particular phrases or lines, founded on the idea that the relationship of hus- band and wife is regularly in Scripture made an image for the relationship between God and his Chosen People. All this, how- ever, belongs to what is called secondary interpretation. In the primary or literary interpretation the Song of Songs is a love poem; it might be described as a Honeymoon Song, celebrating the pure love of Bridegroom and Bride; the more impressive because it is cast in surroundings of polygamy. The poem is in dialogue, with an underlying story. As arranged in the Modem Reader's Bible, the story has great interest. King Solomon with his Court, visiting the Royal Vineyards upon mount Lebanon, comes by surprise upon the "fair Shulammite," the heroine of the story, who is sister to the keepers of the Royal Vine- yards. At the sudden sight the Shulammite flees in terror; but not before her surpassing beauty has struck the youthful heart of the king. He wooes her in disguise — the disguise of a shepherd, one of her own rank — and wins her love. Then he comes in state, and claims her as his queen. The movement of the story goes on to what (in modern phrase) might be called the end of the honeymoon: the country girl, raised to a throne, becomes weary of state, and longs to visit her mountain home, and renew the love in the place where it first began. The poem is here represented by four passages. — I. In the first we have an idyllic picture: the (disguised) lover has visited the heroine in her rocky home amid the exquisite glories of Springtide: the wooing scene is suddenly interrupted by the harsh voices of the Brothers, crying out that foxes have broken into the vineyard. — II. The second passage is a lyric celebration of the king, in royal 362 <§- The Song of Songs state, journeying to Lebanon to claim his love as queen. — III. The third passage gives us the first moment of the meeting of the two. The Hterary form of this passage must be carefully noted. It is not, as might at first be thought, in dialogue, for the whole is part of the lover's reminiscence. But the form of dialogue is thrown around the (unspoken) feeling of the two parties, the Court and the startled country girl. — IV. The fourth is a much quoted passage, in which the wife once more pledges love in the home scene where the love first began. Passages from The Song of Songs I The Bride The voice of my beloved! behold, he cometh, Leaping upon the mountains, Skipping upon the hills. My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: Behold, he standeth behind our wall, He looketh in at the windows, He sheweth himself through the lattice. My beloved spake, and said unto me: "Rise up, my love, my fair one, And come away. For, lo, the winter is past, The rain is over and gone; The flowers appear on the earth; The time of the singing of birds is come, And the voice of the turtle is heard in our land; The fig tree ripeneth her green figs, And the vines are in blossom, They give forth their fragrance. Arise, my love, my fair one, And come away. 363 Psalms and Lyrics -g> O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, In the covert of the steep place, Let me see thy countenance, Let me hear thy voice; For sweet is thy voice, And thy countenance is comely." Voices of the Brothers {heard interrupting) "Take us the foxes, "The little foxes that spoil the vineyards; "For our vineyards are in blossom." II Who is this that cometh up out of the wilderness Like pillars of smoke, Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense. With all powders of the merchant? Behold, it is the litter of Solomon; Threescore mighty men are about it, Of the mighty men of Israel. They all handle the sword, and are expert in war: Every man hath his sword upon his thigh. Because of fear in the night. King Solomon made himself a palanquin Of the wood of Lebanon. He made the pillars thereof of silver. The bottom thereof of gold, The seat of it of purple. The midst thereof being inlaid with love from the daughters of Jerusalem. Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and behold King Solomon, With the crown wherewith his mother hath crowned him In the day of his espousals, And in the day of the gladness of his heart. 364 <§-The Song of Songs III Surprise of the Court "Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, "Fair as the moon, pure as the sun, "Terrible as an army with banners?" Surprise of the Shulammite "I went down into the garden of nuts, "To see the green plants of the valley, "To see whether the vine budded, "And the pomegranates were in flower. " Or ever I was aware, my soul set me "Among the chariots of my princely people." Cry of the Court "Return, return, O Shulammite; Return, return, that we may look upon thee. " Confusion of the Shulamnimite "Why will ye look upon the Shulammite, "As upon the dance of Mahanaim?" IV The Bride Set me as a seal upon thine heart, As a seal upon thine arm: For love is strong as death; Jealousy is cruel as the grave: The flashes thereof are flashes of fire, A very flame of the Lord. Many waters cannot quench love. Neither can the floods drown it: If a man would give all the substance of his house for love. It would utterly be contemned. 365 CHAPTER V THE POEM OF ''ZION REDEEMED'' [Isaiah, Chapters 40-66] AS CLIMAX OF THE OLD TESTAMENT The Poem of ^^Zion Redeemed'^ g> The portion of Holy Scripture which we here consider is repre- sented in the traditional Bible by the last twenty-seven chapters of the Book of Isaiah. This is now recognized as an independent poem, by accident joined on to the Book of Isaiah in the transmis- sion of the Bible through the ages. Some would meet the case by calling it the ''Second Isaiah." But there is no real justification for use of the name "Isaiah": the poem is anonymous. It is also without subject- title; which makes easier to understand the accident of its being joined on to a leading book of prophecy. The words "Zion Redeemed" are of course only a modern title, founded on the general drift of the work. This is perhaps the most exalted poem in all literature. It is also one of great difficulty for the modern reader who comes upon it unprepared. The difficulty is threefold. The first difficulty is the rhapsodic form of this poem, which is unfamiliar in m,odern literature. The Rhapsody — chief contribu- tion of the Bible to literary form — is (we have seen) * a drama cast wholly in the region of the spiritual. Drama in the ordinary sense is among the easiest to follow of all literary forms: a movement of events on the stage is visible to the eye of the spectator in the theatre. In a rhapsody the appeal is to the eye of the spiritual imagination; the stage becomes the whole universe; in place of simple dialogue various literary forms serve to carry on the action. Yet the main effect is always a movement of the Divine Providence which the Bible expresses by the word "Judgement." A second source of difficulty is that in this poem two distinct trains of thought are kept side by side; they blend, and there is constant transition from the one to the other. This ceases to be a difficulty when the reader is prepared for it. One of these is a course of historic events: the deliverance of Israel (that is, of a remnant of Israel) from captivity, and their restoration to their own land. It is brought about by the power of the Persian Cyrus; Cyrus is named in the poem as an agent of God. And, by an interesting figure, the conquering career of Cyrus is represented as the reward Jehovah presents to him for the deliverance of God's chosen people. The second train of thought is more spiritual. It is not only the deliverance of a nation: Israel's mission to the * Above, pp. 154-163. 368 § Isaiah, Chapters 40-66 nations is also resumed, and in being resumed is spiritually exalted. The blending of these two trains of ideas is the basis on which the whole of this prophetic work rests. A third kind of difficulty may just be mentioned. When read in its complete form the poem presents the copious flow of exalted eloquence which distinguishes the Hebrew Scriptures, with con- stant reiteration of leading thoughts. The language of this part of Scripture has been almost inextricably bound up with discussions of modern theology, often controversial theology. Hence it is often difficult to keep the surface and literary significance of the poem distinct from the theological implications that have been read into it. The suggestion is made to the readers of this work that they should reserve the poem in its full form for special study. In the condensed form in which it is here presented it is not difficult to grasp the movement of the whole poem, and the connection of its parts. It also becomes easy to see how the Rhapsody of Zion Redeemed makes a Climax to the Old Testament; in the light of this poem the whole course of the succession of books constitut- ing the Old Testament becomes a clear unity, and a link is given by which the Old Testament joins on to the New. The essence of the poem is conveyed in the six selections which follow. — I. The first gives the short Prelude to the poem. Jehovah speaks a word of comfort for his people: the captivity which was the punishment for their sins is at an end. Voices seem to catch up the glad tidings, and to bear them across the desert — the desert separating the region of captivity from the holy land — nearer and nearer to Jerusalem.. Thus the Prelude breathes lyrically the spirit of the poem as a whole. II. In such a work there is naturally constant contrast between the true God and the Idols of the nations. Scorn for idolatry is a regular motive of prophecy. The much quoted passage which makes the second selection turns upon this idea. IH. It is the third selection that gives the key note of the whole movement. It is a grand dramatic scene in which the Nations of the world are summoned to the Bar of God, to hear Divine inter- pretation of a career of world conquest. The usual scorn for idols manifests itself in a brief passage picturing the panic of the idol- atrous Nations as they assemble, and their anxiety lest the idols 369 The Poem of ^^Zion Redeemed'' g> may not stand in contact with the true God. Then our irnagination realizes the stupendous scene: all the Nations of the world before the Bar of God, the idolatrous nations on one side, Israel on the other, Jehovah alternately addressing the one and the other. He challenges the Idols of the Nations to ''declare former things and show things to come." In the tendency already noted (page 144) to dwarf the idea of prophecy into that of prediction, traditional interpretation has often lost the significance of this challenge by emphasizing only one part of it, as if God were challenging the Idols to predict something. The whole clause must be taken: in "declaring former things and showing things to come" the point of the challenge is that the Idols should put such a meaning on the whole course of events from first to last as will compare with the meaning which the true God is about to place upon it. It is thus a Divine plan of all history that we are to hear pro- claimed from the throne of the universe. The Idols are of course dumb. Then Jehovah proclaims his own interpretation of history. He points to the Nation of Israel as his Servant; and the service is to bring the other nations to the law of Israel's God. But to this mission they have been unfaithful, and for their sins they have fallen into the prison houses of the captivity. By the power of Cyrus they are set free; and they emerge from captivity re- awakened to their high destiny. ''Bring forth the blind people that have eyes, and the deaf that have ears." But this is only part of the significance of this scene. In Jehovah's proclamation of Israel and its mission there are found these words: He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smok- ing flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgement in truth. He shall not burn dim,ly nor be bruised, till he have set judgement in the earth; and the isles shall wait for his law. In the New Testament the substance of these words is applied (most appropriately) to Jesus Christ. But this is secondary interpretation. In the primary significance of the prophecy the 370 <§- Isaiah, Chapters 40-66 words are applied to the Nation of Israel in its Divine mission. Thus the proclamation by Jehovah — after interrupting cries of joy — goes on to say that this Servant of Jehovah has been blind and deaf, and has for its sins fallen into the captivity of the nations. The Nation is delivered, with glorious words of redemption; and with deliverance has come reawakening to the Nation's mission. But the words quoted bring out how this mission of Israel to the nations has undergone spiritual exaltation. The tradition had been of a world conquerer as the Messiah, who should rule the nations with a rod of iron. It now appears that not by force is Israel's mission to be accomplished, but by spiritual conviction, by agencies as gentle, yet irresistible, as the light. The ideal of World Conquest has been transformed into that of World Re- demption. IV. A fourth selection — taken for convenience out of its order in the poem — presents Israel in its mission to the Nations. It is in the literary form of the Doom prophecies: monologue of Deity is heard proclaiming Israel as "witness to the Nations," while the lyric interruptions convey the invitation of Zion to the peoples of the world to enter into covenant with Zion's God. V. But another phase of the thought underlying this poem has yet to be brought out. In the central section of the rhapsody — the place of emphasis in Hebrew poetry — we have "The Servant of Jehovah Exahed. " The literary form of this section is simple: Jehovah proclaims the exaltation of his Servant, and the theme is celebrated by a Chorus of Nations. But as we read we find that a profound change has come over the conception of the "Servant of Jehovah. " Before this the phrase described clearly the Nation of Israel. As we read this central section in contrast with what has preceded, we realize that NationaHty has changed to Personality; not ordinary PersonaUty, but a Mystic Personality whose suffer- ings are recognized by the Nations as vicarious. Before this it had appeared how Israel's conquest of the world for God was to be accompUshed, not by force, but by spiritual agencies gentle as the light. The new thought is here added, that as part of these spiritual agencies is to be recognized the redemptive force of vicarious suffering. VI. The sixth of the selections brings the thought of the poem to 371 The Poem of ^^Zion Redeemed^' -g> completeness. Before the central section Jehovah's Servant— the Nation of Israel— had a place of prominence which made it (so to speak) the hero of the rhapsody. After this central section the very phrase "Servant of Jehovah" entirely disappears. Its place of prominence is taken by another figure: The Redeemer. It is the sixth of our selections which brings out the link between the two ideas. We hear the Voice of Prophecy ministering to God's People, bringing home to them how it is their sins which have separated them from their God; Israel accepts the doctrine, with passionate repentance. Then it is said how Jehovah was " displeased " that for this repentant People there was " no judgement," " no intercessor. " His own arm shall work salvation; and a Redeemer shall come to Zion. Like the interrupting lyrics of the Doom prophecies, we have here interjected the glorious Song of Zion Redeemed. It is a double redemption. The Zion of geography is redeemed by seeing its cap- tive exiles returning to it, and by the homage of the nations around. There is further a spiritual redemption for Zion, material prosperity changing to righteousness. Then it is that the climax is found with the Redeemer entering Zion, meditating upon the blessedness of his redemptive work. It will thus be noted how the end of the Old Testament joins it to the New Testament. The very words of this poem describing the entry of the Redeemer into Zion are, in the New Testament, adopted by Jesus Christ as the foundation of the spiritual mission of which he is the head. Compare Luke 4 '^; or page 88 of the New Testament volume of this work. 372 SELECTIONS FROM ZION REDEEMED I Prelude.— A Cry of Comfort for Jerusalem Jehovah 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; that she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins. [Voices carry on the tidings across the desert to Jerusalem] A Voice of one crying Prepare ye in the wilderness the way of the Lord, Make straight in the desert a high way 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: For the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. A Second Voice {in the distance) Cry! A Despairing Voice What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, And all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: The grass withereth, The flower fadeth. Because the breath of the Lord bloweth upon it: Surely the people is grass! 373 The Poem of ^^Zion Redeemed'' -g> The Second Voice The grass withereth, The flower fadeth: But the word of our God shall stand for ever. Fourth Voice {still more distant) O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion, Get thee up into the high mountain; O thou that tellest good tidings to Jerusalem, Lift up thy voice with strength; Lift it up, be not afraid; Say unto the cities of Judah, Behold, your God! Fifth Voice Behold, the Lord God will come as a mighty one, And his arm shall rule for him: Behold, his rew^ard is with him, And his recompence before him. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd, He shall gather the lambs in his arm. And carry them in his bosom, And shall gently lead those that give suck. II Jehovah and the Idols Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? Who hath directed the spirit of the Lord, or being his counsellor hath taught him? With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgement, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of under- standing? Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing. And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering. All the nations 374 § Isaiah, Chapters 40-66 are as nothing before him; they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity. To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him? The graven image, a workman melted it, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth for it silver chains. He that is too impoverished for such an oblation choose th a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to set up a graven image, that shall not be moved. Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in: that bringeth princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity. Yea, they have not been planted; yea, they have not been sown; yea, their stock hath not taken root in the earth: moreover he bloweth upon them, and they \\'ither, and the whirl- wind taketh them away as stubble. To whom then will ye liken me, that I should be equal to him? saith the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high, and see who hath created these, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by name; by the greatness of his might, and for that he is strong in power, not one is lacking. Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the Lord, and my judgement is passed away from my God? Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard? the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary; there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to him that hath no might he increase th strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk, and not faint. Ill Grand Scene: The Nations Summoned to the Bar of God Jehovah. — Keep silence before me, O islands; and let the peoples renew their strength: let them come near; then let them speak: let us come near together to judgement. 375 The Poem of ^^Zion Redeemed'^ -g> Who hath raised up one from the east, whom he calleth in right- eousness to his foot? he giveth nations before him, and maketh him rule over kings; he giveth them as the dust to his sword, as the driven stubble to his bow. He pursueth them, and passeth on safely; even by a way that he had not gone with his feet. Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the Lord, the first, and with the lasit, I am he. The isles saw, and feared; the ends of the earth trembled: they drew near, and came. They helped every one his neighbour; and every one said to his brother, Be of good courage. So the car- penter encouraged the goldsmith, and he that smootheth with the hammer him that smiteth the anvil, saying of the soldering. It is good: and he fastened it with nails, that it should not be moved. Jehovah {to Israel). — But thou, Israel, my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend; thou whom I have taken hold of from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the corners thereof, and said unto thee. Thou art my servant, I have chosen thee and not cast thee away; fear thou not, for I am with thee; be not dismayed, for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. Jehovah (to the Nations). — Produce your cause, saith the Lord; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob. Let them bring them forth, and declare unto us what shall happen: declare ye the former things, what they be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or shew us things for to come. Declare the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may look one upon another, and behold it together. {No response.) Behold, ye are of nothing, and your work of nought: an abomination is he that chooseth you. I have raised up one from the north, and he is come; from the rising of the sun one that calleth upon my name: and he shall come upon rulers as upon mortar, and as the potter treadeth clay. Who hath declared it from the beginning, that we may know? and before- time, that we may say. He is righteous? yea, there is none that declareth, yea, there is none that sheweth, yea, there is none that 376 § Isaiah, Chapters 40-66 heareth your words. I first will say unto Zion, Behold, behold them; and I will give to Jerusalem one that bringeth good tidings. (No response.) And when I look, there is no man; even among them there is no counsellor, that, when I ask of them, can answer a word. Behold, all of them, their works are vanity and nought: their molten images are wind and confusion. Jehovah {to Israel). — Behold my servant, whom I uphold; my chosen, in whom my soul delighteth: I have put my spirit upon him; he shall bring forth judgement to the nations. He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgement in truth. He shall not burn dimly nor be bruised, till he have set judgement in the earth; and the isles shall wait for his law. Interrupting Songs of Joy Sing unto the Lord a new song, And his praise from the end of the earth; Ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein, The isles, and the inhabitants thereof. Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice, The villages that Kedar doth inhabit; Let the inhabitants of Sela sing. Let them shout from the top of the mountains. Let them give glory unto the Lord, And declare his praise in the islands. The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man; He shall stir up zeal like a man of war: He shall cry, yea, he shall shout aloud; He shall do mightily against his enemies. Jehovah (continues). — Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see. Who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger that I send? who is bUnd as he that is at peace with me, and blind as the Lord's servant? Thou seest many things, but thou observest not; his ears are open, but he heareth not. It pleased the Lord, for 377 The Poem of ^^Zion Redeemed^' g> his righteousness' sake, to magnify the law, and make it honourable. But this is a people robbed and spoiled; they are all of them snared in holes, and they are hid -in prison houses: they are for a prey, and none delivereth; for a spoil, and none saith. Restore. Who is there among you that will give ear to this? that will hearken and hear for the time to come? ' Who gave Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to the robbers? did not the Lord? he against whom we have sinned, and in whose ways they would not walk, neither were they obedient unto his law. Therefore he poured upon him the fury of his anger, and the strength of battle; and it set him on fire round about, yet he knew not; and it burned him, yet he laid it not to heart.' But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel: Fear not, for I have redeemed thee; I have called thee by thy name, thou art mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy saviour; I have given Egypt as thy ransom; Ethiopia and Seba for thee. Since thou hast been precious in my sight, and honourable, and I have loved thee; therefore will I give men for thee, and peoples for thy life. Fear not; for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west; I will say to the north. Give up; and to the south. Keep not back; bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the end of the earth; every one that is called by my name, and whom I have created for my glory; I have formed him; yea, I have made him. Bring forth the blind people THAT HAVE EYES, AND THE DEAF THAT HAVE EARS. IV Zion the Witness to the Nations ZiON (to the Nations) * Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, ' And he that hath no money, come ye, buy and eat; ' Yea, come, buy wine and milk, ' Without money and without price. 378 <§- Isaiah, Chapters 40-66 ' Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? ' And your labour for that which satisfieth not? ' Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, ' And let your soul delight itself in fatness. * Incline your ear, and come unto me; 'Hear, and your soul shall live: ' And I will make an everlasting covenant with you, ' Even the sure mercies of David.' Behold, I have given him for a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander to the peoples. Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and a nation that knew not thee shall run unto thee, because of the Lord thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee. ' Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, ' Call ye upon him while he is near: ' Let the wicked forsake his way, ' And the unrighteous man his thoughts: ' And let him return unto the Lord, ' And he will have mercy upon him; ' And to our God, * For he will abundantly pardon.' For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain cometh down and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, and giveth seed to the sower and bread to the eater; so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. ' For ye shall go out with joy, ' And be led forth with peace: ' The mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, ' And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. 379 The Poem of ''Zion Redeemed" § ' Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, ' And instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: ' And it shall be to the Lord for a name, ' For an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.' V The Servant of Jehovah Exalted Jehovah Behold, my servant shall prosper, he shall be exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high. Like as many were astonied at thee, (his visage was so marred from that of man, and his form from that of the sons of men,) so shall he startle many nations; kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see, and that which they had not heard shall they under- stand. Chorus of Nations Who hath beHeved that which we have heard? And to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed? For he grew up before him as a tender plant. And as a root out of a dry ground: He hath no form nor comeliness, that we should look upon him-; Nor beauty that we should desire him. He was despised, and rejected of men; A man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: And as one from whom men hide their face he was despised, And we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, And carried our sorrows: Yet we did esteem him stricken, Smitten of God, and afHicted. 380 <§- Isaiah, Chapters 40-66 But he was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: The chastisement of our peace was upon him; And with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned every one to his own way: And the Lord hath laid on him The iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, Yet he humbled himself, And opened not his mouth; As a lamb that is led to the slaughter, And as a sheep that before her shearers is dumb; Yea, he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgement he was taken away; And his life who shall recount? For he was cut off out of the land of the living; For the transgression of my people was he stricken. And they made his grave with the wicked, And with the rich in his death; Although. he had done no violence. Neither was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; He hath put him to grief: When his soul shall make an offering for sin. He shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days. And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand: He shall see and be satisfied with the travail of his soul. By his knowledge shall my righteous servant make many righteous: And he shall bear their iniquities. 381 The Poem of ^^Zion Redeemed" -@> Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, And he shall divide the spoil with the strong: Because he poured out his soul unto death, And was numbered with the transgressors: Yet he bare the sin of many, And nlaketh intercession for the transgressors. VI The Redeemer Come to Zion Voice of Prophecy. — Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: but your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue muttereth wickedness. None sueth in righteousness, and none pleadeth in truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity. Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; desolation and destruction are in their paths. The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgement in their goings: they have made them crooked paths; whosoever goeth therein doth not know peace. Repentant Israel. — Therefore is judgement far from us, neither doth righteousness overtake us: we look for light, but behold darkness; for brightness, but we walk in obscurity. We grope for the wall like the blind, yea, we grope as they that have no eyes: we stumble at noonday as in the twilight; among them that are lusty we are as dead men. We roar all like bears, and mourn sore like doves: we look for judgement, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far off from us. For our transgressions are multipHed before thee, and our sins testify against us. And judgement is turned away backward, and righteousness standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and uprightness cannot enter. Yea, truth is lacking; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey. 382 <§- Isaiah, Chapters 40-66 And the Lord saw it, and it displeased him that there was no jtcdgement. And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his own arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it upheld him. And he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloke. Jehovah. — ^According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay, fury to his adversaries, recompence to his enemies; to the islands he will repay recompence. So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun : for he shall con\e as a rushing stream, which the breath of' the Lord driveth. And a redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the Lord. And as for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the Lord: my spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and for ever. Song of Zion Redeemed Arise, shine; for thy light is come. And the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, darkness shall cover the earth, And gross darkness the peoples : But the Lord shall arise upon thee. And his glory shall be seen upon thee. And nations shall come to thy light. And kings to the brightness of thy rising. Who are these that fly as a cloud, And as the doves to their windows? Surely the isles shall wait for me, And the ships of Tarshish first, 383 The Poem of ^^Zion Redeemed ^^ g> To bring thy sons from far, Their silver and their gold with them, For the name of the Lord thy God, And for the Holy One of Israel, because he hath glorified thee. And strangers shall build up thy walls. And their kings shall minister unto thee: For in my wrath I smote thee. But in my favour have I had mercy on thee. Thy gates also shall be open continually, They shall not be shut day nor night; That men may bring unto thee the wealth of the nations, And their kings led with them: For that nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; Yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted. The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee. The fir tree, the pine, and the box tree together; To beautify the place of my sanctuary, And I will make the place of my feet glorious. And they shall call thee the City of the Lord, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel. Whereas thou hast been forsaken and hated, So that no man passed through thee, I \\dll make thee an eternal excellency, A joy of many generations. Thou shalt also suck the milk of the nations. And shalt suck the breast of kings: And thou shalt know that I the Lord am thy saviour, And thy redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. For brass I will bring gold, And for iron I will bring silver, And for wood brass, And for stones iron. 384 "Q- Isaiah, Chapters 40-66 I will also make thy officers peace, And thine exactors righteousness; Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, Desolation nor destruction within thy borders; But thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, And thy gates Praise. The sun shall be no more thy light by day, Neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: But the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, And thy God thy glory. Thy sun shall no more go down. Neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: For the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, And the days of thy mourning shall be ended. The Redeemer entering Zion The Redeemer. — The spirit of the Lord God is upon me; be- cause the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them a garland for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified. 38s CHAPTER VI THE BOOKS OF WISDOM Intermediate between the Old and the New Testament Proverbs Ecclesiasticus Ecclesiastes Wisdom of Solomon The Book of Job The Books of Wisdom, as literary works, may he described as follows. The Book of Proverbs: Collections of Traditional Wisdom, with Hymns of Adoration. Ecclesiasticus: A Collection of Traditional Wisdom by Jesus Son of Sirach, with Original Additions. Ecclesiastes: A Collection of Traditional Wisdom, with Medi- tations by ''The Preacher." The Wisdom of Solomon: Imaginary Discourses on Wisdom. The Book of Job: Wisdom in Dramatic Form. § A Devout Philosophy of Life The Books of Wisdom are five in number: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Job, in the Bible, with Ecclesiasticus and The Wisdom of Solomon in The Apocrypha. The distinction between the books which make up the Bible and others called collectively The Apoc- rypha is a distinction which belongs to theology. Theologians have laid down that the books of the Bible are authoritative in matters of doctrine, while the apocryphal books are simply to be read for edification. The distinction does not affect Hterary study. On the other hand, the two books of the Apocrypha named above are of the highest intrinsic interest to the literary student; they are essential, moreover, for bringing out the connectedness of wisdom literature as a whole. In the Modern Reader's Bible these five books appear in their proper place as intermediate between the Old and the New Testa- ment. How different this wisdom literature is from the spirit of the Old Testament in general will be clear when it is mentioned that in only two of these books does the word Israel occur; in three out of the five there is no notice of Temple, or Law, or Messianic hopes; in the other two books, if these topics appear, they appear only incidentally. The mission to the nations, which is the connect- ing thread binding together the different parts of the Old Testa- ment, is ignored in the books of wisdom. The mission to the nations in a transfigured form is also the connecting idea of the New Testament. The wisdom books thus stand apart from all the rest of Scripture; they make an interlude between the move- ment of the Old and that of the New Testament. Even in a chronological sense the description "intermediate" applies largely to these books; though it must be added that they in- clude a body of traditional literature which goes back to remote antiquity. If these books of wisdom are separate from the movement of the rest of Scripture, they have a movement and unity of their own. 'Wisdom,' in Scripture, is the counterpart to philosophy in modem speech; but there is a difference. Biblical wisdom is limited to the philosophy of conduct; to devout contemplation of human life. Here it may be convenient to mention that one of the five books stands apart from the rest. The Book of Job is a drama; the other four are meditations on life. The questions of 389 The Books of Wisdom -§> life which are subjects of meditation in the other books are, in this Book of Job, raised by a specific example. A narrative story opens up a situation of affairs which seems to challenge accepted views of life; round this situation particular thinkers gather and discuss it; the philosophic discussion is also a dramatic movement, with a stupendous cHmax. Hence it seems best to reserve this Book of Job for separate treatment later on; what is here said applies to the other four books. When we read these four books in their proper order, we trace, not only connection, but development. We can see development in literary form, and a still more impressive progression in the underlying thought. The literary forms in which the wisdom of these books expresses itself may be briefly indicated. The term 'Wisdom Brevities' covers some of these forms: the couplet or triplet of the popular proverb; somewhat longer epigrams and maxims. Then the prose maxim expands into the essay: the wisdom essay has no resem- blance to such writings as those of Macaulay or Emerson, but is closely akin to the shorter essay of Bacon. The essay is further enlarged into discourses on texts. The verse epigram expands into poems which in the Modern Reader's Bible are called sonnets; but it must be understood that our current conception of the sonnet as a form limited to fourteen lines has no application to earlier literature. Sometimes we have monologues, in which personified Wisdom, or perhaps Solomon, is heard speaking. There is also what is technically called an 'encomium,' that is, a set act of praise. The exact distinction between these literary forms will appear in the Notes (below, pages 503 fol.); but it does not affect our conception of wisdom in general. There is another development through the four books of wisdom in Hterary form, which has to do with what the rrfodern world would call authorship. In all languages philosophy makes its first appearance in the form of popular proverbs. These are a floating literature: such proverbs pass from mouth to mouth, without any sense of authorship attached to them. In time, the results of individual thinking mingle with traditional proverbs. The reader of to-day, who has lived wholly in the atmosphere of books and original thinking, often finds it difficult to realize how slowly and 390 <§- Development in Form and Matter gradually, in the ancient world, the conception of authorship and originaHty came to supersede the idea of tradition. In Scriptural wisdom, better perhaps than in any other literary field, may be seen the evolution from floating literature to individual author- ship. The root idea of a 'book of wisdom' is a miscellaneous col- lection of traditional sayings. It might be compared to the 'com- monplace book' which perhaps the reader keeps for noting down literary passages that impress him; only there is the important difference that to such ' commonplace books ' the ancient thinker committed his own original compositions. And in these books of wisdom there is nothing, except conjecture, to distinguish between what is original and what is traditional. The first of the four books, the Book of Proverbs, is entirely a miscellaneous collection of wisdom sayings. More precisely, it is a collection of collections: five separate miscellanies, put together we know not by whom. The book opens with a series of poems on wisdom. Then, a new title announces "The Proverbs of Solomon." It must be noted that this title has nothing to do with authorship. It is a peculiarity of ancient Hterature that to the originator of any tradition its later developments are ascribed; thus developments of law, early or late, can be spoken of as ' Moses ' ; psalms of all periods can be collectively called David; wisdom early or late will be given out as from Solomon, the great Patron of wis- dom literature. This second section of the Book of Proverbs is made up of 375 short couplets or triplets, entirely unconnected with one another. The third section is equally miscellaneous, but seems to constitute a ' wisdom epistle,' sent by one wise man to another. Then comes another title: "The Proverbs of Solomon which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied out." A fifth section gives sayings attached to the names of ' Agur' and 'Lemuel's mother.' Thus, so far as this book is concerned, the 'author' is merely the 'collector.' The second of the wisdom books is a long collection of miscella- neous wisdom all put together by one man — Jesus Son of Sirach, who names himself and occasionally speaks of his own personality. We may be quite sure that a large amount of the essays in this book are the original composition of this son of Sirach; but there is nothing in the text to discriminate these from the other sayings. 391 The Books of Wisdom -g> The book is brought to a close by what resembles the curious final title pages called in English literature ' colophons ' : / have written in this book The instruction of understanding and knowledge; I Jesus The son of Sirach Eleazar Of Jerusalem Who out of his heart poured forth Wisdom. With the Book of Ecclesiastes we reach a further stage in the evolution we are describing. The book contains miscellaneous sayings, and original essays. But the new feature is a Prologue and Epilogue, which have the effect of binding together all the book contains into a literary unity. The man who is responsible for this book always refers to himself as ''The Preacher." Apart from this the book is anonymous. We must here note a curious mistake in the traditional interpretation of the Book of Ecclesiastes which has done much to hide its real significance. In one of the essays contained in this book these words occur: 'T the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem" — the reference being obviously to king Solomon. These words were understood to mean that Solomon was the author of Ecclesi- astes; accordingly the unwholesome personality of the historical Solomon has come like a veil between the reader and the spirit of the book. But, carefully studied, the words do not bear the interpretation put upon them. The Essay in which these words occur (below, page 429) is a narration of an experiment made to test different types of life: — an imaginary experiment, put into the mouth of the historical personage most fitted to make it. The ''Preacher," or author of the book, identifies himself for the mioment with the one man who could command all the resources of life; in this way the supposed experiment is narrated in the first person. When the experiment is finished, this narration in the first person 392 <§- Development in Form and Matter is dropped; there is no further connection with Solomon. Thus Solomon is not the author of the book, but the hero of one essay contained in it. Yet, though the name of "the Preacher" is un- known, similarity of thought and expression pervades the whole book, including even the miscellaneous sayings. And the epilogue contains words that aptly describe a book of wisdom in this its complete form (page 435): The Preacher . . . pondered, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs. "Pondered" suggests original composition; "sought out" covers the collection of traditional sayings; while the words "set in order," just fit what is the new feature of this book — the binding the whole together by prologue and epilogue into a unity of thought. In the fourth of the books, collection of miscellaneous sayings has entirely disappeared. From beginning to end we have the thinking of a single mind. Yet the writer is anonymous. The title of the book follows the usual tradition of ascribing to the great Patron of Wisdom all that developing philosophy produces. The book is a succession of discourses on texts; and these are made imaginary discourses of Solomon addressing other kings. Thus the development of Hterary form in wisdom literature is complete: at the beginning there was no author other than a collector; in the final book collection of the miscellaneous has given place to original authorship in the modern sense. The representation of these four books of Wisdom in the present work is as follows. First, under the name of 'Wisdom Brevities,' is given a selection of short sayings taken from the separate books, intended as a specimen of the floating literature out of which particular books of wisdom have developed. Then, each of the four books is represented by Selections giving the essential parts of the book, and enabling the reader to form a clear idea of its distinctive character. But it may be well, before studying the separate books, that the reader should have some idea of wisdom as a whole; of its general character, and of the progression of philosophic thought which these books of Scriptural wisdom in- volve. In this connection it is helpful to take a distinction sometimes 393 The Books of Wisdom § made between what is called the 'lower' and the 'higher' wisdom. 'Lower' is used in the sense of fragmentary. Not only the short proverbs and epigrams, but also the larger essays and sonnets, are occupied with single aspects of human hfe; with such topics as Fear, Meekness, Self-will, Government of the tongue. Duty to parents or children. Prosperity and adversity. Pride and true greatness. In contrast with all this, the 'higher wisdom' is an attempt to take in Life and the Universe as a Whole. Thus, in this usage, the higher Wisdom is regularly spelled with a capital letter — the more so because this Higher Wisdom is often personified, and made to speak for herself. Here however a misunderstanding is to be avoided. The scientific analysis of external nature for its own sake, which makes so large a part of modern philosophy, has no counterpart in Scriptural wisdom. This is a contemplation of conduct and human life; the external universe appears only from the human point of view, appears as that in which human life is framed. When this distinction of higher and lower is assumed, we can say that the first two of the Books of Wisdom are in the main presenta- tions of the lower wisdom. But the other type appears, and in a most exalted form. These two books contain Hymns of Adoration to Wisdom as the unity and harmony of all things. There is shrewd analysis of life in its single aspects. But for life and the universe as a whole there is no analysis; there is only adoration, and the wording is often such as makes it difficult to distinguish this adoration of Wisdom from adoration of God. These Hymns to Wisdom in the Books of Proverbs and Ecclesiasticus have con- tributed to human thought one of its most noble and inspiring ideas. This idea is the harmony of the world within and the world without, which has lyric celebration in the nineteenth psalm. One of the finest presentations of this idea is in a poem cited from the Book of Proverbs (below, pp. 409-10), in which Wisdom is heard in Praise of Herself. It is personified Wisdom who is speaking; after she has identified herself with counsel, righteousness, and other moral excellencies, the poem continues: The Lord formed me in the beginning of his way, Before his works of old. 394 <§^ Development in Form and Matter I was set up froYn everlasting, from the beginning, Or ever the earth was. When there were no depths, I was brought forth, When there were no fountains abounding with water. Before the mountains were settled, Before the hills, was I brought forth: While as yet he had not made the earth, Nor the fields. Nor the beginning of the dust of the world. When he established the heavens, I was there: When he set a circle upon the face of the deep: When he made firm the skies above: When the fountains of the deep became strong: When he gave to the sea its bound, That the waters should not transgress his commandment: When he marked out the foundations of the earth, Then I was by him, As a master workman; And I was daily his delight. Sporting always before him; Sporting in his habitable earth ; And my delight was with the sons of men. In these lofty strains is brought out how the harmony of the moral world has extended itself to coalesce with the harmony which holds together the physical universe, both cohering in this exalted Wisdom. God created the universe, but Wisdom was (so to speak) his architectural plan. Very notable is the use in the above lines of the word sporting: not only does a single har- mony pervade the inner and the outer world, but the recognition of this harmony is a spiritual delight. The representation of Wisdom "sporting before God, sporting in his habitable world" is a strong lyric celebration of what appears in simple words in Genesis, where the account of the Creation concludes with the saying that God saw all he had made ''and lo it was very good." 395 The Books of Wisdom -g> When we come to the third of the wisdom books the atmosphere seems entirely to have changed. Instead of adoration we have despondency; the higher Wisdom — even the word itself — has dis- appeared, and another word takes its place, the word Vanity. Analysis has been turned upon the consideration of the totaUty of things; the analysis has failed, and the reiteration of this word * vanity' emphasizes the inability to see any consistent meaning in life. On the other hand, when we turn to the fourth of the wis- dom books, once more the situation is reversed: Vanity has dis- appeared, and Wisdom is recognized more clearly than ever. It is the great problem in the study of Scriptural wisdom to under- stand the negative tone of Ecclesiastes, which is so contrary to all that appears elsewhere. Sometimes this negative tone is described by the word 'scepti- cism.' If the thought of Ecclesiastes is to be called scepticism, it must be noted that it is a scepticism which is singularly devout. It has the effect, not of separating the thinker from God, but of driving him closer to God. The prologue of the book is summed up by the title, "All is Vanity"; the epilogue is, "AU is Vanity; fear God." The meaning of the universe is God's secret; there- fore fear God. When, however, we read Ecclesiastes — as it always ought to be read — side by side with the fourth of the wisdom books, we can define more closely what is implied in the negative tone of the Preacher. The thought of the vanity of life appears bound up with another thought — our ignorance of anything beyond the grave. Who knoweth the spirit of man whether it goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast whether it goeth downward to the earth? (Page 433.) This blank in the thought of what is beyond death pervades the book, and determines the writer's thought. On the contrary, when we turn to the Wisdom of Solomon, the great discourse (cited below, page 436) opens with the thought that death is no part of God's universe. "God made not death . . . righteousness is immortal." In a most striking monologue, put into the mouth of the wicked, this inabihty to see anything beyond death is bound 396 § Development in Form and Matter up with the Hfe of selfish enjoyment, the life that is antagonistic to the righteous who have higher hopes. To the eyes of those who live that life the righteous have perished; but all the while "the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God." Then the wicked are pictured as awaking from a dishonored grave to see the triumph of the righteous whom they had despised; in the light of this contrast the old life of selfish pleasure seems a mocking vanity. And then the wicked are overwhelmed in a tempest of destruction. When therefore we read these two books together, we can see how the scepticism of Ecclesiastes arnounts to this: that in the absence of a life beyond the grave human life becomes a riddle that no man can read. At the same time it is a great injustice to the Book of Ecclesiastes to speak as if despair was all there is in it. Side by side with the negative train of thought is maintained a positive thought of great interest. At the conclusion of the Essay on Solomon's Search for Wisdom there occur words which have been strangely misinter- preted. There is nothing better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw, that it is from the hand of God. Those readers who approached this book with the traditional misconception as to its authorship saw in these words the cry of an exhausted debauchee: There is nothing better in life than eating and drinking! But a close study of the words shows that this interpretation is an error. The Notes (below, page 517) bring out in detail a characteristic feature of the writer's style — the use of 'Uterary formula': that is, expressions which recur through the book, always used consistently, but always with a special meaning. One of these formulas is " eat and drink": the passages containing this expression show that it is the regular formula for appreciation of all kinds. There is no reference to the pleasures of the table, for "eat and drink" is apphed to riches, and even to honor. In the light of this usage the words quoted above have a very different significance. The imaginary Solomon has tested the life of pleasure, the life of wisdom, the life of labor (that is, enterprise), in each 397 The Books of Wisdom g> case with negative results. The thought naturally follows: May it be that this life we are searching for to stand the test of wisdom con- sists, not in pleasure or wisdom or enterprise taken separately, but in the power to appreciate everything that life brings from moment to moment, whether of pleasure or of wisdom or of enterprise. The Preacher instantly sees that such power to appreciate all that life brings is the greatest thing in the world. He goes on to the thought that such power of appreciation is not a thing the individual can command, but the direct gift of God to the man he approves. And this thought is reiterated throughout the book. Thus there is a positive, as well as a negative side to Ecclesiastes. And in the final essay (below, page 434) the positive side has tri- umphed. Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun. Yea, if a man live many years, let him re- joice in them all. . . . Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth, etc. Youth, the natural time for appreciative enjoyment, is encouraged in its sense of the joy of life, and age is not without it. But there is more than this. The thought. All that cometh is vanity; the exquisite sonnet detailing in symbolic forms decaying powers; are now used in a new way. It is the painter's dark shading to throw out bright lights: the Vanity' of life is simply to emphasize the duty of happiness, and the remembrance of the Creator while life's powers are at the full. To all which it may be added that after the changed tone of Ecclesiastes the great conception we get from the first two books of wisdom returns to us, in the fourth book of wisdom, in its most exalted form. The great eulogium of the highest wisdom (below, pp. 441-2) emphasizes the harmony of the world within and the world without, where Wisdom is declared to be "an unspotted mirror of the working of God and an image of his goodness. " The succes- sion of books of Scriptural wisdom has developed for us this great conception; and in developing it has given us the first clear enuncia- tion of the immortality of the soul. 398 WISDOM BREVITIES From the Books of Proverbs, Ecclesiasticus and ecclesiastes *n.*All these sayings appear in one of the three books named; hut they are here grouped together as apparently representing the floating literature of traditional wisdom which enters into the wisdom books, side by side with original compositions, A word fitly spoken Is like apples of gold In baskets of silver. * He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth to the Lord; And his good deed will he pay him again. * Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: When he shutteth his lips, he is esteemed as prudent. * The beginning of strife is as when one letteth out water: Therefore leave off contention, before there be quarrelling. * The appetite of the labouring man laboureth for him; For his mouth craveth it of him. * Pride goeth before destruction; And an haughty spirit before a fall. * The preparations of the heart belong to man: But the answer of the tongue is from the Lord. * 399 The Books of Wisdom § A soft answer turneth away wrath: But a grievous word stirreth up anger. The heart knoweth its own bitterness: And a stranger doth not intermeddle with its joy. There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: There is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great wealth. * The liberal soul shall be made fat: And he that watereth shall be watered also himself. Where no oxen are, the crib is clean: But much increase is by the strength of the ox. He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; And he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city. It is naught, it is naught, saith the buyer: But when he is gone his way, then he boasteth. The words of a whisperer are as dainty morsels. And they go down into the innermost parts of the belly. * Boast not thyself of tomorrow; For thou knowest not what a day may bring forth. As vinegar to the teeth. And as smoke to the eyes. So is the sluggard to them that send him. * 400 The Lord formed me in the beginning of his way, Before his works of old. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, Or ever the earth was. When there were no depths, I was brought forth, When there were no fountains abounding with water. Before the mountains were settled, Before the hills, was I brought forth: While as yet he had not made the earth. Nor the fields, Nor the beginning of the dust of the world. When he established the heavens, I was there: When he set a circle upon the face of the deep: When he made firm the skies above: When the fountains of the deep became strong: When he gave to the sea its bound, That the waters should not transgress his commandment: When he marked out the foundations of the earth. Then I was by him, As a master workman; And I was daily his delight, Sporting always before him; Sporting in his habitable earth; And my delight was with the sons of men. 410 SELECTIONS FROM THE BOOK OF ECCLESIASTICUS True and False Fear.— A Sonnet Ye that fear the Lord, Wait for his mercy; And turn not aside, lest ye fall. Ye that fear the Lord, Put your trust in him; And your reward shall not fail. Ye that fear the Lord, Hope for good things. And for eternal gladness and mercy. Look at the generations of old, and see, Who did ever put his trust in the Lord, and was ashamed? Or who did abide in his fear, and was forsaken? Or who did call upon him, and he despised him? For the Lord is full of compassion, And mercy; And he forgiveth sins. And saveth in time of affliction. Woe unto fearful hearts. And to faint hands. And to the sinner that goeth two ways! Woe unto the faint heart! For it beheveth not. Therefore shall it not be defended. Woe unto you That have lost your patience! And what will ye do when the Lord shall visit you? 4n The Books of Wisdom •§> They that fear the Lord Will not disobey his words; And they that love him will keep his ways. They that fear the Lord Will seek his good pleasure; And they that love him shall be filled with the law. They that fear the Lord Will prepare their hearts, And will humble their souls in his sight: — "We will fall into the hands of the Lord, And not into the hands of men: For as his majesty is, So also is his mercy." Double Sonnet: A Garden of Blessings I All things that are of the earth turn to the earth again; And all things that are of the waters return into the sea. All bribery and injustice shall be blotted out; And good faith shall stand for ever. The goods of the unjust shall be dried up like a river. And like a great thunder in rain shall go off in noise. In opening his hands a man shall be made glad; So shall transgressors utterly fail. The children of the ungodly shall not put forth many branches; And are as unclean roots upon a sheer rock. The sedge that groweth upon every water and bank of a river Shall be plucked up before all grass. Bounty is as a Garden of blessings, And almsgiving endureth for ever. II The life of one that laboureth and is contented Shall be made sweet; And he that findeth a treasure is above both. Children, and the building of a city. Establish a man's name; 412 § Book of Ecclesiasticus And a blameless wife is counted above both. Wine and music Rejoice the heart; And the love of wisdom is above both. The pipe and the psaltery Make pleasant melody; And a pleasant tongue is above both. Thine eyes shall desire Grace and beauty; And above both the green blade of corn. A friend and a companion Never meet amiss; And a wife with her husband is above both. Brethren and succour Are for a time of affliction; And almsgiving is a deliverer above both. Gold and silver Will make the foot stand sure; And counsel is esteemed above them both. Riches and strength Will lift up the heart; And the fear of the Lord is above both. There is nothing wanting in the fear of the Lord, And there is no need to seek help therein. The fear of the Lord is as a Garden of Blessing, And covereth a man above all glory. Wisdom's Way with her Children.— An Essay Wisdom exalteth her sons, and taketh hold of them that seek her. He that loveth her loveth life; and they that seek to her early shall be filled with gladness. He that holdeth her fast shall inherit glory; and where he entereth, the Lord will bless. They that do her service shall minister to the Holy One; and them that love her the Lord doth love. He that giveth ear unto her shall judge the nations; and he that giveth heed unto her shall dwell securely. If he trust her, he shall inherit her; and his generations shall have her in 413 The Books of Wisdom g> possession. For at the first she will walk with him in crooked ways, and will bring fear and dread upon him, and torment him with her discipline, until she may trust his soul, and try him by her judge- ments: then will she return again the straight way unto him, and will gladden him, and reveal to him her secrets. If he go astray, she will forsake him, and give him over to his fall. Friendship.— An Essay Sweet words will multiply a man's friends; and a fair-speaking tongue will multiply courtesies. Let those that are at peace with thee be many; but thy counsellors one of a thousand. If thou wouldest get thee a friend, get him by proving, and be not in haste to trust him. For there is a friend that is so for his own occasion, and he will not continue in the day of thy affliction. And there is a friend that turneth to enmity; and he will discover strife to thy reproach. And there is a friend that is a companion at the table, and he will not continue in the day of thy affliction; and 'in thy prosperity he will be as thyself, and will be bold over thy servants; if thou shalt be brought low, he will be against thee, and will hide himself from thy face. Separate thyself from thine enemies; and beware of thy friends. A faithful friend is a strong defence; and he that hath found him hath found a treasure. There is nothing that can be taken in exchange for a faithful friend; and his excellency is beyond price. A faithful friend is a medicine of life; and they that fear the Lord shall find him. He that feareth the Lord directeth his friendship aright; for as he is, so is his neighbour also. Essay: Prosperity and Adversity are from the Lord There is one that toileth, and laboureth, and maketh haste, and is so much the more behind. There is one that is sluggish, and hath need of help, lacking in strength, and that aboundeth in poverty; and the eyes of the Lord looked upon him for good, and he set him up from his low estate, and lifted up his head; and many marvelled at him. Good things and evil, life and death, poverty and riches, 414 § Book of Ecclesiasticus are from the Lord. The gift of the Lord remaineth with the godly, and his good pleasure shall prosper for ever. There is that waxeth rich by his wariness and pinching, and this is the portion of his reward: when he saith, I have found rest, and now will I eat of my goods — yet he knoweth not what time shall pass, and he shall leave them to others, and die. Be stedfast in thy covenant, and be conversant therein, and wax old in thy work. Marvel not at the works of a sinner, but trust the Lord, and abide in thy labour; for it is an easy thing in the sight of the Lord swiftly on the sudden to make a poor man rich. The blessing of the Lord is in the reward of the godly; and in an hour that cometh swiftly he maketh his bless- ing to flourish. Say not. What use is there of me? And what from henceforth shall my good things be? Say not, I have sufficient, and from henceforth what harm shall happen unto me? In the day of good things there is a forge tfulness of evil things; and in the day of evil things a man will not remember things that are good. For it is an easy thing in the sight of the Lord to reward a man in the day of death according to his ways. The affliction of an hour causeth forge tfulness of delight; and in the last end of a man is the revela- tion of his deeds. Call no man blessed before his death; and a man shall be known in his children. On Free Will.— An Essay Say not thou. It is through the Lord that I fell away; for thou shalt not do the things that he hateth. Say not thou. It is he that caused me to err; for he hath no need of a sinful man. The Lord hateth every abomination; and they that fear him love it not. He himself made man from the beginning, and left him in the hand of his own counsel. If thou wdlt, thou shalt keep the commandments; and to perform faithfulness is of thine own good pleasure. He hath set fire and water before thee: thou shalt stretch forth thy hand unto whichsoever thou wilt. Before man is life and death; and whichso- ever he liketh, it shall be given him. For great is the wisdom of the Lord: he is mighty in power, and beholdeth all things; and his eyes are upon them that fear him; and he will take knowledge of every work of man. He hath not commanded any man to be ungodly; and he hath not given any man license to sin. 415 The Books of Wisdom -§> Essay: God's Work of Creation and Restoration My son, hearken unto me, and learn knowledge, and give heed to my words with thy heart. I will shew forth instruction by weight, and declare knowledge exactly. In the judgement of the Lord are his works from the beginning; and from the making of them he disposed the parts thereof. He garnished his works for ever, And the beginnings of them unto their generations; They neither hunger, nor are weary. And they cease not from their works. No one thrusteth aside his neighbour; And they shall never disobey his word. After this also the Lord looked upon the earth, and filled it with his blessings. All manner of living things covered the face thereof; and into it is their return. The Lord created man of the earth, and turned him back unto it again. He gave them days by number, and a set time, and gave them authority over the things that are thereon. He endued them with strength proper to them; and made them according to his own image. He put the fear of man upon all flesh, and gave him to have dominion over beasts and fowls. Counsel, and tongue, and eyes, ears, and heart, gave he them to understand withal. He filled them with the knowledge of wisdom, and shewed them good and evil. He set his eye upon their hearts, To shew them the majesty of his works; And they shall praise the name of his holiness. That they may declare the majesty of his works. He added unto them knowledge, And gave them a law of life for a heritage. He made an everlasting covenant with them, and shewed them his judgements. Their eyes saw the majesty of his glory; and their ear heard the glory of his voice. And he said unto them, Beware of all unrighteousness; and he gave them commandment, each man concerning his neighbour. Their ways are ever before him; they shall not be hid from his eyes. 416 § Book of Ecclesiasticus For every nation he appointed a ruler; And Israel is the Lord's portion. All their works are as the sun before him; And his eyes are continually upon their ways. Their iniquities are not hid from him; And all their sins are before the Lord. With him the alms of a man is as a signet; And he will keep the bounty of a man as the apple of the eye. Afterwards he will rise up and recompense them, and render their recompence upon their head. Howbeit unto them that repent he granteth a return; and he com- forteth them that are losing patience. Return unto the Lord, and forsake sins; make thy prayer before his face, and lessen the offence. Turn again to the Most High, and turn away from iniquity; and greatly hate the abominable thing. Who shall give praise to the Most High in the grave, instead of them which live and return thanks? Thanksgiving perisheth from the dead, as from one that is not: he that is in life and health shall praise the Lord. How great is the mercy of the Lord, and his forgiveness unto them that turn unto him! For all things cannot be in men, because the son of man is not immortal. What is brighter than the sun? yet this faileth: And an evil man will think on flesh and blood. He looketh upon the power of the height of heaven: And all men are earth and ashes. He that liveth for ever created all things in common. The Lord alone shall be justified. To none hath he given power to declare his works: and who shall trace out his mighty deeds? Who shall number the strength of his majesty? and who shall also tell out his mercies? As for the wondrous works of the Lord, it is not possible to take from them nor add to them, neither is it possible to track them out: when a man hath finished, then he is but at the beginning; and when he ceaseth, then shall he be in perplexity. 417 The Books of Wisdom § What is man? And whereto serveth he? What is his good? And what is his evil? The number of man's days at the most are a hundred years: As a drop of water from the sea, And a pebble from the sand, So are a few years in the day of eternity. For this cause the Lord was longsuffering over them, and poured out his mercy upon them. He saw and perceived their end, that it is evil; therefore he multiplied his forgiveness. The mercy of a man is upon his neighbour; but the mercy of the Lord is upon all flesh: reproving and chastening, and teaching, and bringing again, as a shepherd doth his flock. He hath mercy on them that accept chastening, and that diligently seek after his judgements. Against Gossip.— An Essay He that is hasty to trust is lightminded ; and he that sinneth shall offend against his own soul. He that maketh merry in his heart shall be condemned : and he that hateth talk hath the less wicked- ness. Never repeat what is told thee, and thou shalt fare never the worse. Whether it be of friend or foe, tell it not ; and unless it is a sin to thee, reveal it not: for he hath heard thee, and observed thee, and when the time cometh he will hate thee. Hast thou heard a word? let it die with thee: be of good courage, it will not burst thee. A fool will travail in pain with a word, as a woman in labour with a child. As an arrow that sticketh in the flesh of the thigh, so is a word in a fool's belly. Reprove a friend : it may be he did it not, and if he did something, that he may do it no more. Reprove thy neighbour: it may be he said it not, and if he hath said it, that he may not say it again. Reprove a friend, for many times there is slander; and trust not every word. There is one that slippeth, and not from the heart; and who is he that hath not sinned with his tongue? Reprove thy neighbour before thou threaten him; and give place to the law of the Most High. Al8 § Book of Ecclesiasticus On the Tongue.— An Essay If thou blow a spark, it shall burn; and if thou spit upon it, it shall be quenched: and both these shall come out of thy mouth. Curse the whisperer and double-tongued: for he hath destroyed many that were at peace. A third person's tongue hath shaken many, and dispersed them from nation to nation; and it hath pulled down strong cities, and overthrown the houses of great men. A third person's tongue hath cast out brave women, and deprived them of their labours. He that hearkeneth unto it shall not find rest, nor shall he dwell quietly. The stroke of a whip maketh a mark in the flesh; but the stroke of a tongue will break bones. Many have fallen by the edge of the sword; yet not so many as they that have fallen because of the tongue. Happy is he that is sheltered from it, that hath not passed through the wrath thereof; that hath not drawn its yoke, and hath not been bound with its bands. For the yoke thereof is a yoke of iron, and the bands thereof are bands of brass. The death thereof is an evil death; and Hades were better than it. It shall not have rule over godly men; and they shall not be burned in its flame. They that forsake the Lord shall fall into it; and it shall burn among them, and shall not be quenched: it shall be sent forth upon them as a lion, and as a leopard it shall destroy them. Look that thou hedge thy possession about with thorns; bind up thy silver and thy gold; and make a balance and a weight for thy words; and make a door and a bar for thy mouth. Take heed lest thou slip therein; lest thou fall before one that lieth in wait. On Health.— An Essay Better is a poor man, being sound and strong of constitution, than a rich man that is plagued in his body. Health and a good constitu- tion are better than all gold; and a strong body than wealth without measure. There is no riches better than health of body; and there is no gladness above the joy of the heart. Death is better than a bitter life, and eternal rest than a continual sickness. Good things poured out upon a mouth that is closed are as messes of meat laid upon a grave. What doth an offering profit an idol? for neither 419 The Books of Wisdom ^ shall it eat nor smell; so is he that is afflicted of the Lord, seeing with his eyes and groaning. Give not over thy soul to sorrow; and afflict not thyself in thine own counsel. Gladness of heart is the life of a man; and the joyful- ness of a man is length of days. Love thine own soul, and comfort thy heart; and remove sorrow far from thee; for sorrow hath de- stroyed many, and there is no profit therein. Envy and wrath shorten a man's days; and care bringeth old age before the time. A cheerful and good heart will have a care of his meat and diet. On Feasting.— An Essay Sittest thou at a great table? be not greedy upon it, and say not, Many are the things upon it. Remember that an evil eye is a wicked thing. What hath been created more evil than an eye? Therefore it sheddeth tears from every face. Stretch not thine hand whithersoever it looketh, and thrust not thyself with it into the dish. Consider thy neighbour's liking by thine own; and be discreet in every point. Eat, as becometh a man, those things which are set before thee; and eat not greedily lest thou be hated. Be first to leave off for manners' sake; and be not insati- able, lest thou offend. And if thou sittest among many, reach not out thy hand before them. How sufficient to a well-mannered man is a very little, and he doth not breathe hard upon his bed. Healthy sleep cometh of moderate eating; he riseth early and his wits are with him; the pain of wakefulness, and colic, and griping, are with an insatiable man. And if thou hast been forced to eat, rise up in the midst thereof, and thou shalt have rest. Hear me, my son, and despise me not, and at the last thou shalt find my words true: in all thy works be quick, and no disease shall come unto thee. Him that is liberal of his meat the lips shall bless; and the testi- mony of his excellence shall be believed. Him that is a niggard of his rneat the city shall murmur at; and the testimony of his niggard- ness shall be sure. 420 § Book of Ecclesiasticus Shew not thyself valiant in wine, for wine hath destroyed many; the furnace proveth the temper of steel by dipping, so doth wine prove hearts in the quarrelling of the proud. Wine is as good as life to men, if thou drink it in its measure: what life is there to a man that is without wine? and it hath been created to make men glad. Wine drunk in season and to satisfy is joy of heart, and glad- ness of soul: wine drunk largely is bitterness of soul, with provoca- tion and conflict. Drunkenness increaseth the rage of a fool unto his hurt; it diminisheth strength, and addeth wounds. Rebuke not thy neighbour at a banquet of wine, neither set him at nought in his mirth; speak not unto him a word of reproach, and press not upon him by asking back a debt. Have they made thee ruler of a feast? be not lifted up, be thou among them as one of them; take thought for them, and so sit down. And when thou hast done all thy office, take thy place, that thou mayest be gladdened on their account, and receive a crown for thy well ordering. Speak, thou that art the elder, for it becometh thee, but with sound knowledge. And hinder not music: pour not out talk where there is a performance of music, and display not thy wisdom out of season. As a signet of carbuncle In a setting of gold. So is a concert of music in a banquet of wine. As a signet of emerald In a work of gold. So is a strain of music with pleasant wine. Speak, young man, if there be need of thee; yet scarcely if thou be twice asked: sum up thy speech, many things in few words; be as one that knoweth and yet holdeth his tongue. If thou be among great men, behave not as their equal; and when another is speaking, make not much babbling. Before thunder speedeth lightning; and before a shamefast man favour shall go forth. Rise up betimes, and be not the last; get thee home quickly and loiter not; there take thy pastime, and do what is in thy heart; and sin not by proud speech. And for these things bless him that made thee, and giveth thee to drink freely of his good things. 421 The Books of Wisdom § On Dreams: An Essay- Vain and false hopes are for a man void of understanding; and dreams give wings to fools. As one that catcheth at a shadow, and followeth after the wind, so is he that setteth his mind on dreams. The vision of dreams is as this thing against that, the Hkeness of a face over against a face. Of an unclean thing what shall be cleansed? and of that which is false what shall be true? Divina- tions, and soothsayings, and dreams, are vain: and the heart fancieth, as a woman's in travail. If they be not sent from the Most High in thy visitation, give not thy heart unto them. For dreams have led many astray: and they have failed by putting their hope in them. Without lying shall the law be accompUshed; and wisdom is perfection to a faithful mouth. Essay: The Wisdom of Business and the Wisdom of Leisure The wisdom of the scribe cometh by opportunity of leisure; and he that hath little business shall become wise. How shall he become wise that holdeth the plow, that glorieth in the shaft of the goad, that driveth oxen, and is occupied in their labours, and whose dis- course is of the stock of bulls? He will set his heart upon turning his furrows; and his wakefulness is to give his heifers their fodder. So is every artificer and workmaster, that passeth his time by night as by day; they that cut gravings of signets, and his diligence is to make great variety; he will set his heart to preserve likeness in his portraiture, and will be wakeful to finish his work. So is the smith sitting by the anvil, and considering the unwrought iron; the vapour of the fire will waste his flesh, and in the heat of the furnace will he wrestle with his work; the noise of the hammer will be ever in his ear, and his eyes are upon the pattern of the vessel; he will set his heart upon perfecting his works, and he will be wakeful to adorn them perfectly. So is the potter sitting at his work, and turning the wheel about with his feet, who is alway anxiously set at his work, and all his handywork is by number; he will fashion the clay with his arm, and will bend its strength in front of his feet; he will apply his heart to finish the glazing, and he will be wakeful to make 422 <§- Book of Ecclesiasticus clean the furnace. All these put their trust in their hands; and each becometh wise in his own work. Without these shall not a city be inhabited, and men shall not sojourn nor walk up and down therein. They shall not be sought for in the council of the people, and in the assembly they shall not mount on high; they shall not sit on the seat of the judge, and they shall not understand the covenant of judgement; neither shall they declare instruction and judgement, and where parables are they shall not be found. But they will maintain the fabric of the world; and in the handy work of their craft is their prayer. Not so he that hath applied his soul, and meditateth in the law of the Most High. He will seek out the wisdom of all the ancients, and will be occupied in prophecies. He will keep the discourse of the men of renown, and will enter in amidst the subtilties of par- ables. He will seek out the hidden meaning of proverbs, and be conversant in the dark sayings of parables. He will serve among great men, and appear before him that ruleth. He will travel through the land of strange nations; for he hath tried good things and evil among men. He will apply his heart to resort early to the Lord that made him, and will make supplication before the Most High, and will open his mouth in prayer, and will make supplication for his sins. If the great Lord will, he shall be filled with the spirit of understanding: he shall pour forth the words of his wisdom, and in prayer give thanks unto the Lord. He shall direct his counsel and knowledge, and in his secrets shall he meditate. He shall shew forth the instruction which he hath been taught, and shall glory in the law of the covenant of the Lord. Many shall commend his understanding, and so long as the world endure th, it shall not be blotted out; his memorial shall not depart, and his name shall live from, generation to generation; nations shall declare his wisdom, and the congregation shall tell out his praise. If he continue, he shall leave a greater name than a thousand : and if he die, he addeth thereto. The Burden of Life.— An Essay Great travail is created for every man, and a heavy yoke is upon the sons of Adam, from the day of their coming forth from their mother's womb, until the day for their burial in the mother of all 423 The Books of Wisdom g> things. The expectation of things to come, and the day of death, trouble their thoughts, and cause fear of heart; from him that sitteth upon a throne of glory even unto him that is humbled in earth and ashes; from him that weareth purple and a crown even unto him that is clothed with a hempen frock. There is wrath, and jealousy, and trouble, and disquiet, and fear of death, and anger, and strife. And in the time of rest upon his bed his night sleep doth change his knowledge. A little or nothing is his resting, and after- ward in his sleep, as in a day of keeping watch, he is troubled in the vision of his heart, as one that hath escaped from the front of battle; in the very time of his deliverance he awaketh, and marvel- leth that the fear is nought. It is thus with all flesh, from man to beast; and upon sinners sevenfold more. Death, and bloodshed, and strife, and sword, calamities, famine, tribulation, and the scourge: all these things were- created for the wicked, and because of them came the Flood. The Works of the Lord.— A Rhetoric Encomium In the words of the Lord are his works. The sun that giveth light looketh upon all things; and the work of the Lord is full of his glory. The Lord hath not given power to the saints to declare all his marvellous works; which the Ahnighty Lord firmly settled, that whatsoever is might be established in his glory. He searcheth out the deep, and the heart, and he hath understanding of their cunning devices; for the Most High knoweth all knowledge, and he looketh into the signs of the world, declaring the things that are past, and the things that shall be, and revealing the traces of hidden things. No thought escapeth him; there is not a word hid from him. The mighty works of his wisdom he hath ordered, who is from everlast- ing to everlasting: nothing hath been added unto them, nor dimin- ished from them; and he had no need of any counsellor. How desirable are all his works! One may behold this even unto a spark. All these things live and remain for ever in all manner of uses, and they are all obedient. All things are double one against another; and he hath made nothing imperfect. One thing establisheth the good things of another; and who shall be filled with beholding his glory? 424 salt; and when it is congealed, it is as points of thorns. The cold north wind shall blow, and the ice shall be congealed on the water: it shall lodge upon every gathering together of water, and the water shall put on as it were a breastplate. It shall devour the mountains, and burn up the wilderness, and consume the green herb as fire. A mist coming speedily is the healing of all things; a dew coming after heat shall bring cheerfulness. By his counsel he hath stilled the deep, and planted islands therein. They that sail on the sea tell of the danger thereof; and when we hear it with our ears, we marvel. Therein be also those strange and wondrous works, variety of all that hath life, the race of sea-monsters. By reason of him his end hath success, and by his word all things consist. We may say many things, yet shall we not attain; and the sum of our words is, He is all. How shall we have strength to glorify him? for he is himself the great one above all his works. The Lord is terrible and exceeding great; and marvellous is his power. When ye glorify the Lord, exalt him as much as ye can, for even yet will he exceed: and when ye exalt him, put forth your full strength; be not weary, for ye will never attain. Who hath seen him that he may declare him? and who shall magnify him as he is? Many things are hidden greater than these; for we have seen but a few of his works. For the Lord made all things; and to the godly gave he wisdom. Praise of Famous Men.— A Rhetoric Encomium Let us now praise famous men, and our fathers that begat us. The Lord manifested in them great glory, even his mighty power from the beginning. Such as did bear rule in their kingdoms, and were men renowned for their power, giving counsel by their under- standing; such as have brought tidings in prophecies; leaders of the people by their counsels, and by their understanding men of learn- ing for the people — wise were their words in their instruction; such as sought out musical tunes, and set forth verses in writ- ing; rich men furnished with ability, living peaceably in their habitations: all these were honoured in their generations, and were a glory in their days. There be of them, that have left a name be- hind them, to declare their praises. And some there be which have 426 §- Book of Ecclesiasticus no memorial; who are perished as though they had not been, and are become as though they had not been born; and their children after them. But these were men of mercy whose righteous deeds have not been forgotten. With their seed shall remain continually a good inheritance; their children are within the covenants. Their seed standeth fast, and their children for their sakes. Their seed shall remain for ever, and their glory shall not be blotted out. Their bodies were buried in peace, and their name liveth to all genera- tions. Peoples will declare their wisdom, and the congregation telle th out their praise. Also there arose Elijah the prophet as fire, and his word burned like a torch: who brought a famine upon them, and by his zeal mjade them few in number. By the word of the Lord he shut up the heaven: thrice did he thus bring down fire. How wast thou glorified, O Elijah, in thy wondrous deeds! And who shall glory like unto thee? Who did raise up a dead man from death. And from the place of the dead by the word of the Most High; Who brought down kings to destruction. And honourable men from their bed; Who heard rebuke in Sinai, And judgements of vengeance in Horeb; Who anointed kings for retribution. And prophets to succeed after him; . Who was taken up in a tempest of fire, In a chariot of fiery horses; Who was recorded for reproofs in their seasons, To pacify anger before it brake forth into wrath; To turn the heart of the father unto the son, And to restore the tribes of Jacob. Blessed are they that saw thee And they that have been beautified with love; For we also shall surely Hve. 427 The Books of Wisdom -g> Elijah it was who was wrapped in a tempest : and Elisha was filled with his spirit; and in all his days he was not moved by the fear of any ruler, and no one brought him into subjection. Nothing was too high for him; and when he was laid on sleep his body prophesied. As in his life he did wonders, so in death were his works marvellous. 428 SELECTIONS FROM THE BOOK OF ECCLESIASTES Prologue.— All is Vanity Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities, all is vanity. What profit hath man of all his labour wherein he labour- eth under the sun? One generation goeth, and another generation cometh; and the earth abideth for ever. The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he ariseth. The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it turneth about continually in its course, and the wind returneth again to its circuits. All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full; unto the place whither the rivers go, thither they go again. All things are full of weariness, man cannot utter it : the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. That which hath been is that which shall be; and that which hath been done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. Is there a thing whereof men say, See, this is new? it hath been already, in the ages which were before us. There is no remembrance of the former generations; neither shall there be any remembrance of the latter generations that are to come among those that shall come after. Essay (in form of a Dramatic Monologue) Solomon's Search for Wisdom *'l the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem. And I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom concerning aU that is done under heaven: it is a sore travail that God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised therewith. I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity, and a striving after wind. That which is crooked cannot be made 429 The Books of Wisdom -@> straight, and that which is wanting cannot be numbered. I com- muned with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I have gotten me great wisdom above all that were before me in Jerusalem ; yea, my heart hath had great experience of wisdom and knowledge. And I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to know .madness and folly: I perceived that this also was a striving after wind. For in much wisdom is much grief; and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow. "I said in mine heart, Go to now, I will prove thee with mirth: therefore enjoy pleasure. And, behold, this also was vanity. I said of laughter. It is mad; and of mirth. What doeth it? I searched in mine heart how to cheer my flesh with wine — mine heart yet guiding me with wisdom — and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what it was good for the sons of men that they should do under the heaven all the days of their life. I made me great works; I builded me houses; I planted me vineyards; I made me gardens and parks, and I planted trees in them of all kinds of fruit; I made me pools of water, to water therefrom the forest where trees were reared. I bought menservants and maidens, and had servants bom in my house; also I had great possessions of herds and flocks, above all that were before me in Jerusalem; I gathered me also silver and gold, and the pecuUar treasure of kings and of the provinces. I gat me men singers and women singers, and the delights of the sons of men, concubines very many. So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained with me. And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them; I withheld not my heart from any joy: for my heart rejoiced because of all my labour, and this was my portion from all my labour. Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was no profit under the sun. " And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness and folly. For what can the man do that cometh after the king? even that which hath been already done. Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly as far as light excelleth darkness: the wise man's eyes are in his head, and the fool walketh in darkness: and yet I perceived that one event happeneth to them all. Then said I in my heart. As it happeneth to the fool, so will it happen even to me; and why was I 430 A time to kill, And a time to heal; A time to break down, And a time to build up; A time to weep, And a time to laugh; A time to mourn, And a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, And a time to gather stones together; A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing; A time to^ seek, And a time to lose; A tirae to keep. And a time to cast away; A time to rend. And a time to sew; A time to keep silence, And a time to speak; A time to love. And a time to hate; A time for war. And a time for peace. What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth? I have seen the travail which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised therewith. He hath made every thing beautiful in its time: also, he hath set the world in their heart, yet so that man cannot find out the work that God hath done from the beginning even to the end. I know that there is nothing better for them, than to rejoice, and to get good so long as they live: and also, that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy good in all his labour, is the gift of God. I 432 " <§- Book of Ecclesiastes know that, whatsoever God doeth^ it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God hath done it, that men should fear before him. That which is hath been already; and that which is to be hath already been: and God seeketh again that which is passed away. And moreover I saw under the sun, in the place of judgement, that wickedness was there; and in the place of righteousness, that wickedness was there. — I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked : for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work. — I said in mine heart, It is because of the sons of men, that God may prove them, and that they may see that they themselves are but as beasts. For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them. As the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; and man hath no preeminence above the beasts: for all is vanity. All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again. Who know- eth the spirit of man whether it goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast whether it goeth downward to the earth? Wherefore I saw that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his works; for that is his portion: for who shall bring him back to see what shall be after him? Then I returned and saw all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold, the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power, but they had no comforter. Wherefore I praised the dead which are already dead more than the living which are yet alive; yea, better than them both did I esteem him which hath not yet been, who hath not seen the evil work that is done under the sun. Then I saw all labour and every skilful work, that it cometh of a man's rivalry with his neighbour: this also is vanity and a striving after wind.— The fool foldeth his hands together, and eateth his own flesh. — Better is an handful of quietness, than two handfuls of labour and striving after wind. Then I returned and saw vanity under the sun. There is one that is alone, and he hath not a second; yea, he hath neither son nor brother; yet is there no end of all his labour, neither are his eyes satisfied with riches. For whom then, saith he, do I labour, and deprive my soul of good? This also is vanity, yea, it is a sore travail. 433 The Books of Wisdom g> Essay.— Life as a Joy Shadowed by Vanity Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun. Yea, if a man live many years, let him rejoice in them all; and remember the days of darkness, for they shall be many. All that cometh is vanity. Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgement. There- fore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for youth and the prime of life are vanity. The Coming of the Evil Days.— .4 Sonnet Remember also thy Creator in the days of thy youth: Or ever the evil days come, And the years draw nigh. When thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them: Or ever the sun, And the light. And the moon, And the stars, Be darkened, And the clouds return after the rain: In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, And the strong men shall bow themselves. And the grinders cease because they are few, And those that look out of the windows be darkened, And the doors shall be shut in the street; When the sound of the grinding is low, And one shall rise up at the voice of a bird, And all the daughters of music shall be brought low; Yea, they shall be afraid of that which is high. And terrors shall be in the way; 434 <§- Book of Ecclesiastes And the almond tree shall blossom, And the grasshopper shall be a burden, And the caper-berry shall burst: Because man goeth to his long home, And the mourners go about the streets: Or ever the silver cord be loosed, Or the golden bowl be broken, Or the pitcher be broken at the fountain. Or the wheel broken at the cistern: And the dust return to the earth. As it was; And the spirit return unto God Who gave it. Epilogue.— All is Vanity: Fear God Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher; all is vanity. And further, because the Preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he pondered, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs. The Preacher sought to find out acceptable words, and that which was written uprightly, even words of truth. The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails well fastened are the words of the collectors of sentences, which are given from one shepherd. And as for more than these, my son, be warned: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh. This is the end of the matter; all hath been heard: Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgement, with every hidden thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil. 435 SELECTIONS FROM THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON Discourse Immortality and the Covenant with Death Court not death in the error of your life; Neither draw upon yourselves destruction by the works of your hands. Because God made not death: neither dehghteth he when the Hving perish. For he created all things that they rnight have being; and the generative powers of the world are healthsome, and there is no poison of destruction in them, nor hath Hades royal dominion upon earth: for righteousness is immortal. But ungodly men by their hands and their words called death unto them; deeming him a friend they consumed away, and they made a covenant with him because they are worthy to be of his portion. For they said within themselves, reasoning not aright: "Short and sorrowful is our life; and there is no healing when a man cometh to his end, and none was ever known that gave release from Hades. Because by mere chance were we bom, and hereafter we shall be as though we had never been; because the breath in our nostrils is smoke, and while our heart beateth reason is a spark, which being extinguished, the body shall be turned into ashes, and the spirit shall be dispersed as thin air. And our name shall be forgotten in time, and no man shall remember our works; and our Hfe shall pass away as the traces of a cloud, and shall be scattered as is a mist, when it is chased by the beams of the sun, and overcome by the heat thereof. For our allotted time is the passing of a shadow, and our end retreateth not; because it is fast sealed, and none turneth it back. Come therefore and let us enjoy the good things that now are; and let us use the creation with all our soul as youth's posses- sion. Let us fill ourselves with costly wine and perfumes, and let no flower of spring pass us by; let us crown ourselves with rosebuds before they be withered; let none of us go without his share in our 436 <§- Book of The Wisdom of Solomon proud revelry; everywhere let us leave tokens of our mirth: because this is our portion, and our lot is this. Let us oppress the righteous poor: let us not spare the widow, nor reverence the hairs of the old man gray for length of years, but let our strength be to us a law of righteousness; for that which is weak is found to be of no service. But let us lie in wait for the righteous man, because he is of disser- vice to us, and is contrary to our works, and upbraideth us with sins against the law, and layeth to our charge sins against our disci- pline. He professeth to have knowledge of God, and nameth him- self servant of the Lord. He became to us a reproof of our thoughts. He is grievous unto us even to behold, because his life is unlike other men's, and his paths are of strange fashion. We were ac- counted of him as base metal, and he abstaineth from our ways as from uncleannesses. The latter end of the righteous he calleth happy; and he vaunteth that God is his father. Let us see if his words be true, and let us try what shall befall in the ending of his life: for if the righteous man is God's son, he will uphold him, and he will deliver him out of the hand of his adversaries. With outrage and torture let us put him to the test, that we may learn his gentle- ness, and may prove his patience under wrong. Let us condemn him to a shameful death; for he shall be visited according to his words." Thus reasoned they, and they were led astray. For their wicked- ness blinded them; and they knew not the mysteries of God, neither hoped they for wages of holiness, nor did they judge that there is a prize for blameless souls. Because God created man for incorrup- tion, and made him an image of his own proper being; but by the envy of the devil death entered into the world, and they that are of his portion make trial thereof. But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them. In the eyes of the fooHsh they seemed to have died; and their departure was accounted to be their hurt, and their journeying away from us to be their ruin; but they are in peace. For even if in the sight of men they be punished, their hope is full of immortality; and having borne a little chastening, they shall receive great good. Because God made trial of them, and found them worthy of himself; as gold in the furnace he proved them, and as a whole burnt offering he accepted them. And in 437 The Books of Wisdom -g> the time of their visitation they shall shine forth, and as sparks among stubble they shall run to and fro. They shall judge nations, and have dominion over peoples; and the Lord shall reign over them for evermore. They that trust on him shall understand truth, and the faithful shall abide with him in love: because grace and mercy are to his chosen. But a righteous man, though he die before his time, shall be at rest. For honourable old age is not that which standeth in length of time, nor is its measure given by number of years: but under- standing is gray hairs unto men, and an unspotted life is ripe old age. Being found well-pleasing unto God he was beloved of him, and while living among sinners he was translated. He was caught away lest wickedness should change his understanding, or guile deceive his soul; for the bewitching of naughtiness bedimmeth the things which are good, and the giddy whirl of desire perverteth an innocent mind. Being made perfect in a little while he fulfilled long years: for his soul was pleasing unto the Lord; therefore hasted he out of the midst of wickedness. But as for the peoples, seeing and understanding not, neither laying this to heart, that grace and mercy are with his chosen, and that he visiteth his holy ones: they shall see, and they shall despise; but them the Lord shall laugh to scorn. And after this they shall be- come a dishonoured carcase, and a reproach among the dead for ever. Because he shall dash them speechless to the ground, and shall shake them from the foundations, and they shall lie utterly waste, and they shall be in anguish, and their memory shall perish. They shall come, when their sins are reckoned up, with coward fear; and their lawless deeds shall convict them to their face. Then shall the righteous man stand in great boldness before the face of them that afflicted him, and them that make his labours of no account. When they see it, they shall be troubled with terrible fear, and shall be amazed at the naarvel of God's salvation. They shall say within themselves, repenting, and for distress of spirit shall they groan: "This was he whom aforetime we had in derision, and made a parable of reproach; we fools accounted his life madness and his end without honour. How was he numbered among sons of God? and how is his lot among saints? Verily we went astray from the way of truth; and the light of righteousness 438 <§- Book of The Wisdom of Solomon shined not for us, and the sun rose not for us. We took our fill of the paths of lawlessness and destruction, and we journeyed through trackless deserts; but the way of the Lord we knew not. What did our arrogancy profit us? and what good have riches and vaunting brought us? Those things all passed away as a shadow, and as a message that runneth by; as a ship passing through the billowy water, whereof, when it is gone by, there is no trace to be found, neither pathway of its keel in the billows; or as when a bird flieth through the air, no token of her passage is found, but the light wind, lashed with the stroke of her pinions, and rent asunder with the violent rush of the moving wings, is passed through, and after- wards no sign of her coming is found therein; or as when an arrow is shot at a mark, the air disparted closeth up again immediately, so that men know not where it passed through: so we also, as soon as we were bom, ceased to be; and of virtue we had no sign to shew, but in our wickedness we were utterly consumed. " Because the hope of the ungodly man is as chaff carried by the wind, and as foam vanishing before a tempest; and is scattered as smoke is scattered by the wind; and passeth by as the remembrance of a guest that tarrieth but a day. But the righteous live for ever, and in the Lord is their reward, and the care for them with the Most High. Therefore shall they receive the crown of royal dignity and the diadem of beauty from the Lord's hand; because with his right hand shall he cover them, and with his arm shall he shield them. He shall take his jealousy as complete armour, and shall make the whole creation his weapons for vengeance on his enemies; he shall put on righteousness as a breastplate, and shall array himself with judgement unfeigned as with a helmet: he shall take holiness as an invincible shield, and he shall sharpen stern wrath for a sword. And the world shall go forth with him to fight against his insensate foes. Shafts of lightning shall fly with true aim, and from the clouds, as from a well drawn bow, shall they leap to the mark; and as from an engine of war shall be hurled hailstones full of wrath; the water of the sea shall be angered against them, and rivers shall sternly overwhelm them; a mighty blast shall encounter them, and as a tempest shall it winnow them away. And so shall lawlessness make all the land desolate, and their evil-doing shall overturn the thrones of princes. 439 The Books of Wisdom g> Discourse (in form of a Dramatic Monologue) Solomon's Winning of Wisdom Wisdom is radiant and fadeth not away; And easily is she beheld of them that love her, And found of them that seek her. She forestalleth them that desire to know her, making herself first known. He that riseth up early to seek her shall have no toil, for he shall find her sitting at his gates. For to think upon her is perfectness of understanding, and he that watcheth for her sake shall quickly be free from care. Because she goeth about, herself seeking them that are worthy of her; and in their paths she appear- eth unto them graciously, and in every purpose she meeteth them. For her true beginning is desire of discipline; and the care for disci- pline is love of her; and love of her is observance of her laws; and to give heed to her laws confirmeth incorruption ; and incorruption bringeth near unto God : so then desire of Wisdom promoteth to a kingdom. If therefore ye delight in thrones and sceptres, ye princes of peoples, honour Wisdom, that ye may reign for ever. But what Wisdom is, and how she came into being, I will declare, and I will not hide mysteries from you; but I will trace her out from the beginning of creation, and bring the knowledge of her into clear light, and I will not pass by the truth. Neither indeed will I take pining envy for my companion in the way: because envy shall have no fellowship with wisdom, but a multitude of wise men is salvation to the world, and an understanding king is tranquillity to his people. Wherefore be disciplined by my words, and thereby shall ye profit. I myself also am mortal, like to all, and am sprung from one born of the earth, the man first formed. And in the womb of a mother was I moulded into flesh. And I also, when I was born, drew in the common air, and fell upon the kindred earth, uttering, like all, for my first voice the selfsame wail; in swaddling clothes was I nursed, and witli watchful cares. For no king had any other first beginning; but all men have one entrance into life, and a like departure. For this cause I prayed, and understanding was given me; I called upon God, and there came to me a spirit of wisdom. I preferred her before 440 <§- Book of The Wisdom of Solomon sceptres and thrones, and riches I esteemed nothing in comparison of her; neither did I liken to her any priceless gem, because all the gold of the earth in her presence is a little sand, and silver shall be accounted as clay before her. Above health and comeliness I loved her; and I chose to have her rather than light, because her bright shining is never laid to sleep. But with her there came to me all good things together, and in her hands innumerable riches. And I rejoiced over them all because Wisdom leadeth them ; though I knew not that she was the mother of them. As I learned without guile, I impart without grudging; I do not hide her riches. For she is unto men a treasure that faileth not; and they that use it obtain friendship with God, commended to him by the gifts which they through discipline present to him. But to me may God give to speak with judgement, and to conceive thoughts worthy of what hath been given me. Because himself is one that guideth even Wisdom, and that correcteth the wise; for in his hand are both we and our words, all understanding, and all acquaintance with divers crafts. For himseh gave me an uner- ring knowledge of the things that are: to know the constitution of the world, and the operation of the elements; the beginning and end and middle of times; the alternations of the solstices and the changes of seasons; the circuits of years and the positions of stars; the natures of living creatures and the ragings of wild beasts; the violences of winds and the thoughts of men; the diversities of plants and the virtues of roots. All things that are either secret or manifest I learned: for she that is the artificer of all things taught me, even Wisdom. For there is in her a spirit quick of understanding, holy, alone in kind, manifold, subtil, freely moving, clear in utterance, unpolluted, distinct, unharmed, loving what is good, keen, unhindered, benef- icent, loving toward man, stedfast, sure, free from care, all-power- ful, all-surveying, and penetrating through all spirits that are quick of understanding, pure, most subtil. For Wisdom is more mobile than any motion; yea, she pervade th and penetrateth all things by reason of her pureness. For she is a breath of the power of God, and a clear effluence of the glory of the Almighty; therefore can nothing defiled find entrance into her. For she is an effulgence from ever- lasting light, and an unspotted mirror of the working of God, and 441 The Books of Wisdom g> an image of his goodness. And she, being one, hath power to do all things; and remaining in herself, reneweth all things; and from generation to generation, passing into holy souls, she maketh men friends of God and prophets. For nothing doth God love save him that dwelleth with Wisdom. For she is fairer than the sun, and above all the constellations of the stars; being compared with light she is found to be before it: for to the light of day succeed- eth night, but against Wisdom evil doth not prevail, but she reach- eth from one end of the world to the other with full strength, and ordereth all things graciously. Her I loved and sought out from my youth, and I sought to take her for my bride, and I became enamoured of her beauty. She glorifieth her noble birth, in that it is given her to live with God, and the Sovereign Lord of all loved her. For she is initiated into the knowledge of God, and she chooseth out for him his works. But if riches are a desired possession in life, what is richer than Wisdom, which worketh all things? And if understanding worketh, who more than Wisdom is an artificer of the things that are? And if a man loveth righteousness, the fruits of Wisdom's labour are virtues: for she teacheth soberness and understanding, righteousness and courage; and there is nothing in life for men more profitable than these. And if a man longeth even for much experience, she knoweth the things of old, and divineth the things to come; she understand- eth subtilties of speeches and interpretations of dark sayings; she foreseeth signs and wonders, and the issues of seasons and times. I determined therefore to take her unto me to live with me, knowing that she is one who would give me good thoughts for counsel, and encourage me in cares and grief. Because of her I shall have glory among multitudes, and honour in the sight of elders though I be young. I shall be found of a quick conceit when I give judgement, and in the presence of princes I shall be admired. When I am silent, they shall wait for me; and when I open my lips, they shall give heed unto me; and if I continue speaking, they shall lay their hand upon their mouth. Because of her I shall have immortality, and leave behind an eternal memory to them that come after me. I shall govern peoples, and nations shall be subjected to me. Dread princes shall fear me when they hear of me; among my people I shall shew myself a good ruler, and in war courageous. When I am 442 <§- Book of The Wisdom of Solomon come into my house, I shall find rest with her; for converse with her hath no bitterness, and to live with her hath no pain, but gladness and joy. When I considered these things in myself, and took thought in my heart how that in kinship unto Wisdom is immortality, and in her friendship is good delight, and in the labours of her hands is wealth that faileth not, and in assiduous communing with her is under- standing, and great renown in having fellowship with her words, I went about seeking how to take her unto myself. Now I was a child of parts, and a good soul fell to my lot; nay rather, being good, I came into a body undefiled. But perceiving that I could not otherwise possess Wisdom except God gave her me, — ^yea, and to know by whom the grace is given, this too came of understanding, — I pleaded with the Lord and besought him; and with my whole heart I said: O God of the fathers, and Lord who keepest thy mercy, who madest all things by thy word; and by thy wisdom thou formedst man, that he should have dominion over the creatures that were made by thee, and rule the world in holiness and righteousness, and execute judgement in uprightness of soul: Give me Wisdom — her that sitteth by thee on thy throne — and reject me not from among thy servants; because I am thy bondman and the son of thy handmaid, a man weak and short-lived, and of small power to understand judgement and laws. For even if a man be perfect among the sons of men, yet if the wisdom that cometh from thee be not with him, he shall be held in no account. Thou didst choose me before my brethren to be king of thy people, and to do judge- ment for thy sons and daughters. Thou gavest command to build a sanctuary in thy holy mountain, and an altar in the city of thy habitation: a copy of the holy tabernacle which thou preparedst aforehand from the beginning. And with thee is Wisdom, which knoweth thy works, and was present when thou wast making the world, and which understandeth what is pleasing in thine eyes, and what is right according to thy commandments. Send her forth out of the holy heavens, and from the throne of thy glory bid her come; that being present with me she may toil with me, and that I may learn what is well-pleasing before thee. For she knoweth all things and hath understanding thereof; and in my doings she shall 443 The Books of Wisdom -g> guide me in ways of soberness, and she shall guard me in her glory. And so shall my works be acceptable, and I shall judge thy people righteously, and I shall be worthy of my father's throne. For what man shall know the counsel of God? or who shall conceive what the Lord willeth? For the thoughts of mortals are tunorous, and our devices are prone to fail. For a corruptible body weigheth down the soul, and the earthy frame lieth heavy on a mind that is full of cares. And hardly do we divine the things that are on earth, and the things that are close at hand we find with labour; but the things that are in the heavens who ever yet traced out? And who- ever gained knowledge of thy counsel, except thou gavest Wisdom, and sentest thy holy spirit from on high? And it was thus that the ways of them which are on earth were corrected, and men were taught the things that are pleasing unto thee; and through Wisdom were they saved. 444 THE BOOK OF JOB The Book of Job, we have aheady seen, is Wisdom Dramatized. Instead of ideas of Hfe being formulated in abstract principles they are here raised by a particular case. A narrative story reveals a certain situation of affairs, which seems to challenge fundamental conceptions of human life. Various persons meet to discuss this situation. The discussion is so treated as to make the Book of Job one of the world's grandest dramas. In literary form, then, this book is a dramatic poem, the prologue and epilogue of which take the form of narrated story. The opening story here follows. One word, however, of prelimin- ary caution may be given. The reader must never forget that the most essential point in this narrative story — the Council in Heaven — is not known to Job and the other speakers in the drama. Thus a reader following the book as it stands is in the position of one who watches the propounding of a riddle when he has been told the answer beforehand. To meet this the reader should look upon the conclusion of this opening story as the real starting point of the action. What has appeared as to the Council in Heaven he must hold mentally in reserve; until, when the epilogue is reached, the significance of the story as a whole can be seen. Story Prologue There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil. And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters. His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she-asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the children of the east. And his sons went and held a feast in the house of each one upon his day; and they sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them. And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and 445 The Books of Wisdom -§» offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and renounced God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually. Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and the Adversary came also among them. And the Lord said unto the Adversary, ^''Whence comest thou?" Then the Adversary answered the Lord, and said, "From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it." And the Lord said unto the Adversary, "Hast thou considered my servant Job? for there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil. " Then the Adversary answered the Lord, and said, "Doth Job fear God for nought? Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath, on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is in- creased in the land. But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will renounce thee to thy face. " And the Lord said unto the Adversary, "Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. " So the Adversary went forth from the presence of the Lord. And it fell on a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house, that there came a messenger unto Job, and said: The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them; and the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee! While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said: The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep, and the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee! 446 <§- The Book of Job While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said: The Chaldeans made three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have taken them away, yea, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee! While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said: Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house; and, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee! Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped; and he said: Naked came I out of my mother's womb. And naked shall I return thither! The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away: Blessed be the Name of the Lord! In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God with foolishness. Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and the Adversary came also among them to present himself before the Lord. And the Lord said unto the Adversary, "From whence comest thou?" And the Adversary answered the Lord, and said, "From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it." And the Lord said unto the Adversary, "Hast thou considered 447 The Books of Wisdom ^ my servant Job? for there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth e\i\: and he still holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause/' And the Adversary" answered the Lord, and said, '* Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath \^ill he give for his life. But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will renounce thee to thy face. " And the Lord said unto the Adversar\', ^'Behold, he is in tMne hand; only spare his life.'' So the Adversar}' went forth from the presence of the Lord, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown. -\nd he took him a potsherd to scrape himself -s^-ithal; and he sat among the ashes. Then said his \sife unto him, ''Dost thou still hold fast thine integrity? renounce God, and die. '' But he said unto her, '' Thou speakest as one of the foohsh women speaketh. \Miat? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive e\il?*' In all this did not Job sin with his lips. Now when Job's three friends heard of all this e\'il that was come upon him, they came ever\^ one from his o\mi place; Ehphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Xaamathite: and they made an appointment together to come to bemoan him and to comfort him. And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they hfted up their voice, and wept; and they rent ever\" one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven. We pass from narrated stor\' to lyric drama, for the mysterious situation stands fully revealed. Job, deemed the most perfect sen^ant of God on earth, has been suddenly \'isited with an over- whelming combination of ever>" kind of calamity. WTiat can be the moral significance of all this? The personages of the drama are assembled. Job, \-ictim of a loathsome disease, is sitting in the place of outcasts on the ashes mound which is outside any oriental 44S <§^ The Book of Job village. This ashes mound is the stage. Round this stage have gathered spectators to learn wisdom from the strange sight; this is like a Greek Chorus. It is at first a silent chorus; but later on one of its members will ascend the ash mound and enter into the de- bate. For scene of this drama we have the open air scenery of the Land of Uz; and this is an important consideration, for in the end a change in this open air scene \\'ill bring the drama to its denoue- ment. The three Friends of Job — aged chieftains like himself — sit in grief before him; they wait, with the lofty courtesy of the east, for the chief sufferer to speak the first word. At last Job breaks the oppressive silence, and ''curses the day of his birth. " Bui what is called a ''curse" is only an elegy on a ruined life: from abject misery Job's thoughts turn to the dignity and silence of the grave. For now should I have Hen do^sTi and been quiet; I should have slept; then had I been at rest. With kings and counsellors of the earth, Wliich built soHtar}' piles for themselv^es; Or with princes that had gold, \Mio filled their houses vdih silver; Or as an hidden untimely birth I had not been; As infants which never saw hght. There the \^-icked cease from troubling; And there the weary be at rest. There the prisoners are at ease together; They hear not the voice of the taskmaster. The small and great are there; And the ser\'ant is free from his master. This lament of Job starts the movement of the drama. The three Friends are shocked: not by what Job has said, but by what he has failed to say. All this talk about suffering, and not a word about sin! For the point of departure in the philosophic debate is the current orthodox}^, which invariably sees in human suffering a judgment upon sin. WTiat follows is an elaborate Debate: round after round of speeches expressed in language of lofty rhetoric. The debate is also, by quick turns and fluctuations of passion, a powerful dramatic movement. The three Friends of Job constitute one party to 449 The Books of Wisdom § this debate. When the book is read in full detail we are tempted to discriminate the separate personalities of the three Friends, but so far as their position in the discussion is concerned they are a unit. Without swerving for a moment they insist upon their thesis that all suffering without exception is judgment upon sin; Job must be a sinner, simply because God's providence has sent suffering upon him. They exhibit tJie usual persistency of men defending a tradi- tional view: they pour out profusely facts of life illustrating their contention; they ignore altogether the equally profuse instances in which their view is contradicted; and they more than hint that any variation from their view must be due to moral obliquity. The case of the Friends is at last brought to a climax in a much quoted passage, which here follows. Read by itself it is a beautiful poem, picturing how there are mines out of which men dig gold and silver, but out of no mine has man ever dug wisdom. It makes a perora- tion to the case of the Friends, because it brings out how their priniciple of the invariable connection of suffering with sin is not advanced because it meets the facts of Hfe, but because such a view is 'wisdom' — is part of the fundamental structure of the universe. Sonnet (of the Friends) on Wisdom Surely there is a m^ne for silver, And a place for gold which they refine. Iron is taken out of the earth. And brass is molten out of the stone. Man setteth an end to darkness. And searcheth out to the furthest bound The stones of thick darkness and of the shadow of death. He breaketh open a shaft away from where men sojourn; They are forgotten of the foot that passeth by; They hang afar from men, they swing to and fro. As for the earth, out of it cometh bread; And underneath it is turned up as it were by fire. The stones thereof are the place of sapphires, And it hath dust of gold. That path no bird of prey knoweth, Neither hath the falcon's eye seen it: 450 <§- The Book of Job The proud beasts have not trodden it, Nor hath the fierce Hon passed thereby. He putteth forth his hand upon the flinty rock; He overturneth the mountains by the roots. He cutteth out passages among the rocks; And his eye seeth every precious thing. He bindeth the streams that they trickle not; And the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to Hght. But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? Man knoweth not the price thereof; Neither is it found in the land of the living. The deep saith, It is not in me: And the sea saith, It is not with me. It cannot be gotten for gold, Neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof. It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, With the precious onyx, or the sapphire. Gold and glass cannot equal it, Neither shall the exchange thereof be jewels of fine gold; No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal: Yea, the price of wisdom is above rubies; The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it. Neither shall it be valued with pure gold. Whence then cometh wisdom? And where is the place of understanding? Seeing it is hid from, the eyes of all living, And kept close from the fowls of the air. Destruction and Death say. We have heard a rumour thereof with our ears. God understandeth the way thereof. And he knoweth the place thereof. For he looketh to the ends of the earth, And seeth under the whole heaven; To make a weight for the wind; Yea, he meteth out the waters by measure. 451 The Books of Wisdom ^ When he made a decree for the rain, And a way for the lightning of the thunder: Then did he see it and declare it; He established it, yea, and searched it out. And unto m^n he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom: And to depart from evil is understanding. The second party to the debate is Job. Job represents no theory of life. Very probably he may in the past have acquiesced in the current view of suffering. But Job has the open mind, which can give up the most cherished tradition when it no longer fits the facts. This openmindedness of Job, in conflict with the stern immobility of the Friends, drives him to and fro in varied currents of thought. The most important of his trains of thinking may be here summed up. (i) The traditional ' patience of Job ' is undis- turbed by the most cruel accumulation of suffering; but patience changes to wild impatience at the false interpretation which is put upon his suffering. (2) Job, of course, never claims to be sinless. His point is that he knows himself innocent of such sin as would be commensurate with the visitation of judgment upon him. (3) He never loses faith in God's ultimate vindication of this innocence. Job's trouble is that, as an old man, he may never live to see this vindication. Thus his thoughts are raised to what may be beyond the grave. Oh that my words were now written! Oh that they were inscribed in a book! That with an iron pen and lead They were graven in the rock for ever! For I know that my vindicator liveth, And that He shall stand up at the last upon the earth; And after my skin hath been thus destroyed, Yet without my flesh shall I see God! Whom I shall see on my side, And mine eyes shall behold, and not another. 452 ^ The Book of Job (4) Job never wavers in his loyaky to God, though he addresses to God words of passionate remonstrance — such remonstrance as friend might make to friend. He longs to come into the presence of God, and to make his appeal face to face. (5) Finally, as the Friends had made insinuations of positive sins on Job's part, he follows the oriental custom of purging himself of such accusations by a ceremonial Oath of Clearing. With this Oath of Clearing "the words of Job are ended." Discussion as between Job and the Three Friends is closed. But we enter upon another phase of the poem when, from the silent chorus of spectators around the ash mound, one of their number ascends the mound and reinstates the debate. This is Elihu, a young man of the noble family of Ram. From the general struc- ture of the Book of Job we must receive what Elihu speaks as one of its offered solutions for the problem of human suffering. But we find it difficult to see how Elihu's view is distinct, except for a shade of difference, from the view of the three Friends. These had insisted that suffering was judgment upon past sin; Elihu prefers to put it as warning against future sin. The real interest in this section of the poem is the contrast between youth and age. Elihu opens with the nervousness proper (in primitive society) to a youth intervening in a discussion of his elders. He had said that days should speak, and multitude of years should teach wisdom; but he has understanding as well as the aged men before him; yea, his spirit feels as wine which hath no vent, like new bottles ready to burst. He has overcome youthful diffidence only through youth's confidence that the slight modification of the traditional wisdom which has commended itself to his generation is all that is wanted to convince Job. The contrast is kept up. When Elihu has advanced his theory, he pauses for Job to reply. But Job deigns no answer, receiving the young man's new light in silence. Then Elihu turns to the three Friends, and hopes to carry them and men of mature understanding in his protest against Job. But the three aged Friends make no sign; they receive their youthful champion with chilling silence. Slighted on both sides, Elihu is driven to appeal to heaven. But at this point a new turn is given to the dramatic movement. Apparently, what Elihu sets out to say in his appeal to heaven 453 The Books of Wisdom -g> is that the God of the mighty heaven over his head is not a God to be benefited by Job's righteousness, or injured by Job's iniquity, not a God to be turned from general principles of providence by the special case of Job. But the moment he lifts his eyes to the sky, this sky is seen undergoing signs of change. The landscape which constitutes the scene of our drama is passing into a landscape of wild storm.. Elihu's speech brings out for us the changing heavens, as his words picture, successively, the spreading of the clouds, the little drops of water, faint sound of distant thunder; then the thundering with the voice of excellency, the lightning that lightens to the end of the world, the beasts hurrying to their dens, the thick cloud descending upon the speakers until '^we cannot order our speech by reason of the darkness." The storm has becorr^e a whirlwind, with overpowering brightness and unendurable roar. At last the whirlwind becomes articulate as the Voice of God. The Divine Intervention is the climax of the poem: like thunder- claps come the sharp interrogatories out of the darkness. But care is needed to see what is the exact significance of this Divine Interven- tion. We might have expected that when Omniscience deigns to mingle in human debate the point at issue would be settled once for all. But this is not what we find in this case. At the end of the poem human suffering remains a mystery; but the speech out of the whirlwind has lifted the discussion to a higher plane. Some have misinterpreted this Divine Intervention by fastening upon certain expressions in the speech of God which imply the impossibility for man to fathom the ways of providence. Such expressions there are; but these cannot constitute the significance of the Divine Interven- tion, for the idea of providence as inscrutable is common to all the speakers in this poem. Moreover, the Friends had rebuked Job for questioning the ways of God, and Job had insisted on this questioning; yet in the epilogue God takes sides with Job. We can interpret the Divine Intervention only by studying as a whole the speech out of the whirlwind; and when we do so we have a surprise. The speech takes us away from the immediate problem, and plunges us into a picture of external nature, a picture reminding us of the treatment of the external world in the Wisdom hymns. The essential parts of the speech are here given ; but it may be well to sum up beforehand the unexpected thought. The God thus 454 ^ The Book of Job pictured by Himself is, not the God of Judgment, but the Soul of external Nature; an infinite Sympathy revealed in the joyous spontaneities of nature. Omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence are of course implied; but what is made prominent is an all-perva- sive sympathy, embracing the vastnesses that strain the imagina- tion, but penetrating also to the smallest things and things most remote from human interest. Though the Creator of the world, he is not here a creator by fiat, but an earth-builder, rejoicing in his task to secure its foundations and determine its measures, while the comer-stone is laid with the morning stars singing together and all the sons of God shouting for joy. There is power in his shutting up Ocean with bars it may not pass: there is another conception in his watching for it as it issues from the womb, making a garment for it of cloud, and swaddling bands of thick darkness. There is power in the dayspring taking hold of the ends of the earth and shaking the wicked out of their darkness: there is the artist's joy also in viewing the earth under this dawning light change as clay under a seal, while the dulled landscape suddenly stands forth as a pat- terned garment. What to man are the mysteries of the stars, of the ocean depths, of darkness, of light, of death itself, of the sources of the snow and hail, these make the common round of this Nature Power: who walks through the heavens binding the clusters of the Pleiades, loosing the bands of Orion, leading the signs of the Zodiac in their season, guiding the Bear with her train; he enters the springs of the sea, or walks in the fathomless recesses of the deep; now visits the gates of death, now takes the way to the dwelling of light, ar- ranges by what angle the lightning shall fork, keeps treasuries of hail and snow against the day of battle. We have here, not the flood and tempest overwhelming the nations, but the rain with glorious redundancy rejoicing to rain on the wilderness where no man is, satisfying the waste and lonely land with his gift of the tender springing grass; or he watches the sport of the dust running into a mass, and the clods having their time of embracing as he pours out for them the bottles of heaven. Man has his ox, that eats out of his crib, and harrows after him the valleys: but here is sym- pathy with the passionate liberty of the wild ass which scorns the noisy city and the driver's shout, finding a palace of freedom in the salt wilderness and a pasture meadow in the rocky tableland. Here 455 The Books of Wisdom •§> is sympathy with the hawk soaring southwards, with the eagle in her spy-house of inaccessible crags, with the Honess crouching for the spring, with the food- winning anxieties of the raven, with all the family cares of the desert goat — the numbering of the months, the bowing in travail, the moment of casting out her sorrows, the young ones growing in good liking, their going forth at last to return to the parent no more. The stupid ostrich, with not enough of nature's first instinct to guard her eggs against the chance footfall, even she has her time, when she lif teth up herself on high and puts to scorn the horse and his rider. This war horse is also pictured, with the quivering mane, who has his joy in the terrors of mankind, swallowing the ground in the fierceness of his spirit as the trumpet and shouting tell of battle at hand! God Speaking Out of the Whirlwind Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if thou hast understanding Who determined the measures thereof, if thou knowest? Or who stretched the line upon it? Whereupon were the foundations thereof fastened? Or who laid the corner stone thereof; When the morning stars sang together, And all the sons of God shouted for joy? Or who shut up the sea with doors. When it brake forth, and issued out of the womb; When I made the cloud the garment thereof, And thick darkness a swaddling band for it, And prescribed for it my decree, And set bars and doors. And said, "Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further; And here shall thy proud waves be stayed?" Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days began, And caused the dayspring to know its place; That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, And the wicked be shaken out of it? It is changed as clay under the seal; And all things stand forth as a garment: 456 <§- The Book of Job And from the wicked their Kght is withholden, And the high arm is broken. Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? Or hast thou walked in the recesses of the deep? Have the gates of death been revealed unto thee? Or hast thou seen the gates of the shadow of death? Hast thou comprehended the breadth of the earth? Declare, if thou knowest it all Where is the way to the dwelling of light, And as for darkness, where is the place thereof; That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof, And that thou shouldest discern the paths to the house thereof? Doubtless, thou knowest, for thou wast then born. And the number of thy days is great! Hast thou entered the treasuries of the snow, Or hast thou seen the treasuries of the hail, Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, Against the day of battle and war? By what way is the light parted. Or the east wind scattered upon the earth? Who hath cleft a channel for the waterflood, Or a way for the lightning of the thunder; To cause it to rain on a land where no man is; On the wilderness, wherein there is no man; To satisfy the waste and desolate ground; And to cause the tender grass to spring forth? Hath the rain a father? Or who hath begotten the drops of dew? Out of whose womb came the ice? And the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it? The waters are hidden as with stone, And the face of the deep is frozen. Canst thou bind the cluster of the Pleiades, Or loose the bands of Orion? Canst thou lead forth the signs of the Zodiac in their season? Or canst thou guide the Bear with her train? Knowest thou the ordinances of the heavens? Canst thou establish the dominion thereof in the earth? 457 The Books of Wisdom -g> Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, That abundance of waters may cover thee? Canst thou send forth lightnings, that they may go, And say unto thee, Here we are? Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? Or who hath given understanding to the mind? Who can number the clouds by wisdom? Or who can pour out the bottles of heaven. When the dust runneth into a mass, And the clods cleave fast together? Wilt thou hunt the prey for the lioness? Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions, When they couch in their dens, And abide in the covert to lie in wait? Who provideth for the raven his food. When his young ones cry unto God, And wander for lack of meat? Knowest thou the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth? Or canst thou mark when the hinds do calve? Canst thou number the months that they fulfil? Or knowest thou the time when they bring forth? They bow themselves, they bring forth their young, They cast out their sorrows. Their young ones are in good liking, They grow up in the open field; They go forth, and return not again. Who hath sent out the wild ass free? Or who hath loosed the bands of the wild ass? Whose house I have made the wilderness, And the salt land his dwelHng place; He scorneth the tumult of the city, Neither heareth he the shoutings of the driver. The range of the mountains is his pasture, And he searcheth after every green thing. Will the wild-ox be content to serve thee? Or will he abide by thy crib? Canst thou bind the wild-ox with his band in the furrow? 458 ^The Book of Job Or will he harrow the valleys after thee? Wilt thou trust him, because his strength is great? Or wilt thou leave to him thy labour? Wilt thou confide in him, that he will bring home thy seed. And gather the corn of thy threshing-floor? The wing of the ostrich rejoiceth; But are her pinions and feathers kindly? For she leaveth her eggs on the earth, And warmeth them in the dust, And forgetteth that the foot may crush them. Or that the wild beast may trample them. She is hardened against her young ones, as if they were not hers: Though her labour be in vain, she is without fear; Because God hath deprived her of wisdom, Neither hath he imparted to her understanding. What time she lifteth up herself on high, She scorneth the horse and his rider. Hast thou given the horse his might? Hast thou clothed his neck with the quivering mane? Hast thou made him to leap as a locust? The glory of his snorting is terrible. He paweth in the valley, and rejoiceth in his strength: He goeth out to meet the armed men. He mocketh at fear and is not dismayed; Neither turneth he back from the sword. The quiver rattleth against him, The flashing spear and the javelin. He swalloweth the ground with fierceness and rage; Neither standeth he still at the voice of the trumpet. As oft as the trumpet soundeth he saith, Aha! And he smelleth the battle afar off. The thunder of the captains, and the shouting. Doth the hawk soar by thy wisdoni, And stretch her wings toward the south? Doth the eagle mount up at thy command, And make her nest on high? She dwelleth on the rock, and hath her lodging there, 459 The Books of Wisdom ^ Upon the crag of the rock and the strong hold. From thence she spieth out the prey; Her eyes behold it afar off. Her young ones also suck up blood: And where the slain are, there is she. The poetry of all this is sublime: but what is its bearing upon the subject of debate? The link of thought appears to be this. Alike Job and the Friends have confined their attention to the mystery of human suffering, the mystery of Evil. The thought that comes to us out of the whirlwind is that the Good, the Great, the Sublime, in the universe is just as mysterious as the mystery of Evil. The mystery of human suffering is not solved; but mystery ceases to be a burden, when it thus appears that the Mystery of Good is as great as the Mystery of Evil. At the close of this speech out of the storm Job is heard making submission. I had heard of thee by the hearing of the ear; But now mine eye seeth thee: Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent In dust and ashes. It may be asked. Of what sin is Job here repenting? Job, conscious of innocence from any sin that would be commensurate with the judgment visited on him, has passionately longed to come into the presence of his Judge. Miraculously, this longing has now been satisfied. But in the immediate presence of God innocence feels itself guilty, and repents in dust and ashes. Here drama stops, and we return to narrative story for the Epilogue. STORY EPILOGUE And it was so, that after the Lord had spoken these words unto Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, ''My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath. Now there- fore, take unto you seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my 460 is the picture of suffering sent, in the counsels of providence, upon a man, not because of sin, but because of his righteousness. Suffer- ing thus appears as a test of saintship; the test made the more severe as the saintship is stronger to endure it. If this idea of making experiments on character seems harsh, it must be remem- bered that it is no more than is impHed in calHng this Hfe a state of probation. One use of trouble is to develop character: with the preciousness of character no material prosperity can compare. But it is involved in this train of thought that, when the experi- ment has done its work, the original prosperity must be restored. 462 NOTES The reader will observe that the Notes which follow are of two kinds: (/) Notes to Particular Passages or Books of Scripture, cited by pages ; and (2) General Notes {commencing page ^og) on points common to many books. 463 NOTES TO PARTICULAR PASSAGES OR BOOKS Notes to the Historic Outline Page 9. Book of Genesis. — This first book of the Bible must be thought of as in two parts. The Historic Outline really begins with the Call of Abraham; what precedes this is the Preface to the Old Testament as a whole. It con- templates the world before the appearance in it of the Chosen Nation. Page 9. The World before the Call of Abraham. — This prefatory mat- ter differs from what follows in regard to two important points. As to Covenants. This is the key word to the Bible, which is concerned with covenants between God and man: covenant with a Nation (the Old Testament) and with a spiritual People (New Testament). But it gives recognition to covenantal relations between God and men outside the chosen people. In this Preface we have covenants between God and all mankind as represented in common ancestors; at first Adam, and after the Flood, Noah. As to the Prefatory Stories. It is a clear principle of the Bible to use Story for the emphatic points of History. From the Call of Abraham onwards these Bible stories are to be understood as records of events. But ancient literature is distinguished by its use of Symbolic Stories, in which the form of story is thrown over philosophic reflections. There has always been a great difference of opinion among Bible readers as to whether these stories in the Preface to the O. T. are to be understood as records or symbolic stories. Without deciding this disputed question it may be well to explain what is meant by calling these symbolic. The Historic Outhne, which is the framework binding together the elements of the O. T., commences with the Call of Abraham. The Preface may be interpreted as reflections on what the world was before the appearance of Abraham. — i. There is first the Creation of the World. This does not read like a mere record: it is a celebration [see note below] of the harmony of the universe with God as its Creator. — 2. From the Bible point of view the next stage would be the appearance of evil in this good universe. The Story of the Temptation suggests symbolism especially at two points: (a) the mention of a serpent speaking (without anything to call attention to the miraculous nature of such an incident); (b) the designation of a tree as "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." — 3. Sin so far is a principle; it solidifies into crime in the Story of Cain and Abel: a typical picture of family jealousy becoming in a moment of passion a criminal act which cannot be recalled. — 4. The Flood. The traditions of all nations include the sweeping away of an early generation by water; the Biblical story is eminently reasonable in the way it lays stress on the contrast of corrupt and righteous, the preservation of all types of life, the renewal of God's covenant with Noah, as new ancestor of mankind. This Story of the Flood almost announces itself as a symbolic story by attaching to God's covenant 464 <§- Genesis with Noah the perpetual symbol of the rainbow. — 5. There still remains another preliminary stage: there must be nations in the world before there can be a chosen nation. The symboHsm of Babel is just suited to emphasize diversity of language as the main factor underlying differences of nations. With this the Preface terminates, and the Call of Abraham follows immediately. Page 9. The Creation of the World.— This Story of the Creation reads like a chant, with refrains repeated, one at the beginning and one at the end of each 'day'; thus: I A nd God said — I A nd God said — [ [Creation of Light] 1 [Creation of Lights] And there was evening and there was And there was evening and there was morning, one day morning, a fourth day [ A nd God said — [ A nd God said — j [Creation of the Firmament j [Creation of Life in the Firmament [ dividing waters from waters] [ and in the waters] And there was evening and there was And there was evening and there was morning, a second day morning, a fifth day [ A nd God sa id — [ A nd God said — -j [Creation of Land] \ [Creation of Life on Land] [And God said — [And God said — [Creation of Vegetation, Climax [Creation of Man, Climax of of inanimate Nature] animate Nature] And there was evening and there was And there was evening and there was morning, a third day morning, the sixth day A glance at the above scheme shows how the Creation thus described falls into two similar parts, the first day corresponding with the fourth, the second with the fifth, the third with the sixth. The impression left upon our minds is (i) that the whole universe is one harmonious plan, (2) that each portion of this universe is God's own work, (3) that an evolution runs through the whole, from the single creation of light to a climax in man, the image of the Creator. — The closing paragraph, with its six days of work and one of rest, brings out the great law of life which we call the week. — A firmament . . . let it divide the the waters from the waters. The word firmament means barrier: the rain clouds [waters above the firmament] float upon the expanse of air, the seas and rivers [waters tiftder the firmament] are below it. Page 12. Story of Babel. — They found a plain in the land of Shinar: this was the old Jewish word for what the moderns would call Mesopotamia. — And the Lord came down to see the city . . . and the Lord said, Behold, they are one people, etc. This is an example of a type of phraseology which is found in various parts of the Bible, the misreading of which has been the cause of grave errors of interpretation. The constant thought of the Bible is that a personal God is the sole ruler of the universe, as against the conception of other literatures which, besides personal deities, recognized impersonal forces like Destiny, Fate, Chance. It follows that anything appearing in the constitution of the 465 Notes to Particular Books -g> world can be referred to God as its sole origin, occurring by his action or his permission. Similar phraseology is seen where it is said that God ''hardened Pharaoh's heart"; or where, in the Call of the Prophet Isaiah (above, page i8i), God says to him, "Make the heart of this people fat, and close their eyes, etc." Modern speech would express this by saying how it is a "law" of psychology that resistance to spiritual appeals hardens the heart. Whatever is a "law" in the constitution of God's universe the Bible refers to as the action of God. The misinterpretation lies in treating as if it were a direct act of God something which merely follows from the freedom of the will which God has made part of the constitution of his world. The present case is an extreme example: the gradual divergences in the language of mankind, inherent in the constitution of man, are symbolically presented as brought about by God. — Therefore the name of it was called ' Babel,' because the Lord did there ^confound.' The O. T. is full of this etymological play upon words; in the present work quotation marks are used to indicate the exact point. ['Babel' . . . 'confound']. — This Story of Babel has in the New Testament its counterpart in the Incident of Pentecost: the varied nations are to be drawn together again, not to uniformity of language, but to a spiritual unity transcending Unguistic and national differences. [N. T. Volume, page 250.] Page 13. The Patriarchs. — As long as the descendants of Abraham are an aggregation of families the constitution of the Chosen People is 'patriarchal.' This implies two things: (a) the single family under headship of a father repre- sents local government; (b) beyond this there is an advance to what in the end will be national government by the recognition of Abraham, or his oldest representative, as exercising a vague authority over all other families. Page 13. Wooing of Rebekah. — Two points should be considered in refer- ence to each Bible story: (i) its position in the Historic Outline; (2) how it is a reflection of manners and life. The second is very obvious in the Wooing of Re- bekah. The connection of this with history is the care exercised in guarding the purity of the coming race; for the first mother that has to be chosen they go back to the country from which Abraham had migrated. Page 17. The Intercepted Blessing. — The Patriarch, or nearest represen- tative of Abraham, transmits his authority by the "blessing of the firstborn." In the present case this is intercepted by the fraud of Jacob. Jacob becomes the next ancestor in the descent of the Chosen People. But races that will in future encounter this Chosen People as neighbors or rivals are derived from other descendants of Abraham. Esau is the ancestor of the Edomites. [Compare Book of Obadiah, page 267.] The Ishmaelites (a name for various Arabian tribes) are descended from the son of x\braham by his slave wife Hagar. The Moabites and x\mmonites are descended from Lot, a kinsman of Abraham who joined his mission. Page 18. And he called the name of that place Beth-el. The word means 'House of God.' Page 18. Israel. In primitive life when names were supposed to describe personalities it was natural for some spiritual experience to lead to a change of 466 <§- Genesis name. ' Abram ' = * lofty father'; 'Abraham' = 'father of a multitude of na- tions.' 'Jacob' = 'supplanter'; Israel' = 'one who has striven with God.' The reference is to a vision in which this Jacob wrestled with an angel representative of God, and prevailed in obtaining a blessing. From this ' Israel ' the Chosen People come to be permanently named: the 'Children of Israel.' Pages 19 to 34. Story of Joseph and his Brethren. — This is one of the most beautiful stories in all literature, (i) It has an important place in history, Joseph being a Unk between the Children of Israel and the empire of Egypt. (2) Note the character of Joseph, how he makes an impression on all with whom he comes into contact. (3) Note also the sketches of varied life which make a background to the story as it moves along — such as glimpses of wandering shepherd life, trading caravans, palace life in Egypt. (4) There is the interest of dreams, five in all, mysterious foretellings which gradually become clear as they are fulfilled. (5) At last we have a double, or, as it is called, 'ironic' situation, when Joseph recognizes his brethren but is not recognized by them. This situation of affairs, when it has once arisen, is prolonged to the utmost length by Joseph's conflict of feelings, between resentment and family affection. A climax is found when, among the very men who once united to enslave their brother Joseph, one is now found consenting to be a slave in order to deliver their brother Benjamin. (6) Beyond all other interests there is that of the providential over- ruling of human events; see page 31: And God sent me before you to preserve you a remnant in the earth . . . so now it was not you that sent me hither, but God. What we call ' Plot ' in art is the reflection of ' Providence ' in real life. Page 22. Do not interpretations belong to God? In the Book of Eccle- siasticus (above, page 422) there is a short essay on Dreams, warning against them as mere vanities. But an exception is made: "If they be not sent from the Most High." As Providence can bring about its pur- poses by what seem small 'accidents,' so God can use the vanities of dream- ing as means of communicating truth to favored souls. The same idea is found in Daniel (page 116). — Page 26. Joseph nmde himself strange unto [his brethren]. The word strange mesins, foreign (French etrange). Joseph spoke through an interpreter, etc. — Page 30. Is not this it in which my lord drinketh, and whereby he indeed divineth? . . . Know ye not that such a man as I can indeed divine? Joseph's steward in his simplicity, and Joseph himself speaking ironically, are talking from the Egyptian stand- point. The cup was no doubt carved with idol images, by which accord- ing to Egyptian magic future events could be guessed. — Page 33. They came into the land of Goshen. A district of the country lying between Egypt and Canaan. Page 34. The Exodus. — Books of Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers. — The reader must distinguish "The Exodus" from the Biblical Book of Exodus. The former describes an era of more than forty years, during which the Chosen People were passing through the wilderness, and were gradually being consol- idated into a nation. This covers three Biblical books: Exodus, Leviticus, 467 Notes to Particular Books ■Q' Numbers. What appear as the first five books of the Bible are often called The Pentateuch. In the original Hebrew Bible all this was continuous, and known as The Law, or Law of Moses. The division into five books comes from the 'Septuagint,' the translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek, at a time when Greek was the Hterary language of Jews and Gentiles. [N. T. volume, page 7.] Accordingly, the titles of the separate books are Greek. Genesis = origin. Exodus = eTmgYa.tion. Numbers = sta.t\stics,. Deuteronomy = second law (for the special significance of this see below, page 471). Leviticus is so called from its containing much about duties of the Levites. The tribe of Levi was different from the other tribes: no land of its own was assigned to it, but it was to be spread through the whole of the Holy Land, for the purpose of reli- gious duties. One family of this tribe, the descendants of Aaron, constituted the priesthood. The rest of the tribe, under this name of Levites, had minor religious duties, especially duties of police and singing. (Compare page 133.) Page 35. Story of the Plagues of Egypt. This emphasizes the beginning of the Exodus, presenting the Children of Israel as slaves; the Story of Balaam illuminates the completed process by which they have become one of the for- midable nations of the world. — The plagues of Egypt strongly affected the imagination of ancient Israel. Besides the epic description of them here in the Book of Exodus, they are lyrically presented in two of the National Anthems [pages 54 and 98]. They appear again at length in the Wisdom of Solomon. It is a very interesting literary exercise to compare the different treatments of the same matter. Thus, the account in Exodus contains a very striking phrase (in reference to the Plague of Darkness): ^^ darkness which might he felt." In the book of Wisdom this idea is, by a process of imaginative analysis, carried forward into an elaborate picture of all that the Egyptians may be supposed to have felt during the horror of this darkness. When lawless men had supposed that they held a holy nation in their power, they themselves, prisoners of darkness, and bound in the fetters of a long night, close kept beneath their roofs, lay exiled from the eternal providence. For while they thought that they were unseen in their secret sins, they were sundered one from another by a dark curtain of forgetfulness, stricken with terrible awe, and sore troubled by spectral forms. For neither did the dark recesses that held them guard them from fears; but sounds rushing down rang around them, and phantoms appeared, cheerless with unsmiling faces . And no force of fire pre- vailed to give them light, neither were the brightest flames of the stars strong enough to illumine that gloomy night: but only there appeared to them the glimmering of a fire self -kindled, full of fear; and in terror they deemed the things which they saw to be ivorsc than that sight on which they coidd not gaze. For even if no troublous thing affrighted them, yet, scared with the creepings of vermin and hissings of serpents, they perished for very trembling, refusing even to look on the air, which could on no side he escaped. But they, all through the night which was powerless indeed, and which came upon them out of the recesses of powerless Hades, all sleeping the same sleep, now were haunted by monstrous apparitions, and now were paralyzed by their soul's surrendering; for fear 468 § Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers sudden and nnlookcd for came upon them. So then every man, whosoever it might he, sinking doivn in his place, was kept in ward, shut np in that prison which was barred not with iron: for whether he were a husbandman, or a shep- herd, or a laborer whose toils were in the wilderness, he was overtaken, and endured that inevitable necessity; for with one chain of darkness were they all hound. Whether there were a whistling wind, or a melodious noise of birds among the spreading branches, or a measured fall of water running violently, or a harsh crashing of rocks hurled dozvn, or the swift course of animals bound- ing along unseen, or the voice of wild beasts harshly roaring, or an echo rebound- ing from the hollows of the mountains: all these things paralyzed them with terror. For the whole world beside was enlightened with clear light, and was occupied with nnhindered works; while over them alone was spread a heavy night, — an image of the darkness that should afterward receive them. But yet heavier than darkness were they tmto themselves. Both treatments are equally fine, and the contrast enhances both. Page 35. The Passover. — This is the name of the chief festival of the Is- raelites, in commemoration of the departure from Egypt. The name is con- nected with the last of the Plagues of Egypt, by which the firstborn of the Egyptians were destroyed. "For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel" [of the Israelites' houses]. "... the Lord will pass over the door, and will not sufifer the de- stroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you." A feature of the festival was the eating of unleavened bread, symbolizing the hurry of the departure. "And the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneadingtroughs being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders." Page 35. Song of Triumph at the Red Sea. — ^This is one of the grand lyrics of the Bible. It also is interesting to the literary student as throwing light upon the evolution of poetry. At first it seems strange to find, in such a primitive epoch of history, a poem that appears so advanced and modern. Not only is it late in general style, but the latter part of it speaks of the panic of Moabites and Canaanites which would only happen a generation after the event of crossing the Red Sea. The primitive form of poetry is what is called the ' Ballad Dance ' : a combination of verse with musical accompaniment and the significant movements of the body which in ancient poetry (and in the Bible) are called 'dancing.' An explanation, like a footnote, follows the Song: Aiui Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances. And Miriam answered them. Sing ye to the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously; The horse aiui his rider hath he thrown into the sea. This represents the simple Ballad Dance which would be used on the occasion itself, of which the sole words would be the couplet given above. The rest of the 469 Notes to Particular Books ^ Song as it appears in Exodus is made by what are technically called 'accre- tions.' This is one of the modes by which the passage is made from primitive poetry, which is communal, to the individual poetry of later times. In per- formances of the Ballad Dance there would be pauses, and individual speakers would recite matter of praise, short or longer ejaculations; the dance would then be resumed in celebration of what had been advanced by the individual speakers. The Song as it stands in the Book of Exodus is made up of successive accretions of this kind, which have been added all through the generations to the late period when the collection of Biblical books was made. It is instructive to read side by side with this Song of Triumph another lyric poem of the Bible which also goes back to the era of primitive poetry. This is the first of the four National Anthems, the Song of the Wilderness (see page 41). The structure of this is represented in the present work by the modern terms 'Solo' and 'Chorus.' What is assigned to the Chorus is another Ballad Dance, of which the words are — For his mercy endureth for ever. The 'Solo' passages correspond to the 'accretions' in the Song of Triumph; but there is a difference. If the reader will follow these Solo passages apart from the Chorus parts, he will find that they read as continuous matter; and further, in the latter part of the anthem the grammar of this continuous statement is interrupted by the breaking in of the Chorus. To him which smote great kings — and slew famous kings — Sihon king of the Amorites — and Og King of Bashan — and gave their land for an heritage — even an heritage unto Israel his servant. This method of 'interruptions' of the Ballad Dance is another of the modes by which primitive poetry develops into the later poetry of individual composition. Lyric poetry can be fully appreciated only when it is spoken. If readers will recite these poems, taking parts as Soloists and Chorus, they will catch the full effect. It is hardly necessary to remark how magnificently this grand Song of Triumph has been utiUzed by Handel in his oratorio "Israel in Egypt." Page 38. Law of the Ten Commandments from Sinai. — These Ten Com- mandments are the foundation of the Divine legislation for Israel. It should be noted that, as given in this work, certain parts are printed in capital letters. This is connected with a matter of great importance for our understanding of Biblical prophecy. Prophets are 'mouthpieces of God' (compare page 144). In performing this function the prophets regularly mingle the actual Divine message they have received with their own words of explanation or enforce- ment. Usually, the two are inextricably blended; but that there is a distinction is shown by the usage of a special word [translated in the A. V. by the English word burden, in the R. V. by the word oracle] to express the actual message of God, as distinguished from the prophetic comment. [The interpretation of an important psalm turns upon this usage: see below, page 500.] This distinction applies to the Ten Commandments: the capital letters are for the actual words of God. These commandments are represented as spoken by God amid the thunders of Sinai; and again as written "by the finger of God" upon tables of stone. Yet the argumentary style of certain passages, especially in the second 470 § Deuteronomy and fourth commandments, seems hardly compatible with such description. The difficulty ceases if all that is not capitalized is understood as words of en- forcement by the prophet Moses. A confirmation of this suggestion is found in this fact. The Ten Commandments appear twice, once in Exodus and once in Deuteronomy. In both cases they are introduced by the words And God said. Yet (in the fourth commandment) the reason assigned for the observance of the Sabbath is entireh' different in the two versions. In Exodus, the Sabbath is to commemorate God resting from the work of Creation; in Deuteronomy, it is to be in memory of the slavery of Eg3TDt. This ceases to be strange if that part of the second commandment is the comment of Moses, not the actual words of God. It may be suggested that the use of the Ten Commandments on the walls of churches would be much assisted if the presentation were limited to the actual Divine words. Page 39. Story of Balaam. — This is fully explained above. The reader should note how the narrative breaks from prose to verse to convey the succes- sive messages with which Balaam has been inspired. Page 41. National Hymn of the Wilderness. — This is one of four Na- tional Anthems (compare pages 53, 96, 107) appearing in the collected lyrics of Israel. The thought of these National Anthems is always the history of Israel; the four are adapted to four stages in that history. In the present case, the matter of the song is confined to the experience of the wanderings in the wilderness; there is no hint of the passage of the Jordan. The structure of this Song is based upon the Strophe: see page 511.— ^He giveth food to all flesh: an allusion to the rain of Manna. Page 43. Book of Deuteronomy. — I. The title of the book. As pointed out above (page 468), the titles in our Bibles of the five books of Moses are taken from the Greek Bible (or Septuagint). In the present case the title is curious. The book describes a 'Book of the Covenant' given by Moses into the custody of the Levites and Elders. This Co\'enant makes provision for the possibility of a King in Israel; and in this connection appears a passage which in the R. V. [translated of course from the original Hebrew] reads thus: When he [the King] sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, he shall write him a copy of this law in a hook, out of that which is before the priests the Levites, etc. The corresponding part of the Septuagint uses a Greek word deuteronomion which means, not copy of the law, but second law, or repeated law. Upon this mistranslation in the Greek Bible the traditional title of this Book of Deu- teronomy is founded. II. The character of the book as a Hterary work has been fully described above. Though the 'Book of the Covenant' is the nucleus of the whole, yet, as a piece of literature, Deuteronomy is a succession of orations and songs, embodying a great dramatic movement. This idea of a drama built up of ora- tions is unique in Uterature. III. Origin of Deuteronomy. — The first known appearance of this book in 471 Notes to Particular Books -g> history is in the reign of Josiah, as related in full in the Second Book of Kings. [Above, page 105.] The workmen, repairing the Temple, discover a 'Book of the Law'; what is thus discovered leads to a great revival of religion, and makes a turning point in the history of Israel. It is clear that the book so discovered is either our Book of Deuteronomy, or (what is the same thing for practical pur- poses) a book of the whole Law of Moses in which what corresponds to Deu- teronomy is the new or unfamiliar part. This has led to various theories as to the origin of the book, chiefly two alternative views, (i) That the portion of the Law of Moses corresponding to our Deuteronomy had been lost, and is re- discovered on this occasion. (2) That Deuteronomy is the product of prophets in or about the time of Josiah, who have worked up the traditions (appearing in Exodus and Leviticus) as to the Farewell of Moses to Israel into a new form. Such re-working up of past prophecy is a regular and most important part of the activity of the prophets. [See pages 145-8.] Either of these alternative views would fit in with the extraordinary influence of the book in and after the reign of Josiah. Page 43. Deposition of Moses. — Certain words recur several times in Deu- teronomy in which Moses says, "The Lord was angry with me for your sakes." What they imply is that Moses is included with the generation of Israel who are excluded from the Promised Land. The incident at the back of this is thus related in the Book of Numbers (20^). . And the LORD spake' unto Moses, saying, Take the rod, and assemble the congregation, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes, that it give forth its water. . . .And Moses and Aaron gathered together the assembly before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; shall we bring you forth water out of this rock? A nd Moses lifted up his hand, and smote the rock with his rod twice: and water came forth abun- dantly. . . . And the LORD said unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed not in me, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them. However this incident may be interpreted, it clearly identifies Moses with the murmuring people in exclusion from the land of Canaan. Page 50. — There is none like unto God, O Jeshurun. This name occurs a few times in the Bible as a term of endearment for Israel. It is a word signifying 'righteous' with an intensive termination, — Page 50. — The eternal God is thy dwelling place, etc. See page 281 for the reflection of this in two of the psalms. Page 50. The Theocracy Established. — This word 'Theocracy' should be carefully noted, as one of the key words to the whole Bible. It should be compared with such words as 'democracy-,' 'monarchy' and the like; but implies a form of government different from all these, there being no ruler except the invisible God, whose will is made known through intermediaries, such as proph- ets. The Book of Deuteronomy is devoted to this idea of Israel as a theocracy. But from this sublime ideal there is a gradual declension to the conception of 472 <§- Joshua, Judges, Samuel kings like the kings of other nations. When such kings are granted to Israel (for the God of the Bible will have none but willing service) there arises an opposition of prophets, who become 'mouthpieces of God' in the sense of bat- tUng for the idea of the theocracy as against secular monarchy. This continues to the Captivity. With the Return from Captivity we have theocracy in a modified sense: those who return are not a State, but a Church of God. The New Testament opens with the idea of a 'Kingdom of God' or 'Kingdom of Heaven' upon earth. This theme fills the whole New Testament, attaining a climax where the Book of Revelation presents Jesus Christ as "King of kings and lord of lords." [N. T. volume, Index under Theocracy.] Page 50. The Judges — Books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel. — ^The reader must distinguish between "The Judges" and the Biblical Book of Judges. "The Judges" is used to describe the intermediate era, between Deuteronomy and the establishment of Kings. It covers the three books of the Bible named above. The Book of Joshua deals with Joshua as successor of Moses, and con- tinues to the conquest of Canaan. The book called 'Judges' deals with the rule of the officials so called. With the book called after Samuel we have one who is both a judge and a prophet. The First Book of Samuel also deals with the reign of Saul, who may be called a tentative king: he is anointed a king, but reigns under the prophetic tutelage of Samuel. The Second Book of Samuel opens with the accession of David, from whom the era of Israel's kings is dated. Page 61. The ark of the covenant. — This was a sacred chest, first appearing in connection with the Tabernacle erected in the wilderness. It contained (among other things) the tablets inscribed by God with the Ten Command- ments; it was thus always treated as an outward symbol of the Presence of God. Page 53. National Hymn of the Promised Land. — ^This is the second of the four National Anthems (above, page 471); its matter is occupied with Israel in the Land of Promise. — He called for a famine upon the land . . . he turned their heart to hate his people: this is another example of the phraseology men- tioned above (pp. 465-6), by which is attributed to the act of God all that has come about in the course of history as controlled by God's providence. Page 55. Song of Deborah. — This is another of the grand lyrics of antiq- uity. Its structure is sufficiently indicated in the text, as antiphonal between a Chorus of Men, led by Barak, and a Chorus of Women, led by Deborah. When this fundamental point is remembered, the careful reader can see fine effects of meaning in the transitions from one chorus to another. — The matter of the song is a degree less shocking than appears at first, since the preceding narrative has hinted that Heber the Kenite was a traitor to Israel : his wife becomes a traitor on the other side. But of course her act remains an atrocious violation of hospitality. The exultation over this deed comes from men hot with the spirit of battle. Page 56. Lord, when thou wentest out of Seir, etc. — The great odes of Israel would commence with the thought of God entering the land of his Israel from adjoining regions. Compare Book of Habakkuk (page 257). 473 Notes to Particular Books § Regularl}', in the Bible, the advance of God is accompanied with convul- sions of nature. — In the days of Shamgar: name of a previous judge. — Out of Machir came governors: Machir (in this enumeration of tribes) refers to Manasseh. — The stars in their courses fought against Sisera. A reference to a violent thunderstorm, which by flooding the battle field enabled the foot soldiers of Israel to exterminate the enemy who had chariots of iron. — Curse ye Mcroz: though the place has not been identified, the context shows it to refer to one of the allies of Israel which drew back at the critical moment. Page 60. Jotham's Fable. — It is remarkable that in Greek literature fables (e. g., those of ^Esop) are founded on animals, whereas the fables of the Bible rest upon vegetable life. The reader will catch the irony of the phrase wave to and fro: the trees of real importance are too busy for the idle ceremony of king- ship! Page 61. Samson . . . Delilah. — The reader should compare Milton's Drama of Samson Agonistes. Page 65. David's Lament. — This beautiful elegy has the structural interest of an augmenting refrain. This refrain seems to rest for its effect upon the bringing together two ideas, like a crescendo and diminuendo in music: How are the mighty < > fallen! This fragmentary refrain, as it is at the beginning, is enlarged as the elegy progresses to — How are the ?nighty < > fallen in the midst of the battle/ and at the end to a complete stanza How are the mighty — Fallen! And the weapons of war — Perished! Page 67. David's Inauguration of Jerusalem. — This is the main incident in David's reign. It is difficult for the modern reader to realize that Jerusalem was not at first a Jewish city. It was an ancient fortress of the Jebusites; to cap- ture it was the chief military achievement of the time. With a change of name David makes this into the metropolis of the Theocracy; it has so continued in the hearts of men ever since. The inauguration was at once a religious and a military ceremony. The presentation of the incident in this work is made by putting together a few Hues from // Samuel, chapter 6, and certain psalms that seem appropriate taken from the collected lyrics of Israel. We thus have (as it were) the programme and book of words of a ceremonial day in the remotest antiquity. — Starting of the Procession. When they that hare the ark . . . had gone six paces he sacrificed, etc. The purpose of the day's ceremonial was to 474 Then the whole army shouts the watchword of the day — The Lord of Hosts, He is the King of Glory. The ancient gates open, and Jehovah enters his city. — Dedication Hymn for the Tabernacle. In default of a Temple a temporary tabernacle receives the ark, and there is another sacrifice and anthem. The first part of Psalm 132 just gives what is required. [The latter part of that psalm is an addition in the next generation for the Temple of Solomon.] Arise, 0 LORD, into thy resting place. This would come to the audience of the day as an echo from the ceremonial of the ark in the wilderness wanderings. Compare (Numbers 10 ^^ — ) : And it came to pass, when the ark set forward, that Moses said: Rise lip, O LORD, And let thine enemies be scattered; And let them that hate thee flee before thee. And when it rested, he said: Return, O LORD, Unto the ten thousands of the thousands of Israel, — David dismisses the people, the religious ceremonial being concluded. There remains the Dedication Vow for David's Palace. For this Psalm loi is most appropriate. While it is general in phraseology, and would suit other kings on other occasions, yet the final line — To cut of all the workers of iniquity from the CITY OF THE LORD could never be so appropriate as on this day, the ceremony of which had con- secrated a heathen fortress as the City of Jehovah. Page 71. A Song of Victory. — This is another of the grand lyrics of Scrip- ture. It is not a celebration of any particular victory, but a song in which David sums up the mercies of a lifetime. After opening ejaculations of praise we have an idealized picture of trouble: then all nature is convulsed as God descends to the sufferer who has called on him. — He heard my voice out of his temple: compare the Prayer of Jonah (page 263), and Solomon's Prayer (page 76). — The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; there is no self-laudation in this, but David recognizes that it is the cause, not the individual, who has triumphed. Page 74. The sword shall never depart from thine house: compare pages 141-2. Page 75. Solomon's Dedicatory Prayer. — The temple is the centre of the whole political and religious life of Israel. The prayer associates it with in- dividual sin and sacrifice, oaths of judicial proceedings, war and defeat, famine or plague, admission of strangers into the community, and the possibility of captivity for the nation. It is a masterpiece of religious oratory. Page 78. To your tents, O Israel. — This has always remained as a formula of revolt. 476 I <§- Samuel, Kings Page 77. The Schism: Kingdoms of Israel and Judah side by side.— The old idea of manifesting zeal for Bible study by learning off the list of kings of Is- rael and Judah is not here recommended; for all this belongs only to the historic framework of the O. T., while the real substance lies in the stories and songs. Still, it is well for the Bible student to have some familiarity with the names of these kings, and they are here appended. The sacred narrative endeavors, so far as it is practicable, to keep the two kingdoms contemporaneously parallel; indicating for each king that he did what was "right" or "not right" in the sight of the Lord— that is, that he reigned in the spirit of the Theocracy, or the reverse. [The chief names are capitalized.] DAVID SOLOMON {Judah) Rehoboam: not right Abijam (or Abijah) : not right Asa: right Jehoshaphat: right {Israel) Jeroboam: not right Nadab : not right Baasha: not right Elah: not right Zimri: not right Omri: not right Ahab: not right Ahaziah: not right Jehoram (or Joram) : not right [Conspiracy (incited by Elisha) of Jehu against the kings of both Judah and Israel] [Usurpation of Athaliah the Queen- Jehu: right, not right (II Kings lo 2«) Mother] Jehoash (or Joash) : right Amaziah: right Azariah (or Uzziah) : right Jehoahaz: not right Jehoash (or Joash) : not right Jeroboam II: not right Zechariah: not right Shallum: not right Menahem: not right Pekahiah: not right Pekah: not right Jotham: right Ahaz: not right Hoshea: not right. — Israel carried away into captivity. 477 Notes to Particular Books -g> Hezekiah: right Manasseh: not right. (But see p. 105 note.) Amon: not right Josiah: right Jehoahaz: not right Jehoiakim: not right Jehoiachin: not right Zedekiah: not right. — Judah carried away into captivity. Page 79. Stories of Elijah. — The stories which enter into the historic outline are the traditional stories of the nation. In a few cases we find ' cycles' of stories, centering around such names as Samson, Elijah, Elisha. Page 83. The LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the moun- tains, etc. — This is the chief of the passages of the Bible which associate the presence of God with convulsions of nature. Compare in the Book of Job (page 454); and pages 38, 72, 257-9, etc. Page 83. Thou shalt anoint Hazael to he king over Syria, etc. — Possibly the reader may feel disappointment at this conclusion of the impressive scene, for which he has been expecting some spiritual message. The explanation is the function of the prophets as political leaders of opposition (see page 144): the commission here given to Elijah (extending to his successor Elisha) really sums up the whole history of the northern kingdom to its fall. Page 86. Ascent of Elijah. The sons of the prophets. — ^This phrase is regularly applied to companies of prophets who live together (as if in monasteries). One purpose, no doubt, of this common life was practice in histrionic art, which is conspicuous in the utterances of prophets. — A double portion of thy spirit, etc. A regular phrase for the inheritance of the firstborn. — The chariots of Israel and the horsemen thereof: compare with this the Story of the Expedition against Elisha, and the note on it (pages 94, 479). Page 87. Story of Micaiah. — This is one of the most impressive of the prophetic stories, but needs care on the reader's part to prevent misconception. Is there not here besides a prophet of the LoRD? The reader will note that the institution of prophecy applies to false gods, as well as to God: compare Elijah and the prophets of Baal. In the present case, the false prophets are a crowd, Micaiah is a solitary individual. — Zedekiah . . . made him horns of iron, etc. This is an example of the symbolic texts of the prophets: compare page 163. — / saw the LoRD sitting on his throne, etc. Here care is required to distinguish the form and the matter of the prophetic message with which Micaiah is suddenly inspired, (i) The form of his words might be described as a Vision Parable. The reader must take in the whole scene. There is the unwonted spectacle of two kings sitting in state at the gate of Samaria, with their armies round them, and busy aides-de-camp coming and going. Micaiah transfers the scene, in parable, to heaven: Jehovah presiding over the hosts of heaven, angelic aides-de- camp coming and going. The question is, how to lure Ahab to his doom. When other means have been rejected, one of the angelic messengers suggests that he 478 <§- Books of Kings shall be a lying spirit in the mouths of prophets: the suggestion is approved. Of course, this is an extreme example of the special phraseology of the Bible (com- pare pp. 465-6), by which what takes place in the ordinary course of providence is spoken of as the act of the Divine author of providence. This brings us to (2) the m.atter of the prophetic message: that of all forces making for evil nothing is so potent as false prophecy, for this is corruption of prophecy, the regenerating power in the world. The Divine "approval" is nothing more than the recognition of this fundamental truth. Page 92. Naaman and Gehazi. — ^This familiar story of our childhood has been splendidly dramatized by Prof. Henry Van Dyke in his House of Rimnwn: a valuable side light for the Scriptu e story. Readers with original creative power will find Scripture stories fine material to work upon. Page 94. The Expedition against Elisha. — This is another of the specially impressive prophetic stories; and again needs care in interpretation. The reader should note the distinction (above, page 144) between the Earlier and the Later Prophets. The Earlier Prophets, as political leaders, are compara- tively simple in their words and thoughts. The Later Prophecy uses the whole range of poetry and imagination as vehicle for the Di\ine message. The present story seems to suggest a transition from the one to the other, (i) Note the suggestive words: And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man . . . and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire rouiui about Elisha. (2) Note also the higher spiritual plane of the coming prophecy. The course of the story has brought the Syrian foe into the very heart of the city, and the King of Israel is about to exterminate them. But Elisha presents the novel thought of forbearance as something higher than vengeance: Wouldest thou smite those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow? set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master. How the suggestion appeals to the king is seen in a single word, "He prepared great provision for them." It appeals also to the foe: And the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel. Page 95. The Assyrian brings from Babylon, etc. — Without going into detail the student should understand the general situation. We have a chain of independent small kingdoms — Israel, Judah, Syria, Moab, Edom, Philistia, etc. — and at either end of the chain two great empires: Egypt on the south, and on the northeast what appears variously as Assyria, Babylon, Chaldea, etc. The perpetual question is whether the smaller kingdoms can resist absorption into one of these empires. Of the two, P^gypt is for the most part passive: its danger is the moral corruption of self-indulgence. The other empire is aggres- sive: in the end both Israel and Judah are absorbed. Thus in prophetic poetry the north, or north and east, are the quarters from which danger is apprehetuied. Page 96. National Hymn of the Kingdom of Judah. — This is the third of the four National Anthems of Israel (compare pages 41 and 53). It is con- venient to read in connection with it the fourth of these anthems: the National Hymn of the Captivity (page 107). The first of these celebrates the rejection of the northern tribes, and the fresh call of a chosen people for Jehovah, viz. the House of David and the Tribe of 479 Notes to Particular Books @ Judah. It is one of the grandest lyrics of the Bible, but is apt to lose its effect on the modern reader from his unfamiliarity with the rhythmic structure of the poem. We here have, not stanzas, or antistrophic effect, but the pendulum rhythm of which Hebrew poetry is so fond: that is, the swaying of alternate strophes between opposite thoughts. In the present case the swaying is between the Divine energy on behalf of Israel on the one hand [strophes indented to the left], and on the other hand the human frailty which defeats the Divine purpose [strophes indented to the right]. Elaborate Introduction: where it reaches the words not stedfast the pendulum structure begins. Human frailty: the defection of Ephraim like armed warriors de- serting on the field of battle. [See page 513.] Divine energy: the wonder of the deliverance from Egypt. Human frailty in the wilderness: dis- trust of God and lust after flesh. Divine energy of punishment: their lust satisfied and turned to a plague. Divine energy of judgment: the mar- vels of plagues on the Egyptians side by side with marvels of protec- tion for Israel. Human frailty: a long course of sin- ing and repenting and sinning yet again. Human frailty in the promised land itself: worship in the high places — withering of the people as their God forsakes them. Final burst of Divine energy: a fresh call : Northern Israel rejected, Judah and the house of David become the people of God. 480 § Books of Kings This Hymn of Judah is recast to make a National Hymn of the Captivity. Introduction, though in form an ascription of praise, yet im- plies the Captivity in the petition to be included in the salva- tion of the Chosen. Then the pendulum structure begins. Divine energy: the glorious deliver- ance of the Red Sea. Divine energy: the wonder-worker of Egypt turns destruction upon his people, but Moses stands in the breach. Divine energy shown in punishment: the plague — but Phinehas inter- poses. Frailty of the people in Egypt, and even at the Red Sea. Frailty: the lusts and envyings of the wilderness. Frailty in faith as to the promised land: with the sin of Baal-Peor. Frailty at Meribah, even Moses giving way — frailty in yielding to the idolatries of Canaan itself. Divine energy of abhorrence: their God gives them into captivity, yet causes them to be pitied of their captors. Conclusion: a brief prayer for deliverance from captivity. Page 99. He forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent which he placed among men. — It is remarkable that the Bible narrative gives no account of a certain incident which appears from several allusions to it: that on the conquest of the Promised Land a tabernacle containing the ark was located at Shiloh, in the eastern part of the land. This must have been the sanctuary of the nation, until the destruction of it, upon which the ark seems to have been lost and recov- ered.— Chose not the tribe of Ephraim but chose the tribe of Judah. 'Ephraim' is the regular name for northern Israel in prophetic poetry: compare in Hosea 481 Notes to Particular Books {g> (pages 175 7). — He chose David . . . and took him from the sheep/olds. Of course, literally this is true of the individual David, when he was chosen for king; it is here applied figuratively to the topic of this Hymn, the rejection of the rest of Israel and fresh call of the tribe of Judah to be the Chosen People. Pages 101, 103. Incident of Sennacherib. — This mysterious incident of over- whelming danger and deliverance strongly affected the imagination of Israel's poets. In secular literature it appears in the well known poem of Lord Byron, one stanza of which is specially fine in its treatment of the mystery: For the angel of Death spread his wings on the blast, And breathed in the face of the foe as he passed; And the eyes of the sleepers wax'd deadly and chill, And their hearts but once heav'd, and forever grew still! Two of the Sennacherib psalms are given above. Note especially the use of crescendo and diminuendo: The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved < > He uttered his voice, the earth melted. And in the other psalms: The kings as- sembled themselves, they passed by together, they saw it< >then were they amazed, they were dismayed, they hasted away, trembling took hold of them, etc. Also note that the military name The LORD of Hosts is interpreted of God as a warrior who wars against war. Page 107. National Hymn of the Captivity. — This has been treated above (page 481). — Then stood up Phinehas. and executed judgment. The allusion is to what is told in Numbers 25 ': how this priest slew two evil doers and so brought about a cessation of the plague. — At the waters of Meribah: this was the scene of the sin of Moses and Aaron (see note above, page 472). Page 110. — Remember . . . against the children of Edom: compare the Proph- ecy of Obadiah (page 267). Page 114. Dream of the Tree, etc. — The reader will note that this story is not narrated like the rest, but is supposed to be put forth in the proclamation of Nebuchadnezzar himself. Page 119. And this is the writing that was inscribed. — In the presentation of this incident I have followed an ancient tradition. If the reader tries to follow the incident with his imagination he will encounter a certain difficulty. Daniel is not present when the hand is seen writing: all that he sees is what remains written on the wall. Two alternatives present themselves: (i) If the writing was in some known language, the mystery being the meaning, how is it that the "wise men," whose business it was, should not have put some meaning upon the message, right or wrong? (2) If, on the other hand, we suppose that all that appeared was mysterious scratchings, not making words in any language, why should the whole assembly instantly adopt with enthusiasm Daniel's interpretation, though this implied destruction for them? An ancient tradition offers a solution of this dilemma, contained in the technical term boustrophedon. Some languages read from left to right, others from right to left: we are to sup- pose that the writing on the wall (see page 119) would make sense on neither of these modes of reading. But in very ancient literatures are some that read 482 <§- Daniel, Esther down, up, down, called by the above word which means etymologically "as an ox turns in the furrow." Daniel recognises this in the mysterious handwriting: as he commences his explanation his finger traces the writing down, up, down so that every spectator can now recognize the familiar words Menc, nwne, tekel, upharsin, which signify number, weight, division. Then Daniel interprets the words in a way that appeals to everybody present. Page 125. The Feast of Purim, that is . . . Lots. This is the name given by Jews to the yearly feast in which they celebrate the deliverance from the plot of Haman, thereby showing deep insight into the spirit of the events. Haman had insisted on casting lots to determine the day to be fixed for the extermination of the Jews, he being a worshipper of Fortune, or Chance, as were most peoples of the world outside the influence of the Hebrew religion. This gives a spiritual significance to the whole story, as the triumph of Provi- dence over Chance. Page 126. Seedtime and Harvest. — ^This exquisite song involves two points: (i) The Return was not a single incident, there was a succession of 'returns.' This song comes from those who were left behind in captivity when some of their more fortunate brethren had been delivered. The first sign of 'Return' comes to them like a dream; but they pray for multiplication of returns, till these are like floods of spring time. (2) The stanza — Though he goeth on his way weeping^ Bearing forth the seed; He shall come again with joy, Bringing his sheaves with him — appeals to every reader as a simile, yet it would have tenfold force in distant ages when the agricultural operations of sowing and reaping were celebrated with ceremonies of literal weeping and rejoicing. Page 127. Anthem of the Captivity Brought Back. — The term anthem is used in this work to imply a certain elaboration in lyric form. The present case illustrates what is a common type of lyric movement in the Bible. A song begins with the emotion (say) of deliverance; then, dramatically, goes back in time to the distress from which the speaker has been delivered, using the actual words of his prayer; then returns to the first tone. A close parallel is the Song of Deliver- ance on page 303. Page 131. The Arabians, ayid the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, etc. — A medley of different peoples occupied the Holy Land after the Israelites had been carried into captivity. Page 134. Nehemiah, which was the Tirshatha etc. — ^This was the title reg- ularly given to the deputy governor of Jerusalem appointed by the oriental monarch. Notes to Chapter II Page 152. / will sit upon the mount of congregation in the uttermost parts of the iwrth. — Regularly in prophetic literature the north is the quarter from which danger is looked for. 483 Notes to Particular Books ■§> Page 158. The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses, etc. — The lines which follow give the riddling suggestions of a locust plague. Like the noise of chariots, etc.: this is the crackling sound of a locust swarm. They break not their ranks . . . they burst through the weapons and break not off their course: this is very expressive. Page 161. / will gather all nations . . . into the Valley of Jehoshaphat. — A locality in the neighborhood of Jerusalem had this name; the word means Valley of Jehovah's Decision. This has suggested the idea of the whole scene. Page 165. Take thee a sharp sword, etc. — This latter part of the symbolism seems to refer to what would happen after the city had fallen. Hair is cut off and divided into parts: one represents those who will fall in the burning of the city, one those who will be scattered in exile, a third those that will be slain in flight. A few hairs are secreted for a moment, and yet doomed to perish. Notes to the Prophetic Books Page 175. The Yearning of God. — From the mode in which this is printed the reader will be able to follow the dialogue: not (till the close) dialogue between two individuals, but between the alternating moods of judgment and mercy in the Di\-ine breast. Ephraim stands for northern Israel, the rebellious king- dom.— As they called them, etc. As they (the prophets) called them (the people), so they (the people) went from them (the prophets). Page 176. How shall I make thee as Admah . . . as Zeboim? — Guilty cities mentioned in Genesis, and destroyed by judgment of God. — The LoRD who shall roar like a lion, etc. Not the roaring of terror, but the lioness roaring to bring home her young. Page 176. Let the men that sacrifice kiss the calves. — A passage of recognized obscurity. The calves are no doubt the beast images which Jeroboam, at the time of the schism, set up for worship in northern Israel. The meaning may be merely that the craftsmen who have constructed these images call on the priests to do homage to them. The Greek Bible (Septuagint) interprets as "slayers of men kissing calves:" murderers joining in religious ritual. Page 178. Prepare to meet tiiy God. — ^The style of the prophet Amos is the perfection of sacred rhetoric. This passage is an example. A series of warning judgments which have been unheeded leads to a climax: "Therefore thus vn]l I do unto thee!" But the thus is made the more terrible by being left unde- fined. Page 182. The Great Arraignment. — Seepage 148. The topic is treated in four paragraphs: the prophet's remonstrance — repentance by oblations — repentance of life — corruption redeemed by judgment. — We should have been as Sodom . . . Gomorrah: two guilty cities destroyed in the convulsion of nature described in Genesis; they have ever since been b>"svords for sensual sin. — They shall be ashamed of the oaks . . . the gardens. The idolatries denounced by the prophets, which were accompanied with corrupt morals, were celebrated on mountain tops and in groves. Page 184. Through Judgement to Glory. — This discourse puts the two main ideas of Biblical prophecy (see page iSo): the Golden Age (or Holy ISIountain), and the purging Judgment through which it is to be attained. It is built up on 484 <§- Isaiah the Envelope Figure (see page 511). The opening paragraph of italics is a piece of "floating prophecy," found also in the Book of Micah; the closing passage (in italics) repeats the idea in different language. Between comes the purging Judgment. — Seven ivomcn shall take hold of one man, etc. The reader will note that this is parallel with a corresponding passage (in the fourth paragraph) as to men: wJicn a man shall lake hold of his brother, etc. Page 188. The Covenant with Death. — The guilty rulers are confident that the universal judgment will not touch them, as if they had made a secret treaty with Death. — The discourse has the pendulum structure, by which the thought alternates in successive paragraphs between one and the other of two contrasting themes, in this case between Judgment and Salvation. The prophet is writing for the southern kingdom of Judah. Commencing with the rival kingdom of northern Israel he denounces drunken P^phraim, and how its crown of pride shall be trodden dowTi (Judgment). But (Salvation) there shall be a crown of glor}' for the residue. Now he proceeds to Judgment upon Judah: the drunken rulers who trust to a refuge of lies, which the overflowing scourge shall sweep away. But there is Salvation for the patient. This thought is developed in beautiful agricultural images: agricultural wisdom, as well as judgment, comes from God. — The bed is shorter, etc.: metaphors for the impracticable. — Perazim, Gibeon: references to victories of David. Page 191. The Child Immanuel and the Child Wonderful.— This is one of the grandest of Isaiah's prophecies; but the significance has traditionally been missed, owing to more than one cause, (i) The chapter divisions in the old versions have broken up into separate prophecies what is a continuous train of thought with a great climax. (2) A point of secondary interpretation — very beautiful in itself — which desires to connect the word 'Immanuel' with the birth of Christ, has diverted attention from the use of the word in the present context. A further reason might be the unfamiliar poetic forms of Isaiah; but these cease to be a difficulty when the text is printed so as to show its structure. The prophecy moves through the usual seven divisions. I. The brief introduction puts the political situation: Northern Israel has made a coalition with the Syrian foe against the kingdom of Judah. Judah is panic-stricken. II. Isaiah is sent to reassure the king of Judah. [Compare throughout the Sennacherib incident, page loi.] Prophetic scorn is a characteristic of Isaiah: in this case it appears in his interjecting snatches of ballads sung by the vain- glorious enemy in the midst of his message to Judah. The quotations from the foe are printed in italics. If the reader will follow the prose part, without these italic interjections, he will find it a continuous and simple message of assurance. If he reads the italic passages by themselves, though these are not continuous, they fit very well into the idea of the boasts such an allied foe would make in the circumstances. [Compare Processional Hymn (page 275), and note (page 494).] III. The king of Judah being still despondent, God offers a 'sign.' [Again compare the Sennacherib incident.] Ahaz is too spiritually lethargic to care about signs from God. Whereupon Isaiah offers a sign — the sign 'Immanuel.' It is just at this point that the common misreading of the prophecy appears. 485 Notes to Particular Books -g> The key to the true interpretation is that the word 'Immanuel' [= God-with-us] is used in this prophecy three times; in the first and second use the word is applied by Isaiah in a scornful sense to the foe; in the third use it is claimed in a spiritual sense for Judah. The foe, in its vainglorious confidence, gives to a new born child the proud name 'God-with-us': but before that child is grown up its land shall be forsaken. Those who read the Bible in separate verses fastened upon the phrase virgin with child as an idea to connect with the birth of Jesus, But every commentator recognizes that this can hold good only as a secondary interpretation; in the primary sense of this prophecy the child referred to will be still a child when the threatened destruction comes. [Note that butter and honey in Bible poetry means famine food, and is so recognized by commenta- tors.] IV. We now have the second use of 'Immanuel.' As Shiloah [the brook of Jerusalem] has been refused, judgment shall come as the River [the Euphrates or river of Assyria] ; this judgment shall sweep on even unto Judah, but it shall utterly drown thy land, 0 [boaster of] God-with-us. V. At last comes the new use of the word. Gird yourselves (says the prophet to the nations) but ye shall be broken in pieces; for God is with us. 'Im- manuel' hitherto used as a name, is now made a sentence, and claimed for Judah in a true sense. VI. This section uses the poetic device of the second section in a more ex- tended form; we have, alternately, the boasts of the triumphant foe, and the rejoinders which the prophet puts into the mouth of Judah. If the reader will read the italic passages apart from the rest, he will find them a continuous triumph song of the enemy, who picture to themselves Judah as hungry, cursing, in gloomy distress, while northern Israel [Zebulun and Naphtali] is triumphant. The rest read by itself is also continuous: the people supposed to be in darkness see great light, and the boasted conquest is rolled in bloody defeat. VII. We thus reach the final climax: Unto us a Child is born; beyond even the name 'Immanuel,' this Child is Wonderful, The Mighty God, Prince of Peace. Of his government there shall be no end. Page 196. Prophecies of the Watchman. — The Watchman is a favorite figure in Biblical prophecy. It rests upon a common institution of early society: a band of watchmen will parade the village throughout the night, to give warn- ing of danger. Thus, in the Oracle of Silence we have the question, Watchman, what of the night? With the answer: The morning cometh, And also the night: If ye will inquire, inquire ye; Come ye again. That is, the Watchman has nothing to report; the ordinary succession of day and night is going on undisturbed; ask again. It is very different with the Oracle of the Wilderness of the Sea. [Note that Sea is regularly used of the mighty river of Assyria, the Euphrates.] The Watchman is now overwhelmed with 486 § Isaiah vision: voices are heard, dim confusion is seen, all gradually clearing until it is recognized as the Fall of Babylon! — Two other examples of this figure of the Watchman should be noted: one at the commencement of the second Act of Habakkuk [page 255, see note]; the other in Ezekiel (page 231), where the prophet is made the sentinel over individual souls. Page 196. For thus hath the LORD said unto me, go, set a watchman, etc. — A [peculiar feature of Biblical literature, especially of Isaiah, is that the preliminary explanation — what we should call the 'preface' — comes in the middle or end, and not at the beginning. So here we have first the vision, and then the institution of the Watchman who sees it. The interjection of these preliminar>' explanations in the mid course of a prophecy is responsi- ble for much of the apparent obscurity of Isaiah's style. Page 196. Prophecy of Assyrian Invasion. — It is very important for the understanding of this great utterance of Isaiah that the reader should not attempt to identify it with any particular historical invasion of Judah by the Assyrians. It is an idealized picture of Assyrian invasion in general. [For the principle, see above, page 148.] — The two sections of the prophecy present the two main ideas of prophetic writing: the purging Judgment, and the Golden Age that lies beyond it. — I. The first section turns on the thought so common in the Bible: How little the grand conquerors of the world understand that they are but the passive instruments of God's righteous judgment, to be judged in their turn when their work is done! [Compare the Sennacherib incident, page 102.] — A consumption is determined, overflowing with righteousness. Note the special use of righteousness in Scripture as making right, that is judgment or salvation. [Compare page 378.] — II. The second section is the most extended description of the 'Golden Age,' as pictured by the Hebrews, the 'Mountain of the Lord.' With this is here associated the gathering of the 'remnant' from their places of exile. — The LORD shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian Sea, etc. The general situation must always be borne in mind: Judah and other kingdoms forming a chain of states at the two ends of which are the powerful empires of Assyria and Egypt. [Compare page 211.] Each of these two em- pires has its great River, the Nile or the Euphrates, either of which may be denominated by the word Sea. The tongue of the Egyptian Sea is the narrow part of it crossed by the Israelites in their deliverance from Egypt: there shall be a similar highway across Euphrates for the exiles' return. Page 200. A Rhapsody of Judgment.— For the 'Rhapsody,' as a drama laid in the spiritual world, see above, pages 154-163. This is a notable example. It has three divisions, or 'Acts,' of the dramatic movement. I. When we follow with our imagination the First Act, we have utter dark- ness, broken by bursts of vision which picture symbolically destruction creeping over the whole earth. Alternating with these bursts of vision, we have the voice of the 'Prophetic Spectator' describing in words this destruction. As his words reach the idea of a 'remnant' saved [shaking of an olive tree . . . grape gleanings], we hear cries of the Saved from opposite sides; and at last cries of the Doomed, whose anguish is enhanced by the cries they have heard of the Saved. 487 Notes to Particular Books -@> II, As we pass into the Second Act, the destruction extends to heaven as well as earth. [The host of the high ones on high: the old conception of the stars as worlds ruled by supernatural beings, or Sons of God: compare Job 38^] Instead of isolated Cries we now have the Song of the Elders (or Saved) heard through the darkness. But at the words, "He will destroy in this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, and the veil that is spread over all nations," the darkness of the scene is dissipated, and the imagination sees the Mountain of Salvation standing out in brightness from the ruins of a world around it. [Moab is mentioned only as one of the ruined peoples.] The Song of the Saved in their glorious home is now an elaborate ode. III. We pass to the Third Act in a way only possible in a rhapsody: that is, the movement goes back in time to the moment of crisis, the moment just before judgment comes. The dialogue clearly pictures the Sinners all unconscious of the doom hanging over them, until too late. [LORD, in trouble have they visited thee.] God gives the Saved a place of refuge as the judgment purges the earth. [Compare conclusion of Joel's Rhapsody, page 161.] There follow songs of the Saved; meditation of the Prophetic Spectator upon the different judgment that only cleanses the Saved, but destroys the Doomed. The final burst of vision shows total destruction. What follows is a sort of Epilogue: general statements of destruction and rescue. Page 205. In that day the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the swift serpent, and leviathan the crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea. — This obscure passage is simply the inclusion in this general poem of Judgment of ideas belonging to the imagination of primitive life. With it should be compared two passages from the Book of Job. Cursing the day of his birth Job says: Let them curse it that curse the day, Who are ready to rouse up leviathan! And again (25 ") Bildad, glorifying God, says: By his spirit the heavens are garnished; His hand hath pierced the swift serpent. Two ideas of primitive folklore are involved. ( i) The monster (or ' dragon ') of Water, which is conceived as winding round the Land like a serpent, and at times invading it (compare the Ocean River of Homer); and (2) the monster of Darkness, which in eclipses seeks to devour the sun or moon. Hebrew folklore gives to each of these monsters the name 'Leviathan.' The passage in the Rhapsody of Judgment makes it a climax of judgment that Jehovah slays these two monsters of nature. Page 207. The Lord's Controversy before the Mountains.— Note the fine conception of the Mountains (compare Milton, ''the seated hills") as a bench of judges: the enduring foundations of the earth are to pronounce upon the founda- tions of the moral world. — The case of the Divine Plaintiff is recital of his 488 <§- Micah, Jeremiah mercies to his people. Remember what Balak consulted: Balaam is a most appro- priate witness in this case for the Plaintiff, as the prophet who, trying to curse Israel, was forced by the sight of God's mercies to Israel to change his curse into a blessing. Remember from Shittim unto Gilgal: Shittim was the last en- campment before and Gilgal the first after crossing the Jordan. — The Defend- ant People is afraid to put in an appearance, and thinks of propitiatory sacri- fices.— Then the Mountains pronounce judgment. Page 208. — Then will I turn to the peoples a pure language . . . to serve the LORD with one consent. The idea is a reversal of the Incident of Babel (page 12). Compare in N. T. the Incident of Pentecost (N. T. volume, page 251). — / will gather them that sorrow for the solemn assembly, etc. Compare a passage in Jeremiah's Rhapsody of the Drought: the final words of Repentant Israel which move God to mercy (page 226). Page 216. The Prophet's Manifesto. — The title 'Manifesto' seems applica- ble to particular prophecies, appearing in several of the prophetic books, which seem to sum up in a single literary composition the whole message or life work of the prophet. The present example of it is very elaborate, falling into seven sections. It commences as discourse, which passes into rhapsodic or dramatic pictures as it proceeds. — I. In simple discourse the sin of Judah is denounced under the favorite image of the unfaithful wife, supported by a profusion of other images. — II. The example of northern Israel (already visited by Doom) is brought in; the idea of its repentance is presented in a brief dramatic scene. — With III we return to discourse in the appeal to Judah. Then (as it were) the curtain rises and all that follows to the end of the manifesto is rhapsodic. Panic cries fill the land of Judah, side by side with dialogue between God, the People, the Prophet. — IV. The coming destruction is seen in bursts of vision. — With V there is a temporary arrest of the movement: if the prophet can find by searching a single righteous man the city shall be saved for his sake. This is an echo from the Genesis story of Abraham pleading for Sodom. And Abraham drew near, and said. Wilt thou consume the righteous with the wicked? Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou con- sume and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked, that so the righteous should be as the wicked; that be far from thee: shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? And the LORD said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sake. And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes: peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, I will not destroy it, if I find there forty and five. And he spake unto him yet again, and said, Peradventure there shall be forty foiuui there. And he said, I will not do it for the forty's sake. And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: peradventure there shall thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there. And he said. Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord: peradventure there shall be twenty found there. And he 489 Notes to Particular Books -g> said, I will not destroy it for the twenty's sake. And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: per adventure ten shall he found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for the ten's sake. And the LORD went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place. VI. With this penultimate section the command to the enemy is heard to destroy, but branches only, not to make a full end. At the close of this, and through section VII, the panic of the advancing destruction is dramatically brought out. Page 217. — The shameful thing, etc. This phrase, and similar expressions like abomination, are used for the sensual corruption which accompanied the idolatries of the heathen nations. — Page 219. Watchers come from afar country: the word need mean no more than besiegers, but it is used in Daniel (page 115) for supernatural powers. — Page 222. Woe unto us, for the day declineth, etc. This is a specially fine effect of detail. In the pre- ceding speech the enemy are still in the distance, planning to start at noon. The panic-stricken people see the day declining into evening, and so en- hancing their apprehensions, when the voice of the foe is heard close at hand: let us go up by night. Page 223. Rhapsody of the Drought. — A lyric picture of desolation is fol- lowed by dialogue between God, the Repentant People, and the Prophet. At first God will not so much as answer the pleading People, but speaks only through the Prophet. The turn comes when the final speech of Repentant Israel (page 226) brings out how amid the guilty People were those who were faithful to God, and mourned the loss of religious privileges. For the sake of these, the righteous in the midst of the wicked, God is moved to mercy. — Thy words were found and I did eat them: note a similar passage in Zephaniah (page 209). Page 227. The Battle of Carchemish. — In this battle the two great empires of the prophetic world (compare page 211) clashed, and the Egyptians were utterly routed. It was one of the decisive battles of that age of the world, and Jeremiah celebrates it in this ballad, rejoicing over the downfall of corrupting Egypt. — Go up into Gilead and take balm, etc. Gilead (a mountainous district east of the Jordan) was always famous for medicinal balsams. The caravan of merchants in the Story of Joseph (page 20) were carrying "spicery and balm and myrrh" from Gilead into Egypt. The phrase in another discourse of Jeremiah, Is there no balm in Gilead? has passed into modern rehgious phrase- ology in a spiritual sense. Page 237. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, etc. — ^The interest of this passage is its contrast with the language of the Ten Commandments, where God is represented as visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, upon the third and upon the fourth generation. An important principle for the inter- pretation of Scripture is the proverbial or gnomic character of the language used. The literary form of the proverb, or gnome, conveys a partial truth; it may be truth of the most profound importance, yet a partial truth as distinguished from a universal 'proposition,' and so needing to be supplemented by other 490 ^ Zechariah, Malachi, Habakkuk gnomic sayings. Thus, the wording in the second commandment touches the unquestionable principle of heredity, the tendency of evil to descend from parents to children. The language of Ezekiel conveys the not less important principle of individual responsibility: the child can be emancipated from the hereditary principle. The two truths are supplementary one to the other; there is no contradiction. Page 238. Wreck of the Goodly Ship Tyre.— It is hardly worth while for any reader who is not a specialist in history to go into the list of proper names in this prophecy. The drift of the whole is clear. Tyre was the leading city of maritime enterprise. This doom of Tyre imagines the leading centres of com- mercial enterprise making their contributions to the building or loading of the magnificent ship 'Tyre'; which nevertheless suffers shipwreck. The prophecy is recognized as a locus classicus for information on the maritime geography of the prophetic age. — At the sound . . . the suburbs shall shake: there is some doubt about the Hebrew text here, and some commentators understand the meaning to be the ivavcs shall quake, etc. Page 247. The Sevenfold Vision. — ^The general drift of this striking proph- ecy, and the symbolism of the details, have been explained on page 244. — The High Priest afid the Adversary. It is important to compare this passage with the Prologue to Job. [Page 446.] The word Satan literally means Adversary. Used as a proper name it is understood as Adversary of God, or the Devil. Used as a title of an office, it is adversary in the sense of inspector: the Satan of the Book of Job is Inspector of the Earth, who " comes from going to and fro in the earth and walking up and down in it." He is exercising this function in report- ing on the case of Job, and there is no evil in what he does. This is also the sense here, except that in this case the Adversary is rebuked for excess of zeal. Page 252. Then they that feared the LORD spake one with another, etc.— The connection is that the words in quotation marks are the desponding thoughts of the righteous which led them to condole with one another; and the LORD heark- ened to this complaint. Page 254. Habakkuk's Rhapsody of the Chaldeans.— The three 'Acts' of this spiritual drama make an advancing movement: I. A Mystery of Providence; II. The Solution seen in the future; III. This Solution realized as visibly present. I. The Prophet, in dialogue with God, touches the mystery of sin unpunished and judgment withheld.— God announces a marv^el: the Chaldeans as a con- quering power, godless and irresistible.— The Prophet finds his niystery inten- sified by this answer: how can righteousness use godlessness as an instrument to punish evil that is less than its own? II. This full statement of the problem is emphasized by the Prophet's retiring to his watch-tower to await the Divine answer.— This solution is conveyed under the gradually elaborated image of intoxication: the haughty bearing of the Chaldean is no more than the reeling of the drunkard that goes before his fall. (See note on page 515.) This coming fall is suddenly presented in the Doom or Taunt Song of the delivered peoples. Doom of the Chaldeans [in lyric woes alternating with Divine word of denun- ciation]. The first stanzas express the overthrow of the haughty Chaldeans 491 Notes to Particular Books § under four different images. (See note on page 515.) — r. This unchecked career of the conqueror is a rolling up of usury: the exactor shall come. — 2. It is building a house of refuge from evil, only to find shame built into wall and beam. — 3. It is building a city by iniquity only to make a bigger bonfire to blaze abroad the avenging God. — 4. The last woe is addressed to the foundation of all: trusting in dumb idols, whereas the living Jehovah is the World's Teacher III. A Vision Ode of Jehovah come to Judgment. The structure of the ode is a prelude and a postlude embodying the feelings of the Prophet as he beholds, while the body of the ode contains the vision itself. [Compare the structure of the Psalm of the thunderstorm (page 285).] The body of the ode consists of Strophe: All nature convulsed with advancing Deity. Antistrophe: Is it against nature that this advance is directed? Epode: Nay, it is for the salvation of his people that God comes. Page 257. I have heard the report of thee arid am afraid. . . . I heard, and . . . my lips quivered at the voice. — The report, voice, refer to the voice speaking what makes the body of the ode. What exactly is this voice? Not (a) that of God, or the Celestial Hosts, or such voices as speak the passages of celebration in doom songs, because of the line. They came as a whirlwind to scatter me. (b) Nor is the ode spoken by the congregation of Israel, which would make actuality and not vision, and leave no place for the uncertainty of the postlude. (c) The voice seems to be that of Israel in vision. This makes possible the mixed feelings of the postlude. The intervention of Deity is only in vision, yet thus made so realis- tically certain that the Prophet, in the postlude, trembles with faith: that he should feel at rest waiting for the invading Chaldean [when he that shall in- vade . . . Cometh up, etc.]: at rest, because, though the fig tree shall not blossom, etc., the Prophet [through this vision] can exult in his God. — Revive thy work in the midst of the years: a reference to the though it tarry wait for it of II: the speaker prays God to intervene before it be too late. Page 261. Prophetic Story of Jonah. — ^The analysis of this has been given above, page 259. — Page 263. Yet forty days, etc. Compare page 164. Page 265. Passages from Nahum. He that dasheth in pieces is come up before thy face, etc. — The whole passage is a fine example of impressionist description. I understand the successive details to refer, not (as some interpret) to the description of the enemy army, but to the Ninevites. The city is suddenly aware of the advancing foe : all is alertness and brave preparation. The chariots rage . . . jus tie one against another: that is, the chariots of the Ninevites in their haste. He remembereth his worthies, etc. The Ninevites are confident in the thought of their splendid forces — but there is a stumbling; they hasten to the defence of the walls — but they see the mantelet (covering of battering rams) of the foe close at hand. The gates of the river, etc. While the Ninevites are manning the walls, the enemy has made a secret entry through the river gates. — Huzzab is uncovered, etc. There is a tradition that this was the name of the queen of Nineveh: she has been dragged from the seclusion of the harem, her maids with her beating on their breasts. Page 267. Passage from Obadiah. For violence done to thy brother, Jacob, etc. — It must be remembered that the Edomites were descended from Esau, brother 492 <§- Book of Psalms of Jacob. For the whole passage compare the psalm on page no. — For as ye have drunk upon my Jioly mountain^ etc. Dr. T. T. Perowne interprets: "As ye have drunk (who are) upon my holy mountain; as even you, who are my chosen people and inhabit the mountain consecrated by my presence, have not escaped the cup of my wrath, so all the nations shall drink of that same cup, etc." Notes to Psalms and Lyrics Page 271. Prefatory Psalms. — ^There seems to be a distinct idea underlying the Book of Psalms that certain lyrics should be prefaced by poems of a medita- tive character. Two out of the three Festal Anthems (pages 342, 352) have elaborate prefaces of this kind. The psalm which stands first in the Bible numbering may be read as an introduction to the whole collection. It is a beatitude of the meditative life; with which is contrasted, not so much wicked- ness as worldliness. [Walking in the counsel of the wicked: framing our life according to habits of the outside world. Standing in the way of sinners: con- tinually mixing with them. Sitting in the seat of the scornful: accepting the worldly attitude that takes superciliousness for superiority.] The two lives are set off by the contrasted imagery of the Tree and the Chaff: for the meditative life the rooted tree, going through its regular stages of leafage and fruit; for the worldly life the Chaff — mere outsides without pith, carried round and round by forces outside themselves. — Note that law of the LORD has not the restricted sense of the modern word law, but is equivalent to sacred literature in general. Page 272. National Psalms. — The title extends to include national poems which in this work have appeared in the Historic Outline: the Four National Anthems (pages 41, 53, 96, 107; the Psalms for the Inauguration of Jeru- salem; the Sennacherib Psalms; lyrics of the Captivity and Return, etc. (pages 68, 103, no, 126). — Those making the present group are: (i) poems reflecting the Messianic idea of a ruler over the nations; (2) Zion as spiritual leader of the nations; (3) the more restricted idea of kingship in the House of David; (4) a Royal Marriage hymn, and a Processional hymn suitable for any national occa- sion; (5) a double psalm which seems to be an echo of the Blessing of Moses (in Deuteronomy) on Israel as a Theocracy. Page 273. King and Priest.— This remarkable lyric, it is said, is more fre- quently quoted in the N. T. than any other portion of the O. T. Its structure is made up of two brief oracles, having all the marks of antiquity, supported each by a quatrain of flowing rhetoric that presents a conquering career. The first oracle simply puts the idea of Messiah as a world conqueror; the second adds the spiritual function of the priest— not the subordinate priest of the Levitical courses, but the universal priest suggested by the incident of Melchizedek, who blessed Abraham as " priest of the Most High God." [For N. T. use of this idea compare N. T. volume, pages 353-356, 422.]— On the mountains of holiness: compare opening of Zion Mother of Nations (page 275). — From the womb of the morning, etc. It is warfare that brings out the supreme value of youth; and dew is a regular image for the assembling of countless multitudes. Thus the assembling of the tribes at the sacred feasts (psalm 133) is compared to the " dew of Hermon descending upon the hill of Zion."— i^e shall drink of the brook in the way: continued pursuit that does not stop for refreshment. 493 Notes to Particular Books -g> Page 275. Zion Mother of Nations. — Zion is the speaker throughout, ad- dressing herself. As men are proud to claim Egypt [Rahab] as their birthplace, or Babylon, so they will claim Zion; not individuals alone, but nations.— The final couplet may be interpreted (i) to suggest a procession of the nations, as in the Processional Hymn (see following note); or (2) that all forms of excellence have their source in Zion. Page 275. A Processional Hymn. — This magnificent lyric is a Processional Hymn, Though no doubt originally composed for some specific occasion, it has nothing to limit it as such; but might be used by the Hebrews in the same way as Christians celebrate triumphs by singing Te Deuni. Not only does this ode at one point picture the actual procession of the day, but the idea of proces- sion as concealed imagery is made to run through the whole; until the past, present, and future of Israel's history have appeared as a series of vast proces- sions.— The introduction starts from the traditional formula of procession: the song of the Levites starting with the ark. — Then section I reviews the past. First, the wilderness life of Israel is suggested as a procession of him that rideth through the deserts: the oppressed and solitary prisoners of Egypt have been multiplied into the families of a prosperous land. The people marched through the wilderness, with their God before them, Sinai itself trembHng at the presence: a plentiful rain [of manna: compare the prominence of this in the Wilderness Anthem, page 43] was prepared by the good God to strengthen his weary inheritance while they must dwell in the desert. — So far strophe: the antistrophe proceeds to the conquest of the land of promise. It is presented with such com- pressed force, that it becomes a victorious procession from Bashan to Mount Zion. The conquest appears as but two notes: Jehovah giving the word of advance, the women publishing the tidings of victories. What follows is intelli- gible and forceful as disconnected snatches of war ballads {lines printed in italics): on any other view the words are barely intelligible. The compressed brevity appears again in bringing together Bashan (first stage of conquest) and Zion (the final metropolis) : all between vanishes. Here again are snatches of conquest songs, each caught up in triumphant assertion. The whole past of Israel becomes one procession: Sinai is in the sanctuary. — With section II we pass to the present, the rhythm partly changing. God is a God of daily de- liverances: he who brought from the Red Sea and from Bashan brought us that we might go on to conquer. Another strophe realizes the actual procession of the day: singers, dancers, minstrels, and the tribes in their order. Its anti- strophe turns to the future, and again the dominant image appears: the future of Israel is a procession of the peoples, flocking to the temple at Jerusalem [the various peoples are described by symbolic names: the wild beast of the reeds is no doubt Egypt, the rest can only be guessed at], distant Ethiopia bringing up the rear. The antistrophe that remains is a final ascription of praise, but (in an echo from the Blessing of Moses: compare Deuteronomy page 50: who rideth upon the heavens for thy help) is able to keep up the processional imagery : God rideth upon the heavens of heavens. Page 278. A Royal Marriage Hymn. — After a brief introduction a strophe is devoted to the royal bridegroom, its antistrophe to the bride. — At thy right haiid doth stand the queen in gold of Ophir: not the bride, but the Queen Mother. 494 <§- Book of Psalms The wife of a king was regarded as the mother of his children; the king's mother is always emphasized. Thus in the Historic Outline each king at his accession is described as the son of such and such a mother. Compare in Solomon's Song (page 364): "The crown wherewith his mother hath crowned him in the day of his espousals." Page 279. The Covenant of David, etc. — ^The impressive point in this poem is the burst of sublime rapture with which the idea of the covenant with David is welcomed, made the more prominent by the despondency that follows. Page 281. Thoughts from the Song of Moses. — The traditional title to psalm 90, A Prayer of Moses the man of God, is sufficiently explained by the fact that this psalm and the one that follows it seem to be expansions of two lines in the Blessing of Moses in Deuteronomy (page 50) : The Eternal God is thy dwelling place, A fid wider neath are the everlasting arms. Psalm 90, in its first section, starts with the expression of the first line of that couplet, and expands the contrast between the eternal dwelling place and the passing generations. The second section, still on the gloomy side of the topic, leads with the further thought that the passage of life's moments is the wrath of God upon man's iniquities. Then comes a change in the spirit of the meditation. The third leading couplet connects the numbering of our days with the bringing of wisdom: the past of affliction is as night, let the present moment be the morn- ing of blessing, which shall extend to the whole day of remaining life, a day of established works and reflection of Divine beauty. — Psalm 91 develops the other line of the couplet, the protection of the everlasting arms. Each strophe starts from the main idea of dwelling place (or its synonym), crowds together expres- sions of protection, and finds a climax, the first in the reward of the wicked, the second in God's own word of protection for the good. — He shall deliver thee, etc. The psalmist is addressing himself. — We bring our years to an end as a tale that is told. The word tale has been understood in the sense of story; thus Shakespeare paraphrases, "a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." But there is another usage of the word: a shepherd "telling the tale of his sheep" would mean counting the number of them. This would be peculiarly effective in this context: we spend our years as the counting of numbers, one, two, three, up to seventy. The original Hebrew does not settle the question between these two interpretations, as it is a word only used in this passage, and of uncertain etymology. Page 285. Psalms of Nature. — Biblical poetry does not, like Greek poetry, delight in the beauty of nature for its own sake. Nature is always regarded as a manifestation of God. The Thunderstorm in the very Voice of the Lord. The restless rise and fall of the waves suggests in contrast Jehovah's Immovable Throne. Man has dominion over nature as the Viceroy of God. And the two principal psalms of this order put together the world without and the world within: the starry heavens and the moral law. Page 285. Song of the Thunderstorm.— This Song of the Thunderstorm is constructed upon the envelope figure. The opening and closing quatrains are 495 Notes to Particular Books -g> subjective, conveying the feelings of the poet observer, first, as the signs of the coming storm move him to thoughts of the grandeur of God; then at the close, when he feels himself enveloped in the peace of God's protection. The inter- vening triplets are objective, and realize a thunderstorm, rising out of the waters, sweeping through the forests, dying away over the wilderness, and leav- ing a freshness which makes nature seem like a temple where all things are cry- ing Glory. The voice of the LORD has made a crashing refrain for this body of the poem, seven times repeated.— r/ze LORD sat as king at the flood: although the expression in the original is pecuKar to the Genesis account of the Deluge, yet it seems impossible to see in this place an allusion to an historic event. The flood- is either the waters from which the tempest arose; or it is an expression suggest- ing the foioitains of the deep broken up, and the opening of the windows of heaven, which were an element in the description of the Deluge, and which threaten to recur in every furious tempest. Page 286. Man the Viceroy of God. — ^The interpretation of this psalm will be discussed in the notes on the envelope Figure and Direct Metaphor (pages 511.513)- . ^ Page 287. The Heavens Above and the Law Within. — Antistrophic form is here applied to the antithesis (it might almost be called an apposition) between the revelation of God in the Heavens above and in the Law within. The ques- tion whether the author of this poem in its present form incorporated a lyric of an earlier age cannot affect the hterary unity of the whole. The union of the two ideas has impressed the most diverse thinkers of diverse ages. Zoroaster has it {Yasna, xxxi. g) : He who flrst planned that these skies should be clothed with lights, He by his wisdom is creator of Righteousness, wherewith to support the best mind. It was a saying of the German Kant that the starry heavens above and the moral law within him were the perpetual wonders to his soul. So Wordsworth, ad- dressing Duty: Thou dost preserve the stars from wrong; And the most ancient heavens through thee are fresh and strong. In a modified form the same combination inspires the companion psalms on page 287, which celebrate the God of the world within and the world without. For the device of setting two contrasted thoughts side by side without any con- necting words, compare Evil Unbounded (p. 324). — More in detail: we have first the general revelation of the heavens, wordless but extending their sphere (image of the measuring line) over the whole earth; then this specializes to the sun as the chief figure in this world-wide revelation; again, there is general celebration of the Law of the Lord, and recognition of its special function to warn against sin: a conclusion dedicates the whole meditation to God. Page 288. The World Within and the World Without.— Unified by the ejaculation. Bless the LORD, 0 my soul, at the beginning, middle, and end, these two psalms make up a glorious ode, celebrating God as the God of the personal, 496 § Book of Psalms individual life, or the World Within, and of the external universe, or the World Without. The same rhythmic form obtains in each: stanzas of five strains, changing in the middle of each psabn, with a certain change of thought, into stanzas of four strains. I [Stanzas of five strains.] Blessings from Jehovah for the personal, individual life: the reference to Israel is a suggestion how Israel from among the nations was brought into a personal relation with God. [Third and fourth stanzas: of four strains.] The frailty and brief life of man: God's tenderness and contrasting everlastingness. [Final stanza: of five strains.] From the personal life there is a rise to a climax in the higher personalities of angels and superhuman ministers of God. II [Stanzas of five strains.] God and the external universe: it constitutes his dwelUng place and attendant pomp — his creation — the sphere of his govern- ment, and exhibition of his glory and order in all living things. [Sixth and seventh stanzas: of four strains.] The dependence of all these creatures on Jehovah: as he sends forth or withholds his spirit they flourish or droop. [Final stanza: of five strains.] The eternal glory of God in nature. Page 293. Psalms of Judgement. — ^The Scriptual word 'Judgement' ex- presses what the modern world calls 'Providence.' In the group of psalms cele- brating this idea we have: (i) Two Visions of God manifesting himself as Judge of the Earth; with a third psalm expressing the longing for this in the familiar phrase LORD, how long? (2) The great Song of the Redeemed. (3) Two psalms dealing with what was the great trial to the faith of the ancient world, the spectacle of Wickedness allowed to go on in prosperity. One of the two faces the mystery in the tone of quiet meditation; in the other, the poet almost loses his faith, yet recovers it. Page 293. A Vision of Judgement. — The Introduction presents God emerg- ing out of Zion in a blaze of glory, and summoning the world to judgment. [Compare the more elaborate parallel in Zion Redeemed: see pages 375 and 503.] A strophe giv^es the address of God to his saints; the antistrophe his remonstrance to the wicked. The thought of both sections is the same: that the spiritual things of thanksgiving and a righteous life are above all sacrifices. — Him that ordcreth his conversation aright: conversation means behavior. It is a Latinization of our colloquial phrase 'running about.' Page 294. Song of the Redeemed. — This favorite psalm (besides introduc- tion and conclusion) has two sections, distinguished by a marked difference of rhythm. In I, we have four types of trouble (wandering in the wilderness, imprisonment, sickness, perils of the sea) : each is described in a few lines, fol- 497 Notes to Particular Books -g> lowed by an (italic) refrain, the cry for help, and a (capitals) refrain, the shout of thanksgiving. In II, there is a change to the pendulum rhythm: God bringing down [lines indented to the right] and setting up [lines indented to the left]. Structure like this lends itself to expression in music. For the descriptions of trouble (say) unison of men's voices; for the italic refrain and its following couplet, harmony of treble and alto; for the shout of thanksgiving, the full choir. For section II, alternation between two sides of the choir, or between men's and women's voices. Page 297. Judgement of a Corrupt World. A rhapsodic picture of Divine Judgment. A world is displayed as totally corrupt; a stanza expresses the Divine astonishment at the blindness of the wicked; in the next stanza this very thought in the bosom of Deity is seen to reveal itself as panic spreading among the wicked on earth. — The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. This is sometimes misquoted to imply that an atheist is a fool. It means the converse; that a fool (one whose life is morally corrupt) is practically an atheist. Compare the elaboration of this thought in the psalm on "Evil Unbounded, etc." [page 324, and note, page 500]. Page 300. The Mystery of Prosperous Wickedness. — This psalm, though fascinating to the reader, is difficult of interpretation. The topic is the great mystery of prosperous wickedness; and into the language of the closing verses it is only too easy to read the modern doctrine of a future world in which are redressed the inequalities of this life. Yet it appears to me certain that no such interpretation is possible in the present case. The general consideration applies: this conception of a future life is so revolutionizing that, if held at all, it must make itself prominent, and not appear merely as an allusion. In the present case we have, not (as might at first appear) a mystery and its sudden solution; but rather a failure of faith in a received doctrine which at the last moment is suddenly strengthened. The psalmist contemplates the prosperity of the wicked, and the scepticism as to a God of judgment which this tends to engender, until he is almost caught in the mist of doubt himself: nothing but loyalty to his faithful brethren hinders him from yielding. In this painful conflict he goes into the sanctuary of God: in a moment his failing faith is confirmed. Faith in what? That this prosperity of the wicked is only a dream: when God awakes he will overthrow them, but keep the pious by his side. Thou shall guide me with thy counsel all through the night of trouble, and afterward receive me with glory when the visitation is passed, and the righteous are found triumphant. The other view has been much assisted by the next line: Whom have I in heaven but thee? But that this can have no reference to heaven as the sphere of immor- tal life is sufficiently shown by the parallel line: And there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. Note again the threefold surely, as a guide to the critical points in the thought of the psalm: the first emphasizes the conclusion, God is good to Israel, whatever appearances may suggest; the second marks the nadir point of the psalmist's scepticism, that piety was all vain; the third marks the healing thought, the slippery prosperity of the wicked. — One passage is difficult in its phraseology: Therefore his people return hither; And waters of a full cup are wrung out by them. 498 <§- Book of Psalms Assuming the correctness of the text it is best to interpret: God's people from this spectacle of the untouched prosperity of evil men turn round to their own hard life, and wring out bitter tears at the contrast. Page 303. Psalms of Religious Experience. — The religious experience in this group of psalms is mainly that of trouble and deliverance. In three of the psalms the deliverance is presented dramatically: that is to say, a change in the external circumstances making the trouble comes suddenly during the prayer for relief. [Anthem of Deliverance — Twice-told Deliverance — Salvation in Extremity.] In another [the Searcher of Hearts, etc.] there is an equally dra- matic transition, but it is wholly in the psalmist's mind, not in external cir- cumstances. The brooding ov^er the Divine omnipresence as a burden touches the topic of childbirth; in the helplessness of the unborn babe the Divine omnipresence becomes a comfort, and at the close of the psalm the searching of heart is felt as an aspiration. One poem celebrates deliverance from the trouble of sin in the past; another [Prayer of a Sin-stricken Conscience] simply prays for the deliverance. In the great lyric, The Right Hand of the Lord changeth not, the despondent mind forces itself into confidence by meditating on God's de- liverances of his people in the past. On the other hand, in The Struggle with Despair the speaker gets no further than the struggle; while in one psalm [The DecHning Life, etc.] the sense of ebbing vitality is finely contrasted with con- templation of the eternally abiding God. In one poem [Exiled from the House of God] refrains convey the confidence of hope while the body of the poem dwells on the sense of trouble. Page 308. Thy way, 0 God, is in holiness. — ^The main use of the word holiness in the O. T. is to express the separateness of the chosen people from the nations. The thought here is that God's 'way' is seen in the case of his consecrated peo- ple. [Compare in the psalm King and Priest (above, page 273) the words On the mountain of holiness.] The situation of Israel at the Red Sea was a situation from which there seemed to be no outlet: sea in front, foe behind, thunderstorm above. Suddenly the way for the consecrated people opened through the sea itself, which they crossed as simply as a flock of sheep led by its shepherd. Page 309.— Mawy bidls have compassed me. The first stanza has depicted internal trouble; in the second internal trouble is enhanced by external threaten- ings, under figures of bulls, robbers, lions: at its height deliverance suddenly comes. Page ^ll.—Surcly thou wilt slay the wicked, etc. The new train of feeling, that welcomes the never ceasing presence of God, at this point takes fire in a burst of purity: compare in the Answer to Prayer (page 320). Page 313. Exiled from the House of God. — This psalm is often interpreted of actual exile; and this seems favored by the lines — Therefore do I remember thee from the land of Jordan, And the Hermons,from the Hill Mizar. But I prefer to read this as Metaphor Direct (below, page $12): Like a traveller taking his last look at the home land he is leaving, so does my memory yearn after the place of my God. The context is certainly metaphorical: Deep calleth unto 499 Notes to Particular Books § deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: thrust away, plunged deeper and deeper by- some cataract, as the echo of its fall goes down. And there is an absence in the psalm of any local color from a foreign land. Page 318. Drama of Night and Morning. — Despondent outlook with fatigue of night (strophe), vigor and resolution with the refreshment of waking (anti- strophe) : the whole is drama, because the change is brought about by external circumstances. Page 320. Under the Protection of Jehovah. — This title gives the unity of this familiar lyric. The idea is developed by imagery; first, the image of the shepherd, detailed at length; then by a rapid succession of images briefly touched — the blockade, the feast, the flowing fountain, the river following the Israelites in their wanderings through the desert, with climax in the favorite image of a dweller in God's house. Page 321. A Song of Trust. — The structure of this poem is a striking illustra- tion of the lyric device of * Interruption.' A quatrain gives the simplest possible expression of trust in God; point is given to it by the interruption of another lyric giving (strophe) awful threats, (antistrophe) the calm rejoinder of faith. Page 322. The Consecrated Life. — Compare the variant of this in one of the Psalms for the Inauguration of Jerusalem (page 69, and note page 475). Page 324. The transgression of the wicked uttereth its oracle within his heart. — This fine rendering of R. V. margin turns on the use of the word oracle for the actual utterances of God (compare page 470, note to page 38). There are three stages of moral decline: at first the sinner has to sin in the teeth of re- monstrating conscience; then conscience is dead and he sins peaceably; there is a lower depth when conscience takes the side of evil, and its secret prompt- ings replace the oracles of God. Page 324. From the Alphabet of the Law. — What is here given is a fragment, to illustrate what is too prominent in the Psalter to be wholly un- noticed. Many psalms are ' alphabetical ' : that is, in the original language succes- sive verses begin with successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Our translators have not attempted to represent this. [In the Golden Treasury Psalter (Macmil- lan) the translation is altered to bring this out.] The great example of this alpha- betical idea is Psalm 1 19. Here we have twenty- two sections, corresponding to the twenty-two lettersof the Hebrew alphabet; each section is made up of eight couplets commencing with the special letter; and in every couplet there is a word which is a synonym of the word law. An idea of the effect can be caught from the specimen given. Such tours de force of alphabetical and similar ingenuity have been prominent at certain periods of literary history. Modern taste retains them in the 'acrostic' Page 326. Liturgies. — The modern usage of the word 'Liturgy' applies it to Divine Ser\dce in which various moods of the soul are represented — penitence, supplication, prayer, exposition, and the like, perhaps differentiated by different postures of kneeling, standing, sitting, but with no links of transition from one to another. It is remarkable that several of the psalms, sometimes short psalms, are made up of these moods of the soul, standing side by side, without transitions. From the way these are printed in the present work no further explanation is necessary. 500 <§- Book of Psalms Page 326. By terrible things thou wilt answer us in righteousness. — From the Scriptural use of this word righteousness (compare page 519) the answer in right- eousness becomes the vindication of right by Divine Providence. Page 327. / waited patiently, etc. — In this first section of the psalm a strophe presents a great deUverance which has put a new song in the psalmist's mouth; the antistrophe gives the new song. — But wherein consists the 'newness'? If the second section be read apart from the italic passages, it is found to lay down the supremacy of righteousness over sacrifice (compare the Vision of Judgment, pp. 293-4). The italic passages are parenthetic interruptions bringing out how this doctrine is one to which the speaker's ears have been opened by the experience narrated in the first section; he is resolved to bear testimony to this new reading of "the law." Page 331. Song of God's House. — The main point of this poem will be treated in the Note on Direct Metaphor (page 514): it is a song of the pilgrim- ages to the sacred feasts. The structure is noticeable: triplet stanzas express the worshippers' longings for these pilgrimages; the rest is made up of a strophe, presenting the pilgrimages, and an antistrophe containing the pilgrims' hymn. [The antistrophe is 'interrupted' by one of the triplet stanzas.] — In whose heart are the highways to Zion: the lover of these pilgrimages: the way to Zion runs through his heart. — Passing through the valley of Weeping, etc. Dreary spots on the route are converted for the season into gaiety by the flocking pilgrims, like dry places covered for a while with blessings by the brief spring rains. (Another example of metaphor direct.) — They go from strength to strength: from stage to stage of the ascent to Zion. Page 332. Votive Hymns. Page 342. Votive Anthems.— The Bible regu- larly treats the fulfilment of a vow by a combination of the personal experience with the general topic of Divine deliverances. In the hymn, My soul shall make her boast, etc., the personal element appears in the Solo part, the general topic in the Chorus part. — In the hymn that follows this, the two elements are less clearly separated: on the whole the strophe is general, the antistrophe personal. — In the great Votive Anthem (342-51), only two out of the seven sections are personal, while the other five put general or national thanksgiving. See below. Pages 336 to 358. Festal Anthems. — What are presented under these titles are made by putting together successive psalms of the traditional Bible. Such Anthems make an approach to the modern oratorio. Of course, the indications of Chorus, Semichorus, and the like, are only editorial suggestions: their value will be tested if the arrangement is carried out in practice. Page 336. Jehovah Reigneth.— The successive psalms (95-100) have some- times been called Accession Hymns, as emphasizing the thought of Jehovah as king over all the nations. As here arranged, the Anthem is in five parts. Parts I, III, V (that is, the beginning, the middle, and the close) have the pendulum rhythm of alternation between praise and motives for that praise. [Compare below, the Anthem Hallelujah.] Separating these we have II, in the more measured joy of antistrophic structure; and IV, distinguished by refrains: the (italic) refrain of awe, and the refrain of ecstasy (printed in capital letters). Page 342. Votive anthem: The Egyptian Hallel.— In this case, the putting 501 Notes to Particular Books § together of successive psalms (111-118) is not a modern suggestion, but is the traditional 'Hallel,' used at the three great Feasts, the Feast of Dedication, and the New Moons. [The title Egyptian is founded on section III.] It falls into seven divisions. I is prefatory, in the quiet tone of meditation. [In the original these two psalms are alphabetical.] II is a general Doxology; IV is the Doxol- ogy of Israel; VI is the brief Doxology of the Nations. Ill is the foundation on which the whole rests: the Deliverance from Egypt. It is based on the primi- tive conception of Deity as a local power (compare in Jonah, page 259) : the new thought is the marvel of the presence of a God moving with his people. This is developed by the art efifect known as Introversion : A new conception of Deity! All nature convulsed! Why all nature convulsed? At this new conception of Deity! Such introversion, it is unnecessary to say, prevails through various branches of art. It has even come down to modern sport: What is the matter with Smith? He's all right! Who's all right? Smith! Sections V and VII contain the votive element. The matter of these sections is practically identical. But in V there is nothing to suggest more than one speaker, the worshipper performing his vow. VII involves (i) a Soloist, the worshipper; (2) a Chorus, his escort of friends (or the whole People); and (3) in the latter part a Chorus of Priests awaiting the Procession at the Temple. — Open to me the gates of righteousness . . . this is the gate, the righteous shall enter into it. This is the regular use of righteousness as vindication of the righteous (by deliverance). Compare page 519. Page 352. Hallelujah.— This is the simplest of the Festal Anthems. The First Chorus speaks expressions of praise; the Second Chorus furnishes matter for praise. As they alternate, at first it is the Second Chorus that is most prominent; gradually the First Chorus gains upon the Second; then they alternate in single lines to an overpowering climax of the Full Chorus: Let everything that hath breath praise the LORD. If readers will arrange to carry out the structure in practice, they will appreciate its simple effectiveness. Page 364. The midst thereof being inlaid with love, etc. — ^That is, love gifts or wedding presents. Notes to Zion Redeemed Page 375. Keep silence before me. — The natural formula [compare our modern Oyez, Oyez] for a proclamation before a potentate. Compare in Habakkuk 502 <§- Isaiah 40-66 (page 257): The LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him. — 0 islands: by a regular usage in prophecy the islands [of Oreece] are the western boundary of the prophetic world. The sense is, that all the world to its furthest boundary is summoned to judgment. Compare a little later: The isles saw and feared; the ends of the earth trembled; and again (page 383), To the islands he will repay recompencc; so shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. Page 376. So the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith, etc. — With the contemp- tuous irony usual in prophecy the idolatrous nations as they assemble are panic- stricken lest their manufactured gods may not stand the shock of being con- fronted with the true God. Page 377. Behold my servant. — At this point the Servant of Jehovah is the Nation of Israel. Thus (after the interrupting songs) the proclamation de- scribes this servant as blind, deaf, hidden in prison houses of Babylon for its sin. Page 379. Behold I have given him for a witness to the peoples. — In accordance with the Doom Form of this passage the prose portions are the word of God, proclaiming Israel a witness to the nations; the verse gives the words of Israel inviting the nations into the covenant with God. An interesting confirmation of this is seen in the use of the conjunction For. For my thoughts are not your thoughts: the for connects this, not with the (verse) passage which has imme- diately preceded, but with the preceding prose. And again, For ye shall go out with joy continues the last verse passage, and does not join on to the prose that immediately precedes. Page 380. Behold, my servant shall prosper.— Here the Servant of Jehovah has changed to a mystic Personality. The Chorus of Nations gradually catch the exaltation of what had appeared to be the humiliation of suffering. What might at first appear a difficulty in the arrangement of the text is really a striking confirmation. This is the change of pronouns: through the greater part of the chorus the pronouns are plural ("we," "us"), suitable to a Chorus of Nations; but at certain points we have the singular. [He grew up before " him" as a tender plant— for the transgression of ''my" people was he stricken — by his knowledge shall "my" righteous servant Ttuike many righteous.] The singular pronoun refers to God. The point is, that the Chorus of Nations do not merely catch the idea of vicarious suffering as an abstract idea, but they also read it into the thoughts of God in his providential disposal of events. Page 383. Who are these that fly ... as doves to their windows? — A striking figure for the sails of ships, that are bringing the exiles to Zion. Notes to the Books of Wisdom When an editor, charged with the task of writing notes, has to deal with the Books of Wisdom, he feels much perplexity. Every line of wisdom writing seems to invite comment. But to copious notes there is not only the practical objection of swelling the size of this work; such notes seem somewhat incon- gruous with the idea of wisdom literature, which, avoiding direct speech, wraps itself up in thought-provoking expressions. Readers would not thank the editor of a comedy for explaining all the jokes. And the phraseology of wisdom is intended to 'amuse'— in the etymological sense of that word, which is to set 503 Notes to Particular Books a-musing. Thus here the notes on particular passages are reduced to a minimum. The interconnection of thought, which binds the separate writings into a phil- osophic whole, has been fully brought out in the text of Chapter VI. Page 401. A Proverb Cluster. — This makes a distinct stage in the evolution of the Essay out of floating proverbs. Collections of such floating proverbs are made without any interconnection. But sometimes they are grouped under a common topic, such as the Sluggard, or the Fool. Here we have the first germ of the Essay. Essays are found in the wisdom books in which the component proverbs of the cluster are entirely independent, as in the two examples on pages 401, 402. But gradually, as Stanley puts it, the closed hand of the Hebrew proverb changes into the open palm of Greek rhetoric. This makes the Essay as conceived in Ecclesiasticus and Bacon. Page 402. Number Sonnets. — This peculiar type of proverbial literature contains a numerical progression in its opening lines to which the rest of the poem corresponds. The numerical framework is a mode of emphasis. Thus (in the second of the two examples) : to say that the mutual behavior of a pair of lovers was unintelligible to any but themselves would be frigid prose. It has a point when the behavior is made a climax to three other things untraceable — the way of the eagle, the serpent, the ship in water. Page 402. A Riddle Sonnet. — In modern poetry the ' Sonnet' is restricted to a single specialized form — 14 lines disposed in logical order. In earlier literature there is no limitation to the 14 lines. In wisdom literature the idea of a sonnet is the adaptation of matter to form — not any one form, but to what is markedly form. In the present case the form is pronounced. A riddle in six brief lines, with the answer in a couplet; then there is both reversed order and duplication, the couplet becomes a quatrain, and for six single lines we have six couplets. Some element of form dominating matter will be found to underlie all the poems printed as ' sonnets. ' Page 403. The Epigram. — In wisdom literature the epigram has a definite structure: a couplet text with a brief verse expansion. As printed in this work, the two fines (not necessarily consecutive) which make the text are indented to the left. Thus, of the specimens here given the texts of the second and third are — Weary not thyself to be rich; Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? Eat thou not the bread of one that hath an evil eye, For as one that reckoneth within himself, so is he. Each of these could stand by itself as an independent proverb. To make an epigram the independent proverb is supported by other lines. The grudging host seems to reckon up in his mind the cost of each morsel his guest eats. Page 404. A Maxim. — The maxim is the prose analogue of the epigram: a proverb text with a prose expansion. The two specimens illustrate. Page 406. Out of prison he came forth to he king.— Many interpreters, missing the maxim form, have sought (without success) to find a political allusion in 504 § Proverbs, Ecclesiasticus these words. The maxim is of man in general: the prison is the womb: the thought is, We brought nothing into this world. This ma.xim makes a contrast between a king, enfeebled by age, and an ordinary subject with youth on his side. [Note the criterion of age: who knoweth not how to receive admonition any more: a man is old only when he ceases to be capable of improvement.] The king had to be born as a baby: than which nothing is poorer or more helpless. Compare (page 440) King Solomon on his birth. — / saw all the living . . . that they were with the youth, the second, etc. The maxim goes on to kingly succession: all the world attended the youthful successor of the old king, yet in time this successor will be forgotten in his turn. Page 408. The Sluggard. A Sonnet. — Wordsworth in one of his Prefaces, dealing with the topic of Poetic Diction, makes a fine contrast between this poem, of primitive simplicity, and a paraphrase of the same by Dr. Samuel Johnson, which reaches the very limit of the artificial. Turn on the prudent Ant thy heedless eyes, Observe her labors, Sluggard, and be wise. No stern command, no monitory voice, Prescribes her duties, or directs her choice. Yet, timely provident, she hastes away To snatch the blessings of a plenteous day. When fruitful Summer loads the teeming plain, She crops the harvest, and she stores the grain. How long shall sloth usurp thy useless hours? Unnerve thy vigor, and enchain thy powers? While artful shades thy downy couch enclose, And soft solicitation courts repose, Amidst the drowsy charms of dull delight, Year chases year with unremitted flight, Till Want, now following, fraudulent and slow, Shall spring to seize thee, like an ambush' d foe. Page 415. Be stedfast in thy covenant.~Thd,t is, thy occupation, the way of life to which thou art committed. Page 415. He himself made man . . . and left him in the hand of his own counsel. — The phrase finely describes the operation of free will. Compare above (page 420) : afflict not thyself in thine own counsel, in application to brooding, or worry. Page 417. What is brighter than the sun? etc.— The parallelism brings out the sense; the first and third lines are parallel. He looketh referring to the sun. Even the bright sun suffers eclipse; so man is overpowered by the fleshly element in him. Page 419. On the Tongue.— Compare this with the Essay of St. James on the Responsibility of Speech. [N. T. volume, page 363.] Page 423. In the hatuiywork of their craft is their prayer. — ^The familiar Latin sa>dng, Laborare est orare. Page 424. In the words of the Lord are his works.^This is usually interpreted 505 Notes to Particular Books g> of creation by fiat. But the sense is rather that the works of nature are to be received as part of God's sayings to man. Compare The heavens declare the glory of God (page 287) and following lines. Page 426. Praise of Famous Men. — What is here given is only a fragment of a long Essay, enumerating the worthies of Israel. Its treatment of Elijah is a specimen. — For we also shall surely live. This is recognized as one of the most difficult passages in Ecclesiasticus. It cannot be a recognition of immortality, for that doctrine is absent from the book. The explanation is probably this. The verse passages in Ecclesiasticus are not the words of the Son of Sirach, but quotations from prophetic hymns (which are lost) . In such hymns the line would not be surprising; it would refer to the deliverance of the prophets by Elijah from the persecution of Jezebel. (Pages 79-87.) Page 429. All the rivers run into the sea . . . unto the place whither the rivers go, thither they go again. — A reference to the circle of the waters as conceived by the ancients. Ocean is the real source of rivers: water from the surface of the ocean is drawn up in vapor, condensed into rain, thus makes rivers running to the ocean their ultimate source. This is a favorite idea in poetry, for spiritual application to man's inherent tendency to his Creator. A fine example is from Sir John Davies's poem Nosce Teipsum. And as the moisture, which the thirsty earth Sucks from the sea, to fill her empty veins, From out her womb at last doth take a birth, And runs a lymph along the grassy plains: Long doth she stay, as loth to leave the land. From whose soft side she first did issue make; She tastes all places, turns to every hand, Her flowery hanks unwilling to forsake: Yet nature so her streams doth lead and carry, As that her course doth make no final stay. Till she herself unto the ocean marry. Within whose watery bosom first she lay: E'en so the soul, which in this earthly mould The spirit of God doth secretly infuse, Because at first she doth the earth behold, And only this material world she views: At first her mother earth she holdeth dear. And doth embrace the world, and worldly things; She flies close by the ground, and hovers here, And mounts ?wt up with her celestial wings. Yet under heaven she cannot light on aught That with her heavenly nature doth agree: She cannot rest, she cannot fix her thought, She cannot in this world contented be. 506 <§- Ecclesiastes Page 430. I searched in mine heart . . . how to lay hold on folly. — ^The imagin- ary experimenter is resolved to test all the types of pleasure, including some which the wise call follies (that is impurities) : but he adds the parenthesis, mine heart yet guiding me with wisdom: he tries the follies, not for their own sake, but to see what they will contribute to his sense of wisdom. Page 431. / hated all my labour, etc. — Our modern word would be rather cnierprizc. Page 431. The Philosophy of Times and Seasons. — The previous essay was a search for a summum bonum; the suggestion of this is that perhaps wisdom is found in multa bona: that all the particular things of life have some place in the field of wisdom; only the writer takes the metaphor of time instead of place. Page 432. Also, he hath set the world in their heart. — The expression world is for the sense of the universal. Man cannot appreciate the attraction of the details through his craving after the underlying meaning of the whole, which the essayist proceeds to express as the work that God hath done from the beginning even to the end. Bacon makes a fine use of this passage in expounding inductive philosophy [Advancement of Learning, paragraph 3 of Book I]. — declaring not obscurely, that God hath framed the mind of man as a mirror or glass, capable of the image of the universal world, and joyful to receive the impression thereof, as the eyejoyeth to receive light; and not only delighted in beholding the variety of things and vicissitude of times, but raised also to find out and discern the ordinances and decrees, which throughout all those changes are infallibly observed. And although he doth insinuate that the supreme or summary law of nature, which he calleth The work which God worketh from the beginning to the end, is not possible to be found out by man; yet that doth not derogate from the capacity of the mind, but may be referred to the impediments, as of slwrtness of life, ill conjunction of labours, ill tradition of knowledge over from hand to hand, and many other inconveniences, where- unto the condition of man is subject. Page 433. The fool foldeth his hands, etc.— The punctuation in the text sug- gests that these words are an objection by an imaginary antagonist: to which the essay makes rejoinder, Better an handful of quietness, etc. Page 434. Rejoice, O young man . . . but know thou . . . God will bring thee into judgement. — The whole sentence has been interpreted as a sarcasm: Take thy pleasures, but there will come a terrible judgment. This is impossible, for the sentence continues. Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, etc. The word judgement has reference to moral responsibility. The argument sym- pathizes with the pleasures of youth, provided only that this is responsible pleasure, recognizing the law of right and wrong. Page 434. When the keepers of the house shall tremble, etc.— Fox the symbolism of the whole sonnet see note on page 515. Page 436. Collectors of sentences which are given from one shepherd.— The latter words refer to the peculiarity of this book in the evolution of wisdom literature: the collection is unified [by prologue and epilogue] into the thought of a single thinker. See above, page 392. .507 Notes to Particular Books -g> Page 436. Ungodly men . . . called death unto them . . . they fnade a covenant with him. — The life of the ungodly is interpreted as equivalent to a covenant with death, replacing Israel's covenant with God. [Contrast Isaiah's discourse with the same title, where covenant with death means secret treaty that death should pass his friends by. Page i88.] The order of thought in the monologue that follows is: (i) It is certain that death ends all things. (2) There- fore enjoy while we can. (3) Antagonism to the righteous who profess other faith. Page 438. Understanding is gray hairs unto men, and an unspotted life is ripe old age. — As appears throughout the O. T. the great trial to faith was the spec- tacle of wickedness continuing to live and prosper, and righteousness cut off by untimely death. The present passage maintains that there is no such thing: the righteousness of the life is equivalent to length of days, or Being made perfect in a little while he fulfilled long years. This lofty conception, together with its converse, is finely stated by Young, in his Night Thoughts. Virtue, not rolling suns, the mind matures. That life is long which answers life's great end. The time that bears no fruit deserves no name. The man of wisdom is the man of years. In hoary youth Methusalehs m^y die: O how misdated on their flattering tombs! Page 440. Solomon's Winning of Wisdom. — Ecclesiastes contains an im- agined experiment of Solomon to find wisdom. As if in rejoinder, this book am- plifies the historic incident (/ Kings 3^) of the Dream of Solomon at Gibeon, in which, called upon by God to ask what he desired, Solomon chose to ask for wisdom. Page 443. Give me Wisdom, her that sitteth by thee on thy throne. — Compare the Wisdom Hymns, especially page 410. Page 446. The Adversary came also among them. Adversary is the translation of the word Satan. But there are two different usages of the word: as a proper name Satan is Adversary of God, or the Devil. Here and in Zechariah (page 249) the Adversary is the title of an official: an inspector of the Earth, who is adversary of the saints, and only in the sense in which any inspector is for the time being the adversary of those he is charged to inspect. There is nothing malignant in what he does: he reports upon the case of Job, and suggests tests of Job which God approves. 508 GENERAL NOTES I. Verse in the Bible It will be seen that what appears as verse in the Modern Reader's Bible differs from verse in ordinary English poetry. It is not made by rhyme, or numbering of syllables in a line; nor does it depend upon feet and longer or shorter syllables, as in Latin; nor upon alliteration, as in Early English. Its basis is something which is called Parallelism of clauses. The LORD of hosts is with lis; The God of Jacob is oivr refuge. He maketh wars to cease unto the ends of the earth; He breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; He burneth the chariots in the fire. The ear catches, in the first passage two clauses, in the second passage three clauses, which run parallel with one another. It is this parallelism of clauses which constitutes Biblical verse. That such parallelism of clauses gives the sense of recurrent rhythm which is the essence of verse in all languages the reader may satisfy himself by a simple experiment. Let him take such a poem as the National Hymn of the Promised Land (page 53), and, commencing at a particular point, let him read on omitting every alternate line. What he thus reads will come out as plain prose. He hath remembered his covenant for ever, the covenant which he made with Abraham, and confirmed the same unto Jacob for a statute, saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, when they were but few in number; and they went about from nation to nation. He suffered no man to do them wrong: ^^ Touch not mine anointed ones." Now let him read again, putting in the omitted lines: he will feel how a sense of rhythm is given by the addition of the parallel lines. The difference is like that between walking and dancing: what makes the dance is the poise of the body maintained from one movement to another. He hath remembered his covenant for ever, The word which he commaiuled to a thousand generations; The covenant which he made with Abraham, And his oath unto Isaac; And confirmed the same unto Jacob for a statute, To Israel for an everlasting covenant: Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, The lot of your inheritance: 509 General Notes g> When they were but a few men in number; Yea, very few, and sojourners in it; And they went about from nation to nation, From one kingdom to another people. He suffered no man to do them wrong; Yea, he reproved kings for their sakes; " Touch not mine anointed ones. And do my prophets no harm.'' It needs only a little practice for the ear to accommodate itself to this Paral- leUsm as a basis of rhythm. And upon this basis we have a verse system show- ing all the range and niceties of effect which belong to English or Greek verse. In the full Modern Reader's Bible such intricacies are explained for those who are interested in questions of prosody. But for the ordinary reader no detailed explanation is necessary if, as in the present work, the verse is so printed as to bring out the rhythm to the eye. It may assist if two further remarks on parallelism are added, (i) Distinguish Similar and Dissimilar parallelism. The first obtains where, in a given sequence, all lines are parallel with one another. Yet he commanded the skies above, And opened the doors of heaven; And he rained down manna upon them to eat. And gave them of the corn of heaven Man did eat the bread of the mighty; He sent them meat to the full. Dissimilar parallelism implies that particular lines adhere together with a bond that is closer than the bond which unites them all into a sequence. The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid? This passage is obviously a single sequence; and yet the third line is closely parallel with the first, the fourth with the second. The printing indicates such dissimilar parallelism, on the principle that Similar lines are similarly indented. (2) The unit in such parallelism is either the single line or the couplet. But there is also another unit, unlike anything in modern verse. This is the ' strain ' : it consists of a couplet, either line of which may be strengthened by an addi- tional line, but not both. Strive thou, 0 LORD, with them that strive with me: Fight thou against them that fight against me. Take hold of shield and buckler arui stand up for mine help: Draw out also the spear atul stop the way against them that pursue me: Say unto my soul, I am thy salvation. 510 <§- General Notes Let destruction come upon him at unawares; And let his net that he hath hid catch himself; Into that very destruction let him fall. All three are 'strains': the first is a simple couplet; the second is a couplet with the first line strengthened; the third has the second line strengthened. It is very important for the appreciation of Biblical lyrics to accustom the mind to this idea of an elastic unit. When once this idea is grasped it becomes easy to see, for example, that the two divisions of the psalm entitled the Drama of Night and Morning (page 318) are perfectly symmetrical, although one contains eight lines, the other nine: as printed it is obvious to the eye that each portion is made up of four strains. 2. Metrical and Rhetorical Figures The term 'Figures' in poetry is apt to suggest technicalities. But the leading metrical and rhetorical figures in Biblical verse are closely connected with the interpretation of particular passages. The printing of these passages brings out the figure; but it is an assistance if the reader has in mind the chief figures he is likely to meet with. In the Envelope Figure the opening lines are repeated at the close: what comes between is to be understood in the light of this opening and close. A clear example is the psalm, Man the Viceroy of God (page 286). More often we have a modified Envelope: the close is not a repetition of the opening, but modifies it, or continues its thought. Compare The Consecrated Life (page 322); or the Song of the Thunderstorm (page 285, and see note, page 495). As in ordinary poetry, Refrains are found recurring in difi'erent parts of a poem. Compare God our Refuge and Strength (page 103), or Exiled from the House of God (page 313). For more elaborate refrains see note (page 497) on the Song of the Redeemed (page 294). There are regularly Stanzas of parallel lines: triplet stanzas, page 297; quatrains (pages 279, 299); and others. In Biblical poetry we sometimes have Mixed Stanzas: two different stanzas in the same poem. Compare the great Ode on The World Within and The World Without (page 288) : the note (page 496) shows how the shifting from the one stanza to the other reflects the thought of the poem. Instead of regular stanzas, some poems are in Strophes: this is simply the verse analogue for the Paragraph in prose, hence the strophes are of varying lengths. Examples: Prefatory Psalm (page 271); National Hymn of the Prom- ised Land (page 53). The antistrophic structure, so familiar to the reader of Greek poetry, is frequent in the lyrics of the Bible. The idea is of stanzas running in pairs, strophe and antistrophe; the antistrophe exactly balances its strophe, but the rhythm may change altogether between one pair and another. A clear example is the first of the psalms in David's Inauguration of Jerusalem (page 68): where the pairs of strophes run (in fines) 6,6; 3,3; 4,4. Such poems often have an Introduction, or Conclusion, or both, outside the antistrophic structure. Thus the Vision of Judgement (page 293) has an elaborate introduction, pictur- 5n General Notes -§> ing the advance of the God of Judgment; then in a strophe the address of God to the Saints, and in its antistrophe his address to the Sinners. The Two Paths (page 408) has a strophe, the path of the Righteous, antistrophe, the path of the Wicked; conclusion in which the two are blended in imagery of light and darkness. In the Royal Marriage H>Tnn (page 278), after a brief introduction, the strophe is devoted to the Bridegroom and the antistrophe to the Bride. Especially characteristic of Biblical poetry is the Pendulum Figure, in which the thought sways alternately from one to the other of two topics, such as Judgment and Salvation. [As printed, the Hnes are alternately indented to the left or the right.] A fine example is the National Hymn of the Kingdom of Judah (page 96); see note (page 479) in which the transitions between the one and the other topic are fully described. Introversion, as an effect associated with antistrophic structure, has been described in a note (page 502) on the Song of the Exodus. Other examples are Wisdom the Supreme Prize (page 407), and the Taunt of Fallen Babylon (pp. 151-2). A figure strange to the modern reader is Interruption: where one type of structure is interrupted in the middle by another. A simple example is the Song of Trust (page 321; see note, page 500). In the psalm on The Declining Life and The Abiding Lord (pp. 316-7) the effect is obvious. 3. Direct Metaphor, especially in the Psalms A particular mode of conveying imager>' comes to be of special importance in the poetry of the Psalms from its bearing upon questions of interpretation. According to a well-known distinction, the Simile is a branch of imagery in which the comparison is indicated by a distinct particle {like, as, etc.) linking the image to the direct statement. As the hart panteth after the -water brooks, So panteth my soul after thee, 0 God. A Metaphor, on the contrarj^ has no such symbol of comparison, but the words conveying the image are interwoven into the framework of the direct sentence: My hunted sotd panteth after the water brooks of Zion. The interweaving may be effected in a large variety of ways: and it is not difficult to see that some modifications of the expression may be such that the metaphorical element may have the appearance of direct speech. One modifica- tion of the image just cited might be — A hunted hart panteth after the water brooks of Zion: but this is an ambiguous expression, which might be interpreted as a direct statement of fact, and not a metaphor. Such expressions I am here calHng Direct Metaphors. There are several places in the Book of Psahns where the interpretation of a 512 § General Notes whole poem, or section of a poem, seems to turn upon the question whether certain words are metaphor or direct speech. In Psalm viii, we find — Out of the month of babes atid sucklings hast thon established strength, etc. This has been read as a direct statement, and various attempts have been made, with little success, to explain the allusion. It is better to understand an image: Out of man, who is, as it were, no more than a babe and suckling in comparison with the world he is to govern, hast thou established strength of rule, etc. The ordinary- mistake has been caused by neglect of the structure of this psalm. The usual versions make the opening apostrophe consist of three lines: O Lord, our Lord, How excellent is thy name in all the earth: Who hast set thy glory upon the heavens. Accordingly, the commencement of the argument becomes the sentence, Otit of the mouth of babes, etc., which naturally wears the air of a direct statement. But the envelope figure requires in the present case that only two lines con- stitute the opening (and closing) apostrophe (see pages 286, 287); and the opening of the argument now reads thus: Who hast set thy glory upon the heavens, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou established strength, etc. That the architect of the mighty heavens should have elected the mere babe, man, as his deputy over creation is the wonder, not only of the opening lines, but of the whole psalm, which takes a clear unity under the title, Man the Viceroy of God. Again, a critical sentence in the psalm on page 96 is the following: The children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows, Turned back in the day of battle. They kept not the covenant of God, etc. It has been customary to see in this an allusion to a specific historical incident, though no satisfactory incident of history has been adduced. Here, again, the whole can be read as a piece of imagery: Like warriors who, in armour and with weapons in hand, turn their backs in the midst of the battle, so the children of Eph- raim were treacherous to the covenant of God. No particular incident is described, but the whole defection of northern Israel from the covenant is compared to soldiers deserting on the field of battle. And this makes a suitable starting- point for the psalm, which is a national hymn of Judah, portraying alternately God's strength displayed over his people, and their frailty resisting his purposes, until a final outburst of divine power rejects northern Israel and proclaims the house of David as the chosen people. It may be added that a not dissimilar image (but this time in simile form) occurs in a later verse: But turned back, aftd dealt treacherously like their fathers: They were turned aside like a deceitful bow. 513 General Notes -g> Another important case arises in the Psahn of God's House (p-d'^e 3,^). Y(\i, the sparrow hatJi found Iter an house, And the sicallow a nest for herself, where she nuiy lay her young, Even thine altars, O LORD of hosts, my king and my God. Read as direct statement, this has been understood b>- some commentators to refer the psalm to the period of the exile when the temple is in ruins, the haunt of birds; others see an indication that the poet must have been a dweller in the temple precincts, accustomed to watch the birds flitting round the sacred edifice. A better interpretation is surely found by understanding an image: Like the birds finding in spring their nesti)ig places, so the saerai seasons of the pilgrimages bring me to the altars of God. Nothing else in the psalm suggests the period of the exile, the whole being filled with the idea of the pilgrimages to Jerusalem at the sacred feasts: the passage here discussed adds the exquisite image which compares the joyous approach of the sacred festivals with a stirring instinct of birds in the nesting season. The thought is very close to the opening of Chau- cer's Canterbury Tales: Whannc that A pril with his shoures sate The drought of Marc he hath perced to the rote, And bathed every veine in swiche licour, Of wiche vertue engendred is the flour; . . . And smale foules maken melodie. That si e pen alle night with open eye, So pricketh hem nature in hir corages; Then longenfolk to gon on pilgrimages. A subtle and beautiful example of this eft'ect is the regular use in Biblical poetry of the phrase /;/ the morning: the underlying metaphor being that* of night changing to day to express a sense of trouble and its passing away in deliverance. In its fullest expression the image may be seen in such passages as these: Weeping may tarry for the night, but Joy cometh in the morning. At eventide behold terror, and before the morning they are not; this is the portion of them that spoil us. The upright shall have dominion over them in the morning. More indirectly, we have the same eflfect in the psalm on page 282. O satisfy us in the morning with thy mercy; That we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Taken with the context the thought is: Let the sinful past be a night of which the succeeding morning of mercy will brighten all our future. 514 <§- General Notes Outside the Book of Psalms a striking example of such Direct Metaphor is found in the second Act of the Rhapsody of Habakkuk (pa^^c 255; see note 491). The words, Wine is a treacherous dealer mij^ht be read as a proverbial saying;, but is really the image on which rests the whole 'solution' of the problem: the haughty career of the Chaldeans is compared to the reeling of the drunkard which precedes his fall. Similarly, in the I)oom of the Chaldeans which follows: the ideas reflected in successive strophes — usury, house building, city building by violence — have often been understood directly, as characteristics of the Chaldeans. A truer interpretation is to understand each as an image, by which the sudden fall of the Chaldeans is illustrated. 4. Imagery and Symbolism Certain portions of the O. T. contain oriental symbolism, which must be dis- tinguished from the imagery of our western poetry. In both there is com- parison of one thing to another; in imagery the comparison appeals to the imagination, whereas in symbolism the imagination must often be restrained, if the effect is to be caught. To illustrate. When we read (in Shakespeare) — Golden lads and girls all must, As chimney-sweepers come to dust — the imagination at once conceives a picture of the bright hair of youth as re- sembling gold. A passage of the Song of Songs seems at first to be imagery of this kind: His heed is of the most fine gold — but the sentence continues — His locks are black, and bushy as a raven. The imagination cannot conceive the same hair as both golden-colored and raven-black. But in symbolism, where the imagination is quiescent, the com- bination is possible: gold is the highest thing of its class, raven-black is the highest thing of its class, my love's hair must be both. A famous tour-de-force of such oriental symbolism characterizes a sonnet in Ecclesiastes (page 434). For contrast the reader might note a stanza of the western poet Sackville presenting the same picture of old age. Crookback'd he was, tooth shaken, and blear-eyed; Went on three feet, aiui sometimes crept on four; With old lame bones that rattled by his side. His scalp all piWd, and he with eld fori ore; His withered fist still knocking at death's door; Tumbling and drivelling as he draws his breath: For brief, the shape arui messenger of death. 515 General Notes § Every phrase of this impresses a picture on the imagination. The comparisons of the Biblical sonnet avoid pictures. — Or ever the sun, and the light . . . be darkened: in view of the opening words of the Essay, which take the 'light' and 'sun' as symbols of the whole happiness of conscious existence, it is clear that the darkening of this light is the gradual failing of the joy of living. — And the clouds return after the rain: an exquisite symbol closely akin to the last. In youth we may overstrain and disturb our health, but we soon rally; these are storms that quickly clear up. In age the rallying power is gone: 'the clouds return after the rain.' — The keepers of the house shall tremble: Cheyne under- stands of the hands and arms, the trembling of which is a natural accompaniment of old age. Compare in the parallel above the withered fist knocking at death's door. — The strong men shall bow themselves: the stooping frame; the plural is merely by attraction to 'keepers.' — The grinders cease because they are few: obviously of the teeth. — Those that look out of the windows be darkened: the eyes becoming dim. — The doors shall be shut in the street: the general connection of ideas makes it inevitable that the ' folding-doors ' should be the jaws; clenched jaws are so marked a feature in the skull that it is not difficult to associate them with the picture of old age. — When the sound of the grinding is low, and one shall rise up at the voice of bird, and all the daughters of music shall be brought low: these must be taken together: appetite, sleep, and speech are all feeble. Grinding must be interpreted as grinders in the previous part of the sonnet: the loud or low sound of such grinding may fitly typify the eagerness of appetite or the reverse. The early waking or short sleeping of the old is well known. The daughters of music are the tones of the voice. — They shall be afraid of that which is high, and terrors shall be in the way: the gait of old age is, through physical feebleness, much what the gait of a person terrified is for other reasons. Com- pare Sackville's lines: Next saw we Dread, all trembling how he shook, With foot tcncertain proffered here and there. The almond tree shall blossom, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and the caper-berry shall burst: the three are linked together as being images from natural objects, not because of their symbolizing similar things. The blossoming of the almond tree I believe to be the sparse white hairs of age. It would be unlikely that this obvious symptom should be omitted; and of the almond tree these two things are established: (i) it is the first to blossom (and its Hebrew name is founded on this), (2) though not strictly white its blossoms look white by contrast with other blossoms. The whitish blossoms, solitary while all is bare around, just yield the image required. The grasshopper is evidently a symbol for a small object, which is nevertheless heavy to feeble age. The caper-berry shall burst: the last stage of its decay: the failing powers at last give way. And then follows the dropping of the symbolism: "Man goeth to his long home." So far we have had symbols for failure of powers; now for actual death and dissolution. Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken: a symbol from the house-lamp of gold, suspended by a silver cord, suddenly slipping its cord and breaking, its light becoming extinguished. For bowl in this sense com- pare Zechariah, chapter iv, 2, 3. — Or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the 516 <§- General Notes wheel broken at the cistern: these are exquisite symbols for the sudden and violent cessation of every-day functions. Compare the popular proverb: "The pitcher goes to the well once too often." — And the spirit return unto God who gave it: this by analogy with the previous line must be interpreted to mean no more than that the man becomes just what he was before he was born. 5. Literary ^ Formulce^ in Ecclesiastes One of the characteristic features of style in this book is the employment over and over again of certain phrases, which have the effect of 'formulas': they are always used consistently, but the sense of each must be caught from the whole group. Vanity of vanities, all is vanity. All things are full of weariness. All is vanity and a striving after wind. This also was vanity. There is a vanity which is done upon the earth. It cotneth in vanity, and departeth in darkness. There be many things that increase vanity. Etymologically the word for 'vanity' is suggestive of breath or vapor. But the force of these formulae is best appreciated by noting how the word occupies the position which in other Biblical philosophy is occupied by the word 'wis- dom,' in the sense of the universal harmony or one-ness. Thus 'vanity' to this thinker connotes the failure to satisfy the reflective faculty. In this connection 'air or 'all things' is suggestive: it is antithetic to the conception of a unity in the universe. All that is done under heaven. All the works that are done under the sun. What it was good for the sons of men that they should do under the heaven all the days of their life. The work that is wrought under the sun. There is a grievous evil which I have seen iDider the swi. Who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun? Thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth. All the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun. (Many others) The whole group of expressions, under the sun, or tipon the earth, etc., make formulae for the objective world, antithetic to the world of consciousness and reflection which fills the thought of the book. Another antithesis to these ex- pressions is the following : The work that God hath done from the beginning even to the end. The work of God who doeth all. Consider the work of God . . . God hath even made [prosperity] side by side with [adversity]. S17 General Notes § These are formulae, not for the phenomena, but for the underlying principles which are hidden, and (Ecclestiastes thinks) impossible to discover. Another set of expressions are used to introduce distinct stages or steps in the reflective process. / communed with mine own heart. I said in mine heart. I searched in mine heart how . . . Then I looked. And I turned myself to behold. I returned, and saw. All this have I seen, and applied my heart unto . . . etc. The following make an important group. There is nothing better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and make his soul enjoy good in his labour. Who can cat, or who can have enjoyment, more than I? Nothing better for them than to rejoice and to get good so long as they live: atui also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy good in all his labour is . . . There is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his works. Good . . . and comely . , . to eat and to drink, and to enjoy good in all his labour. Riches and wealth and . . . power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour. God giveth riches, wealth, and honour, so that he lackcth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof. Then I conimetided mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the sun than to eat and to drink and to be merry: and that this shoidd accojnpany him in his labour all the days of his life. When all these passages are read together it becomes evident that the expression eat and drink is not used by this writer in the limited sense of indulging sensuous appetite, but as a formula for appreciation in the widest extent: some of these passages applying eat and drink to riches, to labor, and even to honor. A similar remark may be made as to mirth: the last quotation makes it an element of labor. As a fact, Ecclesiastes never dwells upon the revel, or the sensuous, by itself: all happy appreciation of Hfe is treated as one, 6. Key Words in the Bible There are certain characteristic words used in Scripture in a sense diflferent from, or wider than, the modern usage. All these words have been explained where they occur; but it may be an assistance to the student to have attention called to them again. 518 § General Notes Prophecy has not its modern sense of prediction; it means interpreting for Deity. [Fully discussed on page 144.] Holy, Holiness, have sometimes the modern sense of the words (<•. ,1;., Isaiah's Call, page 181). But their main use in the O. T. is to express the scparatcncss of Israel from the nations. Compare on page 499 note to page 308. Righteousness has our modern sense of being right, but also the special sense of making right, vindicating right, almost an equivalent for salvation. Thus (in Zion Redeemed) Do righteousness: for my salvation is near to come, and mv righteousness to he revealed. Compare on page 487 note to page 196. Judgment is the regular Biblical term for the modern word Providence. The word covenant is a special term throughout the Bible for the relation between God and man. Compare pages 3, 9, 138. The word Theocracy does not occur in the Bible; but the idea it stands for is the connecting Knk between all parts of Scripture. See page 472; and on page 500 end of note to page 342. The Kingdom of God on earth: this, in various phases of it, is the dominant thought of both O. T. and N. T. 7. Name of Deity In the text of the Bible most English versions (but not all) follow an ancient custom of avoiding the frequent use of the special name of Deity (Jehovah), and substituting "The Lord " The exact usage could not be stated except in terms of the original Hebrew. But for practical purposes the reader may understand that "The Lord," or "The Lord God," spelled with capitals, repre- sents the actual name of Deity. Spelled without capitals "The Lord" may apply to God, but is not the sacred name. The present work follows this usage so far as the text of the Bible is concerned; but uses "Jehovah" as title of a speaker in dialogue. [E. g. in Zion Redeemed.] S19 INDEXES I. Connecting the Selections in this work with the Chapter and Verse arrange- ment of ordinary Bibles II. General Index. S2I INDEX I PAGE CHAP. vers: Genesis, pages 3, 9-34 9 The Creation of the World i i 1 1 Temptation in the Garden 2 4 1 1 Cain and Abel 4 i 1 2 The Flood 6 9 1 2 Story of Babel 11 i 13 Call of Abraham 12 i 13 Offering of Isaac 22 i 13 Wooing of Rebekah 24 i 17 Esau and Jacob 27 i 18 Jacob's Dream 28 10 19 Joseph and his Brethren 37-47 Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, page 34 35 The Plagues of Egypt Ex. i 8 35 Song of Triumph at the Red Sea Ex. 15 i 38 Law of the Ten Commandments Ex. 19 3 39 Story of Balak and Balaam Numb. 22 41 National Hymn of the Wilderness Psalm 136 Deuteronomy, page 43 44 Oration at Rehearsal of Blessing 27, 28 49 Song of Moses 32 Joshua, pages 50, 52 I Passage of the Jordan 3 i ^^ \ Siege of Jericho 5 13 53 National Hymn of the Promised Land Psalm 105 Judges, page 55 55 Song of Deborah 5 i 59 Story of Gideon 6 i 60 Abimelech and Jotham 9 i 61 Story of Jephthah 10 6 Book of Ruth, page 62 I Samuel, pages 63, 100 63 Call of the Child Samuel 2 12 65 Saul and David 15 fol. 522 <§- Index I PAGE CHAP. \T':RSK II Samuel, pages 65, 67, 100 65 David's Lament i jg 67 David's Inauguration of Jerusalem Narrative: 6 68 Starting of the Procession Psalm 30 69 Anthem at Foot of Hill Psalm 24 i 69 Anthem before the Gates Psalm 24 7 70 Dedication of the Tabernacle Psalm 132 71 Before the House of David Psalm loi 71 Song of Victory 22 3 73 Story of David and Nathan n 2 74 Revolt of Absalom 13 fol. I Kings, pages 74, 100 75 Solomon's Dedicatory Prayer 8 23 77 Stor>^ of the Divided Kingdom 12 i 79 Elijah and the Prophets of Baal 17 82 Elijah in the Desert 19 85 Story of Naboth's Vineyard 21 87 Micaiah and Battle of Ramoth-Gilead 22 n Kings, pages 90, 100 86 Ascent of Elijah to Heaven 2 90 Elisha and the Shunammite's Son 4 8 92 Naaman and Gehazi 5 94 The Expedition against Elisha 6 8 96 National Hymn of Kingdom of Judah Psalm 78 loi Hezekiah and the Sennacherib Incident 18, 19 103 God our Refuge and Strength Psalm 46 104 Song of Deliverance Psalm 48 105 Manasseh 21 105 Josiah and Discovery of Deuteronomy 22 3 107 National Hymn of the Captivity Psalm 106 no Elegy: Babylon and Jerusalem Psalm 137 111 Elegy: Jerusalem in Heaps Psalm 79 112 Stories of the Captives in Babylon 112 The Burning Eiery Furnace Daniel 3 114 Dream of the Tree cut down Daniel 4 117 Belshazzar's Feast Daniel 5 1 20 The Den of Lions Daniel 6 Book of Esther, page 122 126 Poems of the Return 126 Seed Time and Harvest Psalm 1 26 127 Exile's Song of Deliverance Psalm 124 127 Anthem of Captivity Brought Back Psalm 85 523 Index I -Q> PAGE CHAP. VERS Ezra and Nehemiah, pages 126, 143 Memoirs of the Return 128 How Nehemiah rebuilt the Walls Neh. 1-7 134 Renewal of the Covenant Neh. 8, 9 I and II Chronicles, pages 141-143 142 Address of Abijah // Chr. 13 5 Isaiah, pages 173, 174, 180-206 [For Isaiah 40-66 see below, "Zion Redeemed"] 149 Doom of Babylon i3~i4 181 Call of the Prophet 6 i 182 The Great Arraignment i i 184 Through Judgement to Glory 2-4 187 Parable of the Vineyard S 188 The Covenant with Death 28 189 Utter Destruction and Great Restoration 34-35 191 The Child Immanuel and . . . Wonderful 7 i 195 Prophecies of the Watchman 21 196 Prophecy of Assyrian Invasion 10 5 200 A Rhapsody of Judgement 24-27 loi Incident of Sennacherib 36-37 Jeremiah, pages 173,174, 210-228, 145-148 145 Burning of the Roll 36 215 The Prophet's Manifesto 2-6 223 A Rhapsody of the Drought 14, iS 227 Battle of Carchemish 46 Sentences: 228 Let not the Wise Man 9 23 228 The days come that they shall no more say 23 7 228 The New Covenant 31 31 Ezekiel, pages 173, 174, 230-243, 1 63-1 71 230 Call of Ezekiel 1-3 165 The Mimic Siege 4, 5 167 The Sword of the Lord 21 235, 237 The Proverb of Sour Grapes 18 238 Wreck of the Good Ship Tyre 27 241 Shepherds of Israel and the Divine Shepherd 34 242 The Valley of Dry Bones 37 Daniel, pages 173, 174, 229, 112-22 1 1 2-22 Stories of the Captivity 2-6 524 <§- Index I ^^^^ • CHAP. VERSE Hosea, pages 173, 174, 175-177 175 The Yearning of God 11-14 Joel, pages 173, 174, 155-163 155 Rhapsody of the Locust Plague 1-3 Amos, pages 173, 174, 177-179 177 Then Amaziah the Priest of Beth-el sent 7 i© 178 Prepare to meet thy God 4 ^ Obadiah, pages 173, 174, 267 267 For the violence done i jq Jonah, pages 173, 174, 259-264 261 Flight to Tarshish i 262 Prayer of Jonah 2 263 Preaching at Nineveh 3 Micah, pages 173, 174, 207-208 207 The Lord's Controversy before the Mountains 6 i Nahum, pages 173, 174, 259-266 265 The Lord is a jealous God i i 265 He that dasheth in pieces 2 266 Thy shepherds slumber 3 18 Habakkuk, pages 173, 174, 254-258 254 Rhapsody of the Chaldeans 1-3 Zephaniah, pages 173, 174, 208-209 208 For then will I turn 3 9 Haggai, pages 173, 174, 244, 246 246 Speak now to Zerubabel 2 2 Zechariah, pages 173, 174, 244-246 247 The Sevenfold Vision i 7 246 Rejoice greatly 9 9 " Malachi," pages 173, 174, 252 252 Behold, I send my Messenger 3 i 252 Ye have said, It is vain 3 14 525 Index I g> Book of Psalms, pages 269-358 First Table : Connecting the Biblical numbering of the Psalms with the pages of the present work NO. PAGE NO. PAGE I 271 85 127 2 272 87 275 3,4 318 89 279 5 319 90, 91 281 6 320 92 334 8 286 93 286 II 321 94 298 14 297 95 •. 336 15 322 96 337 16 322 97 33^ 18 71 98 339 19 287 99 340 22 309 100 340 23 320 loi 71 24 69 102 316 27 303 103 288 29 285 104 289 30 68 105 53 31 305 106 107 32 304 107 294 34 332 no 273 36 324 III 342 37 299 112 343 39 315 113 343 40 327 114 344 42-3 313 IIS 345 45 278 116 346 46 103 117 348 48 104 118 349 50 293 119 324 51 312 124 127 55 329 126 126 63 323 132 '. 70 65 326 136 41 67 332 137 no 68 275 139 310 72 • 273 145 352 73 • 300 146 353 77 307 147 354 78 96 148 356 79 Ill 149 357 84- • •'"• 331 150 358 526 <§- Index I Second Table: Connecting the Psalms as grouped in the present work with the Biblical numbering BIBLICAL PAGE NO. 271 Prefatory Psalm i National Psalms 41 National Hymn of the Wilderness 136 53 National Hymn of the Promised Land 105 David's Inauguration of Jerusalem 68 Starting of the Procession 30 69 At foot of the Hill 24 » 69 Before the Gates 24 ^ 70 Dedication of the Tabernacle 132 71 Before the House of David loi 71 David's Song of Victory 18 96 National Hymn of Judah 78 103 God our Refuge and Strength 46 104 Song of Deliverance 48 107 National Hymn of the Captivity 106 no Elegy: Babylon and Jerusalem 137 III Elegy: Jerusalem in Heaps 79 126 Seedtime and Harv'est 1 26 127 Exile's Song of Deliverance 124 127 Anthem of Captivity Brought Back 85 272 Song of the Lord's Anointed 2 273 King and Priest no 273 A Dynasty of Righteousness 72 27s Zion Mother of Nations 87 275 A Processional Hymn 68 278 Royal Marriage Hymn 45 279 Elegiac Ode 89 281 Thoughts from the Song of Moses 90> Qi Psalms of Nature 285 Song of the Thunderstorm 29 286 Jehovah's Immovable Throne 93 286 Man the Viceroy of God 8 287 The Heaven Above and the Law Within 19 288 The World Within and the World Without 103, 104 Psalms of JuDOEiiENT 293 A Vision of Judgement 5© 294 Song of the Redeemed 107 297 Judgement of a Corrupt World 14 527 Index I -g> PAGE BIBLICAL NO. 298 Lord, How long? 94 299 The Prosperity of the Wicked , 37 500 Mystery of Prosperous Wickedness 73 Psalms of Religious Experiences 303 An Anthem of Deliverance 27 304 Blessedness of the Forgiven Soul 32 305 A Twice-Told Deliverance 31 307 The Right Hand of the Most High 77 309 Salvation in Extremity 22 310 The Searcher of Hearts Thy Maker , . . 139 312 Prayer of a Sin-stricken Conscience 51 313 Exiled from the House of God 42-3 315 A Struggle with Despair 39 316 Declining Life and Abiding Lord 102 Psalms of Prayer, Trust, Consecration 318 Drama of Night and Morning 3 3 18 An Evening Prayer 4 319 A Morning Prayer 5 320 An Answer to Prayer 6 320 Under the Protection of Jehovah 23 321 A Song of Trust 11 322 Personal Consecration 16 322 The Consecrated Life 15 323 God of my Life 63 324 Evil Unbounded. Infinite Good 36 324 From the Alphabet of the Law 119 Liturgies 326 A Liturgy 65 327 A Liturgy 40 329 Litany of the Oppressed. 55 Festal Hymns and Anthems 331 A Song of God's House 84 332 A Festal Response 67 332 Votive Hymn: My soul shall . . . boast 34 334 Votive Hymn: I will triumph 92 336-41 Festal Anthem: Jehovah Reigneth 95-100 342-51 Votive Anthem: The Egyptian Hallel 111-8 352-58 Hallelujah: A Festal Anthem i45~5o 528 <§- Index I PAGE CHAP. VERSE Lamentations, pages 359-361 359 How doth the city sit solitary i i 360 Is it nothing to you i 12 361 It is of the Lord's mercies 3 22 The Song of Songs, pages 362-365 363 I. The voice of my beloved 2 8 364 II. Who is this that cometh 3 6 365 HI. Who is she that looketh forth 6 10 365 IV. Set me as a seal 8 6 Zion Redeemed: Isaiah, 40-66, pages 367-385 373 Prelude. — A Cry of Comfort 40 i 374 Jehovah and the Idols 40 12 375 Grand Scene: The Nations summoned 41-43^ 378 Zion Witness to the Nations 55 380 The Servant of Jehovah Exalted 52 13 382 The Redeemer come to Zion 59-61^ 383 Song of Zion Redeemed 60 385 The Redeemer Entering Zion 61 i Wisdom Brevities, pages 393, 399-405 399 A word fitly spoken Prov. 25 11 399 He that hath pity upon the poor " 19 17 399 Even a fool when he holdeth his peace " 17 28 399 The beginning of strife " 17 14 399 The appetite of the labouring man " 16 26 399 Pride goeth before destruction " 16 18 399 The preparations of the heart " 16 i 400 A soft answer " 15 i 400 The heart knoweth its own bitterness " 14 10 400 There is that maketh himself rich " 13 7 400 The liberal Soul shall be made fat " 11 25 400 Where no oxen are '. " 14 4 400 He that is slow to anger " 16 32 400 It is naught, saith the buyer " 20 14 400 The words of a whisperer " 26 22 400 Boast not thyself of tomorrow " 27 i 400 As vinegar to the teeth " 10 26 401 All the brethren of the poor " 19 7 401 The getting of treasures " 21 6 401 As one that taketh off a garment " 25 20 401 Wrath is cruel " 27 4 401 The fining pot is for silver " 27 21 401 Proverb Cluster on the Sluggard " 26 13 529 Index I -^ PAGE CHAP. VERSE 402 Proverb Cluster on Graciousness Ecclus. 18 15 402 Number Sonnet: Two things Prov. 30 7 '* " There be three things " 30 18 402 Wine and woe " 23 29 403 Epigram on the Fool Ecclus. 22 11 404 Transitoriness of Riches Prov. 23 4 404 Hospitality of the Evil Eye " 23 6 404 Temptation {K Maxim) Ecclus. 2 i 404 A Riddle ]\Iaxim Eccles. 4 13 Book of Proverbs, pages 388, 391, 406-410 406 Wisdom's Cry of Warning i 20 407 Wisdom the Supreme Prize 3 11 408 The Two Paths 4 10 408 The Sluggard (Sonnet) 6 6 409 Wisdom in Praise of herself , 8 12 Ecclesiasticus, pages 388, 391, 411-428 411 True and False Fear 2 7 412 A Garden of Blessings 40 11 413 Wisdom's Way with her Children 4 11 414 Essay on Friendship 6 5 414 Prosperity and Adversity 11 11 415 Essay on Free Will 15 11 416 God's Work of Creation and Restoration 16 24 418 Against Gossip 19 4 419 On the Tongue 28 12 419 On Health 30 14 420 On Feasting 31 12 422 Wisdom of Business and of Leisure t,^ 24 423 The Burden of Life 40 i 424 The Works of the Lord 42 15 426 Praise of Famous Men 44~5o 427 Also there arose Elijah 48 i Ecclesiastes, pages 388, 392-398, 429-435 429 Prologue I I 429 Solomon's Search for Wisdom i 12 431 The Philosophy of Times and Seasons 2 i 434 Essay: Life as a Joy, etc 11 7 434 Sonnet:. The Coming of the Evil Days 12 i Wisdom of Solomon, pages 388, 393, 398, 436-444 436 Immortality and Covenant with Death i 12 440 Solomon's Winning of Wisdom 6 12 530 <§- Index I PAGE CHAP. VERSE Book of Job, pages 388, 389-390, 445-462 445 Story Prologue i i 449 For now should I have lien down 3 13 450 Sonnet of the Friends 28 452 Oh that my words were now written 19 23 453 The Oath of Clearing 31 453 Interposition of Elihu 32 453-4 On-coming of the Storm from 36 22 454 Divine Intervention 38 457 God speaking out of the Whirlwind 38 4 460 I had heard of thee 42 5 460 Story Epilogue 42 7 531 GENERAL INDEX *** For particular authors Accession Hymns 501 Adversary (Satan) in Job 446-8, 508 — in Zcchariah 245, 249 Alphabetical poetry 500, 324-5 Anonymous books of Scripture 171 ff., 252 Antistrophic structure 51 1-2 Apocrypha 5 Ark of the Covenant 473, 67 Assyrians 479 ■ — Isaiah's Prophecy of Assyrian Invasion 196-200 Augmenting Refrain 474 Babel and Pentecost 465-6 Bacon, Lord: his use of Ecdesiastes in his exposition of inductive science 507 Ballad 211 — Ballad Dance 469 ff". Bar of God: scene in Rhapsody of Zion Redeemed 369-71, 375-8 Boustrophedon as an ancient mode of writing 482, 119 Brevities, Wisdom 393, 399-405 Burden (or Oracle) as a special name for the Divine message 470 Gall of a Prophet: Isaiah 181 — Jere- miah 211 — Ezekiel 230-3 Chosen People : as a Nation 9,12 ff . — as a Family 13 — a divided nation 77 — replaced by the Kingdom of Judah 95 ff. ~ transformed into the Jewish Church 1 26 ff. Circle of Waters, poetic conception in >r ivorks use the other Itidex. Covenant, special Bible word equiva- lent to Testament: 3, g, 464, 505 (note to p. 415) — ark of the cove- nant 473 — The Covenant with Death (in Isaiah) 188, 485 — (in Wisdom of Solomon) 436, 508 Darkness, Plague of: treatment in poetry and in wisdom 468-9 Deborah, Song of 55-9, 473 Direct Metaphor: its importance for interpretation 512-5 Divination 30, 467 Doom: as a literary form 149 ff. (compare 371, 378-80) — as a spe- cies of prophecy 149-54 — illustra- tions: Isaiah's Doom of Babylon 149-53 — Habakkuk's Doom of the Chaldeans 256-7 Dream form in Zechariah 244 ff. — Dream interpretation 19, 22, 2^ ff., 1 14-7 Dumb Show in literature 164 Edomites 466, 267 Eli 63 ff. Emblem Prophecy 163-71— in the Story of ]\Iicaiah 478 — relation to Sustained Imagery 2^^ Envelope Figure 511 — Compare 485 Ephraim as a tribe of Israel 18 — prophetic name for northern Israel 481, 175-7 Ecdesiastes 506, 429 — compare Fable 60, 474 Colophon in Ecdesiaslicus 392 Controversy, The Lord's: special meaning 207 Figures, metrical and rhetoric 511-2 Floating Literature: in wisdom 391, 393« 399 — in prophecy 215, 485 Footnote (in Jonah) 260 533 General Index {? t::.' Formulae, Literary (in Ecclesiastes) 397-8, 517-8 Golden Age in prophecy 180, 487 Grouping of Psalms and Lyrics 5, 270 Hallel, The Egyptian 342-51, 501 Historic Outline of O. T. 8 (con- spectus) and Chapter I History and Story 3 Histrionic art as related to Emblem Prophecy 234 Holiness: O. T. usage of the word 41, 499 Imagery distinguished from Sym- bolism 515-7 Inmianuel Prophecy, The, in Isaiah 191-5, 485-6 Immortality as a conception in wis- dom literature 396-7, 436-9 Impressionist poetrv in Nahiim 261, 265 Inauguration of Jerusalem by Da\-id 67-71, 474-6 Interruption: as a lyric device 512 — ■ as a mode of evolution in primitive poetry 470 Introversion as a metrical figure 512, 344-5, 502 Ishmaelites 466 Jeroboam and the Schism 78 Jerusalem, Inauguration of 67-71, •474-6 Jeshurun 472 Job, Book of: distinct from the rest of wisdom literature 386, 389 — dramatized wisdom 445-62. — Pro- logue story 445-8 — the "Curse" as an elegy 449 — Debate or Philo- sophic Discussion 449 — Sonnet of the Friends 450-1 — philosophic position of Job 452-3 — oath of clearing 453. — The part of Elihu 453-4. — Change of scene 453-4. — The Divine Intervention and its significance 454-60. — Epilogue and its significance 460-1 Johnson, Dr. Samuel : his paraphrase of the Sonnet on the Sluggard 505 Judgment [spelled Judgement in the text of the Bible] one of the leading conceptions in prophepy 180 — Biblical equivalent of the modern word Provddence497, 155 — Psalms of Judgment 293 ff. Key words in the Bible 51 8-9 Kings, Four Books of 100 Lamentation and professional moiun- ing 359 Leviathan 205, 488 Library, The O. T. as a: 2 Life beyond the grave: in Ecclesiastes 396 — in Wisdom of Solomon 396-7. 436-9 Local Conception of Deity 259 Lord: usage as to the name of Deity 519 Lots, Feast of 483 Love Poetry in the Bible 363-5 Manasseh: question of his repentance 105 note Manifesto, Prophetic 489 — (Jere- miah's) 215-23 Manna 37 Messenger idea in prophecy 252-3 Metaphor Direct: importance for interpretation 512-5 Moimtain of the Lord, as a leading idea in prophecy 180, 487, 198-200 National Hymns, Four, of Israel: 41 — of the Wilderness 41 — of the Promised Land 53 — of the King- dom of Judah 96 — of the Cap- tivity 107 National Psalms 270, 272-84 — in- clude four National Anthems (41, 53, 96, 107) — Sennacherib Psalms 534 <§- General Index 103-4 — Poems of the Captivit}- iio-ii — of the Return from Caj)- tivity 126-8 Opposition: Prophets as a Spiritual Opposition to the Secular Govern- ment of Kings 8, 67, 144 Oracle (Burden) as a special name for the Divine message 470 Oratory in Deuteronomy 43 ff. Parable (of Nathan) 73 Parallelism, basis of Biblical verse: 509 — Similar and Dissimilar Par- allelism 510 Passover 35 Patriarchal stage in history of Israel 13-34, 466 Pendulum as a rhetorical and metrical figure 512 (especially, National Hymn of Judah 96-100, 480, Com- pare Hymn of the Captivity 107-10, 481) — and 95. — In prophetic prose 485 Pentecost 466, 489 Potter, Imagery of, in Jeremiah 212 Preacher, The, in Ecclesiastes 388, 392-3 Preface to O. T. 464, 9 — Prefatory stories 464-6 Prefatory Psalms 271, 493 Prelude to Zioii Redeemed 369, 373-4 Primitive Poetry: illustrated in the Red Sea Song of Triumph 469-70 Prophecy, Prophets. Significance of the words in the Bible totally changed from the modern sig- nificance 143 fif. — Prophets as a Spiritual Opposition to Kings 8, 67, 144 ff. — Distinction of Earlier and Later Prophets 144 ff. — Prophecy Occasional or General- ized 144-9, 180. — Leading ideas in prophecy 180. — Special forms of prophecy: Doom Form 149- 54 —Rhapsody 154-63 — Emblem Prophecy 163-71. — Books of the Prophets 173, 174 and Chapter III. — Sqris of the prophets 478.— Samuel as prophet and judge 63 Purim, Feast of 125, 483 Rahab as a name for Egypt 494 Redeemer as a leading idea in Zioit Redeemed, replacing "Servant of . Jehovah": 372, 382, 383 — The Redeemer entering Zion 372, 385 Red Sea— Song of Triumph 35 — illustration of evolution in prim- itive poetry 469-70 Refrains in Biblical verse 511 — augmenting refrain 474 Rhapsody as a modern name for a special form of Biblical literature 154 fT. — Leading rhapsodies: The Locust Plague (Joel) 155-63 — Isaiah's Rhapsody of Judgement 200-6 — • Jeremiah's Rhapsody of the Drought 223-6 — Habakkuk's Rhapsody of the Chaldeans 255- 9 — The Rhapsody of Zion Re- deemed (modern name for Isaiah Chaps. 40-66): 367 and Chapter V Righteousness: special significance of the word in the O. T. 519, 501 Roll, Burning of the : incident in the book of Jeremiah 145-9 Satan : see Adversary Schism of Israel and Judah as a stage in the Historic Outhne 77-95, 477-8 Scribes 140 Scepticism, alleged, of Ecclesiastes 396-8 Sennacherib incident 101-5, 482 " Sentences, a form of floating prophecy 215, 228 Servant of Jehovah: a leading con- ception in the Rhapsody of Zion Redeemed 371, 377 ff., 380-2 — change from Nationality to Per- 535 General Index -g» sonality 371 — replaced by con- ception of the Redeemer 372 Sheol:0. T. word for world of spirits or Hades Shiloh incident 481, 99 Solomon traditional Patron of wisdom literature 391 — not the author of Ecdcsiastes 392-3 — Solomon's Search for Wisdom (monologue in Ecdcsiastes) 429-31 — Solomon's. Winning of Wisdom (imaginary discourse in book of Wisdom of Solomon) 440-4 Stanzas in Biblical verse 511 Story distinguished from History: important conception of the O. T. 3 Strain as a unit in Biblical verse 510- II (Compare 497) Strophes in Biblical verse 511 Structure, Literary, of the O. T. 139 and Chapter II — • Compare In- troduction 1-6 Symbolic Stories, Question of, in Genesis 464-6 Symbolism distinguished from Imag- ery 515-7 — in sonnet of Ecdesias- tes 434 Testament 2, 215, 464 Theocracy as a leading idea in the O. T. 519, 472-3 — especially in Deuteronomy 43-50. — Transition from Theocracy to Secular Gov- ernment 50 IT. Tirshatha 483 Vanity: importance of the word in Ecdesiastes 396-8 Verse system of the Bible 509 ff. Vision scenery in rhapsodic dramas 154 — Compare 219-20 Votive idea in Biblical lyrics 501 (note to page 332), 332, 334, 342-51 Watchman as a leading conception in prophecy 486. — Illustrations: in Isaiah 195-6. — Compare use of the conception in Hahakkuk 255 (Compare 491) — and in Ezckicl 231 Wisdom as a special division of Biblical literature 5, 388' and Chapter VI. — ■ Books of Wisdom 387, 388, 389 ff. — different from the rest of the O. T. 389 — relation to the N. T. 3S9. — Wisdom as the philosophy of conduct 389. — Wisdom personified 394. — Book of Job as dramatised wisdom 389- 90. Development through (the four) wisdom books in literary form 390 — in idea of authorship 390-3 — - in subject matter 393-8. — The Lower and the Higher Wisdom 393. — Wisdom Hymns 394. -^- Conception of wisdom as unifying the outer and the inner world 394-5. — Special position of Ecdesiastes in wisdom literature 392, 396-8 (Compare 517-8).— Wisdom Brevities 393, 394-405. — Selections from four wisdom books 406-44 — f fom Book of Job 445 ff . Wisdom literature. Forms of: 390, 504-5. — Couplet and Triplet 390 — Epigram 390, 504, 403, 404-^ Maxim 390, 404, 504 — Essay 399 — Discourse on text 390 (compare 436, 440) — Sonnet 390 (compare 504) — Number Sonnet 504, 402 — Monologue 390 — En- comium 390, 424, 426. — Proverb Cluster 504, 401, 402 Witness: Zion Witness to the Nations (in Zion Redeemed) 371, 378-80 Zion Redeemed: modern title for the poem making chapters 40-66 of the traditional book of Isaiah 56, 367 and Chapter V 536 1 Date Due IPM it » j^"4fl¥-F k !• ■■ • _ S I 8 '4.S AG19''8 n,..'-, '■• - f)