 | Select Passages of the Old and New Testament versified |  |
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ISAIAH, Chap. XXXV.
I
For these the desert shall rejoice,The wilderness lift up her voice,
Her hidden sweets disclose;
The solitary place shall sing,
Cloth'd with the verdure of the spring,
And blossom as the rose.
II
Her blossom shall abundaut spread,As Lebanon exalt her head,
And shout deliverance nigh;
Carmel, and Sharon's flowing field,
Shall each their verdant glories yield,
And lift her horn on high.
III
Then with extatic joy her ear,Thrice animated sounds shall hear,
While with unclouded face
They view the glory of the Lord,
The excellency of our God!
The riches of his grace.
IV
Thus saith your God, th'eternal Lord,Proclaim, ye heralds of my word,
The message of my peace,
Hasten and bear my kind commands,
In faith confirm the drooping hands,
In hope the feeble knees.
V
Say to tste faithful heart, “be strong,Fear not, for e'er thy hope be long,
Thy God will surely come;
With vengeance will he plead thy cause,
And ransom'd, save thee from the jaws
Of hell's eternal doom.”
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VI
Then shall the blind their sight receive,And seeing the report, believe
The promise of the Lord;
The deafen'd ears unstop'd shall hear
The voice that bids, dismiss thy fear,
And listen to my word.
VII
The lame shall then his staff forego,And leap exulting as the roe;
The tongue obmute shall sing;
The wilderness with streams abound,
The desert's rude, unfertile ground
With living fountains spring.
VIII
The parched land becomes a pool,The thirsty ground shall drink her full,
By living springs o'erflow'd;
Where the fell dragon rul'd the strand,
The sprightly reed shall kiss thy hand,
The bullrush lowly nod.
IX
An high-way shall be there, a wayOf knowledge, and unclouded day,
Of holiness divine;
No feet impure, its paths shall tread,
Tho' sucklings, by my wisdom led,
Shall walk secure therein.
X
No lion rousing from his lair,Or tyger, with his fiery glare,
Shall stalk their midnight road;
There the redeem'd alone are found,
Their feet impress the hallow'd ground,
The courts of mine abode.
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XI
There shall the ransom'd of the Lord,In everlasting peace restor'd,
With shouts of joy return;
To Zion's mount their footsteps bend,
Her heights of holiness ascend,
On eagle's wings upborn.
XII
With gladness crown'd, o'erwhelm'd with joy,Bright songs of love their lips employ
Thro' one eternal day;
No more shall grief their souls oppress,
The sighing tear of deep distress,
Forever wip'd away.
| Select Passages of the Old and New Testament versified | |