210. The zeal of Jehovah of hosts will do this. A JUST RULER AND THE EFFECT OF HIS RULE A sprout shall spring from the stock of Jesse, A spirit of wisdom and insight, He will not judge by sight only, Then the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, And their young shall lie down together. The nursling shall play on the hole of the asp, And the young child put his hand on the den of the viper. Men shall do no harm nor destruction Throughout all my holy mountain; For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah, 211. TRUE DEMOCRACY Behold, a ruler shall rule uprightly, Each shall be as a shelter from the wind, The eyes of those who can see shall not be closed, No more shall the ignoble be called noble, For the ignoble speaks ignobly, And his mind plans villainy, To do what is impious, To speak error regarding Jehovah, To keep the hungry soul empty, When the spirit is poured upon us from on high, 212. THE OVERTHROW OF AUTOCRATIC MIGHT Hark, on the hills is a tumult, as of a mighty multitude; Hark, an uproar of kingdoms, of nations gathering to gether, Jehovah of hosts himself is mustering the martial host. They are coming from a distant land, from the very end of heaven, Jehovah and the agents of his wrath, to destroy the entire earth. Babylon, most beautiful of kingdoms, the pride of the Chaldeans, Shall be like Sodom and Gomorrah after God overthrew them, Uninhabited forever, deserted from age to age; No nomad shall there pitch his tent, no shepherds fold their flocks. But wild cats shall lie there, their houses shall be full of jackals; Ostriches shall live there, and satyrs too shall dance there, Howling beasts shall cry to each other in its windows, And wolves shall bay to each other in its revelling halls; Its time is near, its days shall not be prolonged. How still the oppressor has become, the terror ceased! Jehovah has broken the staff of the wicked, the sceptre of tyrants, That smote the peoples in fury, with stroke unceasing, That trampled down nations in anger, with trampling unchecked! All the earth is at rest and peace, they break out in glad songs. Even pine trees exult over you, and the cedars of Leb anon: 'Now that you have lain down, no woodman comes up against us.' The abode of the dead is stirred to hail your coming, Arousing for you the shades, all the leaders of earth, Making rise up from their thrones all the kings of the nations, They shall all of them make answer, and say to you: 'You, too, are as weak as we, and become like us! Your majesty is flung into the grave, and the melody of your harps; Corruption is spread out beneath you, and your covering is worms.' 'How you have fallen from heaven, radiant son of the dawn! How you are struck down to the ground, prostrate upon corpses! Yet you have said in your heart, "I will mount to the heavens, Above the stars of God I will exalt my throne, I will sit on the mount of assembly, in the recesses of the north, I will rise above the lofty cloud banks, and be like the Most High." 'Yet you shall be brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit!' 213. JEHOVAH THE ROCK OF AGES Thou keepest the steadfast mind in peace, Trust in Jehovah forever, For he is the Rock of Ages. With my soul I desire thee in the night, The inhabitants of the world learn righteousness. As a woman about to give birth to a child. So were we, O Jehovah, in thy presence. We travailed, we writhed in pain, But we have, as it were, given birth to nothing; But thy dead shall live, Their bodies rise again. They who dwell in the dust shall awake and sing, For thy dew is a light-giving dew, And the earth shall cast forth the dead. 214. JEHOVAH STRONG TO DELIVER Woe to you, spoiler, although you have not been spoiled, Jehovah, be gracious to us, for we wait for thee; The sinners in Zion are afraid, 'Who among us can dwell with devouring fire? He who lives uprightly and speaks the truth, |