To publish glad tidings to the meek hath he sent me;
To bind up the broken-hearted:
To proclaim to the captives freedom;
And to the bounden, perfect liberty :
To proclaim the year of acceptance with Jehovah ;
And the day of vengeance of our God.
To comfort all those that mourn;
To impart (gladness) to the mourners of Sion :
To give them a beautiful crown, instead of ashes :
The oil of gladness instead of sorrow;
The clothing of praise, instead of the spirit of heavine s.
That they may be called trees approved ;
The plantation of Jehovah for his glory.
And they that spring from thee shall bulld up the ruins of old

times;
They shall restore the ancient desolations;
They shall repair the cities laid waste :
The desolations of continued ages.

*

For Sion's sake I will not keep silence ; And for the sake of Jerusalem I will not rest : Until her righteousness break forth as a strong light: And her salvation, like a blazing torch. And the nations shall see thy righteousness; And all the kings, thy glory : And thou shalt be called by a new name, Which the mouth of Jehovah shall fix upon thee. And thou shalt be a beautiful crown in the hand of Jehovah; And a royal diadem in the grasp of thy God. No more shall it be said unto thee, Thou forsaken! Neither to thy land shall it be said any inore, Thou desolate ! But thou shalt be called, The object of my delight; And thy land, The wedded matron: For Jehovah shall delight in thee ; And thy land shall be joined in marriage.

THE COMING OF A DEVASTATING ARMY.

JOEL CHAPTER 11. VERSES 1--13.

TRANSLATED BY ARCHBISHOP NEWCOMBE.

Blow ye the trumpet in Sion;
And sound an alarm in mine holy mountain :
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble :
For the day of Jehovah cometh, for it is near:
A day of darkness and gloominess;
A day of clouds and of thick darkness.
As the dusk spread upon the mountains,
Cometh a numerous people and a strong.

Like them there hath not been of old time,
And after them there shall not be,
Even to the years of many generations.
Before them a fire devoureth,
And behind a flame burneth ;
The land is as the garden of Eden before them,
And behind them a desolate wilderness :
Yea, and nothing shall escape them.

Their appearance shall be like the appearance of horses,
And like horsemen shall they run;
Like the sound of chariots on the tops of the mountains

shall they leap; Like the sound of a flame of fire which devoureth stubble. They shall be like a strong people set in battle array. Before them shall the people be much pained : All faces shall gather blackness, They shall run like mighty men; Like warriors shall they climb the wall: And they shall march every one in his way; Neither shall they turn aside from their paths; Neither shall one thrust another: They shall march each in his road; And if they fall upon the sword they shall not be wounded. They shall run to and fro in the city, they shall run upon

the wall, they shall climb up into the houses : They shall enter in at the windows like a thief.

Before them the earth quaketh, the heavens tremble :
The sun and moon are darkened;
And the stars withdraw their shining:
And Jehovah shall utter his voice before his army :
For his camp is very great ;
For he is strong that executeth his word:
For the day of Jehovah is great;
And very terrible; and who shall be able to bear it?

Yet even now saith Jehovah,
Turn ye unto me with all your heart;
With fasting and with weeping and with mourning :
And rend your hearts, and not your garments ;
And turn unto Jehovah your God:
For he is gracions and merciful,
Slow to anger and of great kindness,
And repenteth him of evil.

And the earth was full of his praise.
His brightness was as the light:
Rays streamed from his hand;
And there was the hiding-place of his power.
Before him went the pestilence,
And flashes of fire went forth after him.
He stood and measured the carth;
He beheld, and drove asunder the nations.
And the everlasting mountains were scattered,
The perpetual hills bowed down
The eternal paths were trodden by him.

I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction; The curtains of the land of Midian trembled.

Was Jehovah wroth against the waters? Was thine anger against the floods? Was thy wrath against the sea ? When thou didst ride on thine horses, on thy chariots of

deliverance ?

*

The mountains saw thee, and were troubled ;
The overflowing of waters passed away:
The deep uttered its voice,
It lifted up its hands on high.
The sun and the moon stood still in their habitation;
In the light of thine arrows they vanished,
In the brightness of the lightning of thy spear!
In indignation thou didst march through the land,
In wrath thou didst thresh the heathen.
Thou wentest forth for the deliverance of thy people,
Even for the deliverance of thine anointed.

*

Although the fig-tree shall not fɔurish,
And there be no produce in the vines;
The fruit of the olive shall fail,
And the fields shall yield no food ;
The flocks shall be cut off from the fold,
And there be no herd in the stalls;
Yet will I rejoice in Jehovah,
I will exult in the God of my salvation.
The Lord Jehovah is my strength.
He will make my feet like hind's feet,
He will cause me to tread on mine high places.

THE END.