PART 1.

WORDS OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH IN THE FIRST

WATCH, THROUGH HIS ARCHER.

1. The Lord questioneth the Shepherds 8. Warnings to Zion.

of Israel.

13.

6. God's hand upon earth in judgment. 15. 7. God's word to his Archers.

Of the Lord's Vineyard.
Of man's insignificance.

1. Shall I gather and gather, gather and gather again, and then scatter in Israel, and rend in Jacob, saith the Lord? Shall I plant a goodly vineyard, and cause careful husbandmen to dress the same, that I may receive mine own with usury, and then suffer thieves and robbers to break in and abuse my husbandmen, and take to themselves the first ripe fruits, and destroy and trample the residue under their feet?

2. Shall I grant that Israel may flourish, and Jacob prosper, and then suffer the destroyer to break down the walls of their city, and lay waste their pleasant places? Shall I suffer the little ones to be chased by their enemies, and scattered upon the mountains, as sheep having no shepherd?

3. Or shall I again, saith the Lord, send my beloved Son, to gather them under the shadow of his wings and seat them in the low and pleasant vales of humility? Yea, saith the God of Heaven, over mine own will I stretch forth my arm of protection, to save the offspring of my delight.

4. But hearken, saith the Lord: Where are the credentials of your office, or the signets of your calling? Where are the marks from Wisdom's hand, that prove you objects of my name? Have not I promised that my judgments should be to the line, and my righteousness to the plummet? Have I not given strength to the weak, that they might become strong to rejoice in the God of their salvation?

5. And again; Have I not strengthened the feeble and tottering knee, that it might bow and bend as a suppliant willow, in my holy Sanctuary? Have I not called you all, saith the Lord, to drink at one fountain and bathe in one stream, and to refine by one fire, un

til you were clean? O hail le vin'cet! Hail le vin'cet! and where do I find you?

6. Give ear, O earth, and hearken all ye people who dwell in her. My hand is upon you, saith the Lord God of Heaven, in judgment, and not in mercy; and for your wicked abominations, shall ye howl in distress and gnaw your tongues for pain.

7. Cry aloud, O ye archers, in Heaven, and spare not your voices on earth. Gird yourselves with the strength of a unicorn, and bend

ye

the bows of destruction, and let fly the arrows of death: but the humble and penitent, shall ye pass lightly over.

8. And, O thou Zion of my planting, and all ye people who dwell in her! Look ye to the hole from whence ye were digged, and to the pit from whence ye were taken. Have ye not been dandled as an infant at the breast, and rocked in the cradle of ease, until ye grew strong, yet unthankful; and rich, yet unholy? until ye denied the means by which ye were protected, and forgot the hand by which ye were sustained?

9. O Zion, O Zion! Must I cast thee from my presence, and suffer thee to sojourn in a strange land, as one with whom I am not acquainted, saith the Lord, because I find thee set in thy own way, and conceited in thy own plans?

10. Or shall I again send thee another offer by my first begotten Son, peradventure thou wilt hearken and return, though in the even tide of thy day. In lamentation and sorrow must I find thee walking daily in my fear, and humbly in my presence; for thy God is a God of justice, who is about to deal with thee.

11. But in thy beauty shalt thou be magnified, and in thy glory shalt thou be exalted above the hills, and all nations shall flow unto thee; for thy light shall extend far abroad, and the brightness of thy burning to the four winds of Heaven.

12. For in thy meekness and humility wast thou exalted in the eyes of thy God, and in thy dependence of feeling, didst thou draw down the powers from on high to thy assistance. Therefore, though thou become weak, yet thou art strong: though thy numbers become few, yet shall myriads dwell within thy walls.

13. I have planted me a vineyard, and walled me a city; I have built me a temple, and gathered me a people to worship therein. I have built me an altar, and placed thereon holy fire; and by the side of this altar, at my command, do fountains of living water boil up; and here I have built baths, for my children to bathe and wash

in; and none can enter this temple, and bring offerings to my acceptance, save those who continue to pass through this holy fire, and these living waters.

14. And such, and such only, will be found in the hollow of my hand, when mountains sink and vallies rise, and kingdoms into pieces rend.

15. What is mortal man, that thou art mindful of him, or the son of man, that thou visitest him? whose life is but as a vapor, that vanisheth away, or as a mist before the rising sun. To-day he is, but to-morrow he is not: so is all flesh before the God of Heaven.

PART 11.

WORDS OF THE SECOND WATCH, FROM THE PROPH

ET ISAIAH THROUGH HIS ARCHER.

1. The word of God to his Watchmen

and Prophets.

3. Of the Lord's city.

6.

Of the visitation of false spirits.

4. This a world of sorrow, through man's 10.

disobedience.

5. Of watching.

1. Give ear O ye watchmen, and listen O ye prophets; for the God of Heaven doth call aloud unto you, Shall I gather and gather, gather and gather again, and then scatter them in Israel, and rend them in Jacob? Or shall I scatter them in Jacob, and rend them in Israel? How say you, ye Prophets?

2. Have I not chosen you to lie low in spirit before Me, and bow even to the dust, and make sufferings of soul your constant meat, and the waters of affliction your pleasant drink, until ye were prepared, in truth to do my will, saith the Lord, and speak my word, and that alone? But I will cry aloud this watch in your ears, that you may prepare your souls for tribulation.

3. For lo, I did build me a city, and planted me vineyards, and with a strong wall I did encompass it; and faithful watchmen I did

place thereon, that no enemy should disturb the work of my hands. And for some length of time, the watchmen cried their stations, and no enemy dared approach.

4. But hearken; Hath not man, by his own disobedience, made this a world of sorrow? And shall he cease to watch where his own safety is endangered, and his life is at stake? Nay, but let him watch and pray without ceasing, and the ransom of his own soul shall be full compensation.

5. And what I say unto my prophets, saith the Lord, I say unto all, Watch. For Zion shall be tried as she never before was, since I caused the light of my last dispensation to shine within her walls. She is now encompassed with an innumerable multitude; many for good, and many for evil.

6. False spirits in my name have gone forth, both on earth and in eternity, to cast deception over the hearts of many. They have already begun to try the strength of her walls, by deceitful lies, and hypocricy: but a desolating curse shall follow up their rear, and judgments awful shall mark their footsteps. Yea, curse upon curse shall sweep, as a devouring flame, through the land of all such as fight against the Most High God.

7. The breath of the Almighty, in his displeasure, shall desolate their most fruitful fields, and they shall become as a desert of burning sands: Pestilential diseases shall prowl within their doors, and sweep them as carrion from before his face. The young shall die for the want of food in their habitations, and they of full strength shall go down to their graves for the want of bread. 8. The fountains of water shall be dried up, and their tongues shall cleave unto the roof of their mouths. But again shall judgment be turned into mercy, and the humble seeker after truth, shall For truth shall out-live deceit,

stand by the strength of the same.

and righteousness out-stand hypocricy.

9. O Zion, speedily put on thy garments of mourning, and lie low before the Lord thy God. And all ye her Prophets, prepare your vessels, from sun to sun; in low humility and tribulation deep, clothe your souls as with a garment.

10. Cry aloud, O ye archers, and spare not, for the arrows of truth must pierce through the heart. I am a Prophet of the Lord your God, and his word I will declare in the ears of the people. Let good to good be gathered, and chaff to chaff be burned.

11. O ye inhabitants of Zion, never flee from the low vales of

peace and safety, to soar on mountains high, in your own self-exalted feelings, where the protection of your God cannot be found; but down low, in tribulation's valley, there you will find the God of peace.

12. This, the second watch, is cried in your presence; therefore, prepare for Me, in low humility, saith the Lord your God; that I find you not unprepared at my coming: for a day of trial is at your doors, such as ye have never before seen.

13. Ye may now go and take your rest; but I rest not, saith the Prophet; but shall cry aloud the next watch, when the curtains of midnight darkness are drawn over the land.

PART HI.

WORDS OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH AT THE THIRD WATCH, OR HOUR OF TWELVE. SENT FORTH IN SOLEMN LAMENTATION, FOR ALL THE CHILDREN OF MEN, BOTH IN AND OUT OF ZION.

1. Again, hear ye the word of the Lord, O ye inhabitants of the earth! Desolation is within your doors, and judgment's awful gloom stareth you in the face.

2. The howling beasts of prey surround you, and nought but your God, can deliver you from their grasp. The voice of the mourner is heard in your streets, crying, O Lord, how long shall the inhabitants of the earth be forsaken of their God? How long shall their nakedness appear?

3. Until they have accomplished the full measure of time, wherein