to Egypt to sojourn there: and the Assyrian oppressed
them without cause. Now therefore, what do I here, saith the LORD,
seeing that my people is taken away for nought? They that rule over them
do howl, saith the LORD, and my name continually all the day is
blasphemed. Therefore my people shall know my name: therefore they shall
know in that day that I am he that doth speak: Behold it is I!

ii

The Awakening

CHORUS OF WATCHMEN

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him
That bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace,
That bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation:
That saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!

The voice of thy Watchmen! they lift up the voice,
Together do they sing,
For they shall see, eye to eye,
How the LORD returneth to Zion.

Break forth into joy, sing together,
Ye waste places of Jerusalem:
For the LORD hath comforted his people,
He hath redeemed Jerusalem.

The LORD hath made bare his holy arm
In the eyes of all the nations;
And all the ends of the earth
Shall see the salvation of our God.

Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence,
Touch no unclean thing;
Go ye out of the midst of her;
Be ye clean, ye that bear the vessels of the LORD.

For ye shall not go out in haste,
Neither shall ye go by flight;
For the LORD will go before you,
And the God of Israel will be your rearward.

NOTES

The Metrical System of Biblical Verse

In the strictest sense the term 'metrical' is not applicable to Biblical
verse, since this is constituted, not by any numbering of syllables, but
by the parallelism of whole clauses.

The LORD of Hosts is with us,
The God of Jacob is our refuge.

This is verse, not in virtue of any particular number of syllables in
the lines, but because the second line is felt to run parallel with the
first. This principle of parallelism of clauses underlies the whole of
versification in Scriptural literature. As however the different modes
of combination and variation of these parallel lines in Biblical poetry
correspond, to a large extent, with those of metrical lines in other
languages, it is convenient to speak of the principles governing them as
a 'metrical system.'

One consequence however of the difference between Biblical and other
verse should always be borne in mind. The parallelism of clauses, which
makes the foundation of Hebrew verse, is also a