The Voice of the Herald, Before the Great King
O ALL je inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earthy come; see and hear; gather yourselves together unto the proclamation of the Great Kin$;. Hear, “you that are afar oif, and you that are near! He that hath an eai; to hear, let him hear. I am the voice of o&e crying in the wilderness,” Prepare ye the way of the Lord. Let every valley Je exalted, and every mountain be made low, for the glory of the Lord is to be revealed.** Go through, go through the gatea, prepare the way: cast up cast up the high-way; gather out the stones lift up the standard for the people; for the Lord proclaimeth salvation to die ends «f the earth. Tidines! tidings, 0 ye captives! Hoar, all ye that look for salvatioQ in Israel; behoUU I brin you glad tidines of great joy, which shall be unto al people. Blessed news! Prepare your ears and hearts! The Lord hath commanded me, saying, ttie people and sanctify them; let thefm wash and be ready; for the Lortl is coming down upon mount Sion, in the sight of all nations; not in earthquakes and tire, not in clouds and darkness, not in thunderings or burnings, rending the mountains and breaking the rocks in pieces..” He speaks not to you out of blackness, and darkness, and tempests: you shall say no more, Let not God speak to us, lest we die “He cometh peaceably; the law of kindness is in his mouth; he preacheth peace; peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near. Behold, how he cometh, leaping upon the mountains; he hath passed mount DO more wrath or cursing; he is come to mount Gerizzim, where he standeth to bless the people. As Mordecai to his nation, he writeth “the words of truth and peace, seeking the welfare of his people, and speakins peace to all his seed.”
Behold how he cometh! clothed with flames of love, with bowels of compassion, plenteous redemption,; and multiplied pardons. J’
Deut. xi;. 29. xxii. 13. 13.
Hearkfln therefore, O je children, hearken to me To joa it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, that at what time je hear the Joyful sound, the trump of jubilee, the hidings of peace, in the voice of the everlasting gospel, von fall down before the throne, ana worship Him that liveth for ever and ever.
Arise, and come away; prepare, prepare you; hear not with an uncircumcised ear; you are not upon a common thing. Be-* hold the throne is set; the throne of grace, where majesty and mercy dwell together* From thence will the Lord meet you; from thence will he commune with you; from the mercy-seat, from between the cherubims, upon the ark of the testimony. Lo, the Lord Cometh out of his pavilion, the mighty God from Sion. Selah. His glory covereth the heavens, the earth is full of his praise. A fire f of love) goeth before him; mere J and trutn round about him; righteousness and peace are the habitation of his throne. He rideth on his horses and charriots of salvation; the covenant of life and peace is in his mouth.
Rejoice, ye heavens; make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth. Let the sea roar, the floods clap their hands, and the multitudes of the isles rejoice* Stand forth, the host of heaven, prepare your harps, cast 4lowB your wrowns, be readjr with your trumps; brmg forth your golden pdials full of oclours, for our voice will jar, our strings will break, we cannot reach the note of our Maker’s praise.
Yet let them that dwell in the dust, arise and sing. Bear your part in this glorious service: but consider and attend. Call out jour souls, and all that is within jotl; lift up- your voices, fix your eyes, enlarge your hearts, intend all their powers; there 19. work for them all. Be intent and serious, you cannot strain too high.
Come forth, ye graces beset the way; be all in readiness. Stand forth, faith* and hope. Flame, 0 love! Come, ye warm de* sires, and break with longing: Let fear, with all veneration, do its obeisance« Joy, prepare thy songs; call up all the daughters of musick, to salute the Lord as he passeth by. Let the generation of the saints appear, and spread the way with boughs and garments oi salvation, and songs oT deliverance. Ye stand this day all of you before the Lord your God, your captains, your elders, your oflicers, with all the men of Israel, your little ones, your wives, and the stranger that is within thy camp, from the hewer of wood to the drawer of water, that thou shouldst enter into covenant with the Lord thy God,^ and into his oath, which the Lord thy God maketh with thee this day;
lp Deut scxix. 10 to 13.
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that lie may establish thee to-day for a peo pie onto himself, and that he may he unto thee a God, as he hath said unto thee, and as he hath sworn.
I have done my errand. The messenger of the morning disappeareth when the orir ent sun cometh forth out of his chambers. I vanish: 1. put my mouth in the dust. The voice of the Lord! The soft and still voice! O my soul, wrap thy face in the mantle, and Ibow thyself to the ground, and put thee into the clift of the rock, while Jehovah proclaimeth his name, and maketh ail hi< goodness to pass before thee*