:

any evil.

18 And if thy brother be nor the widow, neither shed waxen poor, and fallen in de- innocent blood. cay with thee, then thou shalt 29 But let judgement run relieve him : yea, though he be down as waters, and righteous-' a stranger or a sojourner; that ness as a mighty stream. he may live with thee.

30 Sow to yourselves in 19 Thou shalt rise up be- righteousness, reap in mercy ; fore the hoary head, and ho- break up your fallow ground: nour the face of the old man, for it is time to seek the Lord, and fear thy God: I am the till he come and rain righteousLord.

ness upon you. 20 Ye shall not afflict any 31 Keep ye judgement, and widow or fatherless child. do justice : for my salvation is

21 Defend the poor and fa- near to come, and my rightetherless : do justice to the af-" ousness to be revealed. flicted and needy.

: 32 Blessed is the man that 22 Deliver the poor and needy: doeth this, and the son of man rid them out of the hand of the that layeth hold on it; that wicked.

keepeth his hand from doing 23 If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry: LESSON XXXIX.

24 Ye shall not oppress one another; but ye shall fear your

WHEREWITH shall I come beGod: for I am the Lord your fore the Lord, and bow myself God.

before the high God ? shall I 25 Therefore shall ye observe come before him with burntall my statutes, and all my offerings, with calves of a year judgements, and do them : 1 old: am the Lord.

2 Will the Lord be pleased 26 Whatsoever is commanded with thousands of rams, or with by the God of heaven let it be ten thousands of rivers of oil ? diligently done.

shall I give my first-born for my 27 Who is wise, and he shall transgression, the fruit of my understand these things ? pru

body for the sin of

my

soul? dent, and he shall know them? 3 He hath shewed thee, O for the ways of the Lord are man, what is good: and what right, and the just shall walk doth the Lord require of thee, in them : but the transgressors but to do justly, and to love shall fall therein.

mercy, and to walk humbly 28 Thus saith the Lord, Ex- with thy God? écute ye judgement and righte- 4 Hath the Lord as great ousness, and deliver the spoiled delight in burnt-offerings and out of the hand of the oppressor, sacrifices, as in obeying the and do no wrong; do no violence voice of the Lord ? Behold, to to the stranger, the fatherless, obey is better than sacrifice,

rams.

3

and to hearken, than the fat of just shalt thou follow, that thou

mayest live, and inherit the land 5 To what purpose is the which the Lord thy God giveth multitude of your sacrifices unto thee. me ? saith the Lord : I am full 14 If there be among you a of the burnt-offerings of rams, poor man of one of thy brethand the fat of fed beasts; and ren, within any of thy gates, in I delight not in the blood of thy land which the Lord thy bullocks, or of lambs, or of he, God giveth thee, thou shalt goats.

not harden thine heart, nor 6 When ye come to appear shut thine hand from thy poor before me, who hath required brother; this at your hand to tread my 15 But thou shalt

open

thine courts ?

hand wide unto him, and shalt 7 Bring no more vain obla- surely lend him sufficient for tions; incense is an abomination his need, in that which he wantunto me; the new moons and eth. sabbaths, the calling of assem- 16 Thou shalt surely give blies I cannot away with ; it is him, and thine heart shall not iniquity, even the solemn meet- be grieved when thou givest ing

unto him : because that for this 8 Your new moons and your thing the Lord thy God shall appointed feasts my soul hateth: bless thee in all thy works, and they are a trouble unto me: I in all that thou puttest thine am weary to bear them,

hand unto. 9 And when ye spread forth 17 For the

poor

shall never your hands, I will hide mine cease out of the land : there. eyes from you : yea, when ye fore I command thee, saying, make many prayers, I will not Thou shalt open thine hand hear : your hands are full of wide unto thy brother, to thy blood,

poor, and to thy needy, in thy 10 Wash you, make you land. clean; put away the evil of 18 And thou shalt rejoice in your doings from before mine every good thing which the eyes ; cease to do evil; Lord thy God hath given untó

11 Learn to do well; seek thee and unto thine house. judgement, relieve the oppress- T19 Know thou the God of ed, judge the fatherless, plead thy father, and serve him with for the widow.

a perfect heart and with a will12 Thou shalt not wresting mind. judgement: thou shalt not re- 20 If thou seek him, he will spect persons, neither take a be found of thee; but if thou gift: for a gift doth blind the forsake him, he will cast thee eyes of the wise, and pervert off for ever. the words of the righteous. 21 Therefore turn thou to 13 That which is altogether thy God: keep mercy and

а.

judgement, and wait on thy see, and ask for the old paths, God continually; and break off where is the good way, and walk thy sins by righteousness, and therein, and ye shall find rest for thine iniquities by shewing your souls. mercy to the poor.

33 The Lord thy God hath 22 Obey my voice, and I commanded thee to do these. will be your God, and ye shall statutes and judgements : thou be my people: and walk ye shalt therefore keep and do them in all the ways that I have com- with all thine heart and with all manded you, that it may be well thy soul. unto you.

34 The Lord will again re23 A son honoureth his joice over thee for good, as he father, and a servant his mas- rejoiced over thy fathers; ter: if then I be a father, where 35 If thou shalt hearken unis mine honour ? and if I be a to the voice of the Lord thy master, where is my fear? saith God to keep his commandthe Lord of hosts.

ments and his statutes, and if 24 Is the spirit of the Lord thou turn unto the Lord thy straitened? are these his do. God with all thine heart and ings? do not my words do good with all thy soul. to him that walketh uprightly? 25 For I am God, and not

LESSON XL. man; the Holy One in the midst of thee.

LORD, who shall abide in thy 26 And if ye thoroughly tabernacle? who shall dwell in amend your ways and your do- thy holy hill? ings; if ye thoroughly execute 2 He that walketh upright. judgement between a man and ly, and worketh righteousness, his neighbour;

and speaketh the truth in his 27 If ye oppress not the heart: siranger, the fatherless, and the 3 He that backbiteth not with widow, and shed not innocent his tongue, nor doeth evil to his blood;

neighbour, nor taketh up a re28 Then will I cause you to proach against his neighbour: dwell in the land that I gave to

4 In whose eyes a vile per. your fathers, for ever and ever. son is contemned; but he ho

29 Stand in awe, and sin noureth them that fear - the not : commune with your own Lord : he that sweareth to his heart upon your bed, and be own hurt, and changeth not. still.

5 He that doeth these things, 30 Offer the sacrifices of shall never be moved. righteousness; and put your 6 Who shall ascend into trust in the Lord.

the hill of the Lord ? and who 31 Serve the Lord with fear, shall stand in his holy place? and rejoice with trembling. 7 He that hath clean hands,

32 Stand ye in the ways, and and a pure heart; who hath not

:

lift up his soul unto vanity, nor

13 The Lord will strengthen sworn deceitfully.

him upon the bed of languish8 He shall receive the bless- ing: thou wilt make all his bed ing from the Lord, and righte, in his sickness. ousness from the God of his sal. 14 All the paths of the Lord vation,

are mercy and truth unto such 9 He that walketh righteous- as keep his covenant and his ly, and speaketh uprightly; he testimonies. that despiseth the gain of op- 115 Come, ye children, heark. pressions, thatshaketh his hands en unto me: I will teach you the from holding of bribes, that stop- fear of the Lord. peth his ears from hearing of 16 What man is he that deblood, and shutteth his eyes from sireth life, and loveth many days, seeing evil;

that he may see good? 10 He shall dwell on high : 17 Keep thy tongue from his place of defence shall be the evil, and thy lips from speakmunitions of rocks; bread shall ing guile. be given him, his waters shall 18 Depart from evil, and do be sure.

good; seek peace, and pursue .11 Blessed is he that consi- it. dereth the poor : the Lord will 19 The Lord hath set apart deliver him in time of trouble. him that is godly for himself : 12 The Lord will preserve

20 The meek will he guide him, and keep him alive; and in judgement: and the meek he shall be blessed upon the

will he teach his way. earth : and thou wilt not de- 21 What man is he that fearliver him into the will of his eth the Lord? him shall he teach enemies.

in the way that he shall choose.

SECTION II.-Threatenings of God.

LESSON XLI.

sures of wickedness in the house

of the wicked, and the scant Wo to them that devise iniquity measure that is abominable ? and work evil upon their beds: 4 Is not destruction to the when the morning is light, they wicked, and a strange punishpractise it, because it is in the ment to the workers of iniquipower of their hand.

ty? Shall I count them pure with 2 And they covet fields, and the wicked balances, and with take them by violence; and the bag of deceitful weights ? houses, and take them away: 5 For the rich men are full so they oppress a man and his of violence, and have spoken house, even a man and his he- lies, and their tongue is deceit, ritage.

ful in their mouth. | 3 Are there yet the trea- 6 Wo unto them that call

Sò poor

evil good, and good evil, that have not been mindful of the put darkness for light, and rock of your strength, therefore light for darkness, that put bit- shall ye plant pleasant plants, ter for sweet, and sweet for bit- and shallset it with strangeslips : ter.

16 In the day shall ye make 7 Wo unto them that are your plant to grow, and in the wise in their own eyes, and pru. morning shall ye make your seed dent in their own sight. to flourish: but the harvest shall

8 Wo unto them that are be a heap in the day of grief and mighty to drink wine, and men of desperate sorrow. of strength to mingle strong 17 The Lord standeth up drink :

to plead, and standeth to judge 9 Which justify the wicked the people. for reward, and take away the 18 The Lord will enter into righteousness of the righteous judgement with the ancients of from him.

his people, and the princes 10 Therefore as the fire de- thereof: for ye have eaten up voureth the stubble, and the the vineyard; the spoil of the flame consumeth the chaff,

is in
your

houses. their root shall be rottenness, 19 What mean ye that ye and their blossom shall go up as beat my people to pieces, and dust: because they have cast grind the faces of the poor? away the law of the Lord of saith the Lord God of hosts. hosts, and despised the word of 20 For your hands are des the Holy One of Israel. filed with blood, and your fingers

11 Wo unto them that de- with iniquity: your lips have cree unrighteous decrees, and spoken lies, your tongue hath that write grievousness which muttered perverseness. they have prescribed;

21 And

ye

shall know that I 12 To turn aside the needy am the Lord : for ye have not from judgement, and to take walked in my statutes, neither away the right from the poor of executed my judgements. . my people, that widows may be 22 Wo unto them that their prey, and that they may join house to house, that lay rob the fatherless.

field to field, till there be no 13 And what will ye do in place, that they may be placed the day of visitation, and in the alone in the midst of the earth. desolation which shall come 23 Of a truth many houses from far? to whom will ye flee shall be desolate, even great for help? and where will ye and fair, without inhabitant. leave your glory?

24 Wo unto them that rise 14 Is it a small thing for you up early in the morning that to weary men, but will ye weary they may follow strong drink, God also ?

and continue until night, till 15 Because ye have forgotten wine inflame them. the God of your salvation, and 25 And the harp and the

a