“Did not our God make a covenant with Abraham and with his seed forever?
“Did he not lead them through the Red Sea, and overwhelm their oppressors? Did he not hand down the Law to them from Sinai? Was he not a Pillar of Cloud and a Pillar of Fire to them in the Wilderness?
“Was he not their Captain, who went before them, and drove their enemies from the Promised Land?
“Hath he not sworn to destroy all our foes, and give us the earth for a heritage?
“Oh, the glory of the Judean story!
“Oh, the valor of the mighty men of God, who have done his bidding and gained his victories!
“Oh, the long genealogy of his servants, back, back, through the ancient line of prophets, judges, kings, and lawgivers to the patriarchs of golden promise!
“Have we not Abraham to our father, and was he not the faithful friend of God?
“What mighty captains were they who destroyed the armies of the unsanctified!
“What singers, from Miriam, the prophetess, who led the women with sound of timbrels and dancing, down to the son of Jesse,—a man after God’s own heart,—whose songs fill the mouths of all generations following!