Sons of my care! to you, from highest heaven,
Jeshurun's God has spoke.
By me JEHOVAH gave the words of life:
Observe his sacred laws,
And fly the snares which superstition spreads.
Fly Moloch's horrid rites,
Astarte's orgies lewd,
And Thammuz' annual dirge,
And Chemos' wanton wiles.
Is Sittim's field forgot?
Forgot the fatal hour when thousands fell;
And Heaven's avenging arm
Hurl'd down the shafts of death?
For then in Chemos' wanton rites
The sons of Israel join'd;
And caught the harlot's melting eye,
And gave the soul to love.
Then, subdued by syren pleasure,
Captive reason bow'd to beauty;
Forgot the laws of God!
Forgot avenging Heaven:—
For woman's mildly-melting eye
Thrill'd through the soften'd soul.
Then Zimri died:
Then Cozbi's voice,
That stole resistless o'er the Hebrew's heart,
In vain for pity pray'd.
The zealous priest arose;
E'en thro' her lover's breast
He pierc'd the lovely fair idolater.
Blest, Phineas, be thy name;
Blest be thy heart of adamantine faith,
That spurn'd the woman's prayer.
Israel, be thine to shun
Alluring beauty's wiles,
To fly the melting glance
The loosely-languid look.
'Tis thine to wreak the wrath of Heaven;
'Tis thine to lift aloft the sword,
Lay low the despot chiefs,
Lay low the lofty tow'r's.
Let the despots assemble their hosts,
Let them marshall their thousands in pride;
Let the offspring of Anak arise
From Jericho's palm-bower'd throne,
And Aï and Solyma's towers.
Let them rush from their mountains to war,
Let them cover the valley with arms,
For JEHOVAH will war for his sons.
Low Aï's walls shall lie;
Devouring flames shall waste
Huge Hazor's strength to dust.
Of Jericho's tall towers
No relics shall remain.
There shall the pilgrim, tempest-torn,
When on the light'ning flash Destruction rides,
In vain for shelter seek.
O'er ruin'd palaces the fox shall roam;
Amid the desert halls,
Where once was spread the feast,
Where once was heard the song,
Now shall the wild wolf's howl resound;
Now build the bird obscene her secret nest.
Yet, from the storm of war reserv'd,
With added strength Jerusalem shall rise,
The city of your God!
To guard her favour'd tow'rs
Shall Heaven protecting spread th' immortal shield:
Her trees with honey ooze,
Her rivers flow with milk.
There, Israel, shall the fig-tree bend
To you its laden boughs;
There shall the cluster'd vine expand
Its wildly-wanton arms.
O'er Moses' clayey corse
Drop ye the grateful tear,
And hide his relics in the narrow house.
O'er Jordan then rush for the prize;
Spread terror o'er Canaan afar,
And triumphantly fight for the Lord.