The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake :

I will divide the spoil, my soul shall be satisfied:
I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.

Thou did'st blow with thy breath, the sea covered them: They sank as lead in the mighty waters.

Who is like unto thee among the gods, O Jehovah! Who is like unto thee, making thyself glorious in holiness! Fearful in praises, executing wonders.

Thou didst stretch out thy right hand,-the earth swallowed them.

Thou hast led forth in thy mercy the people whom thou hast redeemed:

Thou hast guided them in thy strength to the habitation of thy holiness.

The people shall hear and be disquieted:

Terror shall seize the inhabitants of Philistia.
Then the nobles of Edom shall be confounded;

The mighty ones of Moab, trembling shall take hold upon them:

All the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away:

Terror and perplexity shall fall upon them:

Because of the greatness of thine arm they shall be as still as

a stone;

Till thy people pass over, O Jehovah,

Till thy people pass over, whom thou hast redeemed:

Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountains of thine inheritance,

The place for thy dwelling, which thou hast prepared, O
Jehovah!

The sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have established.
Jehovah shall reign forever and ever!

TRANSLATIONS FROM THE BOOK OF JOB.

BY THE REV. GEORGE R. NOYES.

"The leading design of the poem is to establish the truth that character is not to be inferred from external condition ; and to enforce the duty of submission to the will of God."

It is probably more ancient than the earliest remains of any uninspired poetry, and as a whole it is without doubt the most sublime production in the world. It also contains chapters, of a beauty which is never to be equalled, except by some other poetical portions in the same sacred volume, of which it constitutes only a part. It cannot be too reverently nor too often perused. Here, poetry enraptures while religion purifies the soul. We are too forgetful of the debt of gratiude we owe to the author of our being, in that he has not only written, as with a sunbeam, the instructions which we needed in the way of life,

but has sublimely adapted the inspired volume to the nature of the human intellect and imagination; so that its pages are full of ever increasing delight, as well as sanctifying influence, to the wisest and most cultivated mind.

THE BENEFIT OF AFFLICTION.

CHAPTER V. VERSES 17-27.

BEHOLD, happy is the man whom God correcteth; Therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty. For he bruiseth, and bindeth up;

He woundeth, and his hands make whole.

He will deliver thee in six troubles,

Yea, in seven shall no evil touch thee.

In famine he will redeem thee from death,

And in war from the power of the sword.

Thou shalt be safe from the scourge of the tongue,
And shalt not be afraid of destruction, when it cometh.
At devastation and famine thou shalt laugh,

And shalt not be afraid of the wild beasts of the land.
For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field,
Yea, the beasts of the forest shall be at peace with thee.
Thou shalt find also that thy habitation is in peace;
Thou shalt visit thy dwelllng, and not be disappointed.
Thou shalt see thy descendants numerous,
And thine offspring as the grass of the earth.
Thou shalt come to thy grave in full strength,
As a shock of corn gathered in its season.
Lo! this we have searched out; so it is;
Hear it, and lay it up in thy mind.

THE WRETCHEDNESS OF THE WICKED.

CHAPTER XVIII. VERSES 5-21.

BEHOLD! the light of the wicked shall be put out,
And the flame of his fire shall not shine.
Light shall become darkness in his tabernacle,
And his lamp over him shall be extinguished.
The steps of his strength shall be straitened,
And his own counsel shall cast him down.
He is brought into the net by his own feet,
And he walketh upon toils.

The springe layeth hold of him by the heel,
And the snare holdeth him fast.

A net is secretly laid for him on the ground,
And a trap for him in the pathway.
Terrors assail him on every side,
And pursue him at his heels.
His strength is wasted by hunger,
And ruin is present at his side.

His limbs are consumed;

Yea, his limbs are devoured by the first-born of death.
His confidence is torn away from his tabernacle,
And he is brought before the king of terrors;
Terror dwells in the tabernacle, no longer his;
Brimstone is scattered upon his habitation.
His roots below are dried up,

And his branches above are withered.
His memory perisheth from the earth,
And he hath no name in the street.
He is thrust from light into darkness,
And driven out of the world.

He hath no son, nor kinsman amongst his people,
Nor survivor in his dwellingplace.

They, that come after him shall be amazed at his fate,
As they of his own time were struck with horror.
Such is the dwelling of the unrighteous man;
Such is the place of him that feareth not God.

THE HAPPINESS OF THE VIRTUOUS.

CHAPTER XXII. VERSES 21-30.

BE reconciled to Him, and thou shalt have peace;
Thus shall prosperity return to thee.

Receive, I pray thee, instruction from his mouth,
And lay up his words in thine heart.

If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up ;
If thou put away iniquity from thy tabernacle,

Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust,

And the gold of Ophir as stones of the brook.
Then shall the Almighty be thy gold;

Yea, treasures of silver unto thee;

For then shalt thou have delight in the Almighty,

And shalt lift up thy face unto God.

Thou shalt pray unto him, and he shall hear thee,

And thou shalt perform thy vows.

The purpose which thou formest, shall prosper with thee,

And light shall shine upon thy ways.

When men are cast down, thou shalt say, "There is exalt

ation!"

And the humble person he will save.

He will deliver even him, that is not innocent;

The purity of thy hands shall save him.

THE HOLINESS AND POWER OF GOD.

CHAPTERS XXV. XXVI.

THEN answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said:

Dominion and fear are with Him;
He maintaineth peace in his high places.

Is there any numbering of his armies?
And upon whom doth not his light arise?
How then can man be righteous before God?
Or how can he be pure, that is born of woman?
Behold! even the moon shineth not,

And the stars are not pure in his sight.

How much less man, a worm!

And the son of man, a reptile!

Then Job answered and said:

How hast thou helped the weak,
And strengthened the feeble arm?
How hast thou counselled the ignorant?
And what wonderful wisdom hast thou shown?
To whom hast thou uttered these words,
And whose spirit spake through thee?

Departed spirits beneath tremble;
The waters, and their inhabitants.
Hades is naked before him;

And Destruction hath no covering.

He stretcheth out the North over empty space,
And hangeth the earth upon nothing.

He bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds,
And the cloud is not rent under them.

He covereth the face of his throne,

And spreadeth his clouds upon it.

He hath drawn a circular bound upon the waters,

To the confines of light and darkness.

The pillars of heaven tremble,

And are confounded at his rebuke.
By his power he stirreth up the sea,
And by his wisdom he smiteth its pride.
By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens;
His hand hath formed the Northern Serpent.
Lo! these are but the borders of his works;
How faint the whisper we have heard of him!
But the thunder of his power who can understand?

TRUE WISDOM.

CHAPTER XXviii. VERSES 12-28.

BUT where shall wisdom be found?
And where is the place of understanding?
Man knoweth not the price thereof;

Nor can it be found in the land of the living.

The deep saith, It is not in me;

And the sea saith, It is not with me.
It cannot be gotten for gold,

Nor shall silver be weighed out as the price thereof.
It cannot be purchased with the gold of Ophir,
With the precious onyx, or the sapphire.

Gold and crystal are not to be compared with it;
Nor can it be purchased with jewels of fine gold.
No mention shall be made of coral, or of crystal,
For wisdom is more precious than pearls.
The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it,
Nor can it be purchased with the purest gold.

Whence then cometh wisdom?

And where is the place of understanding?
Since it is hidden from the eyes of all the living,
And kept close from the fowls of the air.
Destruction and Death say,

We have heard of its fame with our ears.
God only knoweth the way to it;
He only knoweth its dwelling-place.

For he seeth to the ends of the earth,

And surveyeth all things under the whole heaven.
When he gave the winds their weight,
And adjusted the waters by measure;
When he prescribed laws to the rain,
And a path to the glittering thunderbolt;
Then did he see it, and make it known;
He established it, and searched it out;
But he said unto man,

Behold! the fear of the Lord, that is thy wisdom,
And to depart from evil, thy understanding.

THE JUSTICE AND THE POWER OF GOD.

FROM CHAPTER XXXVI. VERSE 22, THROUGH CHAPTER XXXVIII.

BEHOLD, God is exalted by his power;

What potentate is like him?

Who hath prescribed to him his way ?

Or who can say to him, "Thou hast done wrong."

Forget not to magnify his work,

Which men celebrate with songs.

All mankind gaze upon it;

Mortals behold it from afar.

Behold, God is great; we cannot know him,

Nor search out the number of his years.

Lo, he draweth up the drops of water,

Which form rain from his vapour;

The clouds pour it down,

And distil it upon man in abundance.

Who can understand the spreading of his clouds,

And the rattling of his pavilion ?