171 The burden of Damascus. Lo, Damascus is taken away from 'being' a city, And it hath been a heap—a ruin. 2 Forsaken are the cities of Aroer, For droves they are, and they have lain down, And there is none troubling. 3 And ceased hath the fortress from Ephraim, And the kingdom from Damascus, And the remnant of Aram are as the honour of the sons of Israel, The affirmation of Jehovah of Hosts!
4 And it hath come to pass, in that day, Wax poor doth the honour of Jacob, And the fatness of his flesh doth wax lean. 5 And it hath come to pass, As the gathering by the reaper of the standing corn, And his arm the ears reapeth, And it hath come to pass, As the gathering of the ears in the valley of Rephaim,
6 And left in him have been gleanings, As the compassing of an olive, Two—three berries on the top of a branch, Four—five on the fruitful boughs, The affirmation of Jehovah, God of Israel! 7 In that day doth man look to His Maker, Yea, his eyes to the Holy One of Israel look, 8 And he looketh not unto the altars. The work of his own hands, And that which his own fingers made He seeth not—the shrines and the images.
9 In that day are the cities of his strength As the forsaken thing of the forest, And the branch that they have left, Because of the sons of Israel, It also hath been a desolation. 10 Because thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, And the rock of thy strength hast not remembered, Therefore thou plantest plants of pleasantness, And with a strange slip sowest it, 11 In the day thy plant thou causest to become great, And in the morning thy seed makest to flourish, A heap 'is' the harvest in a day of overflowing, And of mortal pain.
12 Wo 'to' the multitude of many peoples, As the sounding of seas they sound; And 'to' the wasting of nations, As the wasting of mighty waters they are wasted. 13 Nations as the wasting of many waters are wasted, And He hath pushed against it, And it hath fled afar off, And been pursued as chaff of hills before wind, And as a rolling thing before a hurricane. 14 At even-time, lo, terror, before morning it is not, This 'is' the portion of our spoilers, And the lot of our plunderers!
181 Ho, land shadowed 'with' wings, That 'is' beyond the rivers of Cush, 2 That is sending by sea ambassadors, Even with implements of reed on the face of the waters,—Go, ye light messengers, Unto a nation drawn out and peeled, Unto a people fearful from its beginning and onwards, A nation meeting out by line, and treading down, Whose land floods have spoiled. 3 All ye inhabitants of the world, And ye dwellers of earth, At the lifting up of an ensign on hills ye look, And at the blowing of a trumpet ye hear. 4 For thus said Jehovah unto me, 'I rest, and I look on My settled place, As a clear heat on an herb. As a thick cloud of dew in the heat of harvest. 5 For before harvest, when the flower is perfect, And the blossom is producing unripe fruit, Then hath 'one' cut the sprigs with pruning hooks, And the branches he hath turned aside, cut down. 6 They are left together to the ravenous fowl of the mountains, And to the beast of the earth, And summered on them hath the ravenous fowl, And every beast of the earth wintereth on them. 7 At that time brought is a present to Jehovah of Hosts, A nation drawn out and peeled. Even of a people fearful from the beginning hitherto, A nation meting out by line, and treading down, Whose land floods have spoiled, Unto the place of the name of Jehovah of Hosts—mount Zion!'
191 The burden of Egypt. Lo, Jehovah is riding on a swift thick cloud, And He hath entered Egypt, And moved have been the idols of Egypt at His presence, And the heart of Egypt melteth in its midst. 2 And I armed Egyptians against Egyptians, And they fought, each against his brother, And each against his neighbour, City against city, kingdom against kingdom. 3 And emptied out hath been in its midst the spirit of Egypt. And its counsel I swallow up, And they have sought unto the idols, And unto the charmers, And unto those having familiar spirits, And unto the wizards. 4 And I have delivered the Egyptians Into the hand of a hard lord, And a strong king doth rule over them, An affirmation of the Lord, Jehovah of Hosts. 5 And failed have waters from the sea, And a river is wasted and dried up. 6 And they have turned away the flowings, Weak and dried up have been brooks of the bulwark, Reed and flag have withered. 7 Exposed things by the brook, by the edge of the brook, And every sown thing of the brook, hath withered, It hath been driven away, and is not. 8 And lamented have the fishers, And mourned have all casting angle into a brook, And those spreading nets on the face of the waters have languished. 9 And ashamed have been makers of fine flax, And weavers of net-works. 10 And its foundations have been smitten, All making wages 'are' afflicted in soul. 11 Only, fools 'are' the princes of Zoan, The counsel of the wise ones of the counsellors of Pharaoh hath become brutish. How say ye unto Pharaoh, 'A son of the wise am I, a son of kings of antiquity?' 12 Where 'are' they now, thy wise ones? Yea, let them tell to thee, I pray thee, And they know what Jehovah of Hosts hath counselled against Egypt! 13 Foolish have been princes of Zoan, Lifted up have been princes of Noph, And they have caused Egypt to err, The chief of her tribes. 14 Jehovah hath mingled in her midst A spirit of perverseness, And they have caused Egypt to err in all its work, As a drunkard erreth in his vomit. 15 And there is no work to Egypt, That head or tail, branch or reed, may do. 16 In that day is Egypt like women, And it hath mourned, and been afraid, Because of the waving of the hand of Jehovah of Hosts, That He is waving over it. 17 And the land of Judah hath been to Egypt for a cause of staggering, Every one who doth mention it, for himself feareth, Because of the counsel of Jehovah of Hosts, That He is counselling against it.
18 In that day there are five cities in the land of Egypt, Speaking the lip of Canaan, And swearing to Jehovah of Hosts, 'The city of destruction,' is said of one. 19 In that day there is an altar to Jehovah In the midst of the land of Egypt, And a standing pillar near its border to Jehovah, 20 And it hath been for a sign and for a testimony, To Jehovah of Hosts in the land of Egypt, For they cry unto Jehovah from the face of oppressors, And He sendeth to them a saviour, Even a great one, and hath delivered them. 21 And known hath been Jehovah to Egypt, And the Egyptians have known Jehovah in that day, And done sacrifice and present, And vowed a vow to Jehovah, and completed 'it'. 22 And Jehovah hath smitten Egypt, smiting and healing, And they have turned back unto Jehovah, And He hath been entreated of them, And hath healed them. 23 In that day is a highway out of Egypt to Asshur, And come in have the Assyrians to Egypt, And the Egyptians into Asshur, And the Egyptians have served with the Assyrians. 24 In that day is Israel third, After Egypt, and after Asshur, A blessing in the heart of the earth. 25 In that Jehovah of Hosts did bless it, saying, 'Blessed 'is' My people—Egypt, And the work of My hands—Asshur, And Mine inheritance—Israel!'
17 because of this become not fools, but—understanding what 'is' the will of the Lord, 18 and be not drunk with wine, in which is dissoluteness, but be filled in the Spirit, 19 speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for all things, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to the God and Father;
21 subjecting yourselves to one another in the fear of God.
22 The wives! to your own husbands subject yourselves, as to the Lord, 23 because the husband is head of the wife, as also the Christ 'is' head of the assembly, and he is saviour of the body, 24 but even as the assembly is subject to Christ, so also 'are' the wives to their own husbands in everything. 25 The husbands! love your own wives, as also the Christ did love the assembly, and did give himself for it, 26 that he might sanctify it, having cleansed 'it' with the bathing of the water in the saying, 27 that he might present it to himself the assembly in glory, not having spot or wrinkle, or any of such things, but that it may be holy and unblemished; 28 so ought the husbands to love their own wives as their own bodies: he who is loving his own wife—himself he doth love; 29 for no one ever his own flesh did hate, but doth nourish and cherish it, as also the Lord—the assembly, 30 because members we are of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones; 31 'for this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined to his wife, and they shall be—the two—for one flesh;' 32 this secret is great, and I speak in regard to Christ and to the assembly; 33 but ye also, every one in particular—let each his own wife so love as himself, and the wife—that she may reverence the husband.
(Read Ephesians 5:15-21)
Another remedy against sin, is care, or caution, it being impossible else to maintain purity of heart and life. Time is a talent given us by God, and it is misspent and lost when not employed according to his design. If we have lost our time heretofore, we must double our diligence for the future. Of that time which thousands on a dying bed would gladly redeem at the price of the whole world, how little do men think, and to what trifles they daily sacrifice it! People are very apt to complain of bad times; it were well if that stirred them more to redeem time. Be not unwise. Ignorance of our duty, and neglect of our souls, show the greatest folly. Drunkenness is a sin that never goes alone, but carries men into other evils; it is a sin very provoking to God. The drunkard holds out to his family and to the world the sad spectacle of a sinner hardened beyond what is common, and hastening to perdition. When afflicted or weary, let us not seek to raise our spirits by strong drink, which is hateful and hurtful, and only ends in making sorrows more felt. But by fervent prayer let us seek to be filled with the Spirit, and to avoid whatever may grieve our gracious Comforter. All God's people have reason to sing for joy. Though we are not always singing, we should be always giving thanks; we should never want disposition for this duty, as we never want matter for it, through the whole course of our lives. Always, even in trials and afflictions, and for all things; being satisfied of their loving intent, and good tendency. God keeps believers from sinning against him, and engages them to submit one to another in all he has commanded, to promote his glory, and to fulfil their duties to each other.
(Read Ephesians 5:22-33)
The duty of wives is, submission to their husbands in the Lord, which includes honouring and obeying them, from a principle of love to them. The duty of husbands is to love their wives. The love of Christ to the church is an example, which is sincere, pure, and constant, notwithstanding her failures. Christ gave himself for the church, that he might sanctify it in this world, and glorify it in the next, that he might bestow on all his members a principle of holiness, and deliver them from the guilt, the pollution, and the dominion of sin, by those influences of the Holy Spirit, of which baptismal water was the outward sign. The church and believers will not be without spot or wrinkle till they come to glory. But those only who are sanctified now, shall be glorified hereafter. The words of Adam, mentioned by the apostle, are spoken literally of marriage; but they have also a hidden sense in them, relating to the union between Christ and his church. It was a kind of type, as having resemblance. There will be failures and defects on both sides, in the present state of human nature, yet this does not alter the relation. All the duties of marriage are included in unity and love. And while we adore and rejoice in the condescending love of Christ, let husbands and wives learn hence their duties to each other. Thus the worst evils would be prevented, and many painful effects would be avoided.
