ACT THE THIRD.

FIRST PRIEST.

Yes, my companions, Heaven's decrees are pass'd,
And our fix'd empire shall for ever last :
In vain the madd'ning prophet threatens woe-
In vain rebellion aims her secret blow;

Still shall our name and growing power be spread,
And still our justice crush the traitor's head.

Air.

Coeval with man
Our empire began,
And never shall fall

Till ruin shakes all.

When ruin shakes all,

Then shall Babylon fall,

SECOND PROPHET.

'Tis thus the proud triumphant rear the head-
A little while, and all their power is fled.
But, ha! what means yon sadly plaintive train,
That onward slowly bends along the plain?
And now, behold, to yonder bank they bear
A pallid corse, and rest the body there.
Alas! too well mine eyes indignant trace
The last remains of Judah's royal race :
Fall'n is our king, and all our fears are o'er,
Unhappy Zedekiah is no more.

Air.

Ye wretches who by fortune's hate

In want and sorrow groan-
Come, ponder his severer fate,
And learn to bless your own.

FIRST PROPHET.

Ye vain, whom youth and pleasure guide,
Awhile the bliss suspend;

Like yours, his life began in pride-
Like his, your lives shall end.

SECOND PROPHET.-RECITATIVE.

Behold his wretched corse with sorrow worn,
His squalid limbs by ponderous fetters torn;
Those eyeless orbs that shook with ghastly glare,
Those unbecoming rags, that matted hair!
And shall not Heaven for this avenge the foe,
Grasp the red bolt, and lay the guilty low?
How long, how long, Almighty God of all,
Shall wrath vindictive threaten ere it fall!

ISRAELITISH WOMAN.

Air.

As panting flies the hunted hind,

Where brooks refreshing stray;
And rivers through the valley wind,

That stop the hunter's way:

Thus we, O Lord, alike distress'd,
For streams of mercy long;

Streams which can cheer the sore oppress'd,

And overwhelm the strong.

FIRST PROPHET.-RECITATIVE.

But whence that shout? Good heavens! Amazement all!
See yonder tower just nodding to the fall:
Behold, an army covers all the ground,
"Tis Cyrus here that pours destruction round :
The ruin smokes, the torrent pours along—
How low the proud, how feeble are the strong!
And now, behold, the battlements recline-
O God of hosts, the victory is thine!

CHORUS OF ISRAELITES.

Down with her, Lord, to lick the dust—

Thy vengeance be begun ;

Serve her as she has served the just,

And let thy will be done.

FIRST PRIEST.-RECITATIVE.

All, all is lost! The Syrian army fails,

Cyrus, the conqueror of the world, prevails.
Save us, O Lord! to Thee, though late, we pray;

And give repentance but an hour's delay.

SECOND PRIEST.

Air.

Thrice happy, who in happy hour
To Heaven their praise bestow,
And own his all-consuming power
Before they feel the blow!

FIRST PROPHET.-RECITATIVE.

Now, now's our time! ye wretches bold and blind,
Brave but to God, and cowards to mankind,

Ye seek in vain the Lord unsought before—
Your wealth, your lives, your kingdom, are no more!

Air.

O Lucifer, thou son of morn,

Of Heaven alike and man the foe,

Heaven, men, and all,

Now press thy fall,

And sink thee lowest of the low.

SECOND PROPHET.

O Babylon, how art thou fallen

Thy fall more dreadful from delay!

Thy streets forlorn,

To wilds shall turn,

Where toads shall pant, and vultures prey!

Such be her fate.

FIRST PROPHET.-RECITATIVE.

But hark! how from afar

The clarion's note proclaims the finish'd war!

Cyrus, our great restorer, is at hand,

And this way leads his formidable band.

Now give your songs of Zion to the wind,
And hail the benefactor of mankind:
He comes, pursuant to divine decree,

To chain the strong, and set the captive free.

CHORUS OF YOUTHS.

Rise to raptures past expressing,
Sweeter from remember'd woes;
Cyrus comes, our wrongs redressing,
Comes to give the world repose.

CHORUS OF VIRGINS.

Cyrus comes, the world redressing,
Love and pleasure in his train;
Comes to heighten every blessing,
Comes to soften every pain.

SEMI-CHORUS.

Hail to him with mercy reigning,
Skill'd in every peaceful art;
Who, from bonds our limbs unchaining,
Only binds the willing heart.

THE LAST CHORUS.

But chief to thee, our God, our father, friend,
Let praise be given to all eternity;

O Thou, without beginning, without end-
Let us and all, begin and end in Thee!

Thompson and Davidson, Printers, Great St. Helens, Bishopsgate.