JEPHTHAH. 25
Enter a Herald.
JEPHTHAH.
Hearken, Jehovah, to thy servant now;
Fill Thou my voice with thine own thunders; fill
My swift sharp words with such a lightning-fork
As shall fall venomous upon the host
Of these idolatrous that thus invade
Our fencéd cities, these that put to sword
Our helpless. Hear the cry of widowed men!
And young men fatherless! And old men reft
Of children! Grant us victory to avenge
Their innocent shed blood, and ruined land.
So, to gain time for prayer and penitence
For grievous trespass of idolatry
Done to th’ accurséd Baalim, and time
To gather fugitives, and make them men,
And straggling herdsmen for our armament,
We send thee, herald, to the furious king
Who lies with all his power encamped somewhere
Hence southward toward Mahanaim. Say
Unto the king of Ammon: Thus saith Jephthah :
Why hast thou come with bloody hands against us?
Our holy God, that bound the iron sea
With pale frail limits of white sand, and said :
Thus far, and not one billowy step beyond !
Saith unto thee in like commandment: Thou
Who hast destroyed my people from the land
So far, shalt not encroach upon their places
One furlong more, lest quickly I destroy