The sinners in Zion are terrified; trembling grips the godless:
Isaiah 33:14–17Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire? Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning?
Those who walk righteously and speak what is right, who reject gain from extortion and keep their hands from accepting bribes, who stop their ears against plots of murder and shut their eyes against contemplating evil—they are the ones who will dwell on the heights, whose refuge will be the mountain fortress. Their bread will be supplied, and water will not fail them. Your eyes will see the King in His beauty and view a land that stretches afar.
Words: Philip Doddridge (1702–1751). Published posthumously in Hymns Founded on Various Texts in the Holy Scriptures, by Job Orton (Shropshire, England: Joshua Eddowes & John Cotton, 1755), number 94: The different views of good and bad men in times of public danger.
Music: Deus Tuorum Militum Grenoble Antiphoner, 1753 (🔊 pdf nwc).
See, the destruction is begun,
And heaps of ruin spread the ground;
With hasty strides it marches on,
And scatters consternation round.
Sinners in Zion take th’alarm,
The hypocrites astonished cry,
Who with devouring flames can dwell?
Who in eternal burnings lie?
God’s gracious voice the saint revives,
How sweet the heav’nly accents sound!
Dwell thou on high, My child,
He says,
Where rocks shall guard thee all around.
There shall My hand thy wants supply,
Thy water and thy bread are sure;
There shall My visits make thee glad,
While these alarming scenes endure.
Then, led in joyous triumph forth,
Thine eyes the distant land shall view,
Shall see thy king in beauty dressed,
And share His royal honors, too.
My soul the oracle receives,
And feels its energy to cheer;
A promised Heav’n, a present God,
Forbids my grief, forbids my fear.