The answer of the Lord to the powers of darkness

For it was by your arts they died on the stone;
One was preserved, which shall be applied here.
It was My Son, who hid himself in death,
Because his body never turned to earth,
Nor did it ever perish in the dust,
But he arose to instruct the righteous:
And as he then hid his life in death,
The mysteries of it shall be applied here:
For afterward he appeared boldly,
And warned his people and his followers here,
How all the arts of Satan were set up,
And since they chose him, what did they have to hope for?
For Satan appeared like the bramble,
And so he drew his followers into a snare.
Until the fortified cities were destroyed,
And Jerusalem was no longer enjoyed,
As a fortified city, as it was before.
And he destroyed their strong towers there;
For people like him came afterward, * Turks.

And so destroyed the whole as he had done.
But now, I will name Abimelech here,
He appeared as a type of Satan;
And Satan has now come like Abimelech,
To ask the people to crown him King:
So that he may now destroy all my brethren,
And now, by murder, he may enjoy everything;
And so together, will you crown him King,
And through unbelief, silently vote for him?
Then now, like Jotham, I answer here,
And I shall appear from this parable: † Judges, chap. 9 verse 8.

"The trees are now sent out to get a king;
Christ or the Devil must win the victory."
And I will first appeal to the Olive tree:
He is the Branch of Peace, and therefore he must fail
To leave his glory and come down below,
To leave the heavenly joys that flow there;
"For it is by me they honor God and man,
And so I give the kingdom into your hands;
If in your hearts you appeal to me
To be your King, I will give my kingdom freely,
To my friends, who now appear to Me.
I will give My kingdom, and I'll give it freely.
For I shall not come to reign on this earth,
But send my peace to all the sons of men,"

Note: The reader is requested to refer to the chapters alluded to.

That was made as firm as heaven at first;
It cannot move, and so the end will burst:
And like the Olive tree, it must stand steady,
And its decrees can never be moved by man:
So here you see the Olive would not move,
And here you see your God in perfect love,
To bring His kingdom! And Satan not at all,
For just like that chapter, all must fall:
For as the Fig tree denied the fame,
I tell you all, such heavenly joys will come
That men will wish to see no other promotion
But what flows in sweetness all from Me:
For when the heavenly joys burst upon you,
And you taste the sweetness of the fruit,
Within its sweetness, you will say you will abide;
Christ is your King, and Satan is denied.
So now I say you have come to the Vine;
I am the root from which the branches sprung;
And I know they will stick close to the Vine,
And they will never mind man's promotion;
But they will surely cleave close to the Vine,
"And say, 'We will now leave all other pleasures;
'For if we appear in the Vine now,
'We know the Tree of Life is promised there.
'And Christ has promised to protect His Vine,
'And we will stand there and shine in His vineyard.'"
So I know this will be the minds of men,
To stand still and see My kingdom come.
They will now expect the Olive branch in peace;
The sweetest joys from heaven will now increase;
"And in faith we now expect to see this:
Christ is the vine, and we are the branches.
Then how can we promote Satan as a King?
We have signed the agreement now to bring Christ's vineyard,
And we will not stir one step to break the law;
Christ is the Vine, and we are the branches too,
Supported in everything by His hand,
And He will stand steady in His vineyard."
So here I know the trees cannot move,
Those who stand in Me and wait to prove the truth;
They will not regard the honors done by man,
But will stand steadfast in My vineyard.
And it is in vain for earth or hell to move
The steadfast hearts that now stand in love:
Because the joys of heaven will flow fast;
Sweet are the pleasures you will taste below;
If you say now that you will stick close to the Vine,
And let the world shine in their promotion: