THE BURDEN OF BABYLON, AND THE TRIUMPH OF ZION As it was seen in the VALLEY of VISION: By GEORGE BISHOPE.  
Multitudes, Multitudes in the Valley of Decision; for the Day of the Lord is near in the Valley of Decision, Joel 3. 14.  
Sing and rejoice O Daughter of Zion, for lo I come, and will dwell in the midst of Thee, saith the Lord, and many Nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day, and shall be my people, and I will dwell in the midst of thee; and thou shalt know that the Lord of Hosts hath sent me unto thee. And the Lord shall inherit Judah his portion in the Holy Land, and shall choose Jerusalem again; Be silent O all flesh before the Lord, for he is raised up out of his holy Habitation. Zach. 2. 10, 11, 12, 13.  
LONDON, Printed for Robert Wilson, 1661.   

The Burden of BABYLON, etc.  
IN the Valley of Vision, under the bottom of the Mountains, and the depths of the Rocks, as I lay in the Deep, I saw this Burden of Babylon.  
O ye Oppressing Powers! who have kept the Seed of God under, and made it continually to cry by reason of its Oppression, the Word of the Lord through me, is to You. Woe, woe unto You from the Lord; for his Day is coming upon you like a Whirlwind, and who shall stop it? He will work, and who shall let it? He brings it on, and it comes swift, and who shall hinder it? I will not spare the Guilty, saith the Lord; I will not condemn the Innocent: I will render to Every man according to his Work. My Day comes swift, and who shall put it by? I will be avenged on mine Enemies, I will bring under them that hate me. All mine Enemies shall be sound Liars unto Me: Vanity shall take them; the Wind shall carry them away. But they that fear the Lord shall Possess the Land; They shall inherit mine holy Mountain, saith the Lord.  
Fear, Horror, and the Pit is upon thee, O Daughter of Babylon: Thou shalt not be: An End is come, even the Measure of thine Iniquity: Thou hast long boasted thy self, and gloryed: Thou hast long made merry over the Blood of the Slain; thou hast long drunk the Blood of the Poor and Needy: Thou hast glutted thy self, and become fat: Thou art covered with Ointments, and with Abominations, and hast enriched thy self: Thou hast sitten as a Queen, and hast said, I shall see no sorrow: My Children are Many, I shall not be Desolate. Thou hast vaunted it against the Lord, and exalted thy self against the Holy One of Israel: Tush! doth God regard? Is there knowledge in the Most High? Thou hast made thy Nests in the Stars, and thither thou art gone up. Thou hast decked thy self as though thou shouldest never know sorrow any more. Thou are grown exceeding lofty; Thou tramplest upon the Foot of the Poor and Needy: Thou scornest the Lord, and fearest not before the Mighty One of Israel: Thou art gone beyond all bounds: Thou enlargest thy self as Hell, and as the Grave which is never satisfied. The Virgin Daughter of Zion was contemned by thee in the Day of thy Prosperity: Thou deridedst when she was spoken of; thou madest a mock of her sorrows, when tears covered her; when she sat Desolate on the ground, and Ashes were over her; when she was bereft of Children, and without an Husband; thou sportedst at her Affliction, and took'st pleasure in her groans; the Burden of Every One raised thee up: When thou heardest them, thou rejoicedst: The more she was brought low, the more thou exaltedst thy self, and thou madest a mock of her sufferings: Thou puttedst thy foot upon her; thou pushedst her; thou disdainedst her with thine eye; thou cried'st Aha! The Lord God filled her with bitterness, and the transgressions of her youth were upon her, and thou wast glad.  
Behold! Thy Day is come wherein thou shalt be like unto her. Thou hast lived in pleasure; thou hast murdered the Just, and he hath not resisted thee: Thou art very haughty, and winkest with thine eye, and mincest with thy feet: Thou art become exceeding delicate. Many lovers thou hast, and thine eyes roll up and down, and thou thinkest every one is taken with thy Beauty: Thy Destruction shall come from far, and thy Calamity from the Ends of the Earth: And thou shalt fall and rise no more, saith the Lord.  
Thy Lovers shall leave thee, thy familiars shall forsake thee; thy Friends and Kinsfolk shall stand afar off thee: Thy Children shall not be in the Day that I will visit thee, saith the Lord. Stand afar off, look upon her, behold her torment: Flee, flee from the Land of Caldea; Its rolling up as a Scroll before the fire: It's iniquity is upon it; It's sinking into the Sea; out of which it shall never Arise, saith the Lord.  
No more Remembrance shall be had of Thee, O Daughter of Babylon! O Thou Oppressing City! Thou Bloody City! Whose scum is in the midst of Thee; Thou must be consumed; Neither Name, nor Remnant; neither Son, nor Nephew; No More of thy stock from Generation to Generation. The Lord hath said it.  
Thy Day is at an End; Thy Night is Come; Thy Sorrows and Perplexities; Thy desperate Sorrows; Thou mayst not be pitied, O Daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed: Happy shall he be that Rewardeth thee as thou hast served us. Happy shall he be that taketh & dasheth thy Little Ones against the Stones, saith the Lord.  
Jerusalem was not at all considered by thee in the day of her Calamity, in the Day that her Iniquity had an End: When thou sawest it, thou helpest it on, and joyedst in her Distress, Thou shall not be bemoaned; None shall sigh for Thee in the Day when the Lord shall cover thee with thine own Do, & fill thee with the works of thy hands; Who shall lay thee low and desolate, and compass thee with tears, & fill thee with blood, and put thee into the Pit, Never to arise: None shall shed a tear for thee. The Lord hath spoken it.  
All thy Days of Pleasure draw to an End: Thou hast been feasting it long, and with thy Jovial Companions hast been praising the Gods of Gold and of Silver, of Brass, of Iron, of Wood, and of Stone in the Vessels of the House of the Lord, and there thou hast Quaffed it: Whilst Zion lay ploughèd up as a Field, and Jerusalem in Ashes: A Deadly Draught it shall prove to Thee: For thou shalt Drink, and be Drunken, and be Moved, and be Mad, and Spew, and fall, and rise no more, saith the Lord.  
Thou hast been strutting it long in the Palace of Babylon, and hast said, Is not this Great Babylon that I have built for the house of the Kingdom, by the Might of my Power, and for the Honour of my Majesty? Thou hast thought thou shalt never be removed: A swift Destruction shall come upon Thee, and thou shalt be thrown into the Pit: The Lord hath spoken it.  
Great Peace shall be unto them who are thine Enemies; and of the increase of the Government that's over thee, and Peace, there shall be No End. Upon the Throne of David, and upon his Kingdom, to Order it, and establish it with Judgement and with Justice, from henceforth even for Ever. The Zeal of the Lord of Hosts shall perform this.  
Thou hast been exceeding Proud, and full of Contempt, when the Daughter of Zion hath been bowed Down: Thou shalt go into Captivity, out of which thou shalt not Return, saith the Lord.  
Have Mercy upon Us, O Lord! have mercy upon Us; for We are exceedingly filled with Contempt; Our Soul is exceedingly filled with the scorn of those that are at Ease, and with the Contempt of the Proud. Remember, O Lord! the Children of Edom, in the Day of Jerusalem, who said, Raze it, Raze it, even to the Foundation of it; said Zion in the Day of her Distress: But thou vauntedst it then, and cried'st, Aha! She is broken that was the Gate of the People: We shall be Replenished, she is turned unto Us. These Two Nations, and these Two Countries shall be Mine; and We will possess it, whenas the Lord was there. Therefore as I live saith the Lord God, I will do even according to thine Anger, and according to thine Envy which thou hast used out of thy Hatred against them, and I will make my self known amongst them when I have Judged thee, and thou shalt know that I am the Lord, and that I have heard all thy Blasphemies which thou hast spoken against the Mountains of Israel, saying, They are laid Desolate, they are given Us to Consume. Thus with your Mouth ye have boasted against me, and have multiplied your words against me, I have heard them. Thus saith the Lord God, When the whole Earth Rejoiceth, I will make thee Desolate: As thou didst Rejoice at the Inheritance of the House of Israel, because it was Desolate, so will I do unto thee: Thou shalt be Desolate, O Mount Seir! and all Idumea, even all of it, and they shall know that I am the Lord. Son of M 〈…〉, thy face against Mount Seir, and prophesy against it, and say unto it, Thus saith the Lord God, Behold! O Mount Seir, I am against thee, and I will stretch out Mine hand against thee, and I will make thee most Desolate; I will lay thy City's waste, and thou shalt be Desolate, and thou shalt know that I am the Lord, because thou hast had a perpetual hatred, and hast shed the Blood of the Children of Israel by the force of the Sword in the time of their Calamity; in the time that their iniquity had an End. Therefore as I live saith the Lord God, I will prepare thee unto Blood, and Blood shall pursue thee, sigh thou hast not hated Blood; even Blood shall pursue thee. Thus will I make Mount Seir most Desolate, and cut out from it him that passeth out, and him that Returneth, and I will fill his Mountains with his slain Men, in thy Hills, and in thy Valleys, and in all thy Rivers shall they fall that are slain with the Sword. I will make thee perpetual Desolations; and thy Cities shall not Return: and ye shall know that I am the Lord.  
Thus far of the Burden of Idumea.  
But as for thee, O Babylon! As for thee, O Leviathan! Thou piercing Serpent; thou Crooked Serpent; thou Dragon that art in the midst of the Sea; I will punish thee with my sore, and great, and strong Sword, saith the Lord: And I will slay the Dragon that is in the Sea.  
And as for thee Pharaoh King of Egypt, the Great Dragon that lies in the midst of His Rivers, which hath said, My River is mine Own; I have made it for my self. Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I am Against thee; I will put Hooks into thy Chaws, and cause the Fish of thy Rivers to stick unto thy Skales, and will bring thee up out of the midst of thy Rivers, and all the fish of thy Rivers shall stick unto thy Skales, and I will leave thee thrown into the Wilderness, thee, and all the Fish of thy Rivers; Thou shalt fall upon the Open fields: Thou shalt not be brought together, nor Gathered; I have given thee for Meat to the Beasts of the field, and to the Fowls of Heaven, and all the Inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the Lord; because they have been a staff of Reed to the house of Israel; where they took hold of thee by the hand, thou didst break and rend all their shoulder; and when they Leaned upon thee, thou brakest, and made all their Loins to be at a stand. Therefore, thus saith the Lord God, Behold! I will bring a sword upon thee, and Cut out Man and Beast out of thee; and the Land of Egypt shall be desolate and waste, and they shall know that I am the Lord: because he hath said, The River is mine Own, and I have made it.  
But as for Thee, O Daughter of Zion! O Virgin Daughter of Jerusalem! Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: For the Day of thy Calamity hath an End: The Measure of thy sufferings are up; when this is Over, which is now Coming upon Thee. Thou shalt not sorrow any more, neither shalt thou weep: Tears no more shall be thy Repast continually: Desolation and Destruction shall not come within Thy Borders. Peace shall be within Thy Walls, and Prosperity within Thy Palaces: They shall Prosper that love Thee. There shall no more be within Thee an Infant of Days; Nor an Old Man that stoopeth by Reason of Age: Thy People shall be all Righteous; The Branch of my Planting; The Work of my hands, that I may be glorified, saith the Lord.  
Paleness shall no longer cover Thee; nor shall thy Cheeks any more wax thin; Nor shall Dimness be upon Thy Glory: The Everlasting God shall be thine Everlasting Light, and the Days of thy Mourning shall be ended. For a little while have I forsaken thee, but with Everlasting kindness will I embrace thee; and Restore Comfort unto thee, and to thy Mourners.  
Behold, the Day is Come, wherein though I will make a full End of the Nations where thou hast been scattered; yet I will not make a full End of thee; but will gather thee, and restore Comfort to thee; and thou shalt be in the midst of many People, as a Lion among the Beasts of the Forests: As a Young Lion among the Flocks of Sheep; who if he goeth thorough, both treadeth Down, and teareth to pieces, and none can Deliver; Thine hand shall be lift up upon thine Adversaries; and all Thine Enemies shall be cut off.  
And, Whereas Thou hast been forsaken, and Desolate, so that no man hath passed through thee; I will make thee an Eternal Excellency; a Joy of many Generations. Thou shalt call upon Me, saith the Lord, and I will answer thee; Thou shalt speak, and I will hear thee. For, thou Israel art my servant Jacob whom I have chosen; The seed of Abraham my friend: Thou whom I have taken from the Ends of the Earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof; and said unto thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away. Fear thou not, for I am with thee; Be not dismayed, for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my Righteousness. Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded; they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish. Thou shalt seek them, but shalt not find them; even them that contended with thee. They that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought. For I the Lord thy God will hold thy Right hand; saying unto thee, Fear not, I will help thee. Fear not thou Worm Jacob, & ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the Lord, & thy Redeemer; the Holy One of Israel. Behold, I will make thee a new Threshing Instrument having teeth; Thou shalt Thresh the Mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the Hills as Chaff; Thou shalt fan them, and the Wind shall carry them away, and the Whirelwind shall scatter them; and thou shalt rejoice in the Lord; and Glory in the Holy One of Israel.  
So be thou of Good Comfort; Lift up thy head, for thy Redemption draws nigh: Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion; Shout, O Daughter of Jerusalem: Behold thy King cometh unto thee; he is Just, and having Salvation; Lowly, and riding on an Ass, the Foal of an Ass; he will joy over thee with Joy, & rejoice over thee with shouting; and he will marry thee unto him, as a young man marries a Virgin; & thou shalt be called the blessed of the Lord, and thine offspring with thee, saith the Lord.  
For Silver I will give Gold, and for Brass Silver, and for Iron Brass, and for Wood Iron. All thine Officers shall be Peace, & thine Exactors Righteousness. Wasting and Destruction shall be no more heard within thy borders. Thou shalt call thy Walls Salvation, and thy Gates Praise. And the Name of thy City from that Day shall be called, the Lord is there.  
And this Triumph I heard in the Valley of Vision, and this Burden I saw in the Valley of Decision, even the Burden of Babylon, and the Triumph of Zion, as I was in the Deep the 24 and 25 8 Month, 1661.  
The End  
G. B.