Isaiah 58-62
1 “Cry aloud with strength, and spare not; lift up your voice like a trumpet, and declare to My people their sins, and to the house of Jacob their lawlessness. 2 They seek Me day by day, and desire to know My ways. As a people who did righteousness, and did not forsake the judgment of their God, they now ask Me about righteous judgment, and desire to draw near to God, 3 saying, ‘Why have we fasted, but You did not see it? Why have we humbled our souls, but You did not know it?’ Because in the days of your fasts, you seek your own wills, and mistreat those under your authority. 4 If you fast for condemnations and quarrels, and strike a humble man with your fists, why do you fast to Me as you do today, so your voice may be heard in crying? 5 I did not choose this fast, and such a day for a man to humble his soul; nor if you should bow your neck like a ring and spread sackcloth and ashes under yourself, could you thus call such a fast acceptable. 6 I did not choose such a fast,” says the Lord; “rather, loose every bond of wrongdoing; untie the knots of violent dealings; cancel the debts of the oppressed; and tear apart every unjust contract. 7 Break your bread for the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house. If you see a naked man, clothe him, nor shall you disregard your offspring in your own household. 8 Then your light shall break forth as the morning, and your healing shall spring forth quickly. Your righteousness shall go before you, and the glory of God shall cover you. 9 Then you shall cry out, and God will hear you. While you are still speaking, He will say, ‘Behold, I am here.’ If you take away your fetter and the pointing of the finger, and the word of grumbling, 10 and if you give bread to the hungry from your soul, and satisfy the humble soul, then your light shall rise up in the darkness, and your darkness shall be as midday. 11 God shall be with you continually, and you shall be satisfied as your soul desires. Your bones shall be enriched, and you shall be like a well-watered garden and like a spring of water that does not fail. Your bones will arise and be enriched like a green plant, and they shall inherit generations of generations. 12 Your ancient deserts shall be built, and your ancient foundations shall be from generation to generation. You shall be called Builder of Walls, and will rest on the paths within them. 13 If you turn away your foot from work because of the Sabbath, so as not to do your desires on the holy day, and if you shall call the Sabbath joyful, holy to your God, and not take away your foot for work, nor speak a word in wrath from your mouth, 14 then you shall trust in the Lord; and He will bring you to the good things of the land, and feed you with the inheritance of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken these things.”
1 Is the Lord’s hand unable to save? Is His ear heavy so as not to hear? 2 But your sins stand between you and your God, and He turned His face from you because of your sins, so as not to have mercy. 3 For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with sins; and your lips speak lawlessness, and your tongue plots wrongdoing. 4 No one speaks righteous things, nor is there true judgment. They trust in worthless things and speak vain things; for they conceive trouble and give birth to lawlessness. 5 They hatch the eggs of asps, and weave a spider’s web. He who is about to eat of their eggs finds a sterile and broken egg, and in it a basilisk. 6 Their web shall not become a garment, nor will they clothe themselves with their works; for their works are works of lawlessness. 7 Their feet run swiftly to evil to shed blood. Their thoughts are the thoughts of undiscerning men, and destruction and misery are in their ways. 8 They do not know the way of peace, and there is no judgment in their ways; for the paths they travel are corrupt, and they do not know peace. 9 Therefore judgment departed from them, and righteousness does not lay hold of them. While they waited for light, darkness came upon them, and while they waited for the dawn, they walked in darkness. 10 They groped around for a wall like blind men, and like men who have no eyes they groped around. They shall fall at midday as though it were midnight, and shall groan like dying men. 11 They shall proceed together like a bear and a dove: We waited for judgment, but there is none, and salvation departed far away from us. 12 For our lawlessness is great before You, and our sins oppose us; for our lawlessness is with us, and we know our unrighteous deeds. 13 We acted in an ungodly manner, and we lied and departed backwards from our God. We spoke unjustly, and were disobedient; and we conceived and meditated on unrighteous words from our heart. 14 We departed backwards from judgment, and righteousness stands far off. For the truth is consumed in their ways, and they could not pass by a straight path. 15 Truth was taken away, and they turned away their mind so as not to understand. But the Lord saw this and was not pleased, because there was no judgment. 16 He also saw there was no man, and He observed, but there was no one to help. He defended them with His arm and established them with His mercy. 17 He put on righteousness as a breastplate and placed the helmet of salvation on His head. He clothed Himself with the garment and covering of vengeance, 18 as a recompense of recompenses, even a rebuke to His adversaries. 19 Those from the west shall fear the name of the Lord, and those from the east, His glorious name; for the wrath of the Lord shall come like a violent river; it shall come with anger. 20 He who delivers shall come for Zion’s sake, and He shall turn back ungodliness from Jacob. 21 “This shall be My covenant with them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit who is upon you, and My words I caused to be in your mouth shall not fail from the mouth of your seed; for the Lord has spoken it, from now and forever.
1 “Shine, shine, O Jerusalem, for your light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. 2 Behold, darkness and gloom shall cover the earth upon the nations, but the Lord will shine on you; and His glory shall be seen upon you. 3 Kings shall come to your light, and the Gentiles to your brightness. 4 Lift up your eyes all around, and see your children gathered together. Behold, all your sons come from afar, and your daughters shall be lifted upon their shoulders. 5 Then you will see, fear and be amazed in your heart, because the wealth of the sea and of nations and peoples shall change their course and turn to you. 6 Herds of camels shall come to you, and the camels of Midian and Ephah shall cover you. All those from Sheba shall come bearing gold, and they shall bring frankincense and proclaim the good news of the Lord’s salvation. 7 All the sheep of Kedar shall be gathered together to you, and the rams of Nebaioth shall come to you. They shall offer acceptable sacrifices upon My altar, and My house of prayer shall be glorified. 8 Who are these who fly like clouds and like doves with young? 9 The coastlands waited for Me, and the ships of Tarshish among the first, to bring your children from afar, and silver and gold with them for the sake of the Lord’s name, and because the Holy One of Israel is glorified. 10 Foreigners shall build your walls, and their kings shall defend you; for I struck you because of My wrath, and I loved you because of My mercy. 11 Your gates shall be opened continually, and they shall not be shut day or night, to bring you the power of the Gentiles, and their kings leading them. 12 For the nations and their kings who will not serve you shall perish, and those nations will be utterly desolate. 13 The glory of Lebanon shall come to you, with the cypress, the pine, and the cedar together, to glorify My holy place. 14 The sons of those who humbled and provoked you shall go to you in fear, and you shall be called City of the Lord, Zion of the Holy One of Israel. 15 Because you were forsaken and hated, and there was no one to help you, therefore I will make you an eternal joy, the gladness of generations to generations. 16 You shall drink the milk of the Gentiles and eat the wealth of kings. You shall know I am the Lord who saves you and the God of Israel who delivers you. 17 Instead of bronze, I will bring you gold, and instead of iron, I will bring you silver, and instead of wood, I will bring you bronze, and instead of stones, iron. I will establish your rulers in peace and your bishops in righteousness. 18 Unrighteousness shall no longer be heard in your land, neither destruction nor distress within your boundaries, but your walls shall be called Salvation, and your gates Sculptured Work. 19 The sun shall no longer be your light by day, nor shall the rising of the moon shine on you at night, but the Lord shall be your everlasting light, and God, your glory. 20 For your sun shall no longer set, nor shall your moon be eclipsed, for the Lord shall be your everlasting light, and the days of your mourning shall be fulfilled. 21 Also your people shall all be righteous, and they shall inherit the land forever, guarding what they planted, the works of their hands, for glory. 22 The few in number shall become thousands, and the lesser shall become a great nation. I the Lord will gather them together at the appointed time.
1 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because of which He anointed Me. He sent Me to proclaim good news to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to preach liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind; 2 to declare the acceptable year of the Lord, the day of recompense, and to comfort all who mourn; 3 to give those who mourn in Zion glory instead of ashes, the oil of gladness to those who mourn; the garment of glory instead of a spirit of indifference. They shall be called generations of righteousness, the planting of the Lord for glory. 4 They shall build the ancient deserts, raise up those formerly abandoned, and renew the desert cities that laid waste for generations. 5 Foreigners shall come and shepherd your sheep, and aliens shall be your plowmen and vinedressers; 6 but you shall be called priests of the Lord and the ministers of God. You shall eat the strength of nations and be admired because of their wealth. 7 So they shall inherit the land a second time, and eternal gladness shall be upon their head. 8 For I am the Lord, who loves righteousness and hates robberies of wrongdoing. I will give their labor to the righteous and will make with them an everlasting covenant. 9 Their seed and their offspring shall be known among the Gentiles. All who see them shall know these are the seed blessed by God; 10 and they shall have exceeding gladness in the Lord.”
Let my soul rejoice exceedingly in the Lord, for He clothed me with the garment of salvation and the tunic of gladness. He put a miter around me like a bridegroom and adorned me with ornaments like a bride. 11 As the earth causes its flower to grow, and as a garden its seeds, so shall the Lord cause righteousness to rise up, and exceeding joy before all the Gentiles.
1 For Zion’s sake I will not be silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until My righteousness goes forth as light, and My salvation burns like a lamp. 2 The Gentiles will see your righteousness, and kings your glory; and one will call you by your new name, which the Lord shall name. 3 You shall also be a crown of beauty in the Lord’s hand, and the diadem of a kingdom in the hand of your God. 4 You shall no longer be called Forsaken, and your land shall not be called Desert; for you shall be called My Will, and in your land, the Inhabited Earth. 5 As a young man lives in wedlock with a virgin, so shall your sons dwell with you, and as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so the Lord shall rejoice over you. 6 I will place guards on your walls all day and all night, O Jerusalem, who shall never keep silent in the remembrance of the Lord. 7 For there shall be no one like you, O Jerusalem, when He amends and makes you the pride of the earth. 8 The Lord swore by His right hand and by the strength of His arm, “I will not give your grain and your food to your enemies, and the sons of foreigners shall not drink your wine for which you labored; 9 but rather, those who gather the food shall eat it and praise the Lord, and those who gather the grapes shall drink their wine in My holy courts. 10 Go through My gates, make a way for My people, throw the stones off the road, and lift up a standard for the Gentiles.” 11 For behold, the Lord caused this to be heard to the ends of the earth: “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your Savior is come, and has His reward, and His work before His face.’ ” 12 One shall call them a holy people, the redeemed of the Lord, and you shall be called a City Sought for and Not Forsaken.
Psalm 106:15–30
15 Let them give thanks to the Lord for His mercies,
His wonders to the sons of men;
16 For He crushed the gates of bronze
And shattered the bars of iron.
17 He helped them out of their lawless ways,
For they were humbled because of their transgressions.
18 Their soul abhorred all manner of food,
And they drew near the gates of death;
19 Then they cried to the Lord in their afflictions,
And He saved them from their distresses;
20 He sent His Word and healed them,
And delivered them from their corruptions.
21 Let them give thanks to the Lord for His mercies
And His wonders to the sons of men,
22 And let them offer a sacrifice of praise;
And let them proclaim His works with exceeding joy.
23 Those who go down to the sea in ships,
Who do business in many waters,
24 These see the works of the Lord
And His wonders in the deep;
25 He spoke, and a stormy wind arose,
And its waves were lifted up;
26 They mount up to the heavens
And descend into the deep;
Their soul is consumed with evils;
27 They were troubled; they were shaken like one drunk with wine,
And all their wisdom was consumed;
28 Then they cried to the Lord in their affliction,
And He brought them out of their distresses.
29 He also commanded the storm, and it became a breeze,
And its waves were still;
30 Then they were glad, for they were silent,
And He guided them to the haven of their desire.
Proverbs 23:24–27
24 Let your father and mother be glad in you,
And let her who bore you rejoice.
25 My son, give me your heart,
And let your eyes observe my ways;
26 For a house of prostitution is a pierced vessel
And a strange and empty well;
27 For he shall perish suddenly,
And every lawless man shall be destroyed.
Hebrews 6
1 Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,
2 of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
3 And this we will do if God permits.
4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit,
5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come,
6 if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.
7 For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God;
8 but if it bears thorns and briers, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned.
A Better Estimate
9 But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation, though we speak in this manner.
10 For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister.
11 And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end,
12 that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
God’s Infallible Purpose in Christ
13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself,
14 saying, “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.”
15 And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.
16 For men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute.
17 Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath,
18 that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.
19 This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil,
20 where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.