I have seen her ways, but I will heal her; I will guide her and restore comfort to her, creating praise on the lips of the mourners.
"There is no peace for the wicked," says my God. Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Declare to my people their rebellion and their sins. For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them. "Why have we fasted and you have not seen?" they say. "Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?" Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please. Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high. Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, ONLY A DAY for a man to humble himself? Is that what you call a fast, a DAY acceptable to the Lord? "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen; to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords, to set the oppressed free? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter-when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? THEN your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; THEN your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. THEN you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here I Am. IF you do away with oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and IF you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, THEN your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The Lord will guide you always; He will satisfy your needs and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters will not fail. You will find joy in the Lord. The mouth of the Lord has spoken.
Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear, BUT your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that He will not hear. For your hands are stained with blood, your fingers with guilt, your lips have spoken lies, and your tongue mutters wicked things. No one calls for justice; no one pleads his case with integrity. They rely on empty arguments and speak lies; they conceive trouble and give birth to evil. Their deeds are evil deeds. Their feet rush into sin; they are swift to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are evil thoughts, ruin and destruction mark their ways. The way of people they do not know; there is no justice in their paths. They have turned them into crooked roads; no one who walks in them will know peace.
We look for justice, but find none; for deliverance, but it is far away. Our sins testify against us. Our offenses are ever with us, and we acknowledge our iniquities: rebellion and treachery against the Lord, turning our backs on our God, uttering lies our hearts have conceived. So justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance; truth has stumbled, honesty cannot enter. Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey.
According to what they have done, so will he repay wrath to his enemies and retribution to his foes; he will repay their due. Men will fear the name of the Lord, and from the rising of the sun, they will revere his glory.
"THE REDEEMER WILL COME TO THOSE WHO REPENT OF THEIR SINS ," DECLARES THE LORD.
Isaiah 57-59, selected verses
...being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion...
It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart. This is my prayer, that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and be pure and blameless until the day of Christ.
Now I want you to know, what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. I will continue to rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always, Christ will be exalted in my body.
Philippians 1, selected verses
In you, O Lord, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame. Rescue me and deliver me in your righteousness; turn your ear to me and save me. Be my rock of refuge, to which I can always go; for you are my rock and my fortress. You have been my hope, O Sovereign Lord, my confidence since my youth. From birth I have relied on you; I will ever praise you. My mouth is filled with your praise, declaring your splendor all day long. Do not cast me away, do not forsake me when my strength is gone. My enemies speak against me; they say, "God has forsaken her; pursue her and seize her, for no one will rescue her." Be not far from me, O God. May my accusers perish in shame; may those who want to harm me be covered with scorn and disgrace. But as for me, I will always have hope, I will praise you more and more. My mouth will tell of your righteousness, of your salvation all day long, though I know not its measure. I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, O Sovereign Lord; I will proclaim your righteousness, yours alone. Since my youth, O God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds. Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter, you will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth you will again bring me up. You will increase my honor and comfort me once again. I will praise you for your faithfulness, O my God; I will sing praise to you. My lips will shout for joy. My tongue will tell of your righteous acts all day long, for those who wanted to harm me have been put to shame and confusion.
Psalm 71, selected verses
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