Reading 81 • December 4
Today's Scripture
Isaiah 40:1–11
Comfort, O comfort my people,
says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and cry to her
that she has served her term,
that her penalty is paid,
that she has received from the Lord’s hand
double for all her sins.
A voice cries out:
“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.
Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all people shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
A voice says, “Cry out!”
And I said, “What shall I cry?”
All people are grass,
their constancy is like the flower of the field.
The grass withers, the flower fades,
when the breath of the Lord blows upon it;
surely the people are grass.
The grass withers, the flower fades;
but the word of our God will stand forever.
Get you up to a high mountain,
O Zion, herald of good tidings;
lift up your voice with strength,
O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings,
lift it up, do not fear;
say to the cities of Judah,
“Here is your God!”
See, the Lord God comes with might,
and his arm rules for him;
his reward is with him,
and his recompense before him.
He will feed his flock like a shepherd;
he will gather the lambs in his arms,
and carry them in his bosom,
and gently lead the mother sheep. (NRSV)
Reflection
Over the years I have become a fan of the poetry of the Old Testament, particularly of the prophets. The grandeur of the message and the beauty of the form have become ever more moving.
These verses from Isaiah include some of the messages that are most often used in sermons, devotions, and other inspirational material. They have spoken vividly to me over the years, starting with “comfort, O comfort my people,” and ending with “he will gather the lambs in his arms and carry them in his bosom and gently lead the mother sheep.”
We have a wonderful picture of God’s faithfulness, God’s love, and God’s protection. During his term as interim pastor at Fourth Church, the Reverend Tom Are ended the second reading in every service with the assurance that “grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.” After hearing those words every week for that entire period, I had the chance to really absorb the depth of the meaning. The beauty of God’s world, as gorgeous as it may be, will fade and eventually disappear. However, God’s steadfast love for us will neither disappear nor fade.
God is to be counted on, and that simple truth helps me to hang in and hold on through whatever may come my way.
Sometimes things in my life are such that I may not know what to pray for or even exactly how to pray. Having phrases from Isaiah and some of the other parts of the Bible in my memory ready for use helps me get into the attitude of prayer that I need at the particular moment.
Isaiah 40 ends with my favorite part of the entire Old Testament: “those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”
Prayer
Dear Lord, thank you for the gift of your word, which guides our path. Amen.
Written by Blake Anderson, Member of Fourth Presbyterian Church
Reflection and Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church
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