Isaiah 43

RESTORATION OF ISRAEL
Now this is what the Lord says —
the one who created you, Jacob,
and the one who formed you, Israel —
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by your name; you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you,
and the rivers will not overwhelm you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be scorched,
and the flame will not burn you.
3 For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, and your Savior.
I have given Egypt as a ransom for you,
Cush and Seba in your place.
4 Because you are precious in my sight
and honored, and I love you,
I will give people in exchange for you
and nations instead of your life.
5 Do not fear, for I am with you;
I will bring your descendants from the east,
and gather you from the west.
6 I will say to the north, ‘Give them up! ’
and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back! ’
Bring my sons from far away,
and my daughters from the ends of the earth —
7 everyone who bears my name
and is created for my glory.
I have formed them; indeed, I have made them.”
8 Bring out a people who are blind, yet have eyes,
and are deaf, yet have ears.
9 All the nations are gathered together,
and the peoples are assembled.
Who among them can declare this,
and tell us the former things?
Let them present their witnesses
to vindicate themselves,
so that people may hear and say, “It is true.”
10 “You are my witnesses” —
this is the Lord’s declaration —
“and my servant whom I have chosen,
so that you may know and believe me
and understand that I am he.
No god was formed before me,
and there will be none after me.
11 I ​— ​I am the Lord.
Besides me, there is no Savior.
12 I alone declared, saved, and proclaimed —
and not some foreign god among you.
So you are my witnesses” —
this is the Lord’s declaration —
“and I am God.
13 Also, from today on I am he alone,
and none can rescue from my power.
I act, and who can reverse it? ”

GOD’S DELIVERANCE OF REBELLIOUS ISRAEL
14 This is what the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel says:

Because of you, I will send an army to Babylon
and bring all of them as fugitives,
even the Chaldeans in the ships in which they rejoice.
15 I am the Lord, your Holy One,
the Creator of Israel, your King.
16 This is what the Lord says —
who makes a way in the sea,
and a path through raging water,
17 who brings out the chariot and horse,
the army and the mighty one together
(they lie down, they do not rise again;
they are extinguished, put out like a wick ) —
18 “Do not remember the past events;
pay no attention to things of old.
19 Look, I am about to do something new;
even now it is coming. Do you not see it?
Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness,
rivers in the desert.
20 Wild animals —
jackals and ostriches ​— ​will honor me,
because I provide water in the wilderness,
and rivers in the desert,
to give drink to my chosen people.
21 The people I formed for myself
will declare my praise.
22 “But, Jacob, you have not called on me,
because, Israel, you have become weary of me.
23 You have not brought me your sheep for burnt offerings
or honored me with your sacrifices.
I have not burdened you with offerings
or wearied you with incense.
24 You have not bought me aromatic cane with silver,
or satisfied me with the fat of your sacrifices.
But you have burdened me with your sins;
you have wearied me with your iniquities.
25 I am the one, I sweep away your transgressions
for my own sake
and remember your sins no more.
26 Remind me. Let’s argue the case together.
Recount the facts, so that you may be vindicated.
27 Your first father sinned,
and your mediators have rebelled against me.
28 So I defiled the officers of the sanctuary,
and set Jacob apart for destruction
and Israel for scorn.

Isaiah 44

SPIRITUAL BLESSING
“And now listen, Jacob my servant,
Israel whom I have chosen.
2 This is the word of the Lord
your Maker, the one who formed you from the womb:
He will help you.
Do not fear, Jacob my servant,
Jeshurun whom I have chosen.
3 For I will pour water on the thirsty land
and streams on the dry ground;
I will pour out my Spirit on your descendants
and my blessing on your offspring.
4 They will sprout among the grass
like poplars by flowing streams.
5 This one will say, ‘I am the Lord’s’;
another will use the name of Jacob;
still another will write on his hand, ‘The Lord’s,’
and take on the name of Israel.”

NO GOD OTHER THAN THE LORD
6 This is what the Lord, the King of Israel and its Redeemer, the Lord of Armies, says:

I am the first and I am the last.
There is no God but me.
7 Who, like me, can announce the future?
Let him say so and make a case before me,
since I have established an ancient people.
Let these gods declare the coming things,
and what will take place.
8 Do not be startled or afraid.
Have I not told you and declared it long ago?
You are my witnesses!
Is there any God but me?
There is no other Rock; I do not know any.
9 All who make idols are nothing,
and what they treasure benefits no one.
Their witnesses do not see or know anything,
so they will be put to shame.
10 Who makes a god or casts a metal image
that benefits no one?
11 Look, all its worshipers will be put to shame,
and the craftsmen are humans.
They all will assemble and stand;
they all will be startled and put to shame.
12 The ironworker labors over the coals,
shapes the idol with hammers,
and works it with his strong arm.
Also he grows hungry and his strength fails;
he doesn’t drink water and is faint.
13 The woodworker stretches out a measuring line,
he outlines it with a stylus;
he shapes it with chisels
and outlines it with a compass.
He makes it according to a human form,
like a beautiful person,
to dwell in a temple.
14 He cuts down cedars for his use,
or he takes a cypress or an oak.
He lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest.
He plants a laurel, and the rain makes it grow.
15 A person can use it for fuel.
He takes some of it and warms himself;
also he kindles a fire and bakes bread;
he even makes it into a god and worships it;
he makes an idol from it and bows down to it.
16 He burns half of it in a fire,
and he roasts meat on that half.
He eats the roast and is satisfied.
He warms himself and says, “Ah!
I am warm, I see the blaze.”
17 He makes a god or his idol with the rest of it.
He bows down to it and worships;
he prays to it, “Save me, for you are my god.”
18 Such people do not comprehend
and cannot understand,
for he has shut their eyes so they cannot see,
and their minds so they cannot understand.
19 No one comes to his senses;
no one has the perception or insight to say,
“I burned half of it in the fire,
I also baked bread on its coals,
I roasted meat and ate.
Should I make something detestable with the rest of it?
Should I bow down to a block of wood? ”
20 He feeds on ashes.
His deceived mind has led him astray,
and he cannot rescue himself,
or say, “Isn’t there a lie in my right hand? ”
21 Remember these things, Jacob,
and Israel, for you are my servant;
I formed you, you are my servant;
Israel, you will never be forgotten by me.
22 I have swept away your transgressions like a cloud,
and your sins like a mist.
Return to me,
for I have redeemed you.
23 Rejoice, heavens, for the Lord has acted;
shout, depths of the earth.
Break out into singing, mountains,
forest, and every tree in it.
For the Lord has redeemed Jacob,
and glorifies himself through Israel.

RESTORATION OF ISRAEL THROUGH CYRUS
24 This is what the Lord, your Redeemer who formed you from the womb, says:

I am the Lord, who made everything;
who stretched out the heavens by myself;
who alone spread out the earth;
25 who destroys the omens of the false prophets
and makes fools of diviners;
who confounds the wise
and makes their knowledge foolishness;
26 who confirms the message of his servant
and fulfills the counsel of his messengers;
who says to Jerusalem, “She will be inhabited,”
and to the cities of Judah, “They will be rebuilt,”
and I will restore her ruins;
27 who says to the depths of the sea, “Be dry,”
and I will dry up your rivers;
28 who says to Cyrus, “My shepherd,
he will fulfill all my pleasure”
and says to Jerusalem, “She will be rebuilt,”
and of the temple, “Its foundation will be laid.”

Isaiah 45

The Lord says this to Cyrus, his anointed,
whose right hand I have grasped
to subdue nations before him
and disarm kings,
to open doors before him,
and even city gates will not be shut:
2 “I will go before you
and level the uneven places;
I will shatter the bronze doors
and cut the iron bars in two.
3 I will give you the treasures of darkness
and riches from secret places,
so that you may know that I am the Lord.
I am the God of Israel, who calls you by your name.
4 I call you by your name,
for the sake of my servant Jacob
and Israel my chosen one.
I give a name to you,
though you do not know me.
5 I am the Lord, and there is no other;
there is no God but me.
I will strengthen you,
though you do not know me,
6 so that all may know from the rising of the sun to its setting
that there is no one but me.
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
7 I form light and create darkness,
I make success and create disaster;
I am the Lord, who does all these things.
8 “Heavens, sprinkle from above,
and let the skies shower righteousness.
Let the earth open up
so that salvation will sprout
and righteousness will spring up with it.
I, the Lord, have created it.
9 “Woe to the one who argues with his Maker —
one clay pot among many.
Does clay say to the one forming it,
‘What are you making? ’
Or does your work say,
‘He has no hands’?
10 Woe to the one who says to his father,
‘What are you fathering? ’
or to his mother,
‘What are you giving birth to? ’ ”
11 This is what the Lord,
the Holy One of Israel and its Maker, says:
“Ask me what is to happen to my sons,
and instruct me about the work of my hands.
12 I made the earth,
and created humans on it.
It was my hands that stretched out the heavens,
and I commanded everything in them.
13 I have stirred him up in righteousness,
and will level all roads for him.
He will rebuild my city,
and set my exiles free,
not for a price or a bribe,”
says the Lord of Armies.

GOD ALONE IS THE SAVIOR
14 This is what the Lord says:

“The products of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush
and the Sabeans, men of stature,
will come over to you
and will be yours;
they will follow you,
they will come over in chains
and bow down to you.
They will confess to you,
‘God is indeed with you, and there is no other;
there is no other God.’ ”
15 Yes, you are a God who hides,
God of Israel, Savior.
16 All of them are put to shame, even humiliated;
the makers of idols go in humiliation together.
17 Israel will be saved by the Lord
with an everlasting salvation;
you will not be put to shame or humiliated
for all eternity.
18 For this is what the Lord says —
the Creator of the heavens,
the God who formed the earth and made it,
the one who established it
(he did not create it to be a wasteland,
but formed it to be inhabited) —
he says, “I am the Lord,
and there is no other.
19 I have not spoken in secret,
somewhere in a land of darkness.
I did not say to the descendants of Jacob:
Seek me in a wasteland.
I am the Lord, who speaks righteously,
who declares what is right.
20 “Come, gather together,
and approach, you fugitives of the nations.
Those who carry their wooden idols
and pray to a god who cannot save
have no knowledge.
21 Speak up and present your case —
yes, let them consult each other.
Who predicted this long ago?
Who announced it from ancient times?
Was it not I, the Lord?
There is no other God but me,
a righteous God and Savior;
there is no one except me.
22 Turn to me and be saved,
all the ends of the earth.
For I am God,
and there is no other.
23 By myself I have sworn;
truth has gone from my mouth,
a word that will not be revoked:
Every knee will bow to me,
every tongue will swear allegiance.
24 It will be said about me, ‘Righteousness and strength
are found only in the Lord.’ ”
All who are enraged against him
will come to him and be put to shame.
25 All the descendants of Israel
will be justified and boast in the Lord.

Psalm 80

A PRAYER FOR RESTORATION
For the choir director: according to “The Lilies.” A testimony of Asaph. A psalm.

Listen, Shepherd of Israel,
who leads Joseph like a flock;
you who sit enthroned between the cherubim,
shine
2 on Ephraim,
Benjamin, and Manasseh.
Rally your power and come to save us.
3 Restore us, God;
make your face shine on us,
so that we may be saved.
4 Lord God of Armies,
how long will you be angry
with your people’s prayers?
5 You fed them the bread of tears
and gave them a full measure
of tears to drink.
6 You put us at odds with our neighbors;
our enemies mock us.
7 Restore us, God of Armies;
make your face shine on us, so that we may be saved.
8 You dug up a vine from Egypt;
you drove out the nations and planted it.
9 You cleared a place for it;
it took root and filled the land.
10 The mountains were covered by its shade,
and the mighty cedars with its branches.
11 It sent out sprouts toward the Sea
and shoots toward the River.
12 Why have you broken down its walls
so that all who pass by pick its fruit?
13 Boars from the forest tear at it
and creatures of the field feed on it.
14 Return, God of Armies.
Look down from heaven and see;
take care of this vine,
15 the root your right hand planted,
the son that you made strong for yourself.
16 It was cut down and burned;
they perish at the rebuke of your countenance.
17 Let your hand be with the man at your right hand,
with the son of man
you have made strong for yourself.
18 Then we will not turn away from you;
revive us, and we will call on your name.
19 Restore us, Lord, God of Armies;
make your face shine on us, so that we may be saved.

— Isaiah 43-45; Psalm 80 (CSB)