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                                                                                    SEPTEMBER 24
                        That her iniquity is pardoned;      10  Behold, the Lord GOD shall come with
                        For she has received from the LORD’s     a strong hand,
                           hand                                And His arm shall rule for Him;
                        Double for all her sins.”              Behold, His reward is with Him,
                                                               And His work before Him.
                     3  The voice of one crying in the      11
                           wilderness:                         He will feed His flock like a shepherd;
                       “Prepare the way of the LORD;           He will gather the lambs with His arm,
                        Make straight in the desert            And carry them in His bosom,
                                                               And gently lead those who are with
                        A highway for our God.
                     4  Every valley shall be exalted            young.
                        And every mountain and hill brought  12  Who has measured the waters in the
                           low;                                  hollow of His hand,
                        The crooked places shall be made       Measured heaven with a span
                           straight                            And calculated the dust of the earth
                        And the rough places smooth;             in a measure?
                                                               Weighed the mountains in scales
                                                               And the hills in a balance?
                                                               Who has directed the Spirit of the
                                                            13
                                                                 LORD,
                     40:3,4 Prepare the way.The remnant of Israel
                     could remove obstacles from the coming    Or as His counselor has taught Him?
                                                            14  With whom did He take counsel, and
                     Messiah’s path through repentance from their
                     sins.John the Baptist reminded his listeners of  who instructed Him,
                     this necessity (Matt. 3:2), as did Jesus (Matt.  And taught Him in the path of justice?
                     4:17; Mark 1:15). These verses reflect the cus-  Who taught Him knowledge,
                     tom of some eastern monarchs to send heralds  And showed Him the way of
                     before them to clear away obstacles, make   understanding?
                     causeways, straighten crooked roads and val-
                     leys,and level hills (45:1,2).John had the task of
                     getting people ready for the Messiah’s arrival.
                                                           40:13,14 directed the Spirit of the LORD. Isaiah
                        The glory of the LORD shall be
                     5                                     pointed to the incomparable wisdom of God.
                           revealed,                       Paul alluded to this verse in connection with
                        And all flesh shall see it together;  God’s wisdom in dealing with Jews and Gentiles
                                                           (Rom.11:34) and with God’s impartation of wis-
                        For the mouth of the LORD has      dom to the spiritual believer (1 Cor.2:16).
                           spoken.”
                        The voice said, “Cry out!”
                     6
                        And he said, “What shall I cry?”
                                                            15
                                                               Behold, the nations are as a drop in a
                       “All flesh is grass,                      bucket,
                        And all its loveliness is like the flower  And are counted as the small dust on
                           of the field.                         the scales;
                        The grass withers, the flower fades,   Look, He lifts up the isles as a very
                     7
                        Because the breath of the LORD blows     little thing.
                           upon it;                         16  And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn,
                        Surely the people are grass.           Nor its beasts sufficient for a burnt
                     8  The grass withers, the flower fades,     offering.
                        But the word of our God stands      17  All nations before Him are as nothing,
                           forever.”                           And they are counted by Him less than
                        O Zion,
                     9                                           nothing and worthless.
                        You who bring good tidings,         18  To whom then will you liken God?
                        Get up into the high mountain;         Or what likeness will you compare to
                        O Jerusalem,                             Him?
                        You who bring good tidings,         19  The workman molds an image,
                        Lift up your voice with strength,      The goldsmith overspreads it with gold,
                        Lift it up, be not afraid;             And the silversmith casts silver chains.
                        Say to the cities of Judah,         20  Whoever is too impoverished for such a
                           “Behold your God!”                    contribution


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