Isaiah 51:1-6 (NRSV)
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Chapter 51Listen to me, you that pursue righteousness, you that seek the Lord. Look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug. Verse 2Look to Abraham your father and to Sarah who bore you; for he was but one when I called him, but I blessed him and made him many. Verse 3For the Lord will comfort Zion; he will comfort all her waste places, and will make her wilderness like Eden, her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the voice of song.
Verse 4Listen to me, my people, and give heed to me, my nation; for a teaching will go out from me, and my justice for a light to the peoples. Verse 5I will bring near my deliverance swiftly, my salvation has gone out and my arms will rule the peoples; the coastlands wait for me, and for my arm they hope. Verse 6Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth beneath; for the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and those who live on it will die like gnats; but my salvation will be forever, and my deliverance will never be ended.
Devotion
The renewal that the Lord promises is permanent. God’s deliverance restores life, causing barren lands to blossom, giving comfort to the oppressed. The image of justice as a light attests to the universality of God’s deeds of salvation; it shines to and envelops all the world’s peoples. The God who blessed Sarah and Abraham proclaims a domain of righteousness that encompasses and outlives the current creation. Herein lie the roots of Advent hope: God will save.
Prayer
God of our comfort and deliverance, your commitment to your creation saturates the message of scripture. May the luminance of your justice and mercy, proclaimed intimately through our experience of Jesus Christ, continue to permeate our lives and our world. Amen.