A Confession of National Wickedness

591 Behold , the Lord'S hand is not so short That it cannot save ; Nor is His ear so dull That it cannot hear . 2 But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God , And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear . 3 For your hands are defiled with blood And your fingers with iniquity ; Your lips have spoken falsehood , Your tongue mutters wickedness . 4 No one sues righteously and no one pleads honestly . They trust in confusion and speak lies ; They conceive mischief and bring forth iniquity . 5 They hatch adders' eggs and weave the spider's web ; He who eats of their eggs dies , And from that which is crushed a snake breaks forth . 6 Their webs will not become clothing , Nor will they cover themselves with their works ; Their works are works of iniquity , And an act of violence is in their hands . 7 Their feet run to evil , And they hasten to shed innocent blood ; Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity , Devastation and destruction are in their highways . 8 They do not know the way of peace , And there is no justice in their tracks ; They have made their paths crooked , Whoever treads on them does not know peace .

9 Therefore e justice is far from us, And righteousness does not overtake us; We hope for light , but behold , darkness , For brightness , but we walk in gloom . 10 We grope along the wall like blind men , We grope like those who have no eyes ; We stumble at midday as in the twilight , Among those who are vigorous we are like dead men. 11 All of us growl like bears , And moan sadly like doves ; We hope for justice , but there is none , For salvation , but it is far from us. 12 For our transgressions are multiplied before You, And our sins testify against us; For our transgressions are with us, And we know our iniquities : 13 Transgressing and denying the Lord , And turning away from our God , Speaking oppression and revolt , Conceiving in and uttering from the heart lying words . 14 Justice is turned back , And righteousness stands far away ; For truth has stumbled in the street , And uprightness cannot e enter . 15 Yes, truth is lacking ; And he who turns aside from evil makes himself a prey . Now the Lord saw , And it was displeasing in His sight that there was no justice .

16 And He saw that there was no man , And was astonished that there was no one to intercede ; Then His own arm brought salvation to Him, And His righteousness upheld Him. 17 He put on righteousness like a breastplate , And a helmet of salvation on His head ; And He put on garments of vengeance for clothing And wrapped Himself with zeal as a mantle . 18 According to their deeds , so He will repay , Wrath to His adversaries , recompense to His enemies ; To the coastlands He will make recompense . 19 So they will fear the name of the Lord from the west And His glory from the rising of the sun , For He will come like a rushing stream Which the wind of the Lord drives . 20 "A Redeemer will come to Zion , And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob ," declares the Lord . 21 "As for Me, this is My covenant with them," says the Lord : "My Spirit which is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth shall not depart from your mouth , nor from the mouth of your offspring , nor from the mouth of your offspring's offspring ," says the Lord , "from now and forever e ."

The Future Glory of Zion

601 " Arise , shine ; for your light has come , And the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. 2 "For behold , darkness will cover the earth And deep darkness the peoples ; But the Lord will rise upon you And His glory will appear upon you. 3 " Nations will come to your light , And kings to the brightness of your rising . 4 " Lift up your eyes round about and see ; They all gather together, they come to you. Your sons will come from afar , And your daughters will be carried in the arms . 5 "Then you will see and be radiant , And your heart will thrill and rejoice ; Because the abundance of the sea will be turned to you, The wealth of the nations will come to you. 6 "A multitude of camels will cover you, The young camels of Midian and Ephah ; All those from Sheba will come ; They will bring gold and frankincense , And will bear good news of the praises of the Lord . 7 "All the flocks of Kedar will be gathered together to you, The rams of Nebaioth will minister to you; They will go up with acceptance on My altar , And I shall glorify My glorious house . 8 " Who are these who fly like a cloud And like the doves to their lattices ?

9 "Surely the coastlands will wait for Me; And the ships of Tarshish will come first , To bring your sons from afar , Their silver and their gold with them, For the name of the Lord your God , And for the Holy One of Israel because He has glorified you. 10 " Foreigners will build up your walls , And their kings will minister to you; For in My wrath I struck you, And in My favor I have had compassion on you. 11 "Your gates will be open continually ; They will not be closed day or night , So that men may bring to you the wealth of the nations , With their kings led in procession . 12 "For the nation and the kingdom which will not serve you will perish , And the nations will be utterly ruined . 13 "The glory of Lebanon will come to you, The juniper , the box tree and the cypress together , To beautify the place of My sanctuary ; And I shall make the place of My feet glorious . 14 "The sons of those who afflicted you will come bowing to you, And all those who despised you will bow themselves at the soles of your feet ; And they will call you the city of the Lord , The Zion of the Holy One of Israel .

15 "Whereas you have been forsaken and hated With no one passing through , I will make you an everlasting pride , A joy from generation to generation . 16 "You will also suck the milk of nations And suck the breast of kings ; Then you will know that I, the Lord , am your Savior And your Redeemer , the Mighty One of Jacob . 17 "Instead of bronze I will bring gold , And instead of iron I will bring silver , And instead of wood , bronze , And instead of stones , iron . And I will make peace your administrators And righteousness your overseers . 18 " Violence will not be heard again in your land , Nor devastation or destruction within your borders ; But you will call your walls salvation , and your gates praise . 19 "No longer will you have the sun for light by day , Nor for brightness will the moon give you light ; But you will have the Lord for an everlasting light , And your God for your glory . 20 "Your sun will no longer set , Nor will your moon wane ; For you will have the Lord for an everlasting light , And the days of your mourning will be over . 21 "Then all your people will be righteous ; They will possess the land forever , The branch of My planting , The work of My hands , That I may be glorified . 22 "The smallest one will become a clan , And the least one a mighty nation . I, the Lord , will hasten it in its time ."

Good Tidings of Salvation to Zion

611 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, Because the Lord has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted ; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted e , To proclaim liberty to captives And freedom to prisoners ; 2 To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord And the day of vengeance of our God ; To comfort all who mourn , 3 To grant those who mourn in Zion , Giving them a garland instead of ashes , The oil of gladness instead of mourning , The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting . So they will be called oaks of righteousness , The planting of the Lord , that He may be glorified .

4 Then they will rebuild the ancient ruins , They will raise up the former devastations ; And they will repair the ruined cities , The desolations of many generations . 5 Strangers will stand and pasture your flocks , And foreigners e will be your farmers and your vinedressers . 6 But you will be called the priests of the Lord ; You will be spoken of as ministers of our God . You will eat the wealth of nations , And in their riches you will boast . 7 Instead of your shame you will have a double portion, And instead of humiliation they will shout for joy over their portion . Therefore they will possess a double portion in their land , Everlasting joy will be theirs . 8 For I, the Lord , love justice , I hate robbery in the burnt offering ; And I will faithfully give them their recompense And make an everlasting covenant with them. 9 Then their offspring will be known among the nations , And their descendants in the midst of the peoples . All who see them will recognize them Because they are the offspring whom the Lord has blessed .

10 I will rejoice greatly in the Lord , My soul will exult in my God ; For He has clothed me with garments of salvation , He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness , As a bridegroom decks himself with a garland , And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels . 11 For as the earth brings forth its sprouts , And as a garden causes the things sown in it to spring up, So the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise To spring up before all the nations .

Pray for Us

31 Finally , brethren , pray for us that the word of the Lord will spread rapidly and be glorified , just as it did also with you; 2 and that we will be rescued from perverse and evil men ; for not all have faith . 3 But the Lord is faithful , and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. 4 We have confidence in the Lord concerning you, that you are doing and will continue to do what we command . 5 May the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the steadfastness of Christ .

The Obligation to Work

6 Now we command you, brethren , in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ , that you keep away from every brother who leads an unruly life and not according to the tradition which you received from us. 7 For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example , because we did not act in an undisciplined manner among you, 8 nor did we eat anyone's e bread without paying for it, but with labor and hardship we kept working night and day so that we would not be a burden to any of you; 9 not because we do not have the right to this, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you, so that you would follow our example . 10 For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order : if anyone is not willing to work , then he is not to eat , either . 11 For we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined life , doing no work at all , but acting like busybodies . 12 Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to work in quiet fashion and eat their own bread . 13 But as for you, brethren , do not grow weary of doing good . 14 If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter , take special note of that person and do not associate with him, so that he will be put to shame . 15 Yet do not regard him as an enemy , but admonish him as a brother .

Benediction

16 Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually e grant you peace in every circumstance . The Lord be with you all ! 17 I, Paul , write this greeting with my own hand , and this is a distinguishing mark in every letter ; this is the way I write . 18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all .