To The Word – Day 107

₁Don't think that the LORD is too weak to save you or too deaf to hear your call for help! ₂It is because of your sins that he doesn't hear you. It is your sins that separate you from God when you try to worship him. ₃You are guilty of lying, violence, and murder.

₄You go to court, but you haven't got justice on your side. You depend on lies to win your case. You carry out your plans to hurt others. _5-6The evil plots you make are as deadly as the eggs of a poisonous snake. Crush an egg, out comes a snake! But your plots will do you no good — they are as useless as clothing made of cobwebs! ₇You are always planning something evil, and you can hardly wait to do it. You never hesitate to murder innocent people. You leave ruin and destruction wherever you go, ₈and no one is safe when you are about. Everything you do is unjust. You follow a crooked path, and no one who walks that path will ever be safe.

₉The people say, “Now we know why God does not save us from those who oppress us. We hope for light to walk by, but there is only darkness, ₁₀and we grope about like blind people. We stumble at noon, as if it were night, as if we were in the dark world of the dead. ₁₁We are frightened and distressed. We long for God to save us from oppression and wrong, but nothing happens.

₁₂“LORD, our crimes against you are many. Our sins accuse us. We are well aware of them all. ₁₃We have rebelled against you, rejected you, and refused to follow you. We have oppressed others and turned away from you. Our thoughts are false; our words are lies. ₁₄Justice is driven away, and right cannot come near. Truth stumbles in the public square, and honesty finds no place there. ₁₅There is so little honesty that those who stop doing evil find themselves the victims of crime.”

The LORD has seen this, and he is displeased that there is no justice. ₁₆He is astonished to see that there is no one to help the oppressed. So he will use his own power to rescue them and to win the victory. ₁₇He will wear justice like a coat of armour and saving power like a helmet. He will clothe himself with the strong desire to set things right and to punish and avenge the wrongs that people suffer. ₁₈He will punish his enemies according to what they have done, even those who live in distant lands. ₁₉From east to west everyone will fear him and his great power. He will come like a rushing river, like a strong wind.

₂₀The LORD says to his people, “I will come to Jerusalem to defend you and to save all of you that turn from your sins. ₂₁And I make a covenant with you: I have given you my power and my teachings to be yours for ever, and from now on you are to obey me and teach your children and your descendants to obey me for all time to come.”

₈The LORD says,

₁“Who is this coming from the city of Bozrah in Edom? Who is this so splendidly dressed in red, marching along in power and strength?”

“It is the LORD, powerful to save, coming to announce his victory.”

₂“Why is his clothing so red, like that of someone who tramples grapes to make wine?”

₃The LORD answers, “I have trampled the nations like grapes, and no one came to help me. I trampled them in my anger, and their blood has stained all my clothing. ₄I decided that the time to save my people had come; it was time to punish their enemies. ₅I was amazed when I looked and saw that there was no one to help me. But my anger made me strong, and I won the victory myself. ₆In my anger I trampled whole nations and shattered them. I poured out their lifeblood on the ground.”

₈The LORD said, “They are my people; they will not deceive me.” And so he saved them ₉from all their suffering. It was not an angel, but the LORD himself who saved them. In his love and compassion he rescued them. He had always taken care of them in the past, ₁₀but they rebelled against him and made his Holy Spirit sad. So the LORD became their enemy and fought against them.

₁₁But then they remembered the past, the days of Moses, the servant of the LORD, and they asked, “Where now is the LORD, who saved the leaders of his people from the sea? Where is the LORD, who gave his Spirit to Moses? _12-13Where is the LORD, who by his power did great things through Moses, dividing the waters of the sea and leading his people through the deep water, to win everlasting fame for himself?”

Led by the LORD, they were as sure-footed as wild horses, and never stumbled. ₁₄As cattle are led into a fertile valley, so the LORD gave his people rest. He led his people and brought honour to his name.

₁₅LORD, look upon us from heaven, where you live in your holiness and glory. Where is your great concern for us? Where is your power? Where are your love and compassion? Do not ignore us. ₁₆You are our father. Our ancestors Abraham and Jacob do not acknowledge us, but you, LORD, are our father, the one who has always rescued us. ₁₇Why do you let us stray from your ways? Why do you make us so stubborn that we turn away from you? Come back, for the sake of those who serve you, for the sake of the people who have always been yours.

₁₈We, your holy people, were driven out by our enemies for a little while: they trampled down your sanctuary. ₁₉You treat us as though you had never been our ruler, as though we had never been your people.

₁Why don't you tear the sky apart and come down? The mountains would see you and shake with fear. ₂They would tremble like water boiling over a hot fire. Come and reveal your power to your enemies, and make the nations tremble at your presence! ₃There was a time when you came and did terrifying things that we did not expect; the mountains saw you and shook with fear. ₄No one has ever seen or heard of a God like you, who does such deeds for those who put their hope in him. ₅You welcome those who find joy in doing what is right, those who remember how you want them to live. You were angry with us, but we went on sinning; in spite of your great anger we have continued to do wrong since ancient times. ₆All of us have been sinful; even our best actions are filthy through and through. Because of our sins we are like leaves that wither and are blown away by the wind. ₇No one turns to you in prayer; no one goes to you for help. You have hidden yourself from us and have abandoned us because of our sins.

₈But you are our father, LORD. We are like clay, and you are like the potter. You created us, ₉so do not be too angry with us or hold our sins against us for ever. We are your people; be merciful to us. ₁₀Your sacred cities are like a desert; Jerusalem is a deserted ruin, ₁₁and our Temple, the sacred and beautiful place where our ancestors praised you, has been destroyed by fire. All the places we loved are in ruins. ₁₂LORD, are you unmoved by all this? Are you going to do nothing and make us suffer more than we can endure?