Isaiah 40:1-31
Comfort for God's People
1 Comfort, comfort my people,
says your God.
2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and proclaim to her
that her hard service has been completed,
that her sin has been paid for,
that she has received from the Lord’s hand
double for all her sins.
3 A voice of one calling:
“In the wilderness prepare
the way for the Lord;
make straight in the desert
a highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be raised up,
every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level,
the rugged places a plain.
5 And the glory of the Lord will be revealed,
and all people will see it together.
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
6 A voice says, “Cry out.”
And I said, “What shall I cry?”
“All people are like grass,
and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.
7 The grass withers and the flowers fall,
because the breath of the Lord blows on them.
Surely the people are grass.
8 The grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of our God endures forever.”
9 You who bring good news to Zion,
go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good news to Jerusalem,
lift up your voice with a shout,
lift it up, do not be afraid;
say to the towns of Judah,
“Here is your God!”
10 See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power,
and he rules with a mighty arm.
See, his reward is with him,
and his recompense accompanies him.
11 He tends his flock like a shepherd:
He gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart;
he gently leads those that have young.
12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand,
or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?
Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,
or weighed the mountains on the scales
and the hills in a balance?
13 Who can fathom the Spirit of the Lord,
or instruct the Lord as his counselor?
14 Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten him,
and who taught him the right way?
Who was it that taught him knowledge,
or showed him the path of understanding?
15 Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket;
they are regarded as dust on the scales;
he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.
16 Lebanon is not sufficient for altar fires,
nor its animals enough for burnt offerings.
17 Before him all the nations are as nothing;
they are regarded by him as worthless
and less than nothing.
18 With whom, then, will you compare God?
To what image will you liken him?
19 As for an idol, a metalworker casts it,
and a goldsmith overlays it with gold
and fashions silver chains for it.
20 A person too poor to present such an offering
selects wood that will not rot;
they look for a skilled worker
to set up an idol that will not topple.
21 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood since the earth was founded?
22 He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth,
and its people are like grasshoppers.
He stretches out the heavens like a canopy,
and spreads them out like a tent to live in.
23 He brings princes to naught
and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.
24 No sooner are they planted,
no sooner are they sown,
no sooner do they take root in the ground,
than he blows on them and they wither,
and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.
25 “To whom will you compare me?
Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens:
Who created all these?
He who brings out the starry host one by one
and calls forth each of them by name.
Because of his great power and mighty strength,
not one of them is missing.
27 Why do you complain, Jacob?
Why do you say, Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord;
my cause is disregarded by my God”?
28 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
29 He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
31 but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
Faith is powerful and plays an important role in our believing in God, and that He is an Eternal Being, with Almighty Power, and has a Complete Understanding of all things...
There is comfort in knowing that God is Infinite and Eternal...Since God is Infinite, He is limitless and has unlimited power, with unlimited knowledge, and unlimited LOVE...He also is forever forgiving...In His Eternal Wisdom, God is with us in all our sufferings, comforting us with His LOVE...Through our tragedies and hardships, and our losses, He is with us...And we learn this from Job, who had tragedy after tragedy in his life and made it through these storms of life with God there watching and then being Present with him (Job)...
God is eternal, existing outside of time...He has always been and will always be...Since He is outside of time, God knows the future, and His timing on all things is Perfect...Knowing that God is always there, existing outside of time, provides hope that transcends our earthly existence...
Because God's LOVE is infinite and eternal, it is unfailing and unconditional... No matter what challenges you face, God's LOVE remains constant...God is the same yesterday, today, and forever...And Malachi tells us that God is never changing...The LORD told Malachi, "I the LORD do not change."...
God's infinite power means He can overcome any obstacle and provide strength in times of our weakness...God's eternal nature offers a sense of perspective...Our temporary troubles seem less daunting when viewed in the context of eternity and One who so LOVES His children...
God's all knowing and being eternal is comforting: The Psalmist tells us (Psalm 90:1): "LORD, You have been our dwelling place throughout all generations."...This verse highlights God's eternal presence as a source of comfort...
Isaiah writes about God this way...Isaiah asks us if we know these things about God...Comfort, comfort my people, says your God...Speak tenderly to Jerusalem and His people, and proclaim to them that there hard service has been completed, that there sin has been paid for, that she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins...Do you not know?...Have you not heard?...The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the beginning and the ends of the earth...He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom...He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak...In these verse, Isaiah is telling us and emphasizes God's Infinite Power, His Eternal Life, is a source of strength and comfort for us and that our sin debt has been paid for...In knowing these things, What Comfort!...
In Paul's writing to the Romans he tells us: "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the LOVE of God that is in Christ Jesus our LORD."...
This verse and all the other verses highlights God's Power, His Strength, His Unfailing LOVE as a source of man's comfort...