Author: cackywalker@yahoo.com

“Look up into the heavens. Who created all the stars? He brings them out like an army, one after another, calling each by name. Because of His great power and incomparable strength, not a single one is missing. O Jacob, how can you say the Lord does not see your troubles? O Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights?

Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of His understanding.

He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.” (vv. 26-31, NLT)

Hezekiah’s Poem of Praise

“I waited patiently all night, but I waa torn apart as though by lions. Suddenly, my life was over. Delirious, I chattered like a swallow or a crane, and then I moaned like a mourning dove. My eyes grew tired of looking to heaven for help. I am in trouble Lord. Help me!

But what could I say? For He Himself sent this sickness. No I will walk humbly throughout my years because of this anguish I have felt. Lord, Your discipline is good, for it leads to life and health. You restore my health and allow me to live! Yes, this anguish was good for me, for you have rescued me from death and forgiven all my sins. For the dead cannot praise you; they cannot raise their voices in praise. Those who go down to the grave can. no longer hope in Your faithfulness. Only the living can praise You as I do today. Each generation tells of Your faithfulness to the next. Think of it-the Lord is ready to heal me! I will singe His praises with instruments every day of my life in the Temple of the Lord.” (vv. 13-20, NLT)

“About that time Hezekiah became deathly ill, and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to visit him. He gave the king this message: ‘This is what the Lord says: set your affairs in order, for you are going to die. You will not recover from your illness.’

When Hezekiah heard this, he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, ‘Remember, O Lord, how I have always been faithful to you and have served you single-mindedly, always doing good and what pleases you.’ Then he broke down and wept bitterly.

Then this message came to Isaiah from the Lord: ‘Go back to Hezekiah and tell him, This is what the Lord, the God of your ancestor David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears. I will add fifteen years to your life, and I will rescue you and this city from the king of Assyria. Yes, I will defend this city.

And this is a the sign from the Lord to prove that He will do as promised. I will cause the sun’s shadow to move ten steps backward on the sundial of Ahaz!’ So the shadow of the sundial moved backward ten steps.” (vv. 1-8, NLT)

“Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent this message to Hezekiah: ‘This what the Lord, the God of Israel says: Because you prayed about King Sennacherib of Assyria, the Lord has spoken this word against him: The virgin daughter of Zion despises you and laughs at you. The daughter of Jerusalem shakes her head in derision as you flee.'” (vv. 21-22, NLT)

“And this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria: ‘His armies will not enter Jerusalem. They will not even shoot an arrow at it. They will not march outside with gates with their shields nor build banks of earth against its walls.'” (v. 33)

“That night the angel of the Lord went out to the Assyrian camp and killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. When the surviving Assyrians woke up the next morning, they found corpses everywhere. Then Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and returned to his own land. He went home to his capital of Nineveh and stayed there.

One day while he was worshipping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer killed him with their swords. They then escaped to the land of Aratat, and another son Esarhaddon, became the next king of Assyria.” (vv. 36-38, NLT)

“And a great road will go through that once deserted land.It will be named the Highway of Holiness. Evil-minded people will never travel on it. It will be only for those who walk in God’s way; fools will never walk there. Lions will not lurk along its course, nor any other ferocious beasts. There will be no other dangers. Only the redeemed will walk on it. Those who have been ransomed by the Lord will return. They will enter Jerusalem singing, crowned with everlasting joy. Sorrow and mourning will disappear, and they will be filled with joy and gladness.” (vv. 8-10, NLT)

“Even the wilderness and desert will be glad in those days. The wasteland will rejoice and blossom with spring crocuses. Yes, there will be an abundance of flowers an singing and joy! The deserts will become as green as the mountains of Lebanon, as lovely as Mount Carmel or the plan of Sharon. There the Lord will display His glory, and the splendor of our God.

With this news, strengthen those who have tired hands and encourage those who have weak knees. Say to those with fearful hearts, ‘Be strong and do not fear, for your God is coming to destroy your enemies. He is coming to save you.’

And when He comes, He will open the eyes of the blind, and unplug the ears of the deaf. The lame will leap like a deer, and those who cannot speak will sing for joy! Springs will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams will water the wasteland. The parched ground will become a pool, and springs of water will satisfy the thirsty land. March grass and reeds and rushes will flourish where desert jackals once lived.” (vv. 1-7, NLT)

“Search the book of the Lord and see what He will do. None of these birds and animals will be missing, and none will lack a mate, for the Lord has promised this. His Spirit will make all of this come true. He has surveyed and divided the land and deeded it over to those creatures. The will possess it forever, from generation to generation. (vv. 16-17, NLT)

“Though the Lord is very great and lives in heaven, He will make Jerusalem His home of justice and righteousness. In that day He will be your sure foundation, providing a rich store of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. The fear of the Lord will be your treasure.” (vv. 5-6, NLT)

“Those who are honest and fair, who refuse to profit by fraud, who stay far away from bribes, who refuse to listen to those who plot murder, who shut their eyes to all enticement and to do wrong – these are the ones who will dwell on high. The rocks of the mountains will be their fortress. Food will be supplied to them, and they will see the King in all His splendor, and you will see a land that stretches into the distance.” (vv. 15-17, NLT)

“For the Lord is our judge, our lawgiver, and our King. H will care for us and save us. The enemies’ sails hang loose on broken masts with useless tackle. Their treasure will be divided by the people of God. Even the lame will take their share! The people of Israel will no longer say, ‘We are sick and helpless,’ for the Lord will forgive their sins.” (vv. 22-24, NLT)

“Look, a righteous king is coming! And honest princes will rule under Him. Each one will be like a shelter from the wind, and a refuge from the storm, like streams of water in the desert and the shadow of a great rock in a parched land.

Then everyone who has eyes will be able to see the truth, and everyone who has ears will be able to hear it. Even the hotheads will be full of sense and understanding. Those who stammer will speak out plainly. In that day ungodly fools will not be heroes. Scoundrels will not be respected. Fools speak foolishness and make evil plans. They practice ungodliness and spread false teachings about the Lord. The deprive the hungry of food and give no water to the thirsty. The smooth tricks of scoundrels are evil. They plot crooked schemes. They lie to convict the poor, even when the cause of the poor is just. But generous people plan to do what is generous, and they stand firm in their generosity.” (vv. 1-8, NLT)

“So the Lord must wait for your to come to Him so He can show you His love and compassion. For the Lord is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for His help.

O people of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. He will be gracious if You ask for help. He will surely respond to the sound of your cries. Though the Lord gave you adversity for food and suffering for drink, He will still be with you to teach you. You will see your teacher with your own eyes.

Your own ears will hear Him. Right behind you a voice will say,’this is the way you should go,’ whether to the right or to the left. Then you will destroy all your silver idols and your precious gold images. You will throw them out like filthy rags, saying to them, ‘Good riddance!’ (vv. 18-22, NLT)