You have said, “Seek my face.” My heart says to you, “Your face, LORD, do I seek.” ¹

Hide not your face from me. Turn not your servant away in anger, O you who have been my help. Cast me not off; forsake me not, O God of my salvation!²

The LORD says to the people of Israel, “Come to me, and you will live.³

Do not go to Beersheba to worship. Do not try to find me at Bethel – Bethel will come to nothing. Do not go to Gilgal – her people are doomed to exile.”⁴

“You must say to them, ‘The Lord GOD says: By my life, I swear that I don’t enjoy seeing people die – not even evil people! I don’t want them to die. I want them to come back to me. I want them to change their lives so that they can really live. So come back to me! Stop doing bad things! Why must you die, family of Israel?’⁵

“Yes, the Scriptures say, ‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘Everyone will bow before me; everyone will say that I am God.'”⁶

I have spoken openly, not in secret. I did not hide my words in a dark and secret place. I did not tell the people of Jacob to look for me in empty places. I am the LORD, and I speak the truth. I say only what is right.⁷

“You people who escaped from other nations, gather together before me. (These people carry statues of false gods. They pray to useless gods, but they don’t know what they are doing.⁸

Tell them to come to me. Let them present their case and discuss these things.) “Who told you about this before it happened? Who told you this so long ago? I, the LORD, am the one who said these things. I am the only God, the one who does what is right. I am the one who saves, and there is no other!⁹

So all you people in faraway places, turn to me and be saved, because I am God, and there is no other.¹⁰

“When I make a promise, that promise is true. It will happen. And I swear by my own power that everyone will bow before me and will take an oath to obey me.¹¹

They will say, ‘Goodness and strength come only from the LORD.'” And all who show their anger against him will be humiliated.¹²

The LORD will help the people of Israel live right and praise their God.¹³

Who can accuse the people God has chosen? No one! God is the one who makes them right.¹⁴

Who can say that God’s people are guilty? No one! Christ Jesus died for us, but that is not all. He was also raised from death. And now he is at God’s right side, speaking to him for us.¹⁵

You are the God people cannot see. You are the God who saves Israel.¹⁶

Many people make false gods, but they will be disappointed. All of them will go away ashamed.¹⁷

But Israel will be saved by the LORD. That salvation will continue forever. Never again will Israel be shamed.¹⁸

The LORD is God. He made the skies and the earth. He put the earth in its place. He did not want the earth to be empty when he made it. He created it to be lived on. “I am the LORD. There is no other God.¹⁹

But God has a way to make people right, and it has nothing to do with the law. He has now shown us that new way, which the law and the prophets told us about.²⁰

God makes people right through their faith in Jesus Christ. He does this for all who believe in Christ. Everyone is the same.²¹

All have sinned and are not good enough to share God’s divine greatness.²²

They are made right with God by his grace. This is a free gift. They are made right with God by being made free from sin through Jesus Christ.²³

And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.²⁴

Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straight, and the rough places shall become level way and all flesh shall see the salvation of God. He said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”²⁵

Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.²⁶

He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, but glory and honour and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek.²⁷

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.²⁸

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.²⁹

And in anger and wrath I will execute vengeance on the nations that did not obey.³⁰

On account of these the wrath of God is coming.³¹

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”³²

The LORD is the one who made me in my mother’s womb, so that I could be his servant. He wanted me to lead Jacob and Israel back to him. The LORD gives me honour. I get my strength from my God.³³

And now he says, “You are a very important servant to me. You must bring back to me the tribes of Jacob. You must bring back the people of Israel who are still alive. But I have something else for you to do that is even more important: I will make you a light for the other nations. You will show people all over the world the way to be saved.”³⁴

“People will make weapons to fight against you, but their weapons will not defeat you. Some people will say things against you, but anyone who speaks against you will be proved wrong.” The LORD says, “That is what my servants get! They get the good things that come from me, their LORD.³⁵

The LORD, the Holy Protector of Israel, speaks to his servant. People hate that servant. Nations despise him. He is now a slave to rulers. The Lord says to him, “Kings will see you and stand to honour you. Great leaders will bow down to you.” This will happen for the LORD. The Holy One of Israel is the one who chose you, and he can be trusted.³⁶

For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”³⁷

“And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.³⁸

You shall fear the LORD your God. You shall serve him and hold fast to him, and by his name you shall swear.³⁹

Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith.⁴⁰

The fear of the LORD leads to life, and whoever has it rests satisfied; he will not be visited by harm.⁴¹

Nations will fear the name of the LORD, and all the kings of the earth will fear your glory.⁴²

Say also: “Save us, O God of our salvation, and gather and deliver us from among the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name, and glory in your praise.⁴³

He fulfils the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them.⁴⁴

Let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy, and spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may exult in you.⁴⁵

For you bless the righteous, O LORD; you cover him with favour as with a shield.⁴⁶

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.⁴⁷

Amen!

1 Psalm 27:8 2 Psalm 27:9 3 Amos 5:4 4 Amos 5:5 5 Ezekiel 33:11 6 Romans 14:11 7 Isaiah 45:19 8 Isaiah 45:20 9 Isaiah 45:21 10 Isaiah 45:22 11 Isaiah 45:23 12 Isaiah 45:24 13 Isaiah 45:25 14 Romans 8:33 15 Romans 8:34 16 Isaiah 45:15

17 Isaiah 45:16 18 Isaiah 45:17 19 Isaiah 45:18 20 Romans 3:21 21 Romans 3:22 22 Romans 3:23 23 Romans 3:24 24 Acts 2:38 25 Luke 3:5-9 26 Revelation 2:5 27 Romans 2:6-10 28 John 3:36 29 Romans 1:18 30 Micah 5:15 31 Colossians 3:6 32 Romans 12:19

33 Isaiah 49:5 34 Isaiah 49:6 35 Isaiah 54:17 36 Isaiah 49:7 37 First Corinthians 1:26-31 38 Deuteronomy 10:12 39 Deuteronomy 10:20 40 Romans 16:25-26 41 Proverbs 19:23 42 Psalm 102:15 43 First Chronicles 16:35 44 Psalm 145:19 45 Psalm 5:11 46 Psalm 5:12 47 Second Corinthians 4:6