ISAIAH 26-27

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Song of Trust in God’s Protection  26:1 In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:

“We have a strong city;

He sets up walls and ramparts for security.

2 “Open the gates, that the righteous nation may enter,

The one that remains faithful.

3 “The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace,

Because he trusts in You.

4 “Trust in the LORD forever,

For in GOD the LORD, we have an everlasting Rock.

5 “For He has brought low those who dwell on high, the unassailable city;

He lays it low, He lays it low to the ground, He casts it to the dust.

6 “The foot will trample it,

The feet of the afflicted, the steps of the helpless.”

7 The way of the righteous is smooth;

O Upright One, make the path of the righteous level.

8 Indeed, while following the way of Your judgments, O LORD,

We have waited for You eagerly;

Your name, even Your memory, is the desire of our souls.

9 At night my soul longs for You,

Indeed, my spirit within me seeks You diligently;

For when the earth experiences Your judgments

The inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.

10 Though the wicked is shown favor,

He does not learn righteousness;

He deals unjustly in the land of uprightness,

And does not perceive the majesty of the LORD.

11 O LORD, Your hand is lifted up yet they do not see it.

They see Your zeal for the people and are put to shame;

Indeed, fire will devour Your enemies.

12 LORD, You will establish peace for us,

Since You have also performed for us all our works.

13 O LORD our God, other masters besides You have ruled us;

But through You alone we confess Your name.

14 The dead will not live, the departed spirits will not rise;

Therefore You have punished and destroyed them,

And You have wiped out all remembrance of them.

15 You have increased the nation, O LORD,

You have increased the nation, You are glorified;

You have extended all the borders of the land.

16 O LORD, they sought You in distress;

They could only whisper a prayer,

Your chastening was upon them.

17 As the pregnant woman approaches the time to give birth,

She writhes and cries out in her labor pains,

Thus were we before You, O LORD.

18 We were pregnant, we writhed in labor,

We gave birth, as it seems, only to wind.

We could not accomplish deliverance for the earth,

Nor were inhabitants of the world born.

19 Your dead will live;

Their corpses will rise.

You who lie in the dust, awake and shout for joy,

For your dew is as the dew of the dawn,

And the earth will give birth to the departed spirits.

20 Come, my people, enter into your rooms

And close your doors behind you;

Hide for a little while

Until indignation runs its course.

21 For behold, the LORD is about to come out from His place

To punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity;

And the earth will reveal her bloodshed

And will no longer cover her slain.

The Deliverance of Israel27:1 In that day the LORD will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent,

With His fierce and great and mighty sword,

Even Leviathan the twisted serpent;

And He will kill the dragon who lives in the sea.

2 In that day,

“A vineyard of wine, sing of it!

3 “I, the LORD, am its keeper;

I water it every moment.

So that no one will damage it,

I guard it night and day.

4 “I have no wrath.

Should someone give Me briars and thorns in battle,

Then I would step on them, I would burn them completely.

5 “Or let him rely on My protection,

Let him make peace with Me,

Let him make peace with Me.”

6 In the days to come Jacob will take root,

Israel will blossom and sprout,

And they will fill the whole world with fruit.

7 Like the striking of Him who has struck them, has He struck them?

Or like the slaughter of His slain, have they been slain?

8 You contended with them by banishing them, by driving them away.

With His fierce wind He has expelled them on the day of the east wind.

9 Therefore through this Jacob’s iniquity will be forgiven;

And this will be the full price of the pardoning of his sin:

When he makes all the altar stones like pulverized chalk stones;

When Asherim and incense altars will not stand.

10 For the fortified city is isolated,

A homestead forlorn and forsaken like the desert;

There the calf will graze,

And there it will lie down and feed on its branches.

11 When its limbs are dry, they are broken off;

Women come and make a fire with them,

For they are not a people of discernment,

Therefore their Maker will not have compassion on them.

And their Creator will not be gracious to them.

    12 In that day the LORD will start His threshing from the flowing stream of the Euphrates to the brook of Egypt, and you will be gathered up one by one, O sons of Israel. 13 It will come about also in that day that a great trumpet will be blown, and those who were perishing in the land of Assyria and who were scattered in the land of Egypt will come and worship the LORD in the holy mountain at Jerusalem.

ACTS 4

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Peter and John Arrested  4:1 As they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to them, 2 being greatly disturbed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3 And they laid hands on them and put them in jail until the next day, for it was already evening. 4 But many of those who had heard the message believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.
    5 On the next day, their rulers and elders and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem; 6 and Annas the high priest was there, and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of high-priestly descent. 7 When they had placed them in the center, they began to inquire, “By what power, or in what name, have you done this?” 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of the people, 9 if we are on trial today for a benefit done to a sick man, as to how this man has been made well, 10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead--by this name this man stands here before you in good health. 11 He is the STONE WHICH WAS REJECTED by you, THE BUILDERS, but WHICH BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone. 12 And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”
Threat and Release    13 Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus. 14 And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say in reply. 15 But when they had ordered them to leave the Council, they began to confer with one another, 16 saying, “What shall we do with these men? For the fact that a noteworthy miracle has taken place through them is apparent to all who live in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. 17 But so that it will not spread any further among the people, let us warn them to speak no longer to any man in this name.” 18 And when they had summoned them, they commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; 20 for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.” 21 When they had threatened them further, they let them go (finding no basis on which to punish them) on account of the people, because they were all glorifying God for what had happened; 22 for the man was more than forty years old on whom this miracle of healing had been performed.
    23 When they had been released, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24 And when they heard this, they lifted their voices to God with one accord and said, “O Lord, it is You who MADE THE HEAVEN AND THE EARTH AND THE SEA, AND ALL THAT IS IN THEM, 25 who by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David Your servant, said,

‘WHY DID THE GENTILES RAGE,

AND THE PEOPLES DEVISE FUTILE THINGS?

26 ‘THE KINGS OF THE EARTH TOOK THEIR STAND,

AND THE RULERS WERE GATHERED TOGETHER

AGAINST THE LORD AND AGAINST HIS CHRIST.’

27 For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur. 29 And now, Lord, take note of their threats, and grant that Your bond-servants may speak Your word with all confidence, 30 while You extend Your hand to heal, and signs and wonders take place through the name of Your holy servant Jesus.” 31 And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness.
Sharing among Believers    32 And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them. 33 And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all. 34 For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales 35 and lay them at the apostles’ feet, and they would be distributed to each as any had need.
    36 Now Joseph, a Levite of Cyprian birth, who was also called Barnabas by the apostles (which translated means Son of Encouragement), 37 and who owned a tract of land, sold it and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.