ISAIAH 59

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Separation from God59:1 Behold, the LORD’S hand is not so short

That it cannot save;

Nor is His ear so dull

That it cannot hear.

2 But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God,

And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.

3 For your hands are defiled with blood

And your fingers with iniquity;

Your lips have spoken falsehood,

Your tongue mutters wickedness.

4 No one sues righteously and no one pleads honestly.

They trust in confusion and speak lies;

They conceive mischief and bring forth iniquity.

5 They hatch adders’ eggs and weave the spider’s web;

He who eats of their eggs dies,

And from that which is crushed a snake breaks forth.

6 Their webs will not become clothing,

Nor will they cover themselves with their works;

Their works are works of iniquity,

And an act of violence is in their hands.

7 Their feet run to evil,

And they hasten to shed innocent blood;

Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity,

Devastation and destruction are in their highways.

8 They do not know the way of peace,

And there is no justice in their tracks;

They have made their paths crooked,

Whoever treads on them does not know peace.

A Confession of Wickedness9 Therefore justice is far from us,

And righteousness does not overtake us;

We hope for light, but behold, darkness,

For brightness, but we walk in gloom.

10 We grope along the wall like blind men,

We grope like those who have no eyes;

We stumble at midday as in the twilight,

Among those who are vigorous we are like dead men.

11 All of us growl like bears,

And moan sadly like doves;

We hope for justice, but there is none,

For salvation, but it is far from us.

12 For our transgressions are multiplied before You,

And our sins testify against us;

For our transgressions are with us,

And we know our iniquities:

13 Transgressing and denying the LORD,

And turning away from our God,

Speaking oppression and revolt,

Conceiving in and uttering from the heart lying words.

14 Justice is turned back,

And righteousness stands far away;

For truth has stumbled in the street,

And uprightness cannot enter.

15 Yes, truth is lacking;

And he who turns aside from evil makes himself a prey.

Now the LORD saw,

And it was displeasing in His sight that there was no justice.

16 And He saw that there was no man,

And was astonished that there was no one to intercede;

Then His own arm brought salvation to Him,

And His righteousness upheld Him.

17 He put on righteousness like a breastplate,

And a helmet of salvation on His head;

And He put on garments of vengeance for clothing

And wrapped Himself with zeal as a mantle.

18 According to their deeds, so He will repay,

Wrath to His adversaries, recompense to His enemies;

To the coastlands He will make recompense.

19 So they will fear the name of the LORD from the west

And His glory from the rising of the sun,

For He will come like a rushing stream

Which the wind of the LORD drives.

20 “A Redeemer will come to Zion,

And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,” declares the LORD.

    21 “As for Me, this is My covenant with them,” says the LORD: “My Spirit which is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your offspring, nor from the mouth of your offspring’s offspring,” says the LORD, “from now and forever.”

ISAIAH 60

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A Glorified Zion60:1 “Arise, shine; for your light has come,

And the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.

2 “For behold, darkness will cover the earth

And deep darkness the peoples;

But the LORD will rise upon you

And His glory will appear upon you.

3 “Nations will come to your light,

And kings to the brightness of your rising.

4 “Lift up your eyes round about and see;

They all gather together, they come to you.

Your sons will come from afar,

And your daughters will be carried in the arms.

5 “Then you will see and be radiant,

And your heart will thrill and rejoice;

Because the abundance of the sea will be turned to you,

The wealth of the nations will come to you.

6 “A multitude of camels will cover you,

The young camels of Midian and Ephah;

All those from Sheba will come;

They will bring gold and frankincense,

And will bear good news of the praises of the LORD.

7 “All the flocks of Kedar will be gathered together to you,

The rams of Nebaioth will minister to you;

They will go up with acceptance on My altar,

And I shall glorify My glorious house.

8 “Who are these who fly like a cloud

And like the doves to their lattices?

9 “Surely the coastlands will wait for Me;

And the ships of Tarshish will come first,

To bring your sons from afar,

Their silver and their gold with them,

For the name of the LORD your God,

And for the Holy One of Israel because He has glorified you.

10 “Foreigners will build up your walls,

And their kings will minister to you;

For in My wrath I struck you,

And in My favor I have had compassion on you.

11 “Your gates will be open continually;

They will not be closed day or night,

So that men may bring to you the wealth of the nations,

With their kings led in procession.

12 “For the nation and the kingdom which will not serve you will perish,

And the nations will be utterly ruined.

13 “The glory of Lebanon will come to you,

The juniper, the box tree and the cypress together,

To beautify the place of My sanctuary;

And I shall make the place of My feet glorious.

14 “The sons of those who afflicted you will come bowing to you,

And all those who despised you will bow themselves at the soles of your feet;

And they will call you the city of the LORD,

The Zion of the Holy One of Israel.

15 “Whereas you have been forsaken and hated

With no one passing through,

I will make you an everlasting pride,

A joy from generation to generation.

16 “You will also suck the milk of nations

And suck the breast of kings;

Then you will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior

And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.

17 “Instead of bronze I will bring gold,

And instead of iron I will bring silver,

And instead of wood, bronze,

And instead of stones, iron.

And I will make peace your administrators

And righteousness your overseers.

18 “Violence will not be heard again in your land,

Nor devastation or destruction within your borders;

But you will call your walls salvation, and your gates praise.

19 “No longer will you have the sun for light by day,

Nor for brightness will the moon give you light;

But you will have the LORD for an everlasting light,

And your God for your glory.

20 “Your sun will no longer set,

Nor will your moon wane;

For you will have the LORD for an everlasting light,

And the days of your mourning will be over.

21 “Then all your people will be righteous;

They will possess the land forever,

The branch of My planting,

The work of My hands,

That I may be glorified.

22 “The smallest one will become a clan,

And the least one a mighty nation.

I, the LORD, will hasten it in its time.”

PROVERBS 29

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Warnings and Instructions29:1 A man who hardens his neck after much reproof

Will suddenly be broken beyond remedy.

2 When the righteous increase, the people rejoice,

But when a wicked man rules, people groan.

3 A man who loves wisdom makes his father glad,

But he who keeps company with harlots wastes his wealth.

4 The king gives stability to the land by justice,

But a man who takes bribes overthrows it.

5 A man who flatters his neighbor

Is spreading a net for his steps.

6 By transgression an evil man is ensnared,

But the righteous sings and rejoices.

7 The righteous is concerned for the rights of the poor,

The wicked does not understand such concern.

8 Scorners set a city aflame,

But wise men turn away anger.

9 When a wise man has a controversy with a foolish man,

The foolish man either rages or laughs, and there is no rest.

10 Men of bloodshed hate the blameless,

But the upright are concerned for his life.

11 A fool always loses his temper,

But a wise man holds it back.

12 If a ruler pays attention to falsehood,

All his ministers become wicked.

13 The poor man and the oppressor have this in common:

The LORD gives light to the eyes of both.

14 If a king judges the poor with truth,

His throne will be established forever.

15 The rod and reproof give wisdom,

But a child who gets his own way brings shame to his mother.

16 When the wicked increase, transgression increases;

But the righteous will see their fall.

17 Correct your son, and he will give you comfort;

He will also delight your soul.

18 Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained,

But happy is he who keeps the law.

19 A slave will not be instructed by words alone;

For though he understands, there will be no response.

20 Do you see a man who is hasty in his words?

There is more hope for a fool than for him.

21 He who pampers his slave from childhood

Will in the end find him to be a son.

22 An angry man stirs up strife,

And a hot-tempered man abounds in transgression.

23 A man’s pride will bring him low,

But a humble spirit will obtain honor.

24 He who is a partner with a thief hates his own life;

He hears the oath but tells nothing.

25 The fear of man brings a snare,

But he who trusts in the LORD will be exalted.

26 Many seek the ruler’s favor,

But justice for man comes from the LORD.

27 An unjust man is abominable to the righteous,

And he who is upright in the way is abominable to the wicked.

JAMES 2

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The Sin of Partiality  2:1 My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism. 2 For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes, 3 and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes, and say, “You sit here in a good place,” and you say to the poor man, “You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool,” 4 have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives? 5 Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and personally drag you into court? 7 Do they not blaspheme the fair name by which you have been called?
    8 If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF,” you are doing well. 9 But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. 11 For He who said, “DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY,” also said, “DO NOT COMMIT MURDER.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. 13 For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.
Faith and Works    14 What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? 17 Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.
    18 But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” 19 You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. 20 But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? 22 You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “AND ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS,” and he was called the friend of God. 24 You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.