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“ A confession of ALLEGIANCE. “
Israel's Only Savior ! Isaiah 43 -
1But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.
2When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.
3For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee.
4Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life.
5Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west;
6I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth;
7Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.
8Bring forth the blind people that have eyes, and the deaf that have ears.
9Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the people be assembled: who among them can declare this, and shew us former things? let them bring forth their witnesses, that they may be justified: or let them hear, and say, It is truth.
10Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.
11I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.
12I have declared, and have saved, and I have shewed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, that I am God.
13Yea, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let it?
The Destruction of Babylon Foretold
14Thus saith the LORD, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; For your sake I have sent to Babylon, and have brought down all their nobles, and the Chaldeans, whose cry is in the ships.
15I am the LORD, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King.
16Thus saith the LORD, which maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters;
17Which bringeth forth the chariot and horse, the army and the power; they shall lie down together, they shall not rise: they are extinct, they are quenched as tow.
Deliverance for God's People
18Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.
19Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.
20The beast of the field shall honour me, the dragons and the owls: because I give waters in the wilderness, andrivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen.
21This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise.
Israel's Unfaithfulness
(Judges 2:11-15; Jeremiah 2:23-37)
22But thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob; but thou hast been weary of me, O Israel.
23Thou hast not brought me the small cattle of thy burnt offerings; neither hast thou honoured me with thy sacrifices. I have not caused thee to serve with an offering, nor wearied thee with incense.
24Thou hast bought me no sweet cane with money, neither hast thou filled me with the fat of thy sacrifices: but thou hast made me to serve with thy sins, thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities.
25I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.
26Put me in remembrance: let us plead together: declare thou, that thou mayest be justified.
27Thy first father hath sinned, and thy teachers have transgressed against me.
28Therefore I have profaned the princes of the sanctuary, and have given Jacob to the curse, and Israel to reproaches.
God Calls Cyrus
(Zechariah 9:14-17) { From the Berean study Bible. }
1This is what the LORD says to Cyrus His anointed,
whose right hand I have grasped
to subdue nations before him,
to disarm kings,
to open the doors before him,
so that the gates will not be shut:
2“I will go before you
and level the mountains;a
I will break down the gates of bronze
and cut through the bars of iron.
3I will give you the treasures of darkness
and the hidden riches of secret places,
so that you may know that I am the LORD,
the God of Israel, who calls you by name.
4For the sake of Jacob My servant
and Israel My chosen one,
I call you by name;
I have given you a title of honor,
though you have not known Me.
5I am the LORD, and there is no other;
there is no God but Me.
I will equip you for battle,
though you have not known Me,
6so that all may know,
from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting,
that there is none but Me.
I am the LORD, and there is no other.
7I form light and create darkness,
I bring prosperity and create calamity;
I, the LORD, do all these things.
8Drip down, O heavens, from above,
and let the skies pour down righteousness.
Let the earth open up
that salvation may sprout
and righteousness spring up with it;
I, the LORD, have created it.
9Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker—
one clay pot among many.
Does the clay ask the potter,
‘What are you making?’
Does your work say,
‘He has no hands’?
10Woe to him who says to his father,
‘What have you begotten?’
or to his mother,
‘What have you brought forth?’
11Thus says the LORD,
the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker:
“How dare you question Me concerning My sons,
or instruct Me about the work of My hands?
12It is I who made the earth,
and created man upon it.
It was My hands that stretched out the heavens,
and I ordained all their host.
13I will raise up Cyrus in righteousness,
and I will make all his ways straight.
He will rebuild My city
and set My exiles free,
but not for payment or reward,”
says the LORD of Hosts.
14This is what the LORD says:
“The products of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush,b
along with the Sabeans, men of stature,
will come over to you
and will be yours;
they will trudge behind you;
they will come over in chains and bow down to you.
They will confess to you:
‘God is indeed with you,
and there is no other;
there is no other God.’”
15Truly You are a God who hides Himself,
O God of Israel, the Savior.
16They will all be put to shame and humiliated;
the makers of idols will go away together in disgrace.
17But Israel will be saved by the LORD
with an everlasting salvation;
you will not be put to shame or humiliated,
to ages everlasting.
18For thus says the LORD—
He who created the heavens; He is God;
He formed the earth and fashioned it;
He established it;
He did not create it to be empty,
but formed it to be inhabited—
“I am the LORD,
and there is no other.
19I have not spoken in secret,
from a place in a land of darkness.
I did not say to the descendants of Jacob:
‘Seek Me in a wasteland.’
I, the LORD, speak the truth;
I say what is right.
20Come, gather together, and draw near,
you fugitives of the nations.
Ignorant are those who carry idols of wood
and pray to a god that cannot save.
21Speak up and present your case—
yes, let them take counsel together.
Who foretold this long ago?
Who announced it from ancient times?
Was it not I, the LORD?
There is no other God but Me,
a righteous God and Savior;
there is none but Me.
22Turn to Me and be saved,
all the ends of the earth;
for I am God,
and there is no other.
23By Myself I have sworn;
truth has gone out from My mouth,
a word that will not be revoked:
Every knee will bow before Me,
every tongue will confess allegiance.c
24Surely they will say of Me,
‘In the LORD alone are righteousness and strength.’”
All who rage against Him
will come to Him and be put to shame.
25In the LORD all descendants of Israel
will find justification and glory.
Amen !
