Prepare the Way for the Lord
(Matthew 3:1-12;Mark 1:1-8;Luke 3:1-20;John 1:19-28)
1Comfortye, comfortye my people,saithyour God.
2Speakye comfortablyto Jerusalem,and cryunto her, that her warfareis accomplished,that her iniquityis pardoned:for she hath receivedof the LORD'Shanddoublefor all her sins.
3The voiceof him that criethin the wilderness,Prepareye the wayof the LORD,make straightin the deserta highwayfor our God.
4Every valleyshall be exalted,and every mountainand hillshall be made low:and the crookedshall be made straight,and the rough placesplain:
5And the gloryof the LORDshall be revealed,and all fleshshall see[it] together:for the mouthof the LORDhath spoken[it].
The Word of the Lord Stands Forever
(1 Peter 1:22-25)
6The voicesaid,Cry.And he said,What shall I cry?All flesh[is] grass,and all the goodlinessthereof [is] as the flowerof the field:
7The grasswithereth,the flowerfadeth:because the spiritof the LORDblowethupon it: surelythe people[is] grass.
8The grasswithereth,the flowerfadeth:but the wordof our Godshall standfor ever.
Here is Your God!
9O Zion,that bringest good tidings,get thee upinto the highmountain;O Jerusalem,that bringest good tidings,lift upthy voicewith strength;lift [it] up,be not afraid;sayunto the citiesof Judah,Behold your God!
10Behold, the LordGODwill comewith strong[hand], and his armshall rulefor him: behold, his reward[is] with him, and his workbeforehim.
11He shall feedhis flocklike a shepherd:he shall gatherthe lambswith his arm,and carry[them] in his bosom,[and] shall gently leadthose that are with young.
12Who hath measuredthe watersin the hollow of his hand,and meted outheavenwith the span,and comprehendedthe dustof the earthin a measure,and weighedthe mountainsin scales,and the hillsin a balance?
13Who hath directedthe Spiritof the LORD,or [being] his counsellorhath taughthim?
14With whom took he counsel,and [who] instructedhim, and taughthim in the pathof judgment,and taughthim knowledge,and shewedto him the wayof understanding?
15Behold, the nations[are] as a dropof a bucket,and are countedas the small dustof the balance:behold, he taketh upthe islesas a very little thing.
16And Lebanon[is] notsufficientto burn,nor the beaststhereof sufficientfor a burnt offering.
17All nationsbefore him [are] as nothing; and they are countedto him less than nothing,and vanity.
18To whom then will ye likenGod?or what likenesswill ye compareunto him?
19The workmanmeltetha graven image,and the goldsmithspreadethit over with gold,and castethsilverchains.
20He that [is] so impoverished{08676;05534:08765} that he hath no oblationchoosetha tree[that] will not rot;he seekethunto him a cunningworkmanto preparea graven image,[that] shall not be moved.
21Have ye not known?have ye not heard?hath it not been toldyou from the beginning?have ye not understoodfrom the foundationsof the earth?
22[It is] he that sittethupon the circleof the earth,and the inhabitantsthereof [are] as grasshoppers;that stretcheth outthe heavensas a curtain,and spreadeth them outas a tentto dwell in:
23That bringeththe princesto nothing; he makeththe judgesof the earthas vanity.
24Yea, they shall not be planted;yea, they shall not be sown:yea, their stockshall not take rootin the earth:and he shall also blowupon them, and they shall wither,and the whirlwindshall takethem away as stubble.
25To whom then will ye likenme, or shall I be equal?saiththe Holy One.
26Lift upyour eyeson high,and beholdwho hath createdthese [things], that bringeth outtheir hostby number:he calleththem all by namesby the greatnessof his might,for that [he is] strongin power;not onefaileth.
27Why sayestthou, O Jacob,and speakest,O Israel,My wayis hidfrom the LORD,and my judgmentis passed overfrom my God?
28Hast thou not known?hast thou not heard,[that] the everlastingGod,the LORD,the Creatorof the endsof the earth,faintethnot, neither is weary?[there is] no searchingof his understanding.
29He givethpowerto the faint;and to [them that have] no mighthe increasethstrength.
30Even the youthsshall faintand be weary,and the young menshall utterlyfall:
31But they that waitupon the LORDshall renew[their] strength;they shall mount upwith wingsas eagles;they shall run,and not be weary;[and] they shall walk,and not faint.
