A Prayer for Divine Intervention

7 I will tell of the faithful acts of the Lord,

of the Lord’s praiseworthy deeds.

I will tell about all the Lord did for us,

the many good things he did for the family of Israel,

because of his compassion and great faithfulness.

8 He said, “Certainly they will be my people,

children who are not disloyal.”

He became their deliverer.

9 Through all that they suffered, he suffered too.

The messenger sent from his very presence delivered them.

In his love and mercy he protected them;

he lifted them up and carried them throughout ancient times.

10 But they rebelled and offended his holy Spirit,

so he turned into an enemy

and fought against them.

11 His people remembered the ancient times.

Where is the one who brought them up out of the sea,

along with the shepherd of his flock?

Where is the one who placed his holy Spirit among them,

12 the one who made his majestic power available to Moses,

who divided the water before them,

gaining for himself a lasting reputation,

13 who led them through the deep water?

Like a horse running on flat land they did not stumble.

14 Like an animal that goes down into a valley to graze,

so the Spirit of the Lord granted them rest.

In this way you guided your people,

gaining for yourself an honored reputation.

15 Look down from heaven and take notice,

from your holy, majestic palace!

Where are your zeal and power?

Do not hold back your tender compassion!

16 For you are our father,

though Abraham does not know us

and Israel does not recognize us.

You, Lord, are our father;

you have been called our protector from ancient times.

17 Why, Lord, do you make us stray from your ways,

and make our minds stubborn so that we do not obey you?

Return for the sake of your servants,

the tribes of your inheritance!

18 For a short time your special nation possessed a land,

but then our adversaries knocked down your holy sanctuary.

19 We existed from ancient times,

but you did not rule over them,

they were not your subjects.

64 If only you would tear apart the sky and come down!

The mountains would tremble before you!

2 As when fire ignites dry wood,

or fire makes water boil,

let your adversaries know who you are,

and may the nations shake at your presence!

3 When you performed awesome deeds that took us by surprise,

you came down, and the mountains trembled before you.

4 Since ancient times no one has heard or perceived,

no eye has seen any God besides you,

who intervenes for those who wait for him.

5 You assist those who delight in doing what is right,

who observe your commandments.

Look, you were angry because we violated them continually.

How then can we be saved?

6 We are all like one who is unclean,

all our so-called righteous acts are like a menstrual rag in your sight.

We all wither like a leaf;

our sins carry us away like the wind.

7 No one invokes your name,

or makes an effort to take hold of you.

For you have rejected us

and handed us over to our own sins.

8 Yet, Lord, you are our father.

We are the clay, and you are our potter;

we are all the product of your labor.

9  Lord, do not be too angry!

Do not hold our sins against us continually!

Take a good look at your people, at all of us!

10 Your chosen cities have become a desert;

Zion has become a desert,

Jerusalem is a desolate ruin.

11 Our holy temple, our pride and joy,

the place where our ancestors praised you,

has been burned with fire;

all our prized possessions have been destroyed.

12 In light of all this, how can you still hold back, Lord?

How can you be silent and continue to humiliate us?

65 “I made myself available to those who did not ask for me;

I appeared to those who did not look for me.

I said, ‘Here I am! Here I am!’

to a nation that did not invoke my name.

2 I spread out my hands all day long

to my rebellious people,

who lived in a way that is morally unacceptable,

and who did what they desired.

3 These people continually and blatantly offend me

as they sacrifice in their sacred orchards

and burn incense on brick altars.

4 They sit among the tombs

and keep watch all night long.

They eat pork,

and broth from unclean sacrificial meat is in their pans.

5 They say, ‘Keep to yourself!

Don’t get near me, for I am holier than you!’

These people are like smoke in my nostrils,

like a fire that keeps burning all day long.

6 Look, I have decreed:

I will not keep silent, but will pay them back;

I will pay them back exactly what they deserve,

7 for your sins and your ancestors’ sins,” says the Lord.

“Because they burned incense on the mountains

and offended me on the hills,

I will punish them in full measure.”

8 This is what the Lord says:

“When juice is discovered in a cluster of grapes,

someone says, ‘Don’t destroy it, for it contains juice.’

So I will do for the sake of my servants –

I will not destroy everyone.

9 I will bring forth descendants from Jacob,

and from Judah people to take possession of my mountains.

My chosen ones will take possession of the land;

my servants will live there.

10 Sharon will become a pasture for sheep,

and the Valley of Achor a place where cattle graze;

they will belong to my people, who seek me.

11 But as for you who abandon the Lord

and forget about worshiping at my holy mountain,

who prepare a feast for the god called ‘Fortune,’

and fill up wine jugs for the god called ‘Destiny’ –

12 I predestine you to die by the sword,

all of you will kneel down at the slaughtering block,

because I called to you, and you did not respond,

I spoke and you did not listen.

You did evil before me;

you chose to do what displeases me.”

13 So this is what the sovereign Lord says:

“Look, my servants will eat, but you will be hungry!

Look, my servants will drink, but you will be thirsty!

Look, my servants will rejoice, but you will be humiliated!

14 Look, my servants will shout for joy as happiness fills their hearts!

But you will cry out as sorrow fills your hearts;

you will wail because your spirits will be crushed.

15 Your names will live on in the curse formulas of my chosen ones.

The sovereign Lord will kill you,

but he will give his servants another name.

16 Whoever pronounces a blessing in the earth

will do so in the name of the faithful God;

whoever makes an oath in the earth

will do so in the name of the faithful God.

For past problems will be forgotten;

I will no longer think about them.

17 For look, I am ready to create

new heavens and a new earth!

The former ones will not be remembered;

no one will think about them anymore.

18 But be happy and rejoice forevermore

over what I am about to create!

For look, I am ready to create Jerusalem to be a source of joy,

and her people to be a source of happiness.

19 Jerusalem will bring me joy,

and my people will bring me happiness.

The sound of weeping or cries of sorrow

will never be heard in her again.

20 Never again will one of her infants live just a few days

or an old man die before his time.

Indeed, no one will die before the age of a hundred,

anyone who fails to reach the age of a hundred will be considered cursed.

21 They will build houses and live in them;

they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

22 No longer will they build a house only to have another live in it,

or plant a vineyard only to have another eat its fruit,

for my people will live as long as trees,

and my chosen ones will enjoy to the fullest what they have produced.

23 They will not work in vain,

or give birth to children that will experience disaster.

For the Lord will bless their children

and their descendants.

24 Before they even call out, I will respond;

while they are still speaking, I will hear.

25 A wolf and a lamb will graze together;

a lion, like an ox, will eat straw,

and a snake’s food will be dirt.

They will no longer injure or destroy

on my entire royal mountain,” says the Lord.

66 This is what the Lord says:

“The heavens are my throne

and the earth is my footstool.

Where then is the house you will build for me?

Where is the place where I will rest?

2 My hand made them;

that is how they came to be,” says the Lord.

I show special favor to the humble and contrite,

who respect what I have to say.

3 The one who slaughters a bull also strikes down a man;

the one who sacrifices a lamb also breaks a dog’s neck;

the one who presents an offering includes pig’s blood with it;

the one who offers incense also praises an idol.

They have decided to behave this way;

they enjoy these disgusting practices.

4 So I will choose severe punishment for them;

I will bring on them what they dread,

because I called, and no one responded,

I spoke and they did not listen.

They did evil before me;

they chose to do what displeases me.”

5 Hear the word of the Lord,

you who respect what he has to say!

Your countrymen, who hate you

and exclude you, supposedly for the sake of my name,

say, “May the Lord be glorified,

then we will witness your joy.”

But they will be put to shame.

6 The sound of battle comes from the city;

the sound comes from the temple!

It is the sound of the Lord paying back his enemies.

7 Before she goes into labor, she gives birth!

Before her contractions begin, she delivers a boy!

8 Who has ever heard of such a thing?

Who has ever seen this?

Can a country be brought forth in one day?

Can a nation be born in a single moment?

Yet as soon as Zion goes into labor she gives birth to sons!

9 “Do I bring a baby to the birth opening and then not deliver it?”

asks the Lord.

“Or do I bring a baby to the point of delivery and then hold it back?”

asks your God.

10 Be happy for Jerusalem

and rejoice with her, all you who love her!

Share in her great joy,

all you who have mourned over her!

11 For you will nurse from her satisfying breasts and be nourished;

you will feed with joy from her milk-filled breasts.

12 For this is what the Lord says:

“Look, I am ready to extend to her prosperity that will flow like a river,

the riches of nations will flow into her like a stream that floods its banks.

You will nurse from her breast and be carried at her side;

you will play on her knees.

13 As a mother consoles a child,

so I will console you,

and you will be consoled over Jerusalem.”

14 When you see this, you will be happy,

and you will be revived.

The Lord will reveal his power to his servants

and his anger to his enemies.

15 For look, the Lord comes with fire,

his chariots come like a windstorm,

to reveal his raging anger,

his battle cry, and his flaming arrows.

16 For the Lord judges all humanity

with fire and his sword;

the Lord will kill many.

17 “As for those who consecrate and ritually purify themselves so they can follow their leader and worship in the sacred orchards, those who eat the flesh of pigs and other disgusting creatures, like mice – they will all be destroyed together,” says the Lord. 18 “I hate their deeds and thoughts! So I am coming to gather all the nations and ethnic groups; they will come and witness my splendor. 19 I will perform a mighty act among them and then send some of those who remain to the nations – to Tarshish, Pul, Lud (known for its archers ), Tubal, Javan, and to the distant coastlands that have not heard about me or seen my splendor. They will tell the nations of my splendor. 20 They will bring back all your countrymen from all the nations as an offering to the Lord. They will bring them on horses, in chariots, in wagons, on mules, and on camels to my holy hill Jerusalem,” says the Lord, “just as the Israelites bring offerings to the Lord’s temple in ritually pure containers. 21 And I will choose some of them as priests and Levites,” says the Lord. 22 “For just as the new heavens and the new earth I am about to make will remain standing before me,” says the Lord, “so your descendants and your name will remain. 23 From one month to the next and from one Sabbath to the next, all people will come to worship me,” says the Lord. 24 “They will go out and observe the corpses of those who rebelled against me, for the maggots that eat them will not die, and the fire that consumes them will not die out. All people will find the sight abhorrent.”