Hast Thou Not Known?
Comfort, comfort ye my people,
speak ye peace, thus saith our God;
comfort those who sit in darkness,
mourning 'neath their sorrow's load;
speak ye to Jerusalem
of the peace that waits for them;
tell her that her sins I cover,
and her warfare now is over.
Isaiah 40:21-31
21Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth? 22It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in: 23That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity. 24Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble.
21Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth? 22It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in: 23That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity. 24Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble.
25To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One. 26Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth. 27Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the LORD, and my judgment is passed over from my God?
28Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. 29He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. 30Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: 31But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
This Sunday’s lesson is from The Book of Consolation (Isaiah chapters 40-55), which opens with the wonderful words, “Comfort, comfort ye my people.” Sunday’s portion (40:21-31) is taken from a hymn or ode to the Creator of the Universe. God the Creator, who is also Lord of History, is omnipotent, incomparable and omniscient. Filled with promise, power, hope and assurance, the poem bears reading and contemplation without further comment, most especially for anyone who is hurting, anxious, afraid, waiting, dying, or grieving this morning.
In faith, claiming the promise, one might add Lobe den Herren.
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation;
O my soul, praise him, for he is thy health and salvation:
Join the great throng, psaltery, organ, and song,
sounding in glad adoration.
Praise to the Lord, over all things he gloriously reigneth:
borne as on eagle wings, safely his saints he sustaineth.
Hast thou not seen how all thou needest hath been
granted in what he ordaineth?
Praise to the Lord, who doth prosper thy way and defend thee;
surely his goodness and mercy shall ever attend thee;
ponder anew what the Almighty can do,
who with his love doth befriend thee.
Praise to the Lord! O let all that is in me adore him!
All that hath life and breath come now with praises before him!
Let the amen sound from his people again;
gladly forever adore him.
TW+