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Isaiah 40:9-17, 27-31
9 Go on up to a high mountain,
O Zion, herald of good news;
lift up your voice with strength,
O Jerusalem, herald of good news;
lift it up, fear not;
say to the cities of Judah,
“Behold your God!”
10 Behold, the Lord God comes with might,
and his arm rules for him;
behold, his reward is with him,
and his recompense before him.
11 He will tend his flock like a shepherd;
he will gather the lambs in his arms;
he will carry them in his bosom,
and gently lead those that are with young.
12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand
and marked off the heavens with a span,
enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure
and weighed the mountains in scales
and the hills in a balance?
13 Who has measured the Spirit of the Lord,
or what man shows him his counsel?
14 Whom did he consult,
and who made him understand?
Who taught him the path of justice,
and taught him knowledge,
and showed him the way of understanding?
15 Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket,
and are accounted as the dust on the scales;
behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust.
16 Lebanon would not suffice for fuel,
nor are its beasts enough for a burnt offering.
17 All the nations are as nothing before him,
they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.
27 Why do you say, O Jacob,
and speak, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
and my right is disregarded by my God”?
28 Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
30 Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
31 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.
Watch the Sermon
Summary: This week in our series on God's attributes, we will study Isaiah 40 and God's limitless power and knowledge. After rebuking the Israelites for idolatry and proclaiming the judgment to come in the first 39 chapters, Isaiah 40 displays a marked shift in tone as God calls for comfort for His people and reminds them of His power over all things. Though the people of Israel will experience exile, the Lord, who makes all the nations appear as a drop in the bucket, will save and redeem His people. When we come before the God who does all that He pleases, we are humbled and encouraged to draw near to Him who will draw near to us.
Review & Apply
Why should difficulty compel us to remember God's power and knowledge?
How is God's power displayed in Isaiah 40? What about His knowledge?
How do we reconcile God's power and the existence of evil? How does the cross inform our understanding of this question?
Are we willing to let God be in control? What does our anxiety about the future imply about our understanding of God's power and knowledge?
For those who feel powerless, how does this passage provide a source of life-giving hope?
How can God's power and knowledge compel us to take risks for the gospel?
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