April 26, 2020, Isaiah 61:8-11; 62:2-4a – ISSL Reflections

I.
We started April reflecting on one of the Servant Songs in Isaiah and we move to the close of April reflecting on a passage from Isaiah 61 and another from Isaiah 62.

I’d like us to start our week reading the passage several times and soaking in Isaiah’s words.

First, still yourself and slowly read the passage noticing the images and metaphors Isaiah uses. Don’t try to analyze the passage. Just allow Isaiah to paint for you the world he sees.

II.
Isaiah 61:8-11 (New Revised Standard Version)

For I the Lord love justice,
I hate robbery and wrongdoing;
I will faithfully give them their recompense,
and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.

Their descendants shall be known among the nations,
and their offspring among the peoples;
all who see them shall acknowledge
that they are a people whom the Lord has blessed.

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord,
my whole being shall exult in my God;
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation,
he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

For as the earth brings forth its shoots,
and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up,
so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
to spring up before all the nations.

Isaiah 62:2-4 (New Revised Standard Version)

The nations shall see your vindication,
and all the kings your glory;
and you shall be called by a new name
that the mouth of the Lord will give.

You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord,
and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.

You shall no more be termed Forsaken,
and your land shall no more be termed Desolate;
but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her,
and your land Married;
for the Lord delights in you,
and your land shall be married.

III.
Sit with the images Isaiah gives us for a few moments.

Now read the passages again and notice which of his images/metaphors draws your attention the most.

After you read the passages, rest with that primary image for a few moments.

IV.
With that primary image in your mind, read the passages again letting that image be the lens through which you see the world Isaiah is painting.

V.
Where are you?

Does the image that spoke to you most clearly open the passages to you?

What kind of world is Isaiah painting for you?

Spend some time with the words and images of Isaiah and we’ll get back together later.

charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}


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