Monday in Advent

1Verse 1. “Comfort, comfort My people,” says your God. 2Verse 2. “Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her forced labor has been completed; her iniquity has been pardoned. For she has received from the hand of the LORD double for all her sins.” 3Verse 3. A voice of one calling: “Prepare the way for the LORD in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert. 4Verse 4. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill made low; the uneven ground will become smooth, and the rugged land a plain. 5Verse 5. And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all humanity together will see it.” 6Verse 6. A voice says, “Cry out!” And I asked, “What should I cry out?” “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field. 7Verse 7. The grass withers and the flowers fall when the breath of the LORD blows on them; indeed, the people are grass. 8Verse 8. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.” 9Verse 9. Go up on a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news. Raise your voice loudly, O Jerusalem, herald of good news. Lift it up, do not be afraid! Say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!” 10Verse 10. Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might, and His arm establishes His rule. His reward is with Him, and His recompense accompanies Him. 11Verse 11. He tends His flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart. He gently leads the nursing ewes.

22Verse 22. We know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until the present time. 23Verse 23. Not only that, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24Verse 24. For in this hope we were saved; but hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he can already see? 25Verse 25. But if we hope for what we do not yet see, we wait for it patiently.