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Longing for Home (Isaiah 35:1-11)
Andrew Clark, 22 December 2019
Part of the Advent Longing 2019 series, Sunday Morning service
Dry, dusty, deserted and bleak. Green, verdant, luscious and abundant. One is wilderness, one is the fullness of God’s plan! We remind ourselves of that advent longing for the refreshing that comes from God. We explore our own desert places and ask what might bloom there through the birth of the Messiah in our lives.
| Earlier: | Same day: | Later: |
|---|---|---|
| « Longing for Hope (Carols by Candlelight) | None | Longing for His Return » |
Isaiah 35 (Listen)
35:1 The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad;
the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus;
2 it shall blossom abundantly
and rejoice with joy and singing.
The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,
the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.
They shall see the glory of the LORD,
the majesty of our God.
3 Strengthen the weak hands,
and make firm the feeble knees.
4 Say to those who have an anxious heart,
“Be strong; fear not!
Behold, your God
will come with vengeance,
with the recompense of God.
He will come and save you.”
5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
6 then shall the lame man leap like a deer,
and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.
For waters break forth in the wilderness,
and streams in the desert;
7 the burning sand shall become a pool,
and the thirsty ground springs of water;
in the haunt of jackals, where they lie down,
the grass shall become reeds and rushes.
8 And a highway shall be there,
and it shall be called the Way of Holiness;
the unclean shall not pass over it.
It shall belong to those who walk on the way;
even if they are fools, they shall not go astray.
9 No lion shall be there,
nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it;
they shall not be found there,
but the redeemed shall walk there.
10 And the ransomed of the LORD shall return
and come to Zion with singing;
everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
they shall obtain gladness and joy,
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
(ESV)