Isaiah 40 marks the beginning of the second part of this prophetic work.  The first 39 chapters deal mostly with judgment on the people of God and the surrounding nations, but chapter 40 introduces a new note of compassion and mercy and the promise of hope and restoration.  If God’s people would only turn back to Him, God was  waiting to show them His mercy and forgiveness and to bring them back under His covenant protection.  In this second part of Isaiah, all of God’s promises ultimately focus on the one person who is called the Servant of the Lord.

ISAIAH 40:1-31

Now ‘tis time to call my people

Closer to the Father-heart;

Speak to them, bring comfort to them,

Call them now to come apart.

Tell them that the days are over,

Days of punishment for sin;

Their iniquity is pardoned

All their guilty stains have gone.

Hark, I hear the voice of someone

Shouting in the wilderness,

“Clear the way, the Lord is coming,

Coming now to save and bless.”

“Level mountains, fill the valleys;

Make the crooked places straight,

Smooth the pathway, God is coming,

We no longer have to wait.”

“All mankind shall see His glory:

God has spoken, it will be;

For the knowledge of His kingdom

Will be known o’er land and sea.”

Once again I hear a voice say,

“Shout!”  “What shall I shout?” I cry,

“Shout that man, like grass, is dying,

All his beauty fades away.”

“Flowers wilt, the grasses wither

‘Neath the fiery breath of God:

Only one thing lives forever,

God’s abiding, living Word.”

Crier of Good News, from the mountains

Shout to all Jerusalem,

Tell God’s people He is coming

Justly to rule over them.

Like a shepherd He will lead them,

Hold the lambs on His strong arm;

Ewes with young keep closely to Him;

None of them will come to harm.

Who has cupped the mighty oceans,

Measured heaven in His hand?

Who has held the hills and mountains,

Knows the weight of sea and land?

Who can teach the Holy Spirit

Give Him counsel or advice?

Does He really need instruction;

Do we think we are so wise?

No, we humans pale to nothing;

We’re like dust upon the scale

Next to God’s almighty Spirit,

Tiny drops within a pail.

Light as feathers, islands nestle

In the hollow of His hand.

What an awesome God we worship,

One too great to understand!

Can we find sufficient fuel

From the trees of Lebanon,

Animals enough to offer

Sacrifice to honour Him?

Is there someone we can liken

To this God we here present?

Like an idol, cast in metal?

Are we yet so ignorant?

Can a lump of gold or silver

Moulded into human form,

Can a tree stump shape our future,

Care for, love us from the womb?

Are we, then, so stubborn, stupid,

Deaf to ancient words of God?

Ignorant of truth and wisdom?

Have we never understood?

God, who sits above the circle

Of the earth, He is the one

Stretches heaven like a curtain,

(We’re like grasshoppers to Him.)

Makes His dwelling in the heavens,

Dooms great men, brings them to naught,

Blows on them, their labours wither

Just as they were taking root.

“Who is like me, who my equal?”

Asks the Holy One, the Lord.

“Maker of the stars and planets,

Is there someone like this God?”

As a shepherd leads his sheep out,

Calling each by its pet name,

Counting, so that none is wayward,

Checks to see that none is lame,

So this God knows every planet,

Comets, stars and galaxies,

All are His for He has made them.

This should bring us to our knees.

Jacob, Israel, how can you say

That the Lord God doesn’t care?

That He doesn’t see your troubles,

That He isn’t being fair?

Have you yet no understanding?

Surely you should know by now

That our God does not grow weary

And His wisdom none can know.

He gives power to the fainting,

And the weak He will make strong;

Even youths shall fall exhausted,

Tiredness o’ertake the young,

But to those who wait upon Him,

Those who listen patiently,

God will give His strength and power

To rise up and to fly free.

They shall mount with wings as eagles,

Viewing life from way up high;

Not for them to live as earthbound,

But to soar up in the sky.

Those who wait will not grow weary

Of the race that they must run;

Without fainting, they’ll keep walking

In God’s strength till they have won.