Song of Solomon 2

14My dove in the clefts of the rock,

in the hiding places on the mountainside,

show me your face,

let me hear your voice;

for your voice is sweet,

and your face is lovely.

Esphesians 2:7-10

Now God has us where He wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all His idea, and all His work. All we do is trust Him enough to let Him do it. It's God's gift from start to finish! We don't play the major role. If we did, we'd probably go around bragging that we'd done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and the saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join Him in the work He does, the good work He has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.

Isaiah 3

10Tell the righteous it will be well with them,

for they will enjoy the fruit of their deeds.

Psalm 86

15But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God,

slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.

16Turn to me and have mercy on me;

grant your strength to your servant

and save the son of your maidservant.^b

17Give me a sign of your goodness,

that my enemies may see it and be put to shame,

for you, O Lord, have helped me and comforted me.

Isaiah 40

1Comfort, comfort my people,

says your God.

2Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,

and proclaim to her

that her hard service has been completed,

that her sin has been paid for,

that she has received from the Lord’s hand

double for all her sins.

Isaiah 35

3Strengthen the feeble hands,

steady the knees that give way;

4say to those with fearful hearts,

“Be strong, do not fear;

your God will come,

he will come with vengeance;

with divine retribution

he will come to save you.

Isaiah 43:25

I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.

Psalm 127

1Unless the Lord builds the house,

its builders labor in vain.

Unless the Lord watches over the city,

the watchmen stand guard in vain.

2In vain you rise early

and stay up late,

toiling for food to eat—

for he grants sleep to^a those he loves.

Isaiah 7

7Yet this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘It will not take place,

it will not happen,

8for the head of Aram is Damascus,

and the head of Damascus is only Rezin.

Within sixty-five years

Ephraim will be too shattered to be a people.

9The head of Ephraim is Samaria,

and the head of Samaria is only Remaliah’s son.

If you do not stand firm in your faith,

you will not stand at all.’”

Isaiah 43

1But now, this is what the Lord says—

he who created you, O Jacob,

he who formed you, O Israel:

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;

I have summoned you by name; you are mine.

2When you pass through the waters,

I will be with you;

and when you pass through the rivers,

they will not sweep over you.

When you walk through the fire,

you will not be burned;

the flames will not set you ablaze.

3For I am the Lord, your God,

the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;

I give Egypt for your ransom,

Cush^a and Seba in your stead.

4Since you are precious and honored in my sight,

and because I love you,

I will give men in exchange for you,

and people in exchange for your life.

5Do not be afraid, for I am with you;

Isaiah 31

4This is what the Lord says to me:

“As a lion growls,

a great lion over his prey—

and though a whole band of shepherds

is called together against him,

he is not frightened by their shouts

or disturbed by their clamor—

so the Lord Almighty will come down

to do battle on Mount Zion and on its heights.

5Like birds hovering overhead,

the Lord Almighty will shield Jerusalem;

he will shield it and deliver it,

he will ‘pass over’ it and will rescue it.”

Isaiah 30

15This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says:

“In repentance and rest is your salvation,

in quietness and trust is your strength,

but you would have none of it.

16You said, ‘No, we will flee on horses.’

Therefore you will flee!

You said, ‘We will ride off on swift horses.’

Therefore your pursuers will be swift!

17A thousand will flee

at the threat of one;

at the threat of five

you will all flee away,

till you are left

like a flagstaff on a mountaintop,

like a banner on a hill.”

18Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you;

he rises to show you compassion.

For the Lord is a God of justice.

Blessed are all who wait for him!

19O people of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you.

Isaiah 7

7Yet this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘It will not take place,

it will not happen,

8for the head of Aram is Damascus,

and the head of Damascus is only Rezin.

Within sixty-five years

Ephraim will be too shattered to be a people.

9The head of Ephraim is Samaria,

and the head of Samaria is only Remaliah’s son.

If you do not stand firm in your faith,

you will not stand at all.’”

Proverbs 31

8“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,

for the rights of all who are destitute.

9Speak up and judge fairly;

defend the rights of the poor and needy.”

Isaiah 19

19In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the heart of Egypt, and a monument to the Lord at its border. 20It will be a sign and witness to the Lord Almighty in the land of Egypt. When they cry out to the Lord because of their oppressors, he will send them a savior and defender, and he will rescue them. 21So the Lord will make himself known to the Egyptians, and in that day they will acknowledge the Lord. They will worship with sacrifices and grain offerings; they will make vows to the Lord and keep them. 22The Lord will strike Egypt with a plague; he will strike them and heal them. They will turn to the Lord, and he will respond to their pleas and heal them.

Proverbs 28

1The wicked man flees though no one pursues,

but the righteous are as bold as a lion.

9If anyone turns a deaf ear to the law,

even his prayers are detestable. 

13He who conceals his sins does not prosper,

but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy. 

19He who works his land will have abundant food,

but the one who chases fantasies will have his fill of poverty.

Isaiah 31

5Like birds hovering overhead,

the Lord Almighty will shield Jerusalem;

he will shield it and deliver it,

he will ‘pass over’ it and will rescue it.”

Isaiah 44

21“Remember these things, O Jacob,

for you are my servant, O Israel.

I have made you, you are my servant;

O Israel, I will not forget you.

22I have swept away your offenses like a cloud,

your sins like the morning mist.

Return to me,

for I have redeemed you.”

Isaiah 28

16So this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“See, I lay a stone in Zion,

a tested stone,

a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation;

the one who trusts will never be dismayed.

Isaiah 61

1The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,

because the Lord has anointed me

to preach good news to the poor.

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

to proclaim freedom for the captives

and release from darkness for the prisoners,^a

2to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor

and the day of vengeance of our God,

to comfort all who mourn,

3and provide for those who grieve in Zion—

to bestow on them a crown of beauty

instead of ashes,

the oil of gladness

instead of mourning,

and a garment of praise

instead of a spirit of despair.

They will be called oaks of righteousness,

a planting of the Lord

for the display of his splendor.

7Instead of their shame

my people will receive a double portion,

and instead of disgrace

they will rejoice in their inheritance;

and so they will inherit a double portion in their land,

and everlasting joy will be theirs. 

10I delight greatly in the Lord;

my soul rejoices in my God.

For he has clothed me with garments of salvation

and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness,

as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,

and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

11For as the soil makes the sprout come up

and a garden causes seeds to grow,

so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness and praise

spring up before all nations.

Psalm 103

1Praise the Lord, O my soul;

all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

2Praise the Lord, O my soul,

and forget not all his benefits—

3who forgives all your sins

and heals all your diseases,

4who redeems your life from the pit

and crowns you with love and compassion,

5who satisfies your desires with good things

so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. 

8The Lord is compassionate and gracious,

slow to anger, abounding in love.

Psalm 91

14“Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;

I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

15He will call upon me, and I will answer him;

I will be with him in trouble,

I will deliver him and honor him.

16With long life will I satisfy him

and show him my salvation.”

Song of Solomon 4

7All beautiful you are, my darling;

there is no flaw in you.

Isaiah 43:25

I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.

Isaiah 43

1But now, this is what the Lord says—

he who created you, O Jacob,

he who formed you, O Israel:

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;

I have summoned you by name; you are mine.

2When you pass through the waters,

I will be with you;

and when you pass through the rivers,

they will not sweep over you.

When you walk through the fire,

you will not be burned;

the flames will not set you ablaze.

Romans 10

5Moses describes in this way the righteousness that is by the law: “The man who does these things will live by them.”^a 6But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’^b” (that is, to bring Christ down) 7“or ‘Who will descend into the deep?’^c” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,”^d that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: 9That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. 11As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”

Isaiah 52

11Depart, depart, go out from there!

Touch no unclean thing!

Come out from it and be pure,

you who carry the vessels of the Lord.

12But you will not leave in haste

or go in flight;

for the Lord will go before you,

the God of Israel will be your rear guard.

Isaiah 43:25

I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.

Isaiah 43

Israel’s Only Savior

1But now, this is what the Lord says—

he who created you, O Jacob,

he who formed you, O Israel:

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;

I have summoned you by name; you are mine.

2When you pass through the waters,

I will be with you;

and when you pass through the rivers,

they will not sweep over you.

When you walk through the fire,

you will not be burned;

the flames will not set you ablaze.

3For I am the Lord, your God,

the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;

I give Egypt for your ransom,

Cush^a and Seba in your stead.

4Since you are precious and honored in my sight,

and because I love you,

I will give men in exchange for you,

and people in exchange for your life.

5Do not be afraid, for I am with you;

10“You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord,

“and my servant whom I have chosen,

so that you may know and believe me

and understand that I am he.

Before me no god was formed,

nor will there be one after me.

Song of Solomon 4

Lover

1How beautiful you are, my darling!

Oh, how beautiful!

Your eyes behind your veil are doves.

Your hair is like a flock of goats

descending from Mount Gilead.

2Your teeth are like a flock of sheep just shorn,

coming up from the washing.

Each has its twin;

not one of them is alone.

3Your lips are like a scarlet ribbon;

your mouth is lovely.

Your temples behind your veil

are like the halves of a pomegranate.

4Your neck is like the tower of David,

built with elegance^a;

on it hang a thousand shields,

all of them shields of warriors.

5Your two breasts are like two fawns,

like twin fawns of a gazelle

that browse among the lilies.

6Until the day breaks

and the shadows flee,

I will go to the mountain of myrrh

and to the hill of incense.

7All beautiful you are, my darling;

there is no flaw in you.

Jeremiah 24

5“This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Like these good figs, I regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I sent away from this place to the land of the Babylonians.^b 6My eyes will watch over them for their good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down; I will plant them and not uproot them. 7I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart.

Song of Solomon 5

2I slept but my heart was awake.

Listen! My lover is knocking:

“Open to me, my sister, my darling,

my dove, my flawless one.

My head is drenched with dew,

my hair with the dampness of the night.”

3I have taken off my robe—

must I put it on again?

I have washed my feet—

must I soil them again?

4My lover thrust his hand through the latch-opening;

my heart began to pound for him.

5I arose to open for my lover,

and my hands dripped with myrrh,

my fingers with flowing myrrh,

on the handles of the lock.

6I opened for my lover,

but my lover had left; he was gone.

My heart sank at his departure.^a

I looked for him but did not find him.

I called him but he did not answer.