I am the LORD, there is no other;
I form the light, and create the darkness,
I make well-being and create woe;
I, the LORD, do all these things.
Let justice descend, O heavens, like dew from above,
like gentle rain let the skies drop it down.
Let the earth open and salvation bud forth;
let justice also spring up!
I, the LORD, have created this.
For thus says the LORD,
The creator of the heavens,
who is God,
The designer and maker of the earth
who established it,
Not creating it to be a waste,
but designing it be lived in:
I am the LORD, and there is no other.
Who announced this from the beginning
and foretold it from of old?
Was it not I, the LORD,
besides whom there is no other God?
There is no just and saving God but me.
Turn to me and be safe,
all you ends of the earth,
for I am God; there is no other!
By myself I swear,
uttering my just decree
and my unalterable word:
To me every knee shall bend;
by me every tongue shall swear,
Saying,
Only in the LORD
are just deeds and power.
Before him in shame shall come
all who vent their anger against him.
In the LORD shall be the vindication and the glory
of all the descendants of Israel.
The peace of the Lord be with you.
Speaking through the prophet Isaiah God reminds us of all that he has done and all he hopes to do. Through the prophet, he reminds us that he is the creator of all things that he has designed the world to be a place where life can be lived. God reminds us that he is not a God among other gods; he is being itself. Lastly, good God reminds us of the great love he has for creation, wanting to be its teacher, friend, and protector.
Although it’s hard to fathom, this is the same God who put on the fabric of our humanity in the form of a child and later a man named Jesus who not only showed us how to live, but saved us that we might have life eternal with him.
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.