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Comfort, comfort my people,
says your God.
Speak 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.
A
voice of one calling:
"In the desert prepare the way for the Lord;
make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be raised up,
every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level,
the rugged places a plain.
And the glory of the Lord will be revealed,
and all mankind together will see it.
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken."
A
voice says, "Cry out."
And I said, "What shall I cry?"
"All
men are like grass,
and all their glory is like the flowers of the field.
The grass withers and the flowers fall,
because the breath of the Lord blows on them.
Surely the people are grass.
The grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of our God stands forever."
You
who bring good tidings to Zion,
go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem,
lift up your voice with a shout,
lift it up, do not be afraid;
say to the towns of Judah,
"Here is your God!"
See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power,
and his arm rules for him.
See, his reward is with him,
and his recompense accompanies him.
He tends his flock like a shepherd:
He gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart;
he gently leads those that have young.
(Isaiah 40:1-11, NIV)
Hymn: Come Rejoicing!
or God Is with Us! Alleluia!
or Jesus
The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
It is written in Isaiah the prophet:
"I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way"‒
"a voice of one calling in the desert,
'Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.'"
And
so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism
of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The whole Judean countryside
and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their
sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. John wore
clothing made of camel's hair, with a leather belt around his
waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. And this was his message:
"After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs
of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptize
you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."
(Mark 1:1-8, NIV)
Hymn: Prepare Us
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