remain standing as God's word is read. Let me, as you stand, let me read and then we'll, we'll pray. Okay. So Isaiah 40, I'll begin the reading at verse 12 and I'll read to the end of the chapter, verse 31. I'll repeat the outline, but the outline for the message is, um, the people's complaint and then the Lord's response. So as we read this text, which is a fairly significant chunk of scripture, consider that. Where is the complaint of the people and how is it that the Lord responds? Because basically that's the message. So Isaiah chapter 40 verses 12 through 31, this is God's word. Give your careful attention to its reading. Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens by the span and calculated the dust of the earth by the measure and weighed the mountains in a balance and the hills in a pair of scales or who has directed the spirit of the Lord or who has, or as his counselor has informed him, With whom did he consult and who gave him understanding and who taught him in the path of justice and taught him knowledge and informed him of the way of understanding. Behold, the nations are like a drop in a bucket. They are regarded as a speck of dust on the scales. Behold, he lifts up the islands like fine dust. Even Lebanon is not enough to burn, nor its beasts enough for a burnt offering. All the nations are as nothing before Him. They are regarded by Him as less than nothing and meaningless. To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare with Him? As for the idol, a craftsman casts it, a goldsmith plates it with gold, and a silversmith fashions the chains of silver. He who is too impoverished for such an offering selects a tree that does not rot. He seeks out for himself a skillful craftsman to prepare an idol that will not totter. Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been declared to you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is he who sits above the circle of the earth and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, who stretches out the heavens like a curtain and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. He it is who reduces rulers to nothing, who makes the judges of the earth meaningless, Scarcely have they been planted. Scarcely have they been sown. Scarcely has their stock taken root in the earth. But he merely blows on them, and they wither. And the storm carries them away like stubble. To whom, then, will you liken me that I would be his equal, says the Holy One? Lift up your eyes on high and see who has created these stars, the one who leads fourth, their host by number. He calls them all by name because of the greatness of his might and the strength of his power. Not one of them is missing. Why do you say, Oh Jacob and assert, Oh Israel, my way is hidden from the Lord and the justice do me escapes the notice of my God. Do you not know? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the creator of the ends of the earth, does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable. He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might, He increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly, yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength. They will mount up with the wings of eagles. They will run and not get tired. They will walk and not become weary. Let's pray together. Father, we ask now that you would grant us understanding, speak to us, comfort us, uphold us, grant us a vision of your majesty by your spirit and by this word, by the very presence of what you draw near to us this morning. Be near unto us, we ask in Jesus' name. Amen. I should have begun with a word of gratitude, Thanksgiving, for inviting me to fill the pulpit for Pastor Logan over the last four weeks. It's really been a joy for Hazel and I to drive through the farm fields of Knox County and come and worship together with you and open God's Word. God's comfort to a people. God's comfort to a people storm-tossed, broken, Touched deep in the psyche with grief, pain, suffering, trouble. A people despaired, depressed, dismantled, deconstructed, discouraged. A people who fear the experience of death. A deep nerve has been inflamed, touched and inflamed. A deep nerve by an emotion, possibly through physical hurt, but in many ways emotional and spiritual hurt. A broken people, storm-tossed, hurts, submerged into an inky blackness, a perpetual midnight. profound affliction, profound grief, profound sorrow has touched a people like Judah, a people like you and me. And so what does God say? What does he declare? What charge does he give? Comfort, oh comfort, my people, says your God. We have taken the last three Sundays and then this Sunday to examine and to exposit Isaiah 40. It was the charge given to me through Pastor Logan from the elders that we look at Isaiah. And so I thought Isaiah 40 in the morning, to look at it closely. And we've considered God's mission. His purpose for his people is his commission to others, to many, many voices. What is that mission? Comfort, oh, comfort my people, his mission. The means. Speak. Speak. Raise your voice. Lift it up mightily. Do not be afraid. Give the good news. Comfort my people with what? With words. But words spoken tenderly, words spoken kindly, words spoken to the heart. Words of comfort. God's words. God's mission, God's means, God's message. The message, warfare is over. Full stop. Hard service is completed. Iniquity removed. A double portion given to my people. A double portion. A double portion of the inheritance in spite of their sin. A double portion from my hand. And further, further, the very presence of God. The good news. Lift up your voice, Jerusalem. Lift up your voice, O Zion. Lift it up, Miley. Do not be afraid. And say to the cities of Judah, here is your God. Wonderful message. that goes deep, that's not transient or temporal, but carries a people, carries you even into eternity. Comfort. Mission means message, and now this morning, majesty. How is it that we as a people, how is it that Judah, how is it that Israel, how is it that the church throughout the ages, how is it that we this morning, how is it that we can be assured that God can deliver on this? This mission, this means, the message itself, how is it that God can deliver comfort to us? Well, verses 12 to 31 gives us that. His majesty, His power, He is the creator, the everlasting Lord, the creator even of the ends of the earth, the Lord, Yahweh, the covenant God. If anyone can deliver comfort, God can deliver comfort. By virtue of His greatness, His magnitude, his incomprehensibility, his understanding is inscrutable. Yet he comes to us in ways of speaking tenderly, kindly to the heart, ways in which we can understand. Comforting words. His majesty draws near, comes down, fills us with light, fills us with warmth in the inky blackness of our cold midnight heart. He comes and fills us with warmth, light, with comfort his majesty so God will strengthen you this morning and really throughout our earthly pilgrimage he will strengthen you he will empower you he will refresh we see that at the end mounting up on wings of eagles. He will refresh, he will soothe, he will comfort. He, by virtue of his majesty, is able to comfort you in all of your affliction, all of your sorrow, all of your grief, and all of your pain, in all of your hard service. God is able to comfort you, his people. But, big transition, but there are times when we might doubt, become skeptical, Are faith challenged in the midst of affliction, hurt, pain, grief? We might ask, well, where is God? Has He left us? Has He forsaken us? Where is He? Where are His promises that I've depended on for years? Where are His promises that I've claimed and cleaved to, memorized, murmured, meditated upon for myself, for my family, for my children, for my adult children? Where is God? We can become skeptical in the dark, cold midnight of the heart in the midst of affliction, pain, sorrow, and suffering. That darkness, that darkness of heart might blind us for a time. Where's the warmth of His light? And so we might struggle. A challenge. To one degree or another, and as we get older, the opportunities increase for this kind of thing, and the temptation is like, well, where is God? Where are his promises? Where is his presence? Where is his love? Where is that refreshment, that comfort? Where is he? God in his majesty And here's the summarization of the text. God, in his majesty, is able to comfort you in all of your sorrow and affliction. He is able, by virtue of his greatness, his incomprehensibility, even his inscrutability, he is able to comfort you, his majesty. But not only is he able to comfort you, he is able to address, persuade, speak to, speak into your doubts, your skepticism, the kind of the losing of faith because of that dark night of the soul. He's able by his majesty to address you in all of your concerns and struggles and challenges and doubts and skepticism. challenging of faith, he is able, by that majesty, he is able to draw near to you, to comfort, and to comfort you in a deep way, even when we feel like he's gone, that he's left us, that he's forgotten us, that he's forsaken us, or that he's just not capable of helping me through this particular time of dark pittedness. So let's look at the text. You follow where I'm going? God's majesty comforts, but also persuades and convinces you that he has not left you, whatever you might be experiencing. You got it? Okay. Two points. Simple. The people's complaint and the Lord's response. The people's complaint and the Lord's response. So what is at the center? It's, it's very, very brief, but what is central to the text is verse 27, the people's complaint. What is their complaint? You see it. The Lord through his prophet asks a question as through this whole text, there've been a series of questions and answers. We'll get to that. A wonderful strategy by the Lord. But verse 27 is really, really central. This is what is being dealt with, verses 12 through 31, in the context of comfort. Verse 27, the Lord, through his prophet, poses a question, why do you say, O Jacob, why do you say, not ask, why do you say, why do you assert? Why is there a settled conviction? A subtle conviction expressed in the things that you are saying to yourself and among yourselves. Why do you say, why do you assert, quote, my way is hidden from the Lord, and the justice due me escapes the notice of my God. You see, the Lord is asking, why are you saying that? Why are you asserting? Why do you believe that? Why do you believe that your way is hidden from the Lord and somehow, somehow, God has passed on from making things right? Why are you saying that? You see, this is the complaint. God has heard their conversations. He has even overheard their thoughts. He knows their words. He knows their concerns. He knows their doubts, their skepticism, their fears, possibly their settled conviction. My way is hidden. My way is hidden from the Lord. And the justice due me has escaped my God. You see the complaint? The question why? Why do you say that? Why are you thinking that? Why are you musing on that? Why are you complaining? Why are you murmuring? Why are you speaking to one another about this kind of doubt, this skepticism? Why? They're not asking, they're not inquiring about the Lord. They're asserting. It seems to be a settled conviction. A settled conviction that may come about because of possibly years of affliction. Harsh, difficult, painful, grievous affliction. Why? Why are you saying these things? My way is hidden from the Lord. The thing, his promise, his justice, his rightness, somehow has escaped him in regards to me. Someone has written, but you don't need a rocket scientist for this. If we were all given a sheet of paper, a blank sheet of paper, You know, maybe a tablet. Let's go old school. A sheet of paper, pencil or pen, blank. And if I were to ask you, well, to write all of the ways in which people, experiences, events have let you down, have hurt you. Could you fill the page? Again, I'll say it again. The assignment, write down, write down all the ways in which you've been hurt. Things done to you that you feel have been unjust, unfair. Ways in which you've been betrayed. Can you fill the page? Israel is able to write it in shorthand and fill this page and other pages. My way is hidden. And the justice, the things that are right, that are due to me, the things that the Lord has promised somehow have escaped him. Has escaped his notice. God doesn't see. He doesn't care. He's either complacent or he's turned his back. He's gone or he's incapable of making things right. This is their hurt. It's not only the pain, physical pain, emotional pain, spiritual pain, grief, affliction, but then on top of it all, on top of it all, this struggle, this doubt. And this is nothing new. This is nothing new. Ezekiel 37, to look at another prophet. Valley of Dry Bones. Ezekiel, the Lord, the Spirit of the Lord has placed me in this like macabre carpet of these skeletal remains that are shattered and broken through this valley. And it's like, Ezekiel's like right in the middle of it. Can these bones live? Oh, Lord, I don't know. You know, Lord. And of course, the bones come together. You know, you know the story, right? And this is what the Lord says, why this vision, why this macabre carpet of human remains, of broken skeletal remains, that then, in the prophetic vision, it all comes together, a tremendous army. Why that vision? Well, the Lord gives the interpretation. He says, Israel says, Our bones are dried up and our hope has perished. We are completely cut off. Our hope has perished and we are completely cut off. The Lord overhears the people. that they believe that they are now forsaken by God and they have no hope whatsoever. And they are questioning and even beyond questioning, speaking things of doubt that somehow God has forsaken us. We are cut off. We have no hope. And the Lord is saying, I've overheard that. I know what you're saying. And here is a vision to assure you. If there is a valley of dry bones that are broken, and they are able to come together and live, I can cause you to come up out of your graves, oh Israel. I can give you new life. But what I want to focus on is how the people through the exile question whether the Lord is near unto them, whether the Lord has forsaken them, whether they have been cut off from the presence of God, and whether their hope has completely perished. They believe that, and the Lord brings up Ezekiel with this vision of the valley of dry bones that come together and live and say, no, no, no. There will be new life. Resurrection. Think of Psalm 42, the sons of Korah. I, I will say to God, my rock, why have you forgotten me? Why have you forgotten? David in Psalm 22. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Oh my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I have no rest. Talk about the midnight of the soul. Why have you forsaken me? I call upon you, you do not answer me in the day, and at night I can get no sleep. I am restless, discontented. I am consumed by my grief, by my sorrow, by this affliction, and you, you are not delivering me. Why have you forsaken me? You see, this is nothing new. Throughout history, God's people have experienced affliction, pain, sorrow, hurt, and on top of it all, have struggled with skepticism, doubt. Where is God? My way is hidden. What is right and what is fair, what is good, the fulfillment of His promise, somehow have passed me by. I'm left behind. I'm cut off. My hope is perished. Why have you forsaken me? Why have you forgotten me? Have you ever raised those questions in your trial? In your suffering, sorrow, have you? Have you wrestled with these things? John the Baptist, imprisoned, and he asks, sends his disciples to ask Jesus, are you the coming one or shall we look for someone else? It's like, it doesn't seem like things are working out. Have you forgotten? Are you passing by? Are you capable of fulfilling the role of Messiah? Where are you? What are you doing? Shall we look for someone else? John passage, Martha, Jesus could have come and healed him, but no, waited until he died, waited, Jesus waited until he died. Martha, if you had come, you could have healed him. Let me apply this. And I know I'm focusing on this quite a bit, but it's important. We have seen this throughout redemptive history, through all God's people, in every generation, every generation, in all of their struggles, trials, affliction, grief. The question at least is raised, there are times it becomes a settled conviction among some in the church, my way is hidden from God. He's somehow, he has somehow passed me by. Why? Why has he forsaken me? I cry out during the day, no answer. I'm restless. I can't sleep at night. Where is he? Has he forsaken me? This may be small comfort, but it's a comfort. To know that when we raise these kinds of doubts and we struggle with the skepticism, when we hurt, and we're not finding comfort in the Lord because it seems like we're hidden from him somehow, or he passes by, or whatever, we're cut off, or he's forsaken us, whatever it is, know this, that you're not the only one. And whether you admit it or not, Throughout history, God's people, it's embedded within the scripture. It's in the Psalms themselves, which have been chanted, meditated, sung throughout the ages. It's even part embedded in the worship in the liturgy of God's people, that there are these questions that are raised. Have you forgotten me? Have you forsaken me? Why have you forsaken me? The assumption is he has. My hope has been cut off. perished. My way is hidden. He's passed me by. There's some comfort in that, that we're not the only ones. There's more, there's more, but I, but I hope you're encouraged by this. And sometimes we won't admit those kinds of struggles, but let me say in scripture, there is that witness and testimony that the people of God have struggled with this problem of doubt. in their affliction, not finding comfort because they're afraid that God has left them behind. There's a little comfort in that, I think, a little bit of encouragement. And we're not the only ones. God's people throughout the ages, throughout the generations, have experienced this, and they've spoken about it, and they've murmured, and it's within their minds and hearts, and they've spoken within community, to where is God? It is the people's complaint. And you're not the only one. I should say further that what's wonderful in all of this is God is hearing it all. It's like he hasn't passed us by and our ways are not hidden. Certainly our words, our murmuring, our doubts, our skepticism, he knows it all. Obviously we're not hidden. Obviously he hasn't passed us by. Obviously he hasn't cut us off. Obviously he hasn't forsaken us because he's overhearing us. He knows what we're thinking. He knows what we're saying. He knows our challenges. He knows what we're struggling with. So know this, you know, have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is not going to leave you or forsake you. Yes, His ways are inscrutable at times. And there are difficult providences. And what is He doing? We don't fully understand it. We don't fully understand it. But He hasn't left you. He knows fully. He knows fully what you're going through. And in ways deeper than we can even fathom. And it's not as though He is standing far off, just sitting in judgment of you. Consider the seven words of Jesus, seven words on the cross. Not just words, they're sayings, various sayings as he's dying upon the cross. And it's Matthew, Matthew 27, and then Mark, who record this. And what's interesting is they record it in the Aramaic, and then they give the translation, which is very unusual. I mean, there's a few times throughout the Gospels where the Aramaic is given. And in this particular case, Eloi, he's on the cross dying. Eloi, Eloi, lama, sabachthani. Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani. And Matthew, Mark, Hosea being translated, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Jesus dying upon the cross quotes, hear it. He quotes from Psalm 22, the son of David, really the new David, as he hangs on the cross, dying a shameful, painful death, naked, suspended between heaven and earth, the pain of a crucifixion I don't think we can imagine, but even more, darkness of the soul, the guilt, the sin of the race placed upon him, imputed to him, and he's feeling, talk about midnight of the soul, He's in the abyss and he cries out, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Who understands most deeply, most profoundly the struggle, the skepticism, the doubt that you have? Why would Jesus quote that? Obviously, he is dying a judicial death, an atoning death. The sin of the world has been placed upon him, imputed to him, and in an act of justice, the Father forsakes him for that moment. He is that sin sacrifice for you. But the point that I want to make is this, that he understands when we struggle, why have you forsaken me? My way is hidden. Jesus knows that upon the cross. He enters into your pain. He enters into your affliction. He enters into your suffering. In some sense, imputed to him, he enters into your sin, your guilt, and he enters into the experience of God of that darkness that His way is somehow hidden. Where is God? My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why have you forsaken me? If anyone understands the midnight of the soul, the abyss, if anybody understands our struggle, our affliction, if anyone understands that doubt, that struggle, where is God in my affliction? Jesus understands it well. He is worthy of your praise, worthy of your trust. He knows what you face. He knows what you're going through. He's expressed it from the cross. Is that not comforting to you? That God is not chastising, judging you, even for your doubt, casting you aside. He's entered into it. He's entered into it. He himself and Jesus experiences it. That we might be, that we might find relief, that we might find rest, that we might know, oh, our God does understand. He, our way is not hidden. We're not cut off. He hasn't forsaken us. He's drawn, entered into the very, the very existential experience of the midnight of the soul. That should be a comfort. That should be a comfort to us. So the people's complaint. God knows. And it's Jesus. He understands. the Lord's response. And it's the whole text. You know, we don't have time. It really requires another sermon. But I'll ask you, I'll ask you, and I'll go through quickly. I'll ask you, how is it that the Lord responds? Read the text. I kind of cued you, prompted you as we read the text. How does the Lord respond? I'll just take an example, verses 12 through 16. I'm sorry, 12 through 17. Let's just start with verses. Read it along with me, and we're asking, well, how is it that the Lord responds? Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and marked off the heavens by a span? and calculated the dust of the earth by the measure, and weighed the mountains in a balance, and the hills in a pair of scales? Who has directed, literally, who has measured, absurdly, ludicrously, who has measured the spirit of the Lord? You see what he's doing? He's asking a rhetorical question. And it's all about measuring. Have you been able to measure the cosmos, the universe? Today, scientists are trying to get to the boundaries of the universe. They think it's expanding how many billion light years away, the boundary or whatever. It boggles the mind. But truly, who has measured it? It's a similar strategy that he uses with Job, starting in Job 38. Were you there when I laid the foundations of the earth? Since you're speaking so much and you're struggling with this relationship with me, doubting and questioning and skeptical and demanding an audience with me, were you there when I laid the foundations of the earth? Who has measured these things? Are you really that smart? And it's a gentle, gentle way. You're going to see his strategy. He will deconstruct their complaint, their assertion, really a settled belief about doubting him. He will deconstruct it with a strategy of question and answer, question and answer, question and answer. And this is verses 12 through 17. It's just the beginning of it. Throughout the passage, he does this. So he's asking a rhetorical question. Have you measured? Have you measured out these things? Have you calculated? Have you even measured the spirit of the Lord? It should humble us, really. No, we are so small. We're temporal. We're not that big. We're not that majestic. We can't figure these things out. That's what these questions, they're rhetorical. No, no, we haven't measured these things. And then he goes further. It's like, has anyone taught me, the living God? I'm the creator of all things. Can you measure these things? I can certainly measure these things. I've created it. Now, who has taught me? Look at second phrase of verse 13. Who has been the counselor that has informed him? With whom did he consult and who gave him understanding? And who taught him in the path of justice, in the path of justice? Remember the complaint? His justice has passed me by. Who taught him the path of justice and taught him knowledge, informed him of the way of understanding? So another series of questions, rhetorical questions. Well, who has taught God? Who has given him wisdom? Who has led him in the ways of justice and righteousness? Who has shown God? Has any of us, have any of us done that? No! These are rhetorical questions! They're ludicrous! They're absurd! No one has done that! Look at verses 15-17, now he gives an answer. And this is his strategy. He'll ask questions, or a question, and then he'll give an answer. Look at the answer. Behold, the nations are like a drop in the bucket. He'll speak about the nations. The source of pain, affliction, and suffering for Israel. So you could read this as the source of anything that has brought us deep affliction and pain. Behold, the nations are like a drop in the bucket compared to God. Think of China, Russia, the United States, all the nations. Behold, the nations are like a drop in the bucket. They are regarded as a speck of dust on the scales. Just a speck of dust. Behold, he lifts up the islands like fine dust. Have you ever, at home, a little bit of dust that gathers on the shelf? Even Lebanon is not enough to burn Lebanon with all of its cypress trees, cedar trees, the beast, not enough for burnt offering. Look at this. All the nations are as nothing before him. And he goes on, all the nations are like nothing from nothing comes nothing. All of the nations are like nothing before him. They regarded by him as what as less than nothing and meaningless. All the pop, all the temples, all the palaces, all the armies, all the culture, all that a nation might bring in terms of its glory, its wealth, its power, its strength, its majesty, Like nothing, less than nothing, even meaningless, the tohu abohu. This is a reference back to Genesis 1, 2, that the earth was formless, and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. This is what the nations are. I don't care how their economy, their cultural power, their military prowess, whatever it might be, nothing, less than nothing, meaningless, futile, fine dust. All the name, anything, anything that's going to harm you, any source of evil, anything, even within the heart that you think is going to, is going to separate you from God. The Lord and His Majesty said, comparison to me, Everything in this cosmos, everything that I've created, that I've measured out, everything is like nothing. Don't you worry. Don't be afraid. Don't you doubt. Don't be skeptical. And it's wonderful because it's so, it's so tactful. He's not berating. He's not admonishing. He's not judging his people because of their struggles. He doesn't do that. Speak kindly. Speak tenderly to my people. Speak to their heart. Comfort them. In the midst of all this, comfort them. And now I will argue. I will argue with them in a tactful way. in a wonderful, wonderful strategic way. I'll put questions, I'll put questions to you to humble you, to deconstruct all of your struggles, all your fears, all your anxieties. I will question you and then I will answer. And the source of your trouble? Brothers and sisters, compared to God, the Lord is saying, nothing. Less than nothing. What is that? Less than nothing. Meaningless. That strategy continues. Verse 18, another question, who are you compared to the idols? And then he answers it. And then verse 21, do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been declared to you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? And then he answers it. Who is it that sits above the heaven? It's inhabitants. And this is, this is a great image. It's inhabitants are like grasshoppers. Why that image? We're not going to talk about that this morning. This really requires a whole other service. But he looks down from heaven and he sees the whole inhabitants of there, how many billions of people on earth. They're like grasshoppers. Don't you worry. Don't be afraid. He stretches the curtain. Look at He who reduces rulers to nothing and makes them like rulers to nothing. Nations are nothing, like nothing and even less than nothing. Rulers are nothing and the judges of the earth meaningless. It's the same thing, tohu, abohu. The rulers are nothing and the judges of the earth, empty, futile, void, formless, meaningless. It's really interesting. With all the power, judicial power, that the courts might have and that the judges, that we respect, the Supreme Court of the United States, a grand institution, even throughout the world, it does stand as a beacon. Formless void, like nothing, compared to my justice, the Lord is saying, compared to my justice. See what this does? It relativizes everything on earth and it exalts God and his majesty to such an extent that we do not have to fear. We do not have to be afraid. We do not have to doubt. Our way is not hidden from him. Obviously it can't be. He is there. He knows and he speaks and he persuades and he calls upon other voices. speak tenderly, kindly to the heart of my people, comfort my people. Even the stars of the heavens, the stars, he's created those things of earth like grasshoppers. The stars, I've created them, I call them by name. You know how many stars are out there? I call them all by name and I lead them. And the ancient mind thought that the stars somehow were powerful in determining human life and affairs. No, no, no. The Lord is saying, I've created them. I know them. I've called them by name. And I lead them. So why, O Jacob, why do you assert, O Israel, my way is hidden from the Lord and just as do me escapes the notice of my God? And what's wonderful is that last question, do you not know, have you not heard the everlasting God, the Lord, the creator of the end of the earth does not become weary or tired. And this is, this is the end. What he does is, Oh, even though young men and all of their strength and virility, they get tired, they fall by the wayside. Those who wait for the Lord will renew their strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles. I always think of Sam and Frodo at the end of Lord of the Rings. They think they're going to die. They're on this rock, and there's lava flowing, or the movie, anyway, lava flowing. You know, Mount Doom has kind of fallen apart, and Mordor is no more, and Mount Doom falling apart. But they think they're going to die. And who saves them? What saves them? It's such a wonderful scene. The eagles come. These huge eagles come. And they get on the backs of the eagles, and they fly away. Wonderful scene. You see, what the Lord is describing is, wait for Him. Be patient. Hope in Him. Wait. Rest in Him. And He will empower you. Possibly physically, but surely emotionally, spiritually. He will empower you. Like the wings of eagles mounting up to the heavens. They will run and not get tired. They will walk. Comfort my people." Brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ, know that by virtue of His majesty, He knows your pain. He can comfort you. And by virtue of His majesty, whatever struggles you might have, whatever doubts, He will come and persuade you. He will strengthen your faith. He will lift you up. He will give you the ability to persevere whatever you might face. The ability to persevere whatever you might face until you're face to face with Him. Let's pray together. Our Heavenly Father we ask that you would indeed apply this to us that we might know in Jesus Christ, who now has all authority, that he knows what we go through, he himself, the pain of the cross, crying out about questioning a forsakenness, he knows. Lord Jesus, we ask that we might, as your people, meditate deeply upon who you are, your majesty, now having all authority, ruling over the nations for the sake of us, your body. Our heavenly father, fill us with your spirit, and indeed strengthen us that we will mount up with wings of eagles, walk and not be weary. Run with all perseverance, with all strength. Be with us, comforting us, empowering us. We ask in Your name, Amen. Now brothers and sisters, let's prepare ourselves as we come to the table of the Lord.