Old Testament | Isaiah 25:1-9 (with Tom Gastil)

Opening Song:
Overcome by Chris Brown, Mack Brock, and Steven Furtick

Lyrics:
Now the darkness fades
Into new beginnings
As we lift our eyes
To a hope beyond
All creation waits
With an expectation
To declare the reign
Of the Lord our God

We will not be moved
When the earth gives way
For the Risen One has overcome
And for every fear
There’s an empty grave
For the Risen One has overcome

Now the silence breaks
In the name of Jesus
As the heavens cry
Let the earth respond
All creation shouts
With a voice of triumph
To declare the reign
Of the Lord our God

He shall reign forever
Strongholds now surrender
For the Lord our God has overcome
Who can be against us
Jesus our defender
He is Lord and he has overcome

Passage:
O Lord, you are my God;
I will exalt you; I will praise your name,
for you have done wonderful things,
plans formed of old, faithful and sure.
2 For you have made the city a heap,
the fortified city a ruin;
the foreigners' palace is a city no more;
it will never be rebuilt.
3 Therefore strong peoples will glorify you;
cities of ruthless nations will fear you.
4 For you have been a stronghold to the poor,
a stronghold to the needy in his distress,
a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat;
for the breath of the ruthless is like a storm against a wall,
5 like heat in a dry place.
You subdue the noise of the foreigners;
as heat by the shade of a cloud,
so the song of the ruthless is put down.

6 On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples
a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine,
of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.
7 And he will swallow up on this mountain
the covering that is cast over all peoples,
the veil that is spread over all nations.
8 He will swallow up death forever;
and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces,
and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth,
for the Lord has spoken.
9 It will be said on that day,
“Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us.
This is the Lord; we have waited for him;
let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”

(Isaiah 25:1-9 ESV)

Musical Reflection:
O Lord, Hear My Prayer by Jacques Berthier

Reflection Notes:
This song from the Taizé community contains a series of pleas: “O Lord, hear my prayer, O Lord, hear my prayer; when I call, answer me.” The repeated notes emphasize the insistence of the sung prayer, while the descending lines indicate a deep, almost despairing desire to connect.

Prayer:
Father, what we know not, teach us; what we have not, give us; what we are not, make us; for the sake of your Son our Savior. Amen.
-Old Anglican Prayer