Prepare the Way for the LORD
(Matthew 3:1–12; Mark 1:1–8; Luke 3:1–20; John 1:19–28)
“Comfort, comfort My people,” 2Co 1:4Isa 51:12Isa 51:3Zep 3:14-171Th 4:18Jer 31:10-14Zec 1:13Isa 49:13-16
says your God.
“Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, Zec 9:12Isa 61:7Hos 2:14Jer 33:8-9Rev 18:6Isa 43:25Isa 44:22Jer 16:18
and proclaim to her
that her forced labor has been completed;
her iniquity has been pardoned.
For she has received from the hand of the LORD
double for all her sins.”
A voice of one calling: Mal 3:1Mrk 1:2-5Jhn 1:23Mat 3:1-3Luk 1:16-17Luk 1:76-77Mal 4:5-6Isa 57:14
“Prepare the way for the LORD in the wilderness; 1
make a straight highway for our God in the desert. 2
Every valley shall be lifted up, Luk 3:5Ezk 21:26Luk 18:14Isa 42:15-16Isa 45:2Ezk 17:24Job 40:11-13Isa 2:12-15
and every mountain and hill made low;
the uneven ground will become smooth,
and the rugged land a plain. 3
And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, Hab 2:14Isa 52:10Jol 2:282Co 4:6Luk 3:6Isa 60:1Act 2:17Isa 11:9
and all humanity together will see it. 4
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
The Enduring Word
(1 Peter 1:22–25)
A voice says, “Cry out!” 1Pe 1:24-25Psa 103:15-16Jas 1:10-11Psa 102:11Job 14:2Isa 58:1Psa 90:5-6Psa 92:7
And I asked, “What should I cry out?”
“All flesh is like grass,
and all its glory like the flowers of the field.
The grass withers and the flowers fall Job 41:21
when the breath of the LORD blows on them;
indeed, the people are grass.
The grass withers and the flowers fall, Mrk 13:31Mat 24:351Pe 1:25Psa 119:89-91Mat 5:18Isa 55:10-11Isa 46:10-11Jhn 10:35
but the word of our God stands forever.” 5
Here Is Your God!
(Romans 11:33–36)
Go up on a high mountain, Isa 52:7-8Eph 6:19Isa 12:2Isa 25:9Isa 61:1Act 2:141Jn 5:20-211Pe 3:14
O Zion, herald of good news.
Raise your voice loudly,
O Jerusalem, herald of good news.
Lift it up, 6
do not be afraid!
Say to the cities of Judah,
“Here is your God!”
Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might, Rev 22:12Isa 62:11Rev 17:14Mat 28:18Isa 49:4Isa 9:6-7Php 2:10-11Jhn 12:15
and His arm establishes His rule.
His reward is with Him,
and His recompense accompanies Him.
He tends His flock like a shepherd; Rev 7:17Psa 23:1-6Mic 5:4Ezk 34:23Jhn 10:11-161Pe 2:25Ezk 34:12-14Isa 49:9-10
He gathers the lambs in His arms
and carries them close to His heart.
He gently leads the nursing ewes.
Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, Pro 30:4Heb 1:10-12Job 38:4-11Psa 102:25-26Isa 48:13Pro 8:26-28Job 11:7-9Job 28:25
or marked off the heavens with the span of his hand?
Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,
or weighed the mountains on a scale
and the hills with a balance?
Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, 7 1Co 2:16Rom 11:34Job 21:22Job 36:22-23Luk 10:22Eph 1:11Jhn 1:13
or informed Him as His counselor? 8
Whom did He consult to enlighten Him, Job 21:22Col 2:31Co 12:4-6Jas 1:17
and who taught Him the paths of justice?
Who imparted knowledge to Him
and showed Him the way of understanding?
Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; Isa 40:22Jer 10:10Isa 29:5Job 34:14-15Isa 11:11Gen 10:5Isa 41:5Dan 11:18
they are considered a speck of dust on the scales;
He lifts up the islands 9like fine dust.
Lebanon is not sufficient for fuel, Mic 6:6-7Psa 40:6Psa 50:9-12Heb 10:5-10
nor its animals enough for a burnt offering.
All the nations are as nothing before Him; Psa 62:9Dan 4:34-35Isa 29:72Co 12:11Job 25:6
He regards them as nothingness and emptiness.
To whom will you liken God? Isa 46:51Sa 2:2Isa 40:25Exo 15:11Act 17:29Jer 10:6Psa 89:6Exo 8:10
To what image will you compare Him?
To an idol that a craftsman casts Jer 10:9Exo 32:2-4Hab 2:18-19Isa 46:6-7Jdg 17:4Psa 115:4-8Hos 8:6Isa 2:20
and a metalworker overlays with gold
and fits with silver chains?
To one bereft of an offering Isa 41:7Isa 46:7Jer 10:3-4Isa 2:8-9Dan 5:231Sa 5:3-4Isa 44:13-19
who chooses wood that will not rot,
who seeks a skilled craftsman
to set up an idol that will not topple?
Do you not know? Act 14:17Isa 46:8Isa 48:13Psa 50:6Rom 1:19-21Psa 115:8Rom 1:28Isa 27:11
Have you not heard?
Has it not been declared to you from the beginning?
Have you not understood since the foundation of the earth?
He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth; Pro 8:27Isa 42:5Isa 66:1Psa 104:2Jer 10:12Job 22:14Heb 1:10-12Isa 40:15
its dwellers are like grasshoppers.
He stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.
He brings the princes to nothing Job 12:21Psa 107:40Isa 34:12Jer 25:18-27Isa 19:13-14Isa 23:9Isa 24:21-22Job 34:19-20
and makes the rulers 10of the earth meaningless.
No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, Isa 41:16Hag 1:9Isa 17:13Jer 23:191Ki 21:21-222Ki 10:112Sa 22:16Hos 13:15
no sooner have their stems taken root in the ground,
than He blows on them and they wither,
and a whirlwind sweeps them away like stubble.
“To whom will you liken Me, Isa 40:18Deu 4:15-18Deu 4:33Deu 5:8
or who is My equal?” asks the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes on high: Col 1:16-17Jer 32:17-19Isa 48:13Isa 51:6Isa 44:24Psa 147:4-5Psa 89:11-13Deu 4:19
Who created all these?
He leads forth the starry host by number;
He calls each one by name.
Because of His great power and mighty strength,
not one of them is missing.
Why do you say, O Jacob, Isa 49:4Luk 18:7-8Isa 49:14Job 27:2
and why do you assert, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the LORD,
and my claim is ignored by my God”?
Do you not know? Rom 11:33-34Psa 147:51Ti 1:17Isa 55:8-9Php 1:6Isa 40:211Co 2:16Gen 21:33
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary;
His understanding is beyond searching out.
He gives power to the faint Isa 41:10Php 4:132Co 12:9-10Col 1:11Zec 10:12Jer 31:25Psa 29:11Isa 50:4
and increases the strength of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary, Amo 2:14Psa 34:10Psa 33:16Ecc 9:11Isa 13:18Isa 9:17Jer 6:11Psa 39:5
and young men stumble and fall.
But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength; Lam 3:25-262Co 4:16Psa 27:13-14Psa 103:52Co 12:9-10Heb 12:1Gal 6:9Rom 8:25
they will mount up with wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not faint.