Isaiah 63 - 64 - Legacy Standard Bible

Isaiah 63 - 64

Vengeance of Yahweh

Who is this who comes from Edom,

With garments of glowing colors from Bozrah,

This One who is majestic in His clothing,

Marching in the greatness of His power?

“It is I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save.”

Why is Your clothing red,

And Your garments like the one who treads in the wine press?

“I have trodden the wine trough alone,

And from the peoples there was no man with Me.

I also trod them in My anger

And trampled them in My wrath;

And their lifeblood is sprinkled on My garments,

And I stained all My clothes.

For the day of vengeance was in My heart,

And My year of redemption has come.

I looked, and there was no one to help,

And I was astonished, and there was no one to uphold;

So My own arm brought salvation to Me,

And My wrath upheld Me.

I trod down the peoples in My anger

And made them drunk in My wrath,

And I brought down their lifeblood to the earth.”

Remember the Lovingkindness of Yahweh

I shall bring to remembrance the lovingkindnesses of Yahweh, the praises of Yahweh,

According to all the ways that Yahweh has dealt bountifully with us,

And the abundant goodness toward the house of Israel,

Which He has dealt bountifully to them according to His compassion

And according to the abundance of His lovingkindnesses.

And He said, “Surely, they are My people,

Sons who will not deal falsely.”

So He became their Savior.

In all their distress He was distressed,

And the angel of His presence saved them;

In His love and in His mercy He redeemed them,

And He lifted them and carried them all the ancient days.

But they rebelled

And grieved His Holy Spirit;

Therefore He turned Himself to become their enemy;

He fought against them.

Then His people remembered the ancient days, of Moses.

Where is He who brought them up out of the sea with the shepherds of His flock?

Where is He who put His Holy Spirit in the midst of them,

Who caused His glorious arm to go at the right hand of Moses,

Who split the waters before them to make for Himself an everlasting name,

Who led them through the depths?

Like the horse in the wilderness, they did not stumble;

As the cattle which go down into the valley,

The Spirit of Yahweh gave them rest.

So You led Your people,

To make for Yourself a glorious name.

Prayer for Mercy and Help

Look down from heaven and see from Your holy and glorious habitation;

Where are Your zeal and Your mighty deeds?

The tumults within You and Your compassion are restrained toward me.

For You are our Father, though Abraham does not know us

And Israel does not recognize us.

You, O Yahweh, are our Father,

Our Redeemer from everlasting is Your name.

Why, O Yahweh, do You cause us to stray from Your ways

And stiffen our heart from fearing You?

Return for the sake of Your slaves, the tribes of Your inheritance.

Your holy people possessed Your sanctuary for a little while;

Our adversaries have trodden it down.

We have become like those over whom You have never ruled,

Like those who were not called by Your name.

Oh, that You would rend the heavens and come down,

That the mountains might quake at Your presence—

As fire kindles the brushwood, as fire causes water to boil—

To make Your name known to Your adversaries,

That the nations may tremble at Your presence!

When You did awesome things for which we did not hope,

You came down; the mountains quaked at Your presence.

For from ancient times they have not heard or given ear,

Nor has the eye seen a God besides You,

Who acts in behalf of the one who waits for Him.

You meet him who rejoices and does righteousness,

Who remembers You in Your ways.

Behold, You were angry; indeed we have sinned—

We continued in them a long time—

And shall we be saved?

For all of us have become like one who is unclean,

And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment;

And all of us wither like a leaf,

And our iniquities, like the wind, carry us away.

There is no one who calls on Your name,

Who awakens himself to take hold of You,

For You have hidden Your face from us

And have melted us into the hand of our iniquities.

But now, O Yahweh, You are our Father;

We are the clay, and You our potter;

And all of us are the work of Your hand.

Do not be angry beyond measure, O Yahweh,

Nor remember iniquity forever;

Behold, look now, all of us are Your people.

Your holy cities have become a wilderness;

Zion has become a wilderness,

Jerusalem a desolation.

Our holy and glorious house,

Where our fathers praised You,

Has been burned by fire;

And all our precious things have become a waste place.

Will You restrain Yourself at these things, O Yahweh?

Will You keep silent and afflict us beyond measure?

Acts 3 - 4

The Lame Beggar Healed

Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the ninth hour, the hour of prayer. 2 And a man who had been lame from his mother’s womb was being carried, whom they used to set down daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, in order to beg alms of those who were entering the temple. 3 When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he began asking to receive alms. 4 But when Peter, along with John, fixed his gaze on him, he said, “Look at us!” 5 And he began to give them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. 6 But Peter said, “I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene—walk!” 7 And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up; and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened. 8 And leaping up, he stood upright and began to walk; and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. 9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God; 10 and they were recognizing him, that he was the one who used to sit at the Beautiful Gate of the temple to beg alms, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

Peter’s Sermon in Solomon’s Portico

11 And while he was clinging to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them at the portico called Solomon’s, full of wonder. 12 But when Peter saw this, he replied to the people, “Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this, or why do you gaze at us, as if by our own power or piety we had made him walk? 13 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release Him. 14 But you denied the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 but put to death the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses. 16 And on the basis of faith in His name, it is the name of Jesus which has strengthened this man whom you see and know; and the faith which is through Him has given him this perfect health in the presence of you all. 17 “And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your rulers did also. 18 But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. 19 Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; 20 and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, 21 whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time. 22 Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers; to Him you shall listen to everything He says to you. 23 And it will be that every soul that does not heed that prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.’ 24 And likewise, all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and his successors onward, also proclaimed these days. 25 It is you who are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’ 26 For you first, God raised up His Servant and sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways.”

Peter and John Arrested

Now as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to them, 2 being greatly agitated because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3 And they laid hands on them and put them in jail until the next day, for it was already evening. 4 But many of those who had heard the message believed, and the number of the men came to be about five thousand. 5 Now it happened that on the next day, their rulers and elders and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem; 6 and Annas the high priest was there, and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of high-priestly descent. 7 And when they had placed them in their midst, they began to inquire, “By what power, or in what name, have you done this?” 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of the people, 9 if we are being examined today for a good deed done to a sick man, as to how this man has been saved from his sickness, 10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by this name this man stands here before you in good health. 11 He is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders, but which became the chief corner stone. 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”

Peter and John Threatened and Released

13 Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and comprehended that they were uneducated and ordinary men, they were marveling, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus. 14 And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say in reply. 15 But when they had ordered them to leave the Sanhedrin, they began to confer with one another, 16 saying, “What should we do with these men? For the fact that a noteworthy sign has happened through them is apparent to all who live in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. 17 But lest it spread any further among the people, let us warn them to speak no longer to any man in this name.” 18 And when they had summoned them, they commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to hear you rather than God, you be the judge; 20 for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.” 21 And when they had threatened them further, they let them go (finding no basis on which to punish them) on account of the people, because they were all glorifying God for what had happened; 22 for the man was more than forty years old on whom this sign of healing had occurred. 23 So when they were released, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24 And when they heard this, they lifted their voices to God with one accord and said, “O Master, it is You who made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and all that is in them, 25 who by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David Your servant, said,

‘Why did the Gentiles rage,

And the peoples devise vain things?

The kings of the earth took their stand,

And the rulers were gathered together

Against the Lord and against His Christ.’

27 For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur. 29 And now, Lord, take note of their threats, and grant that Your slaves may speak Your word with all confidence, 30 while You extend Your hand to heal, and signs and wonders happen through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.” 31 And when they had prayed earnestly, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with confidence.

Distribution Among Needy Believers

32 And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and not one was saying that any of his possessions was his own, but, for them, everything was common. 33 And with great power the apostles were bearing witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. 34 For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales 35 and lay them at the apostles’ feet, and they would be distributed to each as any had need. 36 Now Joseph, a Levite of Cyprian birth, who was also called Barnabas by the apostles (which translated means Son of Encouragement), 37 and who owned a field, sold it and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

Psalm 80

O God, Restore Us

For the choir director. El Shoshannim. Eduth. Of Asaph. A Psalm.

O Shepherd of Israel, give ear,

You who guide Joseph like a flock;

You who are enthroned above the cherubim, shine forth!

Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, stir up Your might

And come to save us!

O God, restore us

And cause Your face to shine upon us, that we would be saved.

O Yahweh God of hosts,

How long will You smolder against the prayer of Your people?

You have fed them with the bread of tears,

And You have made them to drink tears in large measure.

You set us as an object of strife to our neighbors,

And our enemies mock us among themselves.

O God of hosts, restore us

And cause Your face to shine upon us, that we might be saved.

You removed a vine from Egypt;

You drove out the nations and then You planted it.

You cleared the ground before it,

And it took deep root and filled the land.

The mountains were covered with its shadow,

And the cedars of God with its boughs.

It sent out its branches to the sea

And its shoots to the River.

Why have You broken down its hedges,

So that all who pass that way pick its fruit?

A boar from the forest devours it

And whatever moves in the field feeds on it.

O God of hosts, return now, we beseech You;

Look down from heaven and see, and visit this vine,

Even the sapling which Your right hand has planted,

And on the son whom You have strengthened for Yourself.

It is burned with fire, it is cut down;

They perish at the rebuke of Your face.

Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand,

Upon the son of man whom You made strong for Yourself.

Then we shall not turn back from You;

Revive us, and we will call upon Your name.

O Yahweh God of hosts, restore us;

Cause Your face to shine upon us, that we might be saved.