country poetry & more

Isaiah 44
From a Sermon by Lane Brown

Secular, national Israel had disobeyed the Lord,
was cut off from the help of God on high,
but the faithful remnant who remain are called new Israel,
the spiritual Jews, Abraham personified.
Now listen, O Jacob, my servant, my chosen Israel,
this is what the Lord says; harken now to him
who made you, formed you in the womb, and helps you in your trials,
who lights the way when your own lamp grows dim.
Do not be afraid, O Jacob, Jeshurun, the righteous one.
I will pour water on the thirsty land;
pour out my Spirit on your many offspring in the faith,
lead them to safety with my own right hand.
Prolifically they will spring up like grass out in the meadow,
like poplar trees beside the living stream.
The Word of God will nourish them, to keep them green and supple,
with blessings well beyond their wildest dreams.
One will say, “I belong to the Sovereign Lord,”
another will take Jacob’s name,
still another will write on his hand, “The Lord’s”;
they are Israel, all the same.
I am Israel’s King and Redeemer;
the Lord Almighty am I.
I am the first and I am the last,
the God of earth and sky.
There is no other god but me;
who else can lay a claim?
Let him declare and prove his might,
put forward his great name.
Let him foretell what is to come,
the future prophesy
as I have done since ancient times,
which no one can deny.
Another Rock does not exist;
no, I’m the only one,
a haven for my children,
those adopted through my Son.

Cora Gail Trent
www.cgtrent.com
cgtrent@att.net