3-5 All praise to the God and Father of our Master, Jesus the Messiah! Father of all mercy! God of all healing counsel! He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us. We have plenty of hard times that come from following the Messiah, but no more so than the good times of his healing comfort—we get a full measure of that, too.

3-5 All praise to the God and Father of our Master, Jesus the Messiah! Father of all mercy! God of all healing counsel! He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us. We have plenty of hard times that come from following the Messiah, but no more so than the good times of his healing comfort—we get a full measure of that, too.

6,7 When we suffer for Jesus, it works out for your healing and salvation. If we are treated well, given a helping hand and encouraging word, that also works to your benefit, spurring you on, face forward, unflinching. Your hard times are also our hard times. When we see that you’re just as willing to endure the hard times as to enjoy the good times, we know you’re going to make it, no doubt about it.

3-5 All praise to the God and Father of our Master, Jesus the Messiah! Father of all mercy! God of all healing counsel! He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us. We have plenty of hard times that come from following the Messiah, but no more so than the good times of his healing comfort—we get a full measure of that, too.

22-24 Here’s the story I’ll tell my friends when they come to worship,

and punctuate it with Hallelujahs:

Shout Hallelujah, you God-worshipers;

give glory, you sons of Jacob;

adore him, you daughters of Israel.

He has never let you down,

never looked the other way

when you were being kicked around.

He has never wandered off to do his own thing;

he has been right there, listening.

18 If your heart is broken, you’ll find God right there;

if you’re kicked in the gut, he’ll help you catch your breath.

2-6 God’s the one who rebuilds Jerusalem,

who regathers Israel’s scattered exiles.

He heals the heartbroken

and bandages their wounds.

He counts the stars

and assigns each a name.

Our Lord is great, with limitless strength;

we’ll never comprehend what he knows and does.

God puts the fallen on their feet again

and pushes the wicked into the ditch.

4,5 All you saints! Sing your hearts out to God!

Thank him to his face!

He gets angry once in a while, but across

a lifetime there is only love.

The nights of crying your eyes out

give way to days of laughter.

1-3 God is a safe place to hide,

ready to help when we need him.

We stand fearless at the cliff-edge of doom,

courageous in seastorm and earthquake,

Before the rush and roar of oceans,

the tremors that shift mountains.

Jacob-wrestling God fights for us,

God-of-Angel-Armies protects us.

22,23 Pile your troubles on God’s shoulders—

he’ll carry your load, he’ll help you out.

He’ll never let good people

topple into ruin.

But you, God, will throw the others

into a muddy bog,

Cut the lifespan of assassins

and traitors in half.

And I trust in you.

8 You’ve kept track of my every toss and turn

through the sleepless nights,

Each tear entered in your ledger,

each ache written in your book.

9,10 God’s a safe-house for the battered,

a sanctuary during bad times.

The moment you arrive, you relax;

you’re never sorry you knocked.

1,2 I love you, God—

you make me strong.

God is bedrock under my feet,

the castle in which I live,

my rescuing knight.

My God—the high crag

where I run for dear life,

hiding behind the boulders,

safe in the granite hideout.

28-30 "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly."

28-30 "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly."

4 "You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.

25-27 "I’m telling you these things while I’m still living with you. The Friend, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send at my request, will make everything plain to you. He will remind you of all the things I have told you. I’m leaving you well and whole. That’s my parting gift to you. Peace. I don’t leave you the way you’re used to being left—feeling abandoned, bereft. So don’t be upset. Don’t be distraught.

31-33 Jesus answered them, "Do you finally believe? In fact, you’re about to make a run for it—saving your own skins and abandoning me. But I’m not abandoned. The Father is with me. I’ve told you all this so that trusting me, you will be unshakable and assured, deeply at peace. In this godless world you will continue to experience difficulties. But take heart! I’ve conquered the world."

21-23 "When a woman gives birth, she has a hard time, there’s no getting around it. But when the baby is born, there is joy in the birth. This new life in the world wipes out memory of the pain. The sadness you have right now is similar to that pain, but the coming joy is also similar. When I see you again, you’ll be full of joy, and it will be a joy no one can rob from you. You’ll no longer be so full of questions.

6,7 Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

6,7 Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

3-5 I heard a voice thunder from the Throne: "Look! Look! God has moved into the neighborhood, making his home with men and women! They’re his people, he’s their God. He’ll wipe every tear from their eyes. Death is gone for good—tears gone, crying gone, pain gone—all the first order of things gone." The Enthroned continued, "Look! I’m making everything new. Write it all down—each word dependable and accurate."

3-5 I heard a voice thunder from the Throne: "Look! Look! God has moved into the neighborhood, making his home with men and women! They’re his people, he’s their God. He’ll wipe every tear from their eyes. Death is gone for good—tears gone, crying gone, pain gone—all the first order of things gone." The Enthroned continued, "Look! I’m making everything new. Write it all down—each word dependable and accurate."

7-13 So reach out and welcome one another to God’s glory. Jesus did it; now you do it! Jesus, staying true to God’s purposes, reached out in a special way to the Jewish insiders so that the old ancestral promises would come true for them. As a result, the non-Jewish outsiders have been able to experience mercy and to show appreciation to God. Just think of all the Scriptures that will come true in what we do! For instance:

Then I’ll join outsiders in a hymn-sing;

I’ll sing to your name!

And this one:

Outsiders and insiders, rejoice together!

And again:

People of all nations, celebrate God!

All colors and races, give hearty praise!

And Isaiah’s word:

There’s the root of our ancestor Jesse,

breaking through the earth and growing tree tall,

Tall enough for everyone everywhere to see and take hope!

Oh! May the God of green hope fill you up with joy, fill you up with peace, so that your believing lives, filled with the life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit, will brim over with hope!

* * *

1,2 So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

8-10 "But you, Israel, are my servant.

You’re Jacob, my first choice,

descendants of my good friend Abraham.

I pulled you in from all over the world,

called you in from every dark corner of the earth,

Telling you, ‘You’re my servant, serving on my side.

I’ve picked you. I haven’t dropped you.’

Don’t panic. I’m with you.

There’s no need to fear for I’m your God.

I’ll give you strength. I’ll help you.

I’ll hold you steady, keep a firm grip on you.

1-7 The Spirit of God, the Master, is on me

because God anointed me.

He sent me to preach good news to the poor,

heal the heartbroken,

Announce freedom to all captives,

pardon all prisoners.

God sent me to announce the year of his grace—

a celebration of God’s destruction of our enemies—

and to comfort all who mourn,

To care for the needs of all who mourn in Zion,

give them bouquets of roses instead of ashes,

Messages of joy instead of news of doom,

a praising heart instead of a languid spirit.

Rename them "Oaks of Righteousness"

planted by God to display his glory.

They’ll rebuild the old ruins,

raise a new city out of the wreckage.

They’ll start over on the ruined cities,

take the rubble left behind and make it new.

You’ll hire outsiders to herd your flocks

and foreigners to work your fields,

But you’ll have the title "Priests of God,"

honored as ministers of our God.

You’ll feast on the bounty of nations,

you’ll bask in their glory.

Because you got a double dose of trouble

and more than your share of contempt,

Your inheritance in the land will be doubled

and your joy go on forever.

12,13 God’s Message:

"I’ll pour robust well-being into her like a river,

the glory of nations like a river in flood.

You’ll nurse at her breasts,

nestle in her bosom,

and be bounced on her knees.

As a mother comforts her child,

so I’ll comfort you.

You will be comforted in Jerusalem."

7,8 Then Moses summoned Joshua. He said to him with all Israel watching, "Be strong. Take courage. You will enter the land with this people, this land that God promised their ancestors that he’d give them. You will make them the proud possessors of it. God is striding ahead of you. He’s right there with you. He won’t let you down; he won’t leave you. Don’t be intimidated. Don’t worry."

* * *

5,6 Don’t be obsessed with getting more material things. Be relaxed with what you have. Since God assured us, "I’ll never let you down, never walk off and leave you," we can boldly quote,

God is there, ready to help;

I’m fearless no matter what.

Who or what can get to me?

7-10 God is good,

a hiding place in tough times.

He recognizes and welcomes

anyone looking for help,

No matter how desperate the trouble.

But cozy islands of escape

He wipes right off the map.

No one gets away from God.

Why waste time conniving against God?

He’s putting an end to all such scheming.

For troublemakers, no second chances.

Like a pile of dry brush,

Soaked in oil,

they’ll go up in flames.

16,17 Jerusalem will be told:

"Don’t be afraid.

Dear Zion,

don’t despair.

Your God is present among you,

a strong Warrior there to save you.

Happy to have you back, he’ll calm you with his love

and delight you with his songs.

* * *

10,11 This is God’s Word on the subject: "As soon as Babylon’s seventy years are up and not a day before, I’ll show up and take care of you as I promised and bring you back home. I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.

16-20 Because of this decision we don’t evaluate people by what they have or how they look. We looked at the Messiah that way once and got it all wrong, as you know. We certainly don’t look at him that way anymore. Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life emerges! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We’re Christ’s representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God’s work of making things right between them. We’re speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he’s already a friend with you.

17-19 It’s judgment time for God’s own family. We’re first in line. If it starts with us, think what it’s going to be like for those who refuse God’s Message!

If good people barely make it,

What’s in store for the bad?

So if you find life difficult because you’re doing what God said, take it in stride. Trust him. He knows what he’s doing, and he’ll keep on doing it.

6,7 So be content with who you are, and don’t put on airs. God’s strong hand is on you; he’ll promote you at the right time. Live carefree before God; he is most careful with you.

4 Even when the way goes through

Death Valley,

I’m not afraid

when you walk at my side.

Your trusty shepherd’s crook

makes me feel secure.

4 I’m asking God for one thing,

only one thing:

To live with him in his house

my whole life long.

I’ll contemplate his beauty;

I’ll study at his feet.

5 That’s the only quiet, secure place

in a noisy world,

The perfect getaway,

far from the buzz of traffic.

49-56 Remember what you said to me, your servant—

I hang on to these words for dear life!

These words hold me up in bad times;

yes, your promises rejuvenate me.

The haters hate me without mercy,

but I don’t budge from your revelation.

I watch for your ancient landmark words,

and know I’m on the right track.

But when I see the wicked ignore your directions,

I’m beside myself with anger.

I set your instructions to music

and sing them as I walk this pilgrim way.

I meditate on your name all night, God,

treasuring your revelation, O God.

Still, I walk through a rain of derision

because I live by your Word and counsel.

* * *

8-16 "If I were in your shoes, I’d go straight to God,

I’d throw myself on the mercy of God.

After all, he’s famous for great and unexpected acts;

there’s no end to his surprises.

He gives rain, for instance, across the wide earth,

sends water to irrigate the fields.

He raises up the down-and-out,

gives firm footing to those sinking in grief.

He aborts the schemes of conniving crooks,

so that none of their plots come to term.

He catches the know-it-alls in their conspiracies—

all that intricate intrigue swept out with the trash!

Suddenly they’re disoriented, plunged into darkness;

they can’t see to put one foot in front of the other.

But the downtrodden are saved by God,

saved from the murderous plots, saved from the iron fist.

And so the poor continue to hope,

while injustice is bound and gagged.

29-31 Jesus said, "Mark my words, no one who sacrifices house, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children, land—whatever—because of me and the Message will lose out. They’ll get it all back, but multiplied many times in homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and land—but also in troubles. And then the bonus of eternal life! This is once again the Great Reversal: Many who are first will end up last, and the last first."

15-17 "If you love me, show it by doing what I’ve told you. I will talk to the Father, and he’ll provide you another Friend so that you will always have someone with you. This Friend is the Spirit of Truth. The godless world can’t take him in because it doesn’t have eyes to see him, doesn’t know what to look for. But you know him already because he has been staying with you, and will even be in you!

18-20 "I will not leave you orphaned. I’m coming back. In just a little while the world will no longer see me, but you’re going to see me because I am alive and you’re about to come alive. At that moment you will know absolutely that I’m in my Father, and you’re in me, and I’m in you.