2 Thessalonians 1; Isaiah 25; Isaiah 26; Psalms 117

2 Thessalonians 1

1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy: To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

3 We must always thank God for you, brothers, which is fitting, since your faith is flourishing, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing.

4 Therefore we ourselves boast about you among God's churches-about your endurance and faith in all the persecutions and afflictions you endure.

5 It is a clear evidence of God's righteous judgment that you will be counted worthy of God's kingdom, for which you also are suffering,

6 since it is righteous for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you,

7 and [to reward] with rest you who are afflicted, along with us. [This will take place] at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with His powerful angels,

8 taking vengeance with flaming fire on those who don't know God and on those who don't obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

9 These will pay the penalty of everlasting destruction, away from the Lord's presence and from His glorious strength,

10 in that day when He comes to be glorified by His saints and to be admired by all those who have believed, because our testimony among you was believed.

11 And in view of this, we always pray for you that our God will consider you worthy of His calling, and will, by His power, fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith,

12 so that the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified by you, and you by Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Isaiah 25

1 Lord, You are my God; I will exalt You. I will praise Your name, for You have accomplished wonders, plans [formed] long ago, with perfect faithfulness.

2 For You have turned the city into a pile of rubble, a fortified city, into a ruin; the fortress of barbarians is no longer a city; it will never be rebuilt.

3 Therefore, a strong people will honor You. A city of violent people will fear You.

4 For You have been a stronghold for the poor, a stronghold for the humble person in his distress, a refuge from the rain, a shade from the heat. When the breath of the violent is like rain [against] a wall,

5 like heat in a dry land, You subdue the uproar of barbarians. As the shade of a cloud [cools] the heat of the day, [so] He stills the song of the violent.

6 The Lord of Hosts will prepare a feast for all the peoples on this mountain- a feast of aged wine, choice meat, finely aged wine.

7 On this mountain [He] will destroy the [burial] shroud, the shroud over all the peoples, the sheet covering all the nations;

8 He will destroy death forever. The Lord God will wipe away the tears from every face and remove His people's disgrace from the whole earth, for the Lord has spoken.

9 On that day it will be said, "Look, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He has saved us. This is the Lord; we have waited for Him. Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation."

10 For the Lord's power will rest on this mountain. But Moab will be trampled in his place as straw is trampled in a dung pile.

11 He will spread out his arms in the middle of it, as a swimmer spreads out [his arms] to swim. His pride will be brought low, along with the trickery of his hands.

12 The high-walled fortress will be brought down, thrown to the ground, to the dust.

Isaiah 26

1 On that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city. Salvation is established as walls and ramparts.

2 Open the gates so a righteous nation can come in- one that remains faithful.

3 You will keep in perfect peace the mind [that is] dependent [on You], for it is trusting in You.

4 Trust in the Lord forever, because in Yah, the Lord, is an everlasting rock!

5 For He has humbled those who live in lofty places- an inaccessible city. He brings it down; He brings it down to the ground; He throws it to the dust.

6 Feet trample it, the feet of the humble, the steps of the poor.

7 The path of the righteous is level; You clear a straight path for the righteous.

8 Yes, Lord, we wait for You in the path of Your judgments. Our desire is for Your name and renown.

9 I long for You in the night; yes, my spirit within me diligently seeks You, for when Your judgments are [in] the land, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

10 [But if] the wicked is shown favor, he does not learn righteousness. In a righteous land he acts unjustly and does not see the majesty of the Lord.

11 Lord, Your hand is lifted up [to take action], but they do not see it. They will see [Your] zeal for [Your] people, and they will be put to shame. The fire for Your adversaries will consume them!

12 Lord, You will establish peace for us, for You have also done all our work for us.

13 Lord, our God, other lords than You have ruled over us, but we remember Your name alone.

14 The dead do not live; departed spirits do not rise up. Indeed, You have visited and destroyed them; You have wiped out all memory of them.

15 You have added to the nation, Lord. You have added to the nation; You are honored. You have expanded all the borders of the land.

16 Lord, they went to You in their distress; they poured out whispered [prayers because] Your discipline [fell] on them.

17 As a pregnant woman about to give birth writhes and cries out in her pains, so we were before You, Lord.

18 We became pregnant, we writhed in pain; we gave birth to wind. We have won no victories on earth, and the earth's inhabitants have not fallen.

19 Your dead will live; their bodies will rise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust! For you will be covered with the morning dew, and the earth will bring forth the departed spirits.

20 Go, my people, enter your rooms and close your doors behind you. Hide for a little while until the wrath has passed.

21 For look, the Lord is coming from His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity. The earth will reveal the blood shed on it and will no longer conceal her slain.

Psalms 117

1 Praise the Lord, all nations! Glorify Him, all peoples!

2 For great is His faithful love to us; the Lord's faithfulness endures forever. Hallelujah!