Scripture: Psalm 23:1-4; Lamentations 3:1-2; Jeremiah 29:4, 10-14; Lamentations 3:1-58; Isaiah 38:1-20; 1 John 5:11-15

Psalm 23:1 A Psalm of David (1000 BC). The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. 2 He makes me (causes me to) lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. 3 He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me.

Lamentations 3:1(586 BC – 2nd Deportation to Babylon) I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of God's wrath. 2 He has driven me away and forced me to walk in darkness instead of light.

Jeremiah 29:4(597 BC – 1st Deportation to Babylon) This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says to all the exiles I deported from Jerusalem to Babylon:… 10b "When 70 years for Babylon are complete, I will attend to you and will confirm My promise concerning you to restore you to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you"-- this is the LORD's declaration-- "plans for your welfare, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. 12 You will call to Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. 14b …"I will restore you to the place I deported you from."

Lamentations 3:1 (586 BC – 2nd Deportation) I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of God's wrath. 2 He has driven me away and forced me to walk in darkness instead of light. 3 Yes, He repeatedly turns His hand against me all day long. 4 He has worn away my flesh and skin; He has shattered my bones. 5 He has laid siege against me, encircling me with bitterness and hardship. 6 He has made me dwell in darkness like those who have been dead for ages. 7 He has walled me in so I cannot escape; He has weighed me down with chains. 8 Even when I cry out and plead for help, He rejects my prayer. 9 He has walled in my ways with cut stones; He has made my paths crooked. 10 He is a bear waiting in ambush, a lion in hiding. 11 He forced me off my way and tore me to pieces; He left me desolate… 17 My soul has been deprived of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is. 18 Then I thought: My future is lost, as well as my hope from the LORD… 21 Yet I call this to mind, and therefore I have hope: 22 Because of the LORD's faithful love we do not perish, for His mercies never end. 23 They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness! 24 I say: The LORD is my portion, therefore I will put my hope in Him. 25 The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him. 26 It is good to wait quietly for deliverance from the LORD… 28 Let him sit alone and be silent, for God has disciplined him… 29b -- perhaps there is still hope… 31 For the Lord will not reject us forever. 32 Even if He causes suffering, He will show compassion according to His abundant, faithful love. 33 For He does not enjoy bringing affliction or suffering on mankind… 39 Why should any living person complain, any man, because of the punishment for his sins? 40 Let us search out and examine our ways, and turn back to the LORD… 55 I called on Your name, Yahweh, from the depths of the Pit. 56 You hear my plea: Do not ignore my cry for relief. 57 You come near when I call on You; You say: "Do not be afraid." 58 You defend my cause, Lord; You redeem my life.

Isaiah 38:1 (700 BC) In those days Hezekiah became terminally ill. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz came and said to him, "This is what the LORD says: 'Put your affairs in order, for you are about to die; you will not recover.'" 2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD. 3 He said, "Please, LORD, remember how I have walked before You faithfully and wholeheartedly, and have done what pleases You." And Hezekiah wept bitterly. 4 Then the word of the LORD came to Isaiah: 5 "Go and tell Hezekiah that this is what the LORD God of your ancestor David says: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Look, I am going to add 15 years to your life. 6 And I will deliver you and this city from the power of the king of Assyria; I will defend this city… 9 A poem by Hezekiah king of Judah after he had been sick and had recovered from his illness: 10 I said: In the prime of my life I must go to the gates of Sheol; I am deprived of the rest of my years. 11 I said: I will never see the LORD, the LORD in the land of the living; I will not look on humanity any longer with the inhabitants of what is passing away. 12 My dwelling is plucked up and removed from me like a shepherd's tent. I have rolled up my life like a weaver; He cuts me off from the loom. You make an end of me from day until night. 13 I thought until the morning: He will break all my bones like a lion; You make an end of me day and night. 14 I chirp like a swallow or a crane; I moan like a dove. My eyes grow weak looking upward. Lord, I am oppressed; support me. 15a What can I say? He has spoken to me, and He Himself has done it…16b … You have restored me to health and let me live. 17 Indeed, it was for my own welfare that I had such great bitterness; but Your love has delivered me from the Pit of destruction, for You have thrown all my sins behind Your back… 19a The living, only the living can thank You, as I do today; … 20a The LORD will save me;…

1 John 5:11(100 AD) And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12 The one who has the Son has life. The one who doesn't have the Son of God does not have life. 13 I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life. 14 Now this is the confidence we have before Him: Whenever we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears whatever we ask, we know that we have what we have asked Him for.