Isaiah 59:9-21

¶Therefore justice is far from us, And righteousness does not overtake us. We [expectantly] hope for light, but only see darkness; We hope for gleam of light, but we walk in darkness and gloom. We grope for a wall like the blind, We grope like those who have no eyes. We stumble at midday as in the twilight; Among those who are healthy we are like dead men. We all groan and growl like bears, And coo sadly like doves; We hope for justice, but there is none, For salvation, but it is far from us. For our transgressions are multiplied before You [O LORD], And our sins testify against us; For our transgressions are with us, And we know and recognize our wickedness [our sin, our injustice, our wrongdoing]: Rebelling against and denying the LORD, Turning away from [following] our God, Speaking oppression and revolt, Conceiving and muttering from the heart lying words. Justice is pushed back, And righteous behavior stands far away; For truth has fallen in the city square, And integrity cannot enter. Yes, truth is missing; And he who turns away from evil makes himself a prey. N ow the LORD saw it, And it displeased Him that there was no justice. He saw that there was no man, And was amazed that there was no one to intercede [on behalf of truth and right]; Therefore His own arm brought salvation to Him, And His own righteousness sustained Him. [Is 53:11; Col 2:9; 1 John 2:1, 2] For He [the LORD] put on righteousness like a coat of armor, And salvation like a helmet on His head; He put on garments of vengeance for clothing And covered Himself with zeal [and great love for His people] as a cloak. [Eph 6:14, 17; 1 Thess 5:8] As their deeds deserve, so He will repay: Wrath to His adversaries, retribution to His enemies; To the islands and coastlands He will repay. So they will fear the name of the LORD from the west And His glory from the rising of the sun. For He will come in like a narrow, rushing stream Which the breath of the LORD drives [overwhelming the enemy]. [Matt 8:11; Luke 13:29] “A Redeemer (Messiah) will come to Zion, And to those in Jacob (Israel) who turn from transgression (sin),” declares the LORD. “As for Me, this is My covenant with them,” says the LORD: “My Spirit which is upon you [writing the law of God on the heart], and My words which I have put in your mouth shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouths of your [true, spiritual] children, nor from the mouth of your children’s children,” says the LORD, “from now and forever.” [Jer 31:33; Rom 11:26, 27; Gal 3:29; Heb 12:22-24]