Isaiah 41:1-7

‘Be silent before me, you islands! Let the nations renew their strength! Let them come forward and speak; let us meet together at the place of judgment. ‘Who has stirred up one from the east, calling him in righteousness to his service? He hands nations over to him and subdues kings before him. He turns them to dust with his sword, to wind-blown chaff with his bow. He pursues them and moves on unscathed, by a path his feet have not travelled before. Who has done this and carried it through, calling forth the generations from the beginning? I, the LORD – with the first of them and with the last – I am he.’ The islands have seen it and fear; the ends of the earth tremble. They approach and come forward; they help each other and say to their companions, ‘Be strong!’ The metalworker encourages the goldsmith, and the one who smooths with the hammer spurs on the one who strikes the anvil. One says of the welding, ‘It is good.’ The other nails down the idol so that it will not topple.