Isaiah 41:1-7

“You lands of the sea, stand silent before me! Let the people renew their strength! Let them approach me and state their case. Let’s come together to decide who is right. Who raised up the conqueror from the east? Who commissioned him for his righteous purpose? The Lord hands nations over to him to trample kings under his feet, to make them like dust with his sword and like windblown chaff with his bow. Swiftly he pursues them and advances unscathed as he passes over unfamiliar land. Who achieved all this and made it happen? Who guides the destiny of each generation from the first until now? I am the one! I am YAHWEH, the first, the unchanging one who will be there in the end!” The islands see it and panic; the ends of the earth tremble; they approach and draw near. The idol-makers all bolster one another up, saying, “Take courage!” The woodworker encourages the metalsmith; the one who flattens with the hammer spurs on the one who strikes the anvil, saying of the welding, “Looks good!” They nail down the idol so it won’t topple.