The
pure Word of Israel’s God
Sprang
whole cloth woven in my mind,
A
Word that could not be denied.
With
it came the certain knowledge,
“I
have been anointed with fresh oil.”
One
day when I was younger,
Decades
have slipped away,
I
stood at Sabbath reading,
Tasseled
tallus o’er my head,
His
Word leaping from the scroll.
“Comfort
ye, comfort ye my people,
Speak
ye tenderly to Jerusalem:
‘Thy
long warfare is ended and
Thine
iniquity is pardoned!’”
The
Word burned within my soul.
I
cried: “These words are now my words
God’s
true Word spoken unto me.
I
shall not die until I see
The
comfort of God’s Israel.”
Pious
skepticism meets such words,
“There
is no Word
save
only a famine of the Word.”
His
Word I buried very deep,
A
heavy burden from my Lord,
Where
too often Words that challenge
Our
precious lives are stored.
Today
that Word has come again.
“Comfort
ye, comfort ye my people
Speak
comfortably to Jerusalem
Cry
out to her, her warfare has ended,
Her
iniquity is pardoned;
Now
is the acceptable time,
Now
is the day of salvation.”
Now
an old man
I
stand within God’s temple,
His
Word a burning flame within.
“I
have been anointed with fresh oil.
The
time has come to cry aloud,
This
day is the day Messiah comes.
"Lord,
you now have set your servant free *
To
go in peace as you have promised;
For
these eyes of mine have seen the Saviour, *
Whom
you have prepared for all the world to see;
A
light to lighten the Gentiles, *
And
the glory of your people Israel.”
