Victory by God’s Grace

“Listen, O Israel! Today you are about to cross the Jordan River to take over the land belonging to nations much greater and more powerful than you. They live in cities with walls that reach to the sky!

“But now we have been given a brief moment of grace, for the Lord our God has allowed a few of us to survive as a remnant. He has given us security in this holy place. Our God has brightened our eyes and granted us some relief from our slavery.

“I want to emphasize Leviathan’s limbs and its enormous strength and graceful form.

For the Lord God is our sun and our shield. He gives us grace and glory. The Lord will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right.

May our sons flourish in their youth like well-nurtured plants. May our daughters be like graceful pillars, carved to beautify a palace.

What you learn from them will crown you with grace and be a chain of honor around your neck.

She is a loving deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts satisfy you always. May you always be captivated by her love.

Young Women of Jerusalem

Return, return to us, O maid of Shulam. Come back, come back, that we may see you again.

Young Man

Why do you stare at this young woman of Shulam, as she moves so gracefully between two lines of dancers?

“Foreigners will come to rebuild your towns, and their kings will serve you. For though I have destroyed you in my anger, I will now have mercy on you through my grace.

“Then I will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on the family of David and on the people of Jerusalem. They will look on me whom they have pierced and mourn for him as for an only son. They will grieve bitterly for him as for a firstborn son who has died.