servant songs – Sojourners y Peregrinas

READ and OBSERVE: Read Isaiah 54:1-10.

List the action verbs in verses 1-4. Circle them according to the way they are grouped in the passage (for example: sing, burst, shout from verse 1).
Focus your attention on verse 5. Although the word “servant” doesn’t appear in this section, verse 5 is talking about the Suffering Servant. What names are given to the Servant in this verse?
Read verses 6-8. Divide your paper into two columns. On alternate sides, write the compared statements: for example: “For a brief moment I abandoned you / With deep compassion I will bring you back.”
Read verses 9-10. To what does God compare his love for his people?

REFLECT: Using your notes from the reading, reflect on the following:

In verses 1-4, what feelings are evoked by the groups of verbs? Write your observations.
In verse 5, reflect on what these names say about the Servant. Who is he, and what is his relationship to his people?
In verses 6-10, what impressions do you have when you compare these statements? What do they say about God?

APPLY: Write what you have learned about God from this passage.

How can this knowledge help you put things into perspective?
How can looking at things from the eternal perspective of God, help you to understand how the present might be different than it seems?
For what can you give thanks because of this understanding?

PRAY: Reread the verses that particularly speak to you. As you read, turn the words into a prayer. Spend some time in silence, enjoying the love God has for you, his child.