Second Tuesday of Advent – 9 December 2025
– You can ponder on the picture. For a method of praying with pictures click button below.
– You can pray on the words of Scripture. For methods of praying with scripture click button below.
– You can follow the suggestions in the daily ‘Reflection’.
– You can listen to the music
Today’s Scripture
Isaiah 40:1-11 ESV
Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her
that her warfare is ended,
that her iniquity is pardoned,
that she has received from the LORD’s hand
double for all her sins.
A voice cries:
‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD;
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.
And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together,
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.’
A voice says, ‘Cry!’
And I said, ‘What shall I cry?’
All flesh is grass,
and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.
The grass withers, the flower fades
when the breath of the LORD blows on it;
surely the people are grass.
The grass withers, the flower fades,
but the word of our God will stand for ever.
Go on up to a high mountain,
O Sion, herald of good news;
lift up your voice with strength,
O Jerusalem, herald of good news;
lift it up, fear not;
say to the cities of Judah,
‘Behold your God!’
Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might,
and his arm rules for him;
behold, his reward is with him,
and his recompense before him.
He will tend his flock like a shepherd;
he will gather the lambs in his arms;
he will carry them in his bosom,
and gently lead those that are with young.
Reflection
Isaiah adds to our understanding of who God is in these famous verses which feature in Handel’s Messiah. The God who comforts His people. (Who brings ‘strength with’ them). The God who is coming and for whom the way is to be prepared. But also a God whose coming is surprising. We are told, ‘The Lord God who comes with might and his arm rules for him’. But where we might now expect words of judgement and power we find, ‘He will tend his flock like a shepherd’, carrying the lambs close to His heart.
Who are you aware of in your situation who is in need of comfort from God, tender care from the strong Shepherd God? How might God be inviting you to work with Him to bring that comfort and tenderness?
Today’s Music
Comfort, Comfort, O My People