A Call to Rest

For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel,
“In returning and rest you shall be saved;
   in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.”
But you were unwilling, 16 and you said,
“No! We will flee upon horses”;
   therefore you shall flee away;
and, “We will ride upon swift steeds”;
   therefore your pursuers shall be swift.
17 A thousand shall flee at the threat of one;
   at the threat of five you shall flee,
till you are left
   like a flagstaff on the top of a mountain,
   like a signal on a hill.

18 Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you,
   and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you.
For the Lord is a God of justice;
   blessed are all those who wait for him.

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