Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with a joy that is indescribable and glorious. For you are achieving the goal of your faith, that is, the salvation of your souls.
The Lord, your God, is in your midst, a warrior and a savior. He will rejoice over you with gladness and renew you through his love. He will exult over you with shouts of joy.
I rejoice in the Lord with all my heart; my soul exults in my God. For he has clothed me in garments of salvation and wrapped me in a robe of saving justice, like a bridegroom adorned with a garland or a bride bedecked with her jewels.
God blessed them and told them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth; subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the seas and over the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves upon the earth.”
With our eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. For the sake of the joy that lay before him, he endured the cross, ignoring its shame, and is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Because I delivered the poor who appealed for help and the orphan who had no one to protect him. The blessing of the wretched was given to me, and I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy.
For I know full well the plans I have for you, plans for your welfare and not for your misfortune, plans that will offer you a future filled with hope.