A fitting passage from the Prophet Isaiah.

I stumbled across it today in my copy of the Knox translation. I just like it:

Let the islands cease their clamour, and come to me, let the peoples of the world take heart afresh; and so let them come and plead their cause; we will submit the question to an arbiter, they and I. Tell me, who was it summoned his faithful servant from the east, beckoned him to follow? The nations should be at his mercy, kings subdued at his coming; flying like dust before his sword, scattered like chaff in the wind at the threat of his bow. He should rout them in battle, and pass through their country unmolested, leaving not a footprint behind him. Who was the author, the doer of all this, but I, the Lord, who summon all the ages into being? Before all, and at the end of all, I am. The islands have seen it, and trembled at the sight; the remotest parts of the world have been smitten with dismay; they draw near, and obey the summons.

But thou, Israel, my servant, thou, Jacob, on whom my choice has fallen, art sprung from that Abraham, who was my friend; in his person, I led thee by the hand from the ends of the earth, beckoning thee from far away, and still I whispered to thee, My servant thou art, chosen, not rejected. Have no fear, I am with thee; do not hesitate, am I not thy God? I am here to strengthen and protect thee; faithful the right hand that holds thee up. Thou shalt see all thy enemies disappointed and put to the blush; what are they? A very nothing, those adversaries of thine; they must vanish away; thou wilt look in vain for the men who troubled thee, fought against thee; thy search is for a very nothing, a memory of the past. It is I, the Lord thy God, that hold thee by the hand and whisper to thee, Do not be afraid, I am here to help thee.

Isaias (Isaiah) 41: 1-5, 8-13.