fasting

i think these verses of isaiah, regarding the blessings of the fast, are so beautiful and poetic. i have received countless blessings from fasting and and am so grateful for this commandment.


is not this the fast that i have chosen?
to loose the bands of wickedness,
to undo the heavy burdens,
and to let the oppressed go free,
and that ye break every yoke?

is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry,
and that thou bring the poor
that are cast out to thy house?
when thou seest the naked,
that thou cover him;
and that thou hide not thyself
from thine own flesh?

then shall thy light break forth as the morning,
and thine health shall spring forth speedily:
and thy righteousness shall go before thee;
the glory of the Lord shall be they rereward.
{protection}

then shalt thou call,
and the Lord shall answer;
thou shalt cry, and he shall say,
Here I am.
if thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke,
the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;

and if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry,
and satisfy the afflicted soul;
then shall thy light rise in obscurity,
and they darkness be as the noonday:

and the Lord shall guide thee continually,
and satisfy thy soul in drought,
and make fat thy bones:
and thou shalt be like a watered garden,
and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.

and they that shall be of thee
shall build the old waste places:
thou shalt raise up the foundations
of many generations;
and thou shalt be called,
the repairer of the breach,
the restorer of paths to dwell in.

isaiah 58:6-12