"My word is like the snow and the rain that come down from the sky to water the earth. They make the crops grow and provide seed for planting and food to eat.

So also will be the word that I speak--- it will not fail to do what I plan for it; it will do everything I send it to do.

And I will always guide you and satisfy you with good things. I will keep you strong and well. You will be like a garden that has plenty of water, like a spring of water that never goes dry.

Wake up, North Wind. South Wind, blow on my garden; fill the air with fragrance. Let my lover come to his garden and eat the best of its fruits.

I have entered my garden, my sweetheart, my bride. I am gathering my spices and myrrh; I am eating my honey and honeycomb; I am drinking my wine and milk. Eat, lovers, and drink until you are drunk with love!

He used parables to tell them many things. "Once there was a man who went out to sow grain.

But some seeds fell in good soil, and the plants bore grain: some had one hundred grains, others sixty, and others thirty."

And the seeds sown in the good soil stand for those who hear the message and understand it: they bear fruit, some as much as one hundred, others sixty, and others thirty."

Jesus went on to say, "The Kingdom of God is like this. A man scatters seed in his field.

The soil itself makes the plants grow and bear fruit; first the tender stalk appears, then the head, and finally the head full of grain.

"What shall we say the Kingdom of God is like?" asked Jesus. "What parable shall we use to explain it?

After a while it grows up and becomes the biggest of all plants. It puts out such large branches that the birds come and make their nests in its shade."

I will send victory from the sky like rain; the earth will open to receive it and will blossom with freedom and justice. I, the LORD, will make this happen."

I will speak out to encourage Jerusalem; I will not be silent until she is saved, And her victory shines like a torch in the night.

May the land enjoy prosperity; may it experience righteousness.

May there be plenty of grain in the land; may the hills be covered with crops, as fruitful as those of Lebanon. May the cities be filled with people, like fields full of grass.

Human loyalty will reach up from the earth, and God's righteousness will look down from heaven.

The sounds of violence will be heard no more; Destruction will not shatter your country again. I will protect and defend you like a wall; You will praise me because I have saved you.

They must give him no rest until he restores Jerusalem And makes it a city the whole world praises.

But you are the chosen race, the King's priests, the holy nation, God's own people, chosen to proclaim the wonderful acts of God, who called you out of darkness into his own marvelous light.