“Jesus, refuge of the weary, Blest Redeemer, whom we love, Fountain in life’s desert dreary, Savior from the world above” (LSB 423:1). Judean exiles in Babylon were weary! They were stuck with sights and sounds that were so different. How they longed to be free! Enter Cyrus, a Persian king, whom God calls His “anointed one” (Isaiah 45:1). When we feel as though the devil has locked the gate and thrown away the key, God sends us Jesus, who is the Anointed One! During His earthly ministry, He opened eyes and ears and hearts—He even opened graves! At one point Jesus promised, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36). And so we sing, “Jesus, may our hearts be burning With more fervent love for You; May our eyes be ever turning To behold Your cross anew” (LSB 423:3).

 Isaiah 45:1–8

1Thus says the Lord to His anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him and to loose the belts of kings, to open doors before him that gates may not be closed: 2“I will go before you and level the exalted places, I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron, 3I will give you the treasures of darkness and the hoards in secret places, that you may know that it is I, the Lord, the God of Israel, who call you by your name. 4For the sake of My servant Jacob, and Israel My chosen, I call you by your name, I name you, though you do not know Me. 5I am the Lord, and there is no other, besides Me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know Me, 6that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides Me; I am the Lord, and there is no other. 7I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the Lord, who does all these things. 8“Shower, O heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain down righteousness; let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit; let the earth cause them both to sprout; I the Lord have created it.”