8 In a little wrath I hid my face from thee [Zion] for a moment;

but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer.

9 For this is as the waters of Noah unto me:

for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth;

so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee. (Isaiah 54:8-9)

I always had a hard time seeing how these two ideas were associated together, but I finally got it. The Lord compares the time that Zion has been desolate to the time of Noah when the floods were over the earth with all that rain. Then He says that just as He promised Noah that He would never flood the earth so badly again, He promises everlasting kindness forthwith to Zion.

I find that very encouraging for these days, don’t you?