Wednesday, December 12, 2007

A God Who Sings For Joy

"The LORD your God is in your midst, The Mighty One, will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing."
Zephaniah 3:17 (NKJV)

Although the Old Testament Prophet spoke these words regarding the nation of Israel, I believe these words reflect God's love for all His children. I love the last line, "He will rejoice over you with singing". When I read that I picture a mother holding her blanketed infant, humming a lullaby--full of joy and love for her precious child. The little one returns her gaze and coos with contentment.

God loves you like that. In the old King James Version it reads, "He will joy over thee with singing". 'Joy' is used not as a noun, a thing, but as a verb, an action word.

God actively "joys" over you, and bursts into song, overwhelmed with his own love for you.

That is the message of Christmas:

"The angel said to the shepherds, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ (Messiah), the Lord." (Luke 2:10-11)

"All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet (Isaiah 7:14): "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" --which means, "God with us." (Matthew 1:22-23)

"The LORD your God is in your midst...quieting you with His love...rejoicing over you with singing."

Merry CHRISTmas

2 comments:

Was said...

As I ponder the joy of Christ, I rejoice in my 10th "rebirth day." 10 years ago I was baptized in the name of Christ.

Brian said...

Merry Christmas, Jim!