Sing for Joy

Jesus throughout the Scriptures: Pre-exilic Prophets 4 (2)

Pray Psalm 33.1-5.
Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous!
For praise from the upright is beautiful.
Praise the LORD with the harp;
Make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings.
Sing to Him a new song;
Play skillfully with a shout of joy.
For the word of the LORD is right,
And all His work is done in truth.
He loves righteousness and justice;
The earth is full of the goodness of the LORD.

Sing Psalm 33.1-5.
(Truro: Shout, for the Blessed Jesus Reigns)
Sing with rejoicing in the LORD, for praise becomes His righteous ones!
With harps and songs raise grateful words, and let new songs of praise be sung!

Joyfully shout! His Word is true; He does His work in faithfulness.
His love prevails the whole world through; the LORD loves truth and righteousness.

Read Zephaniah 3.14-20; meditate on verses 14 and 15.

Preparation
1. Why should the people sing for joy?

2. Where will the LORD be?

Meditation
A day of restoration is coming for those who wait on the LORD (vv. 8, 9). God always has a remnant which remains faithful to Him, to “serve Him with one accord.” These meek and humble people trust in Him and walk the path of righteousness according to His Law (vv. 12, 13). A day is coming, by the grace of God, when this faithful people will “lie down, and no one will make them afraid” (v. 13).

And why is that? Because God will remove judgment from them. He will destroy their enemy and grant them His salvation (vv. 14-16). They will know peace and love as the LORD Himself rejoices over them (v. 17). The prophet does not reveal how this removing of judgment is to take place; he merely proclaims that, by the grace of God, it shall.

Once judgment is removed, the gathering of God’s faithful people begins (vv. 19, 20). He will make them like the mountain of the LORD’s house which we saw in Isaiah 2 and Micah 4 (v. 20). Then they will be set free and will know “fame and praise among all the peoples of the earth.” 

And the greatest promise of all: “The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst” (v. 15). God Himself will come among them, will be among them, and will protect and prosper them according to all His Word. This is the work that Jesus came to do, and which He is continuing to do now as He reigns at the Father’s right hand.

Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
Nothing rivals the tender joy of holding a newborn infant—the attending sights, sounds, aromas, touch—and the experience brings forth a lullaby. Somewhere deep within we long to verbally share what our heart is experiencing. 

Although this verse is written for God’s people, we can almost imagine Him singing this lullaby to His Son Jesus:
“Do not fear…let not your hands be weak. The LORD your God [Abba, Father] 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” (Zeph. 3.16, 17).

“This is My beloved Son, in Whom I AM well pleased” (Matt. 3.17).
“This is My beloved Son, in Whom I AM well pleased. Hear Him!” (Matt. 17.5)

And God’s beloved Son Jesus, took upon Himself the sins, iniquities, and transgression of all mankind; He paid the ultimate price of death as the Lamb of God; and He rose from the dead, as The Overcomer, The Conqueror, The Absolver of the power of sin and death.

We dare not leave Him in the cradle. He IS the Ruler of the world, the King of kings and Lord of lords.
As John Milton (1608-1674) so beautifully penned in On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity concerning Jesus’ victory over His foes:
Our Babe, to show His Godhead true;
Can in His swaddling band control the damned crew (stanza XXV).

His Sovereignty established, now we can enjoy God singing His lullaby over us:
“Do not fear…let not your hands be weak. The LORD your God 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” (Zeph. 3.16, 17).

Imagine that. Because Jesus has taken our “filthy rags” (Is. 64.6) and “washed them in His blood” (Eph. 6.11; Rev. 1.5) we are now newborns that God snuggles and sings to. He rocks us and holds us, “the eternal God is our refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms” (Deut. 33.27).

And in response we Sing and Shout!
We are glad and rejoice with all our hearts,
because the LORD has taken away our judgments,
He has cast out our enemy.
The King of Israel, the LORD, is in our midst;
we shall see and fear disaster no more (Zeph. 3.14, 15).

And here is the summation:
“For by grace you have been saved through faith,
and that not of yourselves;
it is the gift of God,
not of works,
lest anyone should boast.
For we are His workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus for good works,
which God prepared beforehand
that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2.8-10).

And all the while, being sung over by God, and encouraged by a “great cloud of witnesses” (Heb. 12.1).
And we, singing and shouting for joy, because of Jesus!

Reflection
1. How much does singing with joy factor into your relationship with the Lord?

2. Meditate on “He will rejoice over you with singing” (v. 17). How do you respond?

3. How will the King of Israel show that He is in your midst today?

After the promises of taking away sin, follow promises of taking away trouble. When the cause is removed, the effect will cease. What makes a people holy, will make them happy. Matthew Henry (1662-1714), Commentary on Zephaniah 3.14-20

Pray Psalm 33.13-22.
Praise the LORD, for He has removed judgment from us. He watches over us day by day. He gives us strength to serve Him. He will deliver us from death and the grave. Wait on Him in silent meditation, and call on Him for mercy and grace to help you throughout this day.

Sing Psalm 33.13-22.
(Truro: Shout, for the Blessed Jesus Reigns)
God from His throne looks down on men; He knows our works and made our hearts.
Let not Your Church, let none depend on strength or skill or human arts.

God watches those who fear His Name, who hope upon His grace and love:
He keeps their souls from death and shame who trust in Him Who reigns above.

God is our Helper and our Shield; upon us let Your grace descend!
We hope in You; to You we yield; we trust in Jesus to the end.

T. M. and Susie Moore

If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).

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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.