I came across this in my Bible reading today:
On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:
“Fear not, O Zion;
let not your hands grow weak.
17 The Lord your God is in your midst,
a mighty one who will save;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing. – Zephaniah 3:16-17
These are some of my favorite words in the minor prophets. Zephaniah’s words have been hard to Israel – he has warned them greatly, but then promised that the Lord, who will keep a remnant with him forever, will change hearts, will forgive sin, and will be their God forever. But look at the relational emotion at play – the Lord, the mighty one, is with you – he’s in your midst. And he will save you – and oftentimes we can think of that as if God is saving his people reluctantly, like some cosmic, ‘Yeah, I guess,’ in attitude. But that’s not what we see here at all. He rejoices over his people; he is glad you are with him. And further than that, he rejoices over you with loud singing. Imagine that picture. The Lord singing loudly – like the way you sing in the shower loudly. With rejoicing and gladness – it’s awesome. It means that our response to him had better be the same – do we love singing his praises?! Does it make you glad?!
Then notice the contrast – he will also quiet you with his love. He settles the hearts of weary sinners; Zephaniah goes on to say that he will cause them to graze and lie down in the pasture, these needy sheep. They will no longer be afraid. The imagery matches that of David’s in Psalm 23. Sheep almost never lie down – it’s too risky. They won’t be ready to move when the wolves come. But here is a picture of absolute serenity – there is no threat for those who love Jesus – nothing can make them afraid, not ultimately. The Lord is a comforting Father who is always there for his frantic children – we, like awe-filled children, look at his mercy in great wonder, and let it be a comfort. The Lord’s love is personal, dramatic, relatable, and permanent.