βSing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heartβ¦the king of Israel, even the LORD, is in the midst of theeβ¦The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; He will save, He will rejoice over thee with joy; He will rest in His love, He will joy over thee with singingβ (Zeph. 3:14-17).
The majority of the book of Zephaniah rumbles with judgment and doom, but it culminates with joy and deliverance. The prophecy builds to a crescendo at the end, as within the kingdom of heaven on the earth there will be cause for great joy. The reason for their joy is that βthe King of Israel, even the Lordβ is in Israelβs midst. Christβs personal presence among Israel in the kingdom on earth, reigning over them as her King, will be the cause for their greatest joy. Because of this, Israel is told to sing, shout, be glad and rejoice with all her heart.
Paul tells the Church, the Body of Christ to βRejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoiceβ (Phil. 4:4). The Lord is the reason for our joy and gladness. We too sing because of the Lord. ColossiansΒ 3:16Β tells us to be βsinging with grace in your heartsΒ to the Lord.β We sing to the Lord out of our joy because of Him and all He has done for us.
Within the kingdom on earth, Israel is told also that the Lord will rejoice overΒ them. βHe will rest in His love,β speaks of a still, silent joy by the Lord for Israel, but then He will break the silence withΒ singingΒ in His joy over His people!
The Lord loves us, the Body of Christ, just as much as He loves Israel. Out of His infinite love for you and me, He rejoices over us also with a joy so strong that it would cause Him to sing over us. It reminds us how the love of Christ βpasseth knowledgeβ (Eph.Β 3:19). The Lord loves us so deeply that He willingly gave His life on the Cross for our sins. When we place our faith in Christ and that He died for us and rose again (1 Cor. 15:1-4), we are saved, and we rejoice in the Lord always who fully purchased our salvation. But our Savior also rejoices overΒ usΒ that we belong to Him eternally. The voice of God that created all things, stilled the storm, and will raise the dead at the Rapture;Β thatΒ voice sings over His deep joy for His redeemed. One day in glory we will hear the God who sings. source
