Can You Hear it? The Love Song of the Ages!

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 3:17

I want you to listen today so that you can hear something.  In order to hear what I want you to hear – you will have to pay attention to what is happening in the spirit world.  If you are not careful to do this – you may miss hearing this wonderful song.

When was the last time someone sang because of you?  Some women have the joy of having a troubadour come beneath their window and serenade them with music and song.  When this happens, the woman is most often touched by the gesture – and she feels very loved.  But not every woman is fortunate enough to have someone do this for her. 

I read a passage today that pretty much blew my mind – and made me know that I am very loved.  Please note that I avoided the phrase, “felt like I am loved,” because it was wholly inappropriate for what happened.  I KNEW I WAS LOVED!  Here is the kicker, though . . . YOU CAN KNOW TOO!

The prophet Zephaniah spoke of something God was doing – and would do.  He was working wonderfully with His people – and He was “saving” them as a result!  What a glorious thing this was – and still is!  But even more glorious than this is how God reacts to His “saved ones” in whom He is working.

There are two sounds I want you to hear – and the fact of their occurrence is verified here by the prophet Zephaniah.  The first is that the God who saved you is rejoicing over you with great gladness!  There is something you need to hear – God is rejoicing over His saving work in your life.  As you grow in grace, as you grow in your understanding of Who He is, as you grow in your faith, and as He sanctifies you more and more (and this is even as you struggle and fail and have difficulty) God rejoices continually in what is happening in your heart and life!  He is thrilled over the ongoing changes that are happening in you.  But there is more – and this is what truly amazes me.

God sings over you!  Remember the beginning of this article?  The prophet Zephaniah revealed to the people of Israel – and to all those who would experience God’s salvation in the future – that God sings over us.  For those of you who maybe doubt God’s love – He is not singing to blues either.  The word used here is very instructive to us.  The word for singing here is “ranan.”  This is a Hebrew word that means a ringing cry, a loud shout, or loud, almost rambunctious singing.  The idea behind the singing and shouting is that jubilation is at the core of it.  God sings for joy – filled with jubilation and excitement over how He saves us!  He is rejoicing because of His grace.  We read in Ephesians 1 that the marvelous salvation God has given us should be seen in the context of “the praise of the glory of His grace!”  That is what is happening here.  God is singing and shouting jubilantly not because of some great thing in us prior to salvation.  He is singing and shouting because of the very glory of His grace given to us.  He wants to sing for joy because how we’ve been redeemed – and how that redemption reveals the love and the true character of God.  Oh, what a thrill to see grace at work, and it is such a thrill that God Himself is moved to song over it – and He sings over us as that grace is revealed in our salvation and transformation.  I remember reading that the angels sing and shout for joy when a sinner repents.  This is even more awesome – that God Himself sings all through the process of our salvation. 

I want to offer a word of great encouragement to all those reading this.  God loves you!  He loved you enough to provide blood – the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ to pay for your sin.  He loved you enough to give you, as a gift, the very righteousness of His Son so you could be acceptable in His sight.  He loves you throughout the rest of your life as He sanctifies you  - drawing you to Himself – changing and transforming you by His grace.  He loves you and longs for the day when faith shall be sight – when the very presence of sin will be taken away at your glorification.  He loves you so much that He sings loudly with shouts of joy over the salvation He watches at work in you.  So the next time you wonder how God feels about you – oh, dear saint of God, listen.  Don’t listen for what you can hear with your physical ear.  Listen with the ears of your heart – listen with your spirit – read the Word of God, Zephaniah 3:17 especially, but read with understanding and grace the glorious truth of His singing.  Listen for you will hear the exalted Lord of the universe sing of the grace that has been lavishly applied to you.  He sings for joy – shouts with great gladness.  He does so because more than you can know, more than you can imagine, and more than you can ever comprehend . . . He loves you!