Zephaniah 3:17 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 singing.
Oh, of a truth Friends, it’s a wonderful God we worship. A God who dwells both in and amongst us, and we have much reason to be glad. Today, He’s provided us with another beautiful day in Paradise. In comparison to 90% of the world, those of us reading this are living in Paradise. So let’s give Him thanks and praise for the fact that we have a roof over our heads, clean, comfortable clothes on our backs and food to eat. We are even able to agonize over choices in what to wear or eat. A great proportion of mankind doesn’t even have the bare necessities. Today’s Bit was Zephaniah’s prophecy for the remnant of Israel, after the Lord had purged the ungodly. It would be an exceedingly bright day for those who walk in obedience to Him. Friends, the same thing applies to us today. The Lord’s mercy and generosity will abundantly flow out on His people. Zephaniah exclaims: ‘Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. The Lord hath taken away thy judgements, he hath cast out thine enemy: the king of Israel, even the Lord, is in the midst of thee: thou shalt not see evil anymore.’ (Zeph.3:14-15) The last part, re not seeing evil anymore, might be stretching it a bit in today’s world, because it’s just like Israel back then. ‘She obeyed not the voice; she received not correction; she trusted not in the Lord; she drew not near to her God. Her princes within her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves…Her prophets are light and treacherous persons; her priests have polluted the sanctuary…’ (Zeph.3:2-4) Oh people, can you imagine that thousands of years later, even with the coming of Christ and the destruction that God has heaped on the disobedient during that time, our world is still like Israel; still bent on glorifying the enemy and not the Lord Jehovah? But take heart Friends; there’s a bright light a shining; the light of Christ. ‘The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty;’ Oh yes people! Jesus is in us and all around us! And He certainly is mighty! There’s no doubt about His great power; we see and experience it everyday, both in our lives and the forces of nature. ‘He will save…’ Blessed be the name of Our Saviour, Jesus Christ! He’s already done that Friends, by dying on the cross at Calvary. ‘He will rejoice over thee with joy…’ He’s doing that too people. Ever since He conquered death and rose again, He’s been celebrating the addition of each new believer and the faithfulness of all who walk in his footsteps. ‘As the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee.’ (Isa.62:5) ‘He will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing,’ Wow! It’s so great to hear that Our Lord will provide peace and quiet for us with His abiding LOVE. That’s what the Holy Spirit is doing right now in all our hearts. Can’t you feel it people? That great surge of mercy, tenderness and forgiveness that’s coursing through our souls! That’s the LOVE of our God bringing peace and security to our lives. And Friends, each time a new believer is born, or one comes to Christ, or for each obedient step we take, the heavenly choir of angels bursts forth in song! Don’t you hear them singing songs of praise, joy and thanksgiving right now? Can’t you hear their glorious melodies? Ah Friends, just listen…with your heart, and you will. Much LOVE!…there’s endless joy in heaven…whenever we do right…
Oh, of a truth Friends, it’s a wonderful God we worship. A God who dwells both in and amongst us, and we have much reason to be glad. Today, He’s provided us with another beautiful day in Paradise. In comparison to 90% of the world, those of us reading this are living in Paradise. So let’s give Him thanks and praise for the fact that we have a roof over our heads, clean, comfortable clothes on our backs and food to eat. We are even able to agonize over choices in what to wear or eat. A great proportion of mankind doesn’t even have the bare necessities. Today’s Bit was Zephaniah’s prophecy for the remnant of Israel, after the Lord had purged the ungodly. It would be an exceedingly bright day for those who walk in obedience to Him. Friends, the same thing applies to us today. The Lord’s mercy and generosity will abundantly flow out on His people. Zephaniah exclaims: ‘Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. The Lord hath taken away thy judgements, he hath cast out thine enemy: the king of Israel, even the Lord, is in the midst of thee: thou shalt not see evil anymore.’ (Zeph.3:14-15) The last part, re not seeing evil anymore, might be stretching it a bit in today’s world, because it’s just like Israel back then. ‘She obeyed not the voice; she received not correction; she trusted not in the Lord; she drew not near to her God. Her princes within her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves…Her prophets are light and treacherous persons; her priests have polluted the sanctuary…’ (Zeph.3:2-4) Oh people, can you imagine that thousands of years later, even with the coming of Christ and the destruction that God has heaped on the disobedient during that time, our world is still like Israel; still bent on glorifying the enemy and not the Lord Jehovah? But take heart Friends; there’s a bright light a shining; the light of Christ. ‘The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty;’ Oh yes people! Jesus is in us and all around us! And He certainly is mighty! There’s no doubt about His great power; we see and experience it everyday, both in our lives and the forces of nature. ‘He will save…’ Blessed be the name of Our Saviour, Jesus Christ! He’s already done that Friends, by dying on the cross at Calvary. ‘He will rejoice over thee with joy…’ He’s doing that too people. Ever since He conquered death and rose again, He’s been celebrating the addition of each new believer and the faithfulness of all who walk in his footsteps. ‘As the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee.’ (Isa.62:5) ‘He will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing,’ Wow! It’s so great to hear that Our Lord will provide peace and quiet for us with His abiding LOVE. That’s what the Holy Spirit is doing right now in all our hearts. Can’t you feel it people? That great surge of mercy, tenderness and forgiveness that’s coursing through our souls! That’s the LOVE of our God bringing peace and security to our lives. And Friends, each time a new believer is born, or one comes to Christ, or for each obedient step we take, the heavenly choir of angels bursts forth in song! Don’t you hear them singing songs of praise, joy and thanksgiving right now? Can’t you hear their glorious melodies? Ah Friends, just listen…with your heart, and you will. Much LOVE!…there’s endless joy in heaven…whenever we do right…
SCRIP-BITS 