One of my favorite set of verses is in Zephaniah. I love music and I love hearing gifted singers do what God created them to do. But, the fact that the God of the universe sings over me just about blows my mind apart.
It makes me wonder what His voice sounds like. One of my favorite male voices is that of the actor, Dale Midkiff, in the DVD "Love Comes Softly." His voice is just plain tender. Not tender in a feminine way, but tender in a "I am the most compassionate man in the world and I have come to rescue you" kind of way. I think I could listen to that voice all day long.
It is probably wrong to think of God's voice in human terms, but I still wonder...if He were singing over me, just what would that sound like?
Zephaniah chapter three says:
“14 Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! 15 The LORD has taken away the judgments against you; he has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; you shall never again fear evil. 16 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’” (ESV).
The KJV says He will "Joy over thee with singing."
On this incredible text, C.H. Spurgeon said:
“I can understand a minister rejoicing over a soul that he has brought to Christ; I can also understand believers rejoicing to see others saved from sin and hell; but what shall I say of the infinitely happy and eternally-blessed God finding, as it were, a new joy in souls redeemed? This is another of those great wonders that cluster around the work of divine grace! … The Lord takes pleasure in them that fear him, imperfect though they be. He sees them as they are to be, and so he rejoices over them, even when they cannot rejoice in themselves. When your face is blurred with tears, your eyes red with weeping, and your heart heavy with sorrow for sin, the great Father is rejoicing over you. The prodigal son wept in his Father’s bosom, but the Father rejoiced over his son. We are questioning, doubting, sorrowing, trembling; and all the while he who sees the end from the beginning knows what will come out of the present disquietude, and therefore rejoices. Let us rise in faith to share the joy of God.” (sermons from 1837, #1990)
If you are waiting quietly for Him with expectation and prayer, He is singing over you. If you are trusting even though it seems like you don't have a reason to, He is singing over you. If you are returning to Him after a long drought of doing things on your own, He is singing over you.
He personally delights in you and one day you will hear Him audibly sing a love song over you.
Did you know that Jesus is the exact representation of God and that we can find Him singing as He walked this earth?
In Matthew 26, Jesus is in the upper room with his disciples. It is the last time his close followers will ever enjoy a meal with Jesus. Verse 30 says they sang a hymn together and then immediately went out into the mount of Olives where their friend and savior would be arrested and later killed.
I wonder what kind of courage it took for Jesus to sing a hymn to God, knowing what lay ahead in the next few hours. He shows us that worship is the right response even when the future seems bleak and we would rather run away from God's plan.
I wonder what kind of song was coming out of His Father's mouth as His one and only Son hung upon that tree? It had to be equal parts victory cry and tender sob as the plan for redemption was unfolding.
God Almighty sings over you. Bend your ear and listen...
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