Zephaniah 3:14-18

Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout aloud, O Israel!
Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem!
For the Lord will remove his hand of judgment and will disperse the armies of your enemy. And the Lord himself, the King of Israel, will live among you!
At last your troubles will be over, and you will never again fear disaster.
On that day the announcement to Jerusalem will be, “Cheer up, Zion! Don’t be afraid!
For the Lord your God is living among you.  He is a mighty savior.
He will take delight in you with gladness.  With his love, he will calm all your fears.
He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.
I will gather you who mourn for the appointed festivals; you will be disgraced no more.

I’ve always been amazed at the power of singing.  A song, with its melodies and lyrics, has the power to move us emotionally.  But, singing does something altogether unexplainable.  I recently read that the continuous singing of spiritual songs alters the part of our brains that process fear and anxiety, rewiring them to optimism and boldness.  Zephaniah opens his hopeful remarks about the coming Day of the Lord as something we should be celebrating.  “Sing!  Shout aloud!  Be glad!  Rejoice!”  This, of course, comes after a painful two and half chapters filled with woeful warnings of calamity and fear.  Israel’s enemies are coming for her.  They are bringing destruction – all because Israel turned away from God.  Zephaniah is reminding his people that it is now time to sing praises to the Lord for He is going to disperse their enemies. 

I am reminded of the story in 2 Chronicles 20:20-25, when Jehoshaphat addressed the terrified army of Israel before a battle they were surely to lose.  He said, “Trust in the Lord….and we will succeed.”  Then he appointed men in his army to sing as they entered into battle.  As they sang, God ambushed their enemies and were dispersed.  The singing of their praises to God is what moved His hand to give them their victory.  Woven throughout scripture is the idea that singing spiritual songs together accomplishes more than just praising God; it is also a means of engaging in spiritual warfare.  In the singing, we are claiming victory over our enemies – our temptations and sins, our fears and anxieties, our doubts, our shortcomings, and the devil himself – and glorifying God for being the Victorious One in our life.  But wait – it gets ever more awesome.  Zephaniah 3:17 reminds us that God delights in us and actually sings songs over us, too.  These joyful songs sung out of His purest love will calm our fears.  Now, if our songs are a weapon on the battlefield against the darkness, how much more of a weapon against darkness is the never-ending, undying song of God, which He sings ceaselessly over us with His perfect love?

The song also stands as monument to remind us that God is present with us.  He is here – present in our fears, failures, and struggles.  His presence in our midst is our hope.  “For the Lord your God is living among you.  He is a mighty savior.”  In Matthew 1:20-23, an angel of the Lord appears to Joseph in a dream, explaining that Mary would give birth to a son and that the baby’s name was to be Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.  Another name mentioned in this passage is Immanuel, which means “God with us.”  Hope has come.  Who was singing as Christ stepped into our world to dwell among us?  Was it not all of God’s heavenly army?  Did they not appear to the shepherds and sing the good news?  The news that the light has come into the darkness; the enemy has been defeated; and we have been given a spirit of hope and truth that is able to overcome all fear. In this season of Christmas, let us raise up our songs and sing!  Let our voices join the never-ending hymn of God’s love for us.  God is with us.