Zephaniah chapter 3, let me read
verses 14 through 17. Zephaniah right past Haggai,
chapter, I'm sorry, right before Haggai. Yeah, Habakkuk and Zephaniah. Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai. Zephaniah chapter three, the
last, there's only three chapters, and starting verse 14. Wonderful,
amazing passage. Sing, O daughter of Zion, the
church, shout, O Israel, be glad and rejoice with all the heart,
O daughter of Jerusalem. The Lord hath taken away thy
judgments, 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. In that day, it shall be said
to Jerusalem, fear thou not, and to Zion, let not thine hands
be slack. 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, and he will joy
over thee with singing. Now, on the front of our bulletin,
for I don't know how many years, is a verse of scripture that
I have often or always loved. and particularly in verse 17. Let's reread this. 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. It's just almost like a stair
step. It starts off and it just keeps getting higher and higher.
And what we heard this morning in Bible class, this is kind
of the same similar message, the same vein. And I have preached
from this text a number of times, but To be honest with you, I
have never seen this most amazing, wonderful truth found in the
last section of this verse. God will joy over thee with singing. With singing. He, Jehovah God,
will joy over thee, His church, the Bride of Christ, the very
elect with singing. The fact or truth that our Holy
Sovereign sings, sings over us is truly beyond compare. In all of scriptures we notice
that the earth sings, the heavens itself sings, The barren in Isaiah
is said to sing, the hills and the mountains, the seas, and
even the rocks when Christ, remember he was coming in, he said, these
rocks, they can sing. But here, and what amazes me,
it amazed me so much, if I'm not mistaken, and I looked this
over and looked it over and looked it over, so somebody may correct
me, But this is the only passage in all of scriptures where it
is said, God himself sings over us. We always, the hymns, we
sing to our God, the mountains, the hills, they sing, the seas,
below, beneath the sea, they sing, the rocks. All these are
said to sing about God and His glory, but this is the only place
that says God sings over His people. It's kind of like in
the Old Testament, the other place where we are the apple
of His eye. Worms of the dust. Worms of the
dust. This is an amazing grace in the
highest. This is hymnology like no other. God himself is singing over us. Even when God created the world
that we now enjoy and now live in, he didn't sing. He said,
it's good. It's good, but he didn't sing.
but to his lowly sinful people who are called and quickened
and purchased, he sings. I suppose, and I was looking
at this and I thought, well, the wording and the, I suppose
we have a hint of this facet of our great, of the great I
am. It turned with me to Luke chapter 15. He doesn't say he
sings, but I think we have a hint that it's in here. Luke chapter
15 verses 1 through 7. Luke 15, then drew near unto
Christ all the publicans and sinners for to hear him. And
the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receives sinners
and eats with them. And he spake this parable to
them, saying, What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he
lose one of them, does not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness
and go after that which is lost? Redemption accomplished and applied
is what he's speaking of. And when he had found it, he,
that is God the Father, through God the Son, through God the
Holy Spirit, lays him on his shoulders rejoicing. And when
he has come home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors,
all of heaven, and tells them, rejoice with me, for I have found
my sheep which was lost. I say unto you that likewise
joy Joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repents, more
than 99 just persons which need no repentance. I say unto you
likewise, joy." Well, I think we can find that's a hint. When
you have joy, there's probably singing. There's probably singing. And in the next passage is found
in Luke also. This is only two places I find.
Luke chapter 15. You're familiar with the story.
Verse 11 through 24. Let's look at this together.
Christ is telling these folks who will listen, who have ears
to hear, another parable. He said, a certain man had two
sons. The younger of them said to his father, father, give me
the portion of goods that fall to me. And he divided unto them
his living. And not many days after, the
younger son gathered all together and took his journey into a far
country. And there wasted his substance with riotous living.
And when he had spent all, There arose a mighty famine in the
land, and he began to be in want. And he went to join himself to
the citizen of that country, and he sent him into the field
to feed swine. That's what this world will do.
You join yourself to the citizenry of this country, this state,
this town, this village, this is what will happen. And he would
have feigned to fill his belly with the husks of the swine that
the swine did eat, and no man gave unto him. And when he came
unto himself, he said, how many hired servants of my father have
bread enough to spare, and I perish with hunger? I will arise and
go to my father and will say unto him, father, I have sinned. There's confession of sins. There's
Holy Spirit making this man willing in the day of his power. I have
sinned against heaven and before thee. There's gotta be that acknowledgement. There will be that acknowledgement.
I am no more worthy to be called thy son. Make me as one of your
hired servants. And he arose and came to his
father, but when he was a great way off, his father saw him and
had compassion and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. And
the son said unto him, father, I've sinned against heaven and
in thy sight, and I'm no more worthy to be called thy son.
But the father said to his servants, bring forth the best robe, put
it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet,
and bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it, and let us eat and
be merry. For this my son was dead, is
alive again, was lost, and is found, and they began to be merry."
Now again, I think it hints at to be merry, would involve the
psaltery, like David, the psaltery, and they would begin to sing
the hymns that they had been taught. Would that happen here? Would
that happen here? What a joyous occasion. What
a joyous occasion. These passages that I've just
read, and Zef and I as well, they show or they dictate an
expressive color in our redemption from self, sin, and Satan. You could say that this perhaps
is our father's marriage song over his particular blood-bought
bride. Marriage song. There's always
music. Is there not at weddings? There
always is music. This stanza, this hymn, this,
I have no English words, I even knew other languages to put.
He will joy over thee with singing. Not because of any goodness found
within, because then that would be Merit that would be work salvation,
but freely he freely forgives Because his son the just died
for the unjust are we in that group? Can this can we do we
even in understand what he's saying in verse 17 that? He's mighty in the midst of us.
He will save he will rejoice rejoice over thee with joy and
He will rest in his love. He will joy over thee with singing.
Do we even understand what he's saying? Has he shown us what
we are and the gap, the tremendous gap? Oftentimes in scriptures, things
are repeated because they're so important. Well, I take the
opposite view of this one time, one verse to show how his ways
are not our ways. His thoughts are not our thoughts.
Oh, we are to Him His joy, His love, His rest, His song. And I just have six more things
I want to look at just briefly. May the realization of this sacred
truth that He joys over His people with singing, may it cause us
to daily do six things the fact that our father through the sun
rejoices and sings over his people may cause these six things to
be in the foremost ever present in our mind number one to reciprocate
this love in return the fact that he is singing over us may
this cause us to reciprocate to answer back this love that
he has for us in return. We sing that song, more love
to thee, O Christ, more love to thee. And we see in 1 John
4, verse 19, we love him because, there's the pivotal word, because
he first loved us. Greater love hath no man than
this, than a person laid down his life for his friends. That
is amazing. But with that laying down of
life comes singing. Secondly, may we be ever thankful
for redeeming love and grace to us. He chose us, not we Him. Turn to Psalms 35. only God could
take away our reproach and give us his perfect righteousness. Psalms 35. The second point, may we ever be
thankful daily for his redeeming love and grace to us word, which
causes him to sing I don't even know who he's singing
to. Of course, when God opens his mouth and sings, it's going
to be heard. And it'll be heard more fully
when that day of days comes and he wraps everything up. Psalms
35 and verse 18, I will give thanks in the great congregation. I will praise thee among much
people. We ought to be a ever thankful
people. I will give thanks in the great
congregation. praise Thee. Thirdly, daily,
to make Him our life psalm. I like music, I like psalms,
I like hymns. May we make Christ and what He
has done for us, who knew Him not, who did not, would not pursue
Him. All we like sheep have gone astray.
That's us. May we make him our life psalms,
psalms 18. Psalms 18 and verse 49. We sing, I sing for I cannot
be silent. His love is the theme of my song. I could have on each one of these
points, I could have picked out a hymn. Because they all, the
ones that we sing, they all work. But look at Psalms 18 verse 49. Therefore will I, me personally,
the one redeemed, the one who was bought back with the most
precious blood, the one who has been delivered from myself, from
sin and Satan time and time again, I will give thanks unto thee,
O Lord, among the heathen and sing praises unto thy name. unto thy name, Jehovah Jireh,
Jehovah Nisai, Jehovah Shalom, I will give praise unto thy name.
Fourthly, daily, because he sings over us, God the Father, Jehovah
God, may we make mention of his mercies and compassions, which
are new every morning. We sing, great is thy faithfulness,
Lord unto me. Lamentations, chapter three. Lamentations chapter 3 verses
22 and 23 Daily making mention of his mercies and compassions
which are new to us every morning 22 it is of the Lord's mercies
that we are not consumed because his compassions fail not they
are new every morning great Is thy faithfulness how great is
He sings a song. He sings a song over us. Fifthly, may we daily acknowledge
his good providence and workings to us, though we may not see
them or we may not understand them, yet we know, Romans 8,
all things are working together for good. to them that love God
and are called according to His purpose. And I go to this passage
time and time again, Genesis chapter 50, you don't have to
turn there, when Joseph, he said, speaking to his brethren, you
meant it for evil, but God meant it for good. So daily, because
we are His song, not a song of smear, not a song of reproach,
but it's a joyful song. He will joy over thee with singing
to acknowledge daily his good providence and workings to us.
And lastly, may we daily praise him and give him thanks for saving
such wretched and vile transgressors as we are. We never can get away
on this earth what we are what we're capable of and he still
Sings over us. I mean how many times even as
believers? Today we get walk out that door
tomorrow. How many day how many times do
we fail him? That shows the wonder of his grace it shows The amazing
fact that he still rejoices over us with singing, and it shows
that the blood is as powerful today as it was when it was shed
at Calvary's tree. Turn with me to Isaiah 51. Isaiah
51. May we daily praise him and give
thanks for saving such wretched and vile transgressors as we
are. And this is what Isaiah had in mind, hearken to me, Isaiah
51 verses one through five, hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness,
ye that seek the Lord, believers, look unto the rock which you
are hewn and to the hole of the pit whence you are digged. Don't ever forget it. Don't ever
forget the pit from which we've been digged. Look unto Abraham
your father and unto Sarah that bear you for I called him alone
and blessed him and increased him for the Lord shall comfort
Zion He will comfort all her waste places, and he will make
her wildernesses like Eden and her deserts like the garden of
the Lord. Joy and gladness shall be found
therein, thanksgiving and the voice of melody. That's, we sing
back. He sings, we sing. Hearken unto
me, my people. Give ear unto me, O my nation. For a law shall proceed from
me, and I will make my judgment to rest for a light of the people.
My righteousness is near, my salvation has gone forth, and
my arm shall judge the people, and the aisles shall wait upon
me, and on my arm shall they trust. Isn't that worthy of a
song from us? And it's just amazing grace that
he sings. The Lord thy God in the midst
of thee is mighty, He, God, will save. He, God, will rejoice over
thee with joy. He, Jehovah God, will rest in
his love. He will joy over thee with singing. Has any sinner ever heard such
wonderful and good news? Unbelievable, humanly speaking. That's right, we can't believe
it unless he makes us willing in the day of his power. May
he do so. May the Holy Spirit move upon us this morning and
make us willing. Bruce, would you close us please?