How God Restores Series

Isaiah 62:5: “As a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you.” This is wedding imagery where God sweeps us off our feet and in the quiet rest of relationship we can cease striving. The idea here is that God contemplates His beloved with wordless adoration and perfect contentment. One commentator said that “The battle cry on the day of judgment will be replaced by the poignant hush of the reuniting of two lovers.”

I love the way some of the older commentators speak. Listen to what Albert Barnes has to say: “The soul, until it hath found God, is evermore seeking some love to fill it, and can find none, since the love of God alone can content it.”

5. God’s praise – God celebrates you! “…He will rejoice over you with singing.” God moves from the quiet rest of being in relationship with us to exuberant rejoicing. The Hebrew word for “rejoice” means “to spin around in joy with great gladness and glee.” When our girls were younger I used to spin them around and we’d giggle together. God is spinning around when He thinks of His sons and daughters as well. The word for singing refers to “a shout or shrill sound.” This is loud singing, not just mumbling or half-hearted lip synching. Do you picture God spinning and shouting in song when He thinks of you? Jared Anderson has written a cool song called “Amazed.” Here are some of the lyrics: “You dance over me while I am unaware. You sing all around, but I never hear the sound…”

Nehemiah 8:10: “…for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” This verse is commonly misunderstood to suggest that it’s our joy that gives us strength. Look closely. It’s God’s joy that gives us strength. When we picture Him as rejoicing, we can be rejuvenated.

Dennis Jernigan has written a translation of Zephaniah 3:17 from the Hebrew that captures the majesty of this verse: “The eternal self-existent God, the God who is three in one; He who dwells in the center of your being is a powerful and valiant warrior. He has come to set you free, to keep you safe, and to bring you victory. He is cheered, and He beams with exceeding joy and takes pleasure in your presence. He has engraved a place for Himself in you, and there He quietly rests in His love and affection for you. He cannot contain Himself at the thought of you and with the greatest of joy spins around wildly in anticipation over you…In fact, He shouts and sings in triumph, joyfully proclaiming the gladness of His heart in a song of rejoicing! All because of you!”

Bringing It Together

We need to hear the bad news in order for the Good News of the gospel to make sense. That’s why it’s important to use the 10 Commandments when witnessing because people need to see that they’re sinners before they’ll see their need for salvation. I have three steps in closing.

1. Repent of your sins. Zephaniah 3:11-12 describes the haughty and the humble. It’s only the humble who will repent. What’s it going to be? Will you face judgment or will you experience joy when the Day of the Lord comes? 2 Peter 3:9 tells us that God “is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” Yet 2 Peter 3:10 tells us that judgment will surely come: “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.”