The Saturday after the Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity Sunday
Posted on October 12, 2024 by under
Scripture: Zephaniah 3:14-20 (NKJV)
3:14 Sing, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem!
15 The Lord has taken away your judgments, He has cast out your enemy. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; You shall see disaster no more.
16 In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:
“Do not fear; Zion, let not your hands be weak.
17 “The Lord your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.”
18 “I will gather those who sorrow over the appointed assembly, who are among you, to whom its reproach is a burden.
19 “Behold, at that time I will deal with all who afflict you; I will save the lame, and gather those who were driven out; I will appoint them for praise and fame in every land where they were put to shame.
20 “At that time I will bring you back, even at the time I gather you; For I will give you fame and praise among all the peoples of the earth, when I return your captives before your eyes,” says the Lord.
Devotion
One of the great joys we have as Christians is that we get to sing. This is the joy of which Paul wrote: “but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord” (Eph. 5:18-19). We have the joy of knowing what God has done for us in Christ. His life, His suffering, His death, His resurrection, and His ascension were for you so that you can live with Him forever. Having the forgiveness of sins is our great joy while living as sojourners in this fallen world.
Yet, there is a joy that we can easily miss in today’s reading. Sometimes we can get so caught up in expressing our joy over what God has done for us in Christ that we miss another joy. We know Jesus said, “Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10). But did you catch it? It’s not just the angels who rejoice. “The Lord your God…will rejoice over you with singing.” God is so overjoyed, and so, so happy over your repentance and your trusting in Jesus that He, too, is singing.
Collect: O Almighty and most Merciful God, of Thy bountiful goodness keep us, we beseech Thee, from all things that may hurt us; that we, being ready, both in body and soul, may cheerfully accomplish those things that Thou wouldest have done; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
