“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.”
Of the three chapters in Zephaniah, all but the last few verses depict a graphic message of imminent judgment on Judah and her four surrounding nations: Philistia (west), Moab and Ammon (east), Cush (south) and Assyria (north). The expression, “the day of the Lord” is used more times in these chapters than by any other prophet emphasizing the impending wrath for the nation’s rebellion, pride, and idolatry. Even Assyria, a boastful and threatening city is described abandoned and desolate. Through Zephaniah’s language, all of the created order is depicted as overturned in judgment.
Set against this picture of utter desolation for Judah and her neighboring nations is a picture of hope for a purified remnant. This promise of future blessing and restoration for God’s people and the nations describes a glorious day of rejoicing filled with the Lord’s presence. The near context of verse 17 stands in stark contrast to the message of judgment while boasting a beautiful and moving description of God’s love and a future hope.
Ever since Hillsong’s Mighty to Save began to blare over Christian radio, I found myself raising my voice with the masses, entirely swept up in its catchy praise chorus. It was only later that I realized I had no idea what “mighty to save” even meant. I continually got hung up with the grammatical make up of the description of God, knowing it had to mean something beautiful, but unable to grasp the concept.
Finally, the praise chorus took on new meaning set in the context of Zephaniah’s endearing love poem. Here we see God’s presence with us as a promise, his love as a message of hope, and his identity as a strong, just, hero, who is the first to lead his people into battle. The verse stands shouting a message of comfort following a dismal message of judgment. It points to a future restoration of the world when Yahweh, the one who causes saving, will once again be in our midst. How meaningful and dynamic, then, is the beautiful threefold promise of his rejoicing over us, causing rest, and the opportunity to hear his voice singing, following the picture of our God as a strong deliverer, as mighty to save.