The Lord Rejoices / 因上帝喜乐

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Dexu Xia

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Jun 29, 2019, 3:04:29 AM6/29/19

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The Lord Rejoices

[God] will rejoice over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17

My grandmother recently sent me a folder full of old photographs, and as I thumbed through them, one caught my eye. In it, I’m two years old, and I’m sitting on one end of a hearth in front of a fireplace. On the other end, my dad has his arm around my mom’s shoulders. Both are gazing at me with expressions of love and delight.

I pinned this photo to my dresser, where I see it every morning. It’s a wonderful reminder of their love for me. The truth is, though, that even the love of good parents is imperfect. I saved this photo because it reminds me that although human love may fail sometimes, God’s love never fails—and according to Scripture, God looks at me the way my parents are looking at me in this picture.

The prophet Zephaniah described this love in a way that astounds me. He describes God as rejoicing over His people with singing. God’s people had not earned this love. They had failed to obey Him or to treat each other with compassion. But Zephaniah promised that in the end, God’s love would prevail over their failures. God would take away their punishment (Zephaniah 3:15), and He would rejoice over them (v. 17). He would gather His people into His arms, bring them home, and restore them (v. 20).

That’s a love worth reflecting on every morning.

Reflect & Pray

How does it make you feel that God rejoices over you with singing? How have you experienced His love?

God, thank You for Your forgiveness and faithful love for us.

因上帝喜乐

因你喜乐欢唱。-西番雅书3章17节，新译本

最近，祖母寄给我一本相簿，我翻着这些旧照片，其中一张格外吸引我的目光。照片中，年仅两岁的我坐在壁炉前面，另一边则是父亲把手搭在母亲的肩上，两人都满脸慈爱地看着我，喜悦之情溢于言表。

我将这张照片贴在梳妆台上。每早晨看着这张照片，总能令我回想起父母对我的关爱。纵使父母的关爱确实无法尽善尽美，但我却仍保留这张照片来提醒自己，即使父母的爱可能会令人失望，但上帝的爱却永远值得信靠。圣经让我知道，上帝正慈爱地凝视着我，就像我父母在照片中那样的慈爱眼神。

先知西番雅对上帝慈爱的描述令我惊讶，先知形容上帝因祂的百姓而欢然歌唱。当时，上帝的百姓并不配得到这份爱，因为他们不愿顺服上帝，也不以恩慈待人。尽管如此，西番雅仍宣告上帝的应许说，上帝的爱终究会胜过他们的软弱，也必除去他们的刑罚（西番雅书3章15节）；上帝必因他们喜乐（17节）；上帝必招聚百姓重回祂的怀抱，带领他们归回故土，并复兴他们的国度（20节）。

上帝的爱，值得你我每早晨深思体会。

上帝啊，感谢祢对我们的宽容饶恕，
也谢谢祢对我们的爱从未改变。