“On that day they will say to Jerusalem, “Do not fear, Zion; do not let your hands hang limp. 17 The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.”” Zephaniah 3:16-17 NKJV
Loving Father God,
I cannot leave Zephaniah without pausing on these beautiful verses again this year. You are a God of judgement and it can be no other way. Right is right, sin is sin and has consequences. But You God, crated a beautiful world and You looked upon Your creation, man and woman and declared it was not just good but very good (Genesis 1:31).
You persevered with Your people even though they let You down from the very beginning, again and again. But we see You God consistently giving second chances. Your desire to make things right and god again never ends. Opportunities to start again. Making opportunities so Your people could survive. A boat big enough to hold all creatures (Genesis Ch’s 6-9), a ram caught in a thicket an early picture of Your providing the sacrifice. (Genesis 22:13). Lambs blood smeared on door posts to prevent the angel of death entering (Exodus 12:23). And the countless times that You defended them and overcame their enemies.
And You extended Your promises to us by adopting us into Your family through Jesus. By pouring out of Your Spirit at Pentecost so You, God, can live in us. So You can speak intimately to our hearts as a Father who loves us. You battled sin and death to deliver us when we could do nothing. And You rejoice over us too with singing. Oh how we are loved.
In Jesus name we pray, Amen.
Worship Monday 29th June 2026
Sung in Welsh first and then English.
Here is love, vast as the ocean,
Loving-kindness as the flood;
When the Prince of Life, my ransom,
Shed for me his precious blood.
Who his love will not remember?
Who can cease to sing his praise?
He shall never be forgotten,
Through Heav’n’s everlasting days
On the mount of crucifixion,
Fountains opened deep and wide,
Through the flood-gates of God’s mercy,
Flowed the vast and gracious tide;
Grace and love, like mighty rivers
Poured incessant from above,
And God’s peace and perfect justice
Kissed a guilty world in love.
Lyrics: William Rees
Translator: William Edwards.