He sings...

What a busy Monday! Voice lessons, research and work at Faith Music. I am somehow a little glad that I don't have classes to teach tomorrow - so that I can have a whole day to focus on my research paper on ethnomusicology.

Zephaniah 3:17 has been on my mind since Friday evening (Rev. Dr. Ong Hwai Teik quoted this verse in his memorable sermon) - I came across the same verse in the 2 books that I reviewed this afternoon.

"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..."  (NIV)

What a beautiful promise. Of course ~ in the original context, this was God's promise to the rebellious, whoring Israel who went after other gods. However, this must also be God's promise to the redeemed through Christ today. The Mighty Warrior has triumphed on the cross, where we find refuge and eternal life. His gracious love that surpasses all that we have done to grieve Him is likely to yet find its joyful and purposeful expression in poetry.  Poetry set to music. Song.

Talking about poetry, I like a definition which I read at this website. Let me quote part of it here:
"Poetry is an imaginative awareness of experience expressed through meaning, sound, and rhythmic language choices so as to evoke an emotional response.... The very nature of poetry as an authentic and individual mode of expression makes it nearly impossible to define."

It is nearly impossible to define. God is fully aware that He loves us despite our terrible misgivings - and expresses His great delight in us in His authentic way. Since it is likely to (and should) evoke an emotional response in us, I believe that God sings songs that we can truly respond to. He sings songs that can resonate with our hearts ~ songs that are relevant and meaningful to the individuals' culture/ethnicity, history, life experiences, etc.

It is perhaps a sort of Lover's Concerto. Between a Bridegroom and His Bride (the Church). But since God is a very personal God, it should also be between God and each true believer.

It seems to me that the love-song that God has been singing into my heart recently has the word "Remember" in its lyrics. A lot.

Thankfulness and contentment have got to do with remembering. I desire to remember... and discover how God has never let me go, even from the day I was born.