Gladness

Song of Solomon 4:1-5:1
Psalm 42:1-11
Romans 5:6-11

I had just given birth to my 4^th baby, a perfectly beautiful girl. After a sleepless night and a ridiculously fast labor, I was awash with love for my girl. Though exhausted, I didn’t dare close my eyes. Head over heels in love, I couldn’t stop taking her in, caressing tiny curled fingers and buttery soft nails, silky cheeks, dimpled chin, and the softest newborn hair. I held her close, inhaling her fresh-from-the-womb scent. My heart was bursting with love, and as my husband slept fitfully in the hospital chair, I sang over my little girl.

I sang the gospel, I sang every hymn I knew, and then I sang them again. I sang songs I made up in the moment, I sang of her siblings, I sang of the God who crafted her. I wept, I prayed, and as the morning rays reached her newborn face, I was more in love with her, if possible, than I had been just a few hours prior.

Love songs have the mysterious ability to enlarge our hearts, soften us, and make us feel we can do anything because we are magnificently loved.

Which is why the Lord of the universe sings over His children.

Zephaniah wrote of God,
“The Lord your God is among you,
a warrior who saves.
He will rejoice over you with gladness.
He will be quiet in his love.
He will delight in you with singing.”
(Zephaniah 3:17, emphasis mine)

Lord of Lords. King of Kings.
Enthroned by cherubim and seraphim.
Ruler of wind, waves, and every creature.
This is the God who delights to sing over those who call Him Abba Father!

Job spoke of God His Maker, “who provides us with songs in the night.” (Job 35:10)

Is this mystery not unfathomable?!

The entirety of Song of Solomon is a love song.
It overflows with beauty, passion, delight, and commitment between Lover and Beloved.

You have captured my heart, my sister, my bride.
You have captured my heart with one glance of your eyes,
with one jewel of your necklace.
How delightful your caresses are, my sister, my bride.
Your caresses are much better than wine,
and the fragrance of your perfume than any balsam.
(Song of Solomon 4:9-10)

Can you imagine the effect on your relationship if your spouse came home tonight and sang lyrics of love over you? Not sugary sweet nothings, but power-packed melodies of hope, truth, and unconditional love. What would his response be if you did the same?

To be sung over is akin to receiving an exquisite, lavish gift.
It’s life-giving, filling, nurturing, and sustaining.

A few years ago, I was up way too late shopping for Christmas gifts online with my long-distance mother-in-love over the phone. We laughed and chatted and somehow, lullabies came up and how special it was that my children asked her to sing over them when they visited. Jokingly, I commented I was jealous that I didn’t get a lullaby. Then, this woman who had birthed my husband and loved me like her own, sang her lullaby over me.

Sisters, hear me, I could not stop the tears. Those few seconds, the gentle sway of her voice, and the unabashed declaration of love will forever mark my life.

This is why the Father of our hearts sings over those who call on Him.

In His melodies, we hear the rhythm of His heart and learn to sway to the tempo of His faithful love.

When fear attacks.
When relationships hurt.
When we weep.
We listen for the song in the night.

“The Lord will send his faithful love by day;
His song will be with me in the night.”
(Psalm 42:8)

My hours-old daughter had done nothing to deserve my love for her. She hadn’t yet pirouetted through my house, received academic awards, or taught me to serve others with generosity. She had stretched my uterus thin, brought significant pain, and terrified me when she wasn’t breathing at birth. I loved her simply because she was mine.

This is why the Lover of our hearts, souls, and bodies sings His love song over us.

The cadence He breathes over us is always love, always victory, always delight in simply being His.

When our hearts rebelled against Him, choosing our sin over His righteousness.
When we couldn’t keep our tongues from sharing that gossip.
When we allowed our hands to impulsively act out our anger.
When we said that stream of hurtful words in defense of ourselves.
When we lied, when we lusted, when we acted in bitterness, when we stole, when we took a life, when we…, when we… and on goes our gross sinful offenses against the Holy God.

If we listen, His melodies continue, weaving in and out, drawing us out of our sin and into His forgiving grace. Pulling us away from our sin-ravaged patterns and into the rhythmic dance of His life of love.

Listen for the Love Song, Daughters; turn from your sin, your fear, and your shame, and sway to the symphonies of His Song.

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