“Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! The LORD has taken away the judgments against you; he has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; you shall never again fear evil.” (Zephaniah 3:14-15 ESV).
In Advent we look back at the first coming of Christ Jesus as a baby, but we also look forward to His second coming as King. The words of the prophet Zephaniah help us to focus on this. The prophet describes the joys of the coming Kingdom that the Lord will establish once He has purified the earth and cleansed it from its wickedness. He will deliver those who have put their faith and trust in Him. Once He establishes His Kingdom on earth, His people will no longer will they be objects of derision. They will no longer be subject to violence and persecution at the hands of their oppressors.
As Zephaniah states with great zeal, this is cause for great rejoicing as we gladly acknowledge that the Lord will return to set all things right, to bring justice and peace to all. Only the humble and penitent will inherit the kingdom of God, not bullies or arrogant, boastful people or those who reject Jesus and His Word, and those who worship the false gods of materialism, fame, and power. What keeps us humble? The work of the Holy Spirit, who convicts us of sin and constantly reminds us that none of us is saved by our own works or good deeds, but by the unmerited grace of God in Christ Jesus. That salvation is what we celebrate at Christmas. That salvation is what we look forward to when we pray “Thy Kingdom Come!” That salvation is why we rejoice!