Our heavenly Father delights in His children like a parent singing to a newborn baby.

天父以祂的子民为乐，如同父母为新生儿欢唱。

The L your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will . . . rejoice over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17

耶和华你的上帝在你中间，祂是施行拯救的大能者，必因你欢欣快乐，必……爱你，而且必因你喜乐欢唱。-西番雅书3章17节（新译本）

No one told me before my wife and I had children how important singing would be. My children are now six, eight, and ten. But all three had problems sleeping early on. Each night, my wife and I took turns rocking our little ones, praying they’d nod off quickly. I spent hundreds of hours rocking them, desperately crooning lullabies to (hopefully!) speed up the process. But as I sang over our children night after night, something amazing happened: It deepened my bond of love and delight for them in ways I had never dreamed. 

在我们夫妻有孩子之前，没人告诉我们唱歌有多重要。现在三个孩子分别是6岁、8岁和10岁，但他们年幼时都很难入睡。所以每晚我和妻子轮流哄他们睡觉，祈祷他们能早点进入梦乡。我花了无数小时轻轻摇晃婴儿床，低声哼唱摇篮曲，期盼他们能快点入睡。然而，每晚不断地唱着摇篮曲，结果让我意想不到的事发生了：我对孩子们的爱和喜悦，竟然更加深刻了！

Did you know Scripture describes our heavenly Father singing over His children too? Just as I sought to soothe my children with song, so Zephaniah concludes with a portrait of our heavenly Father singing over His people: “He will take great delight in you; in his love he will . . . rejoice over you with singing” (3:17).

你可知道圣经说，天父也会对祂的儿女唱歌吗？就像我以歌声安抚孩子一样，西番雅最后也以天父对祂子民欢唱的场景作为结束：“[祂]必因你欢欣快乐，必默然爱你，而且必因你喜乐欢唱。”（3章17节，新译本）

Much of Zephaniah’s prophetic book warns of a coming time of judgment for those who’d rejected God. Yet that’s not where it ends. Zephaniah concludes not with judgment but with a description of God not only rescuing His people from all their suffering (vv. 19–20) but also tenderly loving and rejoicing over them with song (v. 17).

西番雅的预言，多在警告那些拒绝上帝的人将会面临审判。但西番雅书却不以审判作为结尾，反倒述说上帝不但将祂的子民从痛苦中拯救出来（19-20节），而且还温柔地爱他们，并因他们喜乐欢唱（17节）。

Our God is not only a “Mighty Warrior who saves” and restores (v. 17) but a loving Father who tenderly sings songs of love over us.

上帝不只是那位复兴我们“施行拯救的大能者”（17节），更是一位对我们吟唱爱之歌的慈爱天父。

Father, thank You for delighting in us so much so that You even sing over us. Help us to embrace Your tender love and “hear” the songs You sing.

天父，谢谢祢因爱我们而欢唱。求祢帮助我们不忘记祢的慈爱，并“听见”祢欢唱的歌曲。

Zephaniah 3:14-20    NIV

3 Sing, Daughter Zion; shout aloud, Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, Daughter Jerusalem! 15 The Lord has taken away your punishment, he has turned back your enemy. The Lord, the King of Israel, is with you; never again will you fear any harm. 16 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.” 18 “I will remove from you all who mourn over the loss of your appointed festivals, which is a burden and reproach for you. 19 At that time I will deal with all who oppressed you. I will rescue the lame; I will gather the exiles. I will give them praise and honor in every land where they have suffered shame. 20 At that time I will gather you; at that time I will bring you home. I will give you honor and praise among all the peoples of the earth when I restore your fortunes before your very eyes,” says the Lord.

西番雅书 3:14-20

3 锡安的民哪，应当歌唱！以色列啊，应当欢呼！耶路撒冷的民哪，应当满心欢喜快乐！ 15 耶和华已经除去你的刑罚，赶出你的仇敌。以色列的王耶和华在你中间，你必不再惧怕灾祸。 16 当那日，必有话向耶路撒冷说：“不要惧怕！锡安哪，不要手软！ 17 耶和华你的神是施行拯救、大有能力的主，他在你中间必因你欢欣喜乐，默然爱你，且因你喜乐而欢呼。 18 那些属你，为无大会愁烦，因你担当羞辱的，我必聚集他们。 19 那时，我必罚办一切苦待你的人，又拯救你瘸腿的，聚集你被赶出的。那些在全地受羞辱的，我必使他们得称赞，有名声。 20 那时，我必领你们进来，聚集你们。我使你们被掳之人归回的时候，就必使你们在地上的万民中有名声，得称赞。”这是耶和华说的。

INSIGHT

灵粮透视

The singing heart of God (Zephaniah 3:17) is but one of the many ways He expresses His love and care for us. Of course, we readily acknowledge that He rescues us and provides for us. We also know He made us and empowers us to live for Him in this world. But that is only the beginning. In Luke 15 we find that, like the father in the parable of the prodigal son, God rejoices over our rescue and return to Him. Additionally, He comforts us in our seasons of trial (2 Corinthians 1:3–8). Beyond that, He mourns with us in our pain—even to the point of valuing our tears (Psalm 56:8). In these and countless other ways, our God continually expresses the depth of His love and concern for His children.

上帝因祂的儿女而欢然歌唱（西番雅书3章17节），是祂表示关爱我们的诸多方式之一。当然，我们会乐意承认祂拯救了我们，并且会供应我们的需要；我们也知道祂创造了我们，赐我们力量能够在这世上为祂而活，但这只是一个开始。我们在路加福音15章看到，就像浪子比喻中的父亲一样，上帝乐于看到我们得蒙拯救，并回到祂面前。除此之外，祂会在我们遭受试炼时安慰我们（哥林多后书1章3-8节）；祂在我们的痛苦中，与我们一起哀哭，甚至将我们的眼泪视为宝贵（诗篇56篇8节）。上帝不只运用这些方式，还会用其他无数的方式，不断向我们表明祂对众儿女的关爱是何等深切！

How have you experienced that care in the different seasons of your own life?

在不同的人生阶段中，你如何经历上帝的看顾？

整理：于姊妹