Exult comes from two Hebrew words and one in Greek. Almost all their uses involve human responses to what God is doing, yet two times the Bible says that God Himself exults.
The first is when He is giving victory to His people. David came from a disappointing battle and said to God that he felt rejected. His defenses were broken and he thought God was angry with him. However Psalm 60:6 reveals God’s response to David’s concern:
God has spoken in his holiness: “With exultation I will divide up Shechem and portion out the Vale of Succoth.
This is repeated in Psalm 108:7. Exultation means “to express exceeding joy.” In other words, God is saying He is simply delighted to give David victory over his enemies.
I’m reading a remarkable book of testimonies from Christians in enemy territory. They live under the threat of death simply because they love Jesus Christ. The first two chapters tell of how God delivered two of His people from certain death, but not only that, He used extremely unusual circumstances to convert their enemies from their religion to faith in Jesus. These stories read like fiction because they are so impossible yet God made it happen — and now I realize that He could easily be smiling, even laughing in delight at what He has done to deliver His children!
The second Hebrew word for EXULT means the same thing: to rejoice, to express great joy. This time it makes me feel deep emotions. The passage begins with this . . .
(Zephaniah 3:14–16) 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. On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: “Fear not, O Zion; let not your hands grow weak.
And here is the punch line:
(Zephaniah 3:17) The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.
I can imagine the Lord standing beside me, even putting His arms around me, but now am challenged to imagine Him singing loudly in joy over me — and this is not fiction — He is really doing it!
The image that comes to mind is a wedding when a young man we pray for stood before his bride and sang a love song he had written to her. It was entirely lovely and deeply emotional for all who witnessed this expression of love and joy.
If someone is joyful and laughing, it is contagious, like a yawn. Soon everyone is cheerful, particularly if the joyful person is a child. A baby giggles and we want to laugh. Now I’m thinking of that joyful person being God!
(Isaiah 65:17–19) “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness. I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in my people; no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress.
GAZE INTO HIS GLORY. From Psalm 2, I know God laughs. I never thought that gazing into His glory might offer the sound of Him expressing joy over me. This makes me feel joyful too, deeply happy, even giddy. My daddy used to say, “Keep smiling; it makes people wonder what you’ve been up to” and now my Father is joyfully singing and telling me to share the way I feel about it with all who are wondering what makes me so delighted — even when there is nothing else happening worthy of such joy.
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