The oppressed have a day of gladness and celebration to look forward to. Those ridiculed and harassed because of their steadfast faith in God can rest assured that their fear and tears are answered. Those excluded and reviled by the powerful wicked can be assured that their hope in Jesus is not misplaced. The start of this day of delight and rejoicing is described in these verses. The day is the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus, the Anointed One.
The coming of the Lord to his servant’s rescue is a fearful theophany. The divine manifestation of the heavenly Warrior is descending in a wrathful attack upon the enemies of God’s people. Ancient Egypt and Pharoh’s army experienced the power and might of God, but not to this excellence. The earth will tremble and quake. The strong foundations of the mountains shake. God is coming.
God’s fierce majesty is like a dragon or mighty leviathan (Job 41:19-21) – smoke from his nostrils, fire from his mouth, burning coals blaze past his teeth. He opens the gates of heaven and descends to the earth on his quest to free the oppressed. He commands the darkness. Thunder and lighting his crown. Clothed in brilliant illumination. Glory his clothes.
The Lord’s Word is his weapon. His voice thunders. The Most High chords are a thousand trumpets. There is nowhere to hide, even the valleys of the sea are exposed and the foundations of the earth are laid bare at his rebuke. No place is safe for the wicked. The faithful rejoice as arrows scatter enemies. Energy as lightning separates sheep and goats. No place safe for the wicked. The vile are no more on the earth. Their power is gone. Their names are forgotten.
