The Lord will appear
Then the LORD will appear over them;
his arrow will flash like lightning.
The Sovereign LORD will sound the trumpet; he will march in the storms of the south,
15 and the LORD Almighty will shield them.
They will destroy
and overcome with slingstones. They will drink and roar as with wine;
they will be full like a bowl
used for sprinkling the corners of the altar.
16 The LORD their God will save them on that day
as the flock of his people.
They will sparkle in his land like jewels in a crown.
17 How attractive and beautiful they will be!
Grain will make the young men thrive, and new wine the young women.
Verses 14 and 15 continue to picture the Warrior. The arrow flashes, the trumpet screams out, the shield comes up solidly, and the slingstones sail out with their deadly whir. God’s people are a force to be reckoned with. “The LORD their God will save them on that day.” We can hear it against a powerful backdrop of organ music: “With might of ours can naught be done; soon were our loss effected. But for us fights the valiant one whom God himself elected. You ask, ‘Who is this?’ Jesus Christ it is, the almighty Lord. And there’s no other God; he holds the field forever” (CW 200:2).
The picture turns softly from the martial to the pastoral. The green pastures and quiet waters steal quietly over our senses. The sounds of war fade. Peaceful quiet reigns. God’s people are with their Lord. The sins and struggles are gone. Instead of objects of disdain, the riffraff and scum of the world, God’s people are objects of priceless worth and beauty. It must be so! God values his people so much that he gave his Son for them. The Lord’s judgment of beauty and worth is good. He makes no errors when it comes to value. “How attractive and beautiful they will be!”