Sing aloud, O daughter Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem!  The Lord has taken away the judgments against you, he has turned away your enemies.  The king of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; you shall fear disaster no more.  On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: Do not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands grow weak.  The Lord, your God, is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory

“Rejoice with all your heart…the Lord has taken away the judgments against you, he has turned away your enemies.”

Rejoice, my soul, rejoice with all your strength.  Through Christ and our death into him God has taken away the judgments against you.  Moreover, he has turned away the hand of the evil one who ever seeks to beset you.

“You shall fear disaster no more”

That is, the concern of sin shall be lifted entirely from you when he comes to finally claim you as his own.

“Do not fear; do not let your hands grow weak”

Indeed, fear paralyzes the actions of the good, in so many and varied ways.  In contrast, “all things are possible to the man who trusts” (Mark 9.23)

“The Lord is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory”

Oh Lord, forgive us for losing in our day this powerful aspect and image of you – a mighty warrior, zealous in his concern for us, battling mightily and rejoicing in his victory which has redeemed us.  Yes, your victory over the final enemy – death - is the decisive battle that has won your people back.