The rest of the prophecy highlights that the day of the Lord, on which his wrath will be displayed, is still future (e.g., Zephaniah 1:7; Zephaniah 2:2; Zephaniah 3:8, Zephaniah 3:11, Zephaniah 3:19). In the present verse, however, the prophet speaks as though the time of the Lord’s punishment has already passed. The use of the past tense in this verse alone in this final section “is unexpected and suggests that, for Zephaniah, the certainty of future joy after the day of the Lord generates present joy amid pain. God’s trustworthiness makes the fulfillment of his promise certain and therefore allows our future desire to become present delight (cf. Hebrews 12:3 with Hebrews 12:3; Romans 5:2).”1 From a technical perspective, the verbs are prophetic perfects, which is a device used to speak of the certainty of the events.2
15 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.