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Zephaniah
Chapter Three
Zephaniah 3
Chapter Contents
Further reproofs for sin. (1-7) Encouragement to look for
mercy. (8-13) Promises of future favour and prosperity. (14-20)
Commentary on Zephaniah 3:1-7
(Read Zephaniah 3:1-7)
The holy God hates sin most in those nearest to him. A
sinful state is, and will be, a woful state. Yet they had the tokens of God's
presence, and all the advantages of knowing his will, with the strongest
reasons to do it; still they persisted in disobedience. Alas, that men often
are more active in doing wickedness than believers are in doing good.
Commentary on Zephaniah 3:8-13
(Read Zephaniah 3:8-13)
The preaching of the gospel is predicted, when vengeance
would be executed on the Jewish nation. The purifying doctrines of the gospel,
or the pure language of the grace of the Lord, would teach men to use the
language of humility, repentance, and faith. Purity and piety in common
conversation is good. The pure and happy state of the church in the latter days
seems intended. The Lord will shut out boasting, and leave men nothing to glory
in, save the Lord Jesus, as made of God to them wisdom, righteousness,
sanctification, and redemption. Humiliation for sin, and obligations to the
Redeemer, will make true believers upright and sincere, whatever may be the
case among mere professors.
Commentary on Zephaniah 3:14-20
(Read Zephaniah 3:14-20)
After the promises of taking away sin, follow promises of
taking away trouble. When the cause is removed, the effect will cease. What
makes a people holy, will make them happy. The precious promises made to the
purified people, were to have full accomplishment in the gospel. These verses
appear chiefly to relate to the future conversion and restoration of Israel,
and the glorious times which are to follow. They show the abundant peace,
comfort, and prosperity of the church, in the happy times yet to come. He will
save; he will be Jesus; he will answer the name, for he will save his people
from their sins. Before the glorious times foretold, believers would be
sorrowful, and objects of reproach. But the Lord will save the weakest
believer, and cause true Christians to be greatly honoured where they had been
treated with contempt. One act of mercy and grace shall serve, both to gather
Israel out of their dispersions and to lead them to their own land. Then will
God's Israel be made a name and a praise to eternity. The events alone can
fully answer the language of this prophecy. Many are the troubles of the
righteous, but they may rejoice in God's love. Surely our hearts should honour
the Lord, and rejoice in him, when we hear such words of condescension and
grace. If now kept from his ordinances, it is our trial and grief; but in due
time we shall be gathered into his temple above. The glory and happiness of the
believer will be perfect, unchangeable, and eternal, when he is freed from
earthly sorrows, and brought to heavenly bliss.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Zephaniah》
Zephaniah 3
Verse 1
[1] Woe to her that is filthy and polluted, to the
oppressing city!
To her — Jerusalem.
Verse 2
[2] She obeyed not the voice; she received not correction;
she trusted not in the LORD; she drew not near to her God.
The voice — Of God by his mercy and judgments
crying aloud.
Verse 3
[3] Her princes within her are roaring lions; her judges are
evening wolves; they gnaw not the bones till the morrow.
Her princes — Persons of principal place and
authority.
Lions — Which hunt for prey, and are ever affrighting or
devouring.
Wolves — Insatiable and cruel, like wolves of the evening,
whetted with hunger.
Gnaw not the bones — They leave nothing
but the bones to be eaten on the morrow.
Verse 4
[4] Her prophets are light and treacherous persons: her
priests have polluted the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law.
Her prophet — So called, false prophets.
Light — Unstable and inconstant.
Violence to the law — Wresting it by
perverse interpretation.
Verse 5
[5] The just LORD is in the midst thereof; he will not do
iniquity: every morning doth he bring his judgment to light, he faileth not;
but the unjust knoweth no shame.
In the midst — Observing all.
Not do iniquity — He will judge them righteously.
Every morning — Daily he discovers his
displeasure against the wicked.
Faileth not — Lets no season slip to convince
them, by public and visible punishments.
The unjust — But the wicked Jews proceed
without shame, and without fear.
Verse 6
[6] I have cut off the nations: their towers are desolate; I
made their streets waste, that none passeth by: their cities are destroyed, so
that there is no man, that there is none inhabitant.
The nations — Of old, the Canaanites, lastly
the ten tribes, and later yet, the Assyrians.
Verse 7
[7] I said, Surely thou wilt fear me, thou wilt receive
instruction; so their dwelling should not be cut off, howsoever I punished
them: but they rose early, and corrupted all their doings.
I said — I thought (speaking after the manner of men).
Thou — O Jerusalem.
Fear me — For the many and great judgments executed upon others.
I punished them — In some measure.
Verse 8
[8] Therefore wait ye upon me, saith the LORD, until the day
that I rise up to the prey: for my determination is to gather the nations, that
I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my
fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy.
Therefore — Since you will not be amended.
Wait ye — Attend my resolution.
Until — Until I rise up to destroy first, and next to take the
spoil.
Upon them — The incorrigible Jews.
Devoured — Consumed as if burnt up.
My jealousy — That jealousy wherewith God is
jealous for his own glory.
Verse 9
[9] For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that
they may all call upon the name of the LORD, to serve him with one consent.
A pure language — I will give them a pure way of
worshipping me, the issue of a pure heart.
Verse 10
[10] From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia my suppliants, even
the daughter of my dispersed, shall bring mine offering.
My dispersed — The praying remnant of the
scattered Jews shall return to their own land, and bring themselves an offering
unto the Lord.
Verse 11
[11] In that day shalt thou not be ashamed for all thy
doings, wherein thou hast transgressed against me: for then I will take away
out of the midst of thee them that rejoice in thy pride, and thou shalt no more
be haughty because of my holy mountain.
Thy doings — Thy sins formerly committed.
In thy pride — Proud formalists.
No more be haughty — Ye shall no more
boast, because of the city, or the temple.
Verse 12
[12] I will also leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and
poor people, and they shall trust in the name of the LORD.
Of thee — In Judea and Jerusalem.
Verse 13
[13] The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak
lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth: for they shall
feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid.
Shall feed — Shall enjoy peace and plenty.
Verse 15
[15] The LORD hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out
thine enemy: the king of Israel, even the LORD, is in the midst of thee: thou
shalt not see evil any more.
Taken away — Abolished, and put an end to the
judgments thy sins brought upon thee.
Thine enemy — The Babylonian.
Is in the midst — He is returned to redeem and
govern thee.
Any more — While thy carriage is as becomes my presence with
thee, thou shalt neither fear, nor feel the like evils.
Verse 18
[18] I will gather them that are sorrowful for the solemn
assembly, who are of thee, to whom the reproach of it was a burden.
Sorrowful — That mourn their distance from
the solemn worship of God.
Who are of thee — Thy children.
Reproach — The taunts of their enemies.
Verse 19
[19] Behold, at that time I will undo all that afflict thee:
and I will save her that halteth, and gather her that was driven out; and I
will get them praise and fame in every land where they have been put to shame.
Undo — I will break their power and dissolve their kingdom.
That halteth — Who is in trouble and ready to
fall.
Driven out — Into remote countries.
Verse 20
[20] At that time will I bring you again, even in the time
that I gather you: for I will make you a name and a praise among all people of
the earth, when I turn back your captivity before your eyes, saith the LORD.
A praise — So the universal church of the first-born will be, in
the great day. And then the Israel of God be made a name and a praise to all
eternity.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Zephaniah》
03 Chapter 3
Verses 1-20
Verses 1-5
Woe to her that is filthy and polluted, to the oppressing city!
A religious city terribly degenerate
I.
A
professedly religious city terribly degenerated.
1. The princes are mentioned. They are “roaring lions.”
2. The judges are mentioned. They are “evening wolves.”
3. The prophets are mentioned. They are “light and treacherous
persons.”
4. The priests are mentioned.
These “polluted the sanctuary,” by desecrating the sacred, and
outraged the “law,” by distorting its meaning and misrepresenting its genius and aim.
II. A professedly
religious city terribly degenerated although God was specially working in its
midst. “The just Lord is in the midst thereof; He will not do iniquity: every
morning doth He bring His judgment to light, He faileth not; but the unjust
knoweth no shame.”
1. The wonderful freedom which the Almighty allows to wicked men on
this earth. Though He strives to improve them, He does not coerce them. He
makes no invasion of their moral agency.
2. The tremendous force of human depravity. What a power sin gains
over man!
Verse 2
She obeyed not the voice; she received not correction; she trusted
not in the Lord.
God’s lamentations of His people’s incorrigibleness
There can be no doubt that the city mentioned in the first verse
of this chapter is Jerusalem; and if we duly consider the whole description of
its moral state, as detailed from Zephaniah 3:1-4 inclusive, we shall be
constrained to exclaim, “How is the faithful city become an harlot!” And to
confirm this statement, we only need refer to the historical records of the two
preceding reigns, to that of Josiah, at the beginning of the latter of which
Zephaniah prophesied. Manasseh and Amen, the two preceding kings of Judah
referred to, were flagrant idolaters, and filled Jerusalem with impiety,
violence, and blood (2 Kings 21:3-6; 2 Kings 21:11; 2 Kings 21:16; 2 Kings 21:19; 2 Kings 21:22). What a change in
that city which had been called “a city of righteousness!” Well, indeed, might
Jehovah say, “Shall I not visit far these things, and shall not my soul be
avenged on such a nation as this?” Yes; and He assures them in verse 8 that He
will punish them in an exemplary manner. The timely reformation of good King
Josiah, however, averted the stroke for a time; but ultimately “wrath came upon
them to the uttermost.”
I. That the four
facts affirmed in the text are applicable to sinners of the present time, as
well as to the Jews of old time. The facts alleged are the following--
1. Inattention to instruction, “She obeyed not the voice.” During the
reign of Manasseh, God sent His prophets to remonstrate with the idolatrous
king and His people, but they would not hear (2 Chronicles 33:10). Their conduct
in this matter seems to have disappointed Jehovah Himself, as is evident from
verse 7: “I said thou wilt fear Me, for thou wilt receive instruction, but they
rose early, and corrupted all their doings.” Truly, then, “They obeyed not the
voice.” The fact is asserted concerning them, Jeremiah 22:21 : “I spake unto thee in
thy prosperity, but thou saidst I will not hear. This hath been thy manner from
thy youth, that thou obeyedst not My voice.” Ministers preach, conscience
reproves, the Holy Spirit strives, and Providence pleads against men; yet do
they not hearken nor consider. Furthermore, the text alleges against them--
2. Incorrigibleness. “She received not correction.” For the
confirmation of this part of the charge let us hear the prophet Jeremiah, Jeremiah 5:3 : “O Lord, are not Thine
eyes upon the truth? Thou hast stricken them, but they have not grieved; Thou
hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction; they have made
their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return.” And if you would
know how severely and repeatedly He had stricken them, read Amos 4:6-11, There you will find that
Jehovah had stricken them by want of bread, scarcity of water, blasting mildew,
palmer worms, pestilence, the sword, fire, and destruction; and yet, after all,
had to say, “Yet have ye not returned unto Me, saith the Lord.” How impervious
must have been their hearts to withstand all these corrective measures. Call to
mind, “ye hitherto incorrigible sinners, the afflictions, privations, losses,
and troubles that have come upon you; still many of you have not yet heard the
rod, nor Him that appointed it. Can all these things have come upon you by
chance? Is there no meaning in them? He that, being often reproved, hardeneth
his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.” “Hear,
therefore, and your souls shall live.” Again, our text alleges against them--
3. Perfidy, or faithlessness towards God--“She trusted not in the
Lord.” This stroke makes their moral portraiture darker still. In the days of
their fidelity to the God of their forefathers, in seasons of perplexity, they
had confided in the all-sufficiency of His wisdom, love, power, and
faithfulness. But when they turned aside after other gods, in their straits and
national troubles, they looked to man alone for succour and deliverance. Hence
they are reproved for this by the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 30:1; Isaiah 30:3; Isaiah 30:15-16, and Jeremiah 2:18-36). Ah, how anxiously did
they rely upon Egypt, Assyria, or any other heathen nation, in time of
invasion, instead of trusting in their God. And, alas! is not this the conduct
pursued by multitudes in the present day? In times of afflictive visitations
they know not God, nor put their trust in Him. They look alone to human
prudence and prowess; they “weary
themselves in the fire”; but seek not unto Him who alone can save or deliver.
But how frequently are they ashamed of their confidence, as was Israel of
Egypt. No language can sufficiently describe the turpitude of this defection,
from God. Finally, our text alleges against them--
4. Neglect of His worship. “She drew not near to her God.” There can
be no doubt that by “drawing near to God,” His worship is meant (1 Samuel 4:36;. Psalms 73:28; Hebrews 10:22). It appears that in the
days of the prophet Isaiah “they drew near with their lips”; but now they had
entirely relinquished the worship of Jehovah. Manasseh, and Amon his son, had
uprooted the worship of the living and true God, and established the worship of
idols instead thereof, having placed images and altars in the very house of the
Lord (chap. Zephaniah 1:4-5; 2 Kings 21:3-7). Thus they “forsook
the Lord, and lightly esteemed the Rock of their salvation.” Solemn feasts and
daily sacrifices to her God no longer graced this city. Well, indeed, might He
say, I will go and return to My place till they acknowledge their iniquity” (Hosea 5:15). “I will forsake you” (Jeremiah 23:33). But what did these
backsliders more than is done by multitudes in the present day? Have we need to
go far to find those who walk in the same footsteps? First look at the scanty
attendance at every place of worship; then visit those synagogues of Satan
which abound in our land, and mark the crowds, the bustle, and the business
there. We need not ask, do these draw near to God?
II. Give a general
view of what is implied in this case.
1. An awful manifestation of wilful disobedience. The very facts here
stated, as well as the manner of their being stated, demonstrate that all this
was done by the Israelites contrary to the will of God. The doctrine of human
free-agency is here, as in many other places of sacred writ, and also in the
daily deportment of millions of transgressors, most decisively and irrefragably
demonstrated.
2. A state of dreadful impiety. The allegations contained in the text
are at variance with every thing like duty to God. There is no docility,
reverence, affiance, nor devotion. Notwithstanding all God had done for that
people, thus did they requite Him with hatred and disobedience. So enormous was
their guilt that Jehovah exclaims, “Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth,--I
have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against Me.” But
what shall be said concerning the flagrant impiety of vast numbers in our times? If possible,
the latter outdoes the former. If we reflect on the vastly increased facilities
we enjoy for knowing and serving God, can we hesitate to entertain this fact?
3. A view of the gradations of apostasy from God. When men depart
from God, He reproves them secretly by His Spirit; if they proceed, He chastens
them by various means; if they fly from Him still, and put their trust in men,
He withdraws His Spirit, and frequently confirmed apostasy is the result. Let
this serve as a warning beacon to us; for assuredly it is written for our
admonition. Would we avoid this disgraceful conduct we must beware of turning
away our ear from the warning voice of the Spirit.
4. A rational vindication of those signal acts of retribution which
have fallen on incorrigible sinners at sundry times. Certainly the most
appalling calamities have befallen the Jews at sundry times, especially by the
Chaldeans and others of their surrounding nations, as well as the Romans. Yes,
whenever God has arisen to shake terribly the nations, or sections of His
Church, there has certainly been a cause; nor could that cause be other than
what is indicated in our text. Apart from the necessary exercises of a
probationary state, the unerring wisdom, pure benevolence, and impartial
justice of our Sovereign God, necessarily prevent Him from wanton displays of
His omnipotent power and terrible majesty. “The just Lord,” it was said of old,
“is in the midst of us, and He will not do iniquity.” Rather than complain,
therefore, when “God cometh out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the
earth,” be it our care to “stand in awe and sin not”; “to humble ourselves
under His mighty hand.” Remark--
1. What a caution we have here against apostasy: in effect it says to
professors of religion, “awake to righteousness, and sin not.”
2. What care and concern does the Almighty manifest in using so many
endeavours for the preservation of His followers.
3. What an inducement for sinners to avail themselves of the mercy
and forbearance of God.
4. How affecting the expressions of God’s regret at the infidelities
and apostasies of His people. How pathetic His apostrophy, “Why will ye die, O
house of Israel?” (G. W. Armitage.)
Verses 6-8
I have cut off the nations.
Terrible calamities in human history
In these verses the prophet sums up all that he had said in the
preceding verses of this chapter, and thus closes his admonition to repentance
with the announcement of tremendous judgments. These verses remind us of the
following great truths--
I. That there is a
sense in which the most terrible calamities in human history may be ascribed to
God. Here He is represented as cutting off the nations, destroying their
“towers,” making their “streets waste,” so that “there is no man,” and “none
inhabitant.”
II. That the grand
design of such calamities is the promotion of moral improvement amongst
mankind. As the storms, the snows, the frosts, and the cutting winds of winter
help to bring on the luxuriant spring, so the calamities in human life
contribute to the moral regeneration of mankind.
III. That the
non-realisation of this design amongst a people exposes them to terrible
retribution. “But they rose early, and corrupted all their doings.” The men of
Jerusalem, instead of getting better for these terrible calamities, grew worse.
They “corrupted all their doings.” This they did with assiduity. (Homilist.)
Verses 8-10
Therefore wait ye upon Me, saith the Lord, until the day that I
rise up to the prey.
The encouraging aspects of God’s judgments
In this latter portion of his prophecy, in language
pathetic, awe-inspiring, and sublime, Zephaniah foretells “the restitution of
all things,” when “all the ends of the earth shall remember themselves, and
turn unto the Lord.”
I. the beneficent
end which the Almighty has in view in sending the judgments referred to.
1. The conversion of the heathen.
2. The bringing back of the dispersed of Judah, by the Gentiles.
II. The great
effects which will follow the conversion and restoration as here predicted.
1. God will turn to the nations a pure language (Hebrews, “a pure lip
“). And
2. The nations of the world shall all call upon the name of the Lord,
and serve Him with one consent (Hebrews, “with one shoulder”).
III. The lessons to
be drawn from the declared purpose of almighty God. These are--
1. Patience under the judgments of God.
2. Faith in the promises of God.
3. Encouragement from the partial fulfilment of the different
judgments and promises of God. (C. Appleyard, B. A.)
Verse 9
For then will I turn to the nations a pure lip, that they may all
invoke the name of the Lord, and serve Him with one shoulder.
On serving God with one shoulder
“Then!” When? In the day in which God has risen up to pour
out all the heat of His fury on the nations and kingdoms of the earth. No
question more frequently and deeply frets our hearts than this,--What is the
meaning, what the intention of the innumerable miseries by which we are
tormented? What is the true function of the sufferings of which the world is
full? The best answer is this,--The miseries of men are intended to purify and
elevate them, to make them perfect. Springing from their sins, they are
designed to correct their sins, and to lead them to the love and pursuit of
righteousness. God deals with us as the goldsmith deals with virgin ore. He
tempers it with an alloy, and thus makes it hard enough to endure “the file’s
tooth and the hammer’s rap,” and the keen edge of the graver. When the work is
done, he washes it in “the proper fiery acid,” which eats out the base alloy,
and leaves the pure gold untouched. No grain of the precious metal is lost; but
its value is indefinitely enhanced by the artistic labour bestowed upon it. And
thus God deals with us. The miseries and calamities which come upon us are but
as the edge of the graving tool, the rap of the hammer, the grating teeth of
the file. By these He gradually and patiently carries out His conception of us,
His purpose in us. And at last, like the fiery acid which separates the base
alloy from the pure gold, death comes to divide the carnal in us from me
spiritual, and to reveal the beauty and the value of the character which the
Divine Artist has wrought in and upon us. “Cure sin, and you cure sorrow,” say
the reason and the conscience
of man. And “the sorrow comes that the sin may be cured,” says the Word of God.
The mercy of judgment is the prophet’s theme in the verso before us. To the
image of the final clause of the text--they shall “serve God with one
shoulder”--attention is now directed. The image the prophet had in mind was
that of a number of men bearing a single burden. If they are to bear it without
strain or distress, they must walk with even or level shoulders, no one of them
shirking his part of the task, each of them keeping step with the rest. They
must stand and move as if they had but “one shoulder “ among them. Only thus
can they move freely and happily, and make the burden as little burdensome as possible
to each and all. The law of God is a burden which all men haw to bear; it rests
on the shoulders of the whole world. Men can only bear it without strain or
distress of spirit as each of them freely assumes it, as they all help each
other to bear it, as they pace together under it with a happy consent of
obedience,
I. The Divine law
is a burden which men are reluctant to assume. Does that need proof? Do we not
ourselves find it hard to cross our wills, in order to adopt the pure and
steadfast will that rules the universe? The will of God is never so full of
grace and attraction for us as when it is incarnated in the life of the man
Christ Jesus. And yet even this is hard. To our self-will it is hard, and
cannot but be hard, to submit even to the purest and tenderest will. Take any
of the most distinctively Christian precepts, and there is that in us which
resents and rebels against them. We delight in the law of Christ after the
inward man; but we find another law in our members, warring against the law of
our mind. We can only find rest as we impose a yoke on the flesh with its
passions and lusts, and compel them to bear the burden of obedience to the
higher law. In the flesh, or in the spirit, we must suffer. The only option
before us is--in which? Of course it is the flesh that ought to be subdued and
made to serve. Shall we let these weak wavering wills of ours be the sport of
the impulses, now good and now evil, which rise within us, and try to be
content with yielding at one time to the flesh, and at another time to the
spirit? We must get unity into our life.
II. The true
freedom consists in a willing assumption of this burden, a cheerful and
unforced obedience to the Divine law. Doing the will of God from the heart.
Sooner or later self-will makes us hateful both to ourselves and to our
neighbours. It renders us incapable both of social and of spiritual life. Let a
man acknowledge no higher will than his own, no law which he is bound to obey,
and he becomes a burden to himself and to all about him. We must take up some
burden; we must bear some yoke. All we can do is choose the law to which we
will yield. The law of God it will be wise for us to accept. This is the law
which really rules in human affairs. If we would enter into a true security and
an enduring rest, we must make His will our will. It is not enough that we
yield to the will of God; we must heartily and cheerfully adopt it if we are to
be free. Obedience involves self-denial, self-sacrifice. There is hut one way
in which we can make the hard yoke easy, and the heavy burden light. It is the
excellent way of charity, of love. When a true and pure affection has been
kindled in the soul, the most difficult tasks grow easy.
III. The happiness
of obedience depends largely on the unanimity and the universality of the
obedience. Only when all men serve God with one shoulder that all sense of
distress and effort will pass away. And that for two reasons--
1. If we really love God and His law, we must also love men, and
yearn that they should keep His law.
2. Till they love Him and do His will, they will put many hindrances
in our path, strew in it many stones of stumbling and rocks of offence which
cannot fail to make obedience difficult and painful for us. When the Church
serves God with one shoulder, and when all “the nations” serve Him with one
shoulder, then at last the pain and effort of obedience will be over, and we
shall serve God with unbroken gladness because we and all men serve Him with a
single and a perfect heart. (Samuel Cox, D. D.)
The chosen people; their language and worship
I. The first
privilege which God giveth his people in this promise is pure language. Pure
Hebrew had become degenerate Hebrew in Zephaniah’s time. The language of Adam
in the garden had no sin in it; it was not capable of expressing falsehood,
rebellion, or error. We speak the
human language, but not as God gave it. We have learnt some of
the language of demons. Let man alone, and his language would be a constant
opposition to the Divine will; it would be full of envy, greediness,
covetousness, murmuring, rebellion, blasphemy against the Most High. When grace
comes, God will restore the pure language. What is this pure language, and how
may we know it? By its very letters. In those letters Christ is Alpha, and Christ
is Omega. Give the soul once the pure language, and it begins to talk of Christ
as its beginning, and Christ as its end. Christ becomes all in all to that man
who has received Christ into his heart, You may know that language by its
syntax, for the rules of that language are the law of God. Its hardest words
are such as these,--implicit trust, unstaggering faith. It is the language
which Jesus spoke. You may know it by its very ring and tone. Wherein does its
purity lie? You may discover its purity--
1. When it is used towards God. Then a man must be humble, confident,
and filial. There is a pure language with regard to providence. The child of
God talks about God’s providence as being always wise and good.
2. When it is used concerning the doctrines of the Gospel.
3. In reference to our fellow-men. Where is this pure language
spoken? In the Bible; from the pulpit; in Christian society.
II. Our common
worship. All converted men and women do call upon the name of the Lord.
1. In public.
2. In private prayer.
3. In making Christian profession.
III. We should serve
Him with one consent. When the Lord saves souls, it is that they may serve Him.
“Serve and save” are two good words to put together, but you must take care
which you put first. Note that the service is, and must be, altogether
voluntary. It is not “with one constraint,” but with one consent. (C. H.
Spurgeon.)
To serve Him with one
consent.
The adaptation of/ the established Church to the prophesied
purposes of God
The right improvement of life consists, mainly, in two grand
pursuits; our personal preparation to meet our God, and the proper employment
of our talents lot edification and benefit to our fellow-men. These two
pursuits will generally be found to prosper the most when they are duly carried
on together. Hence it is necessary to press on your attention your Christian
obligations. The manifold varieties of Christian benevolence will be found
resolvable into two classes: the one relating to the temporal, the other to the
spiritual good of our brethren of mankind. God’s purpose is, the extension
among mankind of “the knowledge of the one true God, and Jesus Christ whom He
hath sent”; His end is, that we, through Divine grace, should secure the
eternal salvation of our perishing brethren.
1. The foundation of all our hopes and confidence for success, in the
purpose of God, as shown in revelation, concerning the universal extension of
religious knowledge in the world.
2. There is a peculiar adaptation in the system of our national
Church for the promotion, under the Divine blessing, of the gracious purpose of
Jehovah. This is seen in--
A plea for the promulgation of the scriptural principles of our
Church among the rising
generation. (W. Scoresby, B. D.)
Verses 11-13
In that day shalt thou not be ashamed for all thy doings.
A sketch of a morally regenerated city
I. The utter absence
of bad. There is an absence of--
1. Painful memories. “In that day shalt thou not be ashamed for all
thy doings.” Thou wilt not need to be ashamed of all thy iniquities--
2. Wicked citizens. “I will take away out of the midst of thee them
that rejoice in thy pride.”
3. All crimes. “The remnant of Israel shall not do of the city cleared
of such moral impurities.
II. The blessed
presence of the good. “I will also leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and
poor people, and they shall trust in the name of the Lord.” Who will be the
citizens?
1. Men of humility. Delitzsch translates the word “afflicted,” “bowed
down”; and Henderson, “humble.” Humility is evidently the idea. There will be
men who are “poor in spirit.” Moral humility is moral nobility. The humbler a
man is, the nobler and the happier too. “Blessed are the poor in spirit.”
2. Men of piety “They shall trust in the name of the Lord.” Their
chief confidence will be placed, not in their strength, their wealth, or their
wisdom, but in
God. They will centre their trust, not in the creature, but in the Creator.
3. Men of concord. “They shall feed and lie down, and none shall make
them afraid.” There will be amongst them no acrimonious disputations, no
commercial rivalries, no social jealousies or envyings, no painful divisions of
any kind. (Homilist.)
Verse 12
I will leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people,
and they shall trust in the name of the Lord.
The rich poverty
I. God’s dealings
with His poor Church when He comes to visit the world. “I will leave in the
midst of thee.” God will have some in the worst time. This is an article of our
faith. We believe in the “holy Catholic Church.” The world should not stand
were it not for a company in the world that are His. Though God’s people be but
a few, yet hath He a special care of them. Sometimes, indeed, it seems
otherwise. God’s children are taken away in common judgments. But He deals with
HIS children as becometh His infinite wisdom, and so that they shall find most
comfort in the hardest times.
II. The state and
condition of these people. “An afflicted and poor people.” This is for the most
part the state of God’s children and Church in the world. We must not say it is
a general rule. Reasons are--
1. It is fit that the body should be conformable to the head.
2. By reason of the remainder of our corruptions it is needful.
God sanctifies outward affliction and poverty, to help inward
poverty of spirit. It takes away the fuel that feeds pride. And it has a power
to bring us to God. Inward and spiritual poverty is not mere want of grace.
There is a poverty of spirit before we are in a state of grace, and after.
Where this con Diction and poverty is, a man sees an emptiness and vanity
in all things in the world whatsoever, but in Christ. There is a desire for the
grace and favour of God above all things. A wondrous earnestness after pardon
and mercy, and after grace It is always joined with a wondrous abasing of self.
There is a continual frame and disposition of soul which Is a poverty of spirit
that accompanies God’s children all the days of their life. In justification
and in sanctification there must be poverty of spirit.
III. The carriage of
these poor and afflicted people. Naturally every man will have a trust in
himself, or out of himself. God is the trust of the poor man. What he wants in
himself he has in God. Learn, then, to know God: in His special attributes, and
in His promises. (R. Sibbes.)
The condition and character of the people of God
I. The condition
of God’s people in this world. “An afflicted and poor people.” “A remnant.”
Though trouble, vanity, and vexation of spirit attend upon believers as the
children of this world, yet there are trials, difficulties, and woes of a far
more grievous nature, peculiar to them as the people of God. Sin is the
greatest of the great troubles of the righteous. Then there is what Scripture
calls, “the hiding of God’s countenance.” They are “poor” in the sense of being
“poor in spirit.” And the true Church of Christ has ever been a protesting,
minority.
II. Their hope and
character. Their hope is “a good hope.” “The name of the Lord is a strong
tower; the righteous runneth into it and is safe.” As to their character, God
calls them to holiness, to purity, to love, to peace. The most devoted
Christian cannot hope to be entirely free from sin until “mortality, is
swallowed up of
life.” But the believer does not love sin, or anew it to reign over him.
III. Their
privileges.
1. Their wants shall he supplied.
2. They shall be free from terror and danger. (C. Arthur Maginn,
M. A.)
God’s people afflicted and poor
The Book of Providence is confessedly a difficult book.
Perhaps there are few more mysterious things in it than the deep trials of the
family of God.
I. The Lord has a
people. They are the Lord’s witnesses. Yet they are but a remnant. A remnant
according to the election of grace.
II. The
circumstances of his people. “Afflicted and poor.” There is not an evil in life
from which they are exempt. They have afflictions common to men, and afflictions
peculiar to themselves. Oftentimes they are heavy afflictions. Many of God’s
people are literally poor, and certainly they are poor in the sense of being
humble.
III. WHAT ARE THE
BLESSINGS OF THESE CIRCUMSTANCES? Affliction is the means of bringing them to
think. And it is the means of drawing out the sympathies of the saints of
God. (J. Harington Evans, M. A.)
Verse 13
The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity.
The saved remnant
The “remnant” is those who are left after the sifting out. God is
ever sifting out, and the unworthy fall through the meshes of the mighty sieve.
They are swept up and east out, but the worthy remain. He sifted Israel. The
Captivity tested them. He sifted the infant Church. Persecution proved its
members. The text refers to the blessed privilege of those who shall endure.
I. Their number.
Only a “remnant” It was but a remnant of those people who left Egypt that
entered Canaan--only two men. It was only a remnant returned from the
Captivity. It is only a remnant of those who hear the Gospel who are saved.
Still, there is a remnant. There are always some who fear God. God never leaves
Himself without witness of some sort.
II. Their character.
1. They are holy--“Shall do no iniquity.” But there must be great
changes in our natures and circumstances before this promise is fulfilled.
2. They shall be faithful--“Not speak lies.” This is one branch of
holiness, but it is a very important one, and is mentioned particularly in
order to show us the thoroughness of their piety.
III. Their
privileges. There are three here specified.
1. Provision--“They shall feed.” That is, have spiritual food. There
is such a thing as spiritual starvation.
2. Rest--“They shall lie down.” There shall be no care, no anxiety,
no toil.
3. Protection--None shall make them afraid.” It is a blessed thing to
endure the Lord’s sifting. Those who do so shall live for ever. (Homilist.)
Verses 14-17
Sing, O daughter of Zion.
Joy: human and Divine
Here is a call to the regenerated inhabitants of Jerusalem to
exult in the mercy of God, who has wrought their deliverance.
I. The joy of the
regenerated man.
1. The joy of gratitude for the deliverance from evil.
2. The joy of conscious security.
II. The joy of the
regenerating God. The joy of infinite benevolence. In this joy the redeemed
will participate. (Homilist.)
Exhortation to joy
These words form the basis of an exhortation to joy, and are given
as the reason why the Church should rejoice for her salvation, accomplished by
her Saviour.
I. The great
deliverance of the church.
1. The deliverer is God in Christ.
2. Her captivity, lying under judgment.
3. Imprisoned by her enemies.
4. The removal of her judgment by Christ.
5. And victory obtained over her foes.
II. Her blessed
state after deliverance.
1. God is in the midst of the Church.
2. As a mighty king to protect her.
3. As a wise prince to govern her.
4. As the father of all His people, to provide for all their wants.
Hence we naturally suppose that, being thus blessed, they will
gather round Him, depend upon Him, fight for Him, and live and die with Him.
III. Her promised
prospects. “Not see evil any more.”
1. Sin shall not destroy her.
2. Satan shall not prevail against her.
3. The world shall not ruin her.
4. The law cannot condemn her.
IV. Her appointed
proceedings. “Let not thine hands be slack.”
1. We are commanded not to fear, either Satan, the world, sin, the
law, the anger of God, or wrath to come.
2. We are to be courageous. Inferences. See what encouragement--
Verse 16
Let not thine hands be slack.
The Church of Christ exhorted to diligence
I. These words
suggest to the Church of Christ that there is a work to be performed. The
caution “not to be slack” implies an injunction to be diligent, and is supposed
to refer first to the rebuilding of the temple, and then to the spread of the
Church of Christ in Gospel days. To assertain the special work to be performed
we have only to acquaint ourselves with the sacred character and required
employment of the persons addressed. A people of holy character are called to
exertion, and their work must be in unison with their character. The work to be
accomplished by the inhabitants of Zion is a work of grace. As such--
1. The work to be performed is spiritual in its nature. Being a
spiritual work, it has special regard to the interests of the souls of men, and
embraces every duty calculated to promote the purity and happiness, the present and eternal
salvation, of intelligent beings. The inhabitants of Zion, collectively or
individually, ii they would promote the happiness of men, must lead them to an
acquaintance with that Saviour, “whom to know is life eternal.”
2. The work to be performed is beneficial in its operations.
Contemplate the effects in their immediate subjects. The dark mind is
enlightened, the hard heart is softened, the perverse will is subjected, the
drowsy conscience is roused, the inverted affections are rightly directed, the
carnal nature regenerated, and the profligate life is changed into purity of
deportment. Contemplate the effects in their direct tendency. The operations of
grace are visible in all the kindred relations of life, and in all the
relations of society. Contemplate the effects in their extended influence.
3. The work to be performed is important in its character. This is seen
if we reflect on the exalted interest which it engages. The spiritual interest
of man engages all the perfections of God, and all the persons of the sacred
Trinity. Reflect also on the honour it secures to man.
4. The work to be performed is indispensable in its obligations.
These arc numerous, powerful, and binding. The obligation arises from man’s
misery, through sin, and should be felt and acknowledged by all who have found
mercy in God.
II. The words under
consideration also suggest unto the Church a power to be exerted. Hands, in
Scripture, signify power. They are also expressive of an agent employed. Zion
should employ--
1. The mighty power of truth.
2. The necessary power of union.
3. The extensive power of influence.
4. The consecrated power of wealth.
5. The prevailing power of prayer.
III. By this
scripture we are further instructed that supineness of spirit must be avoided.
“Slackness of hands” indicates a disposition that is most enervating in its
influence.
1. Supineness of spirit is unworthy of a work of grace.
2. It is unequal to a work of grace.
3. It would fail to accomplish the work of grace.
4. It is very offensive to the God of Grace.
IV. From these
words we are taught that an exhortation is to be given.
1. This is the voice of God from His sovereign throne.
2. This is the voice of ministers from the towers of Zion.
3. This is the voice of thousands whose state demands assistance.
In conclusion--
1. The work of grace is the work of Zion.
2. The members of Zion have a hand, a power for this work.
3. The members of Zion are called to unwearied exertions. (William
Naylor.)
Verse 17
The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty.
God in the midst of His Church
Almost all the messages of the prophets to the ancient Church
begin with the most awful threatenings and end with the most animating
promises.
I. What is here
said to the Church by way of encouragement.
1. The Church is encouraged by the assurance that Jehovah is her God,
her own covenant God.
2. By assurances of God’s everlasting, unchanging love, and of His
gracious designs respecting her. He has formed an unalterable determination to
save her.
3. That God rejoices in His love, and in all its sanctifying, saving
effects upon His people.
4. That her God is no less able than willing to effect her salvation.
He is a God at hand, and not afar off. “The Lord Thy God is in the midst of
thee.”
II. What is said by
way of exhortation. “Fear thou not.” There are various kinds of fear mentioned
in the Scriptures,--filial fear, reverential fear, humble fear, unbelieving
fear, slavish fear, etc. The text forbids the Church--
1. To indulge unbelieving fears; or
2. Slavish fear; or
3. A desponding, pusillanimous fear.
The second exhortation is, “Let not thine hands be slack.”
Slackness is opposed to zeal and diligence. The remark is no less applicable to
our spiritual than to our temporal concerns. Slackness or indolence is the
principal cause why so few Christians are eminently pious or useful.
Inferences--
1. All the doctrines and promises of God’s Word, and all the gracious
assurances of His love, have a practical tendency, and are designed to produce
holy zeal and activity.
2. Learn whether our belief of the Divine promises, and the hopes and
consolations which we derive from them, are real and scriptural.
3. Is God in the midst of us, resting in His love to us, and
rejoicing over us with joy? Then with what emotions does it become us to
receive and embrace Him! (E. Payson, D. D.)
God’s activity
This text is cast in the Gospel mould. It has the true evangelical
mark. It discovers the revelation of God’s character, which the teaching of
Christ and His apostles fully confirms.
I. God’s work upon
the earth. This is one of the fundamental facts of our religion,--God is in our
very midst. Think of the unworthy conceptions the heathen formed of God, and
the imperfect conceptions Jews formed. Christianity brought God in Christ to
the homes of men, to the workshops; God became God with us in the very breath
we breathe. But Christianity is more than teaching. It is not a school; it is a
Church. Doctrine by itself might enlighten men’s minds; the doctrine and
Christ’s presence together will conquer the heart. God is great in salvation;
God is mighty to save.
II. How does God
think about His work? What is His attitude in it, His personal interest in it?
The activities of man go into two great divisions--
1. Those who labour for bread.
2. Those who find their wages in the work itself.
The one is the labourer, the other the artist. God takes delight
in His work. (William Pierce.)
The connection existing between God and His people
In religious concerns men are always prone to run into the
opposite extremes of presumption and despair. Both these mistakes arise from
defective or partial views of the character and design of Jehovah.
I. What does the
text say concerning God’s relation to us? “The Lord thy God.” He is our Maker;
the former of our bodies; and the former of our spirits within us. But as far
as we are sinners we are not the work of His own hands.
II. What does the
text tell us concerning His residence? “In the midst of thee.” God is
everywhere, but not everywhere as Friend and Saviour.
II. What says our
text concerning His sufficiency? “Is mighty.” “Is anything too hard for the
Lord?”
IV. What says our
text concerning his work? “He will save.” Save from what?--From our supreme
calamity and peril. But some may say, We are saved already. But you may know
more of this salvation, feel more of it, rejoice more in it, and communicate it
more to others.
V. What does the
text tell us concerning His heart? Here is a love accompanied with three
characters.
1. A character of Divine delight.
2. A character of Divine permanency.
3. A character of Divine expression. “With singing.” (Willlam Jay.)
The presence of God in the midst of His Church
A revelation of the Divine goodness is essential, in
proportion, to human affliction and sorrow This is true in personal and
individual experience, and also in the general history of the Church. Where
affliction is found, there consolation is found.
I. God is in the
midst of the church. He is in the midst of them for gracious purposes. There He
is to record His name; there He is by the sweet experience of His promises and
there He is by the most abundant communications, beyond all they ask, of that
grace which is requisite for their comfort.
II. God is in thy
midst of his people to save them. There He communicates the immense blessings
of salvation. So gracious is God, so dependent and necessitous is man, that
everything may be considered as coming to us in the way of salvation. All that
we receive we receive from the hand of God freely. It is one thing to find a
Helper, but another thing to find a Saviour.
III. He is mighty to
accomplish that salvation. It is not every effort in favour of another that can
be considered as salvation. Wherever salvation is wrought by one individual in
favour of another it implies weakness on the part of the one, and power on the
part of the other. Consider the “mightiness” of the Son of God as essential to
qualify Him to become a Saviour. He must be mighty to save, so as to overcome
the defects in our own strength, to satisfy the outstanding claims of justice
against the sinner, to bring us with Divine approbation before God.
IV. He is resolved
on that salvation. “He will save.” The declaration is so put as to pledge the
will of God to the accomplishment of the work. It is not on our determination
and resolves that the work is suspended, but on the resolution, the
determination of Christ.
V. Christ our
Saviour delights in our salvation. Though it has cost Him so much, there is
nothing gives Him half the pleasure. He is said to “rest in His love.” Infer from this subject
two things--
1. The nature of sin.
2. The danger of an unconverted state. (Andrew Reed, B. A.)
God and His people
God is everywhere. His special presence in His Church is the
present theme.
I. God’s dwelling
among his people.
1. Under the former dispensations of mercy.
2. Under the present administration of the kingdom of God, the
dispensation of the fulness of times; the ministration of the Spirit.
3. In the heavenly world.
II. God’s
deliverance of His people.
1. The power of God. Including physical power, mental power, moral
power.
2. God is mighty in the use of intellectual power to save His people.
3. God is mighty in moral and spiritual power to save His people. God
is mighty--
III. God’s delight
in His people. He fills Himself with joy over His redeemed Church.
1. The presence of God in His Church is its glory.
2. The power of God is the strength of His people (T. E. Thoresby.)
A transfiguring presence
One of Goethe’s tales is of a rude fisherman’s hut which was
changed to silver by the setting in it of a little silver lamp. The logs of
which the hut was built, its floors, its doors, its roof, its furniture--all
were changed to sider by this magic lamp. The story illustrates what takes
place in the life when Christ comes into it. The character is transformed, but
not the character only; all life is made new when one becomes -a child of God.
Everything after that is different. The outward conditions and circumstances
may be the same, but they shine now with a new beauty.
He will save.
Mighty to save
These words are full of encouragement.
I. The exhortation
which god here addresses to his people. They are called upon--
1. To banish every alarming apprehension. There is much to excite
their anxiety.
2. To prevent faint-heartedness and lukewarmness. They were to be up and doing.
II. The grounds on
which the above exhortation rests.
1. The deliverance they were to experience. Regarding the passage as
applicable to our great and glorious salvation, we are shown--
2. The consolations they were to realise.
3. The honour they were to receive. It is only for the heirs of
salvation that this honour is reserved, and it is by them alone that true
consolation is enjoyed. (Author of “Footsteps of Jesus.”)
He will rejoice over thee
with joy.--
God’s joy in salvation
It is obvious, He can save--for He is in the midst of them, and
mighty. Here is nearness and power. But He will save--He is inclined, He is
engaged. He will save, He will rejoice over them with joy. What is this
salvation? It does not exclude temporal preservation and deliverance. We are
not to look for miracles, but we may look for Him who performed them. Temporal
deliverances are promised conditionally. Salvation includes redemption from the
curse of the law, deliverance from the powers of darkness, freedom from the sting
of death, release from the dominion and being of sin. This salvation is
ensured. This salvation is begun. (William Jay.)
Christ’s joy in His people:--In the time of Zephaniah the iniquity
of the Jews was very great, and as a nation they were fast ripening for
punishment. Battle and defeat, exile and slavery, were in store for them, but
these would pass away, and days of rejoicing would come again. Referring to
that time, the prophet calls for songs of hope.
I. The Lord God in
the midst of thee is mighty. He doeth what He will with His own, and all things
are His. The greatest feel His power, and the least are not exempt from His
care.
II. He will
save--From all useless dread and alarm, from all unnecessary trials and
assaults. There is no promise that a believer shall be saved from suffering and
sorrow and temptation; what is promised is, that he shall not be overcome of
these. Christ will show Himself as Saviour in the days to come, as truly as in
days past. He has saved. He will save.
III. He will rejoice
over thee with joy. His people are His by creation, purchase, adoption, and by
a begun and progressive sanctification. There is nought in the contemplation of
the natural man to call forth the joy of the Saviour.
IV. He will rest in
His love. Margin, “He will be silent,” or “keep silence in His love.” This
suggests the idea of a love too great for utterance.
V. He will joy
over thee with singing. If this is not an amplification of the preceding
promises, rather than a new promise, it speaks of a time when the watchful care
of the Saviour will be followed by a feeling of ecstatic joy--of a time when
the silence of unutterable emotion will be broken in upon by the triumphant
voice of Him whose voice is as the sound of many waters. Then, if these things
be so, let me say, “What manner of persons ought we to be, in all holy
conversation and godliness?” (J. B. Omond.)
God’s delight in saving souls
A knowledge of ourselves will show us how much need we have of
repentance; and a knowledge of God will encourage us to repent.
I. God’s power to
save. We shall not speak of God’s power in general, but as it is manifested in
the salvation of
His Church and people.
II. His
determination to save. If He should leave us to ourselves none of us would be
saved. He takes the matter into His own hands, and determines to save those
whom He has given to His Son. He does not destroy our free agency; but He
overcomes our reluctance, and draws us to Himself by an operation no less
powerful than that which He exerted in raising His Son, Jesus Christ, from the
dead.
III. His delight to
save. Not merely will He feel an inward pleasure; but as a man, overjoyed at
any event, involuntarily expresses his joy by singing, or some other outward
token, so will God manifest His pleasure to the returning soul.
IV. His
immutability towards those whom He intends to save. Man is often
alienated from the object of his affections, either by means of some unexpected
evil He has discovered, or through his own fickleness and inconstancy. But God
changeth not. In this glorious character of God we may see--
1. The evil of sin. Under whatever circumstances it may be committed,
sin is directly levelled against Him.
2. The danger of dying in an unconverted state. Will it be no
aggravation of our guilt in the day of judgment to have despised such a loving
and gracious God?
3. The obligation that lies upon believers to serve the Lord. What
should you render unto the Lord for all His benefits? Have no end, no aim, no
wish, but to please and honour the God of your salvation. (Skeletons of
Sermons.)
The joy of God over His own
This is one of those revelations of the character of God which are
sometimes called anthropomorphic. And it is argued that to ascribe human
attributes to God is to limit Him. But we may fearlessly rejoice in the
inspiring revelation of the text, that society is necessary to the fulness of
the Divine nature. God cannot do without His children; He finds His joy in
them.
I. It is the joy
of a strong being. “The Lord thy God is mighty.” Little natures are capable of
little happiness. In our gladdest hours we can but dimly guess what is the
bliss of an infinite Being. This joy God found in creation, in which His might
was revealed.
II. It is the joy
of a helpful presence. “In the midst of thee.” There is delight in being with
and doing for those we love. This is God’s joy in His providence.
III. It is the joy
of giving. “He will save.” Not in receiving, but in giving, is found the
highest and deepest joy. God finds this blessedness in the work of redemption.
The incarnation and atonement are but the self-giving of God.
IV. It is a silent
joy. “He will rest in His love”; literally, “He will be silent in His love.”
Sometimes joy is too deep for speech. It is the unheard running of the still
waters.
V. It is an
excellent joy. “He will joy over thee with singing.” Not silent all the time.
Sometimes He sings. What are some of the notes of God’s song? We may make God
glad. The sweetest words that can climb to heaven are, “God be merciful to me a
sinner.” He will stop the music of glory, and hush the converse of the angels,
to hear it stealing up to His throne. (George Elliott.)
He will rest in His
love.--
The Almighty resting in His love
God rules in an unquiet world. Yet is He ever at rest. “He will
rest in His love.” The idea in the text is of Deity in repose--silent--looking
calmly on all the disorders of the Church and the world, as knowing that there
is one attribute of His nature which will suffice to rectify all things for the
deliverance of His people.
I. The nature of
this rest.
1. It is the rest of a moral satisfaction with all the arrangements
He had made for man’s spiritual and everlasting happiness. In this sense God
rested from His work of creation. But this contentment of God with the results
of His own doings was to receive a yet higher illustration. It was great to
make a soul like ours; how much greater to redeem! The Almighty has delight in
the provisions made for the spiritual recovery of our race. Behold, then, the
great Father of spirits reposing with delighted tranquillity on the
appointments and provisions of Messiah’s kingdom.
2. It is the rest of a Divine foreknowledge and purpose. The
quietness of an Omniscient mind which, seeing the end from the beginning, will
not allow itself to be moved from the fixed order of its determinations. This
abstaining from interference is observable in the general order of earthly
affairs, and in the lot of individual believers. To all human seeming things
are left to take their course. This resting of God in His own moral
determination is often remarkably illustrated in Scriptures as in our Lord’s
delay in going to sick Lazarus.
II. It is
descriptive of the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ resting in His love
as the great means for the salvation of mankind. It must be a sight of the
goodness of God, if anything, that will lead a man to repentance. Then if God
so rest in His love, how should we rest in it. How assured and tranquil should
we feel in this, God loves me. There is always a firm footing there. (Daniel
Moore, M. A.)
The unchangeable nature of God’s love to man
God is not only lovely and loving, He is pure unmixed love
itself. This love has numerous objects. Among these His own perfection is the chief. This is a
theme so sublime that we are scarcely able to form any conception of it. A
number taken from two classes of His own rational creatures are distinguished
as the objects of His love,--elect angels and elect men. In what of His love
does God rest?
I. In the
principle of His love. It is as impossible that this love in itself, or in the
essence of it, can ever be anything different from what it is, or hath been, as
it is that God Himself can ever be anything different from what He is now, or
hath been from eternity. Love, as it exists in Himself, is unchanging and
ever-during
II. In the objects
of His love. God knows not only how many He has chosen, but knows also every
individual object of His choice. There will be no voluntary transference of
Divine love from one object, or one class of objects, to another.
III. He will rest in
the degree of His will. As God’s love always has been, so it will always
continue to be, of the same extent and dimensions. God loves not His people
more or less at one time than another.
IV. In the fruits
of His love cannot speak of the fruits of His love in detail. They embrace a
mighty compass. They include everything, from the first particle of imparted
grace to a seat with God the Lamb on His throne. Learn--
1. That believers ought to love their God with the greatest ardour
and constancy of which they are capable.
2. In whatever manner God may act by them, His love is neither
changed nor diminished.
3. Believers may be encouraged to smile defiance at every attempt to
separate them from the love of God. (Robert Muter.)
God’s people comforted
No sooner had Zephaniah laid open the abounding wickedness of
Judah than he pointed forward to brighter scenes--to the returning suppliants,
under the power of the Spirit, ashamed of their doings, to the remnant of
Israel, which shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies. The text is consolatory.
1. The consolation is addressed only to true Christians. No
encouragement is therefore given here to open transgressors, or to persistent
backsliders. It is necessary to make this distinction, because none are so
prone to take to themselves the promises of the Gospel as those to whom they
clearly do not belong.
2. The text is spoken on the supposition that the people of God will
often be overwhelmed with anxiety--that they shall “fear,” and their “hands
shall be slack.” No greater mistake can be made than that of supposing a
Christian’s life is a period of continual sunshine. Now illustrate the grounds
of confidence which all Christians may have in the unchanging love of their
Almighty Redeemer.
I. What are the
marks of love?
1. Our love toward an object may be known by the direction of our
thoughts; for on the beloved object our thoughts chiefly dwell.
2. By our anxiety in regard to its welfare.
3. By the extent of suffering which we are willing to undergo for the
person beloved.
4. By the prominence given to the object beloved.
II. This love, and
the relationships implied in it. There is a close relationship between God and
His people. He is their God in a peculiar sense. Consider by what names
He is called. Mediator, Advocate, Captain, Surety, Head, King of Saints, etc.
III. Consider what
Christ has already done for His people. They are His by choice, by purchase, by
a new creation, by covenant. And we have the whole past experience of the
Christian Church to prove the truth of the text. (James Begg, D. D.)
A duster of grapes
These words were primarily addressed to the daughter of Zion, to
Israel the chosen people; and they undoubtedly foreshadow blessings which are
yet to be realised. Ten times over in this chapter God assures His people of
what He will most certainly do on their behalf. But a much wider circle than
the chosen race may appropriate the blessed comfort of these words. Twice over
in this paragraph we are told that the Lord, the King of Israel, is in the
midst of His people. This is an indisputable fact. He is in the midst of His
Church, so that it shall not be moved. Well would it be if each Christian were
to devote some portion, however brief, in each day, to meditation upon this
marvellous fact. “The mighty God, the King, is in the midst of me. I am
God-tenanted, God-possessed. The High and Holy One who inhabiteth eternity has
taken up His abode in my heart.” And this marvellous indwelling--more wonderful
than if an angel were to indwell an emmet or a humming-bird--is not dependent
on frames or feelings
or aught in us; but endures through all our changes and fluctuations unto the
eternal ages. But if the mighty God is indeed in us, why is there so much
weakness and failure in our lives? Alas, the answer is not far to seek--we have
limited the Holy One of Israel. What now shall hinder us ridding ourselves of
all which has hindered Him from doing His mighty works, so that He may do that
which He so much loves, and which we so much need? Then we may expect Him to
accomplish the four blessed “I wills” of this precious verse.
I. “He will save.”
As God took the side of His people against their foes, and will do so again in
the final struggle, when His feet shall stand upon the Mount of Olives, so will
He take our side against our sins. He has saved us from the penalty of sin. He
will also save us from its power. Your foes may be numerous as the devils in
hell, strong and wily; but He will save. Your temperament may be as susceptible
to temptation as an aspen leaf is to the wind; but He will save. Your past
years, by repeated acts of indulgence, may have formed habits strong as iron
bands; but He will save. Your circumstances and companions may be most
unfavourable to a life of victory; but He will save. Difficulties are nought to Him; the darkness
shineth as the day.
II. He “will
rejoice over thee with joy.” The great evangelic prophet gives the key to
understand this promise when he says, “As the bridegroom rejoiceth over the
bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee.” Plato held that love is the
attraction to each other of twin souls, made each for the other, and moving
towards each other; until each finds in the other the complement and supply of
the needs of its own nature. As we need God, so does God need us. There is
something in us which satisfies Him, and without which His nature would not be
perfectly content. We should have thought that our sin would alienate Him from
us for ever. But His yearning for us is greater than His hatred of our sin.
III. “He will rest
in His love.” The margin suggests an exquisite alternative, “He will be silent
in His love.” Of old the Psalmist said that his soul was silent in its calm
expectancy for God’s salvation. Here we are told that God is silent in His brooding
tenderness. All the deepest emotion is silent. When we are told, then, that
God’s love will be a silent one, we know that it is too intense, too deep, too
infinite to find expression. It will break silence presently; but in the
meanwhile be still, and know that God is love.
IV. “he will joy
over thee with singing.” It is much to hear a lark sing, as if its throat must
be torn by the torrent of melody; more to hear a child sing as it comes down a
woodland path in spring, chequered with sunlight falling on blue hyacinths and
yellow primroses; more still to hear an angel sing, as the lone messenger of
God breaks into melody to cheer himself on some distant journey from the Home
of Song; more still to have heard our Saviour sing in the days of His earthly ministry,
when He joined His disciples in the Jewish Hallel: but what will it not be when
the great God Himself breaks into song, to celebrate an accomplished work, an
emancipated world, a redeemed race, a Bride won for His Son! (F. B. Meyer,
B. A.)
Verse 18
I will gather them that are sorrowful.
Comfort to mourners for the loss of solemn assemblies
I. God doth
sometimes suffer the solemn assembly to lie under reproach.
1. When does it lie under reproach?
2. Why doth God suffer it to lie under reproach at any time? That He may roll
away the reproach. There is a sinful reproach and a penal reproach of the
solemn assembly. Sometimes the members are accessary to the reproach. Sometimes
they are exceeding barren and unfruitful under the enjoyment of the solemn
assembly. Sometimes the members do bear themselves out in their sins upon their
enjoyment of the solemn assembly. There is a bearing of ourselves in opposition
to false worshippers.
II. How should the
members be affected under reproach? There are two sorts of members, false and
true. They will not be so affected as to be incapable of the teachings of God.
Nor so as to be unthankful for what they have. Nor will they be so affected as
if it were barely their own concernment. They look upon this as their great
affliction. The saints and people of God will search into their own ways, and
turn from the evil of those ways which have had a hand in bringing in this
reproach, what is there in this reproach that the saints and people of God
should be so much affected by it?
1. There is a darkness upon the greatest organ of light.
2. The name of the Lord is dishonoured.
The whole generation of the righteous are afflicted. The world is
scandalised. The devil gets up again. There is a certain presage of a famine of
hearing the Word. And God is departed. When the members are sensible of the
reproach and carry it as a burthen, the Lord will turn former sorrow into
future comforts. He will cause their after comforts to run parallel with their
former trouble. (W. Bridge, M. A.)
──《The Biblical Illustrator》