2. The instrumentality declared. A work of judgment upon the nations of the earth, which work again commenced with the destruction of Babylon, and will only be finished when Christ appears a second time to execute judgment upon all (Jude 1:15), and in particular to pour out his wrath upon the impenitent and unbelieving (2 Thessalonians 1:7, 2 Thessalonians 1:8; Hebrews 10:27; Revelation 6:17). As in Zephaniah's time Jehovah declared it to be his fixed purpose to hold such an assize of the nations, so has he revealed his intention to hold another and a grander at the end of time (Acts 17:31); and as he further maintained (to adopt another rendering) that the holding of such an assize, with what would inevitably result from it, viz. "the devouring of all the earth with the fire of his jealousy," i.e. the destruction of his enemies by his judgments, and the salvation of his people by his grace, should be a clear vindication of his righteousness, so does he in respect of the final judgment claim that its decisions will manifest to all the righteous character of himself and his government (Romans 2:2, Romans 2:5; 2 Thessalonians 1:5; Revelation 16:5).
3. The duty prescribed. To wait for Jehovah. Addressed, not to the whole wicked and corrupt nation (Hitzig), but to its pious remnant (Keil and Delitzsch, Pusey, Fausset, Farrar), this counsel was in effect:
II. THE ENLARGEMENT OF ISRAEL. (Verses 9, 10.)
1. The accession of the Gentiles.
2. The ingathering of the dispersed (Jews). These the prophet represents:
III. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF ISRAEL. (Verses 11-13.)
1. In the enjoyment of spiritual peace. When the Lord had turned again her captivity, and brought her back to himself with weeping and with supplication (Jeremiah 31:9; Jeremiah 1:1-19.4; Joel 2:12), she should no longer be ashamed for or "on account of" her past iniquities. Not because these would then have ceased to be reprehensible and fitted to cause shame, but either because they would then have ceased to be (Keil and Delitzsch), or because God would then have forgiven them (Pusey). A new heart and a quiet conscience — two of the first gifts bestowed upon returning penitents.
2. In the possession of heart humility. Then all her proudly exulting citizens should be cut off, and all her haughty leaders abased, so that none should remain in her but an afflicted and poor people, who should no more be haughty in Jehovah's holy mountain. Meekness of mind, lowliness of heart, poverty of spirit, an indispensable characteristic of true religion in the soul (Matthew 5:3; Matthew 11:20; Matthew 18:4; Colossians 3:12; 1 Peter 5:5, 1 Peter 5:6).
3. In the exercise of living faith. They, i.e. the inhabitants of restored Jerusalem, shall trust in the Name of the Lord. If true religion begets a spirit of lowliness towards one's self, it inspires a feeling of calm and confident trust in God (Psalms 9:10).
4. In the pursuit of true holiness. The members of God's spiritual Israel should neither commit injustice nor tell lies, nor practise deceit of any kind. These again, righteousness and truth, are absolute requirements from all who claim to be possessed of sincere religion (Philippians 4:8).
5. In the satisfaction of all her needs. Like Jehovah's flock, she (Israel) should want nothing (Psalms 23:1) She should have:
Zephaniah 3:14-17. -The reciprocal joy of Israel and Jehovah.
I. THE JOY OF ISRAEL IN JEHOVAH. (Zephaniah 3:14 16.)
1. The character in which Israel is summoned to rejoice. Indicated by the names in which she is addressed.
2. The enthusiasm with which she is invited to rejoice. Suggested by the threefold call to sing, shout, and be glad. "Sing, — it is the inarticulate, thrilling, trembling burst of joy; shout, — again the inarticulate, yet louder swell of joy, a trumpet blast; and then too, deep within, be glad, — the calm even joy of the inward soul; exult, the triumph of the soul which cannot contain itself for joy; and this with the whole heart, no corner of it not pervaded with joy" (Pusey).
3. The grounds on which Israel is called to rejoice.
4. The signs Israel shows that she does rejoice.
II. THE JOY OF JEHOVAH IN ISRAEL. (Zephaniah 3:17.)
1. The character of this joy. The joy:
2. The tenderness of this joy. It was a joy springing out of love to Israel, the joy of one who seeks the happiness of another, rather than of one who glories in his own felicity. In God's joy over Israel is no element of selfishness; it is all sympathy and affection.
3. The intensity of this joy. Marked by the gradation of clauses. Beginning with an inward feeling of delight, it swells in volume and deepens in tenderness till it becomes too great for utterance, and the subject of it is "silent in his love," after which it keeps on rising like a tide, till at length it overflows the soul's banks and breaks forth into song.
4. The spontaneity of this joy. It is not meant that Jehovah's joy in Israel is occasioned or evoked by Israel's joy in Jehovah, but rather that Jehovah's joy in Israel should prompt and sustain Israel's joy in Jehovah, As "we love him because he first loved us" (1 John 4:19), so can we only "joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:11) when we realize that he for Christ's sake is well pleased with us. — T.W.
Zephaniah 3:17. - God and his people.
I. GOD'S RELATION TO HIS PEOPLE.
1. Their covenant God.
2. Their rightful King.
3. Their mighty Saviour.
II. GOD'S PRESENCE WITH HIS PEOPLE. He is in their midst.
1. In the Spirit of his Son.
2. In the Word of his truth.
3. In the ordinances of his Church.
III. GOD'S WORK FOR HIS PEOPLE. Salvation:
1. From the guilt and power of sin.
2. From the danger of ignorance and error.
3. From the temptations and corruptions of the world.
4. From the fear of death and the dominion of the grave.
IV. GOD'S DELIGHT IN HIS PEOPLE.
1. True and tender.
2. Full and deep.
3. Perfect and abiding. — T.W.
Zephaniah 3:18-20. - The turning again of Israel's captivity; or, good news for sin's exiles.
I. LIBERTY FOR THE CAPTIVES. "I will deal with all them that afflict thee," etc. Those members of the Israelitish community who were soon to be carried off into exile and enslaved in a foreign land were to be eventually (in the day when God rose up to the prey) rescued from their oppressors and set free from the reproach of slavery which pressed upon them like a heavy burden. So were the members of the human race captives of sin and Satan, and bondmen in a far off land of alienation from Cod, when Christ came to preach deliverance to the captives and the opening of the prison to them that were bound (Isaiah 41:1; Luke 4:18). So are men by nature sin's captives still (John 8:34), and the burden of the gospel message still runs, "If the Son shall make you free, then are ye free indeed" (John 8:36).
II. COMFORT FOR THE SORROWFUL. "I will gather them that sorrow for the solemn assembly." Those about to be exiled in Babylon, especially such among them as should preserve their piety, would regard it as the saddest element in their lot that through banishment they were no longer permitted to take part in the festal assemblies of the nation, in particular in the Feast of Tabernacles, the most joyful of all their celebrations (Hosea 12:10). To them, therefore, it would come "like cold water to a thirsty soul," or "like good news from a far country," that they should afterwards, "at that time," be restored to their religious privileges, and the fellowship with Jehovah which these signified. So men "in sin," being far off from him whose favour and fellowship alone is life, when they first awake to this thought, are filled with sorrow, and mouth after God, after that reconciliation and communion with him in which alone true happiness can be found (Psalms 31:16; Psalms 51:8-12; Psalms 85:4, Psalms 85:6; Psalms 143:7, Psalms 143:8). To all such the gospel promises comfort and consolation (Matthew 5:4).
III. GATHERING FOR THE DISPERSED. Many of Israel's sons and daughters should be scattered into far off lands when Jenovah rose to pour his indignation on the nations (Zephaniah 3:8). But into whatsoever region they should have wandered, Jehovah would recollect them in the day when he turned again Israel's captivity. So bare men by sin been driven away into many different "far countries" — into conditions of existence where their material environments, dispositions of soul, and habits of life have become widely divergent. But up out of all situations and from all characters God by his grace can bring men who have departed from him and separated from each other, and can form them again into a united community, a holy brotherhood, a spiritual household, a redeemed family. To do this is the aim of the gospel (Ephesians 2:17-22).
IV. GLORY FOR THE SHAMED. Whereas the approaching exile would lead to Israel becoming overwhelmed with dishonour, when the Lord turned again her captivity that dishonour would be wiped out, and she should once more acquire a name and a praise among all the peoples of the earth. This certainly was true of the Jewish people, who, for all their humiliation, rose to a position of commanding influence because of her relation to Jehovah and the Christian Church, to which no nation on earth has ever attained; while Assyria, Babylon, Greece, and Rome, her great world-rivals, and frequently her oppressors, have passed away into comparative oblivion. So, if sin turns man's glory into shame, the gospel of Jesus Christ promises to reconvert man's shame into glory; and this it does by giving to the Christian Church a position and power possessed by no other human institution, and by conferring on the individual believer the glory
LESSONS.
1. "Blessed are the people that know the joyful sound".
2. "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature". — T.W.
HOMILIES BY J.S. CANDLISH
Zephaniah 3:9-20. - The promise of restoration.
Very remarkable is the way in which the most gracious promises are in this book interwoven, and, as it were, wrapped up in threatenings of judgment. This appears in Zephaniah 2:11, where it is declared that the Lord shall be terrible to the nations that magnified themselves against his people, and shall famish all the gods of the earth, so depriving these nations of their fancied support and confidence; and then it is added that men shall worship him every one from his place, even all the isles of the heathen. The deserved judgment would really prove to be the greatest blessing, leading them from the worship of dumb idols that could not save to that of the living and true God. So it is in the very similar prophecy given here. It is not certain whether Zephaniah 2:8 is to be understood as a warning given in solemn irony to the ungodly Jews, or an encouragement addressed to the faithful remnant among them; and so the precise connection of Zephaniah 2:9 with the preceding context is not quite clear; but in general it is plain that it speaks of the conversion of the peoples to God as the result of the terrible revelation of his judgments against them. Thus we see how true it is that the Lord delighteth not in judgment, but in the midst of wrath remembers mercy. Now, this is no isolated or exceptional case, but an instance of the general principles on which God acts in his dealings with men. It may therefore be taken to illustrate the conversion of sinners to God at any time and in any circumstances. We may notice two things that it shows us:
I. THE CONVERSION OF THE PEOPLES IS HERE TRACED VERY DIRECTLY TO THE AGENCY OF GOD. It is his doing, and that not merely indirectly, by the influence of the judgments that he has been threatening to send, but by an inward work of renewal wrought in the people. The judgments of God may convince the heathen of the vanity of their idols, or even show them that they should call on the Name of the Lord, and that they must do so if they are to be delivered; but then how shall they do so? The Lord is revealed as the just God, who will not do iniquity, and every morning doth he bring his judgments to light; but their lips, with which they should call upon him, are impure, they have taken up the names of other gods, they have been full of cursing and bitterness. May they not well feel as Isaiah did, when he saw the vision of the Holy One, that they are undone, for they are men of unclean lips, and dwell among a people of unclean lips? Who can enable such peoples, whose lips are accustomed to falsehood and profanity and uncleanness, to worship the God who is a Spirit, and seeketh such to worship him as will worship him in spirit and in truth? Who but that very God himself, who purged Isaiah's lips, who touched the lips of Jeremiah and put his words in his mouth? It must be he himself who enables them to call on him, by an act of gracious will and mighty power, purifying their lips and opening their mouths. The nature of this act of Divine power and grace is not more particularly described, but the language used suggests a comparison with what is said of Saul after he had been anointed by Samuel to be king over Israel, "God gave [Hebrew, 'turned'] him another heart" (1 Samuel 10:9). It is the same phrase as is used here, and so the meaning is that God will give to the peoples another lip, which shall be pure, instead of their former unclean lip. But a change of lip or language cannot be conceived apart from a change of heart, as, on the other hand, the new heart that God gave to Saul showed itself at once in his language, for when a company of prophets met him, he prophesied among them (1 Samuel 10:10). Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh; and so, if the lips are to be pure, filled with the praises of God and calling on his Name, the heart must be changed. Now, this renewal of heart, showing itself in the utterance of the lips, is everywhere in the Bible traced to the Spirit of God as his special work. So it was with Saul. "The Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied." This working of the Spirit, too, is of God's sovereign and free grace. It comes on the most unlikely and unworthy objects. "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh or whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit." So it was with Saul. He seemed an unlikely person to receive such a gift, and men said "Is Saul also among the prophets?" and the answer was, "But who is their father?" Men receive not the gift by descent from any human ancestry, but by the direct bestowal of God; and so it may come upon any, and is to come at last, as Joel prophesied, on all flesh, even on the servants and handmaidens. Thus this prophecy is connected with these that point to the great manifestation of the grace and power of God's Spirit that was made at Pentecost, when the disciples of Jesus, speaking with new tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance, testified of the new and pure language that the Lord was to turn to the nations. He will pour out his Spirit on all flesh; and even those nations that were most alienated from him, and sunk in impurity of heart and life, may receive the heavenly gift. But this, like all the promises of God, is given in Christ. He it is that sends the gift of the Spirit, as he is exalted a Prince and a Saviour to give repentance and remission of sins. Listen, then, to him as he graciously and freely offers it, and comply with his loving call, "If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. And this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive" (John 7:37-39). When we seek to determine in theory the exact relation of order between the gift of the Spirit and our faith, we run into difficulties that we cannot solve. But in practice these difficulties need not trouble us, or are solved by our actually coming to Jesus in faith. We need not wait till we are conscious of the renewing influence of the Spirit in order to come to Christ; we may be sure that any impulses that lead us to Christ are from him, and that the Lord's own gracious call is sufficient warrant for us to believe on him, that we may be fully conscious of the indwelling of the Spirit.
II. THE RESULTS OF CONVERSION, AS HERE INDICATED, ARE SEVERAL.
1. "That they may all call upon the Name of the Lord" (Verse 9). The first movement of the renewed heart is towards God; the first utterance of the pure lip is prayer to him. So it was said of Saul, when the Lord arrested him in his career of persecution, "Behold, he prayeth." The tendency of the natural heart is away from God, and the lips are by nature slow and backward to call upon him. But when the Lord changes the heart, and turns to the peoples a pure lip, then they call upon his Name, they comply with the call formerly given by the prophet, to seek the Lord. Instead of endeavouring to hide themselves from his presence, or to find some refuge or defence against his judgments, they are led to see that there is none that can deliver them out of his hand, but that he himself is merciful and gracious, and that if they turn to him and implore his mercy, they shall be delivered. For his name is "the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long suffering and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means spare the guilty" (Exodus 34:6, Exodus 34:7); and that affords a strong encouragement to all the nations to call upon him. His Name is just the expression of his character, and that is one of grace and love, of mercy and forgiveness; so that even the most sinful may call upon him.
2. "To serve him." The words of the lips, the prayer of faith, may be the first result of the change wrought by God's Spirit in the soul; but that will not remain alone, but, if it is sincere and genuine at all, will lead to service in deeds. They shall not merely honour him with their lips, but shall serve him. He is the Lord, as well as the Saviour, of the world; and when they call upon his Name as their Saviour, they will further give themselves to him as their Lord. They have been refusing to serve him before, saying, "Our lips are our own; who is lord over us?" asserting that they were not in bondage to any man, but their own masters, yet really serving divers lusts and pleasure. But now, weary and heavy laden with the burden of the service of self and sin and the world, they come unto Christ, and take his yoke upon them; they enter that service in which alone is perfect freedom. It is a most essential characteristic of the converted, that they serve the Lord. They count themselves his servants, as Paul, for example, speaking of Christ, says, "Whose I am, and whom I serve." They are not their own, but bought with a price; and they seek to realize this by living, not for themselves, but for him who died and rose again for them. This does not imply that they go out of the world and separate themselves from its active work and affairs, to spend their time wholly and exclusively in exercises of worship. The service that the Lord would have given to him is to be carried on in the world; they are to be "not slothful in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord." By diligence in the duties of the calling in which God has placed them, by uprightness and sincerity in word and deed, by letting no corrupt communication proceed out of their mouth, but that which is good for the use of edifying, that it may minister grace to the hearers, by working with their hands that which is good, that they may have to give to him that needeth; and, above all, by walking in love, after the example of Christ, God's servants serve him; and this they are enabled to do by the work of his grace in their hearts.
3. Another result here indicated as flowing from conversion is unity and harmony among the nations. "They shall all call on the Name of the Lord, and serve him with one consent." The invocation of the true God is to be in common, and the service rendered to him a united and harmonious one," with one shoulder," as the words literally mean, as if bearing the yoke together, and.equally taking part in the work. This implies a gathering together of the nations m peace and good will. Idolatry and polytheism ever go hand in hand with national exclusiveness and mutual hostility. Each people is supposed to have its own patron gods, each land its own local deities, and the servant of one god naturally becomes the enemy of the people of another. Religion, in this corrupt form, tends to separate men, and set one against another. Ungodliness, too, has much the same tendency. When men recognize and worship no god or power above the earth, their selfish passions and interests set each one against his fellow. But when the one universal Lord and Maker of all is recognized as God, then the consideration that we have all one Father, and that one God created us, forms a tie of brotherhood among all nations. And this is strengthened by the fact that, when his judgments are abroad on the earth against all nations alike, all am invited and encouraged to trust in his mercy and call on his Name. "For the same Lord over all is rich unto all who call upon him." This does away with every ground of separation, as if there were many local or national deities, as the heathen thought; it does away even with the special privileges of the seed of Jacob, which the Jews were apt to abuse, so as to foster a selfish and exclusive pride; for "in Christ Jesus there is neither Jew nor Greek, Barbarian, Scythian, bond, nor free, but Christ is all and in all." True conversion, also, by taking away the ungodliness of the natural heart, removes the great root of selfishness, and gives a ground, a motive, and an example for love to all men. In proportion as men am brought nearer to God am they brought nearer also to one another. He is the Centre and Sun of the universe, and the more the paths of any of the creatures depart from him; the more will they diverge from one another; while the nearer they come to God, the closer will they find themselves drawn to their fellows, who may have started from very distant points and been led by very different ways. These things, then — prayerfulness, diligence in God's service, and brotherly love — may be taken as genuine and sure evidences of that great change that must be wrought in every man ere he can ace the kingdom of God — a change that is secret and mysterious in its own nature, though known and recognized by its fruits. — C.
HOMILIES BY D. THOMAS
Zephaniah 3:1-5. - A religious city terribly degenerate.
"Woe to her that is filthy and polluted, to the oppressing city! She obeyed not the voice; she received not correction; she trusted not in the Lord; she drew not near to her God," etc. "To give still greater emphasis to his exhortation to repentance, the prophet turns to Jerusalem again, that he may once more hold up before the hardened sinners the abominations of this city in which Jehovah daily proclaims his right, and shows the necessity for the judgment, as the only way that is left by which to secure salvation for Israel and for the whole world" (Keil). We have two things here to look at.
I. A PROFESSEDLY RELIGIOUS CITY TERRIBLY DEGENERATED. Jerusalem is distinguished not so much for the beauty of its architecture, the extent of its population, the measure of its trade and resources, as by its being religious. There the one temple stood; there the worship, with its imposing ritual, was daily performed; there the priests lived and God was specially manifested. But how morally degenerate it became I She is here represented as "filthy," "polluted" and "oppressing." "She obeyed not the voice; she received not correction; she trusted not in the Lord; she drew not near to her God." In this degeneracy all classes of the community seamed to be involved.
1. The "princes" are mentioned. "Her princes within her are the roaring lions." Like rapacious beasts, they preyed on all about them, they lived on people, they devoured their property. As a rule, "princes" have too often lived upon the people; they are devourers of their means; they consume everything, and produce nothing.
2. The "judges" are mentioned. "Her judges are evening wolves; they gnaw not the bones, till, the morrow." Or, as Henderson renders it, "they gnaw no bones till the morning." So insatiable are they, that they leave not a single bone till the morning, of the prey that they have caught in the evening.
3. The "prophets" are mentioned. These "prophets are light and treacherous persons." In their life and teaching there was no truth, gravity, or steadfastness. They were "treacherous," false to man, and false to God (Jeremiah 23:32; Ezekiel 22:28).
4. The "priests" are mentioned. These "polluted the sanctuary" by desecrating the sacred place, and outraged the "Law" by distorting its meaning and misrepresenting its genius and aim. Like Hophni and Phinehas, their wicked lives made the sacrifices of the Lord to be abhorred. Such was the degenerate condition into which this holy city is represented as having fallen. How many modern cities today, which call themselves Christian, have sunk into a similar degeneracy! London, Paris, Rome, St. Petersburg, etc; are all highly religious in profession, and have religious means in abundance. What is the moral conditions not only of their masses, but of their "princes," their "judges," their "prophets," and their "priests"? Ah me! under the cover of religion there rolls the sea of putrescent depravity. Morally, how much better is London than Bombay, Pekin, or Jeddo?
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." In every city, and amongst every people, the just Lord, the righteous Jehovah, is and works — works by the operations of material nature, by the events of human life, by the suggestions of human reason, and the dictates of human conscience. But in Jerusalem he was in a more especial sense, and he wrought in special ways. The temple was his dwelling place, and the gleaming Shechinah was the symbol of his presence; and specially did he reveal himself to some of its noblest men. And yet, notwithstanding all, Jerusalem sank; with God amongst them working to raise them, they fell lower and lower. What does this teach?
1. The wonderful freedom which the Almighty allows to wicked men on the 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! It binds him in chains often stronger than adamant. It loads him with a weight which he cannot shake off, but which sinks him deeper and deeper into the abysses of wickedness.
CONCLUSION.
1. Do not hinder Christian propagandism from entering a city because it is nominally Christian. The gospel is wanted there, perhaps, more than anywhere else, more even than in pagan populations.
2. Do not expect that the world will be morally renovated by miraculous agency. Almighty Goodness does not coerce. There is no way by which mere force can travel to a man's soul. — D.T.
Zephaniah 3:6-8. - Terrible calamities it, human history.
"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. I said, Surely thou wilt fear me, thou wilt receive instruction," etc. 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 three great truths of universal importance, claiming the attention of men wherever they exist.
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." What particular nation is here referred to cannot be determined with certainty. We know that he did destroy nations — the Canaanitish nations, also Assyria and Babylon. These calamities are here ascribed to God. In Bible language he is frequently represented as doing that which he only permits. Nations destroy each other, he allows them to do so. Though he does not give them the disposition for the work, he imparts the power and the opportunities.
II. THAT THE GRAND DESIGN OF SUCH CALAMITIES IS THE PROMOTION OF MORAL IMPROVEMENT AMONGST MANKIND. Why did he permit the wreck and ruin of those nations, and all the dire desolations here recorded? Here is the answer, "I said, Surely thou. wilt fear me, thou wilt receive instruction." The grand end of all his dispensations with men is to generate within them the right state of mind in relation to himself; in other words, to make them "meet for the inheritance of the saints in light." "Lo, all these things worketh God oftentimes with man, to bring back his soul from the pit, to enlighten him with the light of the living" (Job 33:29, Job 33:30). 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-REALIZATION 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 becoming better for these terrible calamities, grew worse. They "corrupted all their doings." This they did with assiduity. They "rose early." They began their morning with it. "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." Or, as Keil renders it, "Therefore wait for me, is the saying of Jehovah, for the day when I rise up to the prey; for it is my right to gather nations together, to bring kingdoms in crowds, to heap upon them my fury, all the burning of my wrath; for in the fire of my zeal will the whole earth be devoured." The Almighty here speaks after the manner of men, as he does almost everywhere in the Bible, in condescension to human infirmities. He speaks as if he were disappointed in the moral results of the calamities which he had sent, and as if his nature now glowed with the fires of his indignation. There is, of course, really no disappointment for him, for he knows the future, and "fury" is not in him. — D.T.
Zephaniah 3:9, Zephaniah 3:10. - The good time coming.
"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. From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia my suppliants, even the daughter of my dispersed, shall bring mine offering." Henderson supposes that the poem from this verse to the end of the book relates to Messianic times; that the prophet points to that dispensation of remedial mercy under which we live, and which commenced more than eighteen hundred years ago. We may therefore regard these words as pointing to at least two of the great characteristic blessings that will come to the world during the continuance of the gospel age; and these two are moral purity of language and spiritual unity of worship.
I. MORAL PURITY OF LANGUAGE. "Then will I turn to the people a pure language." Or, as Keil renders it, "a pure lip." Human language is looked upon in different aspects by different men. Some look upon it grammatically, trace its etymology, and arrange its words and sentences according to tile conventional rules of speech; some look at it logically, study it in its relation to the law of human reasoning; some look upon it philosophically, view it in relation to the nature of the things it is intended to represent; and some look upon it morally, contemplate it in its relation to the law of conscience and God. Grammatical language is mere conformity to acknowledged rules of speech; logical language, conformity to recognized principles of reasoning; philosophical language is conformity to the order of nature; moral language is conformity to the moral law of God. There is a regular gradation in the importance of these aspects of language. The first is of the least importance; the second and third come next; and the last is the most important of all. It is strange and sad to see that the amount of attention which men pay to these aspects is in the inverse ratio of their importance. The first, the least important, is the most attended to; the second, next; the third, next; and the last, the most important of all, almost entirely neglected. In the department of speech we have more grammarians than logicians, more logicians than philosophers, more philosophers than honest saints. It is moral purity of language that is wanted in the world, and that is here promised. Language that shall be used, not without meaning, as it is oftentimes used now, nor to misrepresent meaning, as is often the case. A "pure" moral language implies two things.
1. That the state of the heart should be in accord with Divine reality.
2. That the words of the lip should be in accord with the state of the heart. In other words, purity of soul and veracity of expression.
II. SPIRITUAL UNITY OF WORSHIP. "That they may all call upon the Name of the Lord, to serve him with one consent." "That they may serve him with one accord" (Henderson). Who are to serve him with one accord? The nations, partially specified in the tenth verse. "From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia [Cush] my suppliants, even the daughter of my dispersed, shall bring mine offering." The glorious point to be observed is not that all nations shall worship, for worship will ever belong to the race; but that all nations will worship with one accord. There is a oneness in their worship. Unity of worship does not necessarily mean unity of theological opinion or of ritualistic observances; but unity of object, the same God in the same spirit — reverence, gratitude, adoration.
CONCLUSION. What a glorious future awaits the world! All men morally pure in speech, all men heartily one in worship. Thrice hail the day! — D.T.
Zephaniah 3:11-13. - A sketch of a morally regenerated city.