But I will leave within you a meek and humble people, and they will trust in the name of the LORD. Sermons
I. THE UTTER ABSENCE OF THE 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, (1) because they are all forgiven; (2) because they will occur no more. Whilst regenerated souls will perhaps ever remember their past iniquities, the memories will not be associated with pain, they will awaken no moral shame. So flooded will the soul be with new loves, hopes, and purposes, that everything painful in connection with the past will be buried in comparative forgetfulness. Departed saints cannot but remember their old sins, but, in view of pardon and purification, the remembrance of them is associated with pleasure, not pain. 2. Wicked citizens. "I will take away out of the midst of thee them that rejoice in thy pride," or, "thy proud triumphers." In a thoroughly regenerated city there will be no proud vaunters, no blustering pretenders, no arrogant worldlings. The voices of such men will not be heard; they will not be seen in the streets, in the marts of commerce, the chambers of legislation, or the scenes of recreation. 3. All crimes. "The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth." No wrong committed, no lies spoken, no deceit practised. The whole atmosphere 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. They will be united as brethren, one in leading thoughts, loves, and aims. CONCLUSION. This is indeed a model city. What a city this! When shall such a city appear on this earth? Ah! when? It is in the distant future, but it has been gradually rearing from the dawn of the Christian era to this hour. It will, I believe, be one day completed, the "topstone" will be put on with shoutings of triumph. - D.T.
I will leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the name of the Lord. 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. ( Sibbes, Richard.) 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.) 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.) People ZephaniahPlaces Cush, Jerusalem, Nineveh, ZionTopics Afflicted, Faith, Humble, Leave, Lowly, Meek, Midst, Poor, Quiet, Refuge, Seek, Trust, Trusted, WithinOutline 1. A sharp reproof of Jerusalem for various sins.8. An exhortation to wait for the restoration of Israel, 14. and to rejoice for their salvation by God. Dictionary of Bible Themes Zephaniah 3:12 1620 beatitudes, the Library Zion's Joy and God's'Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem.... 17. He will rejoice over thee with joy; He will rest in His love, He will joy over thee with singing.'--ZEPHANIAH iii. 14, 17. What a wonderful rush of exuberant gladness there is in these words! The swift, short clauses, the triple invocation in the former verse, the triple promise in the latter, the heaped together synonyms, all help the impression. The very words seem to dance with joy. … Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture A Sermon for the Time Present The Song of his Joy A vision of the King. The Mystery The Angel's Message and Song Love John Bunyan on the Terms of Communion and Fellowship of Christians at the Table of the Lord; Links Zephaniah 3:12 NIVZephaniah 3:12 NLT Zephaniah 3:12 ESV Zephaniah 3:12 NASB Zephaniah 3:12 KJV Zephaniah 3:12 Bible Apps Zephaniah 3:12 Parallel Zephaniah 3:12 Biblia Paralela Zephaniah 3:12 Chinese Bible Zephaniah 3:12 French Bible Zephaniah 3:12 German Bible Zephaniah 3:12 Commentaries Bible Hub |