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, etc. "These verses," says Henderson, "contain a description of restored and regenerated Israel. The being not ashamed of their sinful practices does not mean their not feeling a compunctious sense of their intrinsic odiousness and demerits, but is expressive of the great change that should take place in the outward condition of the Jews. That condition, into which they have been brought by their obstinate rebellion against Jehovah and his Messiah, is one of disgrace. When recovered out of it, all the marks of shame and infamy shall be removed. The Pharisaic spirit of pride, and the vain confidence in the temple and the temple worship, which proved the ruin of the nation, shall be taken away. The converted residue shall be a people humble and poor in spirit (Matthew 5:3; Matthew 11:5), and of a truly righteous and upright character; and, having fled for refuge to the hope set before them in the gospel, they shall be safe under the protecting care of their heavenly Father." These verses may be regarded as giving a sketch of a morally regenerated city. It is marked by -

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.

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.)

ZephaniahCush, Jerusalem, Nineveh, ZionAfraid, Cause, Deceit, Deceitful, Delight, Eat, Evil, Fear, Feed, Iniquity, Lain, Lie, Lies, Mouth, Mouths, None, Pasture, Perversity, Remnant, Rest, Speak, Tongue, Tremble, Troubling, Unrighteousness, Utter, Wrong1. 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.

Zephaniah 3:13

     6147   deceit, practice

Zephaniah 3:8-20

     9220   day of the LORD

Zephaniah 3:12-17

     7145   remnant

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
I am going to begin with the last verse of the text, and work my way upwards. The first; head is, a trying day for God's people. They are sorrowful because a cloud is upon their solemn assembly, and the reproach thereof is a burden. Secondly, we will note a glorious ground of consolation. We read in the seventeenth verse, "The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing." And, thirdly, …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 33: 1887

The Song of his Joy
"He will save, He will rejoice over thee with joy; He will rest in His love, He will joy over thee with singing."--Zeph. iii. 17. T. P. tr., Emma Frances Bevan, 1899 Wondrous joy, Thy joy, Lord Jesus, Deep, eternal, pure, and bright-- Thou alone the Man of Sorrows, Thus couldst tell of joy aright. Lord, we know that joy, that gladness, Which in fulness Thou hast given-- Sharing all that countless treasure, We on earth with Thee in Heaven. ... Even as He went before us Through the wilderness below. …
Frances Bevan—Hymns of Ter Steegen and Others (Second Series)

A vision of the King.
ONE of the most blessed occupations for the believer is the prayerful searching of God's holy Word to discover there new glories and fresh beauties of Him, who is altogether lovely. Shall we ever find out all which the written Word reveals of Himself and His worthiness? This wonderful theme can never be exhausted. The heart which is devoted to Him and longs through the presence and indwelling of the Holy Spirit to be closer to the Lord, to hear and know more of Himself, will always find something …
Arno Gaebelein—The Lord of Glory

The Mystery
Of the Woman dwelling in the Wilderness. The woman delivered of a child, when the dragon was overcome, from thenceforth dwelt in the wilderness, by which is figured the state of the Church, liberated from Pagan tyranny, to the time of the seventh trumpet, and the second Advent of Christ, by the type, not of a latent, invisible, but, as it were, an intermediate condition, like that of the lsraelitish Church journeying in the wilderness, from its departure from Egypt, to its entrance into the land …
Joseph Mede—A Key to the Apocalypse

The Angel's Message and Song
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the LORD came upon them, and the glory of the LORD shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the LORD . And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1

Love
The rule of obedience being the moral law, comprehended in the Ten Commandments, the next question is: What is the sum of the Ten Commandments? The sum of the Ten Commandments is, to love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our strength, and with all our mind, and our neighbour as ourselves. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.' Deut 6: 5. The duty called for is love, yea, the strength of love, with all …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

John Bunyan on the Terms of Communion and Fellowship of Christians at the Table of the Lord;
COMPRISING I. HIS CONFESSION OF FAITH, AND REASON OF HIS PRACTICE; II. DIFFERENCES ABOUT WATER BAPTISM NO BAR TO COMMUNION; AND III. PEACEABLE PRINCIPLES AND TRUE[1] ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. Reader, these are extraordinary productions that will well repay an attentive perusal. It is the confession of faith of a Christian who had suffered nearly twelve years' imprisonment, under persecution for conscience sake. Shut up with his Bible, you have here the result of a prayerful study of those holy …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

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