Zephaniah 3:17

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. THE LORD THY GOD IN THE MIDST OF THEE ... HE WILL REJOICE OVER THEE WITH JOY - even "as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride" (); so will the Lord "rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in His people" (). HE WILL REST IN HIS LOVE - content with it as His supreme delight, even as "there is joy in heaven ... in the presence of the angels of God ... over one sinner that repenteth" (; ) (Calvin). Or, He shall be silent [from chaarash, to be silent] - namely, as to thy fault...

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 gath...

Verse Zephaniah 3:17. _THE LORD THY GOD_] יהוה אלהיך _Yehovah Eloheycha_, "The self-existent and eternal Being, who is in covenant with you;" the character of God in reference to the Jews when standing in the nearest relation to them. IS _MIGHTY_] גבור _gibbor_, is the _prevailing One_, the _all-conquering Hero_. The character which is given to Christ, Isaiah 9:6: "His name shall be called אל גבור _El gibbor_, the prevailing Almighty God." _HE WILL SAVE_] _Deliver_ thee from all the _power_, from all the _guilt_, and from all the _pollution_ of thy sins; and when thus _saved_, "he will rejoice over thee with joy," with peculiar gladness. "He will rest in his love," - he will renew his love.

THE LORD THY GOD IN THE MIDST OF THEE IS MIGHTY; HE WILL SAVE - What can He then not do for thee, since He is Almighty? What will He not do for thee, since “He will save?” whom then should we fear? “If God be for us, who can be against us?” Romans 8:31. But then was He especially “in the midst of” us, when God “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us; and we beheld His Glory, the Glory as of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and Truth” John 1:14. Thenceforth He ever is in the midst of His own. He with the Father and the Holy Spirit “come unto them and make Their abode with them” John 14:23, so that they are “the temple of God. He will save,” as He saith, “My Father is greater than all, and no

EXPOSITION. ZEPHANIAH 3:1 § 6. The prophet turns to Jerusalem, and warns her that, if God punishes the heathen, he will not spare the hardened sinners in Judah. ZEPHANIAH 3:1 WOE TO HER! This is addressed to Jerusalem, as is seen by Zephaniah 3:2. FILTHY; rather, _rebellious, i.e._ against God. The LXX; mistaking the word, renders ἐπιφανής, "notable." So the Syriac. Jerome has _provocatrix. _The true sense is seen by the expansion of the term in Zephaniah 3:2. polluted by her many sins. Jerome, follo

THE LORD THY GOD IN THE MIDST OF THEE [IS] MIGHTY,.... Every word carries in it something very encouraging to the church and people of God; and is an antidote against those fears and faintings they are subject to; Christ "is in the midst of" them; near at hand to support and supply them, to assist and strengthen them, to protect and defend them; he is not only near by his essential presence, which is everywhere; and by his providential presence, which is concerned with all his creatures; but by his gracious presence, peculiar to his church and people; and which gives them unspeakable joy, and is a sufficient security from all fears and dismayings; see Isaiah 41:10 and he, who is in the midst of them, is the Lord, Jehovah, the Being of beings, eternal, immutable, and all sufficient, possessed of all divine perfections; and their "God", God in their nature, "Immanuel", God with us; and who...

CHAPTER 3:8-20 Judgment and Glory _ 1. The waiting for the end (Zephaniah 3:8) _ 2. The glory that follows (Zephaniah 3:9) Zephaniah 3:8. “Therefore wait for me, saith Jehovah, for the day when I arise for the prey; for my determination is to gather the nations, to assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, all my fierce anger; for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy.” This verse leads us back to the opening exhortation of this chapter. They are as a nation to wait for Him, till the day comes in which He arises to execute the judgment of the nations. It has been a long waiting. Centuries have come and gone; His earthly people have been the wanderers

THE DELIVERANCE OF JERUSALEM, AND RENOWN OF REDEEMED ISRAEL. Zephaniah 3:8; Zephaniah 3:11. Let Yahweh's faithful people wait patiently till the day when He shall stand as a witness against the nations that oppress them. For it is His purpose to assemble them together for judgment, to pour out the fire of His jealousy upon them, and out of the depths of shame to bring the remnant of Israel to honour and glory, and to abiding righteousness and peace. For on the day of judgment Yahweh will remove from their midst all the proud and haughty ones that caused their dishonour, leaving a people humble and poor, trusting only in the name of Yahweh. ZEPHANIAH 3:8. For _le- ad_, to the prey, read le-

IS MIGHTY; HE WILL SAVE. The Hebrew accents place the chief pause or emphasis on "save", implying not that He will save at some future time, but that He is an ever-present Saviour. Read "Jehovah thy Elohim is in the midst of thee, mighty to save [at all times]". Reference to Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 10:17). HE WILL REJOICE, &C. Reference to Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 30:9). App-92. WILL REST. Hebrew will be silent. Septuagint reads "will renew thee" OVER THEE. The Hebrew accent places the emphasis on these two words....

The Joy of the Redeemed People in the Lord's Presence among them The prophet looks forward to the time when all Zion's afflictions shall be over, when she shall be redeemed and all her captive children restored, when the end contemplated by the Covenant, and towards which her history has been moving, even the Lord's full presence in the midst of her, shall have been reached. In those days Zion shall sing and shout for joy, for her name shall be _The Lord is there_(Ezekiel 48:35)....