Zephaniah 3:14-17 Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem.… I. THE JOY OF ISRAEL IN JEHOVAH. (Vers. 14 16.) 1. The character in which Israel is summoned to rejoice. Indicated by the names in which she is addressed. (1) Daughter of Zion. Zion meaning "sunny," hence "arid," and so "thirsty," or thirsting after God. (2) Israel. Signifying "Prince of God," or one who has power with God, and can prevail. (3) Daughter of Jerusalem. Equivalent to "City of peace." At all events, those whom God calls to rejoice in the fulness of his salvation are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness (Matthew 5:6), these who seek his face and call upon his Name (Romans 10:12), and those who are possessed of a spirit of peace (Matthew 5:9). 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. (1) Judgments taken away. The calamities inflicted on her because of her iniquities have been removed (Isaiah 40:2). Meaning, her sins have been pardoned. Believers under the gospel have the same cause for exultation. For them, as for Israel, is no condemnation more (Romans 5:11; Romans 8:1). (2) Enemies cast out. In the case of Israel this was so far true that henceforth she was no more seriously harassed as a nation after the restoration. Of believers under the gospel it is true that their chief enemy, the prince of this world, has been cast out by Jesus Christ (John 12:31), while sin, which represents his power in them, will ultimately be expelled from their renewed natures (Galatians 1:4; Ephesians 1:4; Ephesians 5:27; Titus 2:15). (3) God returned. As her covenant God, - "the Lord thy God;" rightful King, - "The King of Israel, even the Lord, is in the midst of thee;" powerful Protector, - the Lord thy God is "a Mighty One who will save thee." In the same characters God abides in the Church and dwells in the heart of the believer. (4) Prosperity secured. With Jehovah in her midst she shall no more see or experience evil (Psalm 91:10). The same true of the Christian believer, in whose heart God dwells (2 Thessalonians 3:3; 1 Peter 3:13). 4. The signs Israel shows that she does rejoice. (1) No more fear. "In that day it shall be raid to Jerusalem, Fear thou not." So Christ says to his little flock, "Fear not!" (Luke 12:32; John 6:20). (2) No more despondency. "O Zion, let not thine hands be slack." Drooping hands are the sign of a fainting heart. Believers are exhorted to faint not (Luke 18:1; 2 Corinthians 4:16). (3) No more indolence. Slack hands are idle hands; and no greater enemy to activity in Churches or individuals exists than lack of joy, as nothing stimulates to religious work like the experience of religious joy. II. THE JOY OF JEHOVAH IN ISRAEL. (Ver. 17.) 1. The character of this joy. The joy: (1) Of a conqueror over the prey he has captured (ver. 8); Israel in her restoration being a trophy of his prowess. (2) Of an artificer in the work of his hands (ver. 11); Israel in her purified condition being a production of his grace. (3) Of an owner in the value of his possession (ver. 10); Jehovah speaking of Israel as "his dispersed." (4) Of a lover in the object of his affection, as e.g. of a bridegroom in his bride (Isaiah 62:5). 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. Parallel Verses KJV: Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. |
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