Chris Hamilton Sermon Notes: Zephaniah 3:14-20 – Our Joy and Restoration

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Good morning Three Rivers. My name is Chris Hamilton. It is a blessing to be with you all

in worship today.

It’s been a while since I have preached, and although I know many of you well, I still want

to encourage those of you who may feel uncomfortable by someone unfamiliar preaching

this morning. Rest assured, this should feel familiar to an extent as my wife, Lizzy, and I

have been sitting under Mitch’s teaching for a handful of years now. While Mitch and I

may not be identical in our mode of communication, we are quite similar in our length of

communication.

I don’t want any of you to be surprised by that, so you should also know that I have never

been criticized for telling short stories, speaking too quickly, or getting to the point too

fast. So now that you know what to expect, let’s get comfortable and dive into today’s

message.

We have a lengthy introduction to set the stage for our passage. But if you would, go

ahead and open your Bibles to Zephaniah, chapter 3, verse 14. Zephaniah, it’s towards the

end of the Old Testament. Aim for Matthew, then flip a chunk of pages to the left. For

those who don’t know, a ‘chunk’ is an intellectual word used to explain the mechanics of

physically navigating your Bible.

Anyway, once you get to Zephaniah, find chapter 3 and hold your place because we’ll read

it together shortly before we get too far into the introduction.

Advent:

The first thing I want to address is why we’re even looking at this specific passage.

Something tells me that most of us, when we think of Christmas passages, we don’t think

about this one.

As many of you do know, this is week three in the Advent season. In the Christian

calendar, Advent is the beginning of the church year. The celebration of the coming of

Christ.

In the church year, Advent sets us up for the New Year where the secular world

recognizes these “new beginnings,

” and where we as followers of Christ experience a

reminder of God’s grace and new mercies. A reminder, just like each new morning, that

God has sustained us thus far as the Great Provider and Lord of all. A reminder that no

matter the trials and tribulations that have been, are, or will come, God will continue to

sustain us and we can rest in the assurance that Christ is still King and will return again

for His people one day.

And on that day,

“When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation and take me home,

what joy shall fill my heart! Then I shall bow in humble adoration and there proclaim: ‘My

God, how great thou art!’” (How Great Thou Art–v. IV)

I love the way Advent is described in a little book called A Guide to Prayer (Norman

Shawchuck and Rueben Job). Listen and be mindful of these words as we continuethrough this Advent season and as we gather tonight even, to feast and sing songs of

Advent:

“This [Advent] season proclaims the coming of Christ in the birth of Jesus, in the

Word and Spirit, and in the final victory when God’s kingdom shall be complete.

Our privilege as Christians is to receive the gracious gifts of God’s presence in

Christ. Our task is to prepare for His coming so that we will not miss life’s greatest

gift….Jesus Christ has come, is present with us, and will come again in final victory

when all darkness, pain, and evil will be no more. In Advent we begin again to try

to make plain the wonderful truth of the most extraordinary good news the world

has ever heard. Soon we will join the angelic chorus in singing,

‘Christ the Savior is

born.

’” (pp. 20-21)

Understand this, Advent is not a Lifeway marketing scheme, Advent has been a formal

season of remembrance and hope for the Church as early as the 4th century. As Mitch

wrote in one of the recent Advent devotions,

“[In advent] We remember what God has

done, what He is doing, and look forward to what He is going to do.

” So today, as we

examine the Word together, we do not do so haphazardly with a text pulled randomly

from the pages of Scripture. But we do so, joining with saints of years past who have read,

studied, and encouraged one another with this specific passage for hundreds upon

hundreds of years in this Advent season. We join together today, worshipping the Lord in

the proclamation of His Word, the same Word used to encourage and bring hope to the

Israelites some 2600 years ago.

So Church, stand together and let us read the Word of the Lord:

Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel!

Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O Daughter of Jerusalem!

The Lord has taken away the judgments against you: he has cleared

away your enemies.

The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; you shall never again

fear evil.

On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:

“Fear not, O Zion; let not your hands grow weak.

The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save;

He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you

by His love; He will exult over you with loud singing.

I will gather those of you who mourn for the festival, so that

you will no longer suffer reproach.

Behold, at that time I will deal with all your oppressors.

And I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will

change their shame into praise and renown in all the

earth.

At that time I will bring you in, at the time when I gather you

together; for I will make you renowned and praised

among all the peoples of the earth, when I restore your

fortunes before your eyes,

” says the Lord.

This is the Word of the Lord. Praise be to God.Let’s pray,

‘Father, we have gathered today to worship You. To bring all honor and glory to

You for You alone are worthy. We recognize and confess our sinful ways before You. The

ways in which we so easily can distort this Advent season into something so fleeting and

worldly. Give us eyes to see and ears to hear Your Word that we may continue to be

molded into the likeness of Christ Jesus. For those who do not know You as Lord, may

they hear the welcome invitation into the Kingdom of God today and trust in You. Amen.

1. Zephaniah’s Historical Context in the History of Israel:

a. Zephaniah 3:14-20. We’re still in the introduction, and the second

thing we need to cover is the context of this passage. Who? What?

Where? When? Why?

b. Understanding where Zephaniah is in Israel’s history and in

redemptive history is key to grasping the importance of today’s

passage. My goal in this next portion is to give a concise recap of some

500 chapters in the Old Testament. All the notes are on Theology in

the Dirt, so don’t distract yourself with jotting things down right now.

Pay attention to themes throughout this retelling of Israel’s history,

and then I want you to keep those things in mind as we get into the

text.

Let’s roll.

2. Old Testament Overview:

a. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Right? We

know that. Then sin entered into the equation. But from Genesis 3 we

see God’s redemptive plan beginning to play out. But let’s not

misunderstand Moses’ writing in Genesis about the Beginning.

i. A friend of a friend put it this way,

“The prophecy and plan of

God to rescue and redeem a people for Himself from every

nation was not a reaction to sin, but an eternal plan from the

foundation of the world.

” (Erik Reed)

b. In Genesis 6, verse 5 we see…

i.

“The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the

earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was

only evil continually.

c. So comes the call of Noah. God floods the earth, yet preserves a

remnant to Himself to sustain and establish when the rain ceased and

the flood waters were swallowed by the earth.

d. Soon after, the remnant began to multiply as commanded before the

fall, but instead of inhabiting the whole earth and subduing it, man

stayed put. And someone had the bright idea, saying,

‘Come on guys,

let’s make bricks…build ourselves a city, and a tower that will reach all

the way to the heavens, and then we’ll make a name for ourselves lest

we get sent across the expanse of the earth.

i. God basically says,

“nah, I don’t think so.

” Boom, all the peoples

get dispersed over the face of the earth and thus the Slavic and

Germanic languages were born to confuse everyone…

1. But the remnant is preserved.e. Then follows the call of Abram. Abram, later Abraham, a descendant

of Noah, is called by the Lord to follow Him and is promised to

become a great nation, to receive blessing and a great name so that he

would be a blessing to many nations.

i. Abraham to his son, Isaac, Isaac to Jacob. Then Jacob to Judah.

The promise continues and the descendants of Abraham get

glimpses of the promise fulfilled through the generations. The

remnant is preserved. (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are then

referred to throughout the Old Testament as a reminder to the

people of God of who God is and what He has done.)

f. Then we see God’s hand in Joseph’s life. From a place of honor in his

father, Jacob’s household–Joseph is sold into slavery, wrongfully

convicted and forgotten, until God restores Him to an even greater

place of honor to rule in Egypt. Jacob and his other sons—who

eventually form the tribes of Israel—are then brought to the land of

Egypt and restoration occurs among the descendants of Abraham. The

remnant is preserved.

i. But Joseph passes, and so does the Pharaoh. The people of God

are then imprisoned as Egyptian slaves for 400 years.

g. Then follows the call of Moses. Raised in pharaoh’s house, but knows

his true identity as a descendant of Abraham. He spends 40 years in

the wilderness, returns upon the Lord’s calling, leads the Israelites

from Egyptian captivity and is used to establish the written Law of

God. (See Exodus for more)

i. The Israelites then spend 40 years in the wilderness and are

finally led back to the land that God promised Abraham so

many years before. God uses Joshua, the one whom Moses

discipled, to lead the Israelites through the conquest of Canaan.

ii. Recall the promise to Abraham here. The remnant has been

preserved, the descendants are now a great nation, and they’ve

been given the law to abide by—guidelines for righteous living

that produce the flourishing of mankind.

h. Unfortunately, we hear a familiar theme in Judges, chapter 2 about

God’s chosen nation.

i.

“And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the

Lord and served the Baals. And they abandoned the Lord, the

God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of

Egypt.

ii. So the Lord gave the people judges to rule over them. But they

continued to push against God. Envious of the nations around

them, Israel begged for a king.

i. The prophet of the Lord, Samuel, dumbfounded at the preposterous

idea of a king, remained, however, obedient to the Lord (1 Sam 8): the

Lord said to Samuel,

i.

“Obey the voice of the people…they have rejected me. Obey

their voice, only you shall solemnly warn them and show them

the ways of the king who shall reign over them.

1. Samuel warns the people…and the Lord establishes Saul

as king over Israel. (See 1 Samuel 9 for more)ii. Saul is succeeded by King David, and David by his son,

Solomon. And then finally, the temple is built. The place of

worship has a permanent establishment…at least, it was

initially.

3. History of the Two Kingdoms:

a. Solomon turned away from the Lord, and the Lord raised up

adversaries. And upon Solomon’s death, Rehoboam (Solomon’s son)

and Jeroboam (the leader of the rebellion) commence a civil war in

Israel with the tribes of Judah and Benjamin against the remaining

tribes of Israel. The northern tribes separated from the tribes of Judah

and Benjamin and thus the Kingdoms of Israel (the northern kingdom)

and of Judah (the southern kingdom) were established roughly

around the 10th century B.C.

i. (Now that may be the most simplified way of explaining the

conflict of the two kingdoms, but that’s not our focus today. By

all means, go study more of this with friends and family.)

b. Everyone still tracking? At this point, the chosen people are in the

promised land, but riddled with strife and turmoil, it’s far from

functioning as the land the people were promised so many

generations before. And at that, the people were so far from being the

people they were called to be as God’s chosen nation.

c. Fast forward through much of first and second Kings and Chronicles

to the 8th century B.C.

i. Israel (the northern kingdom) has been exiled to Assyria. And

now, as Zephaniah writes, the people of Judah (the southern

kingdom) have heard much of the devastating destruction of

Israel by the ruthless Assyrians. But, that’s not their biggest

concern, because now there are murmurs of a new world

superpower, the Babylonians, who will eventually destroy

Judah as a nation and exile them to Babylon.

1. The people of God had still heard the promises of the

Lord though. They knew He had a plan to redeem and

restore the Kingdom of God as it was intended from the

beginning. But, any light of hope seemed dim in the face

of Assyrian and Babylonian domination.

4. Background of Zephaniah:

a. Now…enter Zephaniah. Zephaniah means God has hidden. Yahweh has

hidden, has protected and brought comfort to His people through

faith in Him. The early church fathers interpreted Zephaniah’s name

as the watchman of the Lord. This minor prophet’s oracles have been

described as a concise yet detailed and systematic gathering of all the

oracles of the prophets. (Martin Bucer) (Minor only because of the

translation from Latin that originally intended minor as in “smaller

prophets” in reference to the size of the books. Which for much of

Church History have just been referred to as the Book of the 12. (F&S

pp. 187))

b. The Prophets:i. The prophets acted as the mouthpiece of God. They called the

covenant people of God to covenantal obedience to God’s

covenant. Simple enough.

ii. The prophetic books span from the 8th century to the 5th

century BC. And that doesn’t include Moses, Samuel, Elijah and

Elishah. Through the wars, famines, exiles and return to

Jerusalem, the prophets functioned as a call in word and in

symbol for the people to repent of their unfaithfulness to the

Lord and His Law and to live righteous lives in light of the

coming “Day of the Lord.

1. It’s imperative to your understanding of the prophecies,

poetry, and wisdom literature of the Old Testament that

you grasp the story of Israel and the connections

throughout as you read through texts that may be

unfamiliar to you.

c. With Zephaniah, he’s one of the few prophets we have some

background on. In chapter 1, we see that Zephaniah is in the lineage of

Hezekiah, likely King Hezekiah, the God-fearing and benevolent king

of Judah. King Hezekiah was the king who is described as having

reformed “Judean worship, making it what it should have been, and

whose trust in God was vindicated, as the Assyrians failed to take

Jerusalem.

” (ESV Study Bible, 1 Kings 18:1-20:21)

i. However, after King Hezekiah, Judah experienced wicked

kings. But, it seems that Zephaniah’s lineage was one of devout

worshippers of Yahweh. Zephaniah, an Israelite, was brought

up to know Yahweh as the true Lord of all, despite his parents

and ancestors having lived in the midst of wicked rulers of

Judah. This, a testimony to the enduring and living Word of the

Lord when faithfully taught to the generations to come.

ii. When Zephaniah spoke these words, King Josiah was ruler over

Judah. Josiah was the king who reestablished proper Judean

worship as we know King Hezekiah had. But, King Josiah was

the son of King Amon, an evil king, and the grandson of King

Manasseh, the apostate king of Judah. (ESV SB, Zeph 1:1) This,

yet another testimony to the enduring and living Word of the

Lord despite man’s sinful abandonment of it.

iii. When Zephaniah delivered this prophetic word, the cup of

wrath for Judah was full. The day of the Lord, the day of doom,

the day of His wrath pouring out to destroy the sin that has

worked to destroy His creation, had come to the people of

Judah.

1. Zephaniah, by the Spirit’s guidance, says to the people,

“The word of the Lord is against you.

” This building

dread, encroaching upon their lives, threatening their

comfortable way of life was to come in the form of a “foe

marching against them…[a foe] whom they would fight in

vain.

” The great nation of Israel now split in two, with

half exiled and the southern territory remaining. The

territory that had prevailed against one superpower andboasted in their might. Now, by the prophet’s words,

delivers this condemning message.

“He rang the knell of

their doom.

” (quotes from the Spurgeon study Bible)

2. King Josiah is the one who then stumbles upon the Law

of God when they were cleaning the Temple. He reads it,

realizes they have fallen astray, and calls the nation to

reform..

5. Overview:

a. i. ii. iii. This is the backdrop to which Zephaniah writes to the people of God

in Judah. Somewhere likely between 640 and 621 B.C.

The Babylonian invasion was only years away,

a good king was on the throne,

the house of worship was being restored along with the

practices of worship,

iv. but the Day of the Lord had not yet come for Judah.

6. Zephaniah 1-3:13—

a. In Zephaniah 1, Judah, having recently witnessed her sister, Israel,

receive destruction and exile, she remains hardened in her ways,

refusing to turn back to her covenant obligations toward God.

i. Zephaniah warns of the coming judgment.

“A day of wrath is

that day. A day of distress and anguish.

b. In chapter 2, Zephaniah calls the people to seek the Lord and perhaps

they will be hidden on the day of the Lord. He says to the people, your

only hope is to repent of your ways and throw yourself on the mercy

of God, the only one who can forgive, who has done it before and may

do it again.

i. A fantastic theologian and biblical scholar you should read, Dr.

Tom Schreiner, explained the day of the Lord as like the Old

Testament sacrificial offerings, the day of the Lord will

consume the enemies of Yahweh. The enemies of Yahweh, not

just the obviously pagan nations, but all those who do not know

and obey Yahweh. (The King in His Beauty, p. 404)

ii. Zephaniah reminds the people of God’s justice and grace. His

judgment and mercy. Zephaniah is not describing God’s

authority as whimsical and disorderly in saying “perhaps,

” but

he is reminding the people that God is the mighty one. His

grace, His mercy, and His forgiveness should not be taken

lightly or expected as though they deserve it because they said

“sorry.

1. Zephaniah works progressively through the surrounding

nations’ historical opposition to God in the prophecy.

Addressing these pagan neighbors and enemies before

God,

a. The Philistine city-states are called out. (These are

the peoples of the northern and coastal lands of

the former Canaan.)

b. Moab and Ammon are rebuked. (The neighbors to

the east.)

c. Then Cush, that is Ethiopia and Egypt.2. d. Then for the superpower of the time, Assyria. Even

the most powerful civilizations of the world won’t

prevail against the power of God.

But He continues. Judgment on Jerusalem.

a. As an Israelite at this time, you’d hear the

destruction of your enemy neighbors—and while

for us today, we may hear of the destruction of a

national enemy or collective evil and there would

likely be rejoicing. For example the absolutely

overwhelming press coverage in 1945 when

Germany and Japan surrendered, or when Saddam

Hussein and bin Laden were captured and

eliminated. I’d argue, there was great rejoicing for

us—but we aren’t Israel in the 7th century BC.

i. I’d imagine for the Israelites, especially

those familiar with the oracles of the other

prophets, to hear these prophecies of

destruction for your enemy neighbors, an

underlying dread would rise within.

ii. As Zephaniah expounds upon the case for

the destruction of the surrounding

nation-states, surely any reasonable Israelite

would begin to realize they also had

committed the same atrocious sins against

the same God whose just wrath was going to

pour out on the pagan nations that Judah

would have probably celebrated in seeing

decimated.

1. Zephaniah’s oracle of judgment

displays God’s “uncreation” of these

people. A complete reversal of how

the creation narrative is written, we

see God’s systematic and complete

judgment for His opposition played

out. (Baker, Zeph., 255)

a. And upon this realization, an

overwhelming and gut

wrenching anxiety paralyzes

the people of Judah. As the

Lord says in chapter 3, verse 6:

i.

“I have cut off nations;

their battlements are in

ruins; I have laid waste

their streets so that no

one walks in them; their

cities have been made

desolate, without a man,

without an inhabitant.

”c.

“On that day,

” the Lord Almighty, will gather all the nations to judge

them all. No one shall escape His justice.

d. Then in verses 9-13, leading up to our passage, we receive this

glimmer of hope. The usual perspective I’ve heard when reading the

prophets is that we just read about judgment after judgment, blow

after blow to the Israelites and the surrounding peoples. Just

depressing and exhausting. And we’re simply reading it. We’re not

even the ones anticipating the coming exile and we still find ourselves

saying “woe is me.

i. But, God’s character is deeper than ours. His capacity for justice

and mercy, punishment and grace, far suprasses the shallow

reservoirs we possess. I love how the notes in my Study Bible

put it: “God the judge is also God the gracious.

” (ESV SB, Zeph

3:9-20) God the judge, the God of holy wrath is God the

gracious, the God of holy hope. (Minor Prophets, McComiskey,

vol. 3, p. 897)

1. God the judge is still calling a people unto Himself. God

the judge is still sustaining the remnant and purifying a

people for His Kingdom.

2. The same God, God the judge is God the gracious. God’s

oracles of judgment, against foreign nations and against

Judah, therefore are concluded with the oracle of hope

and salvation.

Zephaniah 3:14-20

1. As children of God, we can rejoice in the Lord:

i. Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and

exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem!

b. Zephaniah commands the people of God to sing aloud, to shout,

rejoice and exult… but why? The cities will be made desolate. Zion is a

far way off from being fully realized, Israel is divided and the northern

territory exiled, and Jerusalem will soon be destroyed and its walls

decimated.

i. So why Zephaniah, why sing aloud… why shout… why rejoice

and exult?

c. Verse 15:

i. The Lord has taken away the judgments against you: he has

cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in

your midst; you shall never again fear evil.

ii. Why worship? Because, as we often remind each other here,

worship is the only right response from God’s people to His

holiness.

1. It is a natural human response to rejoice and celebrate in

the face of a thing commonly understood to be good. And

the opposite stands true as well.

a. For example, if you are among the preserved

remnant who have faithfully rooted for the chosen

football team since the early days of the elusive

(and I’d argue, fate-inducing) black jerseys of 2008,iii. then you naturally rejoiced this last weekend at

their victory over the cows with big horns.

b. Or maybe football isn’t your thing… but Christmas

is. And if it’s not your thing, I hope that’s because

you’d like to argue over the semantics of what I

intend when I say Christmas. Do I mean the clever,

maybe even manipulative marketing schemes of

big tech, media, and shopping industrial

complexes that seek to steal, kill, and destroy the

true joy of Christmas by absolutely flooding you

with their truncated version of Christmas and

inundate you with their own version of evangelism

that joy is found in more stuff? If so, then sure, I’ll

give you that.

i. But I mean Christmas, with the real

authentic essence that Christ has come and

will come again. A time of remembrance and

celebration of true joy and fellowship only

experienced in Christ. In that, there is great

rejoicing. We have songs to sing, chants to

shout, eternal truths to rejoice in, and good

news to exult and proclaim.

c. Another major point in our current history as a

nation, the recent election. I know of many in this

town who greatly rejoiced, and I know of many

who have suffered great despair. Right, wrong, or

indifferent, it’s still a natural response.

2. So it’s easy for us to see how we might rejoice in the face

of good things or despair in the opposite. But what about

the reality that the people Zephaniah was addressing

would be facing in just a few short years? How are they to

rejoice when all they know and love is at the brink of

devastation?

And what about us? How do we rejoice in the face of trials and

tribulations? In the face of loss, loss of a friend, a parent, a

child, a sibling or other family member? The loss of financial

security, the loss of trust in a person and the damaged

relationship that comes from that. The wrongdoing of another

to you. What of the struggles of trying to get pregnant, the

struggles of pregnancy, and then struggles of raising children in

a fallen world. What of our brothers and sisters currently

imprisoned for the sake of the Gospel? One of which is our own

fellowship’s brother? What about the pains of sickness or

disease, or the pains of broken relationships, regrets, and

responsibilities forced upon you because of the neglect of

another?

1. The Apostle Paul writes,

“Rejoice in the Lord always,

again I say rejoice.

” You might be sitting there thinking,

“Great. Thank you Chris for that Bible verse bandaid. Theiv. only way you could’ve made it better is if you added a

cool design and then maybe you could sell them to

Hobby Lobby or something.

a. But in all seriousness, how could Paul really say

that? Isn’t he the one that told the church in

Corinth that he had suffered,

i. imprisonments, with countless beatings,

and often near death. [He says] Five times I

received at the hands of the Jews the forty

lashes less one. Three times I was beaten

with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I

was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was

adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger

from rivers, danger from robbers, danger

from my own people, danger from Gentiles,

danger in the city, danger in the wilderness,

danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in

toil and hardship, through many a sleepless

night, in hunger and thirst, often without

food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from

other things, there is the daily pressure on

me of my anxiety for all the churches. Who

is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to

fall, and I am not indignant? (2 Cor. 11)

2. How do you rejoice; how do you, Christian, have joy in

times of trials and tribulation?

a. We rejoice, because the essence of our joy as

followers of Christ is not something manufactured

out of that which we can only fathom in our

earthly understanding.

b. One of my favorite songs contains this refrain:

i. Our hearts surrendered, we worship at Your

throne; All for You, Jesus, the True and Only

One; Our King Eternal, who was and is to

come; Your name is Jesus, the True and Only

One.

Our joy as the bride of Christ and ability to worship is sourced

in Jesus Christ, the true and only one. The only one who will

comfort and satisfy you by His presence alone in the depths of

your being in suffering and loss. The only one who can bring

about restoration to the damages of sin in relationships with

others. The only one who can forgive you for your

wrongdoings, thus enabling you to forgive others. The only one

who comforts and sustains in the hoping, bearing, and raising

of children. The only one who perseveres the soul of the

imprisoned and their families. The only one who can heal and

soothe those in the hands of physical pains and anguish. The

only one who can provide in the stead of our inadequacies.d. 1. When we realize this—which I add with caution, not so

that you might avoid this, but as Peter writes in his letter,

so that you would not be surprised—this realization, as

shown in scripture and life, this side of eternity, is not

easily learned when on the mountain tops of existence.

It’s worked out in the grueling, hiking through the dense,

humid jungles and the long stretches of barren

wastelands that fill the valleys of life. And it’s a lesson

which may never fully be learned, but in His goodness

and mercy, He walks with us through it all.

v. Understanding who Christ is, what He has done and will

continue to do, and grasping our purpose, which is to glorify

God, we can sing with the Psalmist:

1. Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on

earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart

may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my

portion forever. (Ps. 73:25-26)

When God is the strength of our heart, He is our joy.

i. Our joy in God is not optional, it’s essential. You’ve likely heard

Piper’s explanation of this sort of symbiotic relationship of joy

and glory: He writes…

1.

“God’s ultimate goal in the world (His glory) and our

deepest desire (to be happy) are one and the same,

because God is most glorified in us when we are most

satisfied in him. Not only is God the supreme source of

satisfaction for the human soul, but God himself is

glorified by our being satisfied in him. Therefore, our

pursuit of joy in him is essential.

ii. Zephaniah tells the people to sing, shout, rejoice, and exult. He

tells them to worship. They worship because God alone is

worthy to be worshiped.

1. For the people Zephaniah is addressing, it’s not a matter

of suffering because of trials and tribulations, it’s a

matter of cause and effect, and the cause is that they, the

covenant people of God have not stayed true to the

covenant. They have become, yet again, the adulterated

covenant people of God, whoring after other gods.

iii. As we covered moments ago, God’s holiness is the standard, and

Judah and all the surrounding nations have fallen short of that

standard, yet God in His grace and mercy,

‘on that day’ has

taken away their judgment, He has cleared away their enemies,

and now the people of God shall never fear anything else again.

1. What’s their hope and assurance to never fear evil again?

God’s presence. The King of Israel, Immanuel, here with

us. The same assurance and hope for the people in

Zephaniah’s day is the same hope for us.

2. Christ, the manifested presence of God is here with us,

dwelling among us. When the King is with you, when you

are with the King, the One whom no one can overcome,2. the adversary’s shadow kingdom and shadow army is

exposed to you as the copycat and facade it truly is.

3. On that day, the dark kingdom of this world and its

so-called mighty ones will be ultimately decimated and

exiled to eternal destruction.

e. The Lord is in your midst, the Lord is dwelling in you who have

believed, so you shall never again fear evil. In Romans 8, Paul

encourages us along these same lines:

i. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation,

or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger,

or sword?…No, in all these things we are more than conquerors

through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor

life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to

come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all

creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in

Christ Jesus our Lord.

f. Christian, with an assurance like that, there is nothing to fear.

As children of God, we can trust and hope in the Lord:

a. On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: “Fear not, O Zion; let not

your hands grow weak.

i. It shall be said to Jerusalem–the people of God–that on that

day… the day of final judgment and of salvation…fear not. Fear

not O Zion, fear not redeemed people of the Holy city

Jerusalem, you shall not fear and your hands shall not grow

weak.

1. The command to fear not, is the command to be strong

and courageous. The command to fear not and let not

your hands grow weak (inactive, useless, paralyzed by

fear) is the command… as the writer of Hebrews

instructs…to

a. …let us consider how to stir up one another to love

and good works, not neglecting to meet together,

as is the habit of some, but encouraging one

another, and all the more as you see the Day

drawing near. (Heb 10:24-25)

ii. For the people in Zephaniah’s day, this exhortation was crucial

with the approaching Babylonian occupation and exile.

b. Verse 17: “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will

save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by His

love; He will exult over you with loud singing.

i. Yahweh dwells with us now. And Zephaniah’s encouragement to

Judah was that Yahweh, the mighty one who will save, the

mighty one whose strength will not waiver like the mighty ones

of Israel’s past, the mighty one who will ultimately save His

people to Himself, is now in their midst.

1. A few weeks back I was talking with one of my sisters

about this passage. Her church is working through the

minor prophets right now, and as she and I looked atverse 17 together where it says: He will rejoice over you

with gladness; quiet you by His love; [and] exult over you

with loud singing.

a. My sister made the comment —

“We often

underestimate the joy God has in His people, we

tend to think too much that God is just annoyed

with us.

” (Abby Hamilton)

i. It’s easy to take that perspective when you

look through the endless judgments and

rebukes upon the people of God in the

prophetic texts. It’s easy for me to slip into

that mindset when I look at my own sin and

see how God opposes it, and I find myself

again needing to come before Him in

repentance.

ii. With that being said, you might find yourself

having adopted the same mentality;

thinking,

‘well I just need to repent more so

that He would be satisfied.

’ Do not mishear

me. Repentance is a must. But we will never

repent enough in this life.

ii. Mitch shared a lengthy post recently that unpacked this

doctrine of forgiveness. In it, the author reminded us of the

story of the prodigal son. He said…

1.

“God’s forgiveness is never a layaway plan, where you

finally get to take it home once you’ve satisfied the

payment plan with enough acts of repentance. That’s

because forgiveness does not originate from repentance;

it originates solely from Christ. The Father did not

forgive the prodigal son because he returned home, said

he was sorry for his sins, and was unworthy to be called a

son anymore. The father had forgiven his son even while

that son was feeding swine in a faraway country. The

father had forgiven his son before he saw him a long way

off and began running toward him. The father had

forgiven his son because he was his son, because he

loved him as only a father can.

” (Chad Bird)

c. Follower of Christ, as God’s child, you shall not fear, you are freed to

worship Him fully, because you rest in the embrace of the One who

rejoices over you with gladness, the One who quiets your soul by His

love, the One who exults over you with singing.

i. In reference to this verse, the great preacher, Charles Spurgeon

writes,

“God is so happy in the love he bears to his people that

he breaks the eternal silence, and [the] sun and moon and stars

with astonishment hear God chanting a hymn of joy.

” (Spurgeon

SB)

ii. God’s love is directed toward His people. And His delight is in

those who seek and follow Him, those who rejoice in Him and

trust in Him alone. As we’ve heard it said here before, it’s not3. iii. Jesus plus anything. That’s heresy. You are chosen by grace

alone, not by works.

For those saved to life from death, you have been saved by

grace through faith, and Christ is your savior. Christ is the

atoning sacrifice, the means by which God embraces you now

as His redeemed child. Christ’s righteousness imputed upon

you, and the Holy Spirit’s dwelling within you is the reality, the

status, the foundation of your calling to holiness in which on

that day, there will be great reward when God gathers His

people to Himself and glorifies them in Him. And that truth, is

what stirs up the rejoicing for the people of God.

1. If you are not a child of God, repent and believe. Respond

to His holiness in the only right and good way possible,

worship Him. Trust in Christ alone, boast in Christ alone,

hope in Christ alone.

As children of God, we can worship the Lord:

i.

“I will gather those of you who mourn for the festival, [verse 18]

so that you will no longer suffer reproach.

b. You may have noticed this, but in verses 16 to 17, God is the one

speaking. He continues speaking through verse 20. But in verse 18,

God’s grammatical approach changes.

i. Initially He refers to Himself as the Lord your God, a mighty

one. He’s referring to Himself in the third person. Then verse 18,

after He’s established who He is as the Lord your God and how

His delight is in you as His children, after this cadence of how

He will rejoice over you, He will quiet you, He will exult over

you…He switches to the first person and hits a lyrical stride.

Says…

1.

“I will gather you”

….

2. Verse 19,

“I will deal with your oppressors”

….

“I will save

the lame and gather the outcast”

….

“I will change their

shame to praise”

….

3. Verse 20 “I will bring you in”

….

“I will make you renowned

and praised among the whole earth”

….

ii. When the Lord makes this grammatical shift, the emphasis on

the blessings heightens with it. The beautiful imagery in this

poetic masterpiece casts a shadow over the great poets of

generations past. The sweet truths and compounding promises

of hope and salvation should comfort the ears of His chosen

ones as the singing of a songbird on a gentle morning.

(Spurgeon’s Sermons, vol. 6, p. 297)

c. Verse 18, He says,

“I will gather those of you who mourn for the

festival, so that you will no longer suffer reproach.

i. Earlier this year in our Bible reading, as we read through the

book of Lamentations, you may recall coming across these

verses about the festivals…

1. The roads to Zion mourn,

for none come to the festival;all her gates are desolate;

her priests groan;

her virgins have been afflicted,

and she herself suffers bitterly. (Lam 1:4)

Then a few verses later…

2. He has laid waste his booth like a garden, laid in ruins his

meeting place; the Lord has made Zion forget festival and

Sabbath, and in his fierce indignation has spurned king

and priest. (Lam 2:6)

ii. Why? Because of sin and their turning away, great mourning

among the people commenced at the realization of their

position of separation from God.

1. Yet God, in His great love, He promises the people in

Zephaniah’s day that He will gather those who mourn so

that they will no longer suffer the reproach brought

about by their sin, the shame brought upon by their

turning away. Where their disgrace and shameful status

did not allow them to participate in true and right

worship, God promises the people that He will provide a

way and will gather His people to Himself. That way is

ultimately Jesus.

d. Verse 19: “Behold, at that time I will deal with all your oppressors. And

I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will change their

shame into praise and renown in all the earth.

i.

“I will deal with all your oppressors.

” He says. As the good

shepherd, He will protect His flock. He will sustain and

preserve your soul against the schemes of the enemy.

ii. He says,

“I will save the lame and gather the outcast.

” In the

book of Micah, we see this promise fleshed out a little more:

1. In that day, declares the Lord,

I will assemble the lame

and gather those who have been driven away

and those whom I have afflicted;

and the lame I will make the remnant,

and those who were cast off, a strong nation;

and the Lord will reign over them in Mount Zion

from this time forth and forevermore. (Mic 4:6-7)

iii. When the chief priests were discussing what to do with Jesus,

John records the following:

1. But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year,

said to them,

“You know nothing at all. Nor do you

understand that it is better for you that one man should

die for the people, not that the whole nation should

perish.

” [John writes] He did not say this of his own

accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied

that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for the

nation only, but also to gather into one the children of

God who are scattered abroad.e. iv. The gathered remnant is a promise we see throughout scripture,

seen here in these two passages from Micah and John. A

promise fulfilled in Christ in His death, burial, resurrection and

ascension, but, it’s a promise ultimately realized in Christ’s

second coming.

Verse 20: “At that time I will bring you in, at the time when I gather you

together; for I will make you renowned and praised among all the

peoples of the earth, when I restore your fortunes before your eyes,

says the Lord.

i. For the people of Zephaniah, these words are a foreshadowing

of their return to Jerusalem, a restoration of their nation and

identity after the downfall brought about by Babylon. A

forewarning in the form of promise that for the people of

Judah, they didn’t realize was necessary. A few decades would

pass before the exile, and the people of God would need to be

reminded by new prophets about these promises.

ii. But for us, it still matters right? Absolutely. We read this oracle

of hope and salvation for the people of Judah, and we can

understand it in their context. But for us, this oracle of joy,

hope and salvation is a promise already realized now in what

God has done, but also yet to come. The already but not yet. My

friend Josh Price put it this way, it’s “kind of now, but also a bit

not yeti.

1. I can’t help but hear these notes of familiarity in this

passage found later in the Bible.

a. Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the

first heaven and the first earth had passed away,

and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city,

new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from

God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,

“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He

will dwell with them, and they will be his people,

and God himself will be with them as their God. He

will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and

death shall be no more, neither shall there be

mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the

former things have passed away. And he who was

seated on the throne said,

“Behold, I am making all

things new.

” Also he said,

“Write this down, for

these words are trustworthy and true.

” And he said

to me,

“It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega,

the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give

from the spring of the water of life without

payment. The one who conquers will have this

heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my

son.

” (Revelation 21:1-7)

2. The scattered citizens of the Kingdom will one day be

gathered together triumphantly by the Good King. Bysuch a gathering, the people will bear the name and

esteem of their King among all the earth. The blessings of

the King and His Kingdom will be the people’s. They will

be His people, fully realized, and He will be their God. All

by the gracious salvation of God through Christ, to the

praise, glory, and honor of His name forever and ever,

amen!

4. Application:

a. What do we do with this today?

i. Four points of application, then we will stand and respond in

worship through song together.

b. But before that, if you today, in hearing the Word of God, have realized

that you are not a child of God. Repent and believe in Him. There’s no

magic prayer as though God is some mysterious force to be conjured

up with a spell. With a humble and contrite heart before Him,

surrender to His calling on your life and trust in Christ as Savior and

Lord. You matter to the King, and He desires that you be part of His

Kingdom as His son or daughter.

i. If this is you and you would like to speak with someone, grab

any one of our members here, and we would love to talk with

you about what this transformation means in your life.

c. Alright, brothers and sisters, hear these points of application, and

take them with you this week as you go out into your domains God

has placed you in.

i. First: Trust in the Lord.

1. Trust in the Lord and do not fear, for the Lord your God is

in your midst.

2. It’s not a matter of your willpower to believe you will be

okay in the midst of trials. It’s a belief in Christ as your

strength, sustenance and provision. It’s based on who He

is, on His character, not yours. Your faith, your trust in

Christ is rooted in the absolute truth of Christ’s character

as Saviour, and your faith worked out is in your

obedience to Him as Lord.

3. Trust in the Lord’s promises, recognizing that even

though the evidence your eyes can see may be lacking

now, know that God’s promises are sure—

“more sure,

even, than the evidence of [your] eyes.

” (Frame,

Systematic Theo., p. 955)

a. For I will make you renowned and praised among

all the peoples of the earth, when I restore your

fortunes before your eyes,

” says the Lord.

4. You can trust the Lord’s word to be true with hope-filled

anticipation that on that day, the Lord will establish the

evidence of His promises before your eyes.

ii. Second: Rejoice in the Lord.

1. As we covered earlier, for the believer, we have a truth we

can hold to, and we have a future hope we cling to inChrist, but all has not been made right yet. There is more

to come. So as we navigate through this already, but not

yet, we rejoice in the Lord.

2. We rejoice in the Lord because He is holy. Because He is

holy, we were in desperate need of being made right

before Him, otherwise the full weight of His wrath would

crush us. Knowing this, He sent His son, Jesus Christ, to

be the propitiation for our sins. He became sin who knew

no sin, that we might become the righteousness of God.

In this we rejoice.

3. We rejoice in the fact that Christ is King and has called us

into His Kingdom.

4. We recognize though, it’s easy to sing, to shout, rejoice

and exult when our lives are full of delights. When it’s

sunny, traffic is flowing, and people are fun to be around.

The challenge presents itself when life is dark, our minds

are congested, and patience is worn thin by the

never-ending siege of demands before us.

a. Be encouraged, O spouse of Christ, by the psalmist

words, even

i. though the earth gives way,

though the mountains be moved into the

heart of the sea,

though its waters roar and foam,

though the mountains tremble at its

swelling.

There is a river whose streams make glad the

city of God,

the holy habitation of the Most High.

God is in the midst of her; she shall not be

moved;

God will help her when morning dawns.

The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;

he utters his voice, the earth melts.

The Lord of hosts is with us;

the God of Jacob is our fortress.

iii. …..

God is our refuge and strength,

a very present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear. (Psalm 46)

5. So rejoice, daughter of the King, rejoice you sons of the

Mighty One. Rejoice in God the good and gracious King

who is your victory always, and ‘when all around your

soul gives way, He then is all your hope and stay.

’ When

the foe approaches, sing. Sing the praises of Christ our

victorious King and rejoice, for He is the reigning one

who will make all things right on that day.

Third: Hope in the Lord.1. How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord, Is laid for

your faith in his excellent word; What more can he say

than to you he hath said? You, who unto Jesus for refuge

have fled.

2. Even the people in Zephaniah’s day and throughout the

Old Testament had an understanding of a future hope,

and at that, they had a future hope in the resurrection. Of

course, they did not have the detail to which we possess

today in knowing Christ’s resurrection and further

canonical writing on the resurrection to come, but the

resurrection—the hope that death would be defeated and

things would be restored to the original intent God

created them in with a people gathered unto Himself—is

seen throughout the Old Testament. From Ezekiel and

Daniel, to Isaiah and the other prophets, even the

teachings that continued to when Jesus was walking the

earth and the religious leaders were debating over the

resurrection of the dead and the writer of Heberews’

referring to Abraham’s belief in the resurrection. We can

see their hope throughout.

a. Job even said,

i. For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at

the last he will stand upon the earth. And

after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet

in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see

for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and

not another.

3. The God of promises has appeared to us in Jesus Christ.

To us He gave us His oath, His covenant, His blood; and

thus, we can rest in the blood of Jesus which makes His

covenant sure. And in the end, on that day, we will stand

with Christ in our redeemed state proclaiming His glory.

a. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the

throne of God and of the Lamb will be in [the New

Jerusalem], and his servants will worship him.

They will see his face, and his name will be on their

foreheads. And night will be no more. They will

need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will

be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

4. Christian, hope in the Lord, for He is the only one whose

eternal promises will satisfy such deep longing.

5. A few weeks ago, I read an excerpt from a poem during

our observance of the Lord’s supper. I’d like to read the

full poem, as it’s one that I believe captures these points

of application quite well. It’s one that I’ve known for

years, but have grown more fond of in the last 18 months.

It’s by missionary C.T. Studd. I encourage you all to read

it, and think on it when you have the time. It reads,Two little lines I heard one day, Traveling along

life’s busy way;

Bringing conviction to my heart, And from my

mind would not depart;

Only one life,

‘twill soon be past, Only what’s done

for Christ will last.

Only one life, yes only one, Soon will its fleeting

hours be done;

Then, in ‘that day’ my Lord to meet, And stand

before His Judgment seat;

Only one life,

‘twill soon be past, Only what’s done

for Christ will last.

Only one life, the still small voice, Gently pleads

for a better choice

Bidding me selfish aims to leave, And to God’s holy

will to cleave;

Only one life,

‘twill soon be past, Only what’s done

for Christ will last.

Only one life, a few brief years, Each with its

burdens, hopes, and fears;

Each with its days I must fulfill, living for self or in

His will;

Only one life,

‘twill soon be past, Only what’s done

for Christ will last.

When this bright world would tempt me sore,

When Satan would a victory score;

When self would seek to have its way, Then help

me Lord with joy to say;

Only one life,

‘twill soon be past, Only what’s done

for Christ will last.

Give me Father, a purpose deep, In joy or sorrow

Thy word to keep;

Faithful and true what e’er the strife, Pleasing Thee

in my daily life;

Only one life,

‘twill soon be past, Only what’s done

for Christ will last.

Oh let my love with fervor burn, And from the

world now let me turn;

Living for Thee, and Thee alone, Bringing Thee

pleasure on Thy throne;

Only one life,

‘twill soon be past, Only what’s done

for Christ will last.Only one life, yes only one, Now let me say,

“Thy

will be done”;

And when at last I’ll hear the call, I know I’ll say

’twas worth it all”;

Only one life,

‘twill soon be past, Only what’s done

for Christ will last.

6. As we consider the truths in this passage from Zephaniah

and the ways in which we can be obedient to this text, we

have one final application.

iv. Fourth: Worship the Lord.

1. Our response to who God is and what He has done is

worship. Be not surprised, you will surely feel the pangs

of this world. The pangs of sorrow, tears, and groans.

a. When confronted with the reality of loss, we

lament, and we long for satisfaction to fill the great

chasm of pain that results; when assaulted by

adversity’s theft of happiness, security, and peace

of mind, our soul cries out for justice; in the

betrayal of wrongdoings from others,

abandonment, mistreatment, and hatred, we weep

at the core of our being; when wrestling with

questions of why and your mind cannot avail itself

to reasonable answers, you trudge along for

another day; in the midst of it all, when we look to

the face of God,

“we will be led to this conclusion,

‘God has willed it so; let us follow his will.

’ This

should be our thought when all around are the

pangs of sorrow, tears, and groans. Only so will we

train our heart to bear joyfully the things which

cause it grief.

” (Institutes, p. 808)

b. Then, despite being surrounded by the paltering of

Job’s friends, we can join him in saying,

“the Lord

gives, and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the

name of the Lord.

2. Church, stand to worship Christ the King in song this

morning.

Grace and peace to you.