Sep 19, 2021
Come ye thirsty, come and
welcome, God’s free bounty glorify;
True belief, and true repentance, every grace that brings you
nigh.
—Joseph Hart
In the first two chapters of Zephaniah, the prophet paints a
portrait of universal judgment, followed by specific woes for the
wicked nations surrounding the people of God. But here in the
beginning of chapter 3, we see the Lord’s judgment brought to bear
on His own house. The Lord’s righteousness requires that He deals
with our sins just as He deals with those of our enemies. Because
of this, most of the music we sing this morning takes a posture of
repentance. After acknowledging God’s pure righteousness (Holy,
Holy, Holy) and justice (Arise, O God—Psalm 82), we
respond to God’s Word by calling ourselves penitents and confessing
our sin before Him (Not All The Blood Of Beasts). Even
after being assured by Isaiah to “weep no more,” our eyes melt in
tears considering our own wickedness, and the price Christ had to
pay on the cross (Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed). We call
out from the psalter “cleanse me from my sin” (God Be Merciful To
Me—Psalm 51), and we rest in the promise that the Lord “hides and
cancels all [our] sins” (Blest Is The Man—Psalm 32). Our
service concludes on a hopeful note from the hymn Come Ye
Sinners, Poor And Needy: though we are lost and ruined by the
fall, our dear Savior stands ready to embrace us in His arms.
—Henry C. Haffner
Key Words: Rebellious, Listen, Correction, Trust,
Draw Near, Just, Fear, Wait, Anger
Keystone Verses: The Lord within her is righteous;
He does no injustice; every morning He shows forth His justice;
each dawn He does not fail; but the unjust knows no shame.
(Zephaniah 3:5)
Zephaniah 3:1-8
Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled, the oppressing city!
2She listens to no voice; she accepts no correction. She
does not trust in the Lord; she does not draw near to her God.
3Her officials within her are roaring lions; her judges
are evening wolves that leave nothing till the morning.
4Her prophets are fickle, treacherous men; her priests
profane what is holy; they do violence to the law. 5The
Lord within her is righteous; He does no injustice; every morning
He shows forth His justice; each dawn He does not fail; but the
unjust knows no shame.
6“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. 7I said, ‘Surely you will fear Me; you
will accept correction. Then your dwelling would not be cut off
according to all that I have appointed against you.’ But all the
more they were eager to make all their deeds corrupt.
8“Therefore wait for Me,” declares the Lord, “for the
day when I rise up to seize the prey. For My decision is to gather
nations, to assemble kingdoms, to pour out upon them My
indignation, all My burning anger; for in the fire of My jealousy
all the earth shall be consumed."