May it please almighty God to
bless us together this evening as we meditate in his holy word. Let's turn to the prophecy of
Zephaniah and the third chapter and we'll read verse 14. The prophecy of Zephaniah. Chapter
3 and reading verse 14. Sing, O daughter of Zion. Shout, O Israel. Be glad and rejoice with all
the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. It's really very interesting
to realize that the Lord spoke to Zephaniah to prophesy such
words. We know when Zephaniah lived,
we're told in the first verse of the first chapter, that he
lived in the days of Josiah, the son of Ammon, king of Judah. So what we know is that he lived
before the time when the Chaldeans came and conquered Jerusalem
and took the people captive down to Babylon. And although there
had been prophesied by many prophets over many years, yet the children
of Israel turned their back upon those great warnings which they
received. And as we know, they were indeed
taken down into Babylon. And just a handful left in Jerusalem. So it was a very tragic scene
and situation which developed. And yet we have Zephaniah here
prophesying and telling them exactly what would occur and
how the Lord's wrath would be and would come down upon them. And yet we see we come to verse
14 and we have this wonderful statement. Sing O daughter of
Zion, shout O Israel, Be glad and rejoice with all the heart,
O daughter of Jerusalem." Clearly, this was a prophecy directed
to the people. And although it was written quite
a few years before, it did come to pass. And there was a time
when they would be able to rejoice. when once again they would be
restored to their place in Jerusalem and they would have great reason
to then shout and sing and be glad and rejoice with all the
heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. There's a number of occasions
in the Word of God that direct us to very similar statements
And we should be thankful, therefore, the Lord is gracious. The Lord
did not deal with Judah and the Israelites as they deserved.
They could have been cut off totally and never have returned
to Jerusalem. But we see God's mercy to his
ancient people. And that, my friends, is a picture
for us today. You and I as individuals have
many warnings from the Word of God in what we should do and
what we should say and how we should respond and how we should
act. And so often we turn a deaf ear. Well, each one of us has to look
into our own heart to see whether there have been those words spoken
through God's Word to us and we turned away from them and
we haven't wanted to have them applied to our heart because
we know that if we were to follow the Word of God the commands
of God it would be difficult for us we wouldn't have perhaps
what we think an easy life and yet we should realise The Lord
is gracious, the Lord is kind and he deals with us in love
to our soul and especially with regard to our eternal dwelling. What a mercy therefore if we
are blessed to be able to look forward and to realise and to
believe that such things will come to pass. This was a prophecy
to God's ancient people. And no doubt they often thought
upon these words, meditated upon them, wondered when they would
come to pass. And yet, of course, they did
come to pass in God's way, in God's time. And so that God's
word should be fulfilled. God's word will be fulfilled. The mercy is his. And what a
mercy if it's fulfilled in your life and my life. Even if we
have been rebellious. Even if we have turned our back
upon God. You see, the Lord looks at the
heart. We look at the outside. We look
at people from the outside perspective. And we can draw very wrong conclusions. But God looks at the heart. And God knows what's going on
in your heart and in my heart. He knew what was going on in
Jerusalem all those years ago when the people followed their
own way and said, we will not have this man to rule over us. Perhaps that's been, perhaps
that is the position in your life today. Perhaps you are saying,
I will not have this man to rule over me. I will go my own path. I will work in accordance with
my own timetable. Well, we should realize that
God has a timetable. And you and I will work to God's
timetable. And God will not work to your
and my timetable, because God's plan is a perfect plan, and you
and I will have to fit into that plan. We may not perhaps want
to, we might think we won't like to, but you can be sure that
the Word of God explains to us As David was able to testify,
as for God, His way is perfect. It's good when the Lord brings
you and me to that confession, that God's
way for you and God's way for me is perfect. We may not think
so at the time, but as we look back and as I'm sure we come
to the end of our journey on this earth, we will be able to
confirm the Word of God is true. You see, we look at the things
around us. We look in our little world.
God's plan is for all the world. And we are just one little cog
in that great machine. What a wonderful thing it is
if God in His love to our souls, deals with us graciously, in
love, and doesn't cut us off as someone who is utterly worthless. But because His love is toward
us, He deals with us, not as His enemies, but as His friends. Very humbling, isn't it? to think
of that well we won't read through Zephaniah tonight but you can
read it at your leisure and you might think it's a bit difficult
well just read it slowly it's not as difficult as you might
think and you'll see how God spoke about the Israelites in
that day and how they were indeed following false gods yet they'd
had a wonderful history, a wonderful history of God's goodness and
mercy toward them, a history which was recorded through Moses
in the first five books of the Bible and then through numerous
other writers. There was a wonderful record
of God's goodness and mercy. And yet, you see, they still
turn their back upon God. But we are thankful to be able
to confirm that God is rich in mercy and he's gracious. And you and I are here today
because of his mercy. What a favor it is to think of
that. curse of God's mercy you and I are here today. And so
the picture that we have in this account is God's position towards
the children of Israel and yet the prophecy of what would come
to pass. And with the prophecy of what
is to come to pass, was to come to pass, there we read this grand
statement, sing O daughter of Zion, shout, O Israel, be glad
and rejoice with all thy heart, with all the heart, O daughter
of Jerusalem. It is good when the Lord enables
us to come and to praise God, for his mercy endureth forever. I wonder how often we're taken
up with praise to God. You know, often we find ourselves
looking down. Looking down rather than looking
up. If we look down, all we shall
observe is our sinfulness and the evil of this present world
in which we live. God gives us grace to look up. Look unto me, said Isaiah. And he's speaking, of course,
of the Lord. Look unto me and be saved all
the ends of the earth, for I am God and there is none else. What a mercy when God comes and
gives you and me grace, therefore, to look to the Lord. Now, you
know, and only you know, whether you have Look to the Lord. I don't know. The person next
to you doesn't know. But you know whether by the grace
of God you have looked to the Lord. Look unto me. It's a gracious
word. It's a gracious and glorious
invitation. How many people ignore it? turn their back upon God. And yet, the great favour for
you and me today is that we have the Word of God to read, the
Word of God to study, the Word of God to consider, the Word
of God to meditate upon. My friends, you and I are on
the earth at the moment. We're still on praying ground.
We don't know how long you and I will be on praying ground.
We don't want to come to that condition and situation where
we're taken out of time and we have not read the Word of God. We've not considered the Word
of God. We may have read it just as some duty. What a blessing
if the Lord produces in our heart that desire to search the scriptures
to see what they speak to us what they speak about us and
if we're able therefore as we read the word of God to trace
out the experience of those who've gone before and to be able to
echo the things that we read realising that they describe
the pathway that we're walking. Well, it'll be an encouragement. And if you and I are able to
trace these situations, we will come into a path like this, where
the Church of God did come and they sang and they shouted and
they were glad and they rejoiced. Now let's be clear, all the true
church of God come into a place of rejoicing and a place of being
glad and a place of singing. We don't pass out of time without
acknowledging how great our God is, how wonderful He is. His mercy has come to us. He's touched our heart with His
love. He's shown us where we were and
shown us His great salvation. And you see, that brings in our
heart praise and honour and thankfulness to our God. As I say, as the
flock here will know, I often say our life is on this earth
for one purpose, to praise God, to bring praise to God and thankfulness
to our God. And as the word of God tells
us, we're not our own. We're bought with a price. It's good to ponder that, to
realise that if the blessed Saviour has paid the price to redeem
our soul, which is, of course, His death and the shedding of
His most precious blood, what cause you and I have to praise
and to honour and to glorify His name. The devil will try
and stop your mouth. The devil is very active. He
doesn't want any praise. He doesn't want anybody to speak
about their salvation. He doesn't want to hear anybody
speak of what the Lord has done for their souls. But what a blessing
it is and what a wonderful favour it is if God has indeed come
and given you and me cause to shout like this, sing O daughter
of Zion, shout O Israel, be glad and rejoice with all the heart,
O daughter of Jerusalem. And it's good to realise that
we read here with all the heart. What does that mean? Well, it
means we're not to be half-hearted. We are to be wholehearted. And what a blessing it is if
we come into that category. When the Apostle Paul wrote to
the Romans, he spoke some very wonderful words of encouragement,
and it's good for us to realize the the truth that he spoke and
he says this in the 10th chapter he says the word is nigh thee
even in thy mouth and in thy heart that is the word of faith
which we preach that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth
the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath
raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. It's clear, isn't it? You and
I are on this earth for the honour and glory of God. And don't listen
to people who say, well, of course, I never speak about the things
of God. Well, there's no evidence of the life of God in their soul,
because this is quite clear, isn't it? And if thou shalt confess
with thy mouth, thou shalt be saved. The clear position is
if we don't confess, we're not saved. Why? Because we don't
bring honour and glory to God. As he's worked out his great
salvation in our heart. And therefore we have this grand
statement here. Sing, O daughter of Zion. Shout,
O Israel. spoken in a silent way, was it?
This was evident. There was a shouting for what
God had done and acknowledging of what he'd done. This brings
honour and glory to our God. Well, let's ask the question,
have you and I a reason to sing and to shout of what
the Lord has done and be glad and rejoice with all our heart
the evidence of his powerful work within. Oh my friends, what
a blessing, what a mercy, what a favour and what does it do?
It brings honour and glory to God. And it's good sometimes
that we just stop and ponder and think, how are we saved? We're saved through that which
the Lord Jesus Christ did. And what did he do? He died. He gave his life in order
that you and I might receive life. And my friends, he suffered
greatly to save our soul, to redeem our soul. It wasn't something
light. He paid a tremendous price to redeem us, to take away all
our sins. Is that not reason? Truly to
be glad and rejoice what it is. And I hope we can really, really
appreciate the wonder of it. We read together that 12th chapter
in Isaiah, which had really a similar theme in it. Thankfulness and
praise commenced by these words. And in that day, thou shalt say,
O Lord, I will praise thee. Well, I wonder if we've come
to that in our spiritual experience. And in that day thou shalt say,
again, the word of God is very positive. It's not a gray area. And in that day thou shalt say,
O Lord, I will praise thee, though thou wast angry with me, and
thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortest me. You know,
sometimes we realize the Lord is angry with us. And the reason
we're told, if you walk contrary to me, I will walk contrary to
you. That's the word of God. And you
and I should not think that we can turn away from it. And so
the prophet goes on, Isaiah, behold, God is my salvation. It's a grand statement, isn't
it? There are many beautiful beholds in the Word of God. And here, Isaiah is able to confirm,
behold, God is my salvation. There's no one else that can
be your salvation or my salvation. And what a blessing it is if
you and I can come and say, along with Isaiah, behold, God is my
salvation. He's the one. that has saved my soul. And so
he says, I will trust and not be afraid for the Lord Jehovah
is my strength and my song. He also has become my salvation. Therefore with joy shall he draw
water out of the wells of salvation. It is a time of joy, a time of
happiness, a time of rejoicing when we have the evidence that
our souls have been saved. That it is indeed well with our
soul. Therefore with joy shall you
draw water out of the wells of salvation. And in that day shall
say, praise the Lord. Call upon his name. Declare his
doings among the people. Make mention that his name is
exalted. His words are very clear, aren't
they? It's the word of God. It's not my word. It's the word
of God. And therefore he comes and says,
sing unto the Lord. For He hath done excellent things. My friends, if God has touched
our hearts and caused us to realise what a sinner we are and how
we need the great salvation of Almighty God, we shall indeed
realise He hath done excellent things. This is known in all
the earth. Cry and shout. their inhabitants
of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of
thee." Well, my friends, God has not changed. God is still
great in the midst of us. God is still able and still does
great things. And it's good for us today to
be able to trace it out. Be glad and rejoice. With all
thy heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. And as I've said, this doesn't
mean half-hearted. It means with all our heart. And in this account here in Zephaniah,
we're then told the Lord hath taken away thy judgments, the
judgments which were upon us. because of our sin, because of
our iniquities, because of our opposition to Almighty God. He comes and he says, the Lord,
no one else can. The Lord hath taken away. What a mercy it is to realize
that. The Lord hath taken away thy
judgments. He hath cast out thine enemy. The King of Israel, even
the Lord is in the midst of thee. Thou shalt not see evil anymore. What a blessing it is when the
blessed Lord God, the Spirit of God comes and evidences himself
within us. There's been a change. There's
been a change. There was a change indeed in
the days that Israelites were to prove when they turned to
the Lord and the Lord was gracious to them and the Lord came and
delivered them. What a mercy when the Lord brings
his powerful will into our heart. You know, you won't be able to
withstand the will of God. No, if the Lord has a purpose
of love toward you, you won't be able to withstand it. No,
it'll come and it'll do that which you could not do. He makes
you willing in the day of his power. And remember, power belonging
unto God. It doesn't belong to you and
to me, but it brings us to this position to sing, O daughter
of Zion, and shout, O Israel, be glad and rejoice with all
the heart, O daughter of Israel. It's a great blessing when Zion
comes to this position and they do sing and they do shout because
of what God has done. In that day it shall be said
to Jerusalem, fear them not, and to Zion, let not thine hand
be slack. The Lord thy God in the midst
of thee is mighty. What a wonderful statement that
is and how true it is. The Lord today is still mighty. The Lord thy God in the midst
of thee is mighty. He will save. He will rejoice
over thee with joy. It's humbling to think that God
rejoices over us. Well, every saved sinner, the
Lord rejoices over. It's because it's the work of
his hands. And it's the evidence of his
might and power, which he has shown forth. He will save. He will rejoice over thee with
joy. He will rest in his love. He
will joy over thee with singing. It's good, isn't it, to read
these wills of God. And they're so positive, and
they're so sure, and they will not be changed, because what
God has said is done. Yes, there's no going back. And
so here we have this mighty God speaking. He will save, He will
rejoice over thee with joy. He will rest in His love. He
will joy over thee with singing. Well, it's a mercy if you and
I understand something of this blessing in our soul, because
it shows to us, and you and I will know, we are a new creature. has been a change in our heart. And the Lord's done it. It's
his will being performed. It's his will being brought to
fruition. And surely you and I can rejoice
and be glad, be glad and rejoice to think that almighty God, yes,
the great God, has looked upon us, sinners of the earth, unworthy
of any notice. He looked upon us, why? Well,
it's spelled out so clearly in Jeremiah 31. Yea, I've loved
thee with an everlasting love, and therefore with loving kindness
have I drawn thee That change is the work of God. It's not the work of man. And then he
goes on to say, I will gather them that are sorrowful for the
solemn assembly. You see, in a solemn assembly,
you can still be praised and rejoicing to God. This is, we
might say, a heavenly rejoicing. a heavenly joy, a holy joy, a
holy rejoicing. It's not a frivolous joy, it's
not a frivolous rejoicing. But yet we're told, I will gather
them that are sorrowful, sorrowful for their sin, and yet rejoicing
in what Christ has done. Behold, at that time I will undo
all that afflict thee, And I will save her that halteth, and gather
her that was driven out. And I will get them praise and
fame in every land where they have been put to shame. What a mercy
as he finally comes to the end of this prophecy. At that time
will I bring you again, even in the time that I gather you.
for I will make you a name and a praise among all people of
the earth when I turn back your captivity before your eyes, saith
the Lord. What a promise it was. And it
was fulfilled. What God says comes to pass. What a blessing and what a mercy
it is. Zachariah gives us In the second
chapter, again a little glimpse of a very similar statement. He comes, he says in the second
chapter of Zechariah in the 10th verse, Sing and rejoice, O daughter
of Zion, for lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of
thee, saith the Lord. It's a promise, isn't it? There
are many promises. I've not time to go through them
all tonight. You can go home and ponder and search out. There
are a number of scriptures in very similar vein to this and
to encourage the Church of God and to set before us that which
brings honour and glory to God. How we need to realise more and
more in the day and age that you and I owe a great, great
debt to Almighty God. We are here this evening because
of God's mercy. It's not because we deserve it. It's not because we suddenly
thought we'd come and gather. It's because of God's goodness
and mercy toward us that enables us, a few unworthy sinners, to
gather together. Think of a vast world. Think
of all those in other countries where Christianity is not tolerated. Where people can't gather together
like we can tonight. Are we truly thankful for this
blessing? Or do we discard it? Perhaps
we didn't want to come tonight, I don't know. Perhaps you may
not have wanted to come tonight. Well, what a blessing it is that
you are found here. And what a blessing it is when
God gives us, in our hearts, a desire to gather with the people
of God. We're told, they fear the Lord,
spake often one to another, and they gathered together. This
is that which brings honor and glory to God. And needful, isn't
it, that you and I pray more for the Lord's blessing to be
evidenced in this way. This way set before us was a
prophecy to the people in Babylon. And remember, they were there
for 70 years. Long time, wasn't it? They'd
been told many, many years before that it would come to pass, and
surely it did. 70 years, they had plenty of
time to think how they disobeyed the Word of God. Many of them,
of course, most of them, no doubt, died in Babylon, never returned
to Jerusalem. But there were some the Lord
spared and brought back and are able truly to rejoice and be
glad at the love and mercy of God. Well, you and I stand before
God, don't we? And as I've said, no one else
knows what's in your heart, only God. Don't let us be deceived. Word of God tells us this, be
not deceived, God is not mocked. There's many people who've come
and gone from chapel and ended up in hell. There's been no real
religion There's been no real rejoicing. There's been no real
singing. They may have sung with an outward
voice, but there's no singing with a heart. What a blessing
it is if you and I are numbered amongst the true Church of God,
the true household of faith. And if such, this verse describes
us. Sing, O daughter of Zion, shout,
O Israel, Be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter
of Jerusalem, to rejoice that the Lord has not dealt with us
as our sins deserve, but has shown to us his wonderful love
and his glorious mercy. And we have to say, what a God,
what a Saviour I have, who has not cut me off, as the Word of
God describes it, a cumbra of the ground, someone of no value,
and to know a little of the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge,
a love so great that brought the Saviour to this earth to
live those 33 years in this sinful world without sin. And just remember, we're told
He was tempted in all points, like as we are, yet without sin. Oh, what a Saviour we have. Truly, this word is so wonderfully
true. Mighty to save. Mighty to save. And the blessing
is this. All those whom He's loved in
everlasting love will be saved. and how necessary it is that
you and I have the evidence that we are amongst those. And if
you perhaps have to say, well, I don't know. Well, it's good
to say you don't know than pretend you do know when you don't. But
if you don't know, seek unto the Lord, pray unto him earnestly. Give him no rest. Pray unto Him
that He will reveal Yourself to you as you are and Himself
as your great and glorious Saviour. And oh, my friends, when that
occurs, there'll be cause, there'll be reason to come and be glad
and rejoice and to shout and sing. Here it is addressed. to
the Church of God as the daughter of Zion. Sing, O daughter of
Zion. Shout, O Israel. Be glad and
rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. Amen.