Zephaniah 3:12

DISCOURSE: 1230
THE POOR LIVING BY FAITH

Zephaniah 3:12. I will also leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people; and they shall trust in the name of the Lord.

THE Lord’s people have in every age been a mere remnant, in comparison of the great mass of mankind. At the time of the deluge they were confined to Noah and his family. In the patriarchal age, from the call of Abraham to the descent of his posterity into Egypt, they were still a very “little flock:” and though they afterwards in appearance multiplied, and became a great nation, yet “they were not all Israel who were of Israel:” there was still but a small portion of that people who truly loved and served God; and even in the apostolic age St. Paul tells us, that they were then only “a remnant according to the election of grace.” Moreover, this remnant has for the most part been of the description mentioned in our text, persons destitute of any thing whereon to found a carnal confidence, and necessitated to confide solely in their God. At the period referred to in the preceding context they will cease to bear the character of a remnant, seeing that they will fill the face of the whole earth, and comprehend in their number all the kings and princes of the world [Note: ver. 9.]: but till that period they will be characterized as “an afflicted and poor people, who shall trust in the name of the Lord.”

In further speaking of them, we shall be led to notice,

I. Their low condition—

The description here given of them is for the most part verified in them,

1. As members of the community—

[Riches and poverty are relative terms; and, when viewed in a large and comprehensive sense, will serve to draw a broad line between the different classes of society. It is from the lower of these classes that the Lord’s people are most generally taken. Others are not excluded; on the contrary, some of the opposite class will always be found among them: but “not many great, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: God has chosen rather the foolish, the weak, the base, the despised, that no flesh should glory in his presence [Note: 1 Corinthians 1:26.].” So evident has this been in all ages of the Church, that St. James appeals to his brethren all the world over in confirmation of the fact: “Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world, rich in faith, and heirs of his kingdom [Note: James 2:5.]?” Indeed to this circumstance our Lord himself referred as confirming the truth of his Messiahship, that “to the poor the Gospel was preached [Note: Matthew 11:5.]:” and they received his word, and “heard him gladly,” whilst the Scribes and Pharisees almost universally rejected him.

Affliction too is not unfrequently associated with poverty in the Lord’s people: for it is rarely that any man will turn truly unto the Lord, till affliction of some kind or other has prepared his heart, and “plowed up, as it were, the fallow ground” for the reception of the heavenly seed. Almost all have occasion to acknowledge, with the Psalmist, “Before I was afflicted, I went astray.” The minds of men are so carnal and worldly, that they will scarcely admit a serious thought, till they are made to feel, like the Prodigal in the parable, the insufficiency of earthly things to comfort them in the hour of trouble. Then they awake, as it were, out of a dream; and begin to say, “I will go unto my Father, in whose house there is bread enough and to spare.”]

2. As convinced sinners—

[In this state every child of God without exception answers to the character in our text. There was once a time when all of them thought that they were “rich and increased in goods, and had need of nothing;” but, when the Lord opened the eyes of their understanding, they were made sensible that they were “wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.” From that time they become “poor in spirit,” and “go on their way weeping” for all their past iniquities and abominations. Now they have on their hearts a load too heavy for them to bear; and under the pressure of it they go to that adorable Saviour, who has invited to him the weary and heavy-laden, and who alone is capable of giving them rest. Such are the persons to whom alone the Gospel is acceptable [Note: Isaiah 14:32.], or can ever be preached with full effect: “the whole need not a physician:” it is the sick alone that desire his aid, or will receive his prescriptions. And such are the Lord’s people: they feel themselves utterly destitute of all wisdom, goodness, and strength; and they are content to receive these blessings out of the fulness that is in Christ Jesus.]

3. As professors of godliness—

[In former ages, long before the coming of Christ, the Lord’s people were persecuted by an ungodly world. Thousands “of whom the world,” as the Apostle says, “was not worthy, had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover, of bonds and imprisonment: they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword; they wandered about in sheep-skins and goat-skins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented [Note: Hebrews 11:36.].” Of the saints under the Gospel dispensation it is needless to speak: the Acts of the Apostles amply testify, as the Epistles do also, that the followers of Christ have been treated as “the filth of the world, and the off-scouring of all things;” and experience proves that they are so regarded even to this day. The increase of civilization, and the protection afforded by human laws, prevent the same cruelties from being exercised towards them as in days of old: but it is as true at this day as at any period of the world, that “he who departeth from evil maketh himself a prey;” and that “all who will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” True, we are not dragged to the stake as formerly: but is it nothing to be hated, and despised of all men, and to be made a butt for impiety and profaneness to expend their arrows upon? Is it nothing, too, to have one’s “greatest foes amongst one’s own household?” Yet so shall every man, who will be faithful to his God, find it in his own experience: he shall surely have some cross to bear; and be himself a witness, that the Lord’s servants are “a poor and afflicted people.”]

Nevertheless they need not be discouraged, if only they will improve,

II.

Their exalted privilege—

“The name of the Lord is to them a strong tower, to which they may run and be safe.” It is their privilege to trust in,

1. His mercy to pardon their offences—

[Whatever their former sins may have been, their Lord and Saviour is ready to forgive them, and to blot them all out as a morning cloud. Even though they may have been “red like crimson, they, through the virtue of his blood, shall be made white as snow.” Know then your privilege in this respect: let no sense of guilt keep you from him: limit not his tender mercies: look at those whom he received in the days of his flesh: and be assured, that he is still as gracious as ever; and that “those who come to him he will in no wise cast out.” “Though your sins may have abounded, his grace shall much more abound;” and he will say to you, as he did to a notorious sinner of old, “Thy sins, which are many, are forgiven thee.”]

2. His power to uphold them in their difficulties—

[Great may be your conflicts with sin and Satan; but great shall be the succour which you shall derive from your living Head, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will “strengthen you with might by his Spirit in your inner man:” and “as your day is, so shall also your strength be.” In you shall that sweet promise be verified, “The foot shall tread down its adversaries, even the feet of the poor, and the steps of the needy [Note: Isaiah 26:6.].” However formidable then your enemies may appear, remember, that “your Redeemer also is mighty;” and that, “whilst God is for you, none can with any effect be against you.”]

3. His love to overrule every thing for good—

[God has promised to his people that “all things shall work together for their good.” How the good shall be elicited from the evil, and especially at the time, they have no idea. But God knows how to accomplish his own gracious purposes by the very means which his enemies are using to defeat them. The history of Joseph, and the book of Esther, draw aside the veil, and shew us how God is acting at this very hour. The instances that occur are invisible to mortal eyes, as they were in the histories referred to: but the plot is going forward; and in due time millions of other instances will be seen, no less real, and no less wonderful than they. It is the privilege of God’s people to “commit their ways entirely to him,” and he engages that he “will bring to pass” what shall eventually be for their greatest good.]

4. His faithfulness to keep them, even to the end—

[Never does he forsake his poor and afflicted people. He has promised them, “I will never leave thee; I will never, never forsake thee.” We may be confident, as the Apostle was, that “where God has begun a good work, he will carry it on, and perfect it till the day of Christ.” This is assured to them by covenant and by oath, that they may have the stronger consolation [Note: Hebrews 6:17.]. Not that a reliance on their Saviour is to supersede their own efforts, but rather to encourage them; seeing that it is by their own efforts he will work: but still it is their privilege to anticipate the issue of their conflicts with confidence; and to rest assured, that “nothing shall ever separate them from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus their Lord.”]

Address—
1.

Let it not be a grief to any that they are “afflicted and poor”—

[Such the Saviour himself was; “a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.” And shall it be a grief to any to be made like unto Him? — — — Besides, it is by our own utter destitution of all good, that the power and grace of Christ will be magnified. And shall we not thankfully acquiesce in any thing that glorifies him? The Apostle Paul “took pleasure in his infirmities and distresses,” because “the power of Christ as made perfect, and manifested to be perfect, by his weakness [Note: 2 Corinthians 12:9.]:” and this is the proper disposition for us all. Be contented to be nothing; that “Christ may be all in all.”]

2. Let the religion of the heart be more and more cultivated—

[We are far from undervaluing religious acts: they are excellent, as fruits of the Spirit, and as evidences of a lively faith. But it is the religion of the heart that must be our first concern; since till the tree be made good, it is in vain to hope for any good fruit to spring from it. The grand characteristic feature of the Lord’s people is, that “they trust in his name.” Now trust is altogether an act of the soul; an act invisible to mortal eyes. It realizes the presence of Jehovah, and his government of the whole universe. It rests on him: it reposes all its hopes on his agency; and thus honours him, far beyond all other exercises either of the mind or body. This then is to be the habit of our minds: and “the whole life which we now live in the flesh, we must live altogether by faith in the Son of God, who has loved us, and given himself for us.”]