Zephaniah 3:11-13

In that day shalt thou not be ashamed for all thy doings.

A sketch of a morally regenerated city

I. The utter absence of bad. There is an absence of--

1. Painful memories. “In that day shalt thou not be ashamed for all thy doings.” Thou wilt not need to be ashamed of all thy iniquities--

(1) Because they are all forgiven,

(2) Because they will occur no more.

2. Wicked citizens. “I will take away out of the midst of thee them that rejoice in thy pride.”

3. All crimes. “The remnant of Israel shall not do of the city cleared of such moral impurities.

II. The blessed presence of the good. “I will also leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the name of the Lord.” Who will be the citizens?

1. Men of humility. Delitzsch translates the word “afflicted,” “bowed down”; and Henderson, “humble.” Humility is evidently the idea. There will be men who are “poor in spirit.” Moral humility is moral nobility. The humbler a man is, the nobler and the happier too. “Blessed are the poor in spirit.”

2. Men of piety “They shall trust in the name of the Lord.” Their chief confidence will be placed, not in their strength, their wealth, or their wisdom, but in God. They will centre their trust, not in the creature, but in the Creator.

3. Men of concord. “They shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid.” There will be amongst them no acrimonious disputations, no commercial rivalries, no social jealousies or envyings, no painful divisions of any kind. (Homilist.)