Zephaniah 3:14-20

"Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. (15) 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. (16) In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not: and to Zion, Let not thine hands be slack. (17) The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing. (18) I will gather them that are sorrowful for the solemn assembly, who are of thee, to whom the reproach of it was a burden. (19) 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. (20) 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."

Here comes the hymn of praise, suited for the day of redemption, and such only as redeemed souls can sing. It is a part of the same song as is sung in glory, and equally proper to be sung by faith here below, as the Church in glory sings above. And this comes in most blessedly and proper, after what the Prophet had said before. The Prophet Zechariah had it in commission, to command the Church in his days to sing it. And what I beg the Reader particularly to observe, in confirmation of all that I have been saying in this Chapter, that this prophecy refers to the times of the gospel, is that Zechariah, when calling upon the Church to begin this song, assigns this very cause, because Zion's King is come to his Church, See Zechariah 9:9. And as a further confirmation, the Evangelist declares Christ's entry into Jerusalem to have been the fulfillment of this prophecy. Matthew 21:4. Reader! do not overlook this! And, Reader! how precious are the several parts of this hymn of praise; thou shalt not see evil anymore. No! a redeemed soul is a secured soul, a safe soul, an happy soul! Even his afflictions are as angels and messengers of sanctification and wisdom, all tending to his good. Romans 8:28. And Reader! observe further how blessedly in this part of the Prophet's Sermon, the presence and glory of the Lord Jesus is spoken of, in the midst, of his people, as a sun in the center of the heavens; yea, Christ, as the sun of righteousness in the heart. What a thought! And in this he will rest; or as the margin of our old Bibles hath it, he will he silent in his love; no upbraidings for all that is past, but resting in one constant everlasting act of divine love and divine delight. Isaiah 62:5. Neither is the next clause in the verse less expressive; he will joy over thee with singing. Have you never seen in a summer's day that sweet bird of the air, the sky-lark as she is called, mounting over her little brood, and rising into the air to a great height, still singing as she ascends, while looking down on her darlings in their nest below, until at length descending again with vast rapidity, she drops upon them, and rejoices over them in all the expressions of delight? So methinks Jesus looks on all, and every individual of, his redeemed below; and as his soul is said to have grieved for the miseries of his people, so having planted them in their own land, he is said to rejoice over them to do them good, with his whole heart, and with his whole soul. Compare Judges 10:16 with Jeremiah 32:41. The close of the Prophecy is full of the most blessed promises to the same purport, of recovering every poor, halting, timid, fearful believer, and comforting every sorrowful one. And the whole is closed in with a solemn confirmation, for Jehovah, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, put their One glorious covenant name to the promises of God in Christ, with a thus saith the Lord! To which all the faithful say, Amen.