The Connection Existing Between God and His People
Willlam Jay. Zephaniah 3:17 The LORD your God in the middle of you is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over you with joy; he will rest in his love… In religious concerns men are always prone to run into the opposite extremes of presumption and despair. Both these mistakes arise from defective or partial views of the character and design of Jehovah. I. WHAT DOES THE TEXT SAY CONCERNING GOD'S RELATION TO US? "The Lord thy God." He is our Maker; the former of our bodies; and the former of our spirits within us. But as far as we are sinners we are not the work of His own hands. II. WHAT DOES THE TEXT TELL US CONCERNING HIS RESIDENCE? "In the midst of thee." God is everywhere, but not everywhere as Friend and Saviour. II. WHAT SAYS OUR TEXT CONCERNING HIS SUFFICIENCY? "Is mighty." "Is anything too hard for the Lord?" IV. WHAT SAYS OUR TEXT CONCERNING HIS WORK? "He will save." Save from what? — From our supreme calamity and peril. But some may say, We are saved already. But you may know more of this salvation, feel more of it, rejoice more in it, and communicate it more to others. V. WHAT DOES THE TEXT TELL US CONCERNING HIS HEART? Here is a love accompanied with three characters. 1. A character of Divine delight. 2. A character of Divine permanency. 3. A character of Divine expression. "With singing." (Willlam Jay.) Parallel Verses KJV: 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. WEB: Yahweh, your God, is in the midst of you, a mighty one who will save. He will rejoice over you with joy. He will calm you in his love. He will rejoice over you with singing.