nttnck (Micnh v. 11 ). The high towers. wortblessneBB than in the abundance 0r 'l'hese arc the turrets built at the nngles of dust. Bloodshed is as little regarded aa the walls for the better clefcnce of the city, duet that is trodden under foot (comp. 2 11.nd to annoy the besiegers ( eh. iii. 6). Kings xiii. 7). The comparison with water LXX., /,rl 'TBS ,-wvlas .,.,., ~,/,7111.&,, "upon is found elsewhere (cf. Pe. lxxix. 3). Their tile lofty angles; " Vulgnte, super angulos flesh as the dung. The verb from the pre- exce/aoa. Others take the words to mean ceding clause may be taken by zeugma with "the battlements" on the walls. Henderson this clause; then the meaning is that their quotes Tncitus's description of the later walls dead bodies are left unburied to rot on the of Jerusalem," Duos colles immensum editos ground (Jer. ix. 22). Or the substantive cllmdeb11.nt muri per 11.rtem obliqui nut in- verb may be supplied (comp. Job xx. 7). trorsus sinu11.ti, ut lntero. oppugiuntium 11.d Ver. 18.-Neither their silver, etc. They ictus patescerent" (' Hist.,' v. 11). cannot bribe this enemy; their wealth Ver. 17.-ln this storming of cities and cannot win for them immunity (lea.. xiii. 17; universal ruin, sinners shall perish without Ezek. vii. 19). The :6re of his jeBlousy hope. I will bring distress upon men. I (eh. iii. 8). The whole earth (for, as we will drive them into the utmo3t straits have seen in eh. i. 2, 3, the judgment is uni- (comp. Deut. xxviii. 52, 53). They shall versal) shall be punished in the wrath of wBlk like blind men. Not knowing where the Lord, who will not have the honour they go in their terror and confusion, seeking which is due to him given to any other. a way of escape and finding nnne (see Deut. He shall make even a epeedy riddance ; xxviii. 29, on which this passage is founded; more closely, he shall make an end, y~a, comp. Job v. 14; Isa. !ix. 10). Because a speedy end (comp. Nah. i. 8; Isa. x. they have sinned, as shown in vers. 4-12. 23, which our text imitates). (For the Their blood shall be poured out as dust. sudden a.nil unexpected arrivui 0!' the da.y The point of comparison is rather in the of the Lord, see Luke xvii. 26, etc.)
HOMILETICS. Vere. 1-3.-The prophet and his times. I. His PEDIGREE. (Ver. 1.) This is the solitary instance in which the lineage of a prophet is traced back in Scripture four generations. The reason would seem to be in order to indicate his relationship to Hezekiah, the pious King of Judah. Note : 1. The honour connected with a pious ancestry. 2. The perpetuity of the influence of a good life. II. Hid AUTHORITY, This was not derived from his royal descent, bnt from his being under the inspiration of the Almighty. '' The word of the Lord which ea.me unto Zephaniah" (ver. 1). 'fhe words of those high in rank are often invested with a valut1 they do not intrinsically possess, but the utterances of this prince of Judah claim our regard as the words of one taught by the Spirit of God. III. Hlll AGE. He prophesied "in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, King of Judah" (ver. 1). Unhappily, the reforms instituted by the good Hezekiah had uot been sustained during the succeeding reigns, so that the nation, both politically and spiritually, had relapsed into a. thoroughly corrupt state by the time that the boy-king Josiah came to the throne. Consecrated from early life to the service of the true God, the youthful monarch devoted the energies of his early manhood to the rooting out of idolatry from his land, and to the restoration and re-establishment of the temple and its services. Zephaniah, doubtless, prophesied shortly before this work of reformation commenced, and the influence of his faithful ministry would be helpful to the ruyol reformer in carrying out his noble work. IV. THE CHARACTER OF THE HESS.A.GE WITH WHICH HE WAS DIVINELY ENTRUSTED. This was: 1. Very dark. Ho was, indeed, a messenger of jnd,rment; the solemn respuu- sibili ty devolved upon him of onnouucing " the terrors of the Lord" ( vers. 2, 3). The anger of the Lord wos kindled against Judah, ancl though to be delayed until Josiah should be gathered to his rest, it must at length fall (2 Kings xxii. 3-20; xxiiii. 21-27; 2 Chron. xxxiv. 8-33; xxxv. 1-19). 2. Very comprehensive. His predic- tions of judgment were not limited to Judah, but were directed. also against heathen na.tions-Philistia, Moab and Ammon, Ethiopia, and .A.ssyrio (eh. ii.). 3. Yet withal not lacking encouragement; for whilst he told of impending judgment, he called to repent- ance, unfolded the mercy of the Most High, and indicated how that eve11 the darkes~ events impending would be overruled for the well-being of the race, 6 ~ BOOlt or ZiPHANIAtt. [oH, I, 1-18,