The Pulpit Commentary — Zephaniah — Section 50

is mine, I will repay, eaith the Lord;" "Blessed are they which are per~ecute<l,'' etc. (Matt. v. 10).-D. T. Ver. 11.-Good tllings in the future. "The Lord will be terrible unto them," etc. • • Jehovah ie to be feared nbove all the gods of the earth, for he will cause them to wasLe awa,y; and a,ll the inhabitants of the maritime regions shall worship him, each from his place.' While announcing the destruction of the surrounding idolatrou~ nations, the prophet was inspired to predict the gradual but certain destruction of idolatry universally throughout the earth. The period predicted should be one iu which all peculiarity of local worship should cease, and Divine worship be acceptable wherever presented in sincerity and truth " (Henderson). The passage remind$ us of two good things that are in the future of our world. I. THE DESTRUCTION OF IDOLATRY. What is idolatry? It is the giving of our supreme affection to creature-objects. It is not confined to the worship of heatheu deities, which are for the most part the productions of human invention and art. The _spirit of idolatry often exists where heathen idolatry is denounced. Whatever objects a man loves most is his god. In our England and throughout Christenclom there are gods many, although they have no recognized temple. ·wealth is a mighty god, power is, a mighty idol, pleasure is a mighty idol, fame is a mighty id"!. Before these idol::1 the vast majority of the civilized world prostrate their souls in the ardour of devotion. The destruction of idolatry, therefore, does not mean the beating to dust or the _consuming to ashes the idols that fill the temples of heathendom, but means the with- drawal of man's supreme love from every object short of God. You may burn up all heathen temples, and leave idolatry as rampant as ever. To "famish all the f!Ods of the earth" is to draw man's supreme sympathy from all things except God. Thi~ is the great moral famine that is to be desired, to be prayed for and struggled after. The other good thing in the future of our world is- II. 'rHE ADVANCEMENT OF TRUE WORSHIP. "And men shall worship him, every one from his place, even all the isles of the heathen." Observe: I. The obfect of true worship. 11 Men shall worship him," that is, Jehovah. Hirn, not it-not the universe, but the infinite Personality that created it, the Fountain of all existence, all energy, all love, all blessedness. Bim-the Creator of the material, the Father of the spiritual. 2. The scene of true worship. 11 Every one from his place.'' ·wherever he is. The _worshipper need not go to any particular scene-no temple, chapel, or cathedral. "From his place." It may be in solitude or in society, on the mountain brow or the seashore. 11 Neither in this mountain" nor on that mountain, but every""here, "God is a Spirit." 3. The extent of true worship. :• Even all the isles of t,.e heathen.'' CoNOLUSION. What a glorious future awaits the world! How blessed will those ages be when every man of every tribe and clime shall have his heart centred in supreme lovo upon the one great Father of all !-D. 1'. Vers. 13-15.-National pride and national ruin. "And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and destroy .Assyria; aad will make ~ineveh a desolation, and dry like a wilderness. And flocks shall lie down in the midst of her, all the beasts of the nations," etc. Dr. Henderson's translation of this passage is not only beautiful, bnt seems so faitl:.ful and clear as scarcely to require any exposition. " And he will stretch his hand over the north, And destroy Assyria.. He will also make Nine~eb waste, An a.rid region like the desert. And flocb shall lie down iu the widst of her, All the wild beasts of the nations : Both the pelican and the porcupine Shall take up their 11bodo in her oapito.ls : A voice sho.11 8ing in the windows, Desolation shall be in the thresholds, For the cednr work is lo.id baro. '.rhis is tho exulting city which dwelt socurely, Whirh so.id in her he~rt, 48 THE BOOK OF ZEPHANIAH. [oH, m.1-20.