第32章 玛拿西与约西亚
§1
第32章 玛拿西与约西亚
§2
Chap. 32 - Manasseh and Josiah
§3
犹大国在希西家的时代强盛一时之后，又在玛拿西邪恶的长期统治之下再度堕落，那时邪教复兴，许多人都被引诱去敬拜偶像了。“玛拿西引诱犹大和耶路撒冷的居民，以致他们行恶，比耶和华在以色列人面前所灭的列国更甚。”（代下33:9）先前各世代的光荣过去之后，就有迷信与谬道的黑暗接踵而来。到处滋生蔓延着种种严重的邪恶，——暴虐、压迫，以及对于一切良善的憎恨。正直被屈枉，暴行充斥各处。[1]{PK 381.1}
§4
The kingdom of Judah, prosperous throughout the times of Hezekiah, was once more brought low during the long years of Manassehs wicked reign, when paganism was revived, and many of the people were led into idolatry. Manasseh made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to err, and to do worse than the heathen. 2 Chronicles 33:9. The glorious light of former generations was followed by the darkness of superstition and error. Gross evils sprang up and flourished--tyranny, oppression, hatred of all that is good. Justice was perverted; violence prevailed.{PK 381.1}[1]
§5
然而在那邪恶的时代中，为上帝和正义作见证的仍大不乏人。犹大在希西家作王时安然渡过艰难的经验，已经在许多人的心中培养出品格上的刚毅，这时就成为抗拒流行罪孽的屏障了。他们为真理与正义所作的见证，惹起了玛拿西和他当权臣仆的忿怒，因为他们妄想堵住一切反对之人的口，以便任意胡作非为。“玛拿西……流许多无辜人的血，充满了耶路撒冷，从这边直到那边。”（王下21:16）[2]{PK 381.2}
§6
Yet those evil times were not without witnesses for God and the right. The trying experiences through which Judah had safely passed during Hezekiahs reign had developed, in the hearts of many, a sturdiness of character that now served as a bulwark against the prevailing iniquity. Their testimony in behalf of truth and righteousness aroused the anger of Manasseh and his associates in authority, who endeavored to establish themselves in evil-doing by silencing every voice of disapproval. Manasseh shed innocent blood very much, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another. 2 Kings 21:16.{PK 381.2}[2]
§7
那站在犹大面前，作为耶和华所指派的信使达半世纪之久的以赛亚，却列于最先被害的人中。“又有人忍受戏弄、鞭打、捆锁、监禁各等的磨练，被石头打死，被锯锯死，受试探，被刀杀。披着绵羊山羊的皮各处奔跑，受穷乏、患难、苦害；在旷野、山岭、山洞、地穴飘流无定，本是世界不配有的人。”（来11:36-38）[3]{PK 382.1}
§8
One of the first to fall was Isaiah, who for over half a century had stood before Judah as the appointed messenger of Jehovah. Others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. Hebrews 11:36-38.{PK 382.1}[3]
§9
有一些在玛拿西作王时受过逼迫的人，曾受命传达责备与刑罚的特别信息。众先知说：“犹大王玛拿西行这些可憎的恶事，比先前……所行的更甚。”由于这种邪恶，他的国度便濒临危机了；那地的居民不久将被掳到巴比伦去，在那里“成为一切仇敌掳掠之物。”（王下21:11；14）但主并不完全撇弃那些在异邦之地承认他为他们的统治者的人；纵然他们大受苦难，他仍必按他自己所指定的时候和方法拯救他们。那些完全倚靠他的人，必找到可靠的避难所。[4]{PK 382.2}
§10
Some of those who suffered persecution during Manassehs reign were commissioned to bear special messages of reproof and of judgment. The king of Judah, the prophets declared, hath done wickedly above all . . . which were before him. Because of this wickedness, his kingdom was nearing a crisis; soon the inhabitants of the land were to be carried captive to Babylon, there to become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies. 2 Kings 21:11, 14. But the Lord would not utterly forsake those who in a strange land should acknowledge Him as their Ruler; they might suffer great tribulation, yet He would bring deliverance to them in His appointed time and way. Those who should put their trust wholly in Him would find a sure refuge.{PK 382.2}[4]
§11
众先知忠心地继续传扬警告和劝勉；他们无畏地向玛拿西和他的臣民说话；但这些信息竟被藐视；背道的犹大竟不肯听从。主为要使众民看出他们若一直怙恶不悛就必有怎样的遭遇起见；就让他们的王被一群亚述兵掳去，“用铜链锁住他，带到巴比伦，”就是亚述国的临时首都去。这种苦难使王醒悟过来；“他……就恳求耶和华他的上帝，且在他列祖的上帝面前极其自卑。他祈祷耶和华；耶和华就允准他的祈求，垂听他的祷告，使他归回耶路撒冷，仍坐国位。玛拿西这才知道唯独耶和华是上帝。”（代下33:11-13）可惜这次的悔改虽然很明显，但为时已晚，势难挽救这个国家脱离多年拜偶像之恶习的败坏影响。许多人已经失足跌倒，再也不能起来了。[5]{PK 382.3}
§12
Faithfully the prophets continued their warnings and their exhortations; fearlessly they spoke to Manasseh and to his people; but the messages were scorned; backsliding Judah would not heed. As an earnest of what would befall the people should they continue impenitent, the Lord permitted their king to be captured by a band of Assyrian soldiers, who bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon, their temporary capital. This affliction brought the king to his senses; he besought the Lord his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, and prayed unto Him: and He was entreated of him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord He was God. 2 Chronicles 33:11-13. But this repentance, remarkable though it was, came too late to save the kingdom from the corrupting influence of years of idolatrous practices. Many had stumbled and fallen, never again to rise.{PK 382.3}[5]
§13
在那些因玛拿西的不幸背道，而致生活经验堕落到不可挽救之地步的人当中，有他自己的儿子在内；他登位时年仅二十二岁。《圣经》论到这位亚们王说：他“行他父亲一切所行的，敬奉他父亲所敬奉的偶像，离弃耶和华他列祖的上帝；”（王下21:21-22）“不在耶和华面前像他父玛拿西自卑；这亚们所犯的罪，越犯越大。”这个邪恶的王并未蒙允许长久掌权。他登位以后才两年，正在他大胆作恶的时候，就在王宫中被自己的臣仆所弑，国民便“立他儿子约西亚接续他作王。”（代下33:23,25）[6]{PK 383.1}
§14
Among those whose life experience had been shaped beyond recall by the fatal apostasy of Manasseh, was his own son, who came to the throne at the age of twenty-two. Of King Amon it is written: He walked in all the way that his father walked in, and served the idols that his father served, and worshiped them: and he forsook the Lord God of his fathers (2 Kings 21:21, 22); he humbled not himself before the Lord, as Manasseh his father had humbled himself; but Amon trespassed more and more. The wicked king was not permitted to reign long. In the midst of his daring impiety, only two years from the time he ascended the throne, he was slain in the palace by his own servants; and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his stead. 2 Chronicles 33:23, 25. {PK 383.1}[6]
§15
约西亚作王共三十一年，在他初登位时，那班曾持守纯正信仰的人就开始希望国家的堕落现像可以就此遏止；因为这位新王虽然只有八岁，却敬畏上帝，并从最初就“行耶和华眼中看为正的事，行他祖大卫一切所行的，不偏左右。”（王下22:2）约西亚虽然是一个恶王所生的儿子，并常受试探所包围要他跟随父亲的脚踪，而又没有多少顾问鼓励他行走正路，但他却效忠以色列的上帝。他因过去各世代所犯的错误而受到警惕，所以决心行义，不愿落到他的父亲和祖父所陷入的罪恶和堕落的卑贱地步。他“不偏左右”。他既要充当重任，就决心顺从那专为指导以色列君王所赐下的教训；而他的顺从就使上帝可以利用他作贵重的器皿。[7]{PK 384.1}
§16
With the accession of Josiah to the throne, where he was to rule for thirty-one years, those who had maintained the purity of their faith began to hope that the downward course of the kingdom was checked; for the new king, though only eight years old, feared God, and from the very beginning he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in all the way of David his father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left. 2 Kings 22:2. Born of a wicked king, beset with temptations to follow in his fathers steps, and with few counselors to encourage him in the right way, Josiah nevertheless was true to the God of Israel. Warned by the errors of past generations, he chose to do right, instead of descending to the low level of sin and degradation to which his father and his grandfather had fallen. He turned not aside to the right hand or to the left. As one who was to occupy a position of trust, he resolved to obey the instruction that had been given for the guidance of Israels rulers, and his obedience made it possible for God to use him as a vessel unto honor.{PK 384.1}[7]
§17
在约西亚开始作王，和他作王之前的许多年间，犹大国内的忠心分子时常怀疑：上帝对于古以色列的应许究竟能否实现。在人看来，上帝对于这个蒙拣选之国度的旨意似乎不可能实现。早几个世纪的背道随着年月的消逝而根深蒂固；十个支派业已分散在外邦中；只留下了犹大和便雅悯支派，甚至连这两个支派现在也似乎濒临道德和国家败亡的边缘了。众先知已经开始预言他们美丽城市的完全毁灭，那里既有所罗门所建造的圣殿矗立着，也是他们对于祖国强大所怀的一切属世希望集中之处。难道上帝真要放弃他所明言要拯救凡信靠他的人的旨意吗？鉴于义人长期遭受逼迫，而恶人却显然兴盛，那些仍然效忠上帝的人还能有更好时日的希望吗？[8]{PK 384.2}
§18
At the time Josiah began to rule, and for many years before, the truehearted in Judah were questioning whether Gods promises to ancient Israel could ever be fulfilled. From a human point of view the divine purpose for the chosen nation seemed almost impossible of accomplishment. The apostasy of former centuries had gathered strength with the passing years; ten of the tribes had been scattered among the heathen; only the tribes of Judah and Benjamin remained, and even these now seemed on the verge of moral and national ruin. The prophets had begun to foretell the utter destruction of their fair city, where stood the temple built by Solomon, and where all their earthly hopes of national greatness had centered. Could it be that God was about to turn aside from His avowed purpose of bringing deliverance to those who should put their trust in Him? In the face of the long-continued persecution of the righteous, and of the apparent prosperity of the wicked, could those who had remained true to God hope for better days?{PK 384.2}[8]
§19
这些令人焦虑的问题由先知哈巴谷发出来了。他看到当时忠心之人的情况，便用以下的问题表达他心中的重负说：“耶和华啊，我呼求你，你不应允，要到几时呢？我因强暴哀求你，你还不拯救。你为何使我看见罪孽？你为何看着奸恶而不理呢？毁灭和强暴在我面前，又起了争端和相斗的事。因此律法放松，公理也不显明；恶人围困义人；所以公理显然颠倒。”（哈1:2-4）[9]{PK 385.1}
§20
These anxious questionings were voiced by the prophet Habakkuk. Viewing the situation of the faithful in his day, he expressed the burden of his heart in the inquiry: O Lord, how long shall I cry, and Thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto Thee of violence, and Thou wilt not save! Why dost Thou show me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention. Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth. Habakkuk 1:2-4.{PK 385.1}[9]
§21
上帝答复了他忠贞儿女的呼求。他借他所拣选的发言人，表示他一定要惩罚这转离他而去侍奉异邦鬼神的国家。在当时询问有关将来之事的某些人在生之时，他就要以神奇的手段安排地上列强的局势，使巴比伦人掌权得势。这些“威武可畏”的迦勒底人（哈1:7），将要作为神所指定的“刑杖”而突然临到犹大地。犹大的首领和民众中最优秀的分子都要被掳到巴比伦去；犹大的城市、村镇和已耕作的田园都要成为废墟；没有什么可得幸免的。[10]{PK 385.2}
§22
God answered the cry of His loyal children. Through His chosen mouthpiece He revealed His determination to bring chastisement upon the nation that had turned from Him to serve the gods of the heathen. Within the lifetime of some who were even then making inquiry regarding the future, He would miraculously shape the affairs of the ruling nations of earth and bring the Babylonians into the ascendancy. These Chaldeans, terrible and dreadful, were to fall suddenly upon the land of Judah as a divinely appointed scourge. Verse 7. The princes of Judah and the fairest of the people were to be carried captive to Babylon; the Judean cities and villages and the cultivated fields were to be laid waste; nothing was to be spared.{PK 385.2}[10]
§23
哈巴谷深信即使在这样可怕的刑罚中，上帝对于他子民的旨意终必有实现的一天，所以就俯首顺从耶和华所显示的旨意。他宣称：“耶和华我的上帝，我的圣者啊，你不是从亘古而有吗？”那时他的信心越过了即将临头的可憎情景，而紧紧握住那显示上帝对信靠他的儿女之大爱的宝贵应许，于是先知又加上一句话说：“我们也不致死。”（哈1:12）他以这句充满信心的宣言，将自己和每一个相信的以色列人的境遇，都交托在慈悲的上帝手里了。[11]{PK 386.1}
§24
Confident that even in this terrible judgment the purpose of God for His people would in some way be fulfilled, Habakkuk bowed in submission to the revealed will of Jehovah. Art Thou not from everlasting, O Lord my God, mine Holy One? he exclaimed. And then, his faith reaching out beyond the forbidding prospect of the immediate future, and laying fast hold on the precious promises that reveal Gods love for His trusting children, the prophet added, We shall not die. Verse 12. With this declaration of faith he rested his case, and that of every believing Israelite, in the hands of a compassionate God.{PK 386.1}[11]
§25
这还不是哈巴谷运用坚强信心的唯一经验，有一次他在默想有关将来之事时，说：“我要站在守望所，立在望楼上观看，看耶和华对我说什么话。”主开恩回答他说：“将这默示明明的写在版上，使读的人容易读。因为这默示有一定的日期，快要应验，并不虚谎；虽然迟延，还要等候；因为必然临到，不再迟延。迦勒底人自高自大，心不正直；唯义人因信得生。”（哈2:1-4）[12]{PK 386.2}
§26
This was not Habakkuks only experience in the exercise of strong faith. On one occasion, when meditating concerning the future, he said, I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what He will say unto me. Graciously the Lord answered him: Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith. Habakkuk 2:1-4.{PK 386.2}[12]
§27
那曾在试炼重重的日子中坚固哈巴谷和当时一切圣洁公义之人的信心，今日仍然是鼓舞上帝子民的同一信心。在最黑暗的时辰，在最不利的环境之下，一个基督的信徒总可坚心依赖一切光明和力量的来源。由于信靠上帝，他的希望和勇气便日复一日地得以更新。“唯义人因信得生。”在为上帝服务时，大可不必灰心、犹疑、或惧怕。主必使凡信靠他之人的最高期望实现而有余。他必将他们在各种困迫环境中所需要的智慧赐给他们。[13]{PK 386.3}
§28
The faith that strengthened Habakkuk and all the holy and the just in those days of deep trial was the same faith that sustains Gods people today. In the darkest hours, under circumstances the most forbidding, the Christian believer may keep his soul stayed upon the source of all light and power. Day by day, through faith in God, his hope and courage may be renewed. The just shall live by his faith. In the service of God there need be no despondency, no wavering, no fear. The Lord will more than fulfill the highest expectations of those who put their trust in Him. He will give them the wisdom their varied necessities demand.{PK 386.3}[13]
§29
使徒保罗对于那为每一遭受试探之生灵所作的丰盛准备，作了极动人的见证。所赐给他的神圣应许是：“我的恩典够你用的；因为我的能力是在人的软弱上显得完全。”于是这个经受试炼的上帝仆人充满了感激和信赖的心应答说：“所以我更喜欢夸自己的软弱，好叫基督的能力覆庇我。我为基督的缘故，就以软弱、凌辱、急难、逼迫、困苦为可喜乐的；因我什么时候软弱，什么时候就刚强了。”（林后12:9-10）[14]{PK 387.1}
§30
Of the abundant provision made for every tempted soul, the apostle Paul bears eloquent testimony. To him was given the divine assurance, My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness. In gratitude and confidence the tried servant of God responded: Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christs sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. 2 Corinthians 12:9, 10.{PK 387.1}[14]
§31
我们必须怀持并培养众先知和使徒所见证的信心——就是那握住上帝的应许，并静候他按照他自己所定的时期及方法施行拯救的信心。上帝确实的预言的最后应验，乃在我们的主救主耶稣基督以万王之王、万主之主的身份荣临的时候。等待的时期可能看来很长，心灵可能因不利的环境而致抑郁，我们所信任的许多人可能会中途败落；但我们务要与那在空前背道时期中尽力勉励犹大的先知一样笃信不疑地说：“耶和华在他的圣殿中；全地的人都当在他面前肃敬静默。”（哈2:20）但愿我们时常记住这项令人鼓舞的信息：“这默示有一定的日期，快要应验，并不虚谎；虽然迟延，还要等候；因为必然临到，不再迟延。……唯义人因信得生。”（哈2:3-4）“耶和华啊，求你在这些年间复兴你的作为，在这些年间显明出来；在发怒的时候以怜悯为念。上帝从提幔而来，圣者从巴兰山临到。他的荣光遮蔽诸天，颂赞充满大地。他的辉煌如同日光，从他手里射出光线，在其中藏着他的能力。在他面前有瘟疫流行，在他脚下有热症发出。他站立，量了大地，观看，赶散万民。永久的山崩裂，长存的岭塌陷，他的作为与古时一样。”“你出来要拯救你的百姓，拯救你的受膏者。”“虽然无花果树不发旺，葡萄树不结果，橄榄树也不效力，田地不出粮食，圈中绝了羊，棚内也没有牛；然而我要因耶和华欢欣，因救我的上帝喜乐。主耶和华是我的力量！”（哈3:2-6,13,17-19）[15]{PK 387.2}
§32
We must cherish and cultivate the faith of which prophets and apostles have testified--the faith that lays hold on the promises of God and waits for deliverance in His appointed time and way. The sure word of prophecy will meet its final fulfillment in the glorious advent of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, as King of kings and Lord of lords. The time of waiting may seem long, the soul may be oppressed by discouraging circumstances, many in whom confidence has been placed may fall by the way; but with the prophet who endeavored to encourage Judah in a time of unparalleled apostasy, let us confidently declare, The Lord is in His holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before Him. Habakkuk 2:20. Let us ever hold in remembrance the cheering message, The vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. . . . The just shall live by his faith. Verses 3, 4. O Lord, revive Thy work in the midst of the years, In the midst of the years make known; In wrath remember mercy. God came from Teman, And the Holy One from Mount Paran. His glory covered the heavens, And the earth was full of His praise. And His brightness was as the light; He had bright beams out of His side: And there was the hiding of His power. Before Him went the pestilence, And burning coals went forth at His feet. He stood, and measured the earth: He beheld, and drove asunder the nations; And the everlasting mountains were scattered, The perpetual hills did bow: His ways are everlasting. Thou wentest forth for the salvation of Thy people, Even for salvation with Thine anointed. Although the fig tree shall not blossom, Neither shall fruit be in the vines; The labor of the olive shall fail, And the fields shall yield no meat; The flock shall be cut off from the fold, And there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength. Habakkuk 3:2-6, 13, 17-19, margin. {PK 387.2}[15]
§33
“那宣布即将临到的刑罚，又带来光明希望和将来胜利的信息，还不只是借着哈巴谷一人赐下的。在约西亚作王的时候，主的话也临到了西番雅，明白地指出继续背道的结果，并呼召真教会注意将来荣耀的远景。他所发有关那即将临到犹大之刑罚的预言，也同样有力地适用于基督再来时要降于这怙恶不悛之世界上的刑罚：“耶和华的大日临近，临近而且甚快，乃是耶和华日子的风声。勇士必痛痛的哭号。那日是忿怒的日子，是急难困苦的日子，是荒废凄凉的日子，是黑暗、幽冥、密云、乌黑的日子，是吹角呐喊的日子，要攻击坚固城和高大的城楼。”（番1:14-16）[16]{PK 389.1}
§34
Habakkuk was not the only one through whom was given a message of bright hope and of future triumph as well as of present judgment. During the reign of Josiah the word of the Lord came to Zephaniah, specifying plainly the results of continued apostasy, and calling the attention of the true church to the glorious prospect beyond. His prophecies of impending judgment upon Judah apply with equal force to the judgments that are to fall upon an impenitent world at the time of the second advent of Christ: The great day of the Lord is near, It is near, and hasteth greatly, Even the voice of the day of the Lord: The mighty man shall cry there bitterly. That day is a day of wrath, A day of trouble and distress, A day of wasteness and desolation, A day of darkness and gloominess, A day of clouds and thick darkness, A day of the trumpet and alarm Against the fenced cities, And against the high towers. Zephaniah 1:14-16.{PK 389.1}[16]
§35
“我必使灾祸临到人身上，使他们行走如同瞎眼的，因为得罪了我；他们的血必倒出如灰尘。……当耶和华发怒的日子，他们的金银不能救他们；他的忿怒如火，必烧灭全地，毁灭这地的一切居民，而且大大毁灭。”（番1:17-18）“不知羞耻的国民哪，你们应当聚集。趁命令没有发出，日子过去如风前的糠，耶和华的烈怒未临到你们，他发怒的日子未到以先，你们应当聚集前来。世上遵守耶和华典章的谦卑人哪，你们都当寻求耶和华；当寻求公义谦卑，或者在耶和华发怒的日子可以隐藏起来。”（番2:1-3）[17]{PK 390.1}
§36
I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord: and their blood shall be poured out as dust. . . . Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lords wrath: but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of His jealousy: for He shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land. Verses 17, 18. Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired; Before the decree bring forth, Before the day pass as the chaff, Before the fierce anger of the Lord come upon you, Before the day of the Lords anger come upon you. Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, Which have wrought His judgment; Seek righteousness, Seek meekness: It may be ye shall be hid In the day of the Lords anger. Zephaniah 2:1-3. {PK 390.1}[17]
§37
“那时我必罚办一切苦待你的人，又拯救你瘸腿的，聚集你被赶出的；那些在全地受羞辱的，我必使他们得称赞；有名声。那时我必领你们进来，聚集你们；我使你们被掳之人归回的时候，就必使你们在地上的万民中有名声、得称赞；这是耶和华说的。”（番3:19-20）“锡安的民哪，应当歌唱！以色列啊，应当欢呼！耶路撒冷的民哪，应当满心欢喜快乐！耶和华已经除去你的刑罚，赶出你的仇敌。以色列的王耶和华在你中间，你必不再惧怕灾祸。当那日，必有话向耶路撒冷说：不要惧怕！锡安哪，不要手软。耶和华你的上帝，是施行拯救、大有能力的主，他在你中间必因你欢欣喜乐，默然爱你，且因你喜乐而欢呼。”（番3:14-17）[18]{PK 391.1}
§38
Behold, at that time I will deal with all them that afflict thee: and I will save her that halteth, and gather her that was driven away; and I will make them a praise and a name, whose shame hath been in all the earth. At that time will I bring you in, and at that time will I gather you: for I will make you a name and a praise among all the peoples of the earth, when I bring again your captivity before your eyes, saith the Lord. Zephaniah 3:19, 20, R.V. Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; Be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. 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 any more. In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not: And to Zion, Let not thine hands be slack. 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. Verses 14-17.{PK 391.1}[18]