John Calvin, Commentary on Zephaniah
Commentaries on the Twelve Minor Prophets by John Calvin.
Now first translated from the original Latin, by the Rev. John Owen,
vicar of Thrussington, Leicestershire.
Volume Fourth. Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai
WM. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, 1950, Michigan.
Printed in the United States of America.
The Commentaries of John Calvin on the Prophet Zephaniah
Calvin's Preface to Zephaniah
Zephaniah is placed the last of the Minor Prophets who performed
their office before the Babylonian Captivity; and the inscription
shows that he exercised his office of teaching at the same time with
Jeremiah, about thirty years before the city was destroyed, the
Temple pulled down, and the people led into exile. Jeremiah, it is
true, followed his vocation even after the death of Josiah, while
Zephaniah prophesied only during his reign.
The substance of his Book is this: He first denounces utter
destruction on a people who were so perverse, that there was no hope
of their repentance; - he then moderates his threatening, by
denouncing God's judgments on their enemies, the Assyrians, as well
as others, who had treated with cruelty the Church of God; for it
was no small consolation, when the Jews heard that they were so
regarded by God, that he would undertake their cause and avenge
their wrongs. He afterwards repeats again his reproofs, and shortly
mentions the sins which then prevailed among the elect people of
God; and, at the same time, he turns his discourse to the faithful,
and exhorts them to patience, setting before them the hope of favor,
provided they ever looked to the Lord; and provided they relied on
the gratuitous covenant which he made with Abraham, and doubted not
but that he would be a Father to them, and also looked, with a
tranquil mind, for that redemption which had been promised to them.
This is the sum of the whole Book.
Calvin's Commentary on Zephaniah, Part A
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