Zephaniah 3:18
I will gather them that are sorrowful for the solemn assembly, who are of thee, to whom the reproach of it was a burden. I will gather them that are sorrowful for the solemn assembly, who are of thee, to whom the reproach of it was a burden.
God will gather those who are His own and who belong to Jerusalem, who are sorrowful for the solemn assembly and who grieve over its loss and over being unable to join in it, to whom its reproach was a burden. They are those who carry the reproach connected with it and who feel burdened by the loss of the solemn assembly.
The gathering comes after every deceitful, lying tongue that caused His people to err and to turn from righteousness is punished. It belongs to the time when the Lord has taken away her judgments and cast out her enemy, when the King of Israel is in the midst of her so she shall see evil no more. It is the rejoicing of the daughter of Zion and the daughter of Jerusalem with all the heart.
At that time He will undo all that afflict them, save her that halts and gather her that was driven out. He will get them praise and fame in every land where they have been put to shame. He will bring them again and make them a name and a praise among all people of the earth when He turns back their captivity before their eyes, so He will not let them remain a reproach.
The surrounding promise assures that the Lord her God in the midst of her is mighty to save. Jerusalem is told to fear not and let not her hands be slack. He will save and restore His people, remove their affliction, replace their shame with praise and honor, rejoice over them with joy, rest in His love, and joy over them with singing, making their gathering and restoration part of His saving work that brings joy to His people.
The gathering reveals the depth and breadth of infinite love, for the Father has given all heaven in the great gift of His Son and has given Himself in His Son to seek and save that which was lost. All heaven is enlisted to recover the guilty lost sheep and is interested in the salvation of souls whom Christ created and for whom He died. All the resources of heaven are placed at the command of His workers to bestow upon perishing souls. There is joy in heaven over every soul led to the Saviour and joy in receiving back the sheep that was lost, and God purifies those who yield themselves to Him to make them a praise on earth.
For God's covenant people it applies to those who realize the nearness of the Lord's coming and act their faith by guarding one another's interests. They become one in mind and heart with one another and with heavenly intelligences, and unitedly take of the Lord's own substance and use the resources and advantages entrusted to them to lift the burdens resting on His languishing or imperiled institutions and to share His blessings, fostering unity and praise, with the Lord cooperating and working with them. The promise calls the indolent to obtain a living connection with the Source of all power and to become laborers together with God.