Albert Barnes Commentary Zephaniah 2:1

"Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation that hath no shame;" — Zephaniah 2:1 (ASV)

Having set forth the terrors of the Judgment Day, the prophet adds an earnest call to repentance. He then declares how judgments, forerunners of that Day, will fall, one by one, on those nations around who do not know God, and will rest upon Nineveh, the great, beautiful, ancient city of the world.

Jerome comments: "See the mercy of God. It would have been enough to have set before the wise the vehemence of the coming evil. But because He wills not to punish, but to alarm only, He Himself calls to repentance, that He may not do what He threatened."

Cyril states: "Having set forth clearly the savagery of the war and the greatness of the suffering to come, he suitably turns his discourse to the duty of calling to repentance, when it was easy to persuade them, being terrified. For sometimes when the mind has been numbed, and exceedingly bent to evil, we do not readily admit even the will to repent, but fear often drives us to it, even against our will."

He calls us then to friendship with Himself. For as they revolted, became aliens, serving idols and giving up their minds to their passions, so they would, as it were, retrace their steps and lay hold of the friendship of God, choosing to serve Him, indeed, Him Alone, and obey His commandments.

Therefore, while we have time, while the Lord, in His forbearance as God, gives way, let us enact repentance, supplicate, say weeping, remember not the sins and offences of my youth (Psalms 25:7); let us unite ourselves with Him by sanctification and sobriety.

So we will be sheltered in the day of wrath and wash away the stain of our falls, before the Day of the Lord comes upon us. For the Judge will come; He will come from heaven at the due season and will reward each according to his work."

Regarding the exhortation, Gather yourselves together, yes, gather together, it is perhaps better rendered as, "Sift yourselves, yes, sift." The exact image is from gathering stubble or dry sticks, which are picked up one by one, with search and care.

So one must deal with the dry and withered leaves of a past evil life. The English rendering, however, comes to the same meaning. We use "collect oneself" for bringing oneself, all one’s thoughts, together, and so, having full possession of oneself. Or "gathering ourselves" might stand in contrast with being "abroad," as it were, out of ourselves amid the manifoldness of things seen.

Jerome says: "You who, taken up with the business of the world, hurry to and fro amid various things, return to the Church of the saints, and join yourself to their life and assembly, whom you see to please God, and bring together the dislocated members of your soul, which now are not knit together, into one frame of wisdom, and cleave to its embrace."

"Gather yourselves" into one, where you have been scattered: to the One God, from whom they had wandered, seeking pleasure from His many creatures; to His one fold and Church, from which they had severed themselves outwardly by joining the worship of Baal, inwardly, by serving him and his abominable rites; joining and joined to the assembly of the faithful, by oneness of faith and life.

In order to repent, one must know oneself thoroughly. This can only be done by taking act by act, word by word, thought by thought, as far as one can—not as they lie in a confused heap or mass in anyone's conscience, but one by one, each picked up apart, examined, and added to the sere, unfruitful heap. One must, as it were, pluck them and gather them out of oneself, so that they may, by the Spirit of burning—the fire of God’s Spirit kindling repentance—be burned up, and not the sinner oneself be fuel for fire with them. The word is also intensive: "Gather together all which is in you, thoroughly, piece by piece" (for the sinner’s whole self becomes chaff, dry and empty).

To use another image: "Sift yourselves thoroughly, so that nothing escapes, as far as your diligence can reach." And then, "And gather on," that is, "glean on." This means to examine yourselves "not lightly and after the manner of dissemblers before God," but repeatedly, gleaning again and again, to see if by any means anything has escaped, continuing on the search and not ceasing.

The first earnest search into the soul must be the beginning, not the end. Our search must be continued until there is no more to be discovered—that is, when sin is no more, and we see ourselves in the full light of the presence of our Judge.

For a first search, however diligent, never thoroughly reaches the whole deep disease of the whole person; the most grievous sins hide other grievous sins, though lighter. Some sins flash on the conscience at one time, some at another, so that few, even upon a diligent search, come at once to the knowledge of all their heaviest sins. When the mist is less thick, we see more clearly what was before one dark, dull mass of imperfection and misery.

As one has said: "Spiritual sins are also with difficulty sifted (as they are) by one who is carnal.

Thus it happens that things in themselves heavier such a person perceives less or very little, and conscience is not grieved so much by the memory of pride or envy, as of impurities and crimes."

So having said, "Sift yourselves through and through," he says, "sift on." A diligent sifting and search into oneself must be the beginning of all true repentance and pardon.

As one writer exhorts: "What remains, but that we give ourselves wholly to this work, so holy, and needful? Let us search and try our ways and our doings, and let each think that he has made progress, not if he does not find what to blame, but if he blames what he finds.

You have not sifted yourself in vain if you have discovered that you need a fresh sitting; and so often has your search not failed you, as you judge that it must be renewed. But if you ever do this when there is need, you do it always.

But always remember that you need help from above and the mercy of Jesus Christ our Lord, who is over all, God blessed forever."

The whole course of self-examination then lies in two words of divine Scripture. Moreover, he warns them, instead of gathering together riches which "will not be able to deliver them in the day of trouble," to gather themselves into themselves, and so judge themselves thoroughly, that they be not judged of the Lord (1 Corinthians 11:31–32).

The phrase O nation not desired means a nation having nothing in itself to be desired or loved but rather, for its sin, hateful to God. God yearns with pity and compassion over His creatures; He hath a desire to the work of His Hands. Here Israel is spoken of as what he had made himself—hateful to God by his sins—although still an object of His tender care, in what yet remained to him of nature or grace which was from Himself.