John Trapp on Zechariah 13:1

CHAP. XIII.

Verſe 1. IN that day there ſhall be a fountain opened] Nunc fructum poenitentiae adiungit, ſath Calvin here. This is the fruit of their repentance. No ſooner mourn they over Chriſt, but they are received to mercy. I ſaid, I will confeſſe my tranſgreſſions unto the Lord: and (or ever I can do it) thou forgaveſt the iniquity of my ſin; that is, both the ſting and ſtain of it, the guilt and the filth,Pſal. 32.5. the crime and the curſe. Repent and your ſins ſhall be blotted out, ſaith Peter to thoſe nefarious Kill-Chriſts Act. 3.9. God will croſſe the black lines of your ſins, with the red lines of his ſons blood, 1 Ioh. 1.6. A fountain ſhall be opened: not a ciſtern, but a ſpring: a pool better then that of Siloam which is by interpretation Sent Iohn 9.7. and ſo a type of Chriſt, who loved us, and waſhed us from our ſins with his own blood, and hath made us kings and prieſts unto God, and his father: to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever, Amen. To ſeal up this matchleſſe mercy to us,Rev. 1.5.6. he ſent firſt by the hand of his forerunner, and baptized thoſe that repented for the remiſſion of ſins, Mat. 3.2. Act. 2.38. And afterwards he ſet wide open this bleſſed fountain, this laver of regeneration, and renewing of the holy Ghoſt Tit. 3.5. Saying by his Miniſters to every beleever, as once to Paul, Ariſe, and be baptized, and waſh away thy ſins calling on the name of the Lord. Act. 22.16. whereunto ſalvation is promiſed Rom. 10.13. Ioel 2.22. Baptiſme alſo is ſaid to ſave us 1 Pet. 3.21. ſc. ſacramentally, for it ſealeth up ſalvation to the beleever Mar. 16.16. and is of perpetual and permanent uſe to him, for that purpoſe, his whole life thorowout, ut ſcaturigo ſemper ebulliens, as a fountain bubbling up to eternal life. Here then the Sacrament of Baptiſme is prophecied of and promiſed. And hence, haply the Baptiſme of Iohn is ſaid to have been from heaven Mat. 21.25. All the Levitical purifications pointed to this Kings-Bath of Chriſts meritorious blood, this ever-flowing & overflowing fountain: for the grace of our Lord Jeſus hath abounded to flowing over (as S. Pauls expreſſion is) with faith and love which is in Chriſt Jeſus. [non-Latin text not transcribed]. Neither can it ever be dried up, as was the river Cherith, the brooks of Tema &c. but is an inexhauſted fountain, a freſh-running ſpring, for all that have but a minde to make toward it. Tam recens mihi nunc Chriſtus eſt, ac ſi hac horâ fudiſſet ſanguinem, ſaith Luther; Chriſt is ſtill as freſh and ſoveraign to me, as if this very hour he had ſhed his blood. He was the Lamb ſlain from the beginning of the world; and ſhall be ſo to the end thereof. Cruci haeremus, ſanguinem ſugimus, & intra ipſa Redemptoris noſtri vulnera figimus linguam, ſaith Cyprian of the Lords Supper; i. e. We cleave to the croſſe at this holy ordinance: we ſuck Chriſt's blood, we thruſt our tongues into the very wounds of our Redeemer, and are hereby purged from all pollutions of fleſh and ſpirit.

to the houſe of David, and to the inhabitants of Ieruſalem] i. e. To all ſorts and ſexes of penitents, be they noble or ignoble, ſtrong Chriſtians or weak (ſee Zach. 12.8.) none ſhall be ſecluded from this fountain, thus opened or expoſed to all, not ſealed and ſhut up, as that Cant. 4.12. God is no reſpecter of perſons, but in every nation he that feareth him,Act. 10.34, 35. and worketh righteouſneſſe is accepted of him.

for ſin and for uncleanneſſe] i. e For all ſorts of ſinnes, though they be ſuch, as in their deſert do ſeparate us from communion with God, and company of men. (See Levit. 12. and 15.) render us worthy to be excommunicated, proſcribed, and baniſhed out of the world, as piſts and botches of humane ſociety by a common conſent of nations: as the obſtinate Iews are at this day for their inexpiable guilt in crucifying Chriſt. The vulgar here hath it, Ad ablutionem peccatoris & menſtru[illegible: 1 letter] [illegible: 2 letters], For waſhing clean the ſinner, and the menſtruous woman: alluding (as doth alſo the Chaldee) to the waters of expiation made of the aſhes of a red cow Num. 19.11, 17. See the Note there: and importing the purging both of he ſinners and ſhe-ſinners: Or, as ſome will have it, both of Actual and Original ſin. Lo this is the vertue of Chriſts merit and ſpirit, 1 Cor. 6.10, 11. far beyond that of Abanah & Pharphar, of Jordan and Siloam, which yet are ſaid not onely to waſh and ſcour, but alſo to heal and cure. The Saracenes naturally ſtink like goats: but by waſhing themſelves and their children in the pool of Siloam,Saligniacus. Adrichom. Plin. lib. 31. cap 11. Iſidor. lib. 13. Orig c. 13. Heyl Geog. 285. they become ſweeter. The Turks make uſe of it to ſharpen their eye-ſight. At Cyzicum there is a well called Cupids well, the water whereof is ſaid to quench the fire of luſt. This is better yet then thoſe Bathes of Rome: concerning which Seneca no leſſe wittily then truly complained, Poſtquam munda balnea inventa ſunt, ſpurciores ſunt qui lavant: Or thoſe wanton Bathes of upper-Badin in Helvetia, much frequented, yet not ſo much for health, as filthy pleaſure. They that are in Chriſt, have crucified the fleſh with the affections and luſts Gal. 5.24. they are not onely waſhed from their wickedneſſe Jer. 4.14 but bereft of their ſwiniſh natures, nè tanquam ſus ad volutabrum &c, 2 Pet. 2.22.