John Trapp on Zechariah 3:4

Verſe 4. And he anſwered and ſpake to thoſe that ſtood before him] i. e. to the Angels that waited upon him. Eſt autem hoc humanitùs dictum ſaith Iunius. This is [illegible: 3 letters]ken after the manner of men: for properly men are waſhed, juſtified and ſanctified by the Merit and Spirit of Chriſt alone. 1 Cor. 6.11. But the Lord Chriſt ſpeaketh thus to the created Angels his Miniſters; to ſhew that He who onely hath power to for give ſins, doth yet therein imploy the holy miniſtery for an inſtrument. See 2 Cor. 9.18. and Iob 33.33, 24.

take away the filthy garments Thoſe ſymbols of his ſinfulneſſe, (ſee the Note on verſe 3. ſo his ſins were pardoned in heaven. But becauſe it is ſmall comfort to a condemned perſon to have a pardon granted him, unleſſe he know it, and be aſſured of it: therefore it followeth.

and unto him he ſaid behold] By whatthou haſt ſeen in the Angels ſtripping of thee.

I have cauſed thine iniquities to paſſe from thee] Tranſtuli peccatum as he once ſaid to David, I have taken away thy ſin, I have tranferred it upon my ſelf: ſpeaking to my Father for thee, as once Paul did to Philemon for his ſon Oneſimus, Philem. 18, 19. if he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee ought, put that on mine account, I will repay it. This is the greateſt happineſſe that can befal a man in this world Pſal. 32.1, 2, and could not but be a ſingular comfort to theſe poor Jews, prieſt and people amidſt their manifold afflictions. A man that hath got his pardon is not troubled though he loſe his glove, or hankercheife, nor though it ſhould prove a rainy day. Being [illegible: 1 letter]uſtified by faith we glory in tribulation Rom. 5.1.3. Feri domino, eri: nam a peccatis abſolutus ſum, ſaith Luther: Strike Lord, ſtrike, while thou wilt: my ſins are pardoned. I thank thee, O Lord (ſaid Another in his great extremity) for all my pain: and I beſeech thee, if thou think good, to adde to it an hundred-fold. But behold a further honour; as mercies ſeldom come ſingle.

and I will cloath thee with change of raiment] i. e. I will change thy rags into robes, thy ſtained clouts into clean cloathing. Thou ſhalt be arraied with the righteouſneſſe of the ſaints Rev. 19.8. that twofold righteouſneſſe, imputed and imparted: that of juſtification, and this other of ſanctification: that as an undercoat, this as an upper: that clean and pure, this white and bright: both muſt be had from Chriſt, who is made unto us of God not onely wiſdom, but righteouſneſſe, ſanctification, and redemption 1 Cor, 1.30. 2 Cor. 5.19. Surely as our apparrel is not bred of us, neither grows out of our bodies: ſo neither doth this change of raiment in the Text. But the bleſſed Lamb of God cloatheth us with his own fleece, which is long enough and large enough to cover all our defects and deformities, and to ſet us forth to the admiration of Angels. As he taketh upon him our ſins, ſo he putteth upon us his righteouſneſſe. This is a bleſſed exchange indeed, a ſure pledge of our peace with him, and with God by him. We read in our own Chronicles, that Edmund furnamed Ironſide (in whom England was loſt) and Knute the firſt Daniſh King, after many incounters and equal fights, at length imbraced a preſent agreement:Daniels hiſt. lib. 1. which was made by parting England between them two, and confirmed by oath and Sacrament, putting on each others apparel and Arms, as a ceremony to expreſſe the Atonement of their minds, as if they had made tranſaction of their perſons each to other; Knute became Edmund, and Edmund, Knute. Even ſuch an exchange I may ſay of apparrel is betwixt Chriſt and the pardoned ſinner &c. Chriſt puts upon his Church his own comlineſſe, decks his ſpouſe with his own jewels, as Iſaac did Rebecca: cloath her with needle-work, and makes her more glorious within then Eſther ever was in all her beauty and bravery: rejoyceth over her, as the bridegroom over his bride, yea is raviſht in his love to her, with one of her eyes lifted up to him in prayer or meditation, with one chain of her neck, that chain of his own graces in her Cant. 4.