Zechariah 12 commentary

Here is a Divine prediction, which will be a heavy burden to all the enemies of the church. But it is for Israel; for their comfort and benefit. It is promised that God will make foolish the counsels, and weaken the courage of the enemies of the church. The exact meaning is not clear; but God often begins by calling the poor and despised; and in that day even the feeblest will resemble David, and be as eminent in courage and every thing good. Desirable indeed is it that the examples and labours of Christians should render them as fire among wood, as a torch in a sheaf, to kindle the flame of Divine love, to spread religion on the right hand and on the left.

The day here spoken of, is the day of Jerusalem's defence and deliverance, that glorious day when God will appear for the salvation of his people. In Christ's first coming he bruised the serpent's head, and broke all the powers of darkness that fought against God's kingdom among men. In his second coming he will complete their destruction, when he shall put down all opposing rule, principality, and power; and death itself shall be swallowed up in that victory. The Holy Spirit is gracious and merciful, and is the Author of all grace or holiness. He, also, is the Spirit of supplications, and shows men their ignorance, want, guilt, misery, and danger. At the time here foretold, the Jews will know who the crucified Jesus was; then they shall look by faith to him, and mourn with the deepest sorrow, not only in public, but in private, even each one separately. There is a holy mourning, the effect of the pouring out of the Spirit; a mourning for sin, which quickens faith in Christ, and qualifies for joy in God. This mourning is a fruit of the Spirit of grace, a proof of a work of grace in the soul, and of the Spirit of supplications. It is fulfilled in all who sorrow for sin after a godly sort; they look to Christ crucified, and mourn for him. Looking by faith upon the cross of Christ will cause us to mourn for sin after a godly sort.

Chapter 12

Lecture One Hundred and Sixtieth

Zechariah 12:1

1. The burden of the word of the Lord for Israel, saith the Lord, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.

1. Onus verbi Iehovae super Israel: Dicit Iehova, qui expandit coelos, et fundavit terram, et formavit spiritum hominis in medio ejus.

The inscription seems not to agree with what follows, for he does not denounce any evil on the chosen people in this chapter, but, on the contrary, comforts the miserable, and promises that God would provide for the safety of his Church. Since then Zechariah speaks only of God’s favor and aid, he seems to have mentioned burden here improperly or unreasonably; for משא, mesha, we know, is rightly to be taken for a threatening prophecy. It might indeed be said, that he promises that God would so deliver his Church as to teach it at the same time that it would be subject to many evils and trials: but I rather think that the Prophet’s design was different, even to show that the Israelites, who had preferred exile to God’s favor, would be punished for their sloth and ingratitude, because it was through their own fault that they were not again united in one body, and that they did not rightly worship God in their own country. Interpreters have heedlessly passed over this, as though it had nothing to do with the subject: but except this be borne in mind, what is read in this chapter will be altogether without meaning. I therefore consider that the Prophet here reproves those Israelites who had rejected what they had long desired, when it was offered to them from above and beyond all hope: for nothing was so much wished for by them as a free return to their own country; and we also see how ardently all the Prophets had prayed for restoration. As then the Israelites, given to ease, and pleasures, and their worldly advantages, had counted as nothing the permission given them to return, that they might again be gathered under God’s protection, it was a base ingratitude. Hence the Prophet here reproves them, and shows that their success would be far otherwise than they imagined.

We must also observe, that those who were dispersed in different parts, were retained by their torpidity, because they did not think that the state of the people would continue; for they saw, as they had before found, that Judea was surrounded by inveterate enemies, and also that they would not be a people sufficiently strong to repel the assaults of those around them; for they had already been accustomed to bear all things, and though they might have had some courage, they had completely lost it, having been oppressed by so long a servitude. Since then the ten tribes entertained these ideas, they did not avail themselves of the present kindness of God. Thus it was, that they wholly alienated themselves from the Church of God, and renounced as it were of their own accord that covenant, on which was founded the hope of eternal salvation. Many of the Jews at this time were not returned. There were especially two returns — the first under Zerubbabel in the year before Christ 536; the second under Ezra in the year 457, seventy-nine years after the first. Now the date of this prophecy in our Bibles is 587, fifty-one years after the first return, and twenty-eight years before the second. Nehemiah, through whose influence the walls of Jerusalem were built and a great reform produced, returned about eleven years after Ezra. — Ed.

What then does Zechariah teach us in this chapter? Even that God would be the guardian of Jerusalem, to defend it against all violence, and that though it might be surrounded by nations for the purpose of assailing it, he would not yet suffer it to be overcome: and we shall see that many other things are stated here; but it is enough to touch now on the main point, that God would not forsake that small company and the weak and feeble remnant; and that however inferior the Jews might be to their enemies, yet the power of God alone would be sufficient to defend and keep them.

If it be then now asked, why the Prophet calls the word he received a burden on Israel? The answer is plainly this, that the Israelites were now as it were rotting among foreign nations without any hope of deliverance, having refused to be gathered under God’s protection, though he had kindly and graciously invited them all to return. Since then God had effected nothing, by stretching forth his hands, being ready to embrace them again, this was the reason for the burden of which Zechariah speaks; for they would be touched with grief and with envy when they saw their brethren protected by God’s aid, and that they themselves were without any hope of deliverance. In short, there is an implied contrast between the ten tribes and the house of Judah; and this is evident from the context. Having now ascertained the Prophet’s design, we shall proceed to the words.

The burden, he says, of the word of Jehovah on Israel: Say does Jehovah who expanded the heavens, etc. Zechariah thus exalts God in order to confirm the authority of this prophecy; for no doubt the creation of heaven and earth and of man is here mentioned on account of what is here announced. We have elsewhere seen similar declarations; for when anything is said difficult to be believed, what is promised will have no effect on us, except the infinite power of God be brought to our minds. God then, that he may gain credit to his promises, bids us to raise up our eyes to the heavens and carefully to consider his wonderful workmanship, and also to turn our eyes down to the earth, where also his ineffable power is apparent; and, in the third place, he calls our attention to the consideration of our own nature. Since then what Zechariah says could hardly be believed, he prescribes to the Jews the best remedy — they were to raise upwards their eyes, and then to turn them to the earth. The expanse of the heavens constrains us to admire him; for however stupid we may be, we cannot look on the sun, and the moon and stars, and on the whole bright expanse above, without some and even strong emotions of fear and of reverence. Since then God exceeds all that men can comprehend in the very creation of the world, what should hinder us from believing even that which seems to us in no way probable? for it is not meet for us to measure God’s works by what we can understand, for we cannot comprehend, no, not even the hundredth part of them, however attentively we may apply all the powers of our minds.

Nor is it yet a small matter when he adds, that God had formed the spirit of man; for we know that we live; the body of itself would be without any strength or motion, were it not endued with life; and the soul which animates the body is invisible. Since then experience proves to us the power of God, which is not yet seen by our eyes, why should we not expect what he promises, though the event may appear incredible to us, and exceed all that we can comprehend. We now then understand why the Prophet declares, that God expanded thee heavens, and founded the earth, and formed the spirit of man It is usual to render the verbs here in the present tense. They are participles in Hebrew, which may often be rendered in the past tense. Dathius and Blayney so render them, “stretched out — founded — formed.”

The verse then would be as follows —

The burden of the word of Jehovah on Israel, Saith Jehvovah, who expounded the heavens, And founded the earth, And formed the spirit of man within him.

Though Marckius objects to the view taken by Calvin of the first line, yet the literal rendering, as given above, will admit of no other. It is a “burden” on, [על], Israel. It is true that “burden” may not always mean a judgment, but a weighty and important prediction; yet when followed by on, it can mean nothing else. See 1 Kings 13:29, and 2 Kings 9:25. It means a judgment too when another word comes after it, as in 9:25. It means a judgment too when another word comes after it, as, “The burden of Babylon,” Isaiah 13:1. It is therefore rendered here improperly “Prophecy” by Newcome, and “sentence” by Henderson. It is not indeed necessary to confine the word “Israel” to the ten tribes, for it is often used in a general sense, denoting the descendants of Israel generally, when the word “Judah” is not introduced. The persons referred to were, it may be, those who continued in exile, many of whom returned afterwards with Ezra, though I think they were the people of the land. We ought to remember that Zechariah prophesied between the two returns, and that though the temple was built at this time, yet Jerusalem was not protected by walls, and continued so till the time of Nehemiah, about 90 years after the first return. — Ed. By saying “in the midst of him”, he means, that the spirit dwells within; for the body, we allow, is as it were its tabernacle. Let us proceed -

Zechariah 12:2

2. Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.

2. Ecce ego pono Ierusalem postem contritionis (vel, calicem veneni, aut, mortiferum; alii vertunt, crapulae) omnibus populis per circuitum; atque etiam super Iehudah, erit in obsidionem contra Ierusalem.

CHAPTER 12

Zec 12:1-14. Jerusalem the Instrument of Judgment on Her Foes Hereafter; Her Repentance and Restoration.

1. burden--"weighty prophecy"; fraught with destruction to Israel's foes; the expression may also refer to the distresses of Israel implied as about to precede the deliverance.

for Israel--concerning Israel [Maurer].

stretcheth forth--present; now, not merely "hath stretched forth," as if God only created and then left the universe to itself (Joh 5:17). To remove all doubts of unbelief as to the possibility of Israel's deliverance, God prefaces the prediction by reminding us of His creative and sustaining power. Compare a similar preface in Is 42:5; 43:1; 65:17, 18.

formeth ... spirit of man--(Nu 16:22; He 12:9).

2. cup of trembling--a cup causing those who drink it to reel (from a Hebrew root "to reel"). Jerusalem, who drank the "cup of trembling" herself, shall be so to her foes (Is 51:17, 22; Jr 13:13). Calvin with the Septuagint translates, "threshold of destruction," on which they shall stumble and be crushed when they attempt to cross it. English Version is better.

both against Judah--The Hebrew order of words is literally, "And also against Judah shall he (the foe) be in the siege against Jerusalem"; implying virtually that Judah, as it shares the invasion along with Jerusalem, so it shall, like the metropolis, prove a cup of trembling to the invaders. Maurer with Jerome translates, "Also upon Judah shall be (the cup of trembling); that is, some Jews forced by the foe shall join in the assault on Jerusalem, and shall share the overthrow with the besiegers. But Zec 12:6, 7 show that Judah escapes and proves the scourge of the foe.

3. (Zec 14:4, 6-9, 13). Jerome states it was a custom in Palestine to test the strength of youths by their lifting up a massive stone; the phrase, "burden themselves with it," refers to this custom. Compare Mt 21:44: The Jews "fell" on the rock of offense, Messiah, and were "broken"; but the rock shall fall on Antichrist, who "burdens himself with it" by his assault on the restored Jews, and "grind him to powder."

all ... people of ... earth--The Antichristian confederacy against the Jews shall be almost universal.

4. I will smite ... horse--The arm of attack especially formidable to Judah, who was unprovided with cavalry. So in the overthrow of Pharaoh (Ex 15:19, 21).

open mine eyes upon ... Judah--to watch over Judah's safety. Heretofore Jehovah seemed to have shut His eyes, as having no regard for her.

blindness--so as to rush headlong on to their own ruin (compare Zec 14:12, 13).

5. shall say--when they see the foe divinely smitten with "madness."

Judah ... Jerusalem--here distinguished as the country and the metropolis. Judah recognizes her "strength" to be "Jerusalem and its inhabitants" as the instrument, and "Jehovah of hosts their God" (dwelling especially there) as the author of all power (Joe 3:16). My strength is the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who have the Lord their God as their help. The repulse of the foe by the metropolis shall assure the Jews of the country that the same divine aid shall save them.

6. On "governors of Judah," see on Zec 9:7.

hearth--or pan.

torch ... in a sheaf--Though small, it shall consume the many foes around. One prophet supplements the other. Thus Is 29:1-24; Joe 3:1-21; Zec 12:1-14:21, describe more Antichrist's army than himself. Daniel represents him as a horn growing out of the fourth beast or fourth kingdom; St. John, as a separate beast having an individual existence. Daniel dwells on his worldly conquests as a king; St. John, more on his spiritual tyranny, whence he adds a second beast, the false prophet coming in a semblance of spirituality. What is briefly described by one is more fully prophesied by the other [Roos].

7. Judah is to be "first saved," because of her meek acknowledgment of dependence on Jerusalem, subordinate to Jehovah's aid.

tents--shifting and insecure, as contrasted with the solid fortifications of Judah. But God chooses the weak to confound the mighty, that all human glorying may be set aside.

8. Jerusalem, however, also shall be specially strengthened against the foe.

feeble ... shall be as David--to the Jew, the highest type of strength and glory on earth (2Sa 17:8; 18:3; Joe 3:10).

angel of the Lord before them--the divine angel that went "before them" through the desert, the highest type of strength and glory in heaven (Ex 23:20; 32:34). "The house of David" is the "prince," and his family sprung from David (Eze 45:7, 9). David's house was then in a comparatively weak state.

9. I will seek to destroy--I will set Myself with determined earnestness to destroy, etc. (Hag 2:22).

10. Future conversion of the Jews is to flow from an extraordinary outpouring of the Holy Spirit (Jr 31:9, 31-34; Eze 39:29).

spirit of grace ... supplications--"spirit" is here not the spirit produced, but THE Holy Spirit producing a "gracious" disposition, and inclination for "supplications." Calvin explains "spirit of grace" as the grace of God itself (whereby He "pours" out His bowels of mercy), "conjoined with the sense of it in man's heart." The "spirit of supplications" is the mercury whose rise or fall is an unerring test of the state of the Church [Moore]. In Hebrew, "grace" and "supplications" are kindred terms; translate, therefore, "gracious supplications." The plural implies suppliant prayers "without ceasing." Herein not merely external help against the foe, as before, but internal grace is promised subsequently.

look upon me--with profoundly earnest regard, as the Messiah whom they so long denied.

pierced--implying Messiah's humanity: as "I will pour ... spirit" implies His divinity.

look ... mourn--True repentance arises from the sight by faith of the crucified Saviour. It is the tear that drops from the eye of faith looking on Him. Terror only produces remorse. The true penitent weeps over his sins in love to Him who in love has suffered for them.

me ... him--The change of person is due to Jehovah-Messiah speaking in His own person first, then the prophet speaking of Him. The Jews, to avoid the conclusion that He whom they have "pierced" is Jehovah-Messiah, who says, "I will pour out ... spirit," altered "me" into "him," and represent the "pierced" one to be Messiah Ben (son of) Joseph, who was to suffer in the battle with Cog, before Messiah Ben David should come to reign. But Hebrew, Chaldee, Syriac, and Arabic oppose this; and the ancient Jews interpreted it of Messiah. Psa 22:16 also refers to His being "pierced." So Joh 19:37; Re 1:7. The actual piercing of His side was the culminating point of all their insulting treatment of Him. The act of the Roman soldier who pierced Him was their act (Mt 27:25), and is so accounted here in Zechariah. The Hebrew word is always used of a literal piercing (so Zec 13:3); not of a metaphorical piercing, "insulted," as Maurer and other Rationalists (from the Septuagint) represent.

as one mourneth for ... son--(Jr 6:26; Am 8:10). A proverbial phrase peculiarly forcible among the Jews, who felt childlessness as a curse and dishonor. Applied with peculiar propriety to mourning for Messiah, "the first-born among many brethren" (Ro 8:29).

11. As in Zec 12:10 the bitterness of their mourning is illustrated by a private case of mourning, so in this verse by a public one, the greatest recorded in Jewish history, that for the violent death in battle with Pharaoh-necho of the good King Josiah, whose reign had been the only gleam of brightness for the period from Hezekiah to the downfall of the state; lamentations were written by Jeremiah for the occasion (2Ki 23:29, 30; 2Ch 35:22-27).

Hadad-rimmon--a place or city in the great plain of Esdraelon, the battlefield of many a conflict, near Megiddo; called so from the Syrian idol Rimmon. Hadad also was the name of the sun, a chief god of the Syrians [Macrobius, Saturnalia, 1.23].

12-14. A universal and an individual mourning at once.

David ... Nathan--representing the highest and lowest of the royal order. Nathan, not the prophet, but a younger son of David (2Sa 5:14; Lu 3:31).

apart--Retirement and seclusion are needful for deep personal religion.

wives apart--Jewish females worship separately from the males (Ex 15:1, 20).

The burden of the word of the Lord - This is a new prophecy. It is directed both to Israel and Judah, though Israel alone is mentioned in this verse.

Which stretcheth forth the heavens - See on Isa 42:5 (note).

Formeth the spirit of man within him - Then it is not the same substance with his body. It is a Spirit within Him.

Jerusalem a cup of trembling - The Babylonians, who captivated and ruined the Jews, shall in their turn be ruined.

I incline to think that what is spoken in this chapter about the Jews and Jerusalem, belongs to the "glory of the latter times."

Shall be in the siege - This may refer to some war against the Church of Christ, such as that mentioned Rev 20:9.

A burdensome stone - Probably referring to that stone which was thrown on the breast of a culprit adjudged to lose his life by stoning, by which the whole region of the thorax, heart, lungs, liver, etc., was broken to pieces.

I will smite every horse - Some apply this to the wars of the Maccabees with the Syrians; but it is more likely to be a prophecy not yet accomplished. The terms are too strong for such petty and evanescent victories as those of the Maccabees.

The governors of Judah - This supposes a union between the two kingdoms of Israel and Judah.

Jerusalem shall be inhabited again - This seems to refer to the future conversion of the Jews, and their "return to their own land."

The Lord also shall save the tents of Judah first - This, I suppose, refers to the same thing. The Gospel of Christ shall go from the least to the greatest. Eminent men are not the first that are called; the poor have the Gospel preached to them. And this is done in the wise providence of God, that the "glory of the house of David," etc., that secular influence may appear to have no hand in the matter; and that God does not send his Gospel to a great man, because he is such.

He that is feeble among them - shall be as David - Here is a marked difference between Judaism and Christianity. So clear, full, and efficient shall be the salvation of believers under the Gospel that the feeblest among them shall be as strong, as full of courage, and as successful as David when he went against Goliath. The least in the kingdom of heaven was greater than John the Baptist.

And the house of David - as the angel of the Lord - The family the Church of the true David, the Lord Jesus, shall be as the angel of the Lord; shall stand in the Divine presence like Gabriel; for Christ hath said, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." So "we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed from glory into glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord." Thus the house of David, the true Christians, shall here walk with, after, and before God.

I will seek to destroy all the nations - When this time shall arrive, all nations that "will not receive the faith of our Lord Jesus" shall be destroyed, when the longsuffering of God shall no longer wait upon them. This seems to belong to a period yet very remote.

I will pour upon the house of David - This is the way in which the Jews themselves shall be brought into the Christian Church.

1. "They shall have the spirit of grace," God will show them that he yet bears favor to them.

2. They shall be excited to fervent and continual prayer for the restoration of the Divine favor.

3. Christ shall be preached unto them; and they shall look upon and believe in him whom they pierced, whom they crucified at Jerusalem.

4. This shall produce deep and sincere repentance; they shall mourn, and be in bitterness of soul, to think that they had crucified the Lord of life and glory, and so long continued to contradict and blaspheme, since that time.

A great mourning - A universal repentance.

As the mourning of Hadadrimmon - They shall mourn as deeply for the crucified Christ as their forefathers did for the death of Josiah, who was slain at Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon. See 2Chr 35:24, 2Chr 35:25.

Every family apart - The meaning of the word apart, which recurs here so often, may be this: Their sorrow shall be so deep and distressing, that every one will endeavor to avoid another, and vent his grief and distress of soul in private. And even husbands and wives shall separate from each other in this general mourning, as they were obliged to do by law in certain circumstances. See 1Cor 7:5 (note), and the note there.

Jerusalem - That weak, unwalled city, and much more the church which is the antitype of Jerusalem. In the siege - Now when all this is in readiness, and no visible means of escape, then will God make them drink the wine of astonishment.

In that day - The day of the full accomplishment of this prophecy is a day known to the Lord. A burdensome stone - Too heavy for them, though many join together to remove it.

I will open mine eyes - I will watch over my people for good. This eye of God open upon his people, is his wise, powerful, gracious providence for them. With blindness - All their warriors in their consults shall have as little of foresight, as a blind man hath of sight.

The inhabitants of Jerusalem - Though but few, and poor, yet they shall be my strength. Not in their own power, but in the power of the Almighty Lord of all.

Like a hearth - A hearth on which fire is thoroughly kindled. In her own place - Not built as Nineveh, Babylon, or Rome, in some place near old cities, but in the very same place where old Jerusalem stood.

The tents - The unfenced places, the open country, the cottages, or tents. First - First the weaker are saved, next the stronger. The glory - That the illustrious house of David, and the glorious citizens of Jerusalem may not boast of their power, policy and courage.

As David - A mighty man of valour. The house of David - Those of the royal line shall be for prudence, and prowess in the conduct of the armies of Israel, most excellent; exprest here in an hyperbole. As the angel - Nay, like the angel of the Lord, like Christ who is captain of our salvation.

I will seek - I will purposely and effectually do it.

I will pour - This was fulfilled on Christ's exaltation, when he sent the Comforter to his disciples, it is daily performed to the children of God, and will be continually, 'till we are brought to be with Christ for ever. The house of David - The whole family of Christ, his house who was the seed of David, and who is called David, Eze 37:24. The spirit of grace - Which is fountain of all graces in us. Pierced - Every one of us by our sins pierced him, and many of the Jews literally. Mourn - They shall literally lament the crucifying of the Lord Jesus. In bitterness - True repentance will bitterly lament the sins which brought sorrows and shame upon our Lord.

In that day - When the Jews shall mourn for their sins, and for that great sin, crucifying the Lord of glory. A great mourning - A mourning exprest by the greatest the Jews ever were acquainted with, and which for its greatness grew into a proverb. The mourning for Josiah slain at Hadadrimmon, a town in the valley of Megiddo.

The house of Nathan - The royal family in both branches of it, Solomon's and Nathan's.

The house of Levi - The sacerdotal tribe were the most bitter persecutors of Christ, they hired the traitor, they sought witness; the high priest, (head of that family) condemned him to die, for all which they shall one day reckon with God, and therefore above other tribes they are particularly named as chief mourners for their cruelty to Christ.

1 THE burden of the word of the LORD for Israel saith the LORD , which stretcheth forth the heavens , and layeth the foundation of the earth , and formeth the spirit of man within him.

Vid. This whole passage, chap. 9.1. let. a, b, c.

Or touching, concerning, as Gall. version upon, against, Heb. bears it, and some take it in one, some in the other sense, though I think the main of the chapter perswades it is to be rendred, for, in the behalf of Israel, i. e. the Church of Christ among the Jews untill their rejection, and among the Gentiles ever since their vocation, both have their concern in the things here foretold,

Who giveth out promises of great things to a people in a very low state, and therefore to raise their hope tells them by his Prophet what he hath done.

As a curtain saith Isa. 40.22. who did more easily spread abroad the Heavens, then any creature can spread forth a curtain about your bed, or a canopy over your head; by an Almighty power going along with the act of his will, saying let it be, all that immense body of the material, visible Heavens immediately spread forth it self.

Upon his own almighty word, on that the chief corner stones thereof do lye, Iob 38.4, 5, 6. Isa. 51.13.

In admirable wisdom and with more especial artifice framed so Heb. imports, as Isa. 43.7. and 46.11.

The immortal soul, tha[illegible: 1 letter] spiritual Being which animateth us, who hath done all this he can do all that is here promised for Israel, and threatned against Israel's Enemies.

Marginal references: Isa. 42.5.; Num. 16.22. Eccl. 12.7.

2 Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about , when they shall be in the siege both against Judah , and against Jerusalem .

That weak, unwalled, poor, and thinly inhabited City Type of the Church, and much more the Church which is Antitype to Ierusalem.

They shall drink their own [illegible: 1 letter]ane whose Swords be drinking the blood of the inhabtitants of this Ierusalem, there is poyson mixt in the cup of the wrath of God which he will put into the hands of such wicked ones and they must drink it off.

To the Heathen round about, to all of them, all have more or less at one time or other molested Ierusalem and God remembers it, and hath provided for them a cup of astonishment, against the day in which they besiege her, thinking then to finish all their attempts against Ierusalem.

Strange siege laid against a whole Countrey, and mighty powers will be little enough to do this, it requires a most extraordinary provision, now when all this is in readiness and no visible means of escape, then will God make them drink the Wine of astonishment and cast them into a dead sleep.

The Land of Iudah.

Typical and mystical, the Church of Christ.

Marginal references: Or, s[illegible: 1 letter]umber, or, poyson.; Or, and also against Iudah shall he be which shall be in siege against Ierusalem.

3 And [illegible: 1 letter]n that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces , though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.

In the times of the Heathens afflicting the Church, from the repair of Ierusalem, till Christ's coming in the Flesh, and in succeeding times since, but the day of the full accomplishment of this Prophesie is a day known to the Lord.

Too heavy for them though many join together to remove it.

Though all people of this known World should burthen themselves with her.

They would be crushed to pieces, as a man that falls under a weighty and massy stone.

Many Nations have been confederate, now if you would suppose all through the whole World in league against Ierusalem, yet they could not stand under the weight of his displeasure who is provoked by such attempts, he would grind them to powder.

4 In that day saith the LORD, I will smite every horse with astonishment , and his rider with madness , and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah , and I will smite every horse of the people with blindness .

Vid. ver. 3. let. o.

Horses are of very great use in Wars, they were the main strength of Antiochus Epiphanes; his best preparations.

A dull, sottish fear, and perplexity.

An impotency of mind both in the understanding, which is folly and imprudence, and in the will and resolution which is either Cowardice or unconstancy, like madmen that neither know how to resolve or act. God will turn all their counsel into foolishness▪ their strength into weakness, their courage into fear, and so overturn them all.

A while I seem'd as one that slept or wink'd at the proceedings of my Churches Enemies, yet now I will open mine eyes, and see all that is going forward against them, and I will watch over my people for good, against their Enemies to confound and destroy them, and their enterprizes, this eye of God open upon his people is his wise, powerful, gracious Providence, for them, Psal. 31.22. Ier. 24.6.

All their Warriours in their projecting, and consults shall be as full of improvidence, and have as little foresight, as a stark blind man hath of sight to see by.

5 And the governours of Judah shall say in their heart , The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the LORD of hosts their God .

The Counsellors and Rulers at home, and the Leaders and Captains abroad, the Maccabees and others every one for himself

Shall think, believe, and reckon upon it, and be hearty in it.

Though but few, and poor, yet they shall be my strength, and these shall be ready and forward to go forth against their Enemies, with an handful of men to encounter mighty and numerous Armies, because their strength, and help lyeth in the name of the Lord of hosts.

Not in their own Power but in the power of the Almighty Sovereign Lord of all who can save by few as by many.

And because their God he will give them victory.

Marginal references: Or, there is strength to me and to the inhabitants, &c.

6 ¶ In that day will I make the governours of Judah like a hearth of fire among the wood , and like a torch of fire in a sheaf ; and they shall devour all the people round about on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place even in Jerusalem .

See ver. 5. let. b.

A hearth throughly on which fire is kindled.

The more is laid on, the more is consumed and burnt up, so the enemies of Iudah and Ierusalem shall be, their multitudes shall no more save themselves then much wood cast on a great fire in the hearth can preserve it self.

Which immediately sets the whole sheaf on fire, and it is consumed.

The Governours of Judah with their handful of men shall thus surely and speedily consume their Enemies which set upon them.

As indeed it was and continued so till Christs Death and forty years after, for of these times doth the Prophet speak, and not of times still to come.

Not built as Nineveh, Tyrus, Babylon, or Rome, in some place near to the old Cities of that name, but in the very same place where old Ierusalem did, shall re-edified Ierusalem again stand.

So you shall find Ierusalem in Ierusalem, or thus, spiritual Ierusalem shall be that Ierusalem in which you ought to look, and where you shall find the old Typical Jerusalem which though it lye waste, and I fear must never be built, yet is in more ample manner built up in the Church, spiritual Jerusalem.

7 The LORD also shall save the tents of Judah first , that the glory of the house of David , and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnifie themselves against Judah.

Rescue from the power and rage of the Antiochus's; nay, subdue their Armies, and put them to flight before the Iews

The unfenced places, the open Countrey, the Shepherd-like Cottages, or Tents of Iudah.

Before he saveth Ierusalem, before he put Jerusalem into arms, or bring her Inhabitants into the field, to fight, and help the Countrey, and its Inhabitants; first the weaker are saved next the stronger.

That the illustrious house of David, and so the glorious Citizens of Ierusalem.

Boast of their Power, Policy, Courage, and forwardness, and how much Iudah owed to these for their deliverance: This would exasperate Iudah, and provoke God, who would do all this, so that all might magnifie their God, none think greatly of themselves.

8 ¶ In that day shall the LORD defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem , and he that is feeble among them, at that day shall be as David , and the house of David shall be as God , as the angel of the LORD before them .

See ver. 3. let. o.

As he had defended, and saved Iudah, and the Tents thereof; so will he also defend Ierusalem, and its Inhabitants against all their Enemies, during the Persian, Graecian, and beginnings of the Roman Empire, during which dayes many Wars were raised against the Jews, but most visible was this, when the Maccabees succeeded so far, as to restore Religion, and cleanse the Temple.

Reeleth through weakness.

A mighty man of valour was David, so these through faith of the weak became strong, as Heb. 11.34.

Those of the Royal Line shall be for Prudence, and Prowess in the Conduct of the Armies of Israel most excellent, exprest here in an Hyperbole.

Or as Angels, so Elohim is translated Psal. 8.3. and so I find the French reads it (Comme des Anges.)

Nay, like the Angel of the Lord, which is head of Principalities, like Christ who is Captain of our Salvation. In these exploits, and in this deliverance of the Church they were Types, and so must have somewhat in them which may be sufficient to resemble them to him.

These excellent ones of the Royal Line were to be Leaders and Commanders in these Wars, and in their Conduct they should shew prudence and valour like that of an Angel, rather than that of an ordinary man.

Marginal references: Or, abject.; Heb. fallen.

9 ¶ And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all nations that come against Jerusalem .

This also shall certainly come to pass.

God the Defender and Saviour of Israel.

This speaks not any difficulty to God in the work, as with men, who sometimes do seek to do what they cannot do, but this implyeth God would throughly do it, his right hand should find out these his Enemies, he will hunt them out.

Not to restrain, but to overthrow and destroy.

Without partiality, every nation that sets it self to oppress and destroy Jerusalem, God will pay them in their own Coin, they said blot out her Name, but God will blot out theirs; let us, say they, cut them off from being a Nation, but this God will turn upon their own heads.

Combine, and attempt to destroy her, and this was evidently seen upon those that sought to destroy Jerusalem, and the second Temple before Christ's Incarnation: for by the Romans God destroyed the Antiochian Power which had often mischiefed the Jews, and destroy'd the other Kingdoms which had been Enemies to the Jews, who were never in danger of being cut off from being a Nation, till their horrid murthering of the Lord of Life.

Literally and historically the City which the Captives returned from Babylon did build, but mystically the Catholick Church which God will never suffer to be destroyed, he will rather destroy all Nations, than suffer them to destroy his Church.

10 And I will pour upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem , the spirit of grace , and of supplications , and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced , and they shall mourn for him , as one mourneth for his onely son , and shall be in bitterness for him , as one that is in bitterness for his first-born .

God the Father, so Acts 2.17, 18. and Isa. 44.3.

In plentiful measures, as a plentiful rain is poured forth on a thirsty ground; this was fulfilled on Christ's Exaltation, when he received gifts for men, and being glorified, gave the Spirit, sent the Comforter to his Disciples and Believers, this is dayly performed to the Children of God, and will be continually performed till we all are made perfect, and are brought to be with Christ for ever.

On some of that Royal Family, or Typically considered 'tis the whole Family of Christ, his House, who was the seed of David, and who is called David their King, Ezek. 37.24. Hos. 3.5.

Literally understood it was fulfilled extraordinarily, Act. 2.4, 5. and no doubt in the ordinary manner, to many of whom no mention is made▪ mystically the Inhabitants of Jerusalem are all the Members of Christ, all believers of all ages.

Which is fountain of all Graces in us, and which makes us lovely in the eye of our God, Grace to purifie us, and to beautifie us, that God may delight in us.

Or Prayer, which is an early, inseperable Fruit of the Spirit of Grace by the Spirit, we cry, Abba Father, and Rom. 8.26. and are helpt to perform this Duty.

All those who have received this Spirit

with an eye of Faith, and turn to Christ, love, obey, and wait for him.

Every one of us by our sins pierced him, but many of the Jews nailed him to the Cross, and actually murthered the Lord of Life. This, as foretold, so was very punctually fulfil'd and recorded in the account of his Death given by John 19.34, 35▪ and 37. this hath then a particular respect to the Jews, though not confin'd to them.

Grieve, and heartily lament the crucifying the Lord Jesus Christ, not only as the sinful cruel act of their Fathers, but as that in which their sins had a great share.

With a very great and deep, with a long and continued sorrow, with an unfeigned and real sorrow, such as is the sorrow of a Father in the Death of an onely Son; they shall retain it inwardly, and express it outwardly, as in the Funeral Mournings on such occasions.

This speaks the inwardest affection of the Mourner, there may be tears in some cases without grief, or bitterness in the Spirit; but here both are join'd, true Repentance will bitterly lament the sins which brought sorrows and shame upon our Lord.

This bitterness compared to the grief of one who loseth his first-born, to confirm and illustrate what he had just before spoken of Christians mourning for Christ.

Marginal references: [illegible: 1 paragraph]; [illegible: 1 paragraph]; [illegible: 1 paragraph]

11 In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon.

When the Jews shall know, own, and mourn for their sins, and for that great sin in crucifying the Lord of Glory.

A very great mourning, which is exprest by the greatest the Jews ever were acquainted with, and which for its greatness grew up into a Proverb. The mourning of Hadadrimmon, or the mourning for Josiah slain at Hadadrimmon a Town in the Valley of M[illegible: 1 letter]giddon. Of this mourning, see 2 Chron. 35.24, 25.

Marginal references: [illegible: 1 paragraph]; [illegible: 1 paragraph]

12 And the land shall mourn, every family apart , the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart: the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart.

Land put for the Inhabitants of it, and Land in General; for the Land of Judaea, or that where the Jews dwelt who should every where bear a share in this mourning; Thus some of the Jews from every Country where they dwelt, being met at Jerusalem, were prick't at heart, and did mourn over the crucified Messiah, Acts 2.5. with 37. and 41.

Or Family by family, exprest in Hebr. Families, Families.

The Royal Family in both branches of it, Solomons and Nathan's, this Family as having greatest Portion in Christ, should have been most tender of him, who had been Heir on the Throne; if his Kingdom had been of this World, and by descent from David, but since they forgot him, neglected to do their duty to him alive, they remember him, and do their duty towards him dead; they mourn really and truly.

The manner of the Jews in mourning was by shutting up themselves, retiring from Company and Pleasure, here Families retire, nay, in the family, wives retire to bewail their sin, and their Fathers sin in rejecting Christ. Some there were of this Family who believed in Christ, and mourned when the Gospel was first publisht to the Jews before 'twas carried to the Gentiles.

Marginal references: [illegible: 1 paragraph]

13 The family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart: the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart.

The sacerdotal Tribe was the most bitter and fierce Persecutors of Christ, they hired the Traytor, they sought witness; The High Priest, (head of that Family) condemned him to dy, for all which they shall one day reckon with God, and therefore above other Tribes they are particularly named as chief Mourners for their injustice and cruelty to Christ. Here is one particular branch of Levi's Family mentioned, the Family of Simei, of whom 1 Chron. 6.17. and 27.10. These two Families had been deeply guilty, now they do as eminently concern themselves to mourn for him, to lament the sin, deprecate the fierce Wrath of God, and submit to his Kingdom, which their Fathers did not, would not do. In this Family where most were bitter, bloody Enemies to Christ, some had other thoughts of him, and mourned for him.

14 All the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart.

It would be somewhat tedious to repeat every Family and their Wives once, therefore a general comprehensive account may serve; some of every Family of the whole remnant of Israel mourn, believe, look to, and obey Christ the Messiah. So the mourning for Christ bears some proportion to their violent dealing against Christ, and they through Faith live by the blood they did spill, and get to Glory by him whom they loaded with reproaches; what will not Grace do when it converteth, accepteth, comforteth, glorifieth such offenders?

Israel’s Conflict and Victory, Conversion and Sanctification - Zechariah 12:1-13:6

This section forms the first half of the second prophecy of Zechariah concerning the future of Israel and of the nations of the world, viz., the prophecy contained in ch. 12-14, which, as a side-piece to ch. 9-11, treats of the judgment by which Israel, the nation of God, will be refined, sifted, and led on to perfection through conflict with the nations of the world. This first section announces how the conflict against Jerusalem and Judah will issue in destruction to the nations of the world (Zec 12:1-4). Jehovah will endow the princes of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem with marvellous strength to overcome all their foes (Zec 12:5-9), and will pour out His Spirit of grace upon them, so that they will bitterly repent the death of the Messiah (Zec 12:10-14), and purify themselves from all ungodliness (Zec 13:1-6).

Zec 12:1 “Burden of the word of Jehovah over Israel. Saying of Jehovah, who stretches out the heaven, and lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him.” This heading, which belongs to the whole prophecy in ch. 12-14, corresponds in form and contents to that in Zec 9:1. The burden of Jehovah over Israel stands by the side of the burden of Jehovah over the land of Hadrach, the seat of the heathen power of the world (Zec 9:1). And as the reason assigned for the latter was that the eye of Jehovah looks at mankind and all the tribes of Israel, so the former is explained here by an allusion to the creative omnipotence of Jehovah. Only there is nothing in our heading to answer to the words “and Damascus is his rest,” which are added to the explanation of the symbolical name Hadrach in Zec 9:1, because Israel, as the name of the covenant nation, needed no explanation. The other formal differences are very inconsiderable. על answers substantially to the ב (in בּארץ, Zec 9:1), and signifies, notwithstanding the fact that massa' announces a threatening word, not “again” but “over,” as we may see by comparing it with משּׂא אל ישׂ in Mal 1:1. The reason for the massa' announced is given here in the form of an apposition, נאם יהוה standing first like a heading, as in Psa 11:1; 2Sa 23:1; Num 24:3, Num 24:15. The predicates of God are formed after Isa 42:5 (see also Amo 4:13), and describe God as the creator of the universe, and the former of the spirits of all men, to remove all doubt as to the realization of the wonderful things predicted in what follows. יצר רוּח וגו, the forming of the spirit within man, does not refer to the creation of the spirits of souls of men once for all, but denotes the continuous creative formation and guidance of the human spirit by the Spirit of God. Consequently we cannot restrict the stretching out of the heaven and the laying of the foundation of the earth to the creation of the universe as an act accomplished once for all tat the beginning of all things (Gen 2:1), but must take these words also as referring to the upholding of the world as a work of the continuously creative providence of God. According to the biblical view (cf. Psa 104:2-4), “God stretches out the heavens every day afresh, and every day He lays the foundation of the earth, which, if His power did not uphold it, would move from its orbit, and fall into ruin” (Hengst.).

Zec 12:2-4 “Behold, I make Jerusalem a reeling-basin for all the nations round about, and upon Judah also will it be at the siege against Jerusalem. Zec 12:3. And it will come to pass on that day, I will make Jerusalem a burden-stone to all nations: all who lift it up will tear rents for themselves; and all the nations of the earth will gather together against it. Zec 12:4. In that day, is the saying of Jehovah, will I smite every horse with shyness, and its rider with madness, and over the house of Judah will I open my eyes, and every horse of the nations will I smite with blindness.” These verses allude to an attack on the part of the nations upon Jerusalem and Judah, which will result in injury and destruction to those who attack it. The Lord will make Jerusalem a reeling-basin to all nations round about. Saph does not mean threshold here, but basin, or a large bowl, as in Exo 12:22. רעל is equivalent to תּרעלה in Isa 51:17 and Psa 60:5, viz., reeling. Instead of the goblet, the prophet speaks of a basin, because many persons can put their mouths to this at the same time, and drink out of it (Schmieder). The “cup of reeling,” i.e., a goblet filled with intoxicating drink, is a figure very frequently employed to denote the divine judgment, which intoxicates the nations, so that they are unable to stand any longer, and therefore fall to the ground and perish (see at Isa 51:17).Psa 60:2 has been explained in very different ways. It is an old and widespread view, that the words “also upon Judah will it be,” etc., express the participation of Judah in the siege of Jerusalem. The Chaldee and Jerome both adopt this explanation, that in the siege of Jerusalem Judah will be constrained by the nations to besiege the capital of its own land. The grammatical reason assigned for this view is, that we must either take היה with על in the sense of obligation (it will also be the duty of Judah: Mich., Ros., Ewald), or supply סף־רעל as the subject to יהיה: the reeling-basin will also come upon Judah. But there is great harshness in both explanations. With the former, להלּחם, or some other infinitive, would hardly have been omitted; and with the latter, the preposition ל would stand before יהוּדה, instead of על. Moreover, in what follows there is no indication whatever of Judah’s having made common cause with the enemy against Jerusalem; on the contrary, Judah and Jerusalem stand together in opposition to the nations, and the princes of Judah have strength in the inhabitants of Jerusalem (Psa 60:5), and destroy the enemy to save Jerusalem (Psa 60:6). Moreover, it is only by a false interpretation that any one can find a conflict between Judah and Jerusalem indicated in Zec 14:14. And throughout it is incorrect to designate the attitude of Judah towards Jerusalem in these verses as “opposition,” - a notion upon which Ebrard (Offenb. Joh.) and Kliefoth have founded the marvellous view, that by Jerusalem with its inhabitants and the house of David we are to understand the unbelieving portion of Israel; and by Judah with its princes, Christendom, or the true people of God, formed of believing Israelites, and increased by believing Gentiles. Judah is not opposed to Jerusalem, but simply distinguished from it, just as the Jewish kingdom or people is frequently designated by the prophets as Jerusalem and Judah. The גם, which does not separate, but adds, is of itself inapplicable to the idea of opposition. Consequently we should expect the words וגם על יה to express the thought, that Judah will be visited with the same fate as Jerusalem, as Luther, Calvin, and many others follow the Peshito in supposing that they do. היה על has then the meaning to happen, to come over a person; and the only question is, What are we to supply in thought as the subject? The best course is probably to take it from the previous clause, “that which passes over Jerusalem;” for the proposal of Koehler to supply mâtsōr as the subject is precluded by the circumstance that mâtsōr, a siege, can only affect a city or fortress (cf. Deu 20:20), and not a land. The thought is strengthened in Zec 12:3. Jerusalem is to become a burden-stone for all nations, which inflicts contusions and wounds upon those who try to lift it up or carry it away (“experiencing no hurt itself, it causes great damage to them:” Marck). The figure is founded upon the idea of the labour connected with building, and not upon the custom, which Jerome speaks of as a very common one in his time among the youth of Palestine, of testing and exercising their strength by lifting heavy stones. There is a gradation in the thought, both in the figure of the burdensome stone, which wounds whoever tries to lift it, whilst intoxicating wine only makes one powerless and incapable of any undertaking, and also in the description given of the object, viz., in Zec 12:2 all nations round about Jerusalem, and in Zec 12:3 all peoples and all nations of the earth. It is only in the last clause of Zec 12:3 that the oppression of Jerusalem indicated in the two figures is more minutely described, and in Zec 12:4 that its overthrow by the help of God is depicted. The Lord will throw the mind and spirit of the military force of the enemy into such confusion, that instead of injuring Jerusalem and Judah, it will rush forward to its own destruction. Horses and riders individualize the warlike forces of the enemy. The rider, smitten with madness, turns his sword against his own comrades in battle (cf. Zec 14:3; Jdg 7:22; 1Sa 14:20). On the other hand, Jehovah will open His eyes upon Judah for its protection (1Ki 8:29; Neh 1:6; Psa 32:8). This promise is strengthened by the repetition of the punishment to be inflicted upon the enemy. Not only with alarm, but with blindness, will the Lord smite their horses. We have an example of this in 2Ki 6:18, where the Lord smote the enemy with blindness in answer to Elisha’s prayer, i.e., with mental blindness, so that, instead of seizing the prophet, they fell into the hands of Israel. The three plagues, timmâhōn, shiggâ‛ōn, and ‛ivvârōn, are those with which rebellious Israelites are threatened in Deu 28:28. The “house of Judah” is the covenant nation, the population of Judah including the inhabitants of Jerusalem, as we may see from what follows.

Zec 12:5-7

Zec 12:5. “And the princes of Judah will say in their hearts, The inhabitants of Jerusalem are strength to me, in Jehovah of hosts their God. Zec 12:6. On that day will I make the princes of Judah as a basin of fire under logs of wood, and like a torch of fire under sheaves; and they will devour all nations round about, on the right and on the left; and Jerusalem will dwell still further in its place, at Jerusalem. Zec 12:7. And Jehovah will save the tents of Judah first, that the splendour of the house of David and the splendour of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not lift itself up over Judah.” The princes of Judah are mentioned as the leaders of the people in war. What they say is the conviction of the whole nation ('allūph, as in Zec 9:7). אמצה (in this form ἁπ. λεγ.) is a substantive = אמץ, strength (Job 17:9). The singular lı̄ (to me) expresses the fact that every individual says or thinks this, as with the expression “should I weep” in Zec 7:3. The princes of Judah recognise in the inhabitants of Jerusalem their strength or might, not in this sense, that Judah, being crowded together before Jerusalem, expects help against the foe from the strength of the city and the assistance of its inhabitants, as Hofmann and Koehler maintain, for “their whole account of the inhabitants of the land being shut up in the city (or crowded together before the walls of Jerusalem, and covered by them) is a pure invention” (Koehler), and has no foundation in the text; but in this sense, that the inhabitants of Jerusalem are strong through Jehovah their God, i.e., through the fact that Jehovah has chosen Jerusalem, and by virtue of this election will save the city of His sanctuary (compare Zec 10:12 with Zec 3:2; Zec 1:17; Zec 2:12). Because the princes of Judah put their trust in the divine election of Jerusalem, the Lord makes them into a basin of fire under logs of wood, and a burning torch under sheaves, so that they destroy all nations round about like flames of fire, and Jerusalem therefore remains unconquered and undestroyed in its place at Jerusalem. In this last sentence Jerusalem is first of all the population personified as a woman, and in the second instance the city as such. From the fact that Jerusalem is still preserved, in consequence of the destruction of the enemy proceeding from the princes of Judah it is very evident that the princes of Judah are the representatives of the whole nation, and that the whole of the covenant nation (Judah with Jerusalem) is included in the house of Judah in Zec 12:4. And Zec 12:7 may easily be reconciled with this. The statement that the Lord will “save the tents of Judah first, that the splendour of the house of David may not lift itself up above Judah,” contains the simple thought that the salvation will take place in such a manner that no part of the nation will have any occasion to lift itself up above another, and that because the salvation is effected not by human power, but by the omnipotence of God alone. “The tents of Judah, i.e., its huts, form an antithesis to the splendid buildings of the capital, and probably (?) also point to the defenceless condition of Judah, through which it was absolutely cast upon the help of God”Calvin observes: “In my opinion, the prophet applies the term 'tents’ to huts which cannot protect their guests or inhabitants. We have thus a tacit contrast between huts and fortified cities.” (Hengstenberg). תּפארת, the splendour or glory, not the boasting. The house of David is the royal line, which was continued in Zerubbabel and his family, and culminated in Christ. Its splendour consists in the glorification promised in Zec 4:6-10 and Zec 4:14, and Hag 2:23; and the splendour of the inhabitants of Jerusalem is the promises which this city received through its election to be the city of God, in which Jehovah would be enthroned in His sanctuary, and also through the future glorification predicted for it in consequence (Zec 1:16-17; Zec 2:8, Zec 2:12, ff.). The antithesis between Jerusalem and the house of David on the one hand, and the tents of Judah on the other, does not serve to express the thought that “the strong ones will be saved by the weak, in order that the true equilibrium may arise between the two” (Hengst.), for Judah cannot represent the weak ones if its princes consume the enemy like flames of fire; but the thought is simply this: At the deliverance from the attack of the foe, Jerusalem will have no pre-eminence over Judah; but the promises which Jerusalem and the house of David have received will benefit Judah, i.e., the whole of the covenant nation, in like manner. This thought is expressed in the following way: The defenceless land will be delivered sooner than the well-defended capital, that the latter may not lift itself up above the former, but that both may humbly acknowledge “that the victory in both cases is the Lord's” (Jerome); for, according to Zec 12:8, Jerusalem will enjoy in the fullest measure the salvation of God.

Zec 12:8-9

Zec 12:8. “On that day Jehovah will shelter the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that stumbleth among them will be as David on that day; and the house of David as God, as the angel of Jehovah before them. Zec 12:9. And it will come to pass on that day, I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.” In the conflict with the heathen nations, the Lord will endow the inhabitants of Jerusalem with marvellous strength with which to overcome all their foes. The population of Jerusalem is divided into two classes, the weak and the strong. The weak are designated as hannikhshâl, the stumbling one, who cannot stand firmly upon his feet (1Sa 2:4). These are to become like David, the bravest hero of Israel (cf. 1Sa 17:34., 2Sa 17:8). The strong ones, designated as the house, i.e., the household or family of David, are to be like Elohim, i.e., not angels, but God, the Deity, i.e., a superhuman being (cf. Psa 8:6), yea, like the angel of Jehovah, who goes before Israel (לפניהם), or the revealer of the invisible God, who is essentially the equal of Jehovah (see at Zec 1:8). The point of comparison lies in the power and strength, not in moral resemblance to God, as Kliefoth supposes, who takes Elohim as equivalent to Jehovah, and identifies it with the angel of Jehovah, as some of the earlier commentators have done, and places the graduation of Elohim into the angel of Jehovah in the appearance of God in human form, in which case, however, לפניהם has no meaning. This shows rather that the “angel of Jehovah” is simply referred to here in connection with his appearance in the history of Israel, when he went at the head of Israel and smote the Egyptians and all the enemies of Israel (Exo 23:20.; Jos 5:13.). This is evident from the antithesis in Zec 12:9. Whilst Jehovah endows the inhabitants of Jerusalem with supernatural strength, He will seek to destroy all the nations which attack Jerusalem. Biqqēsh, followed by an infinitive with Lamed, to strive after anything, as in Zec 6:7. בּוא על applied to the advance of the enemy against a city (= עלה על, Isa 7:1).

Zec 12:10

But the Lord will do still more than this for His people. He will renew it by pouring out His spirit of grace upon it, so that it will come to the knowledge of the guilt it has incurred by the rejection of the Saviour, and will bitterly repent of its sin. Zec 12:10. “And I will pour out upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication; and they will look upon me, whom they have pierced, and will mourn over him like the mourning over an only one, and will grieve bitterly over him, as one grieves bitterly over the first-born.” This new promise is simply attached to the previous verse by ו consec. (ושׁפכתּי). Through this mode of attachment such connections as that suggested by Kliefoth, “But such glory can only be enjoyed by rebellious Israel when it is converted, and acknowledges and bewails Him whom it has rejected,” are precluded, as at variance with the text. There is not a word in the text about conversion as the condition on which the glory set before them in Zec 12:3-9 was to be obtained; on the contrary, conversion is represented as one fruit of the outpouring of the spirit of prayer upon the nation; and this outpouring of the Spirit is introduced by ושׁפכתּי, which corresponds to אבקּשׁ in Zec 12:9, as a new feature in the salvation, to be added to the promise of the destruction of the nations which fight against Jerusalem. The fact that only the inhabitants of Jerusalem are named, and not those of Judah also, is explained correctly by the commentators from the custom of regarding the capital as the representative of the whole nation. And it follows eo ipso from this, that in Zec 12:8 also the expression “inhabitants of Jerusalem” is simply an individualizing epithet for the whole of the covenant nation. But just as in Zec 12:8 the house of David is mentioned emphatically along with these was the princely family and representative of the ruling class, so is it also in Zec 12:10, for the purpose of expressing the thought that the same salvation is to be enjoyed by the whole nation, in all its ranks, from the first to the last. The outpouring of the Spirit points back to Joe 3:1., except that there the Spirit of Jehovah generally is spoken of, whereas here it is simply the spirit of grace and of supplication. Chēn does not mean “prayer,” nor emotion, or goodness, or love (Hitzig, Ewald), but simply grace or favour; and here, as in Zec 4:7, the grace of God; not indeed in its objectivity, but as a principle at work in the human mind. The spirit of grace is the spirit which produces in the mind of man the experience of the grace of God. But this experience begets in the soul of sinful man the knowledge of sin and guilt, and prayer for the forgiveness of sin, i.e., supplication; and this awakens sorrow and repentance. הבּיטוּ אלי, they look upon me. Hibbı̄t, used of bodily sight as well as spiritual (cf. Num 21:9). The suffix in אלי (to me) refers to the speaker. This is Jehovah, according to Zec 12:1, the creator of the heaven and the earth. את־אשׁר דּקרוּ, not “Him whom they pierced,” but simply “whom they pierced.” את, that is to say, is not governed by hibbı̄tū as a second object, but simply refers to  אלי,  to me, “whom they pierced,”  את־אשׁר  is chosen here, as in Jer 38:9, in the place of the simple אשׁר, to mark אשׁר more clearly as an accusative, since the simple אשׁר might also be rendered “who pierced (me):” cf. Ges. §123, 2, Not. 1. Dâqar does not mean to ridicule, or scoff at, but only to pierce, thrust through, and to slay by any kind of death whatever (cf. Lam 4:9). And the context shows that here it signifies to put to death. With reference to the explanation proposed by Calvin, “whom they have harassed with insults,” Hitzig has very properly observed: “If it were nothing more than this, wherefore such lamentation over him, which, according to the use of ספד, with על governing the person, and from the similes employed, is to be regarded as a lamentation for the dead?” It is true that we have not to think of a slaying of Jehovah, the creator of the heaven and the earth, but simply of the slaying of the Maleach Jehovah, who, being of the same essence with Jehovah, became man in the person of Jesus Christ. As Zechariah repeatedly represents the coming of the Messiah as a coming of Jehovah in His Maleach to His people, he could, according to this view, also describe the slaying of the Maleach as the slaying of Jehovah. And Israel having come to the knowledge of its sin, will bitterly bewail this deed. עליו does not mean thereat, i.e., at the crime, but is used personally, over him whom they have pierced. Thus the transition from the first person (אלי) to the third (עליו) points to the fact that the person slain, although essentially one with Jehovah, is personally distinct from the Supreme God. The lamentation for the only son (yâshı̄d: cf. Amo 8:10) and for the first-born is the deepest and bitterest death-wail. The inf. abs. hâmēr, which is used in the place of the finite verb, signifies making bitter, to which mispēd is to be supplied from the previous sentence (cf. מספּד תּמרוּרים, Jer 6:26).

The historical fulfilment of this prophecy commenced with the crucifixion of the Son of God, who had come in the flesh. The words הבּיטוּ אלי את־אשׁר דּקרוּ are quoted in the Gospel of John (Joh 19:37), according to the Greek rendering ὄψονται εἰς ὅν ἐξεκέντησαν, which probably emanated not from the lxx, but from Aquila, or Theodotion, or Symmachus, as having been fulfilled in Christ, by the fact that a soldier pierced His side with a lance as He was hanging upon the cross (vid., Joh 19:34). If we compare this quotation with the fact mentioned in Joh 19:36, that they did not break any of His bones, there can be no doubt that John quotes this passage with distinct allusion to this special circumstance; only we must not infer from this, that the evangelist regarded the meaning of the prophecy as exhausted by this allusion. The piercing with the spear is simply looked upon by him as the climax of all the mortal sufferings of Christ; and even with Zechariah the piercing is simply an individualizing expression for putting to death, the instrument used and the kind of death being of very subordinate importance. This is evident from a comparison of our verse with Zec 13:7, where the sword is mentioned as the instrument employed, whereas dâqar points rather to a spear. What we have observed respecting the fulfilment of Zec 9:9 by the entry of Christ into Jerusalem, also applies to this special fulfilment, viz., that the so to speak literal fulfilment in the outward circumstances only served to make the internal concatenation of the prophecy with its historical realization so clear, that even unbelievers could not successfully deny it. Luke (Luk 23:48) indicates the commencement of the fulfilment of the looking at the slain one by these words: “And all the people that came together to that sight, beholding the things which were done, smote their breasts.” (For the smiting of the breasts, comp. Isa 32:12, ספד על שׁדים.) “The crowds, who had just before been crying out, Crucify him, here smite upon their breasts, being overpowered with the proofs of the superhuman exaltation of Jesus, and lament over the crucified one, and over their own guilt” (Hengst.). The true and full commencement of the fulfilment, however, shows itself in the success which attended the preaching of Peter on the first day of Pentecost, - namely, in the fact that three thousand were pricked in their heart with penitential sorrow on account of the crucifixion of their Saviour, and were baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins (Act 2:37-41), and in the further results which followed the preaching of the apostles for the conversion of Israel (Acts 3-4). The fulfilment has continued with less striking results through the whole period of the Christian church, in conversions from among the Jews; and it will not terminate till the remnant of Israel shall turn as a people to Jesus the Messiah, whom its fathers crucified. On the other hand, those who continue obstinately in unbelief will see Him at last when He returns in the clouds of heaven, and shriek with despair (Rev 1:7; Mat 24:30).

Zec 12:11-14

In Zec 12:11-14 the magnitude and universality of the mourning are still further depicted. Zec 12:11. “In that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be great, like the mourning of Hadad-rimmon in the valley of Megiddo. Zec 12:12. And the land will mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart. Zec 12:13. The family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of the Shimeite apart, and their wives apart. Zec 12:14. All the rest of the families, every family apart, and their wives apart.” In Zec 12:11, the depth and bitterness of the pain on account of the slain Messiah are depicted by comparing it to the mourning of Hadad-rimmon. Jerome says with regard to this: “Adad-remmon is a city near Jerusalem, which was formerly called by this name, but is now called Maximianopolis, in the field of Mageddon, where the good king Josiah was wounded by Pharaoh Necho.” This statement of Jerome is confirmed by the fact that the ancient Canaanitish or Hebrew name of the city has been preserved in Rümuni, a small village three-quarters of an hour to the south of Lejun (Legio = Megiddo: see at Jos 12:21; and V. de Velde, Reise, i. p. 267). The mourning of Hadad-rimmon is therefore the mourning for the calamity which befel Israel at Hadad-rimmon in the death of the good king Josiah, who was mortally wounded in the valley Megiddo, according to 2Ch 35:22., so that he very soon gave up the ghost. The death of this most pious of all the kings of Judah was bewailed by the people, especially the righteous members of the nation, so bitterly, that not only did the prophet Jeremiah compose an elegy on his death, but other singers, both male and female, bewailed him in dirges, which were placed in a collection of elegiac songs, and preserved in Israel till long after the captivity (2Ch 35:25). Zechariah compares the lamentation for the putting of the Messiah to death to this great national mourning. All the other explanations that have been given of these words are so arbitrary, as hardly to be worthy of notice. This applies, for example, to the idea mentioned by the Chald., that the reference is to the death of the wicked Ahab, and also to Hitzig’s hypothesis, that Hadad-rimmon was the one name of the god Adonis. For, apart from the fact that it is only from this passage that Movers has inferred that there ever was an idol of that name, a prophet of Jehovah could not possibly have compared the great lamentation of the Israelites over the death of the Messiah to the lamentation over the death of Ahab the ungodly king of Israel, or to the mourning for a Syrian idol. But the mourning will not be confined to Jerusalem; the land (hâ'ârets), i.e., the whole nation, will also mourn. This universality of the lamentation is individualized in Zec 12:12-14, and so depicted as to show that all the families and households of the nation mourn, and not the men only, but also the women. To this end the prophet mentions four distinct leading and secondary families, and then adds in conclusion, “all the rest of the families, with their wives.” Of the several families named, two can be determined with certainty, - namely, the family of the house of David, i.e., the posterity of king David, and the family of the house of Levi, i.e., the posterity of the patriarch Levi. But about the other two families there is a difference of opinion. The rabbinical writers suppose that Nathan is the well known prophet of that name, and the family of Shimei the tribe of Simeon, which is said, according to the rabbinical fiction, to have furnished teachers to the nation.Jerome gives the Jewish view thus: “In David the regal tribe is included, i.e., Judah. In Nathan the prophetic order is described. Levi refers to the priests, from whom the priesthood sprang. In Simeon the teachers are included, as the companies of masters sprang from that tribe. He says nothing about the other tribes, as they had no special privilege of dignity.”

But the latter opinion is overthrown, apart from any other reason, by the fact that the patronymic of Simeon is not written שׁמעי, but שׁמעני, in Jos 21:4; 1Ch 27:16. Still less can the Benjamite Shimei, who cursed David (2Sa 16:5.), be intended. משׁפּחת השּׁמעי is the name given in Num 3:21 to the family of the son of Gershon and the grandson of Levi (Num 3:17.). This is the family intended here, and in harmony with this Nathan is not the prophet of that name, but the son of David, from whom Zerubbabel was descended (Luk 3:27, Luk 3:31). Luther adopted this explanation: “Four families,” he says, “are enumerated, two from the royal line, under the names of David and Nathan, and two from the priestly line, as Levi and Shimei; after which he embraces all together.” Of two tribes he mentions one leading family and one subordinate branch, to show that not only are all the families of Israel in general seized with the same grief, but all the separate branches of those families. Thus the word mishpâchâh is used here, as in many other cases, in the wider and more restricted meaning of the leading and the subordinate families.

The Security of the Church; Punishment of the Church's Enemies; Promises to Judah. (b. c.  500.)

1 The burden of the word of the Lord for Israel, saith the Lord , which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him. 2 Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. 3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it. 4 In that day, saith the Lord , I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness. 5 And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the Lord of hosts their God. 6 In that day will I make the governors of Judah like a hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem. 7 The Lord also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against Judah. 8 In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the Lord before them.

Here is, I. The title of this charter of promises made to God's Israel; it is the burden of the word of the Lord, a divine prediction; it is of weight in the delivery of it; it is to be pressed upon people, and will be very pressing in the accomplishment of it; it is a burden, a heavy burden, to all the church's enemies, like that talent of lead, ch. v. 7, 8. But it is for Israel; it is for their comfort and benefit. As even the fiery law (Deut. xxxiii. 2), so the fiery prophecies and fiery providences that come from God's right hand, come for them; the word that speaks terror to their enemies speaks peace to them, as the pillar of cloud and fire, which turned a bright side towards the Israelites, to direct and encourage them, but a black side towards the Egyptians, to terrify and dispirit them. Happy are those that have even the burdens of God's word for them, as well as the blessings of it.

II. The title of him that grants this charter, which is prefixed to it to show that he has both authority to make these promises and ability to make them good, for he is the Creator of the world and our Creator, and therefore has an incontestable irresistible dominion. 1. He stretches out the heavens; not only he did so at the first, when he said, Let there be a firmament, and he made the firmament, but he does so still; he keeps them stretched out like a curtain, keeps them from running in, and will do so till the end come, when the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll. No bounds can be set to his power who stretches out the heavens, nor can any thing be too hard for him. 2. He lays the foundation of the earth, and keeps it firm and fixed on its own basis, or rather on its own axis, though it is founded on the seas (Ps. xxiv. 1, 2), nay, though it is hung upon nothing, Job xxvi. 7. The founder of this earth is no doubt the ruler of it, and judges in it, and those deceive themselves who say, The Lord has forsaken the earth, for, if he had, it would have sunk, since it is he that not only did lay its foundations at first, but does still lay them, still uphold them. 3. He forms the spirit of man within him. He made us these souls, Jer. xxxviii. 16. He not only breathed into the first man, but still breathes into every man the breath of life; the body is derived from the fathers of our flesh, but the soul is infused by the Father of spirits, Heb. xii. 9. He fashions men's hearts; they are in his hand, and he turns them as the rivers of water, and casts them into what mould he pleases, so as to serve his own purposes with them; and he can therefore save his church by inspiriting his friends and dispiriting his enemies, and will eternally save all his chosen by forming their spirits anew.

III. The promises themselves that are here made them, by which the church shall be secured, and in which all its friends may enjoy a holy security.

1. It is promised that, whatever attacks the enemies of the church may make upon her purity or peace, they will certainly issue in their own confusion. The enemies of God and of his kingdom bear a great deal of malice and ill-will to Jerusalem, and form designs for its destruction; but it will prove, at last, that they are but preparing ruin for themselves; Jerusalem is in safety, and those are in all the danger who fight against it. This is here illustrated by three comparisons:—

(1.) Jerusalem shall be a cup of trembling to all that lay siege to it, v. 2. They promise themselves that it shall be to them a cup of wine, which they shall easily and with pleasure drink off, and they thirst for its spoils, nay, they thirst for its blood, as for such a cup; but it shall prove a cup of slumber, nay, a cup of poison, to them, which, when they take it into their hands, and think it is all their own, they shall not be able to drink off: the fumes of it shall give them enough. When the kings were assembled against her, and saw how God was known in her palaces for a refuge, they trembled and hasted away; fear took hold upon them, as we find, Ps. xlviii. 3-6. Thus Alexander the Great was struck with amazement when he met Jaddus the high priest, and was deterred thereby from offering any violence to Jerusalem. When Sennacherib laid siege against Judah and Jerusalem he found them such a cup of stupifying wine as laid all his mighty men asleep, Ps. lxxvi. 5, 6. Some read it, I will make Jerusalem a post of contrition or breaking. Those that make any attempts upon Jerusalem do but run their heads against a post, which they cannot move, but are sure to hurt themselves. The blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall (Isa. xxv. 4), broken by it, but not shaking it. God's church is a cup of consolation to all her friends (Isa. lxvi. 11), but a cup of trembling to all that would either debauch her by errors and corruptions or destroy her by wars and persecutions. See Isa. li. 22, 23.

(2.) Jerusalem shall be a burdensome stone to all that attempt to remove it or carry it away, v. 3. All the people of the earth are here supposed to be gathered together against it, some one time and some another; there has been a succession of enemies, from age to age, making war upon the church. But though they were all at once in a confederacy against it, and had formed a resolution to cut off the name of Israel, that it should be no more in remembrance (Ps. lxxxiii. 4), they will find it a task too hard for them. Those that are for keeping up and advancing the kingdom of sin in the world look upon Jerusalem, even the church of God, as the great obstacle to their designs, and they must have it out of the way; but they will find it heavier than they think it is; so that, [1.] They cannot remove it. God will have a church in the world, in spite of them; it is built upon a rock, and is as Mount Zion, that abides for ever, Ps. cxxv. 1. This stone, cut out of the mountain without hands, will not only keep its ground, but fill the earth, Dan. ii. 35. Nay, [2.] It will break in pieces all that burden themselves with it, as that stone smote the image, Dan. ii. 45. All that think themselves a match for it shall be cut in pieces by it. Some think it is an allusion to a sport which Jerome, upon this place, says was in use among the Jews, as among us: young men tried their strength, and strove for mastery, by heaving up great stones, which, if they proved too heavy for them, fell upon them, and bruised them. Those that make a jest of religion, and banter sacred things, will find them a burdensome stone, that it is ill-jesting with edged-tools, and though they make light of it (saying, Am not I in sport?) they bring upon themselves an insupportable sinking load of guilt. Our Saviour seems to allude to these words when he speaks of himself as a burdensome stone to those that will not have him for their foundation-stone, which shall fall upon them and grind them to powder, Matt. xxi. 44.

(3.) The governors of Judah shall be among their enemies like a hearth of fire among the wood, and a torch of fire in a sheaf, v. 6. Not that their own passions shall make them incendiaries and firebrands to all about them; no; Zion's King is meek and lowly, and all subordinate governors must be like him; but God's justice will make them avengers of his cause, and theirs, upon their enemies. Those that contend with them will find it is like an opposition given by briers and thorns to a consuming fire, Isa. xxvii. 4. It will go through them, and burn them together. It is God's wrath, and not theirs, that is the fire which devours the adversaries. God's fire is said to be in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem. Isa. xxxi. 9. The enemies thought to be as water to this fire, to extinguish it and put it quite out; but God will make them as wood, nay, as a sheaf of corn (which is more combustible), to this fire, not only to be consumed by it, but to be made thereby to burn the more strongly. When God would make Abimelech and the men of Shechem one another's destroyers fire is said to come out from the one to devour the other, Judg. ix. 20. So here, Fire shall come out from the governors of Judah to devour all the people round about, as from the mouth of God's witnesses to consume those who offer to hurt them, Rev. xi. 5. The persecutors of the primitive church found this fulfilled in it, witness Lactantius's history of God's judgments upon the primitive persecutors, and the confession of Julian the apostate at last. Thou hast overcome me, O thou Galilean! The church's motto may be, Nemo me impune lacesset—He that assails me does it at his peril. If you are weary of your life, persecute the Christians, was once a proverb.

2. It is promised that God will infatuate the counsels and enfeeble the courage of the church's enemies (v. 4): "In that day, when the people of the earth are gathered together against Jerusalem, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness;" and again, "I will smite every horse of the people with blindness, so that they shall be no way serviceable to them; blinding the horses will be as bad as houghing them." The horses and their horsemen shall both forget the military exercise to which they were trained, and, instead of keeping ranks and observing the rules of their discipline, they shall both grow mad, and ruin themselves. The church's infantry shall be too hard for the enemy's cavalry; and those who were upbraided with trusting in horses shall be baffled by those who were forbidden to multiply horses.

3. It is promised that Jerusalem shall be re-peopled and replenished (v. 6): Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem. The natives of Jerusalem shall not incorporate in a colony in some other country, and build a city there, and call that Jerusalem, and see the promises fulfilled in that, as those in New England called their towns by the names of towns in Old England. No; they shall have a new Jerusalem upon the same foundation, the same spot of ground, with the old one. They had so after their return out of captivity, but this was to have its full accomplishment in the gospel-church, which is a Jerusalem inhabited in its own place; for, the gospel being to be preached to all the world, it may call every place its own.

4. It is promised that the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be enabled to defend themselves, and yet shall be taken under the divine protection, v. 8. See here in what method God preserves his church, and those that are his, from the gates of hell to and through the gates of heaven. (1.) He does himself secure them: In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, not only Jerusalem itself from being taken and destroyed, but every inhabitant of it from being any way damaged. God will not only be a wall of fire about the city, to fortify that, but he will encompass particular persons with his favour as with a shield, so that no dart of the besiegers shall touch them. (2.) He does it by giving them strength and courage to help themselves. What God works in his people by his grace contributes more to their preservation and defence than what he works for them by his providence. The God of Israel gives strength and power to his people, that they may do their part, and then he will not be wanting to do his. It is the glory of God to strengthen the weak, that most need his help, that see and own their need of it, and will be the most thankful for it. [1.] In that day the feeblest of the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be as David, shall be men of war, as bold and brave, as skilful and strong, as David himself, shall attempt and accomplish great things, as David did, and become as serviceable to Jerusalem in guarding it as David himself was in founding it, and as formidable as he was to the enemies of it. See what divine grace does; it makes children not only men, but champions, makes weak saints to be not only good soldiers, but great soldiers, like David. And see how God often does his own work as easily and effectually, and more to his own glory, by weak and obscure instruments than by the most illustrious. [2.] The house of David shall be as God, that is, as the angel of the Lord, before them. Zerubbabel was now the top-branch of the house of David; he shall be endued with wisdom and grace for the service to which he is called, and shall go before the people as an angel, as that angel (so some think) which went before the people of Israel through the wilderness, which was God himself, Exod. xxiii. 20. God will increase the gifts and abilities both of the people and princes, in proportion to the respective services for which they are designed. It was said of David that he was as an angel of God, to discern good and bad, 2 Sam. xiv. 17. Such shall the house of David now be. The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be as strong and fit for action as nature made David, and their magistrates as wise and fit for counsel as grace made him. But this was to have its full accomplishment in Christ; now the house of David looked little and mean, and its glory was eclipsed, but in Christ the house of David shone more brightly than ever, and its countenance was as that of an angel; in him it became more blessed, and more a blessing, than ever it had been.

5. It is promised that there shall be a very good understanding between the city and the country, and that the balance shall be kept even between them; there shall be no mutual envies or jealousies between them; they shall not keep up any separate interests, but shall heartily unite in their counsels, and act in concert for the common good; and this happy agreement between the city and the country, the head and the body, is very necessary to the health, welfare, and safety of any nation. (1.) The governors of Judah, the magistrates and gentry of the country, shall think honourably of the citizens, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the merchants and tradesmen; they shall not run them down, and contrive how to keep them under, but they shall say in their hearts, not in compliment but in sincerity, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength, the strength of my country, of my family, in the Lord of hosts their God, v. 5. They will therefore, upon all occasions, pay respect and deference to Jerusalem, as the mother-city, the ruling-city, and the city that is to be first served, because they look upon it to be the bulwark of the nation and its strongest fortification in times of public danger and distress, which therefore they would all come in to the assistance of and come under the protection of, and this not so much because it was a rich city, and money is the sinews of war, nor because it was a populous city and could bring the greatest numbers into the field, nor because its inhabitants were generally the most ingenious active men, the best soldiers and the best commanders (of Zion it shall be said, This and that brave man were born there), but because it was a holy city, where God's house and household, the temple and the priests, were, where his worship was kept up and his feasts were observed, and because it should now be more than ever a praying city, for upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem God will pour a spirit of supplication (v. 10); therefore the governors of Judah shall say, These are my strength; they are so upon the account of their relation to, their interest in, and their communion with, the Lord of hosts, their God. Because the Lord of hosts is in a particular manner their God (for in Salem is his tabernacle and his dwelling-place in Zion), therefore they shall be my strength. Note, It is well with a kingdom when its great men know how to value its good men, when its governors look upon religion and religious people to be their strength, and consider it their interest to support them, and learn to call godly praying people, and skilful faithful ministers, the chariots and horsemen of Israel, as Joash called Elisha, and not the troublers of the land, as Ahab called Elijah. (2.) The court and the city shall not despise, nor look with contempt upon, the inhabitants of the country; no, not the meanest of them, much less upon the governors of Judah; for God will put signal honour upon Judah, and so save them from the contempt of their brethren. As Jerusalem was dignified by special ordinances, so Judah shall be dignified with special providences. God says (v. 4), I will open my eyes upon the house of Judah, upon the poor country people. Proud men scornfully overlook them, but the great God will graciously look upon them and look after them. Nay, (v. 7), the Lord shall save the tents of Judah first. Those that dwell in tents lie most exposed; but God will remarkably protect and deliver them before those that dwell in Jerusalem. He will appear glorious in what he does for the inhabitants of his villages in Israel, Judg. v. 11. Thus, in the mystical body, God gives more abundant honour to that part which lacked, that there may be no schism in the body (see 1 Cor. xii. 22-25), which is the reason here given why the glory of the house of David, which has great power, and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who have great wealth, and both which live in great pomp and pleasure, may not magnify themselves against Judah and the tents of Judah, the dwellers in which work hard, and fare hard, and perhaps are not so well bred. Note, Courtiers and citizens ought not to despise country people, nor look with disdain upon those whom God opens his eyes upon and who are first saved, while it is so hard for the rich and great to enter the kingdom of God. If God by his grace has magnified the dwellers in the tents of Judah, having chosen the weak and foolish things of the world and chosen to employ them, we affront him if we vilify them, or magnify ourselves against them, Jam. ii. 5, 6. This promise has a further reference to the gospel-church, in which no difference shall be made between high and low, rich and poor, bond and free, circumcision and uncircumcision, but all shall be alike welcome to Christ, and partake of his benefits, Col. iii. 11. Jerusalem shall not then be thought, as it had been, more holy than other parts of the land of Israel.

Promises to Judah; Evangelical Predictions. (b. c. 500.)

9 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. 10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. 11 In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon. 12 And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart; 13 The family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart; 14 All the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart.

The day here spoken of is the day of Jerusalem's defence and deliverance, that glorious day when God will appear for the salvation of his people, which, if it do refer to the successes which the Jews had against their enemies in the time of the Maccabees, yet certainly looks further, to the gospel-day, to Christ's victories over the powers of darkness and the great salvation he has wrought for his chosen. Now we have here an account of two remarkable works designed in that day.

I. A glorious work of God to be wrought for his people: "I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem, v. 9. Nations come against Jerusalem, many and mighty nations; but they shall all be destroyed, their power shall be broken, and their attempts baffled; the mischief they intend shall return upon their own head." God will seek to destroy them, not as if he were at a loss for ways and means to bring it about (Infinite Wisdom was never nonplussed), but his seeking to do it intimates that he is very earnest and intent upon it (he is jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and has the day of vengeance in his heart) and that he overrules means and instruments, and all the motions and operations of second causes, in order to it. He is framing evil against them; when he seems to be setting them up he is seeking to destroy them. In Christ's first coming, he sought to destroy him that had the power of death, and did destroy him, bruised the serpent's head, and broke all the powers of darkness that fought against God's kingdom among men and against the faithful friends and subjects of that kingdom; he spoiled them, and made a show of them openly. In his second coming, he will complete their destruction, when he shall put down all opposing rule, principality, and power, and death itself shall be swallowed up in that victory. The last enemy shall be destroyed of all that fought against Jerusalem.

II. A gracious work of God to be wrought in his people, in order to the work that is to be wrought for them. When he seeks to destroy their enemies he will pour upon them the Spirit of grace and supplication. Note, When God intends great mercy for his people the first thing he does is to set them a praying; thus he seeks to destroy their enemies by stirring them up to seek to him that he would do it for them; because, though he has proposed it and promised it, and it is for his own glory to do it, yet he will for this be enquired of by the house of Israel, Ezek. xxxvi. 37. Ask, and it shall be given. This honour will he have to himself, and this honour will he put upon prayer and upon praying people. And it is a happy presage to the distressed church of deliverance approaching, and is, as it were, the dawning of its day, when his people are stirred up to cry mightily to him for it. But this promise has reference to, and is performed in, the graces of the Spirit given to all believers, as that Isa. xliv. 3, I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, which was fulfilled when Jesus was glorified, John vii. 39. It is a promise of the Spirit, and with him of all spiritual blessings in heavenly things by Christ. Now observe here,

1. On whom these blessings are poured out. (1.) On the house of David, on the great men; for they are no more, and no better, than the grace of God makes them. It was promised (v. 8) that the house of David should be as the angel of the Lord. Now, in order to that, the Spirit of grace is poured upon them; for the more the saints have of the Spirit of grace the more like they are to the holy angels. When God was about to appear for the land, he poured his Spirit of grace upon the house of David, the leading men of the land. It bodes well to a people when princes and great men go before the rest in that which is good, as 2 Chron. xx. 5. The house of David is all summed up in Jesus Christ, the Son of David; and upon him, as the head, the Spirit of grace is poured out, from him to be diffused to all his members; from his fulness we receive, and grace for grace. (2.) On the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the common people; for the operations of the Spirit are the same upon the mean and weak Christians that they are upon the strong and more grown. The inhabitants of Jerusalem cannot influence public affairs by their powers and policies, as the great men of the house of David may, yet they may do good service by their prayers, and therefore upon them the Spirit shall be poured out. The church is Jerusalem, the heavenly Jerusalem; all true believers, that have their conversation in the heaven, are inhabitants of this Jerusalem, and to them this promise belongs. God will pour his Spirit upon them. This is the earnest which all that believe in Christ shall receive; thus they are sanctified; thus they are sealed.

2. What these blessings are: I will pour upon them the Spirit. That includes all good things, as it qualifies us for the favour of God, and all his other gifts. He will pour out the Spirit, (1.) As a Spirit of grace, to sanctify us and to make us gracious. (2.) As a Spirit of supplications, inclining us to, instructing and assisting us in, the duty of prayer. Note, Wherever the Spirit is given as a Spirit of grace, he is given as a Spirit of sanctification. Wherever he is a Spirit of adoption, he teaches to cry, Abba, Father. As soon as ever Paul was converted, Behold, he prays, Acts ix. 11. You may as soon find a living man without breath as a living saint without prayer. There is a more plentiful effusion of the Spirit of prayer now under the gospel than was under the law; and the further the work of sanctification is carried in us the better is the work of supplication carried on by us.

3. What the effect of them will be: I will pour upon them the Spirit of grace. One would think that it should follow, "And they shall look on him whom they have believed, and shall rejoice" (and it is true that that is one of the fruits of the pouring out of the Spirit, whence we read of the joy of the Holy ghost), but it follows, They shall mourn; for there is a holy mourning, that is the effect of the pouring out of the Spirit, a mourning for sin, which is of use to quicken faith in Christ and qualify for joy in God. It is here made the matter of a promise that they shall mourn, for there is a mourning that will end in rejoicing and has a blessing entailed upon it. This mourning is a fruit of the Spirit of grace, an evidence of a work of grace in the soul, and a companion of the Spirit of supplication, as it expresses lively affections working in prayer; hence prayers and tears are often put together, 2 Kings xx. 5. Jacob, that wrestler with God, wept and made supplication. But here it is a mourning for sin that is the effect of the pouring out of the Spirit.

(1.) It is a mourning grounded upon a sight of Christ: They shall look on me whom they have pierced, and shall mourn for him. Here, [1.] It is foretold that Christ should be pierced, and this scripture is quoted as that which was fulfilled when Christ's side was pierced upon the cross; see John xix. 37. [2.] He is spoken of as one whom we have pierced; it is spoken primarily of the Jews, who persecuted him to death (and we find that those who pierced him are distinguished from the other kindreds of the earth that shall wail because of him, Rev. i. 7); yet it is true of us all as sinners, we have pierced Christ, inasmuch as our sins were the cause of his death, for he was wounded for our transgressions, and they are the grief of his soul; he is broken with the whorish heart of sinners, who therefore are said to crucify him afresh and put him to open shame. [3.] Those that truly repent of sin look upon Christ as one whom they have pierced, who was pierced for their sins and is pierced by them; and this engages them to look unto him, as those that are deeply concerned for him. [4.] This is the effect of their looking to Christ; it makes them mourn. This was particularly fulfilled in those to whom Peter preached Christ crucified; when they heard it those who had had a hand in piercing him were pricked to the heart, and cried out, What shall we do? It is fulfilled in all those who sorrow for sin after a godly sort; they look to Christ, and mourn for him, not so much for his sufferings as for their own sins that procured them. Note, The genuine sorrows of a penitent soul flow from the believing sight of a pierced Saviour. Looking by faith upon the cross of Christ will set us a mourning for sin after a godly sort.

(2.) It is a great mourning. [1.] it is like the mourning of a parent for the death of a beloved child. They shall mourn for sin as one mourns for an only son, in whose grave the hopes of his family are buried, and shall be inwardly in bitterness as one that is in bitterness for his first-born, as the Egyptians were when there was a cry throughout all their land for the death of their first-born. The sorrow of children for the death of their parents is sometimes counterfeited, is often small, and soon wears off and is forgotten; but the sorrow of parents for a child, for a son, for an only son, for a first-born, is natural, sincere, unforced, and unaffected, it is secret and lasting; such are the sorrows of a true penitent, flowing purely from love to Christ above any other. [2.] It is like the mourning of a people for the death of a wise and good prince. It shall be like the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon, where good king Josiah was slain, for whom there was a general lamentation (v. 11), and perhaps the greater because they were told that it was their sin that provoked God to deprive them of so great a blessing; therefore they cried out, The crown has fallen from our head. Woe unto us, for we have sinned! Lam. v. 16. Christ is our King; our sins were his death, and, for that reason, ought to be our grief.

(3.) It is a general universal mourning (v. 12): The land shall mourn. The land itself put on mourning at the death of Christ, for there was then darkness over all the land, and the earth trembled; but this is a promise that, in consideration of the death of Christ, multitudes shall be effectually brought to sorrow for sin and turn to God; it shall be such a universal gracious mourning as was when all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord, 1 Sam. vii. 2. Some think this is yet to have its complete accomplishment in the general conversion of the Jewish nation.

(4.) It is also a private particular mourning. There shall be not only a mourning of the land, by its representatives in a general assembly (as Judg. ii. 5, when the place was called Bochim—A place of weepers), but it shall spread itself into all corners of the land: Every family apart shall mourn (v. 12), all the families that remain, v. 14. All have contributed to the guilt, and therefore all shall share in the grief. Note, The exercises of devotion should be performed by private families among themselves, besides their joining in public assemblies for religious worship. National fasts must be observed, not only in our synagogues, but in our houses. In the mourning here foretold the wives mourn apart by themselves, in their own apartment, as Esther and her maids. And some think it intimates their denying themselves the use even of lawful delights in a time of general humiliation 1 Cor. vii. 5. Four several families are here specified as examples to others in this mourning:—[1.] Two of them are royal families: the house of David, in Solomon, and the house of Nathan, another son of David, brother to Solomon, from whom Zerubbabel descended, as appears by Christ's genealogy, Luke iii. 27-31. The house of David, particularly that of Nathan, which is now the chief branch of that house, shall go before in this good work. The greatest princes must not think themselves exempted from the law of repentance, but rather obliged most solemnly to express it, for the exciting of others, as Hezekiah humbled himself (2 Chron. xxxii. 26), the princes and the king (2 Chron. xii. 6), and the king of Nineveh, Jonah iii. 6. [2.] Two of them are sacred families (v. 13), the family of the house of Levi, which was God's tribe, and in it particularly the family of Shimei, which was a branch of the tribe of Levi (1 Chron. vi. 17), and probably some of the descendants of that family were now of note for preachers to the people or ministers to the altar. As the princes must mourn for the sins of the magistracy, so must the priests for the iniquity of the holy things. In times of general tribulation and humiliation the Lord's ministers are concerned to weep between the porch and the altar (Joel ii. 17), and not only there, but in their houses apart; for in what families should godliness, both in the form and in the power of it, be found, if not in ministers' families?

CHAP. XII.

Verſe 1. THE burden of the word of the Lord] That is, a declaration of his mind and counſell for Iſraels comfort, and his enemies confuſion. To the Iſrael of God it is onus ſine onere, ſuch a burden as the wings are to the bird, a burdenleſſe burden. To the enemies, a burdenſome ſtone, verſe 3. heavier then the ſand of the ſea, Iob 6.3.

For Iſrael] Not, againſt Iſrael, though Calvin ſo taketh it: and by Iſrael underſtandeth the ten tribes, and thoſe other captives that, loth to leave thoſe houſes they had built, and thoſe gardens they had planted in Babylon, Ier. 29.5. neglected to return to Jeruſalem for fear of the Samaritans and other ill neighbours, whole ruine is therefore here foretold by three excellent ſimilitudes, after a ſtately preamble, drawn 1. From the power of God, whereby he ſtretcheth forth the heavens, that huge expanſe, as a curtain, or as a molten looking-glaſſe.Job 37.18 Job 26.7 2. From the wiſdome of God, in laying the foundation of the earth, and hanging it, by Geometry, as we ſay, in the midſt of heaven, like Archimedes his pigeon, equally poized with its own weight.

Terra pilae ſimilis, nullo fulcimine nixa,Ovid. Faſt. l. 5 Aere ſubjecto tam grave pendet onus.

3. From the goodneſſe of God, who formeth the ſpirit of man within him] who hath made us theſe ſouls, Eſay 57.16. which he doth daily create and infuſe into mens bodies; yea and that alone, without any help of their parents: hence hee is called the Father of ſpirits, Heb. 12.9. and the ſpirit of a dying man is ſaid to return to God that gave it, Eccleſ. 12.7. This laſt text convinced Auguſtine (who held ſometime, with Origen, that the ſoul as well as the body was begotten by the parents) farre more then the peremptory raſhneſſe of Vincentius Victor: who cenſured boldly the Fathers unreſolvedneſſe,Chemnitius.(when hee doubted concerning the originall of a rationall ſoul) and vaunted that he would prove by demonſtration, that ſouls are created de novo, by God. Ariſtotle (Natures chief Secretary) was much puzled about this point of the ſoul: which indeed cannot fully bee conceived of, nor defined by man. Onely this we can ſay, that the ſoul as it comes from God, ſo it is like him; viz. One immateriall, immortall, underſtanding Spirit: diſtinguiſht into three Powers, which all make up one Spirit.

Verſe 2. Behold, I will make Jeruſalem a cup of trembling] Or, ſlumber, or poyſon. A Metaphor taken from a cup of generous wine, but empoyſoned; ſo that thoſe that drink of it, do preſently tremble, grow giddy, ſleepy, ſick as heart can hold. Poyſon in wine works more furiouſly. Thou haſt made us to drink the wine of giddineſſe, ſaith the Church, Pſal. 60.3. In the hand of the Lord is a cup, and the wine is red, it is full mixed, &c. The Prophet here ſeems to allude to Jer. 25.15. Eſay 29.8. Jer. 31.7. Ovid ſaith of the river Gallus, that whoſo, drinketh of it runneth mad immediatly. Hierom telleth of a Lake neer Naples, whereinto if a dog be thrown he preſently dieth. The like is reported by Joſephus of the Lake Aſphaltites. Jeruſalem ſhall be a murthering morſell to thoſe that ſwallow it. His meat in his bowels is turned, it is the gall of aſpes within him. Hee hath ſwallowed down her ſpoil, and he ſhall vomit it up again:Job 20.14, 15 God ſhall rake it out of his belly: He ſhall have as little joy of his tid-bits, of his ſweet draughts, as Jonathan had of his honey: whereof he had no ſooner taſted, but his head was forfeited. Pliny ſpeaketh of a kind of honey that poyſoneth: becauſe it is ſucked out of poyſonous flowers. Our Chronicler telleth us,Speed. 1210. that at Alvelana three miles from Lisbon, many of our Engliſh ſouldiers under the Earl of Eſſex periſhed, by eating of honey, purpoſely left in the houſes, and ſpiced with poyſon. The enemies of the Church make a dangerous adventure, they are even ambitious of deſtruction: they run to meet their bane, as did thoſe Philiſtines at Mizpeh, 1 Sam. 7. And had they but ſo much wit as Pilats wife in a dream, they would take heed of having any thing to do with thoſe juſt men, of eating up Gods people as they eat bread, Pſal. 14.4. of bowſing in the bowles of the Sanctuary with Baltaſar, who fell thereupon into a trembling,Dan. 5.6 ſo that his loyns were looſed, and his knees knockt one againſt another.

when they ſhall be in the ſiege] And ſo about to do their laſt and worſt againſt the Church. The people of Rome was ſaepe praelio victus, nunquam bello, ſaith Florus: they loſt many battles, but were never overcome in a ſet warre: at the laſt, at the long-runne, as they ſay, they cruſhed all their enemies: ſo doth the Church. See Pſal. 129. thorowout: and the ſtory of the Maccabees.

Verſe 3. I will make Jeruſalem a burdenſome ſtone] Such a ſtone as that wherewith the woman brake Abimelech his brainpan, at the tower of Thebez, Judg. 9.53. He had ſlain all his brethren upon one ſtone, verſe 5. he receives therefore his deaths-wound by a ſtone: and that by the hand of a woman, which was his greateſt grief. The like death befell Pyrrhus, king of Epirotes, ſlain at the ſiege of Argos, with a tyle thrown by a woman from the wall. So was Earl Simon Mountfort, that bloody perſecutour of the Albigenſes in Irance. A woman diſcharged an engine at him,Cades Juſtif. of the Church. from the walls of Tholouſe, and by a ſtone parted his head from his ſhoulders. The virgin daughter of Zion ſhall do as much as all this comes to for her beſiegers: though all the people of the earth be gathered together againſt her. For why? ſhe hath a ſtrong champion; that, in maintaining her quarrell, will daſh them to pieces, and grind them to powder, Luke 20.18. They are no more able to ſtand before him, then a glaſſe-bottle before a cannon-ſhot. Hence her confidence, her laughing and ſhaking her head by way of deriſion at her ſtouteſt enemies, Eſay 37.22. She knows that all that burden themſelves with her ſhall be cut in pieces. Hamans wife could tell ſo much. If Mordecai (ſaid ſhe) be of the ſeed of the Jews,Eſih. 5.13 before whom thou haſt begun to fall, thou ſhalt not prevail againſt him, but ſhalt ſurely fall before him. A Jew may-fall before a Ferſian, and get up and prevail. But if a Perſian, or whoſoever of the Gentiles begin to ſall before a Jew, he can neither ſtay, nor riſe. There is an inviſible hand of omnipotency that ſtrikes in for his own: and confounds their oppoſites. That little ſtone cut out without hands, (Chriſts humane nature is called a tabernacle not made with hands, not of this building, Heb. 9.11. that is, not by an ordinary courſe of generation) ſmiteth the four mighty Monarchies, and crumbleth them to crattle, Dan. 2.34. Hierom upon this text (and after him other Interpreters, both Ancient and Modern) tell us that the Holy Ghoſt here alludeth to a certain exerciſe, or game, uſed much among the Jews, namely to take up a great round ſtone for the triall of a mans ſtrength; lifting it up from the ground, ſometimes to the knees, ſometimes to their navels, ſometimes to their breaſts, and ſometimes as high as their heads, or above their heads. At which ſport many times they did grievouſly hurt themſelves, or at leaſt ſcarify and make cuts in their fleſh. See Levit. 21.5. where the ſame word is uſed. The Churches enemies ſhall ſtrive, and try who ſhall do her moſt hurt: but the ſtouteſt of them all ſhall be fooled and foiled in the end. The irrepairable ruine of Rome is graphically deſcribed and even ſet forth to the eye (Rev. 18.21.) by a notable gradation. An Angel, a mighty Angel taketh a ſtone, a great ſtone, which he not onely caſteth, but thruſteth into the bottom of the ſea, whence it cannot be boyed up. This Angel might well be Luther, (with his Book de captivitate Babylonica: confer Jer. 51.63.) whom God ſtrangely preſerved from the rage of Rome and Hell: like as he did from that deadly danger by the fall of a ſtone, whereof Mr. Fox writeth thus.Acts & Mon. Upon a time, ſaith He, when Luther was ſitting in a certain place upon a ſtool ſtudying; a great ſtone there was in the Vault over his head where he ſate: which being ſtaid miraculouſly ſo long as he was ſitting, aſſoon as hee was up, immediately fell upon the place where he ſat, able to have cruſht him in pieces, if it had light upon him. But no malice of man or devil could antedate his end a minute, whileſt his Maſter had work for him to do: as the two witneſſes could not bee killed till their buſineſſe was diſpatched, Rev. 11.7.

Verſe 4.Turk. Hiſt. I will ſmite every horſe with aſtoniſhment] Great is the ſtrength of the horſe and the rage of his rider: Jehu marched furiouſly; Bajazet the great Turk, of his fierce and furious riding, was ſurnamed Gilderun or Lightening; But God can make the Egyptians to appear men, and not Gods, and their horſes fleſh, and not ſpirit: When the Lord ſhall but ſtretch out his hand. (and that's no hard matter of motion) both he that helpeth ſhall fall, and he that is holpen ſhall fall down, and they ſhall all faile together Eſay 31.3. See Pſal. 76.5, 6.Pſal. 33.17. An horſe is a vain thing for ſafety, though a warlike creature full of terrour; but ſafety or victory is of the Lord Pro. 21.31. In nothing be terrified, ſaith the Apoſtle Philip. 1.28. The Greek word is a metaphor from horſes when they tremble and are ſore affrighted: as it fell out in the Philiſtines army, when the Angels made a buſtle among the mulbery-trees 2 Sam. 5.24. in the Syrians army, when the Angels likewiſe made an hurry-noiſe in the ayre, of charrets, of horſes, and of a great hoſt 2 King. 7.6. in the army of Sennacherib, when at Gods ſole rebuke both the charret and horſe were caſt into a dead ſleep Pſal. 76.6. Laſtly in the German wars againſt Ziſca and the Huſſites in Bohemia: where God ſmot every horſe with aſtoniſhment, and his rider with madneſſe;Parei Meduè, hiſt. Profan. pag. 785. ſuch a panick terrour ſeized upon the enemies of the truth, though they came in with three potent armies at once, that they ſled before ever they looked the enemy in the face. How this Propheſie was litterally fulfilled to the Maccabees, ſee 2 Mac. 10.30.

and I will open mine eyes upon the houſe of Judah] who before ſeemed to wink, or to be aſleep. Now will I awake, ſaith the Lord, Now will I ariſe, Iſa. 33.10. now will I lift up my ſelf, for the relief and reſcue of my poor people: and that becauſe they called them outcaſts, ſaying, This is Zion whom no man looketh after Ier. 30.17.

Verſe 5. And the Governours of Judah] The Dukes of Chiefetaines: meaning the Maccabes, who ware not any kingly crown, but were only Governours, Rulers, [non-Latin text not transcribed] Commanders in chief, ſuch as went before others: like as in the Alphabet Aleph is the firſt letter: So, Omega noſtrorum Mors eſt, Mars Alpha malorum. Saith the Poet wittily.

ſhall ſay in their hearts] i. e. ſhall ſay heartily, from the root of the heart, and not from the roof of the mouth only. Profeſſion of the truth and prayer (for ſo ſome make this verſe to be) are not a labour of the lips, but a travel of the heart. The voice which is made in the mouth is nothing ſo ſweet, as that which comes from the depth of the breſt. As in inſtrument-muſick, the deeper and hollower the belly of the Lute or Violl is, the pleaſanter is the ſound; the ſleeter, the more grating and ha[illegible: 1 letter]ſh in our eares.

the inhabitants of Ioruſalem ſhall be my ſtrength] Though now there be few found in it: yet it ſhall be much repeopled and fortified: ſo that, under God, it ſhall be a fortreſſe to the whole countrey; and the Governour ſhall ſo take it to be, Or thus.

there is ſtrength to me and to the inhabitants of Ieruſalem in the Lord of Hoſts their God.] Every governour ſhall ſay ſo for his own particular. (And this ſeemes to me to be the better reading) The Maccabes did ſo as appeared by their poſy (whereof before) their prayers, and their ſingular ſucceſſe, as appeares by their hiſtory, and by Joſephus. Deo confiſi, nunquàm confuſi, They that truſt in God ſhall never be confounded. Our fathers truſted in thee, and they were delivered. O truſt ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord Jehovah is everlaſting ſtrength. Look not down on the ruſhing and roaring ſtreames, leſt ye grow giddy: but look up to the heavens from whence comes your help, and faſten by faith on Gods power and promiſes. Faith unſeined breeds hope unfaileable, ſuch as never miſcarrieth. O truſt in him at all times ye people &c. Pſal. 62. for with God is wiſdome and ſtrength Iob. 12.13. Plutarch ſaith of the Scythians that they have neither wine nor muſick: but they have Gods. Say that the Saints have neither power, nor pollicy as their enemies, yet they have all in God who is more then all.

Verſe 6. In that day will I make the governours &c.] This is the third ſimilitude, whereof the ſcripture is full: according to that, I will open my mouth in parables &c. Theſe are of excellent uſe to adorn and explain: and yet they are evermore inferiour to the matter in hand. They are borrowed from things well known, and eaſy to be conceived: as here from an harth of fire among wood; Now we can all tell how great a matter (or wood) a little fire kindleth Iam. 3.5. As when Nero, for his pleaſures ſake ſet Rome on fire, among other ſtately buildings that were quickly burnt down, the Circus or race-yard was one: being about half a mile in length, of an ovall form with rowes of ſeats one above another, capable of at leaſt an hundred and fifty thouſand ſpectatours, without uncivil ſhoulderings. As the fire burneth a wood: and as the flame ſetteth the mountains on fire: So perſecute them with thy tempeſt: and make them afraid with thy ſtorme, ſaith the Church Pſal. 83.14, 15. Thus they pray'd, and thus it is here promiſed: and was accordingly performed in thoſe firſt warrs of the Maccabees: as appeareth in the firſt book of their ſtory,Antiq. lib. 12. and in Joſephus. Diodate and others underſtand this text of the Apoſtles and Evangeliſts, who ſhould fill the world with wars and diſſentions by preaching the Goſpell Luke 12.49. whereby the enemies ſhould be ruinated,Hieron. Remig. Albert. A Lapide. and the church reeſtabliſhed Obad. 18. thorough the ſpirit of judgement and of burning Eſay 4.4. To which purpoſe Chryſoſtome ſaith, that Peter was a man made of fire walking amongſt ſtubble. Baſil was compared to a pillar of fire. Iohn Baptiſt is by our ſaviour ſaid to be a burning and a ſhining lamp. And Eliah (in whoſe ſpirit the Baptiſt came) was a man of that tranſcendent zeale, that to heighten the expreſſion thereof, ſome have legended of him, that when he drew his mothers breaſts, he was ſeen to ſuck in fire.

and Ieruſalem ſhall be inhabited again in her own place] ſc. where ſhe was built at firſt, and not in another neare place, as Tyrus was; and Rome is at this day quite off her old ſeven hills: ſo that a man may look for Rome in Rome. And Ieruſalem that now is hath mount Calvary in the very middeſt of it (which was anciently without the city) and not one hundred families of Iews are therein to be found. That they ſhall one day caſt out therehence Gog and Magog, inhabit it in the old place,Breerew. Enquir. and have excellent ſtrength and valour miniſtred by God to them, all equally for their common defence, none lifting up themſelves above another, but all alike aſcribing the glory unto God, is concluded by ſome (and thoſe not inconſiderable) Divines out of this and the following verſes.

Verſe 7. The Lord alſo ſhall ſave the tents of Judah firſt] Or as at firſt, ſc. when they came out of Egypt, and had no ſtrong holds to take to for their defence. Lord, (ſaith Moſes,) thou haſt been our dwelling-place in all generations Pſal. 90.1. He was ſo of old, and ever will be: the faith whereof made the fathers well content to dwell in tents Heb. 11.13. and thoſe holy Rechabites Ier. 35.7, 8. till Nebuchadnezzar came up into the land ver. 11. But here God promiſeth to deliver thoſe Jews that dwelt in the open fields, without the city; and then afterwards to deliver Ieruſalem it ſelf from the rage of the Antiochi; and ſo he did (1 Maccab.) in a wonderfull manner: they were helped indeed with a little help Dan. 11.34. to take away boaſting; as it followeth.

that the glory of the houſe of David &c.] that is, the glorious houſe of David, and the glorious inhabitants of Ieruſalem, by an Hypallage. Non eſt glorioſior populus ſub coelo, quam Judaicus. Alſt. Chron. There is not a more vainglorious people under heaven then the Jews are ſaith Alſted. They were ſo of old Ioh. 8.33. Mat. 3.9. Spaniards are ſaid to be impudent braggers: and extremely proud in the loweſt ebb of fortune; ſo are the Jews. But God will teach them better things, and make him that glorieth glory in the Lord 1 Cor. 1.31.

Verſe 8. In that day ſhall the Lord defend &c.] Proſequitur eandem ſententiam ſaith Calvin. Prov. 21.24. He proceedes in the former argument, to aſſure the feeble Iews (as Sanballat that proud haughty ſcorner called them Neh. 4.2.) of ſafety and protection. God will bleſſe the righteous:Pſal. 5. vlt. with favour will he compaſſe them as with a ſhield. Now there is no comming at the body but thorough the ſhield, if well handled; no comming at the Saints, but through Gods own ſides, as I may ſay. He beareth his people as on Eagles wings Exod. 19.4. Deut. 32.11. Now the Eagle carries her yong upon her wings (and not between her talons as other birds do) ſo that they cannot be ſhot, but thorough the body of the old one. Oh the dignity and ſafety of a Saint! Well might Moſes ſing, Happy art thou O Iſrael: who is like unto thee, O people! ſaved by the Lord, the ſhield of thy help, and who is the ſword of thine excellency: and thine enemies ſhall be found [illegible: 1 word] unto thee, and thou ſhalt tread upon their high places. Deut. 33 29. Let all that would be ſafe indeed, as in a tower of braſſe, or town of warr, labour to be found written among the living in Ieruſalem Iſa. 4.3. to be of the Church of the firſt-born which are enrolled in heaven Heb. 12.23. like as in Ieruſalem were records kept of the names of all the citizens Pſal. 48.3. Get under Gods wing, and nothing can annoy thee. As if he be angry, where ſhall a man ſhelter? Braſſe and iron can fence him againſt a bullet or a ſword: but if he be to be caſt into a furnace of fire, it would help to torment him: if into a pit of water, to ſink him. Now our God is a conſuming ſire Heb. 12.29. and his breath a ſtream of brimſtone Iſa. 30.33. To run from him to other refuge, is but for a man to run his head into a barrel of gunpowder, for a ſhelter againſt the force of a fire kindled over him.

and he that is feeble among them] So that he cannot ſtand but ſtagger (as the word importeth) as did Miles Cobelite a Chriſtian ſouldier ſore wounded, ſo that he reeled like a drunken man and fell down diverſe times, for want of ſtrength. This man drawing nigh to Amurath the third king of Turks, as he was viewing the dead bodies after a bloody fight, making as if he would have craved his life of him.Turk Hiſt: fol. 200. ſuddenly ſtabbed him in the bottome of his belly with a ſhort dagger which he had under his ſouldiers coat; of which wound that great king and conquerour preſently died.

ſhall be as David] who was a mighty man of valour (as Huſhai told Abſalom and bid him beware 2 Sam. 17.8.) and had ſuch a band of worthies about him, as were not to be matched 2 Sam. 23.8. Theſe had a houſe by themſelves to dwell and exerciſe feats of armes: as Lyra gathereth out of Neh. 3.16. where mention is made of the houſe of the mighty. The Maccabes (ſlighted as abjects) did greater exploits and got greater victories then David had done: and the condition of this poor people was to be ſhortly after (ſc. under the preaching of Chriſts goſpel) far better and happier then ever it had been under the rich and flouriſhing kingdome of David: for then they ſhould be able to ſay, Gods grace is ſufficient for me: his ſtrength is made perfect in my weakneſſe. I will glory in mine infirmities, that the power of Chriſt may reſt upon me: for when I am weak, then I am ſtrong. I can do all things, ſuffer all things thorough Chriſt that ſtrengtheneth me. The weak ſhall ſay I am ſtrong Ioel 3.10 And indeed how can they be otherwiſe, that have a mighty ſtrong God Eſay 9.6. a ſtrong word, the Lords own arme, the power of God to ſalvation Rom. 1.16. Act. 20.32. a ſtrong ſpirit 2 Tim. 1.7. ſtrong conſolations Heb. 6.18.Prov. 18.10. ſtrong armour both offenſive and defenſive Eph. 6.18.Iſa. 40.31. and the name of the Lord as a ſtrongtower whereunto the righteous run and are ſafe, and where waiting upon the Lord they renew their ſtrength, they mount up with wings as Eagles, or rather as Angels.

for the houſe of David ſhall be as God as the Angell of the Lord before them] i. e. As Chriſt the Angell of Gods preſence, and that went before the people in the wilderneſſe. Such were thoſe of the blood-royall, and that ſucceeded David in the government: but eſpecially ſuch were the Apoſtles, Chriſts Mighties, who ſhould be endued with ſo many graces in majeſty, Authority, Strength, and truth, that men ſhould receive them (Cornelius like) as ſo many Angels of God, yea even as Chriſt Jeſus Gal. 4.14.

Verſe 9. I will ſeek to deſtroy] I will make inquiſition and diligent ſcrutiny: I will draw them out of their lurking-places to execution: as Sa[illegible: 1 letter]l went to ſeek David upon the rocks of the wild-goats; thoſe high, ſteep and craggy rocks,1 Sam. 24.2. which could not but be very tedious both to himſelf, and to his ſouldiers to march in: But he was ſet upon't, and would leave no place unſearched. See his charge to the Ziphites to take knowledge of all the lurking-holes where he hid himſelf, and to bring him word that he might ſeek him thorough all the thouſands of Judah 1 Sam. 23.23. The Lord need not do ſo, to find out his enemies; for in him they live, move and ſubſiſt Col. 1.17. they are everunder his view, and within his reach. He ſitteth upon the circle of the earth Iſ. 40.22. and can eaſily ſhake them out of it, as by a canvaſſe. Yea, he ſits in the height of heaven, and wherein they deale proudly, he is above them Exod. 18.11. diſcloſing their cabinet-counſels, as he did Benhadads; and blaſting their deſignes.

to deſtroy all nations God ſtands not upon multitudes; he takes not the tenth man, but deſtroyes all nations, be they never ſo many of them that come againſt Ieruſalem, that oppoſe or affront his people, either with their virulent tongues or violent hands. When a rabble of rebels ſhall ſet themſelves againſt the Lord, and againſt his Chriſt, his myſticall Chriſt the Church, he will utterly deſtroy them;Mercer. the word ſignifieth he will deſtroy them ut nihil reliquum maneat, that there ſhall be no remainder of them. Woe therefore to the Churches enemies; for their deſtruction ever goes with the ſaints ſalvation Philip. 1.28, 29. Eſay 8 9. Prov. 11.8. Gods jealouſie Zach. 1.14. and juſtice 2 Theſſ. 1.6. will effect it ſurely, ſeverely, ſuddely.

Verſe 10. And I will pour upon the houſe of David] Pour as by whole pailefuls; God is no penny-father; no ſmall gifts ſall from ſo great a hand; he gives liberally Iam. 1.15. and is rich to all that call upon his name Rom. 10.12. abundant in kindneſſe Exod. 34.6. plenteous in mercy Pſal. 103.8. the grace of our Lord Jeſus Chriſt hath over-abounded, [non-Latin text not transcribed]. hath overflowed all the banks 1 Tim. 1.14. indeed it hath neither bank nor bottom. Oh pray for that bliſſe-full ſight Eph. 1.18. and 3.18, 19. that Spirit of wiſdome and revelation.

of grace and of ſupplications] Or deprecations of that utter deſtruction that ſhall befall other nations. God will ſave his people, but ſo as by prayer Pſal. 32.6. 2 Chron. 7.14. Zach. 13.9. he will grace his own ordinance, draw many ſuitours, and derive many prayſes to himſelf. See Ezek. 36.37. Pſal. 50.15. and 116.2. Some render it a ſpirit of grace and of lamentations, ſc. before the Lord, when they felt the nailes, [non-Latin text not transcribed]. where with they had pierced Chriſt, pricking their own hearts Act. 2.37. punctually pricking and piercing them.

and they ſhall look upon the whom they haue pierced] Dacaru, whom they have d[illegible: 1 letter]ggered or digged, as Pſal. 22.16. him they ſhall look upon and lament, [non-Latin text not transcribed],Rev. 1.7. Lam. 3. their eye ſhall affect their heart; for the eye is the inſtrument both of ſight and of ſorrow; and what the eye never ſees the heart never rues. The Sun looketh upon the earth, draweth up vapours thence, and diſtilleth them down again: ſo doth the Sun of the underſtanding; which till it be convinced, the heart cannot be compuncted. Sight of ſin muſt precede ſorrow for ſin. The The prodigall came to himſelf, ere he repented of his looſe practiſes, men muſt bethink themſelves, or bring back to their hearts (as the Hebrew hath it 1 King. 8.47.) ere they will ſay, We have ſinned and dealt perverſely, we have committed wickedneſſe. See Ier. 8.6. Pſal. 38.18. An infant in the womb cryes not becauſe he ſees not; but as ſoon as it comes into the light, he ſets up his note. Get therefore your eyes anointed with eye-ſalve, with this ſpirit of grace and ſupplications: ſo ſhall you ſoon ſee (ſaith Mr. Bradford martyr) your face foull arrayed, and ſo ſhamefull, ſaucy, mangy, pocky, and ſcabbed, that you cannot but be ſorry at the contemplation thereof. It is the ſpirit that convinceth the world of ſin; neither can the waters till his wind bloweth Pſal. 147.18. A ſigh is not breathed out for ſin, till the ſpirit imbreach the ſame into us.

and they ſhall mourn for him] Or, for it, viz. for their crucifying the Lord of glory in their forefathers, and having a great hand in it themſelves; ſith their and our ſins were thorns and nails that pierced him, the lance that let out his heartblood &c. We bound him with cords; we beat him with rods; buffetted him with fiſts, reviled him with our mouths, nodded at him with our heads, &c. We were the chief actours and principal cauſes, that ſet awork Judas, Pilat &c. Oh ſtand a while with the devout women, and ſee him bleeding, groaning, dying, by the wounds that we gave him; and mourn affectionatly over him as here.

they ſhall mourn] with ſuch outward pomp and rites as are uſed at fune ralls; as wringing the hands, beating the breaſts, ſhaking the head, and the like externall geſtures and expreſſions of heavineſſe.

and ſhall be in bitterneſſe] by inwardneſſe of extream grief; as when Davids heart was leavened with it Pſal. 73.21. it was ſowred with goodly ſorrow, and ſowced in the teares of true repentance. So Peter went forth and wept bitterly Mat. 26.15. waters of Marah flowed from Mary Magdalens eyes, which were as a fountain for Chriſts feet: here ſorrow was deep and down-right, producing repentance never to be repented of. The ſorrow we conceive for an unkindneſſe offered to Chriſt muſt not be ſlight and ſudden, but ſad and ſoaking: like that of the Iſraelites met at Mizpeh, when they drew water before the Lord 1 Sam. 7.6. whereunto the Prophet Jeremy ſeemeth to allude, when he ſeriouſly wiſheth that his head were waters &c. Ier. 9.1. and David with his rivers of teares Pſa. 119.136. His heart was ſoft and ſoluble: now ſoftneſſe of heart diſcovers ſin; as the blots run abroad, and ſeem biggeſt in wet paper: and as when the Cockatrice egge is cruſhed, it breakes forth into a viper Iſa. 59.5. Now to make and keep the heart ſoft and tender, the conſideration of Chriſts dolorous paſſion muſt needs be of ſingular uſe and efficacy: as the ſight of C[illegible: 1 letter]ſars bloody robes brought forth, greatly affected the people of Rome, and edged them to revenge. The hardeſt heart ſoundly ſoaked in the blood of Chriſt (the true ſcape-goat) cannot but relent and repent for ſuch a horrid villany.

as one mourneth for his onely ſon—for his firſt born] ſc. with a funerall-ſorrow: ſuch as was that of the Sunamite, and of the widdow of Naim, of Rachel, who refuſed to be comforted &c. There is an Ocean of love in a fathers heart: as we ſee in Jacob toward Joſeph, in David towards Abſolam, in the father of the Prodigall &c. Chriſt was Gods only ſon in reſpect of his divine nature: he was alſo the firſtborn amongſt many brethren. And yet God ſo loved the world &c. So? how? So as I cannot tell how: for this is a Sic without a Sicut: Even ſo ſhould our ſorrow be, for having a wicked hand in his dolorous death. The Prophet here ſeemes to be at a ſtand as it were, whence to borrow compariſons to ſhaddow it out by. Great is the grief of children for their deceaſed parents, as of Joſeph for Iacob Gen. 50.1. he fell upon his fathers face, as willing to have wept him alive again if poſſible. So our Edward the firſt returning from the warrs in Paleſtina, reſted himſelf in Sicily: where the death of his ſon and heir comming firſt to his eare, and afterwards of the king his father, he much more ſorrowed his fathers departure, then his ſons: whereat King Charles of Sicily greatly marvelled,Speed. 646. and demanding the reaſon, had of him this anſwer: The loſſe of ſons is but light, becauſe they are multiplyed every day: but the death of parents is irremediable, becauſe they can never be had againe. Thus He, Howbeit, love rather deſcendeth then aſcendeth, and Abraham could better part with his father Terah, then with his ſon, his only ſon Iſaac whom he loved Gen. 22.2. Before he had him, Lord God, ſaid Abraham, what wilt thou give me ſo long as I gee childleſſe. Gen. 15.2. His mouth was ſo out of taſt with the ſenſe of his want, that he could reliſh no comfort. But now to be bereft of him, and that in ſuch a manner, as he might conceive by that probatory precept Gen. 22.2. this muſt needs go to the very heart of him, for though he had put on grace, yet he had not put off nature. Both Iacob and Iacobs father (as Iunius underſtandeth that paſſage Gen. 37, 35.) wept ſavourly for Ioſeph, and would go down into the grave unto their ſen mourning. True it is, that the loſſe of ſome wife may be greater then the loſſe of ſome ſon, (Abraham came from his own tent to Sarah's tent to mourn for her Gen. 22.2. and ſhe was the firſt that we read of in ſcripture mourned for) but the Prophet here ſpeaketh of the mourning of husband and wife together: and they can loſe no greater outward bleſſing, then their firſt-born, if an onely-one eſpecially.

Verſe 11. In that day ſhall there be a great mourning in Jeruſalem] Magnificabitur luctus (ſo the Hebrew hath it) their mourning ſhall be greatened, their heavineſſe heightened, they ſhall riſe in their repentance above all that is ordinary. The Caſuifts and Schoolmen affirme ſorrow for ſin to be the greateſt of all ſorrowes. 1. In conatu: the whole ſoule ſeemes to ſend ſprings into it, out of every faculty. 2. In extenſione: It is a ſpring which in this life more or leſſe is continually dropping; neither would God have the wounds of godly forrow to be ſo cloſed up at all, as not to bleed afreſh upon every good occaſion. 3. In appreciatione: the true penitentiary doth ever judge that a good God offended, a Saviour crucified, ſhould be the prime cauſe of greateſt grief. 4. In intenſione: for intenſion of diſplicence in the will; there being no other things with which,Adrian. Scotus. Soto. or for which the will is more diſpleaſed with its ſelf, then for ſinning againſt God. There is more cauſe of grief, ſay they, for ſinning, then for the death of Chriſt: becauſe therein was aliquid placens, but ſin is ſimpliciter diſplicens. But is it not godly mourning, may ſome ſay, unleſſe it be ſo great? I anſwer, that other mourning may make more noiſe, like a daſhing ſhoure of rain, or a land-flood that by a ſmall ſhallow channel comes down from an hill. When a man mourns for his onely ſon, or the like, this comes from God as a judgement; it comes down hill as it were, hath nature to work with it, and nothing to hinder it: but this mourning and melting over Chriſt, is as a ſtream that goeth up hill, and through many reeds and flagges, M. Cotton. as a Reverend man expreſſeth it.

as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon] Where good Joſiah was ſlain, and where the people ſaw (to their unſpeakable grief, and heart-break) family, Church and Common-wealth pluckt up by the roots, in the loſſe of that one man, who was the very breath of all their noſtrils, as Jeremiah ſadly acknowledgeth in his Lamentations, compoſed on that very occaſion, and when he died, all their proſperity here died with him; and themſelves were no better then living Ghoſts, walking ſepulchers of themſelves: a being they had, but not a life: thoſe that before ſeemed to touch heaven with their finger, fell down to the earth,—nunc humi de repente ſerpere ſiderates eſſe diceres. as if they had been planet-ſtruck, as Budaeus ſpeaketh of the French courtiers at the death of Lewes the twelfth. When Auguſtus died, orbis ruinam timueramus, ſaith Paterculus, we thought all had been loſt, and that the world would have fallen about our ears. When our Edward the ſixth (that ſecond Joſiah) was taken away, Cardan ſung this ſorrowful Epicedion; Flete nefas magnum, ſed toto flebitis orbe Mortales; veſtrûum corrit omnis honos,

Verſe 12, 13, 14, And the land ſhall mourn] Not the generality of the Jews (unleſſe it be at their laſt general converſion, that reſurrection from the dead, as it is called Rom. 11.15.) but the elect according to grace, who are here called the land, becauſe more eſteemed by God then all the other Jews beſides: for he reckoneth of men by their righteouſneſſe, as he did of Lot at Sodom.

every family apart] To ſhew the ſoundneſſe of their ſorrow, the ſincerity by the ſecrecy: for Ille dolet verè qui ſine teſte dolet. He grieves with a witneſſe, that grieves without a witneſſe. There is a worldly ſorrow that hardeneth the heart: and indiſpoſeth it for repentance; as did that of Nabal. There is alſo an helliſh ſorrow, a deſperate grief for ſin, poenitentia Iſcariotica, as was that of Judas. There is no birth without travel: but ſome children die in the birth: are killed with the pains of the labour. [non-Latin text not transcribed]. 2 Cor. 7 Laſtly, there is a ſorrow according to God, whereby we weep kindly after God, inquiring the way to Zion, with our faces ſet thitherward, and renewing our covenant Jer. 50.4, 5. Againſt thee, thee onely, have I ſinned, ſaith David Pſal. 51.4. Lo, there lay this pinch of his grief, that he had offended ſo good a God. It was the Myrrhe and its ſcent, that Chriſt had dropped on the bars of the door, that waked the drouſy Spouſe, and made her bowels fret Cant. 5. This made her firſt weep in ſecret, and then ſeek out after him, whom her ſoul loved. She firſt went to enquire of the Lord, as Rebecca did Gen. 25.22. and then ſhe hears from him thoſe ſweet words Cant. 2.14. Oh my dove! that art in the clefts of the rocks, that haſt wrought thy ſelf a burrough a receptacle of reſt in the Rock of ages, in the ſecret places of the ſtars, whither thou art retired as for ſecurity ſo for ſecrecy, to mourn as a dove, and to pray for pardon. Shew me thy face, which now appeareth moſt orientally beautiful, becauſe moſt inſtampt with ſorrow for ſin: Let me hear thy voice, which never ſounds ſo melodiouſly, as when thy heart is broken moſt penitentially: for ſweet is thy voice, and thy countenance comly.

and their wives apart] Sarah had her peculiar tent Ge. 24.65. wherein ſhe dwelt Ge. 18.6. & died Ge. 23.2. Rebecca likewiſe had her retiring-room, whither ſhe went to enquire of the Lord Ge. 25.22. Rachel & Leah had their ſeveral tents, apart from Iacobs Ge. 31.33. Miriam and her women do apart by themſelves praiſe God for deliverance Exo. 15.20.Eſth. 4.16. I and my maidens will faſt likewiſe, ſaith Eſther. In a time of ſolemn humiliation, let the bride-groom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her cloſet, Ioel 2.16. See 1 Cor. 7.5. Amongſt both Jews, Greeks, and Romans, the women were ſeparated from the men, in publike acts and aſſemblies; in times of common calamity eſpecially, as may be gathered out of Plutarch, Athenaeus, Virgil, Livy. —ad templum non aequae Palladis ibant Iliades — Stratae paſſim Matres crinibus Templa verrentes, veniam irarum coeleſtium expoſcant, ſaith He; The men by themſelves, and the women by themſelves, ſought to appeaſe the angry Gods. Here they are ſevered, to ſhew that they wept not for company, ſed ſponte & proprio affectu; as Calvin hath it, but of their own accord, and out of pure affection; they freely lamented not ſo much for Chriſts dolorous death, as for that themſelves had a chief hand in it, and were the principal cauſes of it. The beſt kinde of humiliation is to love and weep, as that woman did Luk. 7. who made her eyes a fountain to waſh Chriſts feet in, and had his ſide opened for a fountain to waſh her ſoul in, as it is Chap. 13.1.A remnant according to the election of grace. Rom. 11.5.

all the families that remain] Out of every family of this people, God will have ſome converts. A thing ſo incredible, that to perſwade it, the Prophet may here ſeem to ſome prophane perſon to uſe more words then needeth.