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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Zechariah XII].</TITLE>
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"This site is for those friends and family members who may or may not know Our Lord Jesus Christ, and if not, they may come to know Our Lord through His Prophets."> <meta name="author" content="Brian Duncalfe">
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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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<h3><a href="http://www.biblesnet.com" target="_blank">Back to Biblesnet.com Home Page</a>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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[<A HREF="MHC38011.HTM">Previous</A>]
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[<A HREF="MHC38013.HTM">Next</A>]<BR>
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<TD ALIGN="RIGHT" VALIGN="TOP">
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1712)
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</TD></TR></TABLE>
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>Z E C H A R I A H.</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. XII.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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The apostle
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+4:25,26">Gal. iv. 25, 26</A>)
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distinguishes between "Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with
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her children"--the remaining carcase of the Jewish church that
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rejected Christ, and "Jerusalem that is from above, that is free, and
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is the mother of us all"--the Christian church, the spiritual
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Jerusalem, which God has chosen to put his name there; in the foregoing
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chapter we read the doom of the former, and left that carcase to be a
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prey to the eagles that should be gathered to it. Now, in this chapter,
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we have the blessings of the latter, many precious promises made to the
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gospel-Jerusalem by him who
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+12:1">ver. 1</A>)
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declares his power to make them good. It is promised,
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I. That the attempts of the church's enemies against her shall be to
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their own ruin, and they shall find that it is at their peril if they
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do her any hurt,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+12:2-4,6">ver. 2-4, 6</A>.
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II. That the endeavours of the church's friends and patrons for her
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good shall be pious, regular, and successful,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+12:5">ver. 5</A>.
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III. That God will protect and strengthen the meanest and weakest that
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belong to his church, and work salvation for them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+12:7,8">ver. 7, 8</A>.
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IV. That as a preparative for all this mercy, and a pledge of it, he
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will pour upon them a spirit of prayer and repentance, the effect of
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which shall be universal and very particular,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+12:9-14">ver. 9-14</A>.
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These promises were of use then to the pious Jews that lived in the
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troublous times under Antiochus, and other persecutors and oppressors;
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and they are still to be improved in every age for the directing of our
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prayers and the encouraging of our hopes with reference to the
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gospel-church.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Zec12_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Zec12_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Zec12_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Zec12_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Zec12_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Zec12_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Zec12_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Zec12_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Security of the Church; Punishment of the Church's Enemies; Promises to Judah.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD VALIGN=BOTTOM ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 500.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 The burden of the word of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> for Israel, saith the
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L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the
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foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within
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him.
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2 Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the
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people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against
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Judah <I>and</I> against Jerusalem.
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3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for
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all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in
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pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together
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against it.
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4 In that day, saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, I will smite every horse with
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astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine
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eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the
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people with blindness.
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5 And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The
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inhabitants of Jerusalem <I>shall be</I> my strength in the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> of
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hosts their God.
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6 In that day will I make the governors of Judah like a hearth
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of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and
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they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand
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and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her
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own place, <I>even</I> in Jerusalem.
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7 The L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the
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glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of
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Jerusalem do not magnify <I>themselves</I> against Judah.
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8 In that day shall the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> defend the inhabitants of
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Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be
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as David; and the house of David <I>shall be</I> as God, as the angel
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of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> before them.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here is,
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I. The title of this charter of promises made to God's Israel; it is
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the <I>burden of the word of the Lord,</I> a divine prediction; it is
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of weight in the delivery of it; it is to be pressed upon people, and
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will be very pressing in the accomplishment of it; it is a
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<I>burden,</I> a heavy burden, to all the church's enemies, like that
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<I>talent of lead,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+5:7,8"><I>ch.</I> v. 7, 8</A>.
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But it is <I>for Israel;</I> it is for their comfort and benefit. As
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even the <I>fiery law</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+33:2">Deut. xxxiii. 2</A>),
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so the fiery prophecies and fiery providences that come from God's
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right hand, come for them; the word that speaks terror to their enemies
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speaks peace to them, as the pillar of cloud and fire, which turned a
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bright side towards the Israelites, to direct and encourage them, but a
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black side towards the Egyptians, to terrify and dispirit them. Happy
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are those that have even the burdens of God's word for them, as well as
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the blessings of it.</P>
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<P>
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II. The title of him that grants this charter, which is prefixed to it
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to show that he has both authority to make these promises and ability
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to make them good, for he is the Creator of the world and our Creator,
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and therefore has an incontestable irresistible dominion.
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1. He <I>stretches out the heavens;</I> not only he did so at the
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first, when he said, <I>Let there be a firmament,</I> and he <I>made
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the firmament,</I> but he does so still; he keeps them stretched out
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<I>like a curtain,</I> keeps them from running in, and will do so till
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the end come, when <I>the heavens shall be rolled together as a
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scroll.</I> No bounds can be set to his power who stretches out the
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heavens, nor can any thing be too hard for him.
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2. He <I>lays the foundation of the earth,</I> and keeps it firm and
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fixed on its own basis, or rather on its own axis, though it is
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<I>founded on the seas</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+24:1">Ps. xxiv. 1, 2</A>),
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nay, though it is <I>hung upon nothing,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+26:7">Job xxvi. 7</A>.
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The founder of this earth is no doubt the ruler of it, and judges in
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it, and those deceive themselves who say, <I>The Lord has forsaken the
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earth,</I> for, if he had, it would have sunk, since it is he that not
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only did lay its foundations at first, but does still lay them, still
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uphold them.
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3. He <I>forms the spirit of man within him.</I> He <I>made us these
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souls,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+38:16">Jer. xxxviii. 16</A>.
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He not only breathed into the first man, but still breathes into every
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man the breath of life; the body is derived from the <I>fathers of our
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flesh,</I> but the soul is infused by the <I>Father of spirits,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+12:9">Heb. xii. 9</A>.
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He <I>fashions men's hearts;</I> they are <I>in his hand,</I> and he
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turns them <I>as the rivers of water,</I> and casts them into what
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mould he pleases, so as to serve his own purposes with them; and he can
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therefore save his church by inspiriting his friends and dispiriting
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his enemies, and will eternally save all his chosen by forming their
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spirits anew.</P>
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<P>
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III. The promises themselves that are here made them, by which the
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church shall be secured, and in which all its friends may enjoy a holy
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security.</P>
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<P>
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1. It is promised that, whatever attacks the enemies of the church may
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make upon her purity or peace, they will certainly issue in their own
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confusion. The enemies of God and of his kingdom bear a great deal of
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malice and ill-will to Jerusalem, and form designs for its destruction;
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but it will prove, at last, that they are but preparing ruin for
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themselves; Jerusalem is in safety, and those are in all the danger who
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fight against it. This is here illustrated by three comparisons:--</P>
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<P>
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(1.) <I>Jerusalem</I> shall be <I>a cup of trembling</I> to all that
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lay siege to it,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+12:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.
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They promise themselves that it shall be to them a cup of wine, which
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they shall easily and with pleasure drink off, and they thirst for its
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spoils, nay, they thirst for its blood, as for such a cup; but it shall
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prove a <I>cup of slumber,</I> nay, a <I>cup of poison,</I> to them,
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which, when they take it into their hands, and think it is all their
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own, they shall not be able to drink off: the fumes of it shall give
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them enough. When <I>the kings were assembled</I> against her, and saw
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how <I>God was known in her palaces for a refuge,</I> they <I>trembled
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and hasted away; fear took hold upon them,</I> as we find,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+48:3-6">Ps. xlviii. 3-6</A>.
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Thus Alexander the Great was struck with amazement when he met Jaddus
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the high priest, and was deterred thereby from offering any violence to
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Jerusalem. When Sennacherib laid siege <I>against Judah</I> and
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<I>Jerusalem</I> he found them such a cup of stupifying wine as laid
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all his mighty men asleep,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+76:5,6">Ps. lxxvi. 5, 6</A>.
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Some read it, <I>I will make Jerusalem a post of contrition</I> or
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<I>breaking.</I> Those that make any attempts upon Jerusalem do but run
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their heads against a post, which they cannot move, but are sure to
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hurt themselves. The <I>blast of the terrible ones</I> is <I>as a storm
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against the wall</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+25:4">Isa. xxv. 4</A>),
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broken by it, but not shaking it. God's church is a cup of consolation
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to all her friends
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+66:11">Isa. lxvi. 11</A>),
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but a cup of trembling to all that would either debauch her by errors
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and corruptions or destroy her by wars and persecutions. See
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+51:22,23">Isa. li. 22, 23</A>.</P>
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<P>
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(2.) <I>Jerusalem</I> shall be <I>a burdensome stone</I> to all that
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attempt to remove it or carry it away,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+12:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
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All <I>the people of the earth</I> are here supposed to be <I>gathered
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together against it,</I> some one time and some another; there has been
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a succession of enemies, from age to age, making war upon the church.
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But though they were all at once in a confederacy against it, and had
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formed a resolution to <I>cut off the name of Israel, that it should be
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no more in remembrance</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+83:4">Ps. lxxxiii. 4</A>),
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they will find it a task too hard for them. Those that are for keeping
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up and advancing the kingdom of sin in the world look upon Jerusalem,
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even the church of God, as the great obstacle to their designs, and
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they must have it out of the way; but they will find it heavier than
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they think it is; so that,
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[1.] They cannot remove it. God will have a church in the world, in
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spite of them; it is <I>built upon a rock,</I> and is as <I>Mount Zion,
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that abides for ever,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+125:1">Ps. cxxv. 1</A>.
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This <I>stone, cut out of the mountain without hands,</I> will not only
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keep its ground, but fill the earth,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Da+2:35">Dan. ii. 35</A>.
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Nay,
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[2.] It will <I>break in pieces all that burden themselves</I> with it,
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as that stone <I>smote the image,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Da+2:45">Dan. ii. 45</A>.
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All that think themselves a match for it shall be <I>cut in pieces</I>
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by it. Some think it is an allusion to a sport which Jerome, upon this
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place, says was in use among the Jews, as among us: young men tried
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their strength, and strove for mastery, by heaving up great stones,
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which, if they proved too heavy for them, fell upon them, and bruised
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them. Those that make a jest of religion, and banter sacred things,
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will find them a burdensome stone, that it is ill-jesting with
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edged-tools, and though they make light of it (saying, <I>Am not I in
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sport?</I>) they bring upon themselves an insupportable sinking load of
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guilt. Our Saviour seems to allude to these words when he speaks of
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himself as a burdensome stone to those that will not have him for their
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foundation-stone, which shall <I>fall upon them and grind them to
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powder,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+21:44">Matt. xxi. 44</A>.</P>
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<P>
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(3.) The governors of Judah shall be among their enemies like <I>a
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hearth of fire among the wood, and a torch of fire in a sheaf,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+12:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>.
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Not that their own passions shall make them incendiaries and firebrands
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to all about them; no; Zion's King is <I>meek and lowly,</I> and all
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subordinate governors must be like him; but God's justice will make
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them avengers of his cause, and theirs, upon their enemies. Those that
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contend with them will find it is like an opposition given by briers
|
||
|
and thorns to a consuming fire,
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+27:4">Isa. xxvii. 4</A>.
|
||
|
|
||
|
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 <I>in Zion,</I> and <I>his furnace in Jerusalem.</I>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+31:9">Isa. xxxi. 9</A>.
|
||
|
|
||
|
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 <I>come out from the one to devour the other,</I>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jdg+9:20">Judg. ix. 20</A>.
|
||
|
|
||
|
So here, Fire shall come out from the <I>governors of Judah</I> to
|
||
|
<I>devour all the people round about,</I> as from the mouth of God's
|
||
|
witnesses to consume those who offer to hurt them,
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+11:5">Rev. xi. 5</A>.
|
||
|
|
||
|
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. <I>Thou
|
||
|
hast overcome me, O thou Galilean!</I> The church's motto may be,
|
||
|
<I>Nemo me impune lacesset--He that assails me does it at his peril. If
|
||
|
you are weary of your life, persecute the Christians,</I> was once a
|
||
|
proverb.</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
2. It is promised that God will infatuate the counsels and enfeeble the
|
||
|
courage of the church's enemies
|
||
|
|
||
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+12:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>):
|
||
|
|
||
|
"<I>In that day,</I> when the people of the earth are gathered together
|
||
|
against Jerusalem, <I>I will smite every horse with astonishment, and
|
||
|
his rider with madness;</I>" and again, "<I>I will smite every horse of
|
||
|
the people with blindness,</I> 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.</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
3. It is promised that Jerusalem shall be re-peopled and replenished
|
||
|
|
||
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+12:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>):
|
||
|
|
||
|
<I>Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in
|
||
|
Jerusalem.</I> The natives of Jerusalem shall not incorporate in a
|
||
|
colony in some other country, and build a city there, and call that
|
||
|
<I>Jerusalem,</I> 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 <I>in its own place;</I>
|
||
|
for, the gospel being to be preached to all the world, it may call
|
||
|
every place its own.</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
4. It is promised that the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be enabled to
|
||
|
defend themselves, and yet shall be taken under the divine protection,
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+12:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>.
|
||
|
|
||
|
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: <I>In that day shall the Lord defend
|
||
|
the inhabitants of Jerusalem,</I> 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 <I>wall of fire</I> about the city, to
|
||
|
fortify that, but he will encompass particular persons with his favour
|
||
|
<I>as with a shield,</I> 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.
|
||
|
<I>The God of Israel gives strength and power to his people,</I> 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 <I>shall
|
||
|
be as David,</I> 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.] <I>The house of David shall be as God,</I> that is, <I>as the
|
||
|
angel of the Lord, before them.</I> 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,
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+23:20">Exod. xxiii. 20</A>.
|
||
|
|
||
|
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 <I>as an angel of God, to
|
||
|
discern good and bad,</I>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+14:17">2 Sam. xiv. 17</A>.
|
||
|
|
||
|
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.</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
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.) <I>The governors of Judah,</I> the magistrates and gentry of the
|
||
|
country, shall think honourably of the citizens, <I>the inhabitants of
|
||
|
Jerusalem,</I> the merchants and tradesmen; they shall not run them
|
||
|
down, and contrive how to keep them under, but they <I>shall say in
|
||
|
their hearts,</I> not in compliment but in sincerity, <I>The
|
||
|
inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength,</I> the strength of my
|
||
|
country, of my family, <I>in the Lord of hosts their God,</I>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+12:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>.
|
||
|
|
||
|
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 (<I>of Zion it shall be said,
|
||
|
This and that</I> brave <I>man were born there</I>), but because it was
|
||
|
a <I>holy city,</I> 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 <I>upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem</I> God will <I>pour a spirit
|
||
|
of supplication</I>
|
||
|
|
||
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+12:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>);
|
||
|
|
||
|
therefore the governors of Judah shall say, <I>These are my
|
||
|
strength;</I> they are so upon the account of their relation to, their
|
||
|
interest in, and their communion with, <I>the Lord of hosts, their
|
||
|
God.</I> Because <I>the Lord of hosts</I> is in a particular manner
|
||
|
<I>their God</I> (for <I>in Salem is his tabernacle and his
|
||
|
dwelling-place in Zion</I>), therefore <I>they shall be my
|
||
|
strength.</I> 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, <I>the chariots and horsemen of Israel,</I> 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
|
||
|
|
||
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+12:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>),
|
||
|
|
||
|
<I>I will open my eyes upon the house of Judah,</I> upon the poor
|
||
|
country people. Proud men scornfully overlook them, but the great God
|
||
|
will graciously look upon them and look after them. Nay,
|
||
|
|
||
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+12:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>),
|
||
|
|
||
|
<I>the Lord shall save the tents of Judah first.</I> 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 <I>inhabitants of his villages in Israel,</I>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jdg+5:11">Judg. v. 11</A>.
|
||
|
|
||
|
Thus, in the mystical body, God <I>gives more abundant honour to that
|
||
|
part which lacked, that there may be no schism in the body</I> (see
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Co+12:22-25">1 Cor. xii. 22-25</A>),
|
||
|
|
||
|
which is the reason here given why <I>the glory of the house of
|
||
|
David,</I> which has great power, and <I>the glory of the inhabitants
|
||
|
of Jerusalem,</I> who have great wealth, and both which live in great
|
||
|
pomp and pleasure, <I>may not magnify themselves against Judah</I> and
|
||
|
the <I>tents of Judah,</I> 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 <I>opens his eyes upon</I> and who are <I>first saved,</I>
|
||
|
while it is so hard for the rich and great to <I>enter the kingdom of
|
||
|
God.</I> 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,
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+2:5,6">Jam. ii. 5, 6</A>.
|
||
|
|
||
|
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,
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Col+3:11">Col. iii. 11</A>.
|
||
|
|
||
|
Jerusalem shall not then be thought, as it had been, more holy than
|
||
|
other parts of the land of Israel.</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A NAME="Zec12_9"> </A>
|
||
|
<A NAME="Zec12_10"> </A>
|
||
|
<A NAME="Zec12_11"> </A>
|
||
|
<A NAME="Zec12_12"> </A>
|
||
|
<A NAME="Zec12_13"> </A>
|
||
|
<A NAME="Zec12_14"> </A>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
|
||
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
||
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Promises to Judah; Evangelical Predictions.</I></FONT></TD>
|
||
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 500.</TD></TR>
|
||
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
||
|
</TABLE>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>9 And it shall come to pass in that day, <I>that</I> 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 <I>his</I>
|
||
|
only <I>son,</I> and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in
|
||
|
bitterness for <I>his</I> 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.
|
||
|
</FONT></P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
The <I>day</I> 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 <I>gospel-day,</I> 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
|
||
|
<I>in that day.</I></P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
I. A glorious work of God to be wrought for his people: "<I>I will seek
|
||
|
to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem,</I>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+12:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>.
|
||
|
|
||
|
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 <I>day of
|
||
|
vengeance</I> 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 <I>framing evil</I> against them; when he seems to
|
||
|
be setting them up he is seeking to destroy them. In Christ's first
|
||
|
coming, he <I>sought to destroy him that had the power of death,</I>
|
||
|
and did destroy him, bruised the serpent's head, and broke all the
|
||
|
<I>powers of darkness</I> that fought against God's kingdom among men
|
||
|
and against the faithful friends and subjects of that kingdom; he
|
||
|
<I>spoiled</I> them, and <I>made a show of them openly.</I> In his
|
||
|
second coming, he will complete their destruction, when he shall <I>put
|
||
|
down all</I> opposing <I>rule, principality, and power,</I> and
|
||
|
<I>death</I> itself shall be <I>swallowed up in</I> that <I>victory.
|
||
|
The last enemy shall be destroyed</I> of all that <I>fought against
|
||
|
Jerusalem.</I></P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
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 <I>pour upon them the Spirit of grace and
|
||
|
supplication.</I> 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 <I>for this be enquired of by
|
||
|
the house of Israel,</I>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+36:37">Ezek. xxxvi. 37</A>.
|
||
|
|
||
|
<I>Ask, and it shall be given.</I> 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
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+44:3">Isa. xliv. 3</A>,
|
||
|
|
||
|
<I>I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed,</I> which was fulfilled when
|
||
|
<I>Jesus was glorified,</I>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+7:39">John vii. 39</A>.
|
||
|
|
||
|
It is a promise of the Spirit, and with him of all <I>spiritual
|
||
|
blessings in heavenly things by Christ.</I> Now observe here,</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
1. On whom these blessings are poured out.
|
||
|
|
||
|
(1.) <I>On the house of David,</I> on the great men; for they are no
|
||
|
more, and no better, than the grace of God makes them. It was promised
|
||
|
|
||
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+12:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>)
|
||
|
|
||
|
that <I>the house of David</I> should be <I>as the angel of the
|
||
|
Lord.</I> 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
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+20:5">2 Chron. xx. 5</A>.
|
||
|
|
||
|
The house of David is all summed up in Jesus Christ, <I>the Son of
|
||
|
David;</I> and upon him, as the head, the Spirit of grace is poured
|
||
|
out, from him to be diffused to all his members; <I>from his fulness we
|
||
|
receive, and grace for grace.
|
||
|
|
||
|
(2.) On the inhabitants of Jerusalem,</I> 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 <I>pour
|
||
|
his Spirit upon them.</I> This is the earnest which all that <I>believe
|
||
|
in Christ shall receive;</I> thus they are sanctified; thus they are
|
||
|
sealed.</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
2. What these blessings are: <I>I will pour upon them the Spirit.</I>
|
||
|
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 <I>Spirit of grace,</I> to sanctify us and to make us
|
||
|
gracious.
|
||
|
|
||
|
(2.) As a <I>Spirit of supplications,</I> 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 <I>teaches to cry, Abba,
|
||
|
Father.</I> As soon as ever Paul was converted, <I>Behold, he
|
||
|
prays,</I>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+9:11">Acts ix. 11</A>.
|
||
|
|
||
|
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.</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
3. What the effect of them will be: <I>I will pour upon them the Spirit
|
||
|
of grace.</I> 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 <I>the joy of the Holy ghost</I>), but it follows, <I>They
|
||
|
shall mourn;</I> 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,
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+20:5">2 Kings xx. 5</A>.
|
||
|
|
||
|
Jacob, that wrestler with God, <I>wept and made supplication.</I> But
|
||
|
here it is a mourning for sin that is the effect of the pouring out of
|
||
|
the Spirit.</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
(1.) It is a mourning grounded upon a sight of Christ: <I>They shall
|
||
|
look on me whom they have pierced, and shall mourn for him.</I> 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
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+19:37">John xix. 37</A>.
|
||
|
|
||
|
[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
|
||
|
<I>those who pierced him</I> are distinguished from the other
|
||
|
<I>kindreds of the earth</I> that shall <I>wail because of him,</I>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+1:7">Rev. i. 7</A>);
|
||
|
|
||
|
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 <I>wounded for our
|
||
|
transgressions,</I> and they are the <I>grief of his soul;</I> he is
|
||
|
<I>broken with the whorish heart</I> of sinners, who <I>therefore</I>
|
||
|
are said to <I>crucify him afresh</I> 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 <I>look unto him,</I> 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 <I>pricked to the heart,</I> and cried out, <I>What
|
||
|
shall we do?</I> It is fulfilled in all those who sorrow for sin after
|
||
|
a godly sort; they look to Christ, and <I>mourn for him,</I> 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.</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
(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 <I>as one mourns for an only son,</I>
|
||
|
in whose grave the hopes of his family are buried, and shall be
|
||
|
inwardly <I>in bitterness as one that is in bitterness for his
|
||
|
first-born,</I> 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 <I>like the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the
|
||
|
valley of Megiddon,</I> where good king Josiah was slain, for whom
|
||
|
there was a general lamentation
|
||
|
|
||
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+12:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>),
|
||
|
|
||
|
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, <I>The crown has fallen from our head. Woe unto us, for
|
||
|
we have sinned!</I>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=La+5:16">Lam. v. 16</A>.
|
||
|
|
||
|
Christ is our King; our sins were his death, and, for that reason,
|
||
|
ought to be our grief.</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
(3.) It is a general universal mourning
|
||
|
|
||
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+12:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>):
|
||
|
|
||
|
<I>The land shall mourn.</I> The land itself put on mourning at the
|
||
|
death of Christ, for there was then <I>darkness over all the land,</I>
|
||
|
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 <I>all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord,</I>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+7:2">1 Sam. vii. 2</A>.
|
||
|
|
||
|
Some think this is yet to have its complete accomplishment in the
|
||
|
general conversion of the Jewish nation.</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
(4.) It is also a private particular mourning. There shall be not only
|
||
|
a mourning of <I>the land,</I> by its representatives in a general
|
||
|
assembly (as
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jdg+2:5">Judg. ii. 5</A>,
|
||
|
|
||
|
when the place was called <I>Bochim--A place of weepers</I>), but it
|
||
|
shall spread itself into all corners of the land: <I>Every family
|
||
|
apart</I> shall mourn
|
||
|
|
||
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+12:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>),
|
||
|
|
||
|
<I>all the families that remain,</I>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+12:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>.
|
||
|
|
||
|
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
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Co+7:5">1 Cor. vii. 5</A>.
|
||
|
|
||
|
Four several families are here specified as examples to others in this
|
||
|
mourning:--
|
||
|
|
||
|
[1.] Two of them are royal families: the <I>house of David,</I> in
|
||
|
Solomon, and the <I>house of Nathan,</I> another son of David, brother
|
||
|
to Solomon, from whom Zerubbabel descended, as appears by Christ's
|
||
|
genealogy,
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+3:27-31">Luke iii. 27-31</A>.
|
||
|
|
||
|
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
|
||
|
|
||
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+32:26">2 Chron. xxxii. 26</A>),
|
||
|
|
||
|
the princes and the king
|
||
|
|
||
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+12:6">2 Chron. xii. 6</A>),
|
||
|
|
||
|
and the king of Nineveh,
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jon+3:6">Jonah iii. 6</A>.
|
||
|
|
||
|
[2.] Two of them are sacred families
|
||
|
|
||
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+12:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>),
|
||
|
|
||
|
<I>the family of the house of Levi,</I> which was God's tribe, and in
|
||
|
it particularly the family of Shimei, which was a branch of the tribe
|
||
|
of Levi
|
||
|
|
||
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ch+6:17">1 Chron. vi. 17</A>),
|
||
|
|
||
|
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
|
||
|
<I>iniquity of the holy things.</I> In times of general tribulation and
|
||
|
humiliation the Lord's ministers are concerned to <I>weep between the
|
||
|
porch and the altar</I>
|
||
|
|
||
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+2:17">Joel ii. 17</A>),
|
||
|
|
||
|
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?</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
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