mh_parser/vol_split/38 - Zechariah/Chapter 13.xml

<div2 id="Zech.xiv" n="xiv" next="Zech.xv" prev="Zech.xiii" progress="97.15%" title="Chapter XIII">
<h2 id="Zech.xiv-p0.1">Z E C H A R I A H.</h2>
<h3 id="Zech.xiv-p0.2">CHAP. XIII.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Zech.xiv-p1" shownumber="no">In this chapter we have, I. Some further promises
relating to gospel-times. Here is a promise of the remission of
sins (<scripRef id="Zech.xiv-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Zech.13.1" parsed="|Zech|13|1|0|0" passage="Zec 13:1">ver. 1</scripRef>), of the
reformation of manners (<scripRef id="Zech.xiv-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Zech.13.2" parsed="|Zech|13|2|0|0" passage="Zec 13:2">ver.
2</scripRef>), and particularly of the convicting and silencing of
false prophets, <scripRef id="Zech.xiv-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Zech.13.2-Zech.13.6" parsed="|Zech|13|2|13|6" passage="Zec 13:2-6">ver. 2-6</scripRef>.
II. A clear prediction of the sufferings of Christ and the
dispersion of his disciples thereupon (<scripRef id="Zech.xiv-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Zech.13.7" parsed="|Zech|13|7|0|0" passage="Zec 13:7">ver. 7</scripRef>), of the destruction of the greater
part of the Jewish nation not long after (<scripRef id="Zech.xiv-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Zech.13.8" parsed="|Zech|13|8|0|0" passage="Zec 13:8">ver. 8</scripRef>), and of the purifying of a remnant of
them, a peculiar people to God, <scripRef id="Zech.xiv-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Zech.13.9" parsed="|Zech|13|9|0|0" passage="Zec 13:9">ver.
9</scripRef>.</p>
<scripCom id="Zech.xiv-p1.7" osisRef="Bible:Zech.13" parsed="|Zech|13|0|0|0" passage="Zec 13" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Zech.xiv-p1.8" osisRef="Bible:Zech.13.1-Zech.13.6" parsed="|Zech|13|1|13|6" passage="Zec 13:1-6" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Zech.xiv-p1.9">
<h4 id="Zech.xiv-p1.10">Evangelical Predictions; The Destruction of
False Prophets. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Zech.xiv-p1.11">b. c.</span> 500.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Zech.xiv-p2" shownumber="no">1 In that day there shall be a fountain opened
to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin
and for uncleanness.   2 And it shall come to pass in that
day, saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Zech.xiv-p2.1">Lord</span> of hosts,
<i>that</i> I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land,
and they shall no more be remembered: and also I will cause the
prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land.   3
And it shall come to pass, <i>that</i> when any shall yet prophesy,
then his father and his mother that begat him shall say unto him,
Thou shalt not live; for thou speakest lies in the name of the
<span class="smallcaps" id="Zech.xiv-p2.2">Lord</span>: and his father and his mother
that begat him shall thrust him through when he prophesieth.  
4 And it shall come to pass in that day, <i>that</i> the prophets
shall be ashamed every one of his vision, when he hath prophesied;
neither shall they wear a rough garment to deceive:   5 But he
shall say, I <i>am</i> no prophet, I <i>am</i> a husbandman; for
man taught me to keep cattle from my youth.   6 And <i>one</i>
shall say unto him, What <i>are</i> these wounds in thine hands?
Then he shall answer, <i>Those</i> with which I was wounded
<i>in</i> the house of my friends.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Zech.xiv-p3" shownumber="no">Behold the Lamb of God <i>taking away the
sin of the world,</i> the sin of the church; for <i>therefore</i>
was the Son of God manifested, to <i>take away our sin,</i>
<scripRef id="Zech.xiv-p3.1" osisRef="Bible:1John.3.5" parsed="|1John|3|5|0|0" passage="1Jo 3:5">1 John iii. 5</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Zech.xiv-p4" shownumber="no">I. He takes away the guilt of sin by the
blood of his cross (<scripRef id="Zech.xiv-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:Zech.13.1" parsed="|Zech|13|1|0|0" passage="Zec 13:1"><i>v.</i>
1</scripRef>): <i>In that day,</i> in the gospel-day, <i>there
shall be a fountain opened,</i> that is, provision made for the
cleansing of all those from the pollutions of sin who truly repent
and are sorry for them. <i>In that day,</i> when the Spirit of
grace is poured out to set them a mourning for their sins, they
shall not mourn as those who have no hope, but they shall have
their sins pardoned, and the comfort of their pardon in their
bosoms. Their consciences shall be purified and pacified by the
<i>blood of Christ, which cleanses from all sin,</i> <scripRef id="Zech.xiv-p4.2" osisRef="Bible:1John.1.7" parsed="|1John|1|7|0|0" passage="1Jo 1:7">1 John i. 7</scripRef>. For Christ is exalted to
give both repentance and remission of sins; and where he gives the
one no doubt he gives the other. This <i>fountain opened</i> is the
pierced side of Jesus Christ, spoken of just before (<scripRef id="Zech.xiv-p4.3" osisRef="Bible:Zech.12.10" parsed="|Zech|12|10|0|0" passage="Zec 12:10"><i>ch.</i> xii. 10</scripRef>), for thence came
there out <i>blood and water,</i> and both for cleansing. And those
who <i>look upon Christ pierced,</i> and mourn for their sins that
pierced him, and are therefore in bitterness for him, may look
again upon Christ pierced and rejoice in him, because it pleased
the Lord thus to smite this rock, that it might be to us a
<i>fountain of living waters.</i> See here, 1. How we are polluted;
we are all so; we have sinned, and sin is uncleanness; it defiles
the mind and conscience, renders us odious to God and uneasy in
ourselves, unfit to be employed in the service of God and admitted
into communion with him, as those who were ceremonially unclean
were shut out of the sanctuary. The <i>house of David</i> and the
<i>inhabitants of Jerusalem</i> are under <i>sin,</i> which is
uncleanness. The truth is, we are all <i>as an unclean thing,</i>
and deserve to have our portion with the unclean. 2. How we may be
purged. Behold, there is fountain opened for us to wash in, and
there are streams flowing to us from that fountain, so that, if we
be not made clean, it is our own fault. The blood of Christ, and
God's pardoning mercy in that blood, revealed in the new covenant,
are, (1.) A fountain; for there is in them an inexhaustible
fulness. There is mercy enough in God, and merit enough in Christ,
for the forgiving of the greatest sins and sinners, upon
gospel-terms. <i>Such were some of you, but you are washed,</i>
<scripRef id="Zech.xiv-p4.4" osisRef="Bible:1Cor.6.11" parsed="|1Cor|6|11|0|0" passage="1Co 6:11">1 Cor. vi. 11</scripRef>. Under the
law there were a brazen laver and a brazen sea to wash in; those
were but vessels, but we have a fountain to ourselves, overflowing,
ever-flowing. (2.) <i>A fountain opened;</i> for, whoever will, may
come and take the benefit of it; it is opened, not only to <i>the
house of David,</i> but to <i>the inhabitants of Jerusalem,</i> to
the poor and mean as well as to the rich and great; or it is opened
for all believers, who, as the spiritual seed of Christ, are of the
house of David, and, as living members of the church, are
inhabitants of Jerusalem. Through Christ all that believe are
justified, are <i>washed from their sins in his blood,</i> that
they may be <i>made to our God kings and priests,</i> <scripRef id="Zech.xiv-p4.5" osisRef="Bible:Rev.1.5-Rev.1.6" parsed="|Rev|1|5|1|6" passage="Re 1:5,6">Rev. i. 5, 6</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Zech.xiv-p5" shownumber="no">II. He takes away the dominion of sin by
the power of his grace, even of beloved sins. This evermore
accompanies the former; those that are washed in the fountain
opened, as they are justified, so they are sanctified; the water
came with the blood out of the pierced side of Christ. It is here
promised that in that day, 1. Idolatry shall be quite abolished and
the people of the Jews shall be effectually cured of their
inclination to it (<scripRef id="Zech.xiv-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:Zech.13.2" parsed="|Zech|13|2|0|0" passage="Zec 13:2"><i>v.</i>
2</scripRef>): <i>I will cut off the names of the idols out of the
land.</i> The worship of the idols of their fathers shall be so
perfectly rooted out that in one generation or two it shall be
forgotten that ever there were such idols among them; they shall
either not be named at all or not with any respect; <i>they shall
no more be remembered,</i> as was promised, <scripRef id="Zech.xiv-p5.2" osisRef="Bible:Hos.2.17" parsed="|Hos|2|17|0|0" passage="Ho 2:17">Hos. ii. 17</scripRef>. This was fulfilled in the rooted
aversion which the Jews had, after the captivity, to idols and
idolatry, and still retain to this day; it was fulfilled also in
the ready conversion of many to the faith of Christ, by which they
were taken off from making an idol of the ceremonial law, as the
unbelieving Jews did; and it is still in the fulfilling when souls
are brought off from the world and the flesh, those two great
idols, that they may cleave to God only. 2. False prophecy shall
also be brought to an end: <i>I will cause the prophets and the
unclean spirit,</i> the prophets that are under the influence of
the unclean spirit, to <i>pass out of the land.</i> The devil is an
<i>unclean</i> spirit; sin and uncleanness are from him; he has his
prophets, that serve his interests and receive their instructions
from him. Take away the unclean spirit, and the prophets would not
deceive as they do; take away the false prophets that produce sham
commissions, and the unclean spirit could not do the mischief he
does. When God designs the silencing of the false prophets he
banishes the unclean spirit out of the land, that wrought in them,
and was a rival with him for the throne in the heart. The church of
the Jews, when they were addicted to idols, did also dote much upon
false prophets, who flattered them in their sins with promises of
impunity and peace; but here it is promised, as a blessed effect of
the promised reformation, that they should be very much set against
false prophets, and zealous to clear the land of them; they were so
after the captivity, till, through the blindness of their zeal
against false prophets, they had put Christ to death under that
character, and, after that, there arose many <i>false Christs and
false prophets, and deceived many,</i> <scripRef id="Zech.xiv-p5.3" osisRef="Bible:Matt.24.11" parsed="|Matt|24|11|0|0" passage="Mt 24:11">Matt. xxiv. 11</scripRef>. It is here foretold, (1.)
That false prophets, instead of being indulged and favoured, should
be brought to condign punishment even by their nearest relations,
which would be as great an instance as any of flagrant zeal against
those deceivers (<scripRef id="Zech.xiv-p5.4" osisRef="Bible:Zech.13.3" parsed="|Zech|13|3|0|0" passage="Zec 13:3"><i>v.</i>
3</scripRef>): <i>When any shall</i> set up for a prophet, and
shall <i>speak lies in the name of the Lord,</i> shall preach that
which tends to draw people from God and to confirm them in sin, his
own parents shall be the first and most forward to prosecute him
for it, according to the law. <scripRef id="Zech.xiv-p5.5" osisRef="Bible:Deut.13.6-Deut.13.11" parsed="|Deut|13|6|13|11" passage="De 13:6-11">Deut.
xiii. 6-11</scripRef>, "<i>If thy son entice thee secretly</i> from
God, <i>thou shalt surely kill him.</i> Show thy indignation
against him, and prevent any further temptation from him." His
<i>father and his mother shall thrust him through when he
prophesies.</i> Note, We ought to conceive, and always to retain, a
very great detestation and dread of every thing that would draw us
out of the way of our duty into by-paths, as those who cannot
<i>bear that which is evil,</i> <scripRef id="Zech.xiv-p5.6" osisRef="Bible:Rev.2.22" parsed="|Rev|2|22|0|0" passage="Re 2:22">Rev.
ii. 2</scripRef>. And holy zeal for God and godliness will make us
hate sin, and dread temptation, most in those whom naturally we
love best, and who are nearest to us; there our danger is greatest,
as Adam's from Eve, Job's from his wife; and there it will be the
most praiseworthy to show our zeal, as Levi, who, in the cause of
God, did not <i>acknowledge his brethren,</i> nor <i>know his own
children,</i> <scripRef id="Zech.xiv-p5.7" osisRef="Bible:Deut.33.9" parsed="|Deut|33|9|0|0" passage="De 33:9">Deut. xxxiii.
9</scripRef>. Thus we must hate and forsake our nearest relations
when they come in competition with our duty to God, <scripRef id="Zech.xiv-p5.8" osisRef="Bible:Luke.14.26" parsed="|Luke|14|26|0|0" passage="Lu 14:26">Luke xiv. 26</scripRef>. Natural affections,
even the strongest, must be over-ruled by gracious affections. (2.)
That false prophets should be themselves convinced of their sin and
folly, and let fall their pretensions (<scripRef id="Zech.xiv-p5.9" osisRef="Bible:Zech.13.4" parsed="|Zech|13|4|0|0" passage="Zec 13:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>): "<i>The prophets shall be
ashamed every one of his vision;</i> they shall not repeat it, or
insist upon it, but desire that it may be forgotten and no more
said of it, being ready themselves to own it was a sham, because
God has by his grace awakened their consciences and shown them
their error, or because the event disproves their predictions, and
gives them the lie, or because their prophecies do not meet with
such a favourable reception as they used to meet with, but are
generally despised and distasted; they perceive the people ashamed
of them, which makes them begin to be ashamed of themselves. And
therefore they shall no longer <i>wear a rough garment,</i> or
<i>garment of hair,</i> as the true prophets used to do, in
imitation of Elijah, and in token of their being mortified to the
pleasures and delights of sense." The pretenders had appeared in
the habit of true prophets; but, their folly being now made
manifest, they shall lay it aside, no more to deceive and impose
upon unthinking unwary people by it. A modest dress is a very good
thing, if it be the genuine indication of a humble heart, and is to
instruct; but it is a bad thing if it be the hypocritical disguise
of a proud ambitious heart, and is to deceive. Let men be really as
good as they seem to be, but not seem to be better than really they
are. This pretender, as a true penitent, [1.] Shall undeceive those
whom he had imposed upon: <i>He shall say, "I am no prophet,</i> as
I have pretended to be, was never designed nor set apart to the
office, never educated nor brought up for it, never conversant
among the sons of the prophets. <i>I am a husbandman,</i> and was
bred to that business; I was never taught of God to prophesy, but
<i>taught of man to keep cattle</i>" Amos was originally such a one
too, and yet was afterwards called to be a prophet, <scripRef id="Zech.xiv-p5.10" osisRef="Bible:Amos.7.14-Amos.7.15" parsed="|Amos|7|14|7|15" passage="Am 7:14,15">Amos vii. 14, 15</scripRef>. But this deceiver
never had any such call. Note, Those who sorrow after a godly sort
for their having deceived others will be forward to confess their
sin, and will be so just as to rectify the mistakes which they have
been the cause of. Thus those who had <i>used curious arts,</i>
when they were converted <i>showed their deeds,</i> and by what
fallacies they had cheated the people, <scripRef id="Zech.xiv-p5.11" osisRef="Bible:Acts.19.18" parsed="|Acts|19|18|0|0" passage="Ac 19:18">Acts xix. 18</scripRef>. [2.] He shall return to his own
proper employment, which is the fittest for him: <i>I will be a
husbandman</i> (so it may be read); "I will apply myself to my
calling again, and meddle no more with things that belong not to
me; for <i>man taught me to keep cattle from my youth,</i> and
cattle I will again keep, and never set up for a preacher any
more." Note, When we are convinced that we have gone out of the way
of our duty we must evince the truth of our repentance by returning
to it again, though it be the severest mortification to us. [3.] He
shall acknowledge those to be his friends who by a severe
discipline were instrumental to bring him to a sight of his error,
<scripRef id="Zech.xiv-p5.12" osisRef="Bible:Zech.13.6" parsed="|Zech|13|6|0|0" passage="Zec 13:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>. When he who
with the greatest assurance had asserted himself so lately to be a
prophet suddenly drops his claims, and says, I am no prophet, every
body will be surprised at it, and some will ask, "<i>What are these
wounds,</i> or marks of stripes, <i>in thy hands?</i> how camest
thou by them? Hast thou not been <i>examined by scourging?</i> And
is not that it that has brought thee to thyself?" (<i>Vexatio dat
intellectum—Vexation sharpens the intellect.</i>) "Hast thou not
been beaten into this acknowledgment? Was it not the rod and
reproof that gave thee this wisdom?" And he shall own, "Yes, it
was; these are the <i>wounds with which I was wounded in the house
of my friends,</i> who bound me, and used me hardly and severely,
as a distracted man, and so brought me to my senses." By this it
appears that those parents of the false prophet that <i>thrust him
through</i> (<scripRef id="Zech.xiv-p5.13" osisRef="Bible:Zech.13.3" parsed="|Zech|13|3|0|0" passage="Zec 13:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>)
did not do it till they had first tried to reclaim him by
correction, and he would not be reclaimed; for so was the law
concerning a disobedient son—his parents must first have chastened
him in vain before they were allowed to bring him forth to be
stoned, <scripRef id="Zech.xiv-p5.14" osisRef="Bible:Deut.21.18-Deut.21.19" parsed="|Deut|21|18|21|19" passage="De 21:18,19">Deut. xxi. 18,
19</scripRef>. But here is another who was reduced by stripes, and
so prevented the capital punishment; and he had the sense and
honesty to own that they were his friends, his real friends, who
thus wounded him, that they might reclaim him; for <i>faithful are
the wounds of a friend,</i> <scripRef id="Zech.xiv-p5.15" osisRef="Bible:Prov.27.6" parsed="|Prov|27|6|0|0" passage="Pr 27:6">Prov.
xxvii. 6</scripRef>. Some good interpreters, observing how soon
this comes after the mention of Christ's being pierced, think that
these are the words of that great prophet, not of the false prophet
spoken of before. Christ was wounded in his hands, when they were
nailed to the cross, and, after his resurrection, he had the marks
of these wounds; and here he tells how he came by them; he received
them as a false prophet, for the chief priests called him a
deceiver, and upon that account would have him crucified; but he
received them in the house of his friends—the Jews, who should
have been his friends; for <i>he came to his own,</i> and, though
they were his bitter enemies, yet he was pleased to call them his
<i>friends,</i> as he did Judas (<i>Friend, wherefore hast thou
come?</i>) because they forwarded his sufferings for him; as he
called Peter <i>Satan—an adversary,</i> because he dissuaded him
from them.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Zech.xiv-p5.16" osisRef="Bible:Zech.13.7-Zech.13.9" parsed="|Zech|13|7|13|9" passage="Zec 13:7-9" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Zech.xiv-p5.17">
<h4 id="Zech.xiv-p5.18">Sufferings of Christ
Predicted. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Zech.xiv-p5.19">b. c.</span> 500.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Zech.xiv-p6" shownumber="no">7 Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and
against the man <i>that is</i> my fellow, saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Zech.xiv-p6.1">Lord</span> of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep
shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones.
  8 And it shall come to pass, <i>that</i> in all the land,
saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Zech.xiv-p6.2">Lord</span>, two parts therein
shall be cut off <i>and</i> die; but the third shall be left
therein.   9 And I will bring the third part through the fire,
and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as
gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I
will say, It <i>is</i> my people: and they shall say, The <span class="smallcaps" id="Zech.xiv-p6.3">Lord</span> <i>is</i> my God.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Zech.xiv-p7" shownumber="no">Here is a prophecy,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Zech.xiv-p8" shownumber="no">I. Of the sufferings of Christ, of him who
was to be pierced, and was to be the fountain opened. <i>Awake, O
sword! against my Shepherd,</i> <scripRef id="Zech.xiv-p8.1" osisRef="Bible:Zech.13.7" parsed="|Zech|13|7|0|0" passage="Zec 13:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>. These are the words of God the
Father, giving order and commission to the sword of his justice to
awake against his Son, when he had voluntarily made his soul an
offering for sin; for <i>it pleased the Lord to bruise him</i> and
<i>put him to grief;</i> and <i>he was stricken, smitten of God,
and afflicted,</i> <scripRef id="Zech.xiv-p8.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.53.4 Bible:Isa.53.10" parsed="|Isa|53|4|0|0;|Isa|53|10|0|0" passage="Isa 53:4,10">Isa. liii. 4,
10</scripRef>. Observe, 1. How he calls him. "As God, he is <i>my
fellow;</i>" for he thought it <i>no robbery to be equal with
God.</i> He and <i>the Father</i> are <i>one.</i> He was from
eternity by him, as one brought up with him, and, in the work of
man's redemption, he was his elect, in whom his soul delighted, and
the counsel of peace was between them both. "As Mediator, he is
<i>my Shepherd,</i> that great and good Shepherd that undertook to
feed the flock," <scripRef id="Zech.xiv-p8.3" osisRef="Bible:Zech.11.7" parsed="|Zech|11|7|0|0" passage="Zec 11:7"><i>ch.</i> xi.
7</scripRef>. He is the Shepherd that was to lay down his life for
the sheep. 2. How he uses him: <i>Awake, O sword! against him.</i>
If he will be a sacrifice, he must be slain, for without the
shedding of blood, the life-blood, there was no remission. Men
thrust him through as the good Shepherd (compare <scripRef id="Zech.xiv-p8.4" osisRef="Bible:Zech.13.3" parsed="|Zech|13|3|0|0" passage="Zec 13:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>), that he might <i>purchase the
flock of God</i> with <i>his own blood,</i> <scripRef id="Zech.xiv-p8.5" osisRef="Bible:Acts.20.28" parsed="|Acts|20|28|0|0" passage="Ac 20:28">Acts xx. 28</scripRef>. It is not a charge given to a
rod to correct him, but to a sword to slay him; for <i>Messiah the
prince must be cut off, but not for himself,</i> <scripRef id="Zech.xiv-p8.6" osisRef="Bible:Dan.9.26" parsed="|Dan|9|26|0|0" passage="Da 9:26">Dan. ix. 26</scripRef>. It is not the sword of war that
receives this charge, that he may die in the bed of honour, but the
sword of justice, that he may die as a criminal, upon an
ignominious tree. This sword must awake against him; he having no
sin of his own to answer for, the sword of justice had nothing to
say to him of itself, till, by particular order from the Judge of
all, it was warranted to brandish itself against him. He was the
Lamb <i>slain from the foundation of the world,</i> in the decree
and counsel of God; but the sword designed against him had long
slumbered, till now at length it is called upon to awake, not,
"Awake, and smite him; strike home; not with a drowsy blow, but an
awakened one;" for God <i>spared not his own Son.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Zech.xiv-p9" shownumber="no">II. Of the dispersion of the disciples
thereupon: <i>Smite the Shepherd, and the sheep shall be
scattered.</i> This our Lord Jesus himself declares to have been
fulfilled when <i>all his disciples were offended because of
him</i> in the night wherein he was betrayed, <scripRef id="Zech.xiv-p9.1" osisRef="Bible:Matt.26.31 Bible:Mark.14.27" parsed="|Matt|26|31|0|0;|Mark|14|27|0|0" passage="Mt 26:31,Mk 14:27">Matt. xxvi. 31; Mark xiv. 27</scripRef>. They
all <i>forsook him and fled.</i> The smiting of the Shepherd is the
scattering of the sheep. They were <i>scattered every one to his
own, and left him alone,</i> <scripRef id="Zech.xiv-p9.2" osisRef="Bible:John.16.32" parsed="|John|16|32|0|0" passage="Joh 16:32">John
xvi. 32</scripRef>. Herein they were like timorous sheep; yet the
Shepherd thus provided for their safety, for he said, <i>If you
seek me, let these go their way.</i> Some make another application
of this; Christ was the <i>Shepherd</i> of the Jewish nation; he
was smitten; they themselves smote him, and therefore they were
justly scattered abroad, and dispersed among the nations, and
remain so at this day. These words, <i>I will turn my hand upon the
little ones,</i> may be understood either as a threatening (as
Christ suffered, so shall his disciples, they shall <i>drink of the
cup that he drank of</i> and be <i>baptized with the baptism that
he was baptized</i> with) or as a promise that God would gather
Christ's scattered disciples together again, and he should give
them the meeting in Galilee. Though the little ones among Christ's
soldiers may be dispersed, they shall rally again; the lambs of his
flock, though frightened by the beasts of prey, shall recover
themselves, shall be gathered in his arms and laid in his bosom.
Sometimes, when the sheep are scattered and lost in the wilderness,
yet the little ones, which, it was feared, would be a prey
(<scripRef id="Zech.xiv-p9.3" osisRef="Bible:Num.14.31" parsed="|Num|14|31|0|0" passage="Nu 14:31">Num. xiv. 31</scripRef>), are brought
in, are brought home, and God turns his hand upon them.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Zech.xiv-p10" shownumber="no">III. Of the rejection and ruin of the
unbelieving Jews (<scripRef id="Zech.xiv-p10.1" osisRef="Bible:Zech.13.8" parsed="|Zech|13|8|0|0" passage="Zec 13:8"><i>v.</i>
8</scripRef>); and this word has, and shall have, its
accomplishment, in the destruction of the corrupt and hypocritical
part of the church. <i>It shall come to pass that in all the land
of Israel two parts shall be cut off and die.</i> The Roman army
laid the country waste, and slew at least two-thirds of the Jews.
Some understand by the <i>cutting off,</i> and <i>dying,</i> or
<i>two parts</i> in all <i>the earth,</i> the abolishing of
heathenism and Judaism, that Christianity, the third part, might be
left to reign alone. The Jewish worship was quite taken away by the
destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. And, some time after,
Pagan idolatry was in a manner extirpated, when the empire became
Christian.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Zech.xiv-p11" shownumber="no">IV. Of the reformation and preservation of
the chosen remnant, those of them that believed, and the Christian
church in general (<scripRef id="Zech.xiv-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:Zech.13.9" parsed="|Zech|13|9|0|0" passage="Zec 13:9"><i>v.</i>
9</scripRef>): <i>The third part shall be left.</i> When Jerusalem
and Judea were destroyed, all the Christians in that country,
having among them the warning Christ gave them to <i>flee to the
mountains,</i> shifted for their own safety, and were sheltered in
a city called <i>Pella,</i> on the other side Jordan. We have here
first the trials and then the triumphs of the Christian church, and
of all the faithful members of it. 1. Their trials: <i>I will
bring</i> that <i>third part through the fire</i> of affliction.
<i>and will refine</i> and <i>try them</i> as <i>silver and gold
are refined and tried.</i> This was fulfilled in the persecutions
of the primitive church, the <i>fiery trial</i> which tried the
people of God then, <scripRef id="Zech.xiv-p11.2" osisRef="Bible:1Pet.4.12" parsed="|1Pet|4|12|0|0" passage="1Pe 4:12">1 Pet. iv.
12</scripRef>. Those whom God sets apart for himself must pass
through a probation and purification in this world; they must be
<i>tried</i> that <i>their faith</i> may be <i>found to praise and
honour</i> (<scripRef id="Zech.xiv-p11.3" osisRef="Bible:1Pet.1.6-1Pet.1.7" parsed="|1Pet|1|6|1|7" passage="1Pe 1:6,7">1 Pet. i. 6,
7</scripRef>), as Abraham's faith was when it was tried by the
command given him to offer up Isaac, <i>Now know I that thou
fearest me.</i> They must be tried, that both those that are
perfect and those that are not may be <i>made manifest.</i> They
must be refined from their dross; their corruption must be purged
out; they must be brightened and bettered. 2. Their triumphs. (1.)
Their communion with God is their triumph: <i>They shall call on my
name, and I will hear them.</i> They write to God by prayer, and
receive from him answers of peace, and thus keep up a comfortable
communion with him. <i>This honour have all his saints.</i> (2.)
Their covenant with God is their triumph: "<i>I will say, It is my
people,</i> whom I have chosen and loved, and will own; <i>and they
shall say, the Lord is my God,</i> and a God all-sufficient to me;
and in me they shall boast every day and all the day long. <i>This
God is our God for ever and ever.</i>"</p>
</div></div2>