mh_parser/vol_split/38 - Zechariah/Chapter 10.xml

<div2 id="Zech.xi" n="xi" next="Zech.xii" prev="Zech.x" progress="96.08%" title="Chapter X">
<h2 id="Zech.xi-p0.1">Z E C H A R I A H.</h2>
<h3 id="Zech.xi-p0.2">CHAP. X.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Zech.xi-p1" shownumber="no">The scope of this chapter is much the same with
that of the foregoing chapter—to encourage the Jews that had
returned with hopes that though they had been under divine rebukes
for their negligence in rebuilding the temple, and were now
surrounded with enemies and dangers, yet God would do them good,
and make them prosperous at home and victorious abroad. Now, I.
They are here directed to eye the great God in all events that
concerned them, and, both in the evils they suffered and in the
comforts they desired, to acknowledge his hand, <scripRef id="Zech.xi-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Zech.10.1-Zech.10.4" parsed="|Zech|10|1|10|4" passage="Zec 10:1-4">ver. 1-4</scripRef>. II. They are encouraged to expect
strength and success from him in all their struggles with the
enemies of their church and state, and to hope that the issue would
be glorious at last, <scripRef id="Zech.xi-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Zech.10.5-Zech.10.12" parsed="|Zech|10|5|10|12" passage="Zec 10:5-12">ver.
5-12</scripRef>.</p>
<scripCom id="Zech.xi-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Zech.10" parsed="|Zech|10|0|0|0" passage="Zec 10" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Zech.xi-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Zech.10.1-Zech.10.4" parsed="|Zech|10|1|10|4" passage="Zec 10:1-4" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Zech.xi-p1.5">
<h4 id="Zech.xi-p1.6">Encouragements to Trust in
God. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Zech.xi-p1.7">b. c.</span> 510.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Zech.xi-p2" shownumber="no">1 Ask ye of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Zech.xi-p2.1">Lord</span> rain in the time of the latter rain;
<i>so</i> the <span class="smallcaps" id="Zech.xi-p2.2">Lord</span> shall make bright
clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the
field.   2 For the idols have spoken vanity, and the diviners
have seen a lie, and have told false dreams; they comfort in vain:
therefore they went their way as a flock, they were troubled,
because <i>there was</i> no shepherd.   3 Mine anger was
kindled against the shepherds, and I punished the goats: for the
<span class="smallcaps" id="Zech.xi-p2.3">Lord</span> of hosts hath visited his flock
the house of Judah, and hath made them as his goodly horse in the
battle.   4 Out of him came forth the corner, out of him the
nail, out of him the battle bow, out of him every oppressor
together.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Zech.xi-p3" shownumber="no">Gracious things and glorious ones, very
glorious and very gracious, were promised to this poor afflicted
people in the foregoing chapter; now here God intimates to them
that he will <i>for these things be enquired of</i> by them, and
that he expects they should acknowledge him in all their ways and
in all his ways towards them—and not idols that were rivals with
him for their respects.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Zech.xi-p4" shownumber="no">I. The prophet directs them to apply to God
by prayer for rain in the season thereof. He had promised, in the
close of the foregoing chapter, that there should be great plenty
of corn and wine, whereas for several years, by reason of
unseasonable weather, there had been great scarcity of both; but
the earth will not yield its fruits unless the heavens water it,
and therefore they must look up to God for the <i>dew of
heaven,</i> in order to the fatness and fruitfulness of the earth
(<scripRef id="Zech.xi-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:Zech.10.1" parsed="|Zech|10|1|0|0" passage="Zec 10:1"><i>v.</i> 1</scripRef>): "<i>Ask you
of the Lord rain.</i> Do not pray to the clouds, nor to the stars,
for rain, but <i>to the Lord;</i> for he it is that <i>hears the
heavens,</i> when they <i>hear the earth,</i>" <scripRef id="Zech.xi-p4.2" osisRef="Bible:Hos.2.21" parsed="|Hos|2|21|0|0" passage="Ho 2:21">Hos. ii. 21</scripRef>. Seasonable rain is a great mercy,
which we must <i>ask of God, rain in the time of the latter
rain,</i> when there is most need of it. The former rain fell at
the seed-time, in autumn, the latter fell in the spring, between
March and May, which brought the corn to an ear and filled it. If
either of these rains failed, it was very bad with that land; for
from the end of May to September they never had any rain at all.
Jerome, who lived in Judea, says that he never saw any rain there
in June or July. They are directed to ask for it <i>in the time</i>
when it used to come. Note, We must, in our prayers, dutifully
attend the course of Providence; we must ask for mercies in their
proper time, and not expect that God should go out of his usual way
and method for us. But, since sometimes God denied rain in the
usual time as a token of his displeasure, they must pray for it
then as a token of his favour, and they shall not pray in vain.
<i>Ask and it shall be given you. So the Lord shall make bright
clouds</i> (which, though they are without rain themselves, are yet
presages of rain)—<i>lightnings</i> (so the margin reads it), for
<i>he maketh lightnings for the rain.</i> He will <i>give them
showers of rain</i> in great abundance, and so give to <i>every one
grass in the field;</i> for God is universally good, and <i>makes
his rain to fall upon the just and the unjust.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Zech.xi-p5" shownumber="no">II. He shows them the folly of making their
addresses to idols as their fathers had done (<scripRef id="Zech.xi-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:Zech.10.2" parsed="|Zech|10|2|0|0" passage="Zec 10:2"><i>v.</i> 2</scripRef>): <i>The idols have spoken
vanity;</i> the teraphim, which they courted and consulted in their
distress, were so far from being able to command rain for them that
they could not so much as tell them when they should have rain.
They pretended to promise them rain at such a time, but it did not
come. <i>The diviners,</i> who were the prophets of those idols,
<i>have seen a lie</i> (their visions were all a cheat and a sham);
and <i>they have told false dreams,</i> such as the event did not
answer, which proved that they were not from God. Thus they
<i>comforted in vain</i> those that consulted the lying oracles;
all the <i>vanities of the heathen</i> put together could not
<i>give rain,</i> <scripRef id="Zech.xi-p5.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.14.22" parsed="|Jer|14|22|0|0" passage="Jer 14:22">Jer. xiv.
22</scripRef>. Yet this was not the worst of it; they not only got
nothing by the false gods, but they lost the favour of the true
God, for <i>therefore they went their way</i> into captivity <i>as
a flock</i> driven into the fold, and <i>they were troubled</i>
with one vexation after another, as scattered sheep are, <i>because
there was no shepherd,</i> no prince to rule them, no priest to
intercede for them, none to take care of them and keep them
together. Those that wandered after strange gods were made to
wander, into strange nations.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Zech.xi-p6" shownumber="no">III. He shows them the hand of God in all
the events that concerned them, both those that made against them
and those that made for them, <scripRef id="Zech.xi-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:Zech.10.3" parsed="|Zech|10|3|0|0" passage="Zec 10:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>. Let them consider, 1. When every
thing went cross it was God that walked contrary to them (<scripRef id="Zech.xi-p6.2" osisRef="Bible:Zech.10.3" parsed="|Zech|10|3|0|0" passage="Zec 10:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>): "<i>My anger was
kindled against the shepherds</i> that should have fed the flock,
but neglected it, and starved it. I was displeased at the wicked
magistrates and ministers, the idol-shepherds." The captivity in
Babylon was a token of God's anger against them; in it likewise he
<i>punished the goats,</i> those of the flock that were filthy and
mischievous; they were set on the left hand, to go away into
punishment. Though the body of the nation suffered in the
captivity, yet it was only the goats and the shepherds that God was
angry with, and that he punished; the same affliction to others
came from the love of God, and was but a fatherly chastisement,
which to them came from his wrath, and was a judicial punishment.
2. When things began to change for the better it was God that gave
them the happy turn. "He has now <i>visited his flock</i> with
favour, to enquire after them, and provides what he finds proper
for them, and he has made them <i>as his goodly horse in the
battle,</i> has beautified them, taken care of them, managed and
made use of them, as a man does the horse he rides on, has made
them valuable in themselves and formidable to those about them,
<i>as his goodly horse.</i>" It is God that makes us what we are,
and it is with us as he appoints.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Zech.xi-p7" shownumber="no">IV. He shows them that every creature is to
them what God makes it to be (<scripRef id="Zech.xi-p7.1" osisRef="Bible:Zech.10.4" parsed="|Zech|10|4|0|0" passage="Zec 10:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>): <i>Out of him came forth the
corner, out of him the nails.</i> 1. All the power that was engaged
against them was from God. <i>Out of him</i> came all the combined
force of their enemies; every <i>oppressor together</i> (and the
oppressors of Israel were not a few) did but what his hand and his
counsel determined before to be done; nor could they have had such
power against them unless it had been given them from above. 2. All
the power likewise that was engaged for them was derived from him
and depended on him. Out of him came forth <i>the corner-stone</i>
of the building, the power of magistrates, which keeps the several
parts of the state together. Princes are often called the
<i>corners of the people,</i> as <scripRef id="Zech.xi-p7.2" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.14.38" parsed="|1Sam|14|38|0|0" passage="1Sa 14:38">1
Sam. xiv. 38</scripRef>, marg. Out of him came forth <i>the
nail</i> that fixed the state, the <i>nail in the sure place</i>
(<scripRef id="Zech.xi-p7.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.22.23" parsed="|Isa|22|23|0|0" passage="Isa 22:23">Isa. xxii. 23</scripRef>), the
<i>nail in his holy place,</i> <scripRef id="Zech.xi-p7.4" osisRef="Bible:Ezra.9.8" parsed="|Ezra|9|8|0|0" passage="Ezr 9:8">Ezra ix.
8</scripRef>. Out of him came forth <i>the battle-bow,</i> the
military power, and out of him <i>every oppressor,</i> or exactor,
that had the civil power in his hand; and therefore to God, the
fountain of power, we must always have an eye, and see every man's
judgment proceeding from him.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Zech.xi-p7.5" osisRef="Bible:Zech.10.5-Zech.10.12" parsed="|Zech|10|5|10|12" passage="Zec 10:5-12" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Zech.xi-p7.6">
<h4 id="Zech.xi-p7.7">Evangelical Promises; Encouraging
Prospects. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Zech.xi-p7.8">b. c.</span> 510.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Zech.xi-p8" shownumber="no">5 And they shall be as mighty <i>men,</i> which
tread down <i>their enemies</i> in the mire of the streets in the
battle: and they shall fight, because the <span class="smallcaps" id="Zech.xi-p8.1">Lord</span> <i>is</i> with them, and the riders on
horses shall be confounded.   6 And I will strengthen the
house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph, and I will
bring them again to place them; for I have mercy upon them: and
they shall be as though I had not cast them off: for I <i>am</i>
the <span class="smallcaps" id="Zech.xi-p8.2">Lord</span> their God, and will hear
them.   7 And <i>they of</i> Ephraim shall be like a mighty
<i>man,</i> and their heart shall rejoice as through wine: yea,
their children shall see <i>it,</i> and be glad; their heart shall
rejoice in the <span class="smallcaps" id="Zech.xi-p8.3">Lord</span>.   8 I will
hiss for them, and gather them; for I have redeemed them: and they
shall increase as they have increased.   9 And I will sow them
among the people: and they shall remember me in far countries; and
they shall live with their children, and turn again.   10 I
will bring them again also out of the land of Egypt, and gather
them out of Assyria; and I will bring them into the land of Gilead
and Lebanon; and <i>place</i> shall not be found for them.  
11 And he shall pass through the sea with affliction, and shall
smite the waves in the sea, and all the deeps of the river shall
dry up: and the pride of Assyria shall be brought down, and the
sceptre of Egypt shall depart away.   12 And I will strengthen
them in the <span class="smallcaps" id="Zech.xi-p8.4">Lord</span>; and they shall
walk up and down in his name, saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Zech.xi-p8.5">Lord</span>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Zech.xi-p9" shownumber="no">Here are divers precious promises made to
the people of God, which look further than to the state of the Jews
in the latter days of their church, and have certain reference to
the spiritual Israel of God, the gospel-church, and all true
believers.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Zech.xi-p10" shownumber="no">I. They shall have God's favour and
presence, and shall be owned and accepted of him. This is the
foundation of all the rest: <i>The Lord is with them,</i> <scripRef id="Zech.xi-p10.1" osisRef="Bible:Zech.10.5" parsed="|Zech|10|5|0|0" passage="Zec 10:5"><i>v.</i> 5</scripRef>. He espouses their cause,
takes their part, is on their side; and, if he be for them, who can
be against them? Again (<scripRef id="Zech.xi-p10.2" osisRef="Bible:Zech.10.6" parsed="|Zech|10|6|0|0" passage="Zec 10:6"><i>v.</i>
6</scripRef>), <i>I have mercy upon them.</i> All their dignity and
joy are owing purely to God's mercy; and mercy, as it supposes
misery, so it excludes merit. They had been cast off, the effect of
which could not but be misery; they had been justly cast off, and
therefore could pretend to merit nothing at God's hand but wrath
and the curse; yet it is promised, <i>They shall be as though I had
not cast them off.</i> The transgressions of their fathers, for
which they had been rejected, shall not only not be visited upon
them, but shall not be so much as remembered against them. God will
be as perfectly reconciled to them as if he had never contended
with them, and the falling out of these lovers shall rather be the
renewing than the weakening of love. They shall have such a full
assurance of God's being reconciled to them, and upon that shall be
so well reconciled to themselves, that they shall be as easy as if
they had never been cast off; and their condition, after their
restoration to the divine favour, shall be so very happy that there
shall not remain the least scar from the wounds which were given
them by their being cast off. Such favour does God show to
returning repenting sinners, who were by nature at a distance, and
children of wrath; such fellowship are they admitted into, and such
freedom does he use with them, that they are <i>as though they had
never been cast off.</i> 1. The covenant they are admitted into is
the same that ever it was: <i>I am the Lord their God,</i>
according to the original contract, the covenant made with their
fathers. 2. The communion they are admitted into is the same that
ever it was: <i>I will hear them.</i> They shall be as welcome as
ever to speak to him, and as sure as ever to receive from him an
answer of peace; for, as he never did, so he never will, say to
Jacob's seed, <i>Seek you me in vain.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Zech.xi-p11" shownumber="no">II. They shall be victorious over their
enemies, that would draw them from either their duty to God or
their comfort in God (<scripRef id="Zech.xi-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:Zech.10.5" parsed="|Zech|10|5|0|0" passage="Zec 10:5"><i>v.</i>
5</scripRef>): <i>They shall be as mighty men,</i> that are both
strong in body and bold in spirit, men of vigour, men of valour,
effective men. <i>Those of Ephraim,</i> as well as those of Judah,
shall be <i>like a mighty man</i> (<scripRef id="Zech.xi-p11.2" osisRef="Bible:Zech.10.7" parsed="|Zech|10|7|0|0" passage="Zec 10:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>), that dares to go about a
difficult enterprise and is able to go through with it. They shall,
as mighty men, <i>tread down their enemies in the battle,</i> as
the dirt that is thrown out of the houses is trodden with other
dirt <i>in the mire of the streets.</i> And <i>they shall</i>
therefore <i>fight, because the Lord is with them.</i> Some would
argue that they may <i>therefore</i> sit still, and do nothing,
because the Lord is with them, who can and will do all. No; God's
gracious presence with us to help us must not supersede, but
quicken and animate, our endeavours to help ourselves; and we must
therefore <i>work out our salvation with fear and trembling,</i>
because <i>it is God that works in us both to will and to do.</i>
They shall fight with readiness and resolution because, if God be
with them, they are sure to be conquerors, more than conquerors.
For then <i>the riders on horses shall be confounded.</i> The
cavalry of the enemies shall be routed, and put into disorder, by
the infantry of the Jews. The preachers of the gospel of Christ
went forth to war a good warfare; they charged bravely, because God
was with them; and the <i>riders on horses</i> that opposed them
<i>were confounded,</i> for God chose the <i>weak</i> and
<i>foolish things of the world to confound the wise and mighty.</i>
But whence have they all this might? How come they to be so able,
so active? It is in the Lord, and in the power of his might, that
they are so (<scripRef id="Zech.xi-p11.3" osisRef="Bible:Zech.10.6" parsed="|Zech|10|6|0|0" passage="Zec 10:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>):
<i>I will strengthen the house of Judah,</i> and <i>so I will save
the house of Joseph.</i> Note, God saves us by strengthening us,
and works out our happiness by working in us to do our duty. And
thus we are engaged to the utmost diligence in using the strength
God gives us; and yet, when all is done, God must have the glory of
all. God is our strength, and so becomes both our song and our
salvation.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Zech.xi-p12" shownumber="no">III. Those of them that are dispersed shall
be gathered together into one body (<scripRef id="Zech.xi-p12.1" osisRef="Bible:Zech.10.6" parsed="|Zech|10|6|0|0" passage="Zec 10:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>): <i>I will bring them again to
place them,</i> bring them from other lands to place them in their
own land. This was a token of their being perfectly restored to all
their other ancient privileges—they shall be restored to the
possession of their own land. This was fulfilled when the
<i>children of God that were scattered abroad</i> were by faith in
Christ incorporated in the gospel-church, and Jews and Gentiles
became <i>one fold,</i> <scripRef id="Zech.xi-p12.2" osisRef="Bible:John.10.16" parsed="|John|10|16|0|0" passage="Joh 10:16">John x.
16</scripRef>. In order to this (<scripRef id="Zech.xi-p12.3" osisRef="Bible:Zech.10.8" parsed="|Zech|10|8|0|0" passage="Zec 10:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>) <i>I will hiss for them,</i> or,
rather, <i>whistle</i> for them, as the shepherd with his pipe
calls his sheep together, that <i>know his voice;</i> and so <i>I
will gather them.</i> The preaching of the gospel was, as it were,
God's hissing for souls to come to Jesus Christ, his calling in his
scattered sheep to the green pastures. <i>I will gather them, for I
have redeemed them.</i> Note, Those whom Christ has redeemed by his
blood God will gather by his grace, as a <i>hen gathers her brood
under her wings.</i> This promise is enlarged upon <scripRef id="Zech.xi-p12.4" osisRef="Bible:Zech.10.10" parsed="|Zech|10|10|0|0" passage="Zec 10:10"><i>v.</i> 10</scripRef>, <i>I will bring them
again also out of the land of Egypt.</i> Some think this was
literally fulfilled when Ptolemæus Philadelphus king of Egypt sent
120,000 Jews out of his country into their own land, as was the
promise of gathering them out of Assyria by Alexander the son of
Antiochus Epiphanes. But it has its spiritual accomplishment in the
gathering in of precious souls out of a bondage worse than that in
Egypt or Assyria, and the bringing of them into the glorious
liberties of the children of God and their enjoyments, which are as
the beautiful fruitful pastures in <i>the land of Gilead and
Lebanon.</i> All the land of promise is theirs, even Gilead, the
utmost border of it eastward, and Lebanon, the utmost border
northward. But how shall this be? How shall a people so dispersed
be got together? How shall those that are set at such a distance
from their own country be brought to it again? It is true the
difficulties seem insuperable, but they shall be got over as
easily, as effectually as those that lay in the way of their
deliverance out of Egypt and their entrance into Canaan: <i>He
shall pass through the sea with affliction,</i> as of old through
the Red Sea, to the sore affliction of Pharaoh and his hosts, or to
the sore affliction of the sea, the waves whereof <i>he shall
smite,</i> so that it shall be <i>driven back,</i> as when <i>the
sea saw and fled,</i> <scripRef id="Zech.xi-p12.5" osisRef="Bible:Ps.114.3" parsed="|Ps|114|3|0|0" passage="Ps 114:3">Ps. cxiv.
3</scripRef>. And <i>all the deeps of the river</i> (all the
rivers, though ever so deep) <i>shall dry up,</i> as Jordan did, to
make way for Israel's passage into that good land which God had
given them. Does <i>the pride of Assyria</i> stand in the way of
their deliverance? He shall give check to it who sets bounds to the
<i>proud waves of the sea,</i> and it <i>shall be brought down.</i>
Does the sceptre of Egypt oppose it? That shall <i>depart away,</i>
so that it shall not be able to obstruct the gathering in of God's
Israel when his time shall come for the doing of it. When the
gospel-church was to be gathered out of all nations by the
preaching of the gospel great opposition was given to it by the
enraged combined powers of earth and hell. Insuperable difficulties
seemed to be in the way of it. But, by a divine power going along
with the doctrine of Christ, it became <i>mighty to the pulling
down of strong holds,</i> and the conversion and salvation of
thousands. Then the sea fled, and Jordan was <i>driven back at the
presence of the Lord.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Zech.xi-p13" shownumber="no">IV. They shall greatly multiply, and the
church, that new world, shall be replenished (<scripRef id="Zech.xi-p13.1" osisRef="Bible:Zech.10.8" parsed="|Zech|10|8|0|0" passage="Zec 10:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>): <i>They shall increase as they
have increased</i> formerly in Egypt, and great additions shall be
made to their numbers, as in the days of David and Solomon. When
God gathers his redeemed ones to himself they shall help to gather
in others with them, and their motion homeward shall be like that
of a snow-ball. <i>Crescit eundo—The further it goes the larger it
grows by accretion. I will gather them, and they shall
increase.</i> Note, The church of Christ is a growing body, as long
as it is in the present state of minority, till it comes <i>to the
measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.</i> There are
added to it <i>daily such as shall be saved.</i> 1. It shall spread
to distant places. It shall fill Canaan, even to the lands of
Gilead and Lebanon, so that no more place, no more room, shall be
found for it there, <scripRef id="Zech.xi-p13.2" osisRef="Bible:Zech.10.10" parsed="|Zech|10|10|0|0" passage="Zec 10:10"><i>v.</i>
10</scripRef>. <i>In Judah</i> only <i>God</i> had been
<i>known,</i> and his <i>name was great in Israel</i> only; here
only he revealed his <i>statutes</i> and <i>judgments.</i> But in
gospel-times that place shall be much too strait; the church's tent
must be enlarged, and its <i>cords lengthened:</i> Then <i>I will
sow them among the people,</i> <scripRef id="Zech.xi-p13.3" osisRef="Bible:Zech.10.9" parsed="|Zech|10|9|0|0" passage="Zec 10:9"><i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>. Their scattering shall be like
the scattering of seed in the ground, not to bury it, but to
increase it, that it may bring forth much fruit. The Jews are said
to be dispersed <i>into every nation under heaven</i> (<scripRef id="Zech.xi-p13.4" osisRef="Bible:Acts.2.5" parsed="|Acts|2|5|0|0" passage="Ac 2:5">Acts ii. 5</scripRef>); and, as it was their
troubles that dispersed some of them, so perhaps others
transplanted themselves into colonies because the land of Israel
was too strait for them; and many were natives of other nations,
but proselyted to the Jewish religion. Now these were <i>sown among
the people,</i> <scripRef id="Zech.xi-p13.5" osisRef="Bible:Hos.2.23" parsed="|Hos|2|23|0|0" passage="Ho 2:23">Hos. ii. 23</scripRef>.
And this contributed very much to the spreading of the gospel. The
Jews that came from all parts to worship at Jerusalem fetched
thence the gospel light and fire to their own countries, as those
<scripRef id="Zech.xi-p13.6" osisRef="Bible:Acts.2.1-Acts.2.47" parsed="|Acts|2|1|2|47" passage="Ac 2:1-47">Acts ii.</scripRef>, and the eunuch,
<scripRef id="Zech.xi-p13.7" osisRef="Bible:Acts.8.26-Acts.8.40" parsed="|Acts|8|26|8|40" passage="Ac 8:26-40">Acts viii.</scripRef> And their own
synagogues in the several cities of the Gentiles were the first
receptacles of the apostles and their preaching, wherever they
came. Thus when God <i>sowed them among the people,</i> that they
might not get hurt by the Gentiles, but do good to them, he took
care that they should <i>remember him,</i> and make mention of his
name <i>in far countries;</i> and, by keeping up the knowledge of
God among them as he had revealed himself in the Old Testament,
they would be the more ready to admit the knowledge of Christ as he
has revealed himself in the New Testament. 2. It shall last to
future <i>ages.</i> The church shall not be <i>res unius ætatis—a
temporary thing,</i> but a seed in it shall <i>serve the Lord,</i>
<scripRef id="Zech.xi-p13.8" osisRef="Bible:Zech.10.7" parsed="|Zech|10|7|0|0" passage="Zec 10:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>. <i>Yea, their
children shall see it and be glad;</i> and <i>they shall live with
their children, and turn again,</i> <scripRef id="Zech.xi-p13.9" osisRef="Bible:Zech.10.9" parsed="|Zech|10|9|0|0" passage="Zec 10:9"><i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>. Converts to Christ shall have
their children about them, whom they shall teach the knowledge of
the Lord, and bring with them when they turn again to the holy land
and the way of holiness. It was said to those to whom the gospel
was first preached, <i>The promise is to you and to your
children,</i> <scripRef id="Zech.xi-p13.10" osisRef="Bible:Acts.2.39" parsed="|Acts|2|39|0|0" passage="Ac 2:39">Acts ii. 39</scripRef>.
They shall be <i>so sown among the people</i> as never to be
extirpated. Christ's family upon earth shall never be extinct, nor
his purchased possession lost for want of heirs.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Zech.xi-p14" shownumber="no">V. God himself will be both their strength
and their song. 1. In him they shall be comforted, and shall have
abundant satisfaction (<scripRef id="Zech.xi-p14.1" osisRef="Bible:Zech.10.7" parsed="|Zech|10|7|0|0" passage="Zec 10:7"><i>v.</i>
7</scripRef>): <i>Their heart shall rejoice as through wine;</i>
for Christ's <i>love,</i> which is their joy, is <i>better than
wine.</i> They shall be <i>like a mighty man,</i> and <i>their
heart shall rejoice.</i> When we resolutely resist, and so
overcome, our spiritual enemies, then our hearts shall rejoice. But
we ruin our own joy if our resistance be feeble and we yield to the
temptations of Satan. Their <i>heart shall rejoice,</i> and then
they shall be as a <i>mighty man;</i> for the <i>joy of the
Lord</i> will be <i>our strength.</i> And with their graces their
joys shall be propagated: <i>Their children shall see it and be
glad, and their hearts</i> also <i>shall rejoice in the Lord.</i>
It is good to acquaint children betimes with the delights of
religion, and to make the services of it as pleasant as may be to
them, that, learning betimes to rejoice in the Lord, they may with
purpose of heart cleave to him. 2. By him they shall be carried on
with vigour, and enlargement of heart, in his service (<scripRef id="Zech.xi-p14.2" osisRef="Bible:Zech.10.12" parsed="|Zech|10|12|0|0" passage="Zec 10:12"><i>v.</i> 12</scripRef>): <i>I will strengthen
them in the Lord,</i> strengthen them for their walk and work, as
well as for their warfare. It is the God of Israel that <i>gives
strength and power unto his people,</i> that strengthens all their
powers and faculties for spiritual performances, above what they
are by nature and against what they are by the corruption of
nature. Now observe, (1.) How they are thus enabled and invigorated
for their duty: <i>I</i> the Lord <i>will strengthen them in the
Lord,</i> in the <i>Messiah,</i> who is <i>Jehovah our
strength,</i> as well as <i>Jehovah our righteousness.</i> Strength
is treasured up for us in Christ, and from him it is communicated
to us. It is <i>through Christ strengthening</i> us that we can
<i>do all things,</i> and <i>without him we can do nothing.</i> His
<i>strength is commanded</i> him <i>for this</i> purpose, <scripRef id="Zech.xi-p14.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.68.28" parsed="|Ps|68|28|0|0" passage="Ps 68:28">Ps. lxviii. 28</scripRef>. (2.) What good use
they shall make of this strength given unto them: <i>They shall
walk up and down in his name.</i> If God strengthen us, we must
bestir ourselves, must <i>walk up and down</i> in all the duties of
the Christian life, must be active and busy in the work of God,
must walk up and down as industrious men do, losing no time, and
letting slip no opportunity. But still we must <i>walk up and down
in the name of Christ,</i> must do all by warrant from him and in
dependence on him, with an eye to his word as our rule and his
glory as our end. To us to live must be Christ; and, <i>whatever we
do in word or deed,</i> we must <i>do all in the name of the Lord
Jesus,</i> that we receive not the strengthening grace of God in
vain. See <scripRef id="Zech.xi-p14.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.80.17-Ps.80.18" parsed="|Ps|80|17|80|18" passage="Ps 80:17,18">Ps. lxxx. 17,
18</scripRef>.</p>
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