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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</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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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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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. XIV.</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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Divers things were foretold, in the two foregoing chapters, which
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should come to pass "in that day;" this chapter speaks of a "day of the
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Lord that cometh," a day of his judgment, and ten times in the
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foregoing chapters, and seven times in this, it is repeated, "in that
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day;" but what that day is that is here meant is uncertain, and perhaps
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will be so (as the Jews speak) till Elias comes; whether it refer to
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the whole period of time from the prophet's days to the days of the
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Messiah, or to some particular events in that time, or to Christ's
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coming, and the setting up of his kingdom upon the ruins of the Jewish
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polity, we cannot determine, but divers passages here seem to look as
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far forward as gospel-times. Now the "day of the Lord" brings with it
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both judgment and mercy, mercy to his church, judgment to her enemies
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and persecutors.
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I. The gates of hell are here threatening the church
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+14:1,2">ver. 1, 2</A>)
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and yet not prevailing.
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II. The power of Heaven appears here for the church and against the
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enemies of it,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+14:3,5">ver. 3, 5</A>.
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III. The events concerning the church are here represented as mixed
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+14:6,7">ver. 6, 7</A>),
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but issuing well at last.
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IV. The spreading of the means of knowledge is here foretold, and the
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setting up of the gospel-kingdom in the world
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+14:8,9">ver. 8, 9</A>),
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which shall be the enlargement and establishment of another Jerusalem,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+14:10,11">ver. 10, 11</A>.
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V. Those shall be reckoned with that fought against Jerusalem
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+14:12-15">ver. 12-15</A>)
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and those that neglect his worship there,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+14:17-19">ver. 17-19</A>.
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VI. It is promised that there shall be great resort to the church, and
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great purity and piety in it,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+14:16,20,21">ver. 16, 20, 21</A>.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Zec14_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Zec14_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Zec14_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Zec14_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Zec14_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Zec14_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Zec14_7"> </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>Persecution of the Church; Judgments and Mercies; Encouraging Prospects.</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 Behold, the day of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> cometh, and thy spoil shall be
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divided in the midst of thee.
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2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle;
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and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women
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ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and
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the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
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3 Then shall the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> go forth, and fight against those
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nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
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4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of
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Olives, which <I>is</I> before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of
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Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and
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toward the west, <I>and there shall be</I> a very great valley; and
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half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of
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it toward the south.
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5 And ye shall flee <I>to</I> the valley of the mountains; for the
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valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall
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flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of
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Uzziah king of Judah: and the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> my God shall come, <I>and</I> all
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the saints with thee.
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6 And it shall come to pass in that day, <I>that</I> the light shall
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not be clear, <I>nor</I> dark:
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7 But it shall be one day which shall be known to the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, not
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day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, <I>that</I> at evening time
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it shall be light.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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God's providences concerning his church are here represented as
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strangely changing and strangely mixed.</P>
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<P>
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I. As strangely changing. Sometimes the tide runs high and strong
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against them, but presently it turns, and comes to be in favour of
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them; and God has, for wise and holy ends, set the one over against the
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other.</P>
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<P>
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1. God here appears against Jerusalem; judgment begins at the house of
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God. When the <I>day of the Lord comes</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+14:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>)
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Jerusalem must pass through the fire to be refined. God himself
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<I>gathers all nations against Jerusalem to battle</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+14:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>);
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he gives them a charge, as he did Sennacherib, to <I>take the spoil</I>
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and to <I>take the prey</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+10:6">Isa. x. 6</A>),
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for the people of Jerusalem have now become the <I>people of his
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wrath.</I> And who can stand before him or before nations gathered by
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him? Where he gives commission he will give success. The <I>city shall
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be taken by the</I> Romans, who have <I>nations</I> at command; the
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houses shall be rifled, and all the riches of them taken away, by the
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enemy; and, to gratify an insatiable lust of uncleanness as well as
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avarice, <I>the women</I> shall <I>be ravished,</I> as if victory were
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a license to the worst of villanies, <I>jusque datum sceleri--and
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crimes were sanctioned by law. One-half of the city</I> shall then be
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carried <I>into captivity,</I> to be sold or enslaved, and shall not be
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able to help itself, such is the destruction that shall be made in the
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great and terrible <I>day of the Lord.</I></P>
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<P>
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2. He presently changes his way, and appears for Jerusalem; for, though
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judgment begin at the house of God, yet, as it shall not end there, so
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it shall not make a full end there,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+4:27,30:11">Jer. iv. 27; xxx. 11</A>.</P>
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<P>
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(1.) A remnant shall be spared, the same with that <I>third part</I>
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spoken of,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+13:8"><I>ch.</I> xiii. 8</A>.
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<I>One-half shall go into captivity,</I> whence they may hereafter be
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fetched back, <I>and the residue of the people shall not</I> be cut
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off, as one would have feared, <I>from the city.</I> Many of the Jews
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shall receive the gospel, and so shall prevent their being cut off from
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the city of God, his church upon earth. <I>In it shall be a tenth,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+6:13">Isa. vi. 13</A>;
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See
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+5:3">Ezek. v. 3</A>.</P>
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<P>
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(2.) Their cause shall be pleaded against their enemies
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+14:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>):
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<I>Then,</I> when God has made use of these nations as a scourge to his
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people, he shall <I>go forth</I> and <I>fight against them</I> by his
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judgments, <I>as when he fought</I> against the enemies of his church
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formerly <I>in the day of battle,</I> with the Egyptians, Canaanites,
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and others. Note, The instruments of God's wrath will themselves be
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made the objects of it; for it will come to their turn to drink of the
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cup of trembling; and whom God fights against he will be sure to
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overcome and be too hard for. And every former <I>day of battle,</I>
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which God has made to his people a <I>day of triumph,</I> as it is an
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engagement to God to appear for his people, because he is the same, so
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it is an encouragement to them to trust in him. It is observable that
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the Roman empire never flourished, after the destruction of Jerusalem
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as it had done before, but in many instances God fought against it.</P>
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<P>
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(3.) Though Jerusalem and the temple be destroyed, yet God will have a
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church in the world, into which Gentiles shall be admitted, and with
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whom the believing Jews shall be incorporated,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+14:4,5"><I>v.</I> 4, 5</A>.
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These verses are dark and hard to be understood; but divers good
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expositors take this to be the meaning of them.
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[1.] God will carefully inspect Jerusalem, even then when the enemies
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of it are laying it waste: <I>His feet shall stand in that day upon the
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mount of Olives,</I> whence he may take a full view of the city and
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temple,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mk+13:3">Mark xiii. 3</A>.
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When the refiner puts his gold into the furnace he stands by it, and
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has his eye upon it, to see that it receive no damage; so when
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Jerusalem, God's gold, is to be refined, he will have the oversight of
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it. He will stand by <I>upon the mount of Olives;</I> this was
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literally fulfilled when our Lord Jesus was often upon this mountain,
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especially when thence he <I>ascended up into heaven,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+1:12">Acts i. 12</A>.
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It was the last place on which his feet stood on this earth, the place
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from which he took rise.
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[2.] The partition-wall between Jews and Gentiles shall be taken away.
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The <I>mountains about Jerusalem,</I> and particularly this, signified
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it to be an enclosure, and that it stood in the way of those who would
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approach to it. Between the Gentiles and Jerusalem this <I>mountain of
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Bether,</I> of <I>division,</I> stood,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=So+2:17">Cant. ii. 17</A>.
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But by the destruction of Jerusalem this mountain shall be made to
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<I>cleave in the midst,</I> and so the Jewish pale shall be taken down,
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and the church laid in common with the Gentiles, who were made one with
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the Jews by the breaking down of this <I>middle wall of partition,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+2:14">Eph. ii. 14</A>.
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<I>Who art thou, O great mountain?</I> And a great mountain the
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ceremonial law was in the way of the Jews' conversion, which, one would
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think, could never have been got over; yet before Christ and his gospel
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it was made plain. This <I>mountain departs,</I> this <I>hill
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removes,</I> but the <I>covenant of peace</I> cannot be <I>broken;</I>
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for peace is still <I>preached to him that is afar off and to those
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that are nigh.</I>
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[3.] A new and living way shall be opened to the new Jerusalem, both to
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see it and to come into it. The mountain being divided, one-half
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<I>towards the north</I> and the other half <I>towards the south,</I>
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there shall be <I>a very great valley,</I> that is, a broad way of
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communication opened between Jerusalem and the Gentile world, by which
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the Gentiles shall have free admission into the gospel-Jerusalem, and
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the word of the Lord, that <I>goes forth from Jerusalem,</I> shall have
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a <I>free course</I> into the Gentile world. Thus the <I>way of the
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Lord</I> is prepared, for <I>every mountain and hill shall be brought
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low,</I> and plain and pleasant valleys shall come in the room of them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+40:4">Isa. xl. 4</A>.
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[4.] Those of the Jews that believe shall come in, and join themselves
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to the Gentiles, and incorporate with them in the gospel-church: <I>You
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shall flee to the valley of the mountains,</I> that valley that is
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opened between the divided halves of the mount of Olives; they shall
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hasten into the church with the Gentiles, as formerly the Gentiles with
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them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+8:23"><I>ch.</I> viii. 23</A>.
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The <I>valley of the mountains</I> is the gospel-church, to which there
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were added of the Jews daily <I>such as should be saved,</I> who fled
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to that valley as to their refuge. This <I>valley of the mountains</I>
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is said to <I>reach unto Azal,</I> or <I>to the separate place,</I>
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that is, to all those whom God has <I>set apart for himself.</I> When
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God <I>makes his mountains a way</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+49:11">Isa. xlix. 11</A>),
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by making them a valley, the way shall be opened to all the
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<I>way-faring men</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+35:8">Isa. xxxv. 8</A>),
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and, <I>though fools,</I> they <I>shall not err therein.</I> Or, to
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those that are now separated from God this valley shall reach; for the
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Gentiles, who are afar off, shall be made nigh, with the Jews, who are
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a <I>people near unto him,</I> and both have <I>an access,</I> a mutual
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access to each other and a joint access to God as a Father by one
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Spirit,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+2:18">Eph. ii. 18</A>.
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[5.] They shall flee to <I>the valley of the mountains,</I> to the
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gospel-church, under dreadful apprehensions of their danger from the
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curse of the law. They shall <I>flee from the wrath to come,</I> from
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the avenger of blood, who is in pursuit of them, to the church as to a
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<I>city of refuge,</I> or <I>as doves to their windows,</I> as they
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<I>fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Am+1:1">Amos i. 1</A>.
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<I>Therefore</I> the gospel reveals the wrath of God from heaven
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+1:18">Rom. i. 18</A>)
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that we might be awakened to <I>escape for our lives,</I> to flee as
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from an earthquake, for we feel the earth ready to sink under us, and
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we can find no firm footing in it, and therefore must flee to Christ,
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in whom alone we can stand fast and be easy.</P>
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<P>
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(4.) God shall appear in his glory for the accomplishing of all this:
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<I>The Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee,</I> which
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may refer to his coming to destroy Jerusalem, or to destroy the enemies
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of Jerusalem, or his coming to set up his kingdom in the world, which
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is called the <I>coming of the Son of man</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+24:37">Matt. xxiv. 37</A>),
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or to his last coming, at the end of time; however, it teaches us,
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[1.] That the Lord will come; it has been the faith of all the saints,
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<I>Behold, the Lord comes</I> to fulfil every word that he has spoken
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in its season.
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[2.] When he comes all his saints come with him; they attend his
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motions and are ready to serve his interests. Christ will come at the
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end of time with <I>ten thousands of his saints,</I> as when he came to
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give the law upon Mount Sinai.
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[3.] Every particular believer, being related to God as his God, may
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triumph in the expectation of his coming and speak of it with pleasure,
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<I>The Lord my God shall come,</I> shall come to the comfort of all
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that are his; for, "Blessed Lord, <I>all the saints shall be with
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thee,</I> and it shall be their everlasting happiness to dwell in thy
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presence; and therefore <I>come, Lord Jesus.</I>" And some think that
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this may be read as a prayer, <I>Yet, O Lord my God! come, and bring
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all the saints with thee.</I></P>
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<P>
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II. God's providences appear here strangely mixed
|
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+14:6,7"><I>v.</I> 6, 7</A>):
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<I>In that day</I> of the Lord the <I>light shall not be clear nor
|
|
dark, not day</I> nor <I>night;</I> but <I>at evening time it shall be
|
|
light.</I> Some refer this to all the time from hence to the coming of
|
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the Messiah; the Jewish church had neither perfect peace nor constant
|
|
trouble, but a cloudy day, neither rain nor sunshine. But it may be
|
|
taken more generally, as designed to represent the method God usually
|
|
takes in the administration of the kingdom both of providence and
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|
grace. Here is,
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1. An idea of the usual course and tenour of God's dispensations; the
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day of his grace and the day of his providence are <I>neither clear nor
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dark, not day nor night.</I> It is so with the church of God in this
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world; where the Sun of righteousness has risen it cannot be dark
|
|
night, and yet short of heaven it will not be clear day. It is so with
|
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particular saints; they are not darkness, but <I>light in the Lord,</I>
|
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and yet, while there is so much error and corruption remaining in them,
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it is not perfect day. So it is as to the providences of God that
|
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relate to his church; in general the affairs of the church are neither
|
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good nor bad in any extremity, but there is a mixture of both; we are
|
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singing both of mercy and judgment, and are uncertain which will
|
|
prevail, whether it be an evening or a morning twilight. We are between
|
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hope and fear, not knowing what to make of things.
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2. An intimation of comfort with reference hereunto: <I>It shall be one
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|
day which shall be known to the Lord.</I> This intimates,
|
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(1.) The beauty and harmony of such mixed events; there is one and the
|
|
same design and tendency in all; all the wheels make but one wheel, all
|
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the revolutions but one day.
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(2.) The brevity of them; it is, as it were, but for one day, for a
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little moment; the cloud that darkens the light will soon blow over.
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(3.) The eye God has upon all these events, and the hand he has in them
|
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all; they are <I>known to the Lord;</I> he takes notice of them, and
|
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orders and disposes of all for the best, according to the counsel of
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his will.
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3. An issue very joyful secured at last: <I>At evening-time it shall be
|
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light:</I> it shall be clear light, and no longer dark; we are sure of
|
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it in the other world, and we hope for it in this world--at
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<I>evening-time,</I> when our hopes are quite spent with waiting all
|
|
day to no purpose, nay, when we fear it will be quite dark, when things
|
|
are at the worst and the case of the church is most deplorable. As to
|
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the church's enemies <I>the sun goes down at noon,</I> so to the church
|
|
it rises at night; unto the upright springs <I>light out of
|
|
darkness</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+112:4">Ps. cxii. 4</A>);
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deliverance comes when the tale of bricks is doubled, and when God's
|
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people have done looking for it, and so it comes with a pleasing
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surprise.</P>
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<A NAME="Zec14_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Zec14_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Zec14_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Zec14_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Zec14_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Zec14_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Zec14_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="Zec14_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Blessings Promised to the Church; Judgments Threatened.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD 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>8 And it shall be in that day, <I>that</I> living waters shall go
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out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half
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of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it
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be.
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9 And the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> shall be king over all the earth: in that day
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shall there be one L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, and his name one.
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10 All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon
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south of Jerusalem: and it shall be lifted up, and inhabited in
|
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her place, from Benjamin's gate unto the place of the first gate,
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|
unto the corner gate, and <I>from</I> the tower of Hananeel unto the
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king's wine-presses.
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11 And <I>men</I> shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more
|
|
utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.
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12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> will smite
|
|
all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh
|
|
shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their
|
|
eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall
|
|
consume away in their mouth.
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13 And it shall come to pass in that day, <I>that</I> a great tumult
|
|
from the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every
|
|
one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up
|
|
against the hand of his neighbour.
|
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14 And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of
|
|
all the heathen round about shall be gathered together, gold, and
|
|
silver, and apparel, in great abundance.
|
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15 And so shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the
|
|
camel, and of the ass, and of all the beasts that shall be in
|
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these tents, as this plague.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here are,
|
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I. Blessings promised to Jerusalem, the gospel-Jerusalem, in the day of
|
|
the Messiah, and to all the earth, by virtue of the blessings poured
|
|
out on Jerusalem, especially to the land of Israel.</P>
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<P>
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|
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|
1. Jerusalem shall be a spring of living waters to the world; it was
|
|
made so when there the Spirit was poured out upon the apostles, and
|
|
thence the word of the Lord diffused itself to the nations about
|
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+14:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>):
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<I>Living waters shall go out from Jerusalem;</I> for there they began,
|
|
and thence those set out who were to preach <I>repentance</I> and
|
|
<I>remission</I> of sins <I>unto all nations,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+24:47">Luke xxiv. 47</A>.
|
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|
|
Note, Where the gospel goes, and the graces of God's Spirit go along
|
|
with it, there living waters go; those streams that <I>make glad the
|
|
city of our God</I> make glad the country also, and make it like
|
|
paradise, like the <I>garden of the Lord,</I> which was <I>well
|
|
watered.</I> It was the honour of Jerusalem that <I>thence the word of
|
|
the Lord went forth</I>
|
|
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+2:3">Isa. ii. 3</A>);
|
|
|
|
and thus far, even in its worst and most degenerate age, for old
|
|
acquaintance-sake, it was made a blessing, and to be so is to be
|
|
blessed. Half of these waters shall go <I>towards the former sea</I>
|
|
and <I>half towards the hinder sea,</I> as all rivers bend their course
|
|
towards some sea or other, some eastward, others westward. The gospel
|
|
shall spread into all parts of the world, into some that lie remote
|
|
from Jerusalem one way and others that lie as far off another way; for
|
|
the dominion of the Redeemer, which was thereby to be set up, must be
|
|
<I>from sea to sea</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+72:8">Ps. lxxii. 8</A>),
|
|
|
|
and the earth must be <I>full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the
|
|
waters cover the sea,</I> and as the waters that in various channels
|
|
run to the sea. The knowledge of God shall diffuse itself,
|
|
|
|
(1.) Every way. These living waters shall produce both eastern
|
|
churches and western churches, that shall each of them in its turn be
|
|
illustrious.
|
|
|
|
(2.) Every day: In <I>summer and in winter it shall be.</I> Note, Those
|
|
who are employed in spreading the gospel may find themselves work both
|
|
<I>winter</I> and <I>summer,</I> and are to serve the Lord therein at
|
|
all seasons,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+20:18">Acts xx. 18</A>.
|
|
|
|
And such a divine power goes along with these living waters that they
|
|
shall not be dried up, nor the course of them be obstructed, either by
|
|
the droughts in summer or by the frosts in winter.</P>
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|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. The kingdom of God among men shall be a universal and united
|
|
kingdom,
|
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|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+14:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>.
|
|
|
|
(1.) It shall be a universal kingdom: <I>The Lord shall be King over
|
|
all the earth.</I> He is, and ever was, so of right, and in the
|
|
sovereign disposals of his providence his kingdom does <I>rule over
|
|
all</I> and none are exempt from his jurisdiction; but it is here
|
|
promised that he shall be so by actual possession of the hearts of his
|
|
subjects; he shall be acknowledged King by all in all places; his
|
|
authority shall be owned and submitted to, and allegiance sworn to him.
|
|
This will have its accomplishment with that word
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+11:15">Rev. xi. 15</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and
|
|
of his Christ.</I>
|
|
|
|
(2.) It shall be a united kingdom: <I>There shall be one Lord, and his
|
|
name one.</I> All shall worship one God only, and not idols, and shall
|
|
be unanimous in the worship of him. All false gods shall be abandoned,
|
|
and all false ways of worship abolished; and as God shall be the centre
|
|
of their unity, in whom they shall all meet, so the scripture shall be
|
|
the rule of their unity, by which they shall all walk.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
3. The land of Judea, and Jerusalem, its mother-city, shall be repaired
|
|
and replenished, and taken under the special protection of Heaven,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+14:10,11"><I>v.</I> 10, 11</A>.
|
|
|
|
Some think this denotes particular favour to the people of the Jews,
|
|
and points at their conversion and restoration in the latter days; but
|
|
it is rather to be understood figuratively of the gospel-church,
|
|
typified by Judah and Jerusalem, and it signifies the abundant graces
|
|
with which the church shall be crowned, and the fruitfulness of its
|
|
members, and the vast numbers of them.
|
|
|
|
(1.) The church shall be like a fruitful country, abounding in all the
|
|
rich products of the soil. The whole land of Judea, which is naturally
|
|
uneven and hilly, shall be <I>turned as a plain;</I> it shall become a
|
|
smooth level valley, from Geba, or Gibeah, its utmost border north, to
|
|
Rimmon, which lay <I>south of Jerusalem</I> and was the utmost southern
|
|
limit of Judea. The gospel of Christ, where it comes in its power,
|
|
levels the ground; mountains and hills are brought low by it, that the
|
|
Lord alone may be exalted.
|
|
|
|
(2.) It shall be like a populous city. As the holy land shall be
|
|
levelled, so the holy city shall be peopled, shall be rebuilt and
|
|
replenished. <I>Jerusalem shall be lifted</I> up out of its low estate,
|
|
shall be raised out of its ruins; when <I>the land is turned as a
|
|
plain,</I> and not only the <I>mount of Olives</I> removed
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+14:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>),
|
|
|
|
but other mountains too, then Jerusalem shall be <I>lifted up,</I> that
|
|
is, shall appear the more conspicuous; she <I>shall be inhabited in her
|
|
place,</I> even <I>in Jerusalem,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+12:6"><I>ch.</I> xii. 6</A>.
|
|
|
|
The whole city shall be inhabited in the utmost extent of it, and no
|
|
part of it left to lie waste. The utmost limits of it are here
|
|
mentioned, between which there shall be no ground lost, but all built
|
|
upon, from <I>Benjamin's-gate</I> north-east to the <I>corner-gate</I>
|
|
north-west, and <I>from the tower of Hananeel</I> in the south to the
|
|
<I>king's wine-presses</I> in the north; when the churches of Christ in
|
|
all places are replenished with great numbers of holy, humble, serious
|
|
Christians, and many such are daily added to it, then this promise is
|
|
fulfilled.
|
|
|
|
(3.) This country and this city shall both be safe, both the meat in
|
|
the country and the mouths in the city: <I>Those that dwell in it</I>
|
|
shall dwell securely, and there shall be none to make them afraid;
|
|
there shall be no more of that utter destruction that has laid both
|
|
town and country waste, no more anathema (as some read it), no more
|
|
cutting off, no more curse, or separation from God to evil, no more
|
|
such desolating judgments as you have been groaning under, but
|
|
Jerusalem <I>shall be safely inhabited;</I> there shall be no danger,
|
|
nor any apprehension of it; neither shall its friends be fearful to
|
|
disquiet themselves nor its enemies formidable to disquiet them. That
|
|
promise of Christ explains this--that <I>the gates of hell shall not
|
|
prevail against the church;</I> and so do the holy security and
|
|
serenity of mind which believers enjoy in relying on the divine
|
|
protection.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. Here are judgments threatened against the enemies of the church,
|
|
that <I>have fought,</I> or do fight, against Jerusalem; and the
|
|
<I>threatening of these</I> judgments is in order to the preservation
|
|
of the church in safety. Men that read and hear of these plagues will
|
|
be afraid of fighting against Jerusalem, much more when these
|
|
threatenings are fulfilled in some will others hear and fear. Those
|
|
that fight against the city of God, and his people, will be found
|
|
fighting against God, against whom none ever hardened his heart and
|
|
prospered
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+14:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>This shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all the
|
|
people that have fought against Jerusalem;</I> whoever they are, God
|
|
will punish them for the affront done to him, and avenge Jerusalem upon
|
|
them.
|
|
|
|
1. They shall waste away under grievous and languishing diseases:
|
|
<I>Their flesh shall consume away,</I> and they shall be miserably
|
|
emaciated, even <I>while they stand on their feet,</I> so that they
|
|
shall be walking skeletons; nothing shall remain but skin and bones.
|
|
The flesh which they pampered and indulged, and made provision for,
|
|
when they were fed to the full with the spoils of God's people, shall
|
|
now <I>consume away, that it cannot be seen, and the bones that were
|
|
not seen shall stick out,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+33:21">Job xxxiii. 21</A>.
|
|
|
|
They <I>keep their feet,</I> and hope to <I>keep their ground,</I>
|
|
crawling about as long as they can; but they must yield at last. The
|
|
organs of sight, the outlets of sin, <I>their eyes, shall consume away
|
|
in their holes,</I> shall sink into their heads or perhaps start out of
|
|
them; their envious malicious, adulterous eyes, the eyes they had so
|
|
often fed with spectacles of misery, these shall consume, which shall
|
|
make not only their countenances ghastly, but their lives wretched. The
|
|
organs of speech, the outlets of sin, <I>their tongue, shall consume
|
|
away in their mouth,</I> whereby God will reckon with them for all
|
|
their blasphemies against himself and invectives against his people.
|
|
Thus <I>their own tongues shall fall upon them,</I> and their
|
|
punishment shall be legible in their sin, as his was whose tongue was
|
|
tormented in hell-flames. Thus Antiochus and Herod consumed away.
|
|
|
|
2. They shall be dashed in pieces one against another
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+14:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>A great tumult from the Lord shall be among them.</I> But are
|
|
tumults from the Lord, who is the <I>God of order, and not of
|
|
confusion?</I> As they are the sin of those that raise them they are
|
|
not from the Lord, but from the wicked one, and from men's own lusts;
|
|
but, as they are the punishment of those that suffer by them, they are
|
|
from the Lord, who serves his own purposes, and carries on his
|
|
intentions, by the sins, and follies, and restless spirits, of men. It
|
|
is of themselves that they <I>bite and devour one another,</I> but it
|
|
is of the Lord, the righteous Judge, that thus they are <I>consumed one
|
|
of another</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+5:15">Gal. v. 15</A>);
|
|
|
|
as Ahab was deceived by a lying spirit from the Lord, so Abimelech and
|
|
the men of Shechem were <I>divided,</I> and so <I>destroyed,</I> by an
|
|
<I>evil spirit from the Lord,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jdg+9:23">Judg. ix. 23</A>.
|
|
|
|
Note, Those that are confederate and combined against the church will
|
|
justly be separated, and set against one another; and their tumults
|
|
raised against God will be avenged in tumults among themselves. And
|
|
they shall <I>lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour,</I> to
|
|
hold him from striking, or to bind him as his prisoner; nay, <I>his
|
|
hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour,</I> to strike and
|
|
wound him. Note, Those that aim to destroy the church are often made to
|
|
destroy one another; and every man's sword is sometimes set against his
|
|
fellow, by him whose sword they all are. Some think this was fulfilled
|
|
in the factions and dissensions that were among the Jews, when the
|
|
Romans were destroying them all; for they had fought against the
|
|
spiritual Jerusalem, the gospel-church; and to that well enough agrees
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+14:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>,
|
|
|
|
<I>Thou also, O Judah! shalt fight against Jerusalem;</I> the Jewish
|
|
nation shall be ruined by itself, shall die by its own hands; the city
|
|
and country shall be at war with each other, and so both shall be
|
|
destroyed. <I>Suis et ipsa Roma viribus ruit--Rome was urged into ruin
|
|
by its very strength.</I>
|
|
|
|
3. The plunder of their camp shall greatly enrich the people of God, or
|
|
the spoils of their country
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+14:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>Judah also shall eat at Jerusalem</I> (so one learned interpreter
|
|
reads it); people shall come from all parts to share in the prey; as
|
|
when Sennacherib's army was routed before Jerusalem there was <I>the
|
|
prey of a great spoil divided</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+33:23">Isa. xxxiii. 23</A>),
|
|
|
|
so it shall be now; the <I>wealth of all the heathen round about,</I>
|
|
that had spoiled <I>Jerusalem, shall be gathered together, gold, and
|
|
silver, and apparel, in great abundance,</I> that an equal dividend may
|
|
be made among all the parties entitled to a share of the prize. Note,
|
|
The <I>wealth of the sinner is</I> often <I>laid up for the just,</I>
|
|
and the Israel of God enriched with the spoil of the Egyptians.
|
|
|
|
4. The very cattle shall share in the plague with which the enemies of
|
|
God's church shall be cut off, as they did in divers of the plagues of
|
|
Egypt
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+14:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>):
|
|
|
|
All <I>the beasts</I> that <I>shall be in the tents</I> of these wicked
|
|
men, when God comes to contend with them, shall perish with them, not
|
|
only beasts used in war, as the horse, but those used for travel, or in
|
|
the plough, as the <I>mule,</I> the <I>camel,</I> and the <I>ass.</I>
|
|
Note, The inferior creatures often suffer for the sin of man and in his
|
|
plagues. Thus God will show his indignation against sin, and will make
|
|
the creature that is thus <I>subject to vanity</I> groan to be
|
|
<I>delivered</I> into the glorious liberty of the children of God,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+8:21,22">Rom. viii. 21, 22</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Zec14_16"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Zec14_17"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Zec14_18"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Zec14_19"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Zec14_20"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Zec14_21"> </A>
|
|
|
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<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
|
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Evangelical Predictions; Threatenings and Promises; Encouraging Prospects.</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>16 And it shall come to pass, <I>that</I> every one that is left of
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all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up
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from year to year to worship the King, the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> of hosts, and to
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keep the feast of tabernacles.
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17 And it shall be, <I>that</I> whoso will not come up of <I>all</I> the
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families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the
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L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain.
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18 And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that
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<I>have</I> no <I>rain;</I> there shall be the plague, wherewith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>
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will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of
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tabernacles.
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19 This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of
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all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.
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20 In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses,
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HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD; and the pots in the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>'s house shall be
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like the bowls before the altar.
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21 Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness
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unto the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> of hosts: and all they that sacrifice shall come
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and take of them, and seethe therein: and in that day there shall
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be no more the Canaanite in the house of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> of hosts.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Three things are here foretold:--</P>
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<P>
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I. That a gospel-way of worship being set up in the church there shall
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be a great resort to it and a general attendance upon it. Those that
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were left of the enemies of religion shall be so sensible of the mercy
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of God to them in their narrow escape that they shall apply themselves
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to the worship of the God of Israel, and pay their homage to him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+14:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>.
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Those that were not consumed shall be converted, and this makes their
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deliverance a mercy indeed, a double mercy. It is a great change that
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the grace of God makes upon them; those that had <I>come against
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Jerusalem,</I> finding their attempts vain and fruitless, shall become
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as much her admirers as ever they had been her adversaries, and shall
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<I>come to Jerusalem</I> to worship there, and go in concurrence with
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those whom they had gone contrary to. Note, As some of Christ's foes
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shall be made his footstool, so others of them shall be made his
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friends; and, when the principle of enmity is slain in them, their
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former acts of hostility are pardoned to them, and their services are
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admitted and accepted, as though they had never <I>fought against
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Jerusalem.</I> They shall <I>go up to worship</I> at Jerusalem, because
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that was the place which God had chosen, and there the temple was,
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which was a type of Christ and his mediation. Converting grace sets us
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right,
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1. In the object of our worship. <I>They shall</I> no longer
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<I>worship</I> the Molochs and Baals, the <I>kings</I> and
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<I>lords,</I> that the Gentiles worship, the creatures of their own
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imagination, but <I>the King,</I> the <I>Lord of hosts,</I> the
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everlasting King, the King of kings, the sovereign Lord of all.
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2. In the ordinances of worship, those which God himself has appointed.
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Gospel-worship is here represented by the <I>keeping of the feast of
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tabernacles,</I> for the sake of those two great graces which were in a
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special manner <I>acted</I> and <I>signified</I> in that feast-contempt
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of the world, and joy in God,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ne+8:17">Neh. viii. 17</A>.
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The life of a good Christian is a constant <I>feast of tabernacles,</I>
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and, in all acts of devotion, we must retire from the world and rejoice
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in the Lord, must worship as in that feast.
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3. In the <I>Mediator</I> of our worship; we must go to Christ our
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temple with all our offerings, for in him only our <I>spiritual
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sacrifices</I> are acceptable to God,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Pe+2:5">1 Pet. ii. 5</A>.
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If we rest in ourselves, we come short of pleasing God; we must go up
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to him, and mention his righteousness only.
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4. In the time of it; we must be constant. They shall go up <I>from
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year to year,</I> at the times appointed for this solemn feast. Every
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day of a Christian's life is a day of the <I>feast of tabernacles,</I>
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and every Lord's day especially (that is the <I>great day of the
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feast</I>); and therefore every day we must worship the Lord of hosts
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and every Lord's day with a peculiar solemnity.</P>
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<P>
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II. That those who neglect the duties of gospel-worship shall be
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reckoned with for their neglect. God will compel them to come and
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worship before him, by suspending his favours from those that keep not
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his ordinances: <I>Upon them there shall be no rain,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+14:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>.
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Some understand it figuratively; the rain of heavenly doctrine shall be
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withheld, and of the heavenly grace, which should accompany that
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doctrine. God will <I>command the clouds that they rain no rain upon
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them.</I> Note, It is a righteous thing with God to withhold the
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blessings of grace from those that do not attend the means of grace, to
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deny the <I>green pastures</I> to those that attend not the
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<I>shepherd's tents.</I> Or we may take it literally: <I>On them there
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shall be no rain,</I> to make their ground fruitful. Note, The gifts of
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common providence are justly denied to those that neglect and despise
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instituted ordinances. Those that neglected to build the temple were
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punished with the want of rain
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Hag+2:17">Hag. ii. 17</A>),
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and so were those that neglected to attend there when it was built. If
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we be barren and unfruitful towards God, justly is the earth made so to
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us. Many are crossed, and go backward, in their affairs, and this is at
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the bottom of it--they do not keep close to the worship of God as they
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should; they go off from God, and then he walks contrary to them. If we
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omit or postpone the duties he expects from us, it is just with him to
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deny the favours we expect from him. But what shall be done to the
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defaulters of the land of Egypt, to whom the threatening of the want of
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rain is no threatening, for they have no rain at any time; they need
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none; they desire none; the river Nilus is to them instead of the
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clouds of heaven, waters their land, and makes it fruitful, so that
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what is a punishment to others is none to them?
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+14:18,19"><I>v.</I> 18, 19</A>.
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It is threatened that <I>if the family of Egypt go not up, that have no
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rain,</I> yet God will find out a way to meet with them, for there
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shall be, in effect, the same plague wherewith other nations are
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smitten for their neglect. God can, and often did, restrain the
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overflowing of the river, which was equivalent to the shutting up of
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the clouds; or if the river did its part, and rose as high as it used
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to do, God had other ways of bringing famine upon them, and destroying
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the fruits of their ground, as he did by several of the ten plagues of
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Egypt, so that <I>this</I> (that is, the same) shall be <I>the
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punishment of Egypt</I> that is the punishment of other <I>nations</I>
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who come not up to <I>keep the feast of tabernacles.</I> Note, Those
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who think themselves least indebted to, and depending on, the mercy of
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heaven, cannot <I>therefore</I> think themselves guarded against the
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justice of Heaven. It does not follow that those who can live without
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rain can therefore live without God; for not the heavens only, but all
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other creatures, are that to us that God makes them to be, and no more;
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nor can any man's way of living enable him to set light by the
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judgments of God. This shall be the <I>punishment</I>--margin, <I>This
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shall be the sin of Egypt, and the sin of all nations, that come not up
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to keep the feast of tabernacles.</I> The same word signifies both
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<I>sin</I> and the <I>punishment</I> of sin, so close and inseparable
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is the connexion between them (as
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+4:7">Gen. iv. 7</A>),
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and sin is often its own punishment. Note, Omissions are sins, and we
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must come into judgment for them; those contract guilt that <I>go not
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up to worship</I> at the times appointed, as they have opportunity; and
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it is a sin that is its own <I>punishment,</I> for those who forsake
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the duty forfeit the privilege of communion with God.</P>
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<P>
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III. That those who perform the duties of gospel-worship shall have
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|
grace to adorn their profession by the duties of a gospel-conversation
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too. This is promised
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+14:20,21"><I>v.</I> 20, 21</A>),
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and it is necessary to the completing of the beauty and happiness of
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the church. In general, all shall be <I>holiness to the Lord.</I></P>
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<P>
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1. The name and character of holiness shall not be so confined as
|
|
formerly. <I>Holiness to the Lord</I> had been written only upon the
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|
high priest's forehead, but now it shall not be so appropriated. All
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|
Christians shall be <I>living temples,</I> and <I>spiritual
|
|
priests,</I> dedicated to the honour of God and employed in his
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|
service.</P>
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<P>
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2. Real holiness shall be more diffused than it had been, because there
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|
shall be more powerful means of sanctification, more excellent rules,
|
|
more cogent arguments, and brighter patterns of holiness, and because
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|
there shall be a more plentiful effusion of the Spirit of holiness and
|
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sanctification, after Christ's ascension than ever before.</P>
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<P>
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(1.) There shall be holiness introduced into common things; and those
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things shall be devoted to God that seemed very foreign.
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[1.] The furniture of their horses shall be consecrated to God.
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"<I>Upon the bells of the horses</I> shall be engraven <I>Holiness to
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the Lord,</I> or upon the <I>bridles</I> of the horses (so the margin)
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|
or the <I>trappings.</I> The horses used in war shall no longer be used
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against God and his people, as they have been, but for him and them.
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Even their wars shall be holy wars, their troopers serving under God's
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|
banner. Their great men, who ride in state with a pompous retinue,
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|
shall reckon it their greatest ornament to honour God with their
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|
honours. <I>Holiness to the Lord</I> shall be written on the harness of
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|
their chariot-horses, as great men have sometimes their coat of arms
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|
with their motto painted on their coaches; every gentleman shall take
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the high priest's motto for his, and glory in it, and make it a memento
|
|
to himself not to do any thing unworthy of it. Travellers shall have it
|
|
upon their bridles, with which they guide their horses, as those who
|
|
desire always to be put in mind of it, by having it continually before
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|
them, and to guide themselves in all their motions by this rule. The
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<I>bells of the horses,</I> which are designed to quicken them in their
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journey and to give notice of their approach, shall have <I>Holiness to
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the Lord</I> upon them," to signify that this is that which we ought to
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be influenced by ourselves, and make profession of to others, wherever
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we go.
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[2.] The furniture of their houses too shall be consecrated to God, to
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|
be employed in his service. <I>First,</I> The furniture of the priests'
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|
houses, or apartments adjoining to the house of the Lord. The common
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|
drinking cups they used shall be <I>like the bowls before the
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|
altar,</I> that were used either to receive the blood of the sacrifices
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or to present the wine and oil in, which were for the
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<I>drink-offerings.</I> The vessels which they used for their own
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tables shall be used in such a religious manner, with such sobriety and
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|
temperance, such devotedness to the glory of God, and such a mixture of
|
|
pious thoughts and expressions, that their meals shall look like
|
|
sacrifices; they shall eat and drink, not to themselves, but to him
|
|
that spreads their tables and fills their cups. And thus, in ministers'
|
|
families especially, should common actions be done after a godly sort,
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|
however they are done in other families. <I>Secondly,</I> The furniture
|
|
of other houses, those of the common people: "<I>Every pot in Jerusalem
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|
and in Judah shall be holiness to the Lord.</I> The pots in which they
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|
boil their meat, the cups out of which they drink their wine
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+35:5">Jer. xxxv. 5</A>),
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in these God's good creatures shall never be abused to excess, nor that
|
|
made the food and fuel of lust which should be oil to the wheels of
|
|
obedience," as had formerly been, when <I>all tables were full of vomit
|
|
and filthiness,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+28:8">Isa. xxviii. 8</A>.
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"What they eat and drink out of these shall nourish their bodies for
|
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the service of God; and out of these they shall give liberally for the
|
|
relief of the poor;" then are they <I>Holiness to the Lord,</I> as the
|
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merchandise and the hire of the converted Tyrians are said to be
|
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+23:18">Isa. xxiii. 18</A>);
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for both in our gettings and in our spendings we must have an eye to
|
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the will of God as our rule and the glory of God as our end.
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<I>Thirdly,</I> When there shall be such an abundance of real holiness
|
|
people shall not be nice and curious about ceremonial holiness:
|
|
"<I>Those that sacrifice shall come and take</I> of these common
|
|
vessels, <I>and seethe</I> their sacrifices <I>therein,</I> making no
|
|
distinction between them and the <I>bowls before the altar.</I>" In
|
|
gospel-times the true worshippers shall worship God <I>in spirit and in
|
|
truth,</I> and <I>neither in this mountain nor yet at Jerusalem,</I>
|
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+4:21">John iv. 21</A>.
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One place shall be as acceptable to God as another (<I>I will that men
|
|
pray every where</I>); and one vessel shall be as acceptable as
|
|
another. Little regard shall be had to the circumstance, provided there
|
|
be nothing indecent or disorderly, while the substance is religiously
|
|
preserved and adhered to. Some think it intimates that there should be
|
|
greater numbers of sacrifices offered than the vessels of the sanctuary
|
|
would serve for; but, rather than any should be turned back or
|
|
deferred, they shall make no difficulty at all of using common vessels,
|
|
as the Levites in a case of necessity helped the priests to kill the
|
|
sacrifices,
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+29:34">2 Chron. xxix. 34</A>.</P>
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<P>
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(2.) There shall be no unholiness introduced into their sacred things,
|
|
to corrupt them: <I>In that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in
|
|
the house of the Lord of hosts.</I> Some read it, There shall be no
|
|
more <I>the merchant,</I> for so a Canaanite sometimes signifies; and
|
|
they think it was fulfilled when Christ once and again drove the buyers
|
|
and sellers out of the temple. Or though those that were Canaanites,
|
|
strangers and foreigners, shall be brought into the house of the Lord,
|
|
yet they shall cease to be Canaanites; they shall have nothing of the
|
|
spirit or disposition of Canaanites in them. Or it intimates that
|
|
though in gospel-times people should grow indifferent as to holy
|
|
vessels, yet they should be very strict in church-discipline, and
|
|
careful not to admit the profane to special ordinances, but to separate
|
|
between the precious and the vile, between Israelites and Canaanites.
|
|
Yet this will not have its full accomplishment short of the heavenly
|
|
Jerusalem, that <I>house of the Lord of hosts,</I> into which <I>no
|
|
unclean thing shall enter;</I> for at the end of time, and not before,
|
|
Christ shall gather out of his kingdom every thing that offends, and
|
|
the tares and wheat shall be perfectly and eternally separated.</P>
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