mh_parser/vol_split/38 - Zechariah/Chapter 14.xml

<div2 id="Zech.xv" n="xv" next="Mal" prev="Zech.xiv" progress="97.40%" title="Chapter XIV">
<h2 id="Zech.xv-p0.1">Z E C H A R I A H.</h2>
<h3 id="Zech.xv-p0.2">CHAP. XIV.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Zech.xv-p1" shownumber="no">Divers things were foretold, in the two foregoing
chapters, which should come to pass "in that day;" this chapter
speaks of a "day of the Lord that cometh," a day of his judgment,
and ten times in the foregoing chapters, and seven times in this,
it is repeated, "in that day;" but what that day is that is here
meant is uncertain, and perhaps will be so (as the Jews speak) till
Elias comes; whether it refer to the whole period of time from the
prophet's days to the days of the Messiah, or to some particular
events in that time, or to Christ's coming, and the setting up of
his kingdom upon the ruins of the Jewish polity, we cannot
determine, but divers passages here seem to look as far forward as
gospel-times. Now the "day of the Lord" brings with it both
judgment and mercy, mercy to his church, judgment to her enemies
and persecutors. I. The gates of hell are here threatening the
church (<scripRef id="Zech.xv-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Zech.14.1-Zech.14.2" parsed="|Zech|14|1|14|2" passage="Zec 14:1,2">ver. 1, 2</scripRef>) and
yet not prevailing. II. The power of Heaven appears here for the
church and against the enemies of it, <scripRef id="Zech.xv-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Zech.14.3 Bible:Zech.14.5" parsed="|Zech|14|3|0|0;|Zech|14|5|0|0" passage="Zec 14:3,5">ver. 3, 5</scripRef>. III. The events concerning the
church are here represented as mixed (<scripRef id="Zech.xv-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Zech.14.6-Zech.14.7" parsed="|Zech|14|6|14|7" passage="Zec 14:6,7">ver. 6, 7</scripRef>), but issuing well at last. IV.
The spreading of the means of knowledge is here foretold, and the
setting up of the gospel-kingdom in the world (<scripRef id="Zech.xv-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Zech.14.8-Zech.14.9" parsed="|Zech|14|8|14|9" passage="Zec 14:8,9">ver. 8, 9</scripRef>), which shall be the enlargement
and establishment of another Jerusalem, <scripRef id="Zech.xv-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Zech.14.10-Zech.14.11" parsed="|Zech|14|10|14|11" passage="Zec 14:10,11">ver. 10, 11</scripRef>. V. Those shall be reckoned
with that fought against Jerusalem (<scripRef id="Zech.xv-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Zech.14.12-Zech.14.15" parsed="|Zech|14|12|14|15" passage="Zec 14:12-15">ver. 12-15</scripRef>) and those that neglect his
worship there, <scripRef id="Zech.xv-p1.7" osisRef="Bible:Zech.14.17-Zech.14.19" parsed="|Zech|14|17|14|19" passage="Zec 14:17-19">ver.
17-19</scripRef>. VI. It is promised that there shall be great
resort to the church, and great purity and piety in it, <scripRef id="Zech.xv-p1.8" osisRef="Bible:Zech.14.16 Bible:Zech.14.20 Bible:Zech.14.21" parsed="|Zech|14|16|0|0;|Zech|14|20|0|0;|Zech|14|21|0|0" passage="Zec 14:16,20,21">ver. 16, 20, 21</scripRef>.</p>
<scripCom id="Zech.xv-p1.9" osisRef="Bible:Zech.14" parsed="|Zech|14|0|0|0" passage="Zec 14" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Zech.xv-p1.10" osisRef="Bible:Zech.14.1-Zech.14.7" parsed="|Zech|14|1|14|7" passage="Zec 14:1-7" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Zech.xv-p1.11">
<h4 id="Zech.xv-p1.12">Persecution of the Church; Judgments and
Mercies; Encouraging Prospects. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Zech.xv-p1.13">b.
c.</span> 500.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Zech.xv-p2" shownumber="no">1 Behold, the day of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Zech.xv-p2.1">Lord</span> cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in
the midst of thee.   2 For I will gather all nations against
Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses
rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth
into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off
from the city.   3 Then shall the <span class="smallcaps" id="Zech.xv-p2.2">Lord</span> go forth, and fight against those nations,
as when he fought in the day of battle.   4 And his feet shall
stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which <i>is</i> before
Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the
midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, <i>and there
shall be</i> a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall
remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.   5
And ye shall flee <i>to</i> the valley of the mountains; for the
valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee,
like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah
king of Judah: and the <span class="smallcaps" id="Zech.xv-p2.3">Lord</span> my God
shall come, <i>and</i> all the saints with thee.   6 And it
shall come to pass in that day, <i>that</i> the light shall not be
clear, <i>nor</i> dark:   7 But it shall be one day which
shall be known to the <span class="smallcaps" id="Zech.xv-p2.4">Lord</span>, not day,
nor night: but it shall come to pass, <i>that</i> at evening time
it shall be light.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Zech.xv-p3" shownumber="no">God's providences concerning his church are
here represented as strangely changing and strangely mixed.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Zech.xv-p4" shownumber="no">I. As strangely changing. Sometimes the
tide runs high and strong against them, but presently it turns, and
comes to be in favour of them; and God has, for wise and holy ends,
set the one over against the other.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Zech.xv-p5" shownumber="no">1. God here appears against Jerusalem;
judgment begins at the house of God. When the <i>day of the Lord
comes</i> (<scripRef id="Zech.xv-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:Zech.14.1" parsed="|Zech|14|1|0|0" passage="Zec 14:1"><i>v.</i> 1</scripRef>)
Jerusalem must pass through the fire to be refined. God himself
<i>gathers all nations against Jerusalem to battle</i> (<scripRef id="Zech.xv-p5.2" osisRef="Bible:Zech.14.2" parsed="|Zech|14|2|0|0" passage="Zec 14:2"><i>v.</i> 2</scripRef>); he gives them a charge,
as he did Sennacherib, to <i>take the spoil</i> and to <i>take the
prey</i> (<scripRef id="Zech.xv-p5.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.10.6" parsed="|Isa|10|6|0|0" passage="Isa 10:6">Isa. x. 6</scripRef>), for
the people of Jerusalem have now become the <i>people of his
wrath.</i> And who can stand before him or before nations gathered
by him? Where he gives commission he will give success. The <i>city
shall be taken by the</i> Romans, who have <i>nations</i> at
command; the houses shall be rifled, and all the riches of them
taken away, by the enemy; and, to gratify an insatiable lust of
uncleanness as well as avarice, <i>the women</i> shall <i>be
ravished,</i> as if victory were a license to the worst of
villanies, <i>jusque datum sceleri—and crimes were sanctioned by
law. One-half of the city</i> shall then be carried <i>into
captivity,</i> to be sold or enslaved, and shall not be able to
help itself, such is the destruction that shall be made in the
great and terrible <i>day of the Lord.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Zech.xv-p6" shownumber="no">2. He presently changes his way, and
appears for Jerusalem; for, though judgment begin at the house of
God, yet, as it shall not end there, so it shall not make a full
end there, <scripRef id="Zech.xv-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.4.27 Bible:Jer.30.11" parsed="|Jer|4|27|0|0;|Jer|30|11|0|0" passage="Jer 4:27,30:11">Jer. iv. 27; xxx.
11</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Zech.xv-p7" shownumber="no">(1.) A remnant shall be spared, the same
with that <i>third part</i> spoken of, <scripRef id="Zech.xv-p7.1" osisRef="Bible:Zech.13.8" parsed="|Zech|13|8|0|0" passage="Zec 13:8"><i>ch.</i> xiii. 8</scripRef>. <i>One-half shall go into
captivity,</i> whence they may hereafter be fetched back, <i>and
the residue of the people shall not</i> be cut off, as one would
have feared, <i>from the city.</i> Many of the Jews shall receive
the gospel, and so shall prevent their being cut off from the city
of God, his church upon earth. <i>In it shall be a tenth,</i>
<scripRef id="Zech.xv-p7.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.6.13" parsed="|Isa|6|13|0|0" passage="Isa 6:13">Isa. vi. 13</scripRef>; See <scripRef id="Zech.xv-p7.3" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.5.3" parsed="|Ezek|5|3|0|0" passage="Eze 5:3">Ezek. v. 3</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Zech.xv-p8" shownumber="no">(2.) Their cause shall be pleaded against
their enemies (<scripRef id="Zech.xv-p8.1" osisRef="Bible:Zech.14.3" parsed="|Zech|14|3|0|0" passage="Zec 14:3"><i>v.</i>
3</scripRef>): <i>Then,</i> when God has made use of these nations
as a scourge to his people, he shall <i>go forth</i> and <i>fight
against them</i> by his judgments, <i>as when he fought</i> against
the enemies of his church formerly <i>in the day of battle,</i>
with the Egyptians, Canaanites, and others. Note, The instruments
of God's wrath will themselves be made the objects of it; for it
will come to their turn to drink of the cup of trembling; and whom
God fights against he will be sure to overcome and be too hard for.
And every former <i>day of battle,</i> which God has made to his
people a <i>day of triumph,</i> as it is an engagement to God to
appear for his people, because he is the same, so it is an
encouragement to them to trust in him. It is observable that the
Roman empire never flourished, after the destruction of Jerusalem
as it had done before, but in many instances God fought against
it.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Zech.xv-p9" shownumber="no">(3.) Though Jerusalem and the temple be
destroyed, yet God will have a church in the world, into which
Gentiles shall be admitted, and with whom the believing Jews shall
be incorporated, <scripRef id="Zech.xv-p9.1" osisRef="Bible:Zech.14.4-Zech.14.5" parsed="|Zech|14|4|14|5" passage="Zec 14:4,5"><i>v.</i> 4,
5</scripRef>. These verses are dark and hard to be understood; but
divers good expositors take this to be the meaning of them. [1.]
God will carefully inspect Jerusalem, even then when the enemies of
it are laying it waste: <i>His feet shall stand in that day upon
the mount of Olives,</i> whence he may take a full view of the city
and temple, <scripRef id="Zech.xv-p9.2" osisRef="Bible:Mark.13.3" parsed="|Mark|13|3|0|0" passage="Mk 13:3">Mark xiii. 3</scripRef>.
When the refiner puts his gold into the furnace he stands by it,
and has his eye upon it, to see that it receive no damage; so when
Jerusalem, God's gold, is to be refined, he will have the oversight
of it. He will stand by <i>upon the mount of Olives;</i> this was
literally fulfilled when our Lord Jesus was often upon this
mountain, especially when thence he <i>ascended up into heaven,</i>
<scripRef id="Zech.xv-p9.3" osisRef="Bible:Acts.1.12" parsed="|Acts|1|12|0|0" passage="Ac 1:12">Acts i. 12</scripRef>. It was the last
place on which his feet stood on this earth, the place from which
he took rise. [2.] The partition-wall between Jews and Gentiles
shall be taken away. The <i>mountains about Jerusalem,</i> and
particularly this, signified it to be an enclosure, and that it
stood in the way of those who would approach to it. Between the
Gentiles and Jerusalem this <i>mountain of Bether,</i> of
<i>division,</i> stood, <scripRef id="Zech.xv-p9.4" osisRef="Bible:Song.2.17" parsed="|Song|2|17|0|0" passage="So 2:17">Cant. ii.
17</scripRef>. But by the destruction of Jerusalem this mountain
shall be made to <i>cleave in the midst,</i> and so the Jewish pale
shall be taken down, and the church laid in common with the
Gentiles, who were made one with the Jews by the breaking down of
this <i>middle wall of partition,</i> <scripRef id="Zech.xv-p9.5" osisRef="Bible:Eph.2.14" parsed="|Eph|2|14|0|0" passage="Eph 2:14">Eph. ii. 14</scripRef>. <i>Who art thou, O great
mountain?</i> And a great mountain the ceremonial law was in the
way of the Jews' conversion, which, one would think, could never
have been got over; yet before Christ and his gospel it was made
plain. This <i>mountain departs,</i> this <i>hill removes,</i> but
the <i>covenant of peace</i> cannot be <i>broken;</i> for peace is
still <i>preached to him that is afar off and to those that are
nigh.</i> [3.] A new and living way shall be opened to the new
Jerusalem, both to see it and to come into it. The mountain being
divided, one-half <i>towards the north</i> and the other half
<i>towards the south,</i> there shall be <i>a very great
valley,</i> that is, a broad way of communication opened between
Jerusalem and the Gentile world, by which the Gentiles shall have
free admission into the gospel-Jerusalem, and the word of the Lord,
that <i>goes forth from Jerusalem,</i> shall have a <i>free
course</i> into the Gentile world. Thus the <i>way of the Lord</i>
is prepared, for <i>every mountain and hill shall be brought
low,</i> and plain and pleasant valleys shall come in the room of
them, <scripRef id="Zech.xv-p9.6" osisRef="Bible:Isa.40.4" parsed="|Isa|40|4|0|0" passage="Isa 40:4">Isa. xl. 4</scripRef>. [4.]
Those of the Jews that believe shall come in, and join themselves
to the Gentiles, and incorporate with them in the gospel-church:
<i>You shall flee to the valley of the mountains,</i> that valley
that is opened between the divided halves of the mount of Olives;
they shall hasten into the church with the Gentiles, as formerly
the Gentiles with them, <scripRef id="Zech.xv-p9.7" osisRef="Bible:Zech.8.23" parsed="|Zech|8|23|0|0" passage="Zec 8:23"><i>ch.</i>
viii. 23</scripRef>. The <i>valley of the mountains</i> is the
gospel-church, to which there were added of the Jews daily <i>such
as should be saved,</i> who fled to that valley as to their refuge.
This <i>valley of the mountains</i> is said to <i>reach unto
Azal,</i> or <i>to the separate place,</i> that is, to all those
whom God has <i>set apart for himself.</i> When God <i>makes his
mountains a way</i> (<scripRef id="Zech.xv-p9.8" osisRef="Bible:Isa.49.11" parsed="|Isa|49|11|0|0" passage="Isa 49:11">Isa. xlix.
11</scripRef>), by making them a valley, the way shall be opened to
all the <i>way-faring men</i> (<scripRef id="Zech.xv-p9.9" osisRef="Bible:Isa.35.8" parsed="|Isa|35|8|0|0" passage="Isa 35:8">Isa.
xxxv. 8</scripRef>), and, <i>though fools,</i> they <i>shall not
err therein.</i> Or, to those that are now separated from God this
valley shall reach; for the Gentiles, who are afar off, shall be
made nigh, with the Jews, who are a <i>people near unto him,</i>
and both have <i>an access,</i> a mutual access to each other and a
joint access to God as a Father by one Spirit, <scripRef id="Zech.xv-p9.10" osisRef="Bible:Eph.2.18" parsed="|Eph|2|18|0|0" passage="Eph 2:18">Eph. ii. 18</scripRef>. [5.] They shall flee to <i>the
valley of the mountains,</i> to the gospel-church, under dreadful
apprehensions of their danger from the curse of the law. They shall
<i>flee from the wrath to come,</i> from the avenger of blood, who
is in pursuit of them, to the church as to a <i>city of refuge,</i>
or <i>as doves to their windows,</i> as they <i>fled from before
the earthquake in the days of Uzziah,</i> <scripRef id="Zech.xv-p9.11" osisRef="Bible:Amos.1.1" parsed="|Amos|1|1|0|0" passage="Am 1:1">Amos i. 1</scripRef>. <i>Therefore</i> the gospel reveals
the wrath of God from heaven (<scripRef id="Zech.xv-p9.12" osisRef="Bible:Rom.1.18" parsed="|Rom|1|18|0|0" passage="Ro 1:18">Rom. i.
18</scripRef>) that we might be awakened to <i>escape for our
lives,</i> to flee as from an earthquake, for we feel the earth
ready to sink under us, and we can find no firm footing in it, and
therefore must flee to Christ, in whom alone we can stand fast and
be easy.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Zech.xv-p10" shownumber="no">(4.) God shall appear in his glory for the
accomplishing of all this: <i>The Lord my God shall come, and all
the saints with thee,</i> which may refer to his coming to destroy
Jerusalem, or to destroy the enemies of Jerusalem, or his coming to
set up his kingdom in the world, which is called the <i>coming of
the Son of man</i> (<scripRef id="Zech.xv-p10.1" osisRef="Bible:Matt.24.37" parsed="|Matt|24|37|0|0" passage="Mt 24:37">Matt. xxiv.
37</scripRef>), or to his last coming, at the end of time; however,
it teaches us, [1.] That the Lord will come; it has been the faith
of all the saints, <i>Behold, the Lord comes</i> to fulfil every
word that he has spoken in its season. [2.] When he comes all his
saints come with him; they attend his motions and are ready to
serve his interests. Christ will come at the end of time with
<i>ten thousands of his saints,</i> as when he came to give the law
upon Mount Sinai. [3.] Every particular believer, being related to
God as his God, may triumph in the expectation of his coming and
speak of it with pleasure, <i>The Lord my God shall come,</i> shall
come to the comfort of all that are his; for, "Blessed Lord, <i>all
the saints shall be with thee,</i> and it shall be their
everlasting happiness to dwell in thy presence; and therefore
<i>come, Lord Jesus.</i>" And some think that this may be read as a
prayer, <i>Yet, O Lord my God! come, and bring all the saints with
thee.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Zech.xv-p11" shownumber="no">II. God's providences appear here strangely
mixed (<scripRef id="Zech.xv-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:Zech.14.6-Zech.14.7" parsed="|Zech|14|6|14|7" passage="Zec 14:6,7"><i>v.</i> 6, 7</scripRef>):
<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 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 grace. Here is, 1. An idea of the usual course
and tenour of God's dispensations; the day of his grace and the day
of his providence are <i>neither clear nor dark, not day nor
night.</i> It is so with the church of God in this 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 particular
saints; they are not darkness, but <i>light in the Lord,</i> and
yet, while there is so much error and corruption remaining in them,
it is not perfect day. So it is as to the providences of God that
relate to his church; in general the affairs of the church are
neither good nor bad in any extremity, but there is a mixture of
both; we are singing both of mercy and judgment, and are uncertain
which will prevail, whether it be an evening or a morning twilight.
We are between hope and fear, not knowing what to make of things.
2. An intimation of comfort with reference hereunto: <i>It shall be
one day which shall be known to the Lord.</i> This intimates, (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 the revolutions but one day. (2.) The brevity of them; it is,
as it were, but for one day, for a little moment; the cloud that
darkens the light will soon blow over. (3.) The eye God has upon
all these events, and the hand he has in them all; they are
<i>known to the Lord;</i> he takes notice of them, and orders and
disposes of all for the best, according to the counsel of his will.
3. An issue very joyful secured at last: <i>At evening-time it
shall be light:</i> it shall be clear light, and no longer dark; we
are sure of it in the other world, and we hope for it in this
world—at <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 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> (<scripRef id="Zech.xv-p11.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.112.4" parsed="|Ps|112|4|0|0" passage="Ps 112:4">Ps. cxii. 4</scripRef>); deliverance comes when the tale
of bricks is doubled, and when God's people have done looking for
it, and so it comes with a pleasing surprise.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Zech.xv-p11.3" osisRef="Bible:Zech.14.8-Zech.14.15" parsed="|Zech|14|8|14|15" passage="Zec 14:8-15" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Zech.xv-p11.4">
<h4 id="Zech.xv-p11.5">Blessings Promised to the Church; Judgments
Threatened. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Zech.xv-p11.6">b. c.</span> 500.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Zech.xv-p12" shownumber="no">8 And it shall be in that day, <i>that</i>
living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the
former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and
in winter shall it be.   9 And the <span class="smallcaps" id="Zech.xv-p12.1">Lord</span> shall be king over all the earth: in that
day shall there be one <span class="smallcaps" id="Zech.xv-p12.2">Lord</span>, and his
name one.   10 All the land shall be turned as a plain from
Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem: and it shall be lifted up, and
inhabited in her place, from Benjamin's gate unto the place of the
first gate, unto the corner gate, and <i>from</i> the tower of
Hananeel unto the king's wine-presses.   11 And <i>men</i>
shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction;
but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.   12 And this shall
be the plague wherewith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Zech.xv-p12.3">Lord</span>
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.   13 And it shall come to
pass in that day, <i>that</i> a great tumult from the <span class="smallcaps" id="Zech.xv-p12.4">Lord</span> 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.   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.   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 these tents, as this plague.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Zech.xv-p13" shownumber="no">Here are, 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>
<p class="indent" id="Zech.xv-p14" shownumber="no">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 (<scripRef id="Zech.xv-p14.1" osisRef="Bible:Zech.14.8" parsed="|Zech|14|8|0|0" passage="Zec 14:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>): <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> <scripRef id="Zech.xv-p14.2" osisRef="Bible:Luke.24.47" parsed="|Luke|24|47|0|0" passage="Lu 24:47">Luke xxiv.
47</scripRef>. 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> (<scripRef id="Zech.xv-p14.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.2.3" parsed="|Isa|2|3|0|0" passage="Isa 2:3">Isa. ii. 3</scripRef>); 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> (<scripRef id="Zech.xv-p14.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.72.8" parsed="|Ps|72|8|0|0" passage="Ps 72:8">Ps. lxxii. 8</scripRef>),
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, <scripRef id="Zech.xv-p14.5" osisRef="Bible:Acts.20.18" parsed="|Acts|20|18|0|0" passage="Ac 20:18">Acts xx. 18</scripRef>. 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>
<p class="indent" id="Zech.xv-p15" shownumber="no">2. The kingdom of God among men shall be a
universal and united kingdom, <scripRef id="Zech.xv-p15.1" osisRef="Bible:Zech.14.9" parsed="|Zech|14|9|0|0" passage="Zec 14:9"><i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>. (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 (<scripRef id="Zech.xv-p15.2" osisRef="Bible:Rev.11.15" parsed="|Rev|11|15|0|0" passage="Re 11:15">Rev. xi. 15</scripRef>), <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 class="indent" id="Zech.xv-p16" shownumber="no">3. The land of Judea, and Jerusalem, its
mother-city, shall be repaired and replenished, and taken under the
special protection of Heaven, <scripRef id="Zech.xv-p16.1" osisRef="Bible:Zech.14.10-Zech.14.11" parsed="|Zech|14|10|14|11" passage="Zec 14:10,11"><i>v.</i> 10, 11</scripRef>. 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 (<scripRef id="Zech.xv-p16.2" osisRef="Bible:Zech.14.4" parsed="|Zech|14|4|0|0" passage="Zec 14:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>), 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> <scripRef id="Zech.xv-p16.3" osisRef="Bible:Zech.12.6" parsed="|Zech|12|6|0|0" passage="Zec 12:6"><i>ch.</i> xii.
6</scripRef>. 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 class="indent" id="Zech.xv-p17" shownumber="no">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 (<scripRef id="Zech.xv-p17.1" osisRef="Bible:Zech.14.12" parsed="|Zech|14|12|0|0" passage="Zec 14:12"><i>v.</i> 12</scripRef>): <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> <scripRef id="Zech.xv-p17.2" osisRef="Bible:Job.33.21" parsed="|Job|33|21|0|0" passage="Job 33:21">Job xxxiii. 21</scripRef>. 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 (<scripRef id="Zech.xv-p17.3" osisRef="Bible:Zech.14.13" parsed="|Zech|14|13|0|0" passage="Zec 14:13"><i>v.</i>
13</scripRef>): <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> (<scripRef id="Zech.xv-p17.4" osisRef="Bible:Gal.5.15" parsed="|Gal|5|15|0|0" passage="Ga 5:15">Gal. v. 15</scripRef>); 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> <scripRef id="Zech.xv-p17.5" osisRef="Bible:Judg.9.23" parsed="|Judg|9|23|0|0" passage="Jdg 9:23">Judg. ix.
23</scripRef>. 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 <scripRef id="Zech.xv-p17.6" osisRef="Bible:Zech.14.14" parsed="|Zech|14|14|0|0" passage="Zec 14:14"><i>v.</i> 14</scripRef>,
<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 (<scripRef id="Zech.xv-p17.7" osisRef="Bible:Zech.14.14" parsed="|Zech|14|14|0|0" passage="Zec 14:14"><i>v.</i>
14</scripRef>): <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>
(<scripRef id="Zech.xv-p17.8" osisRef="Bible:Isa.33.23" parsed="|Isa|33|23|0|0" passage="Isa 33:23">Isa. xxxiii. 23</scripRef>), 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 (<scripRef id="Zech.xv-p17.9" osisRef="Bible:Zech.14.15" parsed="|Zech|14|15|0|0" passage="Zec 14:15"><i>v.</i> 15</scripRef>): 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,
<scripRef id="Zech.xv-p17.10" osisRef="Bible:Rom.8.21-Rom.8.22" parsed="|Rom|8|21|8|22" passage="Ro 8:21,22">Rom. viii. 21, 22</scripRef>.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Zech.xv-p17.11" osisRef="Bible:Zech.14.16-Zech.14.21" parsed="|Zech|14|16|14|21" passage="Zec 14:16-21" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Zech.xv-p17.12">
<h4 id="Zech.xv-p17.13">Evangelical Predictions; Threatenings and
Promises; Encouraging Prospects. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Zech.xv-p17.14">b.
c.</span> 500.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Zech.xv-p18" shownumber="no">16 And it shall come to pass, <i>that</i> every
one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem
shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the <span class="smallcaps" id="Zech.xv-p18.1">Lord</span> of hosts, and to keep the feast of
tabernacles.   17 And it shall be, <i>that</i> whoso will not
come up of <i>all</i> the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to
worship the King, the <span class="smallcaps" id="Zech.xv-p18.2">Lord</span> of hosts,
even upon them shall be no rain.   18 And if the family of
Egypt go not up, and come not, that <i>have</i> no <i>rain;</i>
there shall be the plague, wherewith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Zech.xv-p18.3">Lord</span> will smite the heathen that come not up to
keep the feast of tabernacles.   19 This shall be the
punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come
not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.   20 In that day
shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE
LORD; and the pots in the <span class="smallcaps" id="Zech.xv-p18.4">Lord</span>'s
house shall be like the bowls before the altar.   21 Yea,
every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the
<span class="smallcaps" id="Zech.xv-p18.5">Lord</span> of hosts: and all they that
sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein: and in
that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the
<span class="smallcaps" id="Zech.xv-p18.6">Lord</span> of hosts.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Zech.xv-p19" shownumber="no">Three things are here foretold:—</p>
<p class="indent" id="Zech.xv-p20" shownumber="no">I. That a gospel-way of worship being set
up in the church there shall be a great resort to it and a general
attendance upon it. Those that were left of the enemies of religion
shall be so sensible of the mercy of God to them in their narrow
escape that they shall apply themselves to the worship of the God
of Israel, and pay their homage to him, <scripRef id="Zech.xv-p20.1" osisRef="Bible:Zech.14.16" parsed="|Zech|14|16|0|0" passage="Zec 14:16"><i>v.</i> 16</scripRef>. Those that were not consumed
shall be converted, and this makes their deliverance a mercy
indeed, a double mercy. It is a great change that the grace of God
makes upon them; those that had <i>come against Jerusalem,</i>
finding their attempts vain and fruitless, shall become as much her
admirers as ever they had been her adversaries, and shall <i>come
to Jerusalem</i> to worship there, and go in concurrence with those
whom they had gone contrary to. Note, As some of Christ's foes
shall be made his footstool, so others of them shall be made his
friends; and, when the principle of enmity is slain in them, their
former acts of hostility are pardoned to them, and their services
are admitted and accepted, as though they had never <i>fought
against Jerusalem.</i> They shall <i>go up to worship</i> at
Jerusalem, because that was the place which God had chosen, and
there the temple was, which was a type of Christ and his mediation.
Converting grace sets us right, 1. In the object of our worship.
<i>They shall</i> no longer <i>worship</i> the Molochs and Baals,
the <i>kings</i> and <i>lords,</i> that the Gentiles worship, the
creatures of their own imagination, but <i>the King,</i> the
<i>Lord of hosts,</i> the everlasting King, the King of kings, the
sovereign Lord of all. 2. In the ordinances of worship, those which
God himself has appointed. Gospel-worship is here represented by
the <i>keeping of the feast of tabernacles,</i> for the sake of
those two great graces which were in a special manner <i>acted</i>
and <i>signified</i> in that feast-contempt of the world, and joy
in God, <scripRef id="Zech.xv-p20.2" osisRef="Bible:Neh.8.17" parsed="|Neh|8|17|0|0" passage="Ne 8:17">Neh. viii. 17</scripRef>. The
life of a good Christian is a constant <i>feast of tabernacles,</i>
and, in all acts of devotion, we must retire from the world and
rejoice in the Lord, must worship as in that feast. 3. In the
<i>Mediator</i> of our worship; we must go to Christ our temple
with all our offerings, for in him only our <i>spiritual
sacrifices</i> are acceptable to God, <scripRef id="Zech.xv-p20.3" osisRef="Bible:1Pet.2.5" parsed="|1Pet|2|5|0|0" passage="1Pe 2:5">1
Pet. ii. 5</scripRef>. If we rest in ourselves, we come short of
pleasing God; we must go up to him, and mention his righteousness
only. 4. In the time of it; we must be constant. They shall go up
<i>from year to year,</i> at the times appointed for this solemn
feast. Every day of a Christian's life is a day of the <i>feast of
tabernacles,</i> and every Lord's day especially (that is the
<i>great day of the feast</i>); and therefore every day we must
worship the Lord of hosts and every Lord's day with a peculiar
solemnity.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Zech.xv-p21" shownumber="no">II. That those who neglect the duties of
gospel-worship shall be reckoned with for their neglect. God will
compel them to come and worship before him, by suspending his
favours from those that keep not his ordinances: <i>Upon them there
shall be no rain,</i> <scripRef id="Zech.xv-p21.1" osisRef="Bible:Zech.14.17" parsed="|Zech|14|17|0|0" passage="Zec 14:17"><i>v.</i>
17</scripRef>. Some understand it figuratively; the rain of
heavenly doctrine shall be withheld, and of the heavenly grace,
which should accompany that doctrine. God will <i>command the
clouds that they rain no rain upon them.</i> Note, It is a
righteous thing with God to withhold the blessings of grace from
those that do not attend the means of grace, to deny the <i>green
pastures</i> to those that attend not the <i>shepherd's tents.</i>
Or we may take it literally: <i>On them there shall be no rain,</i>
to make their ground fruitful. Note, The gifts of common providence
are justly denied to those that neglect and despise instituted
ordinances. Those that neglected to build the temple were punished
with the want of rain (<scripRef id="Zech.xv-p21.2" osisRef="Bible:Hag.2.17" parsed="|Hag|2|17|0|0" passage="Hag 2:17">Hag. ii.
17</scripRef>), and so were those that neglected to attend there
when it was built. If we be barren and unfruitful towards God,
justly is the earth made so to us. Many are crossed, and go
backward, in their affairs, and this is at the bottom of it—they
do not keep close to the worship of God as they should; they go off
from God, and then he walks contrary to them. If we omit or
postpone the duties he expects from us, it is just with him to deny
the favours we expect from him. But what shall be done to the
defaulters of the land of Egypt, to whom the threatening of the
want of rain is no threatening, for they have no rain at any time;
they need none; they desire none; the river Nilus is to them
instead of the clouds of heaven, waters their land, and makes it
fruitful, so that what is a punishment to others is none to them?
<scripRef id="Zech.xv-p21.3" osisRef="Bible:Zech.14.18-Zech.14.19" parsed="|Zech|14|18|14|19" passage="Zec 14:18,19"><i>v.</i> 18, 19</scripRef>. It is
threatened that <i>if the family of Egypt go not up, that have no
rain,</i> yet God will find out a way to meet with them, for there
shall be, in effect, the same plague wherewith other nations are
smitten for their neglect. God can, and often did, restrain the
overflowing of the river, which was equivalent to the shutting up
of the clouds; or if the river did its part, and rose as high as it
used to do, God had other ways of bringing famine upon them, and
destroying the fruits of their ground, as he did by several of the
ten plagues of Egypt, so that <i>this</i> (that is, the same) shall
be <i>the punishment of Egypt</i> that is the punishment of other
<i>nations</i> who come not up to <i>keep the feast of
tabernacles.</i> Note, Those who think themselves least indebted
to, and depending on, the mercy of heaven, cannot <i>therefore</i>
think themselves guarded against the justice of Heaven. It does not
follow that those who can live without rain can therefore live
without God; for not the heavens only, but all other creatures, are
that to us that God makes them to be, and no more; nor can any
man's way of living enable him to set light by the judgments of
God. This shall be the <i>punishment</i>—margin, <i>This shall be
the sin of Egypt, and the sin of all nations, that come not up to
keep the feast of tabernacles.</i> The same word signifies both
<i>sin</i> and the <i>punishment</i> of sin, so close and
inseparable is the connexion between them (as <scripRef id="Zech.xv-p21.4" osisRef="Bible:Gen.4.7" parsed="|Gen|4|7|0|0" passage="Ge 4:7">Gen. iv. 7</scripRef>), and sin is often its own
punishment. Note, Omissions are sins, and we must come into
judgment for them; those contract guilt that <i>go not up to
worship</i> at the times appointed, as they have opportunity; and
it is a sin that is its own <i>punishment,</i> for those who
forsake the duty forfeit the privilege of communion with God.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Zech.xv-p22" shownumber="no">III. That those who perform the duties of
gospel-worship shall have grace to adorn their profession by the
duties of a gospel-conversation too. This is promised (<scripRef id="Zech.xv-p22.1" osisRef="Bible:Zech.14.20-Zech.14.21" parsed="|Zech|14|20|14|21" passage="Zec 14:20,21"><i>v.</i> 20, 21</scripRef>), and it is
necessary to the completing of the beauty and happiness of the
church. In general, all shall be <i>holiness to the Lord.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Zech.xv-p23" shownumber="no">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 high priest's forehead, but now it shall
not be so appropriated. All Christians shall be <i>living
temples,</i> and <i>spiritual priests,</i> dedicated to the honour
of God and employed in his service.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Zech.xv-p24" shownumber="no">2. Real holiness shall be more diffused
than it had been, because there shall be more powerful means of
sanctification, more excellent rules, more cogent arguments, and
brighter patterns of holiness, and because there shall be a more
plentiful effusion of the Spirit of holiness and sanctification,
after Christ's ascension than ever before.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Zech.xv-p25" shownumber="no">(1.) There shall be holiness introduced
into common things; and those things shall be devoted to God that
seemed very foreign. [1.] The furniture of their horses shall be
consecrated to God. "<i>Upon the bells of the horses</i> shall be
engraven <i>Holiness to the Lord,</i> or upon the <i>bridles</i> of
the horses (so the margin) or the <i>trappings.</i> The horses used
in war shall no longer be used against God and his people, as they
have been, but for him and them. Even their wars shall be holy
wars, their troopers serving under God's banner. Their great men,
who ride in state with a pompous retinue, shall reckon it their
greatest ornament to honour God with their honours. <i>Holiness to
the Lord</i> shall be written on the harness of their
chariot-horses, as great men have sometimes their coat of arms with
their motto painted on their coaches; every gentleman shall take
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 them, and to guide themselves in all
their motions by this rule. The <i>bells of the horses,</i> which
are designed to quicken them in their journey and to give notice of
their approach, shall have <i>Holiness to the Lord</i> upon them,"
to signify that this is that which we ought to be influenced by
ourselves, and make profession of to others, wherever we go. [2.]
The furniture of their houses too shall be consecrated to God, to
be employed in his service. <i>First,</i> The furniture of the
priests' houses, or apartments adjoining to the house of the Lord.
The common drinking cups they used shall be <i>like the bowls
before the altar,</i> that were used either to receive the blood of
the sacrifices or to present the wine and oil in, which were for
the <i>drink-offerings.</i> The vessels which they used for their
own tables shall be used in such a religious manner, with such
sobriety and 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, 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 and in Judah shall be
holiness to the Lord.</i> The pots in which they boil their meat,
the cups out of which they drink their wine (<scripRef id="Zech.xv-p25.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.35.5" parsed="|Jer|35|5|0|0" passage="Jer 35:5">Jer. xxxv. 5</scripRef>), 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> <scripRef id="Zech.xv-p25.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.28.8" parsed="|Isa|28|8|0|0" passage="Isa 28:8">Isa. xxviii.
8</scripRef>. "What they eat and drink out of these shall nourish
their bodies for 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 merchandise and the hire of the
converted Tyrians are said to be (<scripRef id="Zech.xv-p25.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.23.18" parsed="|Isa|23|18|0|0" passage="Isa 23:18">Isa. xxiii. 18</scripRef>); for both in our gettings
and in our spendings we must have an eye to the will of God as our
rule and the glory of God as our end. <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> <scripRef id="Zech.xv-p25.4" osisRef="Bible:John.4.21" parsed="|John|4|21|0|0" passage="Joh 4:21">John iv. 21</scripRef>.
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, <scripRef id="Zech.xv-p25.5" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.29.34" parsed="|2Chr|29|34|0|0" passage="2Ch 29:34">2 Chron. xxix. 34</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Zech.xv-p26" shownumber="no">(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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