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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Zechariah X].</TITLE>
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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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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1712)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>Z E C H A R I A H.</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. X.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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The scope of this chapter is much the same with that of the foregoing
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chapter--to encourage the Jews that had returned with hopes that though
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they had been under divine rebukes for their negligence in rebuilding
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the temple, and were now surrounded with enemies and dangers, yet God
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would do them good, and make them prosperous at home and victorious
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abroad. Now,
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I. They are here directed to eye the great God in all events that
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concerned them, and, both in the evils they suffered and in the
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comforts they desired, to acknowledge his hand,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+10:1-4">ver. 1-4</A>.
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II. They are encouraged to expect strength and success from him in all
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their struggles with the enemies of their church and state, and to hope
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that the issue would be glorious at last,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+10:5-12">ver. 5-12</A>.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Zec10_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Zec10_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Zec10_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Zec10_4"> </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>Encouragements to Trust in God.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 510.</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 Ask ye of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> rain in the time of the latter rain; <I>so</I>
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the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain,
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to every one grass in the field.
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2 For the idols have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen
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a lie, and have told false dreams; they comfort in vain:
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therefore they went their way as a flock, they were troubled,
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because <I>there was</I> no shepherd.
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3 Mine anger was kindled against the shepherds, and I punished
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the goats: for the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> of hosts hath visited his flock the house
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of Judah, and hath made them as his goodly horse in the battle.
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4 Out of him came forth the corner, out of him the nail, out of
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him the battle bow, out of him every oppressor together.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Gracious things and glorious ones, very glorious and very gracious,
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were promised to this poor afflicted people in the foregoing chapter;
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now here God intimates to them that he will <I>for these things be
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enquired of</I> by them, and that he expects they should acknowledge
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him in all their ways and in all his ways towards them--and not idols
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that were rivals with him for their respects.</P>
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<P>
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I. The prophet directs them to apply to God by prayer for rain in the
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season thereof. He had promised, in the close of the foregoing chapter,
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that there should be great plenty of corn and wine, whereas for several
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years, by reason of unseasonable weather, there had been great scarcity
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of both; but the earth will not yield its fruits unless the heavens
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water it, and therefore they must look up to God for the <I>dew of
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heaven,</I> in order to the fatness and fruitfulness of the earth
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+10:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>):
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"<I>Ask you of the Lord rain.</I> Do not pray to the clouds, nor to the
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stars, for rain, but <I>to the Lord;</I> for he it is that <I>hears the
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heavens,</I> when they <I>hear the earth,</I>"
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+2:21">Hos. ii. 21</A>.
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Seasonable rain is a great mercy, which we must <I>ask of God, rain in
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the time of the latter rain,</I> when there is most need of it. The
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former rain fell at the seed-time, in autumn, the latter fell in the
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spring, between March and May, which brought the corn to an ear and
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filled it. If either of these rains failed, it was very bad with that
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land; for from the end of May to September they never had any rain at
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all. Jerome, who lived in Judea, says that he never saw any rain there
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in June or July. They are directed to ask for it <I>in the time</I>
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when it used to come. Note, We must, in our prayers, dutifully attend
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the course of Providence; we must ask for mercies in their proper time,
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and not expect that God should go out of his usual way and method for
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us. But, since sometimes God denied rain in the usual time as a token
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of his displeasure, they must pray for it then as a token of his
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favour, and they shall not pray in vain. <I>Ask and it shall be given
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you. So the Lord shall make bright clouds</I> (which, though they are
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without rain themselves, are yet presages of rain)--<I>lightnings</I>
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(so the margin reads it), for <I>he maketh lightnings for the rain.</I>
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He will <I>give them showers of rain</I> in great abundance, and so
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give to <I>every one grass in the field;</I> for God is universally
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good, and <I>makes his rain to fall upon the just and the
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unjust.</I></P>
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<P>
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II. He shows them the folly of making their addresses to idols as their
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fathers had done
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+10:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>):
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<I>The idols have spoken vanity;</I> the teraphim, which they courted
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and consulted in their distress, were so far from being able to command
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rain for them that they could not so much as tell them when they should
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have rain. They pretended to promise them rain at such a time, but it
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did not come. <I>The diviners,</I> who were the prophets of those
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idols, <I>have seen a lie</I> (their visions were all a cheat and a
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sham); and <I>they have told false dreams,</I> such as the event did
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not answer, which proved that they were not from God. Thus they
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<I>comforted in vain</I> those that consulted the lying oracles; all
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the <I>vanities of the heathen</I> put together could not <I>give
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rain,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+14:22">Jer. xiv. 22</A>.
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Yet this was not the worst of it; they not only got nothing by the
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false gods, but they lost the favour of the true God, for <I>therefore
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they went their way</I> into captivity <I>as a flock</I> driven into
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the fold, and <I>they were troubled</I> with one vexation after
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another, as scattered sheep are, <I>because there was no shepherd,</I>
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no prince to rule them, no priest to intercede for them, none to take
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care of them and keep them together. Those that wandered after strange
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gods were made to wander, into strange nations.</P>
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<P>
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III. He shows them the hand of God in all the events that concerned
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them, both those that made against them and those that made for them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+10:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
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Let them consider,
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1. When every thing went cross it was God that walked contrary to them
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+10:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>):
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"<I>My anger was kindled against the shepherds</I> that should have fed
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the flock, but neglected it, and starved it. I was displeased at the
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wicked magistrates and ministers, the idol-shepherds." The captivity in
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Babylon was a token of God's anger against them; in it likewise he
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<I>punished the goats,</I> those of the flock that were filthy and
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mischievous; they were set on the left hand, to go away into
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punishment. Though the body of the nation suffered in the captivity,
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yet it was only the goats and the shepherds that God was angry with,
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and that he punished; the same affliction to others came from the love
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of God, and was but a fatherly chastisement, which to them came from
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his wrath, and was a judicial punishment.
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2. When things began to change for the better it was God that gave
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them the happy turn. "He has now <I>visited his flock</I> with favour,
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to enquire after them, and provides what he finds proper for them, and
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he has made them <I>as his goodly horse in the battle,</I> has
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beautified them, taken care of them, managed and made use of them, as a
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man does the horse he rides on, has made them valuable in themselves
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and formidable to those about them, <I>as his goodly horse.</I>" It is
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God that makes us what we are, and it is with us as he appoints.</P>
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<P>
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IV. He shows them that every creature is to them what God makes it to
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be
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+10:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>):
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<I>Out of him came forth the corner, out of him the nails.</I>
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1. All the power that was engaged against them was from God. <I>Out of
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him</I> came all the combined force of their enemies; every
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<I>oppressor together</I> (and the oppressors of Israel were not a few)
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did but what his hand and his counsel determined before to be done; nor
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could they have had such power against them unless it had been given
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them from above.
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2. All the power likewise that was engaged for them was derived from
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him and depended on him. Out of him came forth <I>the corner-stone</I>
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of the building, the power of magistrates, which keeps the several
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parts of the state together. Princes are often called the <I>corners of
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the people,</I> as
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+14:38">1 Sam. xiv. 38</A>,
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marg. Out of him came forth <I>the nail</I> that fixed the state, the
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<I>nail in the sure place</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+22:23">Isa. xxii. 23</A>),
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the <I>nail in his holy place,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ezr+9:8">Ezra ix. 8</A>.
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Out of him came forth <I>the battle-bow,</I> the military power, and
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out of him <I>every oppressor,</I> or exactor, that had the civil power
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in his hand; and therefore to God, the fountain of power, we must
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always have an eye, and see every man's judgment proceeding from
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him.</P>
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<A NAME="Zec10_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Zec10_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Zec10_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Zec10_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Zec10_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Zec10_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Zec10_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Zec10_12"> </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>Evangelical Promises; Encouraging Prospects.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 510.</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>5 And they shall be as mighty <I>men,</I> which tread down <I>their
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enemies</I> in the mire of the streets in the battle: and they shall
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fight, because the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> <I>is</I> with them, and the riders on horses
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shall be confounded.
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6 And I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the
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house of Joseph, and I will bring them again to place them; for I
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have mercy upon them: and they shall be as though I had not cast
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them off: for I <I>am</I> the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> their God, and will hear them.
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7 And <I>they of</I> Ephraim shall be like a mighty <I>man,</I> and their
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heart shall rejoice as through wine: yea, their children shall
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see <I>it,</I> and be glad; their heart shall rejoice in the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
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8 I will hiss for them, and gather them; for I have redeemed
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them: and they shall increase as they have increased.
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9 And I will sow them among the people: and they shall remember
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me in far countries; and they shall live with their children, and
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turn again.
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10 I will bring them again also out of the land of Egypt, and
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gather them out of Assyria; and I will bring them into the land
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of Gilead and Lebanon; and <I>place</I> shall not be found for them.
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11 And he shall pass through the sea with affliction, and shall
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smite the waves in the sea, and all the deeps of the river shall
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dry up: and the pride of Assyria shall be brought down, and the
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sceptre of Egypt shall depart away.
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12 And I will strengthen them in the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>; and they shall walk
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up and down in his name, saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here are divers precious promises made to the people of God, which look
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further than to the state of the Jews in the latter days of their
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church, and have certain reference to the spiritual Israel of God, the
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gospel-church, and all true believers.</P>
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<P>
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I. They shall have God's favour and presence, and shall be owned and
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accepted of him. This is the foundation of all the rest: <I>The Lord is
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with them,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+10:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>.
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He espouses their cause, takes their part, is on their side; and, if he
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be for them, who can be against them? Again
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+10:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>),
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<I>I have mercy upon them.</I> All their dignity and joy are owing
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purely to God's mercy; and mercy, as it supposes misery, so it excludes
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merit. They had been cast off, the effect of which could not but be
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misery; they had been justly cast off, and therefore could pretend to
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merit nothing at God's hand but wrath and the curse; yet it is
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promised, <I>They shall be as though I had not cast them off.</I> The
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transgressions of their fathers, for which they had been rejected,
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shall not only not be visited upon them, but shall not be so much as
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remembered against them. God will be as perfectly reconciled to them
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as if he had never contended with them, and the falling out of these
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lovers shall rather be the renewing than the weakening of love. They
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shall have such a full assurance of God's being reconciled to them, and
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upon that shall be so well reconciled to themselves, that they shall be
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as easy as if they had never been cast off; and their condition, after
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their restoration to the divine favour, shall be so very happy that
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there shall not remain the least scar from the wounds which were given
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them by their being cast off. Such favour does God show to returning
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repenting sinners, who were by nature at a distance, and children of
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wrath; such fellowship are they admitted into, and such freedom does he
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use with them, that they are <I>as though they had never been cast
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off.</I>
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1. The covenant they are admitted into is the same that ever it was:
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<I>I am the Lord their God,</I> according to the original contract, the
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covenant made with their fathers.
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2. The communion they are admitted into is the same that ever it was:
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<I>I will hear them.</I> They shall be as welcome as ever to speak to
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him, and as sure as ever to receive from him an answer of peace; for,
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as he never did, so he never will, say to Jacob's seed, <I>Seek you me
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in vain.</I></P>
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<P>
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II. They shall be victorious over their enemies, that would draw them
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from either their duty to God or their comfort in God
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+10:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>):
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<I>They shall be as mighty men,</I> that are both strong in body and
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bold in spirit, men of vigour, men of valour, effective men. <I>Those
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of Ephraim,</I> as well as those of Judah, shall be <I>like a mighty
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man</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+10:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>),
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that dares to go about a difficult enterprise and is able to go through
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with it. They shall, as mighty men, <I>tread down their enemies in the
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battle,</I> as the dirt that is thrown out of the houses is trodden
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with other dirt <I>in the mire of the streets.</I> And <I>they
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shall</I> therefore <I>fight, because the Lord is with them.</I> Some
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would argue that they may <I>therefore</I> sit still, and do nothing,
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because the Lord is with them, who can and will do all. No; God's
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gracious presence with us to help us must not supersede, but quicken
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and animate, our endeavours to help ourselves; and we must therefore
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<I>work out our salvation with fear and trembling,</I> because <I>it is
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God that works in us both to will and to do.</I> They shall fight with
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readiness and resolution because, if God be with them, they are sure to
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be conquerors, more than conquerors. For then <I>the riders on horses
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shall be confounded.</I> The cavalry of the enemies shall be routed,
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and put into disorder, by the infantry of the Jews. The preachers of
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the gospel of Christ went forth to war a good warfare; they charged
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bravely, because God was with them; and the <I>riders on horses</I>
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that opposed them <I>were confounded,</I> for God chose the <I>weak</I>
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and <I>foolish things of the world to confound the wise and mighty.</I>
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But whence have they all this might? How come they to be so able, so
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active? It is in the Lord, and in the power of his might, that they are
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so
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+10:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>):
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<I>I will strengthen the house of Judah,</I> and <I>so I will save the
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house of Joseph.</I> Note, God saves us by strengthening us, and works
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out our happiness by working in us to do our duty. And thus we are
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engaged to the utmost diligence in using the strength God gives us; and
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yet, when all is done, God must have the glory of all. God is our
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strength, and so becomes both our song and our salvation.</P>
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<P>
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III. Those of them that are dispersed shall be gathered together into
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one body
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+10:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>):
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<I>I will bring them again to place them,</I> bring them from other
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lands to place them in their own land. This was a token of their being
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perfectly restored to all their other ancient privileges--they shall be
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restored to the possession of their own land. This was fulfilled when
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the <I>children of God that were scattered abroad</I> were by faith in
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Christ incorporated in the gospel-church, and Jews and Gentiles became
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<I>one fold,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+10:16">John x. 16</A>.
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In order to this
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+10:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>)
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<I>I will hiss for them,</I> or, rather, <I>whistle</I> for them, as
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the shepherd with his pipe calls his sheep together, that <I>know his
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voice;</I> and so <I>I will gather them.</I> The preaching of the
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gospel was, as it were, God's hissing for souls to come to Jesus
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Christ, his calling in his scattered sheep to the green pastures. <I>I
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will gather them, for I have redeemed them.</I> Note, Those whom Christ
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has redeemed by his blood God will gather by his grace, as a <I>hen
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gathers her brood under her wings.</I> This promise is enlarged upon
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+10:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>,
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<I>I will bring them again also out of the land of Egypt.</I> Some
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think this was literally fulfilled when Ptolemæus Philadelphus
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king of Egypt sent 120,000 Jews out of his country into their own land,
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as was the promise of gathering them out of Assyria by Alexander the
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son of Antiochus Epiphanes. But it has its spiritual accomplishment in
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the gathering in of precious souls out of a bondage worse than that in
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Egypt or Assyria, and the bringing of them into the glorious liberties
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|
of the children of God and their enjoyments, which are as the beautiful
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fruitful pastures in <I>the land of Gilead and Lebanon.</I> All the
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land of promise is theirs, even Gilead, the utmost border of it
|
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eastward, and Lebanon, the utmost border northward. But how shall this
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be? How shall a people so dispersed be got together? How shall those
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that are set at such a distance from their own country be brought to it
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again? It is true the difficulties seem insuperable, but they shall be
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got over as easily, as effectually as those that lay in the way of
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their deliverance out of Egypt and their entrance into Canaan: <I>He
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shall pass through the sea with affliction,</I> as of old through the
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Red Sea, to the sore affliction of Pharaoh and his hosts, or to the
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sore affliction of the sea, the waves whereof <I>he shall smite,</I> so
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that it shall be <I>driven back,</I> as when <I>the sea saw and
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fled,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+114:3">Ps. cxiv. 3</A>.
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And <I>all the deeps of the river</I> (all the rivers, though ever so
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deep) <I>shall dry up,</I> as Jordan did, to make way for Israel's
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passage into that good land which God had given them. Does <I>the pride
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|
of Assyria</I> stand in the way of their deliverance? He shall give
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check to it who sets bounds to the <I>proud waves of the sea,</I> and
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it <I>shall be brought down.</I> Does the sceptre of Egypt oppose it?
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That shall <I>depart away,</I> so that it shall not be able to obstruct
|
|
the gathering in of God's Israel when his time shall come for the doing
|
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of it. When the gospel-church was to be gathered out of all nations by
|
|
the preaching of the gospel great opposition was given to it by the
|
|
enraged combined powers of earth and hell. Insuperable difficulties
|
|
seemed to be in the way of it. But, by a divine power going along with
|
|
the doctrine of Christ, it became <I>mighty to the pulling down of
|
|
strong holds,</I> and the conversion and salvation of thousands. Then
|
|
the sea fled, and Jordan was <I>driven back at the presence of the
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Lord.</I></P>
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<P>
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IV. They shall greatly multiply, and the church, that new world, shall
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|
be replenished
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|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+10:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>):
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<I>They shall increase as they have increased</I> formerly in Egypt,
|
|
and great additions shall be made to their numbers, as in the days of
|
|
David and Solomon. When God gathers his redeemed ones to himself they
|
|
shall help to gather in others with them, and their motion homeward
|
|
shall be like that of a snow-ball. <I>Crescit eundo--The further it
|
|
goes the larger it grows by accretion. I will gather them, and they
|
|
shall increase.</I> Note, The church of Christ is a growing body, as
|
|
long as it is in the present state of minority, till it comes <I>to the
|
|
measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.</I> There are added to
|
|
it <I>daily such as shall be saved.</I>
|
|
|
|
1. It shall spread to distant places. It shall fill Canaan, even to
|
|
the lands of Gilead and Lebanon, so that no more place, no more room,
|
|
shall be found for it there,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+10:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>.
|
|
|
|
<I>In Judah</I> only <I>God</I> had been <I>known,</I> and his <I>name
|
|
was great in Israel</I> only; here only he revealed his <I>statutes</I>
|
|
and <I>judgments.</I> But in gospel-times that place shall be much too
|
|
strait; the church's tent must be enlarged, and its <I>cords
|
|
lengthened:</I> Then <I>I will sow them among the people,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+10:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>.
|
|
|
|
Their scattering shall be like the scattering of seed in the ground,
|
|
not to bury it, but to increase it, that it may bring forth much fruit.
|
|
The Jews are said to be dispersed <I>into every nation under heaven</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+2:5">Acts ii. 5</A>);
|
|
|
|
and, as it was their troubles that dispersed some of them, so perhaps
|
|
others transplanted themselves into colonies because the land of Israel
|
|
was too strait for them; and many were natives of other nations, but
|
|
proselyted to the Jewish religion. Now these were <I>sown among the
|
|
people,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+2:23">Hos. ii. 23</A>.
|
|
|
|
And this contributed very much to the spreading of the gospel. The Jews
|
|
that came from all parts to worship at Jerusalem fetched thence the
|
|
gospel light and fire to their own countries, as those
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+2:1-47">Acts ii.</A>,
|
|
|
|
and the eunuch,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+8:26-40">Acts viii.</A>
|
|
|
|
And their own synagogues in the several cities of the Gentiles were the
|
|
first receptacles of the apostles and their preaching, wherever they
|
|
came. Thus when God <I>sowed them among the people,</I> that they
|
|
might not get hurt by the Gentiles, but do good to them, he took care
|
|
that they should <I>remember him,</I> and make mention of his name
|
|
<I>in far countries;</I> and, by keeping up the knowledge of God among
|
|
them as he had revealed himself in the Old Testament, they would be the
|
|
more ready to admit the knowledge of Christ as he has revealed himself
|
|
in the New Testament.
|
|
|
|
2. It shall last to future <I>ages.</I> The church shall not be <I>res
|
|
unius ætatis--a temporary thing,</I> but a seed in it shall
|
|
<I>serve the Lord,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+10:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>.
|
|
|
|
<I>Yea, their children shall see it and be glad;</I> and <I>they shall
|
|
live with their children, and turn again,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+10:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>.
|
|
|
|
Converts to Christ shall have their children about them, whom they
|
|
shall teach the knowledge of the Lord, and bring with them when they
|
|
turn again to the holy land and the way of holiness. It was said to
|
|
those to whom the gospel was first preached, <I>The promise is to you
|
|
and to your children,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+2:39">Acts ii. 39</A>.
|
|
|
|
They shall be <I>so sown among the people</I> as never to be
|
|
extirpated. Christ's family upon earth shall never be extinct, nor his
|
|
purchased possession lost for want of heirs.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
V. God himself will be both their strength and their song.
|
|
|
|
1. In him they shall be comforted, and shall have abundant satisfaction
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+10:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>Their heart shall rejoice as through wine;</I> for Christ's
|
|
<I>love,</I> which is their joy, is <I>better than wine.</I> They shall
|
|
be <I>like a mighty man,</I> and <I>their heart shall rejoice.</I> When
|
|
we resolutely resist, and so overcome, our spiritual enemies, then our
|
|
hearts shall rejoice. But we ruin our own joy if our resistance be
|
|
feeble and we yield to the temptations of Satan. Their <I>heart shall
|
|
rejoice,</I> and then they shall be as a <I>mighty man;</I> for the
|
|
<I>joy of the Lord</I> will be <I>our strength.</I> And with their
|
|
graces their joys shall be propagated: <I>Their children shall see it
|
|
and be glad, and their hearts</I> also <I>shall rejoice in the
|
|
Lord.</I> It is good to acquaint children betimes with the delights of
|
|
religion, and to make the services of it as pleasant as may be to them,
|
|
that, learning betimes to rejoice in the Lord, they may with purpose of
|
|
heart cleave to him.
|
|
|
|
2. By him they shall be carried on with vigour, and enlargement of
|
|
heart, in his service
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+10:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>I will strengthen them in the Lord,</I> strengthen them for their
|
|
walk and work, as well as for their warfare. It is the God of Israel
|
|
that <I>gives strength and power unto his people,</I> that strengthens
|
|
all their powers and faculties for spiritual performances, above what
|
|
they are by nature and against what they are by the corruption of
|
|
nature. Now observe,
|
|
|
|
(1.) How they are thus enabled and invigorated for their duty: <I>I</I>
|
|
the Lord <I>will strengthen them in the Lord,</I> in the
|
|
<I>Messiah,</I> who is <I>Jehovah our strength,</I> as well as
|
|
<I>Jehovah our righteousness.</I> Strength is treasured up for us in
|
|
Christ, and from him it is communicated to us. It is <I>through Christ
|
|
strengthening</I> us that we can <I>do all things,</I> and <I>without
|
|
him we can do nothing.</I> His <I>strength is commanded</I> him <I>for
|
|
this</I> purpose,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+68:28">Ps. lxviii. 28</A>.
|
|
|
|
(2.) What good use they shall make of this strength given unto them:
|
|
<I>They shall walk up and down in his name.</I> If God strengthen us,
|
|
we must bestir ourselves, must <I>walk up and down</I> in all the
|
|
duties of the Christian life, must be active and busy in the work of
|
|
God, must walk up and down as industrious men do, losing no time, and
|
|
letting slip no opportunity. But still we must <I>walk up and down in
|
|
the name of Christ,</I> must do all by warrant from him and in
|
|
dependence on him, with an eye to his word as our rule and his glory as
|
|
our end. To us to live must be Christ; and, <I>whatever we do in word
|
|
or deed,</I> we must <I>do all in the name of the Lord Jesus,</I> that
|
|
we receive not the strengthening grace of God in vain. See
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+80:17,18">Ps. lxxx. 17, 18</A>.</P>
|
|
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