Zechariah 9

Zechariah 9:12-17

Here is, 1. A prophecy against the Jews unrighteous neighbours, the Syrians, Tyrants, Philistines, and others, ver. 1—6. with an imitation of mercy to sins of them in their conversion, ver. 7. a promise of mercy to God’s people in their protection, ver. 8. 2. A prophecy of their righteous king, the Messiah, and his coming, with a description of him, ver. 9. and of his kingdom, the nature and extent of it, ver. 10. 3. An account of the great redemption he hath obtained for his people, and the blessings thence accruing, for which they must be glad, ver. 11—17.

1. THE burden of the word of the LORD in the land of Hadrach, and ‘Damaicus’ shall be the rest thereof: when the eyes of man, as of all the tribes of Israel’ shall be coward the LORD. 2. And Hamath also shall border thereby; Tyrus and ‘Zidon, though it be very wise. 3. And Tyrus did build herself a strong hold, and ‘heaped up silver as the dust, and fine gold as the nine of the streets. 4. Behold, ’the LORD will call her out, and he will smute her power in the sea, and the shall be devoured with fire. 5. ‘Athkelon shall see it, and fear; Gaza also shall see it, and be very sorrowful, and Ekron: for her expectation shall be ashamed, and the king shall perish from Gaza, and Athkelon shall not be inhabited. 6. And a baffard shall dwell in Ahdod, and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines. 7. And I will take away his p blood out of his mouth, and his abominations from between his teeth; but he that remaineth, even he shall be for our God, and he shall be as a governor in Judah, and ‘Ekron as a Jebutite. 8. And I will encamp about mine house because of the army, because of him that passeth by, and because of him that returneth; and ’no oppressor shall pass through them any more: for now have I seen with mine eyes.

b 1—8. When God comes with blessing to his people, he will execute vengeance on their enemies.

1. The neighbouring nations, who had been such oppressors of Israel, shall be punished.

(1.) Syria and Damascus come first under judgment; on them shall rest the wrath of God, a burden intolerable; and this on account of their ill usage of God’s people, whose eyes, as the eyes of one man, are toward the Lord, crying for help against their enemies. Hamath, who borders thereby, shall meet the same fate, v. 8. Some apply the words to a quite different sense, and suppose they speak not wrath but mercy. That the word of

the Lord is his gospel, which shall rest in Damascus; and many of the inhabitants, as the Israel of God, shall look towards the Lord; and this was fulfilled when St. Paul was, near Damascus, brought to the knowledge of Jesus, and immediately preached him in the synagogues.

(2.) Tyre and Zidon, though supported by every human advantage, very wise, very strongly fortified, and very rich, shall fall; God will call her out, destroy her power in the sea where the raigand queen of the ocean, and the shall be demurred with fire. Note, There is neither counsel nor might against the Lord.

(3.) The cities of the Philistines, Athkelon, Gaza, and Ekron, shall be terrified at their neighbours ruin, ashamed of the confidence they repelled in Tyre; the king of Gaza shall perish; Athkelon shall become deledate and uninhabited, and a baffard shall dwell in Ahdod; which was fulfilled when Alexander destroyed all their places, and captivated the inhabitants; and afterwards the Jews, under the Macabees, seized many of them, and blathed great part of their resources.

2. A remnant of these shall be saved. Their bloody enmity against God’s people, and their abominable idolaters, shall be removed; but he that remaineth, even he shall be for our God, saved by his grace, and converted by the preaching of the gospel; and he shall be as a governor in Judah, dear to God, and honourable as the chiefs of Judah; and Ekron as a Jebutite, or inhabitant of Jesus, that is Jerusalem; the middle wall of partition being broken down, and no difference any longer subsisting between Jew and Gentile, hath alike admitted into the church, and hites together of the grace of life.

3. God’s care over his own people will eminently appear. I will encamp about mine house because of the army, because of him that passed by, and because of him that returneth, which literally refers to the protection God gave them against the army of the Greeks under Alexander, who, amidst his other ravages, favoured the Jews. And spiritually it speaks God’s watchfulness over his chosen, who, amidst all the legions of hell, and the powers of earth combined against them, are and shall be for ever preserved; and so oppressive shall pass through them any more, which cannot so well be understood of the Jewish people, since many enemies afterwards oppressed them, but is gloriously verified respecting the Israel of God; who being justified from all things by the blood and righteousness of Jesus, shall never enter into condemnation, or be brought again under the yoke of bondage; for now have I seen with mine eyes, which expresses his watchfulness over his people, and his delight in them, so that they are safe from all the powers of evil.

4. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; thou, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy king cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation, lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. 10. And I will cut off the charon from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle-tow shall be cut off; and he shall speak peace unto the heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea rove to sea, and from the river rove to the ends of the earth. 11. As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant, I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pot, wherens at no water.

5. 9—11. The former veres directed us to the salvation of the great Redeemer, here he appears in great humility, yet bringing joy to all his fante.

6. The adored Messiah appears, and the prophet cries, Behold him, that the eye of faith might be directed forward to that blessed time, which was now fast approaching: thy king cometh unto thee, the long-expected Son of David, to sit on his father’s throne; he is just, in himself perfectly righteous, and administering the kingdom of his grace with the highest justice, and having salvation, the author and finisher of it, procuring it by his blood and righteousness, and according to his throne to apply it to his people’s hearts, and make them partakers of it in time and in eternity: lowly, humbling himself for our fakes to the form of a servant, and to the death of a slave; or poor and afflicted, as he appeared during all the days of his sojourning here below; and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass, or even upon a colt, for thus our Lord made his entry into Jerusalem, Mat. xxi. 4. 5. amidst the Holannah’s of the multitude.

7. He will erect a glorious kingdom in the world, not by weapons of war, or outward force, but by the preaching of his gospel, bowing the hearts of men to submit to his easy yoke; and under his government they shall be safe, nor need the charon, horse, or battle bow to defend them. And the heathen shall share the blessings of his government, for to them he will speak peace, sending to them his gospel of peace, and causing them to enjoy in their souls the peace of God which passeth all understanding, and making them men of peace and quiet in the land; and his dominion shall be from sea rove to sea, and from the river rove to the ends of the earth, reaching in process of time from pole to pole, especially in the last days, when all nations shall bear his gospel, and become obedient to the faith.

8. The John God ph.

9. The great deliverance to be wrought for the church is afflicted to the blood of the everlasting communi, the blood of Jesus, which he shed upon the cross: it is called thy communi, the church’s, because the blessings and benefits of it are her’s, thro’ Christ, who is the great Covenant-head to his people; and this blood was profuged in all the faculties which the Jews offered of old. By virtue of this, I know just forth thy prisoners; for the redeemed by nature are in the same state of guilt and corruption as others, concluded under sin, till through the efficacy of atoning blood they are called by divine grace, and quickened by the holy ghoul to come forth out of the pit, whereas it is so water, where they must be sure to perish miserably, unless relieved. And all who are brought out from the one look hath with wonder, love, and praise, when they consider the horrible pit from which the Lord hath drawn them. Therefore,

10. They are commanded to rejoice in the view of all their inestimable blessings; yea, to rejoice greatly, v. 9. as well it becomes abide to do who have seen the king in his beauty, and are made partakers of his great salvation.

11. ¶ Turn ye to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope, even to day do I declare, that I will render double unto thee: 13. When I have bent Judah for me, filled the bow with Ephraim, and raised up thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Greece, and made thee as the sword of a mighty man: 14. And the LORD shall be seen over them, and his arrow shall go forth as the lightning: and the Lord GOD shall blow the trumpet, and shall go with whirlwinds of the south. 15. The LORD at hofts shall defend them, and they shall devour and subdue with fling-stones, and they shall drink, and make a noise as through wine, and they shall be filled like bowls, and as the corners of the altar. 16. And the LORD their God shall save them in that day as the flock of his people, for they shall be as the stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign upon his land. 17. For how great is his goodness, and how great is his beauty! corn shall make the young men cheerful, and new wine the maids.

The promises here delivered seem not so much to belong to any happy state of the Jewish affairs, as to the times of the gospel; at least then they shall most eminently receive their accomplishment.

1. Sinners are invited to turn to the strong hold Christ Jesus, who alone is able to protect them from the assaults of their spiritual enemies Satan, sin, and death; to save them from the wrath of God, the curse of a broken law; and to supply all their wants out of his fulness. They are called prisoners of hope; by nature enslaved by corruption, and condemned by guilt; then than in themselves desperate, and every effort to escape fruitless; yet in the gospel, hope beams into the prison, Jesus hath opened the doors, by his blood having obtained redemption from all sins, by his righteousness having purchased eternal glory, by his grace calling the prisoners forth, and enabling them to unite, and turn to him, by faith quitting all other dependencies, and setting their whole salvation on him alone.

2. They are assured of all protection and favour. To day do I declare that I will render double unto thee, twice as much as they hoped for; comforts far exceeding all their afflictions, and blessings double to any their fathers had experienced: the spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus in heavenly things being unfeasantly superior to the greatest temporal prosperity and earthly good things.

3. They shall be victorious under the divine guidance over every enemy, and be defended by atonight power. When I have been a good man, the Lord shall be seen over them, as when on the day of penitence the forty tongues defended upon the apostles; or in the conflate supports of grace and courage be manifested unto them, and still each minister so all his servants, evidently manifesting the divine power which makes their labours effectual, and his arrow shall go forth as the lightning, with the earth shall be given, and all the world with its light and glory; and the Lord shall blow the trumpet, his ministers shall sound a terrible alarm in the ears of impenetent sinners, and shall go with whirlwinds of the south, executing judgment on all who obey Vol. II.

not his word; or the trumpet is like the jubilee trumpet, a proclamation of pardon, peace, and liberty; and the whirlwinds, the irresistible energy of the word preached, bearing down all opposition before it in the sinner’s heart. The Lord of both shall defend them from every foe, and they shall devour and subdue with fling-stones; though they form as unequal to contend with their enemies respecting wisdom and power, as David to cope with Goliath; yet like him, thele weak things shall confound the mighty, and bring the most self-righteous and stout-hearted sinner to bow in the dust, and accept the grace of the gospel; they shall drink deep at the fountain of truth, and of the confessions of the spirit, and make a noise as through wine, full of joy and thankfulness, and songs of praise; and they shall be filled with the love of God, and a sense of the efficacy of the atonement of Jesus, as heard with the blood of the sacrifice, and as the corners of the altar on which it was sprinkled, as our confidences are with the blood of Christ, fealing our pardon and peace. And the Lord God shall save them in that day in the dust of his people, either the ministers above spoken of, whom the Lord sends to fight his battles, or rather those who are subdued by the sword of the spirit, and now numbered with such as hear Christ’s early voice, and share in the blessings of his people, whom like a Shepherd he feeds, watches over, and protects from every evil; for they shall be as the stones of a crown, so precious in God’s fight, the jewels that shall glitter in the Richemen’s crown on all eternity; lifted up as an ensign upon the land, trophies of the victories of Jesus, and a monument of his grace for ever and ever.

Some refer these promises to Christ after the Beth, when under the Maccabees they were victorious over Antiochus and their other foes; but the sense given seems far preferable, and gives a nobler view of the prophecy.

4. The Redeemed shall be filled with wonder, love, and praise. For how great is his greatest, in thus having us living, dying for us, and bestowing upon us the riches of his grace and the abundance of his blessings; and how great is his beauty? In every redeemed sinner’s eye he is beyond compare; the cheerful of the thousand, and altogether loving: even shall make the young men cheerful, and may serve the meade; the truthful in Christ Jesus shall be vigorous, active, lively; going forth, as refreshed with corn and wine, singing us the good ways of God, and fruitful, as it is by some translated, in every good word and work.