heaven against them. The anger of God against the Jews for their crucifying his Son the Lord of glory, and continuing in such bitter enmity against him, has indeed been great. It was truly said of them, that wrath was come upon them to the uttermost. The calamities which befell them in the destruction of their city, the length of their dispersion, the contempt they have endured, and what is more than all, the judicial blindness and hardness of heart to which they are given up, are so many expressions of divine displeasure against them, with which their former history furnishes no parallel. The remembrance therefore of this, while it fills them with the deepest self-abasement, furnishes them with the highest sensations of grateful joy. It is this compound sensation that is described in Hos. iii. 5. They shall fear the Lord, and his goodness, in the latter days.

The language of ver. 2. though suited to Old Testament times, conveys the strongest ideas of joyful amazement. Behold, GoD is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid: for the Lord JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. Had this part of the song been expressed in New Testament language, it might have been nearly in the words of the Apostle, I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord; for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung that I may win Christ, and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the funt of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.—I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. Of old he had been the salvation of their fathers; of late, of the Gentiles: but now all Israel shall be saved; as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob. Such an interposition of free and great grace may well be introduced with a note of attention. Behold! And he will now be to them a refuge. Though their sins have been great as the sea, yet, without fear, they may trust in him to heal them; and though their builders formerly set him at nought, yet, without any apprehension of being confounded, they may rest their hopes upon him; and

wherefore? Because in him they shall recognise the everlasting JEHOVAH, the God of their fathers.

The effect of so great a salvation must needs be a general, an exceeding, a mighty joy. Such is that described in ver. 3. With joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. It is said to have been the custom of the Jews, on the last day of the feast of tabernacles, to draw water in a golden pitcher, from the well of Siloam, and to pour it, mixed with wine, on the sacrifice as it lay on the altar, singing all the while a part of this bymn, especially this third verse, with great rejoicings, and looking forward to that abundance of blessings which they expected in the times of the Messiah. If so it was, they were not far from the intent, either of their feast of tabernacles, or of the prophecy. The words of our Saviour, in John vii. 37, will from hence appear peculiarly appropriate. In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jėsus stood and cried, saying, If any one thirst, let him come unto ME and drink! As the keeping of the feast of the passover was prefigurative of the joy and obedience of faith under the gospel, (1 Cor. v. 8.) so was the keeping of the feast of tabernacles: hence, in the prophecy of Zechariah, a rejection of Christ is expressed by a refusal to come up to Jerusalem to keep this feast, Chap. xiv. 16. 19. But though some, even in the latter days, will thus stand out against the Saviour, yet the feast shall be kept by the great body of mankind, especially by God's ancient people the Jews. The salvation of Christ shall be to them as wells of water in a dry land, from which they shall draw in abundance. Such will be the types and prophecies of their own sacred writings; which though full of living water, have, through their unbelief, been of no account to them. The wells were deep, and they had nothing to draw with. Such also will be the doctrines and ordinances of the New Testament, in which they have heretofore seen no beauty, but rejected the counsel of God against themselves.

And now, being filled with joy themselves, they will not be able to contain it, but feel an ardent desire to recommend the Saviour to the Gentile nations. In that day shall ye say, Praise the LORD, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that bis name be exalted. Sing unto JEHOVAH ; for he hath

4, 5.

done excellent things: this is known in all the earth, ver. From this and other passages, especially Rom. xi. 12, 15. it ap pears, that the conversion of the Jews will be a kind of resurrection to the world. In every way, God, according to his promise, will make Abraham's seed a blessing to mankind. Their fall and diminution were an occasion of our riches; but their recovery will be much more so. So great an event, known in all the earth, will ir. a manner put infidelity out of countenance. Their coming over to Christ will be like Abner's coming over to David, which broke up the power of his enemies, and issued in the peaceable establishment of his kingdom.

Finally Zion is congratulated and called upon to cry out and shout, for that God will then dwell in the midst of her, ver. 6. I am not sure that Zion in this place is not to be understood literally of the city of Jerusalem. I may be mistaken in thinking, that God has promised, not only to convert the great body of Abraham's descendants, but to restore them to their own country; but I am not able, on any other supposition, to understand several passages of scripture; especially Zech. xii. 6. and Luke xxi. 24. Jerusalem shall be inhabited again IN HER OWN PLACE, Even in JeruSALEM.- -They shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations; and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, Until the times of the Gentiles BE FULFILLED. Whatever figurative meaning may be put upon the words of the prophet, which, however, appears to me must be very forced; yet there can be no figure in those of our Lord; which clearly intimate that that same Jerusalem which shall be for a time trodden down by the Gentiles, shall be no longer so than TILL the times of the Gentiles shall be fulfilled. But whether Zion in this passage be taken literally for Jerusalem, or figuratively for the whole church of God, both Jews and Gentiles being united in the faith of Christ, the presence and blessing of God will be her greatest glory. The name of the city from that day shall be called Jehovah-Shammah, THE LORD is there.

See Zechariah, Chap. xi. xii. xiii. 1.

THAT we may perceive the connexion of the prophecy in Chap. xii. it will be proper to observe, that Chap. xi. contains a prediction of the overthrow of the Jewish nation by the Romans. It is introduced by the burning of the temple, composed of the wood of Lebanon, (ver. 1.) by the fall of some of their great men, (ver. 2.) and by the consternation of others, (ver. 3.) To represent the state of religion among them at this time, the prophet is directed to take unto him the instruments; that is, to personate certain shepherds which God would raise up in the land. First, the great and good Shepherd of the sheep, who would now make his appearance upon earth, ver. 4-14. Secondly, a foolish and sordid shepherd, to which they should be given up after having rejected him, ver. 15-17. While personating the former, the prophet speaks of himself as commissioned to feed the flock of slaughter, especially the poor of the flock, whose possessors slew them and held themselves guiltless, ver. 4, 5. These possessors, with the great body of the nation, are given up, ver. 6. But a remnant should be saved from among the poor, and these should be fed by the good Shepherd, (ver. 7.) who also would set himself against those who sought not them, but theirs, ver. 8, 9. By the breaking of his staves, Beauty and Bands, (the instruments of his rule as a shepherd,) is set forth the dissolving of the covenant of peculiarity made with Israel, and the giving them up to divisions one among another. This judgment should be so manifest, that the believing part of the nation should see the hand of God in it, and that it was his design thereby to put an end to their place and nation, ver. 11. The cause of these great evils is found in their contemning, rejecting, and crucifying Christ, ver. 12, 13. And now, having rid themselves as they supposed, of him, God would, in just judgment, raise up for them a foolish shepherd; denoting, that they should not only be deserted of God, and punished by the Roman sword, but given up to the influence of a set of blind and sordid priests, who should lead them into the ditch, and there perish with them, ver. 15-19. Such appears to be the sum of Chap. xi. which is altogether

against the body of the Jewish nation; but Chap. xii. contains a prophecy of their restoration, and is therefore called, The burden of the word of the Lord FOR Israel. Ver. 1.

The events of this and the foregoing prophecy, though wide asunder as to time, yet very properly follow each other. Paul takes but little notice of the state of the Jews during their long dispersion; but passing over that chasm, as included in their being broken off, proceeds to speak of their being graffed in again. Rom. xi.

The prophecy finds Jerusalem besieged by enemies, but very differently circumstanced from what she was in the foregoing chapter. Her enemies were then avenging the cause of God and of his Christ; and therefore, whatever might be their motives, were successful: but in this siege God is on her side, and therefore she is a cup of trembling to her enemies. Of course, this must

refer to the period when she shall be restored.

The character which Jehovah assumes in the preface to the prophecy is worthy of notice. Thus saith the Lord, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundations of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him. Each of these mighty works relate to the first creation of the world, and intimate, that at the time of the prophecy being fulfilled, they shall in a manner be acted over again. That which he will then accomplish towards his ancient people shall be a kind of new creation.

It were presumptuous to be very positive as to the meaning of a prophecy which is yet to be accomplished; but, comparing it with other prophecies of the same event, the following particulars appear to be conveyed by it. First: That the Jews shall be restored to their own land prior to their conversion. Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem, ver. 6. This event may be accomplished in the ordinary course of Providence, by some of the great conquerors of the world, who shall find their interest in it, and be induced, as Cyrus was in a former in stance, to favour it. Secondly: That a grand combination will be formed against them with a view to dispossess them, ver. 2. 9. Thirdly That the nations engaged in this combination will be repulsed, and sorely punished for their presumptuous attempt,