Zechariah 1:10

Preface To The Prophet Zechariah (1532) This prophet lived after the Babylonian Captivity and with his comrade, Haggai, helped to rebuild the Temple and bring the scattered people together again, so that government and order might again be set up in the land. He is in truth one of the most comforting of the prophets, for he brings forward many lovely and comforting visions, and gives many kindly words, in order to encourage and strengthen the troubled and scattered people to set up the building and the government, in spite of the great and various resistance which they had endured. He does this down to the fifth chapter. In the fifth chapter, under the vision of the letter and the ephah, he prophesies of the false teachers who are afterwards to come among the Jewish people, and who will deny Christ; and this still applies to the Jews at the present day. In the sixth, he prophesies of the Gospel of Christ and the spiritual temple, to be built in all the world, because the Jews denied Him and would not have Him. In the seventh and eighth a question arises which the prophet answers, encouraging and exhorting them once more to build the Temple and establish the government; and with this he concludes the prophecy about the rebuilding in his time. In the ninth, he goes on to the time to come, and prophesies, first, in chapter 10, of how Alexander the Great shall win Tyre and Sidon and Philistia, so that the whole world shall be opened to the coming Gospel of Christ, and he leads King Christ into Jerusalem on an ass. In the eleventh, however, he prophesies that Christ shall be sold by the Jews for thirty pieces of silver, for which cause He will leave them, so that Jerusalem shall finally be destroyed and the Jews be hardened in their error and dispersed, and thus the Gospel and the Kingdom of Christ come to the Gentiles, after the sufferings of Christ, in which He, as the shepherd, shall be smitten, and the apostles, as the sheep, be scattered. For He must first suffer and thus enter into His glory. In the last chapter, when he has destroyed Jerusalem, he abolishes the Levitical priesthood, with its organization and vessels and festivals, and says, “All spiritual offices shall be common, for the service of God, and shall not belong to the tribe of Levi only”; that is, there shall be other priests, other festivals, other sacrifices, other worship, which other tribes can observe, nay, even the Egyptians and all Gentiles. That means that the old testament is to be abolished and taken away.

Introduction to the Book of the Prophet Zechariah Zechariah, the eleventh of the twelve minor prophets, was son of Berechiah, and grandson of Iddo. He returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel: and began to prophesy in the second year of the reign of Darius, son of Hystaspes, in the year of the world 3484; before Christ, 516; before the vulgar era, 520; in the eighth month of the holy year; and two months after Haggai had begun to prophesy. These two prophets, with united zeal, encouraged at the same time the people to go on with the work of the temple, which had been discontinued for some years. The time and place of the birth of Zechariah are unknown. Some will have him to have been born at Babylon, during the captivity; others think he was born at Jerusalem, before the tribes of Judah and Benjamin were carried away. Some maintain that he was a priest; but others affirm that he was no priest. Many say he was the immediate son of Iddo; others believe, with much more reason, that he was son of Berechiah, and grandson of Iddo. He has been confounded with one Zechariah, the son of Barachiah, who lived in the time of Isaiah; and with Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist; which opinion is plainly incongruous. Lastly, he has been thought to be Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom our Savior mentions, and says he was killed between the temple and the altar; though no such thing is anywhere said of our prophet. A tomb is shown to this day at the foot of the Mount of Olives, which, it is pretended, belongs to the prophet Zechariah. Dorotheus maintains that he was buried in a place called Bethariah, one hundred and fifty furlongs from Jerusalem. Zechariah is the longest and the most obscure of all the twelve minor prophets. His style is interrupted, and without connection. His prophecies concerning the Messiah are more particular and express than those of the other prophets. Some modern critics, as Mede and Hammond, have been of opinion that the ninth, tenth, and eleventh chapters of this prophet were written by Jeremiah; because in Matthew, Mat 27:9 , Mat 27:10 , under the name of Jeremiah, we find quoted Zechariah; ( Zac 11:12 ); and as the aforesaid chapters make but one continued discourse, they concluded from thence that all three belonged to Jeremiah. But it is much more natural to suppose that, by some unlucky mistake, the name of Jeremiah has slipped into the text of St. Matthew instead of that of Zechariah. The prophet Zechariah exactly foretold the siege of Babylon by Darius, son of Hystaspes. This prince laid siege to that rebellious city at the beginning of the fifth year of his reign, and reduced it at the end of twenty months. The prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah had foretold this calamity, and had admonished the Jews, that inhabited there to make their escape when they perceived the time draw nigh. Isaiah says to them, "Go ye forth to Babylon, flee from the Chaldeans; with a voice of singing declare ye, tell this, utter it even to the end of the earth; say ye, The Lord hath redeemed his servant Jacob." And Jeremiah says, "Remove out of the midst of Babylon, and go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as the he-goats before the flocks." And elsewhere, "Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul; be not cut off in her iniquity: for this is the time of the Lord's vengeance, He will render unto her a recompense." Lastly, Zechariah, a little before the time of her fall, writes thus to the Jews that were still in this city: "Ho, ho, come forth, and flee from the land of the north, saith the Lord; for I have spread you abroad as the four winds of heaven, saith the Lord. Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon. For thus saith the Lord of hosts, after the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you, for he that toucheth you, toucheth the apple of his eye. For, behold, I will shake mine hand upon them, and they shall be a spoil to their servants; and ye shall know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me." It is probable that the Jews took advantage of these admonitions, and returned from Babylon into their country; or, at least, withdrew into a place of more security till the city was taken. We do not hear, either from the history or the prophecies, that they suffered any thing by this siege, or that Darius, son of Hystaspes, bore them any grudge for the revolt of Babylon; which seems to indicate that they had no part in it. The Mohammedans do not distinguish between the prophet Zechariah, and Zachariah the father of John the Baptist. Some of them make him to be descended from David; and others, from Levi. By an anachronism that is still more insupportable, these confound Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, with Mary or Miriam, the sister of Moses, which they derive even from the Koran itself. The author of Tarik Montekhib relates that, when Jesus Christ was born of the virgin the prophet Zechariah could not believe that a child could be born without a father; and that, declaring his sentiments upon this point, the Jews entertained a suspicion of him, and obliged him to betake himself to flight. He withdrew; and hid himself in a hollow oak, which the Jews sawed in two. Such is the ignorance of the Mussulmans as regards the history both of the Old and New Testaments. The prophet earnestly exhorts the people to repentance, that they may escape such punishments as had been inflicted on their fathers, Zac 1:1-6 . The vision of the horses, with the signification, Zac 1:7-11 . The angel of the Lord successfully intercedes in behalf of Jerusalem, Zac 1:12-17 . The vision of the four horns, and of the four carpenters, Zac 1:18-21 . Verse 1 In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius - This was Darius Hystaspes; and from this date we find that Zechariah began to prophecy just two months after Haggai. Son of Iddo - There are a number of various readings on this name, ידו Iddo, and עדוא Iddo, both in MSS. and in editions; but they are only different ways of writing the same name. Verse 2 The Lord hath been sore displeased with your fathers - For their ingratitude idolatry, iniquity, and general rebellion. Verse 3 Turn ye unto me - This shows that they had power to return, if they would but use it. And I will turn unto you - I will show you mercy and grant you salvation, if you will use the grace I have already given you. Men are lost, because they turn not unto God; but no man is lost because he had not power to return. God gives this, and he will require it. Verse 5 Your fathers, where are they? - Israel has been destroyed and ruined in the bloody wars with the Assyrians; and Judah, in those with the Chaldeans. The prophets, do they live for ever? - They also, who spoke unto your fathers, are dead; but their predictions remain; and the events, which have taken place according to those predictions, prove that God sent them. Verse 6 Did they not take hold of your fathers? - Every thing happened according to the predictions, and they were obliged to acknowledge this; and yet they would not turn from their evil way. Verse 7 Upon the four and twentieth day of the eleventh month - This revelation was given about three months after the former, and two months after they had recommenced the building of the temple. Sebat - Answers to a part of our February. See Hag 2:18 . Verse 8 I saw by night - The time was emblematical of the affliction under which the Jews groaned. A man - An angel in the form of a man: supposed to have been the Lord Jesus; who seems to have appeared often in this way, as a prelude to his incarnation; see Jos 5:13 ; Eze 1:26 ; Dan 7:13 ; Dan 10:6 . The same, probably, that appeared to Joshua with a drawn sword, as the captain of the Lord's host. Jos 5:13-15 . A red horse - An emblem of war and bloodshed. Among the myrtle trees - This tree was an emblem of peace; intimating that all war was shortly to end. But some think these trees are emblematical of the true followers of Christ. And behind him were there red horses - Probably pointing out the different orders of angels in the heavenly host, which are employed by Christ in the defense of his Church. The different colors may point out the gradations in power, authority, and excellence, of the angelic natures which are employed between Christ and men. Verse 9 O my lord, what are these - The angel here mentioned was distinct from those mentioned in the eighth verse; he who talked with the prophet, Zac 1:13 . Verse 10 The man that stood among the myrtle trees - The angel of the Covenant, as above, Zac 1:11 . Whom the Lord hath sent - Who are constituted guardians of the land. Verse 11 All the earth sitteth still, and is at rest - There is general peace through the Persian empire, and other states connected with Judea; but the Jews are still in affliction; their city is not yet restored, nor their temple built. Verse 12 Then the angel of the Lord - He who was among the myrtles - the Lord Jesus. O Lord of hosts, how long - Jesus Christ was not only the "Lamb slain from the foundation of the world," but was always the sole Mediator and intercessor between God and man. These threescore and ten years? - This cannot mean the duration of the captivity for that was nearly twenty years past. It must mean simply the time that had elapsed from the destruction of the temple to the time in which the angel spoke. As the temple was destroyed in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar, and this vision took place in the second year of Darius, the term of seventy years was completed, or nearly so, between these two periods. Verse 13 The Lord answered the angel - And the angel told the prophet that the answer was gracious and comfortable. This answer is given in the next verse. Verse 14 I am jealous for Jerusalem - I have for them a strong affection; and indignation against their enemies. Verse 15 I was but a little displeased - I was justly displeased with my people, and I gave their enemies a commission against them; but they carried this far beyond my design by oppression and cruelty; and now they shall suffer in their turn. Verse 16 I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies - Before, he came to them in judgments; and the principal mercy is, the house of the Lord shall be rebuilt, and the ordinances of' the Lord re-established. And a line shall be stretched forth - The circuit shall be determined, and the city built according to the line marked out. Verse 17 By cities - shall yet be spread abroad - The whole land of Judea shall be inhabited, and the ruined cities restored. Verse 18 And behold four horns - Denoting four powers by which the Jews had been oppressed; the Assyrians, Persians, Chaldeans, and Egyptians. Or these enemies may be termed four, in reference to the four cardinal points of the heavens, whence they came: - 1. North. The Assyrians and Babylonians. 2. East. The Moabites and Ammonites. 3. South. The Egyptians. 4. West. The Philistines. See Martin. Verse 20 Four carpenters - Four other powers, who should defeat the powers intended by the horns. These are the same as the four chariots mentioned Zac 6:1-3 , Zac 6:6 , Zac 6:7 . The first was Nabopolassar, father of Nebuchadnezzar, who overturned the empire of the Assyrians. The second was Cyrus, who destroyed the empire of the Chaldeans. The third was Alexander the Great, who destroyed the empire of the Persians. And the fourth was Ptolemy, who rendered himself master of Egypt. Some of these had already been cast down; the rest were to follow. Calmet gives this interpretation, and vindicates it at length. Verse 21 These are come to fray them - To break, pound, and reduce them to powder. Fray, from the French, frayer, to rub. חרשים charashim signifies either carpenters or smiths; probably the latter are here intended, who came with hammers, files, and such like, to destroy these horns, which no doubt seemed to be of iron. From a sensible correspondent I have received the following note: - "The word we translate carpenters, חרשים charashim, is a root which, according to Mr. Parkhurst, denotes silent thought or attention; and in kal and hiphil, to contrive, devise secretly, or in silence; hence applied as a noun to an artificer of any kind, and to any work which disposes to silent attention. Thus, to potters' ware, Lev 6:28 ; Job 2:8 ; and in many other places. So also to ploughing, Deu 22:10 ; Pro 20:4 , which requires constant attention to make 'the right-lined furrow.' Let it be remembered that in ancient times such works were more esteemed than the useless ones we have learned to admire. So again, in Gen 24:21 , and elsewhere, it implies to be silent, as in deep thought or great attention. "Now it is evident that the purport of this vision is the same with the gracious declarations which precede it, viz., to express the return of the protecting mercies of God to his people, delivering them from their enemies. I should therefore be inclined to render חרשים charashim here, watchers or inspectors, in the sense which our translators have rendered the Chaldee עיר ir, a watcher, in the fourth chapter of Daniel, Dan 4:13 ; understanding thereby 'spirits of the heavens, which go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth,' Zac 6:6 , and are described in the first vision as 'sent to walk to and fro through the earth.' This gives to the whole narrative a sublime and important sense, affording us some glimpse of the Divine government by the ministration of angels, such as Jacob was favored with in his vision at Beth-el, and which our Savior himself informed Nathanael constituted part of the glory of his mediatorial kingdom." - M. A. B.

The Vision of the Horse and Myrtles; Intercession for Jerusalem. ( b. c. 520.) 7 Upon the four and twentieth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Sebat, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the Lord unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying, 8 I saw by night, and behold a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees that were in the bottom; and behind him were there red horses, speckled, and white. 9 Then said I, O my lord, what are these? And the angel that talked with me said unto me, I will shew thee what these be. 10 And the man that stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, These are they whom the Lord hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth. 11 And they answered the angel of the Lord that stood among the myrtle trees, and said, We have walked to and fro through the earth, and, behold, all the earth sitteth still, and is at rest. 12 Then the angel of the Lord answered and said, O Lord of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which thou hast had indignation these threescore and ten years? 13 And the Lord answered the angel that talked with me with good words and comfortable words. 14 So the angel that communed with me said unto me, Cry thou, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy. 15 And I am very sore displeased with the heathen that are at ease: for I was but a little displeased, and they helped forward the affliction. 16 Therefore thus saith the Lord ; I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies: my house shall be built in it, saith the Lord of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem. 17 Cry yet, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; My cities through prosperity shall yet be spread abroad; and the Lord shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem. We not come to visions and revelations of the Lord; for in that way God chose to speak by Zechariah, to awaken the people's attention, and to engage their humble reverence of the word and their humble enquiries into it, and to fix it the more in their minds and memories. Most of the following visions seem designed for the comfort of the Jews, now newly returned out of captivity, and their encouragement to go on with the building of the temple. The scope of this vision (which is as an introduction to the rest) is to assure the Jews of the care God took of them, and the eye of his providence that was upon them for good, now in their present state, when they seem to be deserted, and their case deplorable. The vision is dated ( v. 7 ) the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, three months after he preached that sermon ( v. 1 ), in which he calls them to repentance from the consideration of God's judgments. Finding that that sermon had a good effect, and that they returned to God in a way of duty, the assurances he had given them are confirmed, that God would return to them in a way of mercy. Now observe here, I. What the prophet saw, and the explication of that. 1. He saw a grove of myrtle-trees, a dark shady grove, down in a bottom, hidden by the adjacent hills, so that you were not aware of it till you were just upon it. This represented the low, dark, solitary, melancholy condition of the Jewish church at this time. They were over-topped by all their neighbours, buried in obscurity; what friends they had were hidden, and there appeared no way of relief and succour for them. Note, The church has not been always visible, but sometimes hidden, as the woman in the wilderness, Rev. xii. 6 . 2. He saw a man mounted upon a red horse, standing in the midst of this shady myrtle-grove. This man is no other than the man Christ Jesus, the same that appeared to Joshua with his sword drawn in his hand as captain of the host of the Lord ( Josh. v. 13, 14 ) and to John with his bow and his crown, Rev. vi. 2 . Though the church was in a low condition, yet Christ was present in the midst of it. Was it hidden by the hills? He was much more hidden in the myrtle-grove, yet hidden as in an ambush, ready to appear for the seasonable relief of his people, to their happy surprise. Compare Isa. xlv. 15 , Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself, and yet Israel's God and Saviour at the same time, their Holy One in the midst of them. He was riding, as a man of war, as a man in haste, riding on the heavens for the help of his people, Deut. xxxiii. 26 . He rode on a red horse, either naturally so or dyed red with the blood of war, as this same victorious prince appeared red in his apparel, Isa. lxiii. 1, 2 . Red is a fiery colour, denoting that he is jealous for Jerusalem ( v. 14 ) and very angry at her enemies. Christ, under the law, appeared on a red horse, denoting the terror of that dispensation, and that he had yet his conflict before him, when he was to resist unto blood. But, under the gospel, he appears on a white horse ( Rev. vi. 2 , and again ch. xix. 11 ), denoting that he has now gained the victory, and rides in triumph, and hangs out the white, not the bloody flag. 3. He saw a troop of horse attending him, ready to receive and obey his orders: Behind him there were some red horses, and some speckled, and some white, angels attending the Lord Jesus, ready to be employed by him for the service of his church, some in acts of judgment, others of mercy, others in mixed events. Note, The King of the church has angels at command, not only to do him honour, but to minister for the good of those that are his. 4. He enquired into the signification of this vision. He had an angel talking with him, as his instructor, besides those he saw in the vision; so had Ezekiel ( ch. xl. 3 ), and Daniel, ch. viii. 16 . Zechariah asked him ( v. 9 ), O my Lord! what are these? And, it should seem this angel that talked with him was Christ himself, the man on the red horse, whom the rest were attendants on; to him immediately Zechariah addresses himself. Would we be acquainted with the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, we must make our application, not to angels (they are themselves learners), but to Christ himself, who is alone able to take the book, and open the seals, Rev. v. 7 . The prophet's question implies a humble acknowledgment of his own ignorance and an earnest desire to be informed. O let me know what these are! This he desired, not for the satisfying of his curiosity, but that he might be furnished with something proper for the comfort and encouragement of the people of God, in their present distress. 5. He received from the angel that talked with him ( v. 9 ), and from the man that stood among the myrtle-trees ( v. 10 ), the interpretation of this vision. Note, Jesus Christ is ready to instruct those that are humbly desirous to be taught the things of God. He immediately said, I will show thee what these are. What knowledge we have, or may have, concerning the world of spirits, we are indebted to Christ for. The account given him was, These are those whom the Lord has sent: they are his messengers, his envoys, appointed (as his eyes are said to do, 2 Chron. xvi. 9 ) to walk, to run, to fly swiftly through the earth, to observe what is done in it and to execute the divine commands. God needs them not, but he is pleased to employ them, and we need the comfort arising from the doctrine of their administration. II. What the prophet heard, and what instructions were thereby given him. Faith comes by hearing, and, generally, in visions there was something said. 1. He heard the report or representation which the angels made to Christ of the present state of the world, v. 11 . They had been out abroad, as flying posts ( being hastened by the King of kings' commandment, Esth. iii. 15 ), and, having returned, they give this account to the Angel that stood among the myrtle-trees (for to the Lord Jesus angels themselves are accountable): We have walked to and fro through the earth, and, behold all the earth sits still and is at rest. We are taught to pray that the will of God may be done by men on earth as it is done by the angels in heaven; and here we see what need we have to pray so, for it is far from being so. For, (1.) We find the world of angels here very busy. Those that are employed in the court above rest not day nor night from praising God, which is their business there; and those that are employed in the camp below are never idle, nor lose time; they are still ascending and descending upon the Son of man ( John i. 51 , as on Jacob's ladder, Gen. xxviii. 12 ); they are still walking to and fro through the earth. Thus active, thus industrious, Satan owns himself to be in doing mischief, Job i. 7 . It is well for us that good angels bestir themselves as much to do good, and that here in this earth we have guardians going about continually seeking to do us a kindness, as we have adversaries which, as roaring lions, go about continually, seeking to devour us. Though holy angels in this earth meet with a great deal that is disagreeable, yet, while they are going on God's errands, they hesitate not to walk to and fro through it. Their own habitation, which those that fell liked not, they will like the better when they return. (2.) We find the world of mankind here very careless: All the earth sits still, and is at rest, while all the church is made uneasy, tossed with tempests and not comforted. Those that are strangers to the church are secure; those that are enemies to it are successful. The Chaldeans and Persians dwell at ease, while the poor Jews are continually alarmed; as when the king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city Shushan was perplexed. The children of men are merry and jovial, but none grieve for the affliction of God's children. Note, It is sad to think what a deep sleep the world is cast into, what a spirit of slumber has seized the generality of mankind, that are under God's wrath and Satan's power, and yet secure and unconcerned! They sit still and are at rest, Luke xvii. 26 , &c. 2. He heard Christ's intercession with the Father for his afflicted church, v. 12 . The angels related the posture of affairs in this lower world, but we read not of any prayers they made for the redress of the grievances they had made a remonstrance of. No; it is the Angel among the myrtle-trees that is the great intercessor. Upon the report of the angels he immediately turned heavenward, and said, Lord, wilt thou not have mercy on thy church? (1.) The thing he intercedes for is mercy; as Ps. lxxxv. 7 , Show us thy mercy, O Lord! Note, God's mercy is all in all to the church's comfort; and all his mercy must be hoped for through Christ's mediation. (2.) The thing he complains of is the delay of this mercy: How long wilt thou not have mercy! He knows that mercies through him shall be built up for ever ( Ps. lxxxix. 2 ), but thinks it long that the building is deferred. (3.) The objects of compassion recommended to the divine mercies are, Jerusalem, the holy city, and the other cities of Judah that were now in ruins; for God had had indignation against them now threescore and ten years. He mentions seventy years because that was the time fixed in the divine councils for the continuance of the captivity; so long the indignation lasted, and though now for a little space grace had been shown them from the Lord their God, to give them some reviving ( Ezra ix. 8 ), yet the scars of those seventy years' captivity still remained so deep, so painful, that this is the melancholy string they still harp upon—the divine indignation during those seventy years. Dr. Lightfoot thinks that whereas the seventy years of the captivity were reckoned from Jehoiakim's fourth year, and ended in the first of Cyrus, these seventy years are to be computed from the eleventh of Zedekiah, when Jerusalem and the temple were burnt, about nineteen years after the first captivity, and which ended in this second year of Darius Hystaspes, about seventeen years after Cyrus's proclamation, as that seventy years mentioned ch. vii. 5 was about nineteen years after; the captivity went off, as it came on, gradually. "Lord, we are still under the burden of the seventy years' wrath, and wilt thou be angry with us for ever? " 3. He heard a gracious reply given to this intercession of Christ's for his church; for it is a prevailing intercession, always acceptable, and him the Father heareth always ( v. 13 ): The Lord answered the angel, this angel of the covenant, with good words and comfortable words, with promises of mercy and deliverance, and the perfecting of what he had begun in favour to them. These were comfortable words to Christ, who is grieved in the grievances of his church, and comfortable to all that mourn with Zion. God often answers prayer with good words, when he does not immediately appear in great works; and those good words are real answers to prayer. Men's good words will not feed the body ( Jam. ii. 16 ), but God's good words will feed the faith, for saying and doing with him are not two things, though they are with us. 4. He heard that reply which was given to the angel repeated to himself, with a commission to publish it to the children of his people, for their comfort. The revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave to him he signified to his servant John, and by him to the churches, Rev. i. 1 , 4 . Thus all the good words and comfortable words of the gospel we receive from Jesus Christ, as he received them from the Father, in answer to the prayer of his blood, and his ministers are appointed to preach them to all the world. Now that God would speak comfortably to Jerusalem, Zechariah is the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare you the way of the Lord. The voice said, Cry. Cry then. The prophets must now cry as loudly to show God's people their comforts as ever they did formerly to show them their transgressions, Isa. xl. 2, 3 , 6 . And if he ask, What shall I cry? he is here instructed. (1.) He must proclaim the wrath God has in store for the enemies of Jerusalem. He is jealous for Zion with great jealousy, v. 14 . He takes himself to be highly affronted by the injuries and indignities that are done to his church, as he had been formerly by the iniquities found in his church. The earth sat still and was at rest ( v. 11 ), not relenting at all, nor showing the least remorse, for all the mischief they had done to Jerusalem, as Joseph's brethren, who, when they had sold him, sat down to eat bread; and this God took very ill ( v. 15 ): I am very sorely displeased with the heathen, that are at ease, and have no concern for the afflicted church. Much more will he be displeased with those that are at ease in Zion ( Amos vi. 1 ), with Zion's own sons, that sympathize not with her in her sorrows. But this was not all; they were not only not concerned for her, but they were concerned against her: I was but a little displeased with my people, and designed to correct them moderately, but those that were employed as instruments of the correction cast off all pity, and with the greatest rage and malice helped forward the affliction and added to it, persecuting those whom God had smitten ( Ps. lxix. 26 ) and insulting over those whom he had troubled. See Isa. xlvii. 6 ; x. 5 ; Ezek. xxv. 12, 15 . Note, God is displeased with those who help forward the affliction even of such as suffer justly; for true humanity, in such a case, is good divinity. (2.) He must proclaim the mercy God has in store for Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, v. 16 . He must cry, " Thus saith the Lord, I have returned to Jerusalem with mercies. I was going away in wrath, but I am now returning in love. Cry yet to the same purport," v. 17 . There must now be line upon line for consolation, as formerly there had been for conviction. The Lord, even the Lord of hosts, assures them, [1.] That the temple shall be built that is now but in the building. This good work which they are now about, though it meet with much discouragement, shall be perfected, and they shall have the tokens of God's presence, and opportunities of conversing with him, and worshipping him, as formerly. Note, It is good news indeed to any place to hear that God will build his house in it. [2.] That Jerusalem shall again be built as a city compact together, which had formerly been its glory, Ps. cxxii. 3 . A line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem, in order to the rebuilding of it with great exactness and uniformity. [3.] That the nation shall again become populous and rich, though now diminished and impoverished. Not only Jerusalem, but other cities that are reduced and lie in a little compass, shall yet spread abroad, or be diffused; their suburbs shall extend far, and colonies shall be transplanted from them; and this through prosperity: they shall be so numerous, and so wealthy, that there shall not be room for them; they shall complain that the place is too strait, Isa. xlix. 20 . As they had been scattered and spread abroad, through their calamities, so they should now be through their prosperity. Let thy fountains be dispersed, Prov. v. 16 . The cities that should thus increase God calls his cities; they are blessed by him, and they are fruitful and multiply, and replenish the land. [4.] That all their present sorrows should not only be balanced, but for ever silenced, by divine consolations: The Lord shall yet comfort Zion. Yet at length, though her griefs and grievances may continue long, God has comforts in reserve for Zion and all her mourners. [5.] That all this will be the fruit of God's preventing distinguishing favour: He shall yet choose Jerusalem, shall renew his choice, renew his covenant, shall make it appear that he has chosen Jerusalem. As he first built them up into a people when he brought them out of Egypt, so he will now rebuild them, when he brings them out of Babylon, not for any worthiness of theirs, but in pursuance of his own choice, Deut. vii. 7, 8 . Jerusalem is the city he has chosen, and he will not cast it off.

These - Horsemen, are angels, who are ministers of the Divine Providence in the government of the world.