PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
The Pulpit Commentary — Zechariah
William J. Deane [1853-1943] · 158,320 words · 170 reading sections
The Pulpit Commentary — Zechariah — Section 121
t-he buildings they gloried in would thus perish. They would perish tlms, (1) howover costly, even though e.lmost bu!lt, as it were, of the precious cedar (Jor. xxil. 13, 14); nud (2) however ve.ried, whether coro~&r-able to "cedar," or-" oak," or cypress; e.nd fiually (3) however strong, or "mighty, even If compara…
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Vere. 7-14.-A final opportunity. "And I will feed the flock of slaughter,'' etc. Although the "flock" of Israel was ripe for "slaughter "-as we saw in our last-there was to bo, nevertheless, e. certain measure of pause before that slau::,;hter began (comp. 1 Pot. iii. 20). Israel should hear again, if only once more, a…
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Vere. 16-17.-..4. picture of antichrist. "An: the Lord said unto me, Take unto thee yet the instruments of a foolish shepherd," etc. After the experience of the good Shepherd comes the description of the bad; after the right "instruments," the wrong ones ; after the Christ, the antichrist, the person wurping the tru…
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Vars. 5, 6.-0ppressors and oppressed. I. Goo's JUDGMENT ON OPPRESSORS. Power great thing. Test of character. Few able to use it rightly. Even the" wise man" (Eccles. vii. 7) ma.y have his head turned, and act as if "mad." The "shepherds " false to their awful trust. Hence the people became the prey of oppressors. Merci…
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III. DooM. "Woe." 1. Hardened in evil. Degrada.tion, Judicia,l blindness. 2. Cursed with uselessness. 3. Destined to destruction. "Alas, my brother I ronncl thy tomb In sorrow kneeling and in fear We read the pastor's doom, Who speaks and will not hear." (Keble.) F. Vera. 1, 2,-The cedars, fir trees, and oal,s o…
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Ver. 3.-Bad men in high office. "There is a voice of the howling of the shepherds; for their glory is spoiled: a voice of the roaring of young lions; for the pride of Jordan is Bpoiled." We have here two subjects of thought. I. BAD MEN IN HIGH OFFICE. The men referred to here are called "shepherds," which is a desi…
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covert and hn.bi tot ion of the young lions, the two parts of the figure are appropriate. As the lions howl and roar in dismay and fury when dislodged from their refuges a.nd dwelling-places, whether by the swelling flood sweeping over their lairs, or from the cutting down or the burning of their habitations, so shoul…
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tb~nked God for the riches wliich they had won by their cruelty and Injustice. "Ille~~ed be the Lord; for I R.m rich." There R.re men who say this now, men who say," Blessed be the Lord; for I am rich," not thinking how the riches have come. The history of fortune-mR.king is too often the history of crime. CoNcLusroN.…
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which he bates. Thie is hie glory. But forma.n to abhM him, this is the grea.tsin, the fontal sin, the source of all other sins. To abhor the infinitely Loving a.nd Lovable is indeed, n moral enormity. They "hated me without a. cause." ' III. 'l'HIS MUTUAL MORAL ANTAGONISM EXPLAINS THE BIN AND WRETCHEDNESI! 01" THE…
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Vers.12-14.-A model, spiritual teacher. "And I said unto them, If ye think good give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. And the Lord said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cas…
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£100 for n horse I Curates are starving, whilst cooks, dressmakers, and tailors are go Uing fat. III. His INDEPENDENT SOUL REPUDIATES INADEQUATE BE0ULAR ACKNOWLEDG- MENTS, "And the Lord said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I wns prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast …
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EXPOSITION. CHAPTER XIL God creates the souls of men, and moulds and guides them. In life e.nd death men Ver. 1-ch. xiv. 21.-B. THE SEOO:!l'D work out his purposes (Numb. xvi. 22; Heb; BURDEN. xii. 9). Vera. 1-9.-§ 1. The prophet proceeds Ver. 2.-,-A oup of trembling; a bo1Dl of to announce Israel's conflict with h…
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intorprotation of tho passage which mo.kes Ver, 5.-The governors (chieftain~) of Jud11h join with the enemy in 11t.tacking J'udah she.II se.y in their heart. The leaders Jerusa.lem ie precluded by the very intimate of Judah have a profound, settled conviction union between Judah and Jerusalem de• that Jehovah is on his…
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God (E7oltim). The chiers of the theocracy " They shall look to me becnuse they in- 11h1Ll1 be C'ndowcd with 1111pem1Lt11r1Ll might, sulted," either reading the ll\et verb differ- the expression, "11e God," being expllLincd ently, or underste.nding it figure.tively in the in the next e!1Luse. Septu1Lgint, ,l,s olr<os s…
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and tho destruction of the flrstborn of the occurred only to disbeliever3 in revelatiJln. Egyptians (see Expoeitor, vol. vi. p. 131, etc.). The LXX., mistaking the text, gives, c:., Ver. 11.-As if the o.bove comparisons K0"11'f'TbJ ~o~voJ Iv 1rE6{c,, iK.KcnrToufvov, "8.8 were not strong enough, the prophet pre- mourni…
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every B<'pe,rate Gentile nation or people will be ernployed In this siege. All the rest of the world RgRin8t JeruAAlem. Snob i~ what we seem to see here. Such is what we ~l'em to see also in such passages 11.S Ezek. xxxviii. 1-16 (where note specinl mention, a~ in ,er. 4 here, of "horses" and "horsemen"); Joel iii. …
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thoso who had beon identified with it for so many generations. 2. How this desc·rip• tion of safety is justified, (1) It is so if we take ver. 5 as it stands, by the thorough confidenco of the "governors" in the people of Jerusalem. They acknowledge this people to be their "strength," not with their lips only, but in t…
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destruction of their many enemies, they, on the other hand, will bo seen to he over- whelmed with sorrow of heart. 'l'heir souls, as it were, will be plunged into darkness at the very breaking of day. The very thing they have hoped for seems close at hand; and, lo! they are as men in despair. Equally remarkable, nex…
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Vere. ll-14.-77ie great mourning. The scene depicted has reference first of a.11 to the Jews. Already partially fulfilled. But the principles involved are of universal application. Take it to illustrate true repentance. I. Goo FOR ITS 0AUSE. Not man, but God. The Father of our spirits acting on our spirit. "The spirit…
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history, that the "mischief" of a man "shall return upon his own head, and his violent dealing sho.11 come clown upon his own pate" (Ps. vii. 16). The conduct of Joseph's brethren o.nd of Haman mo.y be cited as illustrations; but the conduct of the Jews townrcls the Messiah is an example for all times, most mighty and …
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heartless, dsstard_ly soldiory or populaoe, is ,veakn,ess, disappointment, 11nd discomfiture to the best~nce1\'Cid pl11ns of the most bold, pruaent, and experienced loaders." All good people over all the earth will one day be thoroughly united-united, not in opinion, for this would be, if poasible, undesirable; but i…
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upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitter- ness for his firstborn," etc. To whatever particular event tbie p…
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CHAPTER XIll. exilian authorship of this part of Zechariah. But the prophet, grounding hie message on Vere. 1-6.-§ 3. This f"epentance tM?l l.ead past history, does well to give assurance to purificatio,n from past d,efil,ement. and a that such lapses shall not happen a.gain. rwzction against i&latry and false prophe…
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compla.in of the fo. vour shown to theee hie body. Jerome considers these scars to deceivers (comp. 1811,, ix. 15; Jer. v. 31; be me.rka of correction e.ncl punishment at Mica.h ii. 11) ; a.ncl we never rca.d of the the hands of his parents. More probably lega.l punishment being inflicted a.fter due they e.re thought …
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particulnr person was indi<"nted, but rather cover aml protect some, while ho punlehea e.11 the leaders of the people of God; but the others. Those thus protpated o.re oe.lled the next clause seems to render the the little ones, the h umblo o.nd meek. relerence definite. The me.n the.t is my This reoa.lls Christ's word…
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higher t,he Lnwgiver, the more this rensoning holds. The greater also, s11ch being the case, and that both in itself and also before him, is the offence of rebelling against him. And it is this "offence," this deadly "offence," that the mystical fountain here described in the first place-providing, as it does," a fu…
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Vers. 2-6.-The end of error. "And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols," etc. After the end of sin, the end of that which leads to sin, viz. of error. This gift completes the previous blessings by making them lasting and ~ure (comp. Ps. lxxxv. 8). This g…
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ii. 26; v. 4). (2) He is supreme in nature. He is Jehovah's "fellow," or equal, just as men dwelling together in Palestine as neighbours (see Lev. xix. 15, 17; xxv. 14, 15, eto., where the same word is employed) were fellows, or equals. Higher than this-- higher, i.e., than the highest-who can possibly be? 2. H(YII) wo…
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debarred. In the promise of God-by the atoning death of Christ-through the ministry of grace, the fountain bas been opened for all (John xix. 34; 1 John i. 7; Heb. ix. 13). 2. Plenitude of supp'ly. Not a pool or a cistern, but a fountain 1 with rich and ample supplies for all. Thousands and tens of thousands have alrea…
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patent to every man's observation and consciousness. 2. The remo11al of sin i.~ the w01·ld's great necessity. Its existence is the ea.use of a.II the miseries of the world, physical, social, political, religious. 3. Provisions for its removal abound. "A fountain opened." Sin and uncleanness are not a.a essential part o…
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they will do it under A false chaT110l!er, such as farmers or herdmen. "I belong to that class in Bociety which lies under the l!'ast suspicion of nspiring to a function in which knowledge of affairs, dexterity in making use of men's weaknesses, and some lit.erary f11culty are needed. Besides, • men own me from my you…
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interests and aimA, The poorest labourer in the cause of gospel truth is a" fellow" with the Archbishop of Canterbury, even a fellow-labourer of Christ, and fellow- fobotirer with God himself, Evangelical writers, however, apply the language to Obrist, without much critical examination and without hesitation. They do t…
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EXPOSITION. CHAPTER XIV. people were carried away: in this capture of the city a remnant shell he left therein. Vers. 1, 2.-----§ 5. The afflictions of the It is plain from this statement the.t the people &nd their results a.re set forth in prophecy cannot apply to the destruction of fignre and symbol. Jerwa1.em ill…
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Kings xxiii. 13 ( whore it is calle<l " the ing, there shall no longer be the inter- mount of corruption"), etc. Shall oleave change of see.sons, but one lasting eunshine. in the midst thereof. AB tho enemy are It ie plain the.t e. time of distress and supposed to beset Jerusalem, so o.s to make cnlamity is intended, a…
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The deeoription ie symbolioal, though the with Umm-er-Rummamin, o. town ten miles natural featuN"s of the oouutry are BUppoead north of Beersheba. It aball be lifted UI\, to be <'-hanged in order to preserve veri- Jerusalem shall remain cxo.lted on its bill, similitude ((lomp. Ezek. xlvii. I, eto.; Joel while all th…
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r,ifHls further details oonccrninr, the destrucwm vii. 2-i, 25). Tents; eamps; Septuagint, ,rap• of the enemies : they shall perish by plague, ,µ{3oJ..a,s. The verse illustrates the utter by mutual slaughter, by the sicord of Judcth. deetmction which shall befall the enemies of God's Church. Ver. 12.-Thia aha.II be t…
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him forth RB the Sustainer e.nd Guide Probably these plntes h1td the ne.mes of through life's pilgrimage. the owners engre.ven on them. The Sep- Ver. 17.-Will not oome up; g08th not up. tuagint gives " bridle," which possibly ThO!le who neglected this ye11.rly worship the unusual word metzillotli mny mee.n. shall be p…
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power against his enemies, "11s in the day of battle" (2 Pet. i. 16; 2 Thess. ii. 8; Josh, x. 14, 42); parUy, also, because he is then to a.ppear in person in the neighbour- hood of Jerusalem (ver. 4), as though in fulfilmeat of Mat.t. xxiii. 39; Acts i. 11, 12; and po.rtly, o.ga.in, because of those who are mentioned …
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and t.herefore, again, divided no more I No longer, when 11.t last in the Maeter'a presence, will they "dispute," 88 they once did "by the way" (Mark ix. 33, 34), Vere. 6---11.-..4. wonderful day. "Aud it shall come to pass in that day, t.hat the light shall not be clear, nor dark," eto. However obscure, in some respe…
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to keep others down. See how the whole civilized(!) world is standing armed to the teeth, possessed of dee.dlior weapons, Bnd, consequently, of deadlier determination, than ever. How restful to the spirit to look beyond all this to that described here! 2. Their cruel disappointments. Much as these evils have been bewA.…
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HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Ver. 5.-Lessons of the earthquake. "Speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee." So said Job (xii. 8). 'I'he earthquake serves- !. To IMPRESS us WITH THE GREATNESS OF Goo. There a.re forces great and terrible. But back of all, and controlling all, is God. So the prophets taught, and BO w…
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"Sereno will be our daye, and bright And happy will our nature bo, When love ie an unerring light, And joy ite own eeourity." (Wordsworth.) F. Vers. 16-21.-Tlte great ha,"Vest-home. The Feast of Tabernacles had a threefold reference. lt was a memorial of the pRSt, it was a service of thanksgiving, and it was al…
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ite Go<l, It hos done so in millions of inetancee, it is doing so and will continue to do eo until the present abominations shall be unknown amongst the race. II. THA'l' WHATEVER ENORMITIES THEY PERPETRATE, THEY ARE EVERMORE INBTRU- :MENTB IN THE HANDS OF THE WORLD'S GREAT RUT.ER, The period in which these abominatio…
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sufferings, in this world of sorrow, trial, and dangers I "Thou compaesest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways." II. HE MAKES A WAY FOR THEIR DELIVERANCE. "And the Mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst t-hereof toward the east and toward the west, and there 8hall be a very great valley."…
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I. HERE IB A PEIIIOD OF UNMITIGATED DIBTREBB. "Shall not be clear nor dark/ or, o.~ it is rendered, "condensed darkness." Dr. Keil gives the same idea as Dr. Hendernon, "And it will come to pass on that day, there will not be light, the glorious ones will melt o.way," 'l'his period of unmitigated calamity primarily ref…
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wide in its provisions, adnptation~, and claims. 2. Oontinuo1M11ess. " Sl!lmmer and ~inter." In all _seasons '.'f human life, individually and corpore.tely. (1) It is constant m the fitne.ss of its snpphes for human wants. Men, through all changes, in all places and through 1111 times, want Divine knowledge, moral puri…
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the plague-stricken people,'' says n. modern author, "is shocking, but it is not more than what actually occurs" (see Defoe's 'Plague of London '). Kingsley says," What so terrible as war? I will tell you what is ten times and ten thousand times more terrible than war, and that is outraged nature. Natnre, insidious, …
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was meant to keep them in mind, a.midst their abundant harvests, and well-cared-for fields and Tineyards, that l\S in the desert so still it was God who gave the increase. It was therefore' a festival most suitable for all the nations to join in, by way of acknowledging that Jehovah Wl\8 the God of nature throughout th…
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I. IT WIJ.L EMDRA0E THE AFFAIRS OF 0OMMON LIFE. "In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses." It was common amongst ancient nations to have belle on horses for use or ornament, or perhaps for both. It is said that in Alexander's funeral procession the horses had gold bells attached to their cheek-~traps. "…
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TRl!:lfK PAGE TREIIB PA.Ga Retribution 63 The Ideal King 99 Worldliness in the Church 64 The Advent of the King 100 The Flying Roll : Divine Retribution 64 The Sinner in Threo Aspects 100 A Materialistic Oommnnity 65 Viotory through God 100 The Dark and the Bright Side of God's Revelation to Mankind 100 CHAPTER VL …
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Public domain historical Pulpit Commentary. Source page identifies the volume as Public Domain; text extracted from its historical PDF.
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Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.