standing we have so much cause to weep day and night for our sins, and are really desirous to do so, we can rarely, if ever, bring our souls to any measure of tenderness and grief. But let us look more at Christ as dying for us ; and not confine our attention, as we too often do, to our sins. Let us particularly beg of Christ to pour out his Spirit upon us, and then the heart of stone shall soon give way to a heart of flesh™. The Spirit of grace and of supplications will easily effect, what, without his aid, is impossible to man : and the rocky heart, once struck by him, shall yield its penitential streams through all this dreary wilderness".]
m Ezek. xxxvi. 26. n Alluding to Numb. xx. 11.
Zech. xiii. 1. In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin, and for uncleanness.
THE various metaphors by which our Lord is described in Scripture, while they give just represen- tations of him, are frequently calculated in a peculiar manner to impress the minds of those who heard them. This remark admits of the fullest confirmation from our Lord's own discourses a: it may also be illustrated by the prophecy before us. The Jews had heard of the wanderings of their ancestors in the wilderness ; and they had themselves traversed a much larger tract of country in their return from the Baby- lonish captivity. To them therefore the tidings of a fountain to be opened would convey very strong and pleasing sensations. Nor shall zee be unaffected by them if we lament our spiritual defilements.
We propose to consider,
I. The meaning of the prophecy —
The Scriptures often mention a time under the expression " that day" —
[This expression sometimes refers to the apostolic, and sometimes to the millennial period. It is to be understood in this place as designing the former. That was a day in com- parison of which all preceding ages were but as the morning
a See John vi. 35. and xi. 25.
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dawn: then the mists of Gentile ignorance and Jewish super- stition were dispelled before the Sun of Righteousness.]
At that period Christ was to be known under the notion of " a fountain" —
[Christ is frequently spoken of under the metaphor of a fountain b. He virtually applies the name to himself0. He is described nearly by the same character even in heaven d. He justly answers to this description, having within himself an inexhaustible source of blessings.]
He was to be a fountain " opened" —
[From eternity was he as " a fountain sealed," having in himself all fulness, before there existed any creatures to wdiom he might impart of it. Before his incarnation he afforded a scanty measure of his Spirite. At the time of his death he properly became a fountain opened.]
The persons for whom it was to be opened were " the house of David," &c. —
["The house of David" are the spiritual seed of Christ f. "The inhabitants of Jerusalem" are the members of the Christian Church. Both together import all believers, high and low, rich and poor ; none are excluded who wish to parti- cipate his blessings.]
The end for which it was to be opened was, to cleanse from " sin" —
[There had been fountains for ceremonial uncleanness3. There were also fountains for the cure of bodily disorders^.
b Jer. ii. 13. Isai. xii. 3.
0 The Jews after their return from Babylon used on a certain day to fetch water in a joyous and triumphant manner from the pool of Siloam, in reference, it is supposed, to Isai. xii. 3. And on that day our Lord addressed them, and pointed them to himself as the true well of salvation, John vii. 37, 38.
d Rev. xxii. 1. The river, which John beheld, proceeded out of the throne of the Lamb.