II. PAST EXPERIRNOE. (Seevers. 5, 6.) In these they are reminded: 1. That some things belonging to the past had indeed passed away, as it were. "Their fathers," e.g. who had recei"cd so many warnings, and despised them. Even "the prophets" l\lsu, who hnd delivered these warnings, and believed them, had fulfilled their days, and dep11rt.ed. Like a scene in a play, like a picture in a magic-lantern, there was some- t.hin~ el~e in their place. 2. Some things belonging to the past were still remaining. The truth of God's Word, for example (see Ps. vi. 6--8). This manifest to their senses. Did not "my words and my statutes take hold of your fathers"? All their recent history, their complete and long-enduring captivity, their partial return 1 their present condition, an affirmative answer to this question. This same truth acknowledged, too, by those gone. They acknowledged the fact: "As God thought to do, so he did." They acknowledged its justice: "According to our ways, and according to our doings, so bath he" done (comp. Lam. ii.17, 18; and as to the general principle, Judg. i. 7). This the special triumph of God's Word, that it i& vindicated and preached at times by its bitterest foes (Gal. i. 23; John xi. 49-52. Also the saying att.ributed to Julian the Apostate, "Thou hast conquered, 0 Galilman l "). Jn conclusion, we may note and admire in this passage: 1. The discrimination oj Scripture. How C"xactly suited the whole tenor of this passage to the case of those here addressed! Reminding us of the "wise steward," who gives to "every one a portion of mmt in due season." Also of the declaration of the apostle, that all inspired Scripture is so variou.~ly profitable a.s to ma.ke "the man of God" complete, or perfect, as to all that he needs (2 Tim. iii. 16, 17). 2. The faithfulness of Scripture. How different all this from the flattery with which most nations are addressed by their teachers; and which most nations also demand l Contrast" When France is content, Europe is tranquil;" also, as to our own country, the words of the poet- - " Thou shalt flourish, great and free, The dread and envy of them all." 3. The mercy of Scripture. Notwithstanding all provocations-all personal, all patri- monial, iniquity-the language of God here is, with outstretched hand (Rom. x. 21), "Be ye reconciled unto me" (2 Cor. v. 20; comp. also Hos. iii., and the emphatic "only" in Jer. iii. 12-14). Note also how greatly this mercy is set forth by the greatness of the faithfulness before named. In the words of our English laureate- " He showed me o.ll the mercy, For he showed me all the sin."
V ers. 7-11.-.A vision of re$t. " Upon the four and twentieth dl),y of the eleventh month, which is the month Sebat, in the second year of Da.rius, came the word of the Lord unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiab, the son of lddo the prophet," etc. Several poiuts in this vision, as in many others, cannot certainly be explained. The nature and sio-nificance of the colours of the horses is one of these points. Another is as to the id:ntity or otherwise of t-he "angel" of ver. 9 with that of the "rider" of ver. 8, who seems undeniably to be the "man" of ver. 10 and the "angel of the Lord" of vers. 11, 12. The idea of identity is favoured by Pusey's rendering, "talked in me," com- pared with Numb. xii. 6-9; Hab. ii. 1; 1 Pet. i.11; also by the ½igh_ probability of the person 1,romising in ver. 9 being the same as the person performing 1n ver. 10; and by the similar probability that the person asking 1n ver. 12, and the person answere(l in ver. 13, should be one and the same. From these very uncertainties, however, we may, perhaps, learn an incidental truth of importance. We may learn, e.g., that the agents of God are not less manifold, and not less mysterious to ns, than his works. Also that whether the "an"el of the Lord" speaks to us directly, or only by the instrumentality of one of hi; accredited servants, it comes to much the same in the end. Jn the rest of the vision we may notice (1) the King himself; (2) the King's servants; and (3) the King's work. I. THE Knm HIMSELF. Under this head we learn: 1. His condition. He appears as a Rider· i.e. as one who has left his borne and is on a journey for a season. 2. His rardc. H; has many and various attendants, but all "behind him" ( comp. Rev. xix. 14, wllerc the rider probably appears on a white horse, because riding in triumph). OH. I. 1-21.] THE BOOK OF ZECHARIAH. 7