.lnshue,'s bend e,nd deposited in the temple and to its good men, e.nd to those the.t he.ve as a memoria.l of this prophecy, &nd of the understood it, both fur o. favour to the son zeal of those who he,d oome from far to r,f Sophonias, nnd for a psnlm in the house hrine: offerings to the Lord, and likewise of of the Lord." , the hospitality of Josiah, who had reoeivcd Ver. 15.-They the.tare far oft"; al µ111tpd11 them in to his house. That such " gifts " (Septuagint); comp. Ii:ph. ii. 18, 17. The were dedicated in tile temple is weU known Jews who had come from Babylon to. (see Judith xvi.19; 2 Maoo.v.16; ix.16; J11rusalem are o. figure of. the conversion ot· Jns,,phus, • Bell. Jud.,' ii, 17. 8; • Ant.,' distant nl\tious and their offerings to the xdi. 6. 8; xix. 6. 1; Philo, • Lege.t. ad Cai.,' Church (see HRg. ii, 7, 1md note there). § 40, ii. p. 592). Helem is the same e.s Build in the temple of the Lord. They Heldai (ver. 10), whether he bore both shall join in building up the spirituo.l UR.mes, or whether, as is probe.hie, this is e. temple, the universe.I Churoh of Christ. mere mistake of o. copyist. To Hen. The Ye shall know, etc. (oh. ii. 9, 11; iv. 9). A utborized Version considers this e.s a The Angel of J ehovo.h is spee.king in proper name. In this ce.se it would be Jehovah's name (ver. 9). What takes pince another name for Josiah. But it is really in the case of this material temple sh1<ll be an appellative, and the rendering should be, a token and e. prelude of the gree.t fulfilment " for the kindn<'sa of the son of Zephaniah." in Messianio times. If ye will diligently The crown would be also a memorial of his obey. Neither the restore.tion of the temple kmdness in receiving and entertaining these nor the advent of Messio.h's kingdom was exilCll (oomp. Matt. x. 41). The LXX. in itself doubtful; but the people's share explains the names e.s in ver. 10, though in the former, e.nd their pal'ticipo.tion in not quite in the se.me we.y, "En·a., -rois the blessings of the latter, depended on the inroµ.,11ov1T,, ,cal 'TOIS xp11ulµ.o,s a.tJ.,-ijs, ,ea.I prepe.re.tion of the heart, obedience, zeal, .,-oi'r E"ff'ryvo,,c&uw a,l,,-~v, ,ral Els xcl.p,,,.a. vloii and holiness (Dan. xii. 10; Mal. iv, 11 2; ~o,po11:o., ,cal ,is ,j,a.J..µ.1111 b of,cq, Kvplov, John i. 12; 2 Tim. ii. ll, 12). "The crown she.11 be to them that endure,
HOMILETICS. Vers. 1-8.-The ministry of angels. "And I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and, bel.old, there came four chariots out from between two mountains." 'l'his, the last of the present 1\eries of visions, is perceptibly similar in several points, to the first (cb. i. 7-11). We find mention in both, e.g., of "horses;" of the variety of their colours; of the prophet's inquiry respecting their meaning; of some of them going to and fro on the earth ; and of final "quiet'' ( ver. 8) or· " rest" (eh;' i. 11). If we were right, therefore, in WJderstanding the first as a "visioI'_ of angels," we way do the same, of course, of this last. This idea is confirmed by the frequent way in which "chariots," as here spoken of, are employed in Holy Scripture as descriptive of the angels ofG-od (see Ps. lxviii.17; Deut. miii. 2; Acts vii. 53; 2 Kings ii.11; vi.17); as also by what is said of those seen as "standing by the Lord of the whole earth" (1 Kings :x:xli. 19; Dan. vii 10; Luke i. 19; also c~.-iv. 14, supra!__where we, perha~s, have an example of the placing of men O?- an angehc level ; P-s. v1~1 •. 6 ; Lu~e xx. ~6), Te.king this general view of the passage, 1t may be und~rstood_as g1vmg us 10struct1on (1) respecting the nature of the angels; and (2) respectmg their worlc. I. THEIR NATURE. We are shown in this vision, for example: 1. How mighty they are. They a.re represented as chaiiots of war--chariots of "fire," in other places- probably because such chariots, in old da}'.s, wer~, like artillery in .~?ese days, the most formidable" arm" of an army (see Judg. 1. 19; 1v. 3; 2 Chron. xv111. 30, 31; and note how anaels, whether tlect or fallen, are i;poken of in Hom. viii. 38; Eph. i. 21; vi. 10; 2 Pet. ii. 11). 2. How orderly. Each separate emblematical "colour" being dis- tinguished from the others, and each co~ing forth in its turn. May we ,no~ _tra~e ~imilar ideas of perfect order and symmetrical arrangement, and consequent facility 10 a;;certaining numbers, in Rev. v. 11; Dan. vii. 10 (comp.Mark vi. 40, 44; and the words of the collect, "the services of men and angel~ in a wonderful order")? 3. How diverse. This, also, seems intimated by what is said of the different" colonrs" of the horses. This also we can easily understand to be true. If the varieties of men are H• many who yet are all "men," however diverse (Acts xvii. 26), why not of the augds a1'i;o? why not of the angels mnch more, being innumerable (Heb. xii, 22)? OH, VT. 1-16.] THE BOOK 01!' ZECHARIAH. 61