He now promises to hear them when they pray, and help them. He tells them that He had returned to visit them in mercy. He makes mention of the great prowess and strength for the battle, which they had exhibited when He dwelt with them before. And He signifies, that He will again make them mighty conquerors; though it is probably a very different kind of victory that is here intended. Let us then pray in their behalf, and ask of the Lord rain for them in the time of the latter rain; that now, in these last days, He may shed the dew of his grace upon their hearts, and enlist them in the service of the Gospel.

This is probably the warfare here spoken of prophetically, and in respect of which it is promised for the future, that "they shall be as mighty men, which tread down their enemies in the mire of the streets in the battle." And in this sense these promises have been already largely fulfilled. For we must never forget that the first mighty preachers of the Gospel were Jews. It was by Jews also that the Gospels were written, and the whole volume of the New Testament, as well as that of the Old. And not only were Jews the first preachers and teachers of the Gospel, but Jews were the first converts also to a great extent; both Jews in Jerusalem and Judea, and also Jews dwelling in the various countries to which the first preachers of the Gospel went. Every where these mighty men made converts, aided by the mighty working of the Spirit of God. And every where there were Jews among the converts. And who shall say, how large a portion of Christians now living on the face of the earth are descended from converted Jews? Who can deny, that by our spiritual parentage we are all children of Israel?

Nevertheless the body of that chosen race rejected their Messiah. And therefore did God scatter them among the people, as we even at this day behold them scattered. But here He promises that in the far countries of their dispersion they shall remember Him, and turn again, and live, together with their children. He speaks of their restoration to his favour in terms taken from their great deliverances of old; when Egypt was glad at their departure, and when Assyria, humbled by defeat, could not prevent their return. This we must interpret of time yet to come. And when we reflect on what wonders God has brought to pass in connexion with this people, and in exact agreement with that which He had foretold concerning them, we shall feel that nothing is too hard for Him to do in their behalf, no mercy too gracious for Him to manifest, no salvation too great for Him freely to bestow. May we feel this for ourselves, as well as for them! May we ask with faith, nothing doubting, that He will be pleased to bring us to Himself, and there stablish, strengthen, settle us; through Jesus Christ our Lord!

The prophet a type first of Christ; next of a foolish shepherd.

1 Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars.

2 Howl, fir tree; for the cedar is fallen; because the mighty are spoiled: howl, O ye oaks of Bashan; for the forest of the vintage is come down.

3 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 spoiled.

4 Thus saith the LORD my God; Feed the flock of the slaughter;

5 Whose possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty: and they that sell them say, Blessed be the LORD; for I am rich and their own shepherds pity them not.

6 For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, saith the LORD: but, lo, I will deliver the men every one into his neighbour's hand, and into the hand of his king and they shall smite the land, and out of their hand I will not deliver them.

7 And I will feed the flock of slaughter, even you, O poor of the flock. And I took unto me two staves; the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bands; and I fed the flock.

8 Three shepherds also I cut off in one month; and my soul lothed them, and their soul also abhorred me.

it be cut off; and let the rest eat every one the flesh of another. 10 And I took my staff, even Beauty, and cut it asunder, that Imight break my covenant which I had made with all the people. 11 And it was broken in that day: and so the poor of the flock that waited upon me knew that it was the word of the LORD.

12 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.

13 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 cast them to the potter in the house of the LORD.

14 Then I cut asunder mine other staff, even Bands, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

15 And the LORD said unto me, Take unto thee yet the instruments of a foolish shepherd. 16 For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, which shall not visit those that be cut off, neither shall seek the young one, nor heal that that is broken, nor feed that that standeth still: but he shall eat the flesh of the fat, and tear their claws in pieces.

17 Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened. LECTURE 1452.

9 Then said I, I will not feed you that that dieth, let it die; and that that is to be cut off, let

The degenerate state of the church accounted for. This chapter is introduced with a note of warning, probably meaning that fire would once more destroy the temple at Jerusalem; built of cedars from Lebanon, and oaks of Bashan. The

howling of the shepherds, for the spoiling of their flocks, and the voice of the roaring of young lions, as they seized upon their prey, spoiling thereby the pride of Jordan, the flocks that fed upon its banks, are fresh images of calamity portending danger and desolation to the people of the Lord. For his people are "the flock of slaughter," whose faithless shepherds betray them for their own gain, and on whom God was resolved to shew no more pity, but to give them up to the fury of each other, as well as into the hand of their king, whom they preferred to Him. Strange that with this prophecy in their hands, they could dare to say, "We have no king but Cæsar." John 19. 15. Strange that when they fell into Cæsar's hand, and found God refuse to help them, they did not even then, and will not even now, do homage to their true Messiah.

That Christ is referred to in this prophecy, we know from his applying a part of it to Himself, or at least applying words of the same import ascribed to the prophet Jeremiah. See Matt. 26. 15. We may therefore consider these actions of the prophet as types Christ was the of things to be done by Him that should come.

true Shepherd, sent to "the lost sheep of the house of Israel." Matt. 15. 24. And faithful He was in feeding them, and in silencing their false shepherds. And the staves which He formed to guide them with were these, the beauty of holiness, and the bands of brotherly communion. But they would not. They rejected Him with loathing. And He likewise rejected them. They valued Him at the price which the Law put upon the life of the meanest slave. See Ex. 31. 32. And He cut asunder first one staff, then the other, in token that both the covenant and the brotherhood were broken, their covenant of holiness with Him, their brotherhood of love both with Him and with each other.

But the prophet is here further instructed to represent a "foolish" or "idol shepherd." And the Lord declares, that He will raise up such an one in the land, that is, in his church; one who instead of visiting the flock, and seeking, healing, and feeding it, shall make a prey of them for his own gain. To this shepherd woe is denounced, the woe of the sword upon his arm and upon his right eye, the woe of spiritual impotency and spiritual blindness. This would seem to point to the gross corruptions which soon and long prevailed throughout the Christian community; and more especially among the shepherds of the flock. And it looks as if this subjection of the church to a ministry of covetousness and idolatry has been inflicted in token of the Lord's displeasure for the dishonour put upon his Son. But then, let us remember, many others have joined with the Jews in those indignities, and have crucified Christ afresh. And let us so much the more diligently watch over ourselves, and wait upon our Lord; content to be the poor of his flock, and thankful to have for our Shepherd Him who was "despised and rejected of men." Is. 53. 3.

The restoration and compunction of God's people foretold.

1 The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.

2 Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.

3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.

4 In that day, saith the LORD, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness.

5 And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the LORD of hosts their God.

6 In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem.

7 The LORD also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the

glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against Judah.

8 In that day shall the LORD defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the LORD before them. 9 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and 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 bitterness for his firstborn.

11 In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon.

12 And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart;

13 The family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart; 14 All the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart.

LECTURE 1453.

The edifying application of unfulfilled prophecy.

"The burden of the word of the Lord for Israel" is here introduced, with an awakening description of the Lord, as the

Creator of the heavens, and of the earth, and of "the spirit of man within him." And this is a matter we ought often to call to mind, as we read God's word, how great God is, how infinitely great, how mighty, how almighty. Else when He condescends to reveal Himself, and to set forth his dealings, in language adapted to our notions, we might be apt, in the folly of our hearts, to imagine, that He is such an one as man whom He has made.

In the remaining chapters of this prophet God speaks of a day then future, and of many things which will take place therein; all of which seem plainly to relate to the dispensation of the Gospel. And for the most part they probably describe events which are even yet to take place. And this is no more than we must expect in the prophetic part of Scripture; inasmuch as it extends to the end of time. And considering how much we meet with that has been fulfilled already, we may be content to leave for future generations the pleasure and advantage to be derived from the fulfilment of those prophecies, which cannot but be obscure to us. Not but that we may usually find much to edify us even in prophecy which is altogether unfulfilled, and in which we have little or no clue to guide us in conjecturing the mode of its fulfilment. What siege, for instance, is here intended, it is impossible to say. But it is profitable to observe, that in that day both the governors and the people of Jerusalem will admit, that their strength is "in the Lord of hosts their God." Neither can we explain the distinction here made mention of, between the tents of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. But it is calculated to suggest the important reflexion, that God will in that day treat alike rich and poor, great and small, and will confer safety by far other means than the walls and defences of a city. So again it is past our power to explain the particulars of this mourning, resembling a funeral procession, with which the remnant of the Jews are hereafter to express their compunction for having crucified their King. But it is edifying to contemplate them thus upbraiding themselves, and deploring their enormity of guilt in time past, and yet not despairing at the sight of Him "whom they have pierced," but rather filled with "the spirit of grace and of supplications." It is edifying to us, because it teaches us to go and do likewise. It prompts us to hasten that day, by feeling the like contrition for our own sins, and the like trust in God for salvation. Let us then repose our strength in the Lord of hosts our God. Let us cherish a sense of safety under his protection, however helpless and defenceless in ourselves. And let us now mourn in bitterness of spirit, for having pierced our Saviour by our sins; that when all the tribes of the earth shall mourn at his second coming, see Matt. 24. 30, we may lift up our heads with joy, assured that our redemption is at hand.