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英文原文
The apostle (Ga 4:25,26) distinguishes between "Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children"—the remaining carcase of the Jewish church that rejected Christ, and "Jerusalem that is from above, that is free, and is the mother of us all"—the Christian church, the spiritual Jerusalem, which God has chosen to put his name there; in the foregoing chapter we read the doom of the former, and left that carcase to be a prey to the eagles that should be gathered to it. Now, in this chapter, we have the blessings of the latter, many precious promises made to the gospel-Jerusalem by him who (Zec 12:1) declares his power to make them good. It is promised, I. That the attempts of the church's enemies against her shall be to their own ruin, and they shall find that it is at their peril if they do her any hurt, Zec 12:2-4,6. II. That the endeavours of the church's friends and patrons for her good shall be pious, regular, and successful, Zec 12:5. III. That God will protect and strengthen the meanest and weakest that belong to his church, and work salvation for them, Zec 12:7,8. IV. That as a preparative for all this mercy, and a pledge of it, he will pour upon them a spirit of prayer and repentance, the effect of which shall be universal and very particular, Zec 12:9-14. These promises were of use then to the pious Jews that lived in the troublous times under Antiochus, and other persecutors and oppressors; and they are still to be improved in every age for the directing of our prayers and the encouraging of our hopes with reference to the gospel-church.
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The Security of the Church; Punishment of the Church's Enemies; Promises to Judah (500 BC)
教會的安全；教會仇敵的刑罰；給猶大的應許（主前500年）
¹ 耶和華論以色列的默示。鋪張諸天、建立地基、造人裡面之靈的耶和華說：
² 我必使耶路撒冷向圍困她的萬民，成為令人昏醉的杯；猶大被圍困的時候，圍困也必在耶路撒冷。
³ 耶和華說：那日，我必使耶路撒冷向聚集攻擊她的萬民，成為一塊重石頭；凡舉起的必受重傷。
⁴ 耶和華說：那日，我必使一切馬匹驚惶，騎馬的顛狂；我必看顧猶大家，使列國的一切馬匹瞎眼。
⁵ 猶大的族長必心裡說：耶路撒冷的居民靠萬軍之耶和華他們的神，作了我的能力。
⁶ 那日，我必使猶大的族長如火盆在木柴中，又如火把在禾捆裡；他們必左右燒滅四圍列國的民。耶路撒冷必仍居本處，就是耶路撒冷。
⁷ 耶和華必先拯救猶大的帳棚，免得大衛家的榮耀和耶路撒冷居民的榮耀，自高自大勝過猶大。
⁸ 那日，耶和華必保護耶路撒冷的居民；他們中間軟弱的必如大衛；大衛家必如神，如行在他們前面的耶和華使者。
此處有：I. 這賜給神以色列的應許憲章的標題；這是 耶和華的默示——神聖的豫言；它在傳遞上有分量；當向人強調，並在其應驗時極其緊迫；對一切教會仇敵是 默示——重擔——如那 他連得鉛，Zec 5:7,8。但它是 論以色列 的；是為他們的安慰與益處。正如 烈火的律法（申 33:2），照樣從神右手出來的烈火豫言與烈火護理，也是為他們而出；那向仇敵說恐怖的話，向他們說平安——如雲柱火柱，向以色列人轉其光明一面以引導鼓勵他們，向埃及人轉其幽暗一面以驚嚇挫其銳氣。凡有神的話之默示為其益處的，連同其祝福，都是有福的。
II. 頒賜這憲章者的標題，附在前面為要表明他既有權柄作這些應許、也有能力成全它們，因為他是世界與我們的創造主，故此有無可辯駁、不可抗拒的統治權。1. 他 鋪張諸天；不但起初如此——當他說 要有穹蒼，他 就造了穹蒼——如今仍是如此；他保持諸天張開 如幔子，不使它們塌陷，並要如此直到末了——天必如書卷被捲起。 那鋪張諸天者的權能無可設限，也無物對他太難。2. 他 建立地基，使地在其根基上穩固堅定——或更當說在其軸上，雖它 建在海中（詩 24:1），不，雖它 懸在虛無（伯 26:7）。地的建立者無疑是地的統治者，在其中審判；那些說 主已離棄這地 的人自欺；若他離棄，地早已沉沒，因不但他起初建立了地的根基，如今仍建立、仍托住它們。3. 他 造人裡面之靈。 他 造我們這些靈魂，耶 38:16。他不但向頭一人吹氣，更仍向每人吹進生命的氣息；身體從 肉身之父 而來，靈魂卻由 萬靈之父 注入（來 12:9）。他 造人的心；心 在他手中，他 如使水流 般轉動它們，並照他所喜的模子澆鑄，以之成就自己的旨意；故此他能藉着激勵他的友、挫折他的敵來拯救他的教會，並要藉着重新塑造他選民的靈永遠拯救他們。
III. 此處向他們所作的應許本身——藉此教會必蒙保全，在其中一切友人可享聖潔的安全。
1. 應許說：教會仇敵對其純潔或平安的任何攻擊，必終於他們自己的混亂。神與他國度的仇敵對耶路撒冷懷大惡意與惡感，設謀其毀滅；但終必顯明他們不過是為自己豫備毀滅；耶路撒冷安全，與之爭戰的都在危險之中。此處以三個比方說明：
(1.) 耶路撒冷 必向一切圍困它的人成為 令人昏醉的杯，Zec 12:2。他們指望它是他們的一杯酒——容易而愉快地飲盡；他們渴慕它的擄物，不，渴慕它的血，如渴慕那杯；但它要對他們成為 沉睡之杯，不，毒杯——當他們拿在手中、以為全屬自己之時，卻不能飲盡；其煙氣要使他們受夠。當 君王聚集 攻擊她，看見 神在她的宮中被認識為避難所，他們戰兢急忙逃跑；恐懼抓住他們，如我們所見，詩 48:3-6。亞歷山大大帝遇見大祭司耶丟斯時被擊以驚愕，因而被阻止不向耶路撒冷施暴。西拿基立圍困 猶大 與 耶路撒冷 之時，發現他們是一杯如此令人昏睡的酒，使他的一切勇士都睡了，詩 76:5,6。有人如此讀：我必使耶路撒冷成為打碎的柱。 那些向耶路撒冷作任何嘗試的，不過以頭撞柱——他們不能移動它，卻必傷自己。強暴人的氣 如暴風直吹牆壁（賽 25:4），被牆所破，卻不能搖動它。神的教會向一切友人是一杯安慰（賽 66:11），卻向一切要藉錯謬腐敗敗壞她、或藉戰爭逼迫毀滅她的人，是一杯昏醉。見賽 51:22,23。
(2.) 耶路撒冷 必向一切試圖移動它或帶走它的人成為 一塊重石頭，Zec 12:3。地上的萬民 此處被假定為 聚集攻擊它——或此時或彼時；仇敵代代相繼，與教會爭戰。但即使他們一時全體結盟反對它，並已決定 剪除以色列的名，使它不再被記念（詩 83:4），他們也必發現這任務太難。那些要在世上維持並推進罪之國的人，看耶路撒冷——即神的教會——為他們計劃的大攔阻，必須把它挪開；但他們必發現它比他們所想的更重；以致，[1.] 他們不能移動它。神要在世上有一個教會——不顧他們；它 建在磐石上，如 錫安山永遠堅立（詩 125:1）。這 從山而出非人手鑿出的石頭 不但要站穩，更要充滿天下，但 2:35。不，[2.] 它要 砸碎一切以它為擔的人，如那 石頭打在像上（但 2:45）。凡自以為能敵得過它的，必被它 砸碎。 有人想這借用耶柔米在此處所說猶太人中的一種運動（如我們中間也有）：少年人藉舉起大石頭試力爭勝——若石頭太重，便落在他們身上，壓傷他們。那些拿信仰開玩笑、戲謔神聖之事的人，必發現這是一塊重石頭——利器不可戲耍；雖他們輕看（說 我豈不是戲耍嗎？），卻把無法擔當的下沉罪咎之重擔加在自己身上。我們的救主論到自己為那不肯以他為房角石之人的重石頭時，似乎正指這些話——這石頭要落在誰身上，就要把誰砸得粉碎，太 21:44。
(3.) 猶大的族長必在他們仇敵中間如 木柴中的火盆、禾捆裡的火把，Zec 12:6。並非他們自己的激情要使他們成為周圍的縱火者與火把；不；錫安的王 謙卑柔和，一切下屬官長也當如此；但神的公義要使他們成為他的事業與他們事業在仇敵身上的報復者。與他們相爭的人必發現，那如同荊棘蒺藜對吞噬之火的抵抗，賽 27:4。火要穿過他們，把他們燒盡。是神的忿怒，不是他們的，才是吞噬仇敵的火。神的火被說 在錫安，他的爐在耶路撒冷。 賽 31:9。仇敵想作水滅此火、完全撲滅它；但神要使他們對此火如木，不，如禾捆（更易燃），不但被它燒盡，更因此使火燒得更旺。當神要使亞比米勒和示劍人彼此毀滅時，火被說 從一方出來吞噬另一方，士 9:20。此處亦然：火要從 猶大的族長 出來 燒滅周圍一切的民，如從神見證人口中出來燒滅那要傷害他們的，啟 11:5。早期教會的逼迫者發現這事應驗其上——見 Lactantius 關乎神對早期逼迫者之審判的記載，並叛教者尤利安末後的認罪：你勝了我，加利利人啊！ 教會的格言可作：Nemo me impune lacesset—襲擊我者必自食其果。 「你若厭倦性命，就逼迫基督徒吧」曾是一句諺語。
2. 應許說：神要使教會仇敵的計謀昏亂、勇氣衰弱（Zec 12:4）：那日——當地上的萬民聚集攻擊耶路撒冷之時——我必使一切馬匹驚惶，騎馬的顛狂； 又說：我必使列國的一切馬匹瞎眼，以致他們毫無用處；瞎馬之害與砍斷馬蹄相同。馬與騎兵都要忘記所受的軍事訓練，不但不守陣列、不守紀律，反都要發狂，毀滅自己。教會的步兵要勝過仇敵的騎兵；那被責備倚靠馬匹的，要被禁止多養馬匹的所挫敗。
3. 應許說：耶路撒冷必重新人口化、重新充滿（Zec 12:6）：耶路撒冷必仍居本處，就是耶路撒冷。 耶路撒冷的本地人不會在某別國合併成殖民地、在那裡建城、稱之為 耶路撒冷 並在其中看見應許應驗——如新英格蘭的人以舊英格蘭城鎮之名名其城鎮。不；他們要在與舊耶路撒冷相同的根基、相同的地點上有一個新耶路撒冷。他們被擄歸回後確是如此；但這要在福音教會——那 居本處 的耶路撒冷——中完全應驗；因福音要傳遍天下，它可稱任何地為己有。
4. 應許說：耶路撒冷的居民必得力自衛，且仍蒙神聖保護，Zec 12:8。見神如何保全他的教會、並一切屬他的人——從陰間之門直到、並穿過天堂之門。(1.) 他親自保全他們：那日耶和華必保護耶路撒冷的居民——不但保護耶路撒冷本身免被攻取毀滅，更保護其中每位居民免受任何損害。神不但要作 火的城牆 圍繞該城以堅固它，更要 如盾牌 般以他的恩四面環繞個人，使圍攻者的任何飛鏢不能碰他們。(2.) 他藉着賜他們力量勇氣自助而作成。神藉其恩在他百姓裡面所作的，比他藉其護理為他們所作的，更助於他們的保全防衛。以色列的神將力量權能賜給他的百姓，使他們能盡其份，那時他也不缺作他的份。神得榮耀在於堅固那最需要他幫助的軟弱人——那看見並承認自己需要、並將最感恩的人。[1.] 那日耶路撒冷居民中最軟弱的 必如大衛——作戰士，如大衛一般勇敢英勇、如大衛一般巧匠強壯；要嘗試並成就大事，如大衛所作；並在護衛耶路撒冷上如大衛在建立它時那樣有用，如他對其仇敵那樣可畏。看神的恩典作何事；它使孩童不但成人，更作勇士；使軟弱的聖徒不但作好兵，更作大兵——如大衛。看神如何常藉軟弱隱晦的器皿，比藉最傑出的，更輕易有效地成就自己的工，並更榮耀自己。[2.] 大衛家必如神，即 如行在他們前面的耶和華使者。 所羅巴伯此時是大衛家的頂枝；他必得蒙所蒙召之服事的智慧與恩典，並如天使般在民前行——如那（有人以為）在曠野引領以色列民的天使——那正是神自己，出 23:20。神要按他們各自被設計的服事，加增百姓與君王兩者的恩賜與能力。論大衛曾說他 如神的使者，能分辨善惡，撒下 14:17。大衛家如今也必如此。耶路撒冷居民必如天然所造的大衛那樣強壯適戰，他們的官長必如恩典所成的大衛那樣智慧適謀。但這要在基督裡完全應驗；如今大衛家看來微小卑微，其榮耀被掩，但在基督裡大衛家比從前更明亮，其面貌如天使的面貌；在他裡面它比從前更蒙福，更成為福。
5. 應許說：城鄉之間必有極好的理解，兩者之間的天平也必保持均衡；他們彼此之間毫無嫉妒猜疑；他們不保持任何分開的利益，倒在他們的籌謀中衷心合一，為共同福祉一致行動；而這城鄉之間——頭與身體——的和諧協調，對任何國家的健康、福祉、安全都極為必要。(1.) 猶大的族長——鄉間的官長紳士——對市民 耶路撒冷的居民（商人手工業者的看法必高尚；他們不輕看他們、不設法壓制他們，卻要 心裡說——不是客套而是真誠——耶路撒冷的居民……作了我的力量——我國、我家的力量——靠萬軍之耶和華他們的神，Zec 12:5。故此他們在一切場合要尊重並尊讓耶路撒冷——為母城、為治城、為當先服事的城，因他們看它為國家的堡壘、為公眾危難患難時最強的防禦——故此他們都要來助、來投其保護之下；這不那麼因它是富城、錢是戰爭的神經，也不因它是人稠之城、能上陣最多，也不因其居民普遍是最靈巧活潑的人、最好的兵與最好的將（論錫安必說：這一個、那一個 勇士 生在其中），而因它是 聖城——神的殿與神的家、聖殿與祭司在那裡，他的敬拜在那裡維持、他的節期在那裡守；並因它如今必比從前更是禱告的城，因 耶路撒冷的居民 神要 澆灌懇求的靈（Zec 12:10）；故此猶大的族長必說：這是我的力量；他們如此是因他們與 萬軍之耶和華他們的神 的關係、利益、與相交。因 萬軍之耶和華 以特殊方式作 他們的神（因 在撒冷有他的帳幕，他的居所在錫安），故此 他們必作我的力量。 注意，一國之大人物懂得看重其善人，其官長看宗教與敬虔人為其力量，並以支持他們為其利益，學會稱敬虔禱告的人和忠信有能的牧者為 以色列的戰車馬兵（如約阿施稱以利沙），而非如亞哈稱以利亞為 使以色列遭禍之人——這國便是有福。(2.) 朝廷與城市不可輕看、藐視鄉間居民；不，連最卑微的也不可，更不可輕看猶大的族長；因神要給猶大特別的尊榮，如此救他們免受弟兄的輕看。如耶路撒冷因特殊條例得尊榮，照樣猶大必因特殊護理得尊榮。神說（Zec 12:4），我必看顧猶大家——那些貧窮鄉下人。驕傲的人輕蔑地越過他們，但偉大的神卻恩慈地垂顧他們、顧念他們。不，（Zec 12:7），耶和華必先拯救猶大的帳棚。 住帳棚的最暴露；但神要在他們住在耶路撒冷的人之前，顯著地保護拯救他們。他要在他為 以色列鄉村居民 所作之事上顯得榮耀，士 5:11。如此，在奧秘的身體中，神 把更豐盛的榮耀加給那有缺的肢體，免得身上分門別類（見林前 12:22-25）——此處也是同一理由，說明為何 大衛家的榮耀（有大權的）和 耶路撒冷居民的榮耀（有大財的，兩者都活在極大華麗享樂中），不可自高自大勝過猶大 與 猶大的帳棚（其中的居民辛勞度日、飲食粗劣，或許也未受良好教養）。注意，朝臣與市民當不可輕看鄉下人，不可輕看那些神 睜眼 看顧、並 先拯救 的人——尤其富人偉人進 神的國 如此之難。神若以恩高舉住猶大帳棚的人——既揀選世上軟弱愚拙之事並揀選使用他們——我們若輕蔑他們或向他們自高，便是冒犯他，雅 2:5,6。這應許更有進一步指涉福音教會——其中不分高低、貧富、自主為奴、受割禮未受割禮，都同樣歡迎來就基督，同受其益，西 3:11。耶路撒冷那時不可如從前被認為比以色列地別處更聖。
英文原文
The Security of the Church; Punishment of the Church's Enemies; Promises to Judah (500 BC)
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 a 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.
Here is, I. The title of this charter of promises made to God's Israel; it is the burden of the word of the Lord, a divine prediction; it is of weight in the delivery of it; it is to be pressed upon people, and will be very pressing in the accomplishment of it; it is a burden, a heavy burden, to all the church's enemies, like that talent of lead, Zec 5:7,8. But it is for Israel; it is for their comfort and benefit. As even the fiery law (De 33:2), so the fiery prophecies and fiery providences that come from God's right hand, come for them; the word that speaks terror to their enemies speaks peace to them, as the pillar of cloud and fire, which turned a bright side towards the Israelites, to direct and encourage them, but a black side towards the Egyptians, to terrify and dispirit them. Happy are those that have even the burdens of God's word for them, as well as the blessings of it.
II. The title of him that grants this charter, which is prefixed to it to show that he has both authority to make these promises and ability to make them good, for he is the Creator of the world and our Creator, and therefore has an incontestable irresistible dominion. 1. He stretches out the heavens; not only he did so at the first, when he said, Let there be a firmament, and he made the firmament, but he does so still; he keeps them stretched out like a curtain, keeps them from running in, and will do so till the end come, when the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll. No bounds can be set to his power who stretches out the heavens, nor can any thing be too hard for him. 2. He lays the foundation of the earth, and keeps it firm and fixed on its own basis, or rather on its own axis, though it is founded on the seas (Ps 24:1), nay, though it is hung upon nothing, Job 26:7. The founder of this earth is no doubt the ruler of it, and judges in it, and those deceive themselves who say, The Lord has forsaken the earth, for, if he had, it would have sunk, since it is he that not only did lay its foundations at first, but does still lay them, still uphold them. 3. He forms the spirit of man within him. He made us these souls, Jer 38:16. He not only breathed into the first man, but still breathes into every man the breath of life; the body is derived from the fathers of our flesh, but the soul is infused by the Father of spirits, Heb 12:9. He fashions men's hearts; they are in his hand, and he turns them as the rivers of water, and casts them into what mould he pleases, so as to serve his own purposes with them; and he can therefore save his church by inspiriting his friends and dispiriting his enemies, and will eternally save all his chosen by forming their spirits anew.
III. The promises themselves that are here made them, by which the church shall be secured, and in which all its friends may enjoy a holy security.
1. It is promised that, whatever attacks the enemies of the church may make upon her purity or peace, they will certainly issue in their own confusion. The enemies of God and of his kingdom bear a great deal of malice and ill-will to Jerusalem, and form designs for its destruction; but it will prove, at last, that they are but preparing ruin for themselves; Jerusalem is in safety, and those are in all the danger who fight against it. This is here illustrated by three comparisons:—
(1.) Jerusalem shall be a cup of trembling to all that lay siege to it, Zec 12:2. They promise themselves that it shall be to them a cup of wine, which they shall easily and with pleasure drink off, and they thirst for its spoils, nay, they thirst for its blood, as for such a cup; but it shall prove a cup of slumber, nay, a cup of poison, to them, which, when they take it into their hands, and think it is all their own, they shall not be able to drink off: the fumes of it shall give them enough. When the kings were assembled against her, and saw how God was known in her palaces for a refuge, they trembled and hasted away; fear took hold upon them, as we find, Ps 48:3-6. Thus Alexander the Great was struck with amazement when he met Jaddus the high priest, and was deterred thereby from offering any violence to Jerusalem. When Sennacherib laid siege against Judah and Jerusalem he found them such a cup of stupifying wine as laid all his mighty men asleep, Ps 76:5,6. Some read it, I will make Jerusalem a post of contrition or breaking. Those that make any attempts upon Jerusalem do but run their heads against a post, which they cannot move, but are sure to hurt themselves. The blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall (Isa 25:4), broken by it, but not shaking it. God's church is a cup of consolation to all her friends (Isa 66:11), but a cup of trembling to all that would either debauch her by errors and corruptions or destroy her by wars and persecutions. See Isa 51:22,23.
(2.) Jerusalem shall be a burdensome stone to all that attempt to remove it or carry it away, Zec 12:3. All the people of the earth are here supposed to be gathered together against it, some one time and some another; there has been a succession of enemies, from age to age, making war upon the church. But though they were all at once in a confederacy against it, and had formed a resolution to cut off the name of Israel, that it should be no more in remembrance (Ps 83:4), they will find it a task too hard for them. Those that are for keeping up and advancing the kingdom of sin in the world look upon Jerusalem, even the church of God, as the great obstacle to their designs, and they must have it out of the way; but they will find it heavier than they think it is; so that, [1.] They cannot remove it. God will have a church in the world, in spite of them; it is built upon a rock, and is as Mount Zion, that abides for ever, Ps 125:1. This stone, cut out of the mountain without hands, will not only keep its ground, but fill the earth, Da 2:35. Nay, [2.] It will break in pieces all that burden themselves with it, as that stone smote the image, Da 2:45. All that think themselves a match for it shall be cut in pieces by it. Some think it is an allusion to a sport which Jerome, upon this place, says was in use among the Jews, as among us: young men tried their strength, and strove for mastery, by heaving up great stones, which, if they proved too heavy for them, fell upon them, and bruised them. Those that make a jest of religion, and banter sacred things, will find them a burdensome stone, that it is ill-jesting with edged-tools, and though they make light of it (saying, Am not I in sport?) they bring upon themselves an insupportable sinking load of guilt. Our Saviour seems to allude to these words when he speaks of himself as a burdensome stone to those that will not have him for their foundation-stone, which shall fall upon them and grind them to powder, Mt 21:44.
(3.) The governors of Judah shall be among their enemies like a hearth of fire among the wood, and a torch of fire in a sheaf, Zec 12:6. Not that their own passions shall make them incendiaries and firebrands to all about them; no; Zion's King is meek and lowly, and all subordinate governors must be like him; but God's justice will make them avengers of his cause, and theirs, upon their enemies. Those that contend with them will find it is like an opposition given by briers and thorns to a consuming fire, Isa 27:4. It will go through them, and burn them together. It is God's wrath, and not theirs, that is the fire which devours the adversaries. God's fire is said to be in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem. Isa 31:9. The enemies thought to be as water to this fire, to extinguish it and put it quite out; but God will make them as wood, nay, as a sheaf of corn (which is more combustible), to this fire, not only to be consumed by it, but to be made thereby to burn the more strongly. When God would make Abimelech and the men of Shechem one another's destroyers fire is said to come out from the one to devour the other, Jdg 9:20. So here, Fire shall come out from the governors of Judah to devour all the people round about, as from the mouth of God's witnesses to consume those who offer to hurt them, Re 11:5. The persecutors of the primitive church found this fulfilled in it, witness Lactantius's history of God's judgments upon the primitive persecutors, and the confession of Julian the apostate at last. Thou hast overcome me, O thou Galilean! The church's motto may be, Nemo me impune lacesset—He that assails me does it at his peril. If you are weary of your life, persecute the Christians, was once a proverb.
2. It is promised that God will infatuate the counsels and enfeeble the courage of the church's enemies (Zec 12:4): "In that day, when the people of the earth are gathered together against Jerusalem, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness;" and again, "I will smite every horse of the people with blindness, so that they shall be no way serviceable to them; blinding the horses will be as bad as houghing them." The horses and their horsemen shall both forget the military exercise to which they were trained, and, instead of keeping ranks and observing the rules of their discipline, they shall both grow mad, and ruin themselves. The church's infantry shall be too hard for the enemy's cavalry; and those who were upbraided with trusting in horses shall be baffled by those who were forbidden to multiply horses.
3. It is promised that Jerusalem shall be re-peopled and replenished (Zec 12:6): Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem. The natives of Jerusalem shall not incorporate in a colony in some other country, and build a city there, and call that Jerusalem, and see the promises fulfilled in that, as those in New England called their towns by the names of towns in Old England. No; they shall have a new Jerusalem upon the same foundation, the same spot of ground, with the old one. They had so after their return out of captivity, but this was to have its full accomplishment in the gospel-church, which is a Jerusalem inhabited in its own place; for, the gospel being to be preached to all the world, it may call every place its own.
4. It is promised that the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be enabled to defend themselves, and yet shall be taken under the divine protection, Zec 12:8. See here in what method God preserves his church, and those that are his, from the gates of hell to and through the gates of heaven. (1.) He does himself secure them: In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, not only Jerusalem itself from being taken and destroyed, but every inhabitant of it from being any way damaged. God will not only be a wall of fire about the city, to fortify that, but he will encompass particular persons with his favour as with a shield, so that no dart of the besiegers shall touch them. (2.) He does it by giving them strength and courage to help themselves. What God works in his people by his grace contributes more to their preservation and defence than what he works for them by his providence. The God of Israel gives strength and power to his people, that they may do their part, and then he will not be wanting to do his. It is the glory of God to strengthen the weak, that most need his help, that see and own their need of it, and will be the most thankful for it. [1.] In that day the feeblest of the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be as David, shall be men of war, as bold and brave, as skilful and strong, as David himself, shall attempt and accomplish great things, as David did, and become as serviceable to Jerusalem in guarding it as David himself was in founding it, and as formidable as he was to the enemies of it. See what divine grace does; it makes children not only men, but champions, makes weak saints to be not only good soldiers, but great soldiers, like David. And see how God often does his own work as easily and effectually, and more to his own glory, by weak and obscure instruments than by the most illustrious. [2.] The house of David shall be as God, that is, as the angel of the Lord, before them. Zerubbabel was now the top-branch of the house of David; he shall be endued with wisdom and grace for the service to which he is called, and shall go before the people as an angel, as that angel (so some think) which went before the people of Israel through the wilderness, which was God himself, Ex 23:20. God will increase the gifts and abilities both of the people and princes, in proportion to the respective services for which they are designed. It was said of David that he was as an angel of God, to discern good and bad, 2Sa 14:17. Such shall the house of David now be. The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be as strong and fit for action as nature made David, and their magistrates as wise and fit for counsel as grace made him. But this was to have its full accomplishment in Christ; now the house of David looked little and mean, and its glory was eclipsed, but in Christ the house of David shone more brightly than ever, and its countenance was as that of an angel; in him it became more blessed, and more a blessing, than ever it had been.
5. It is promised that there shall be a very good understanding between the city and the country, and that the balance shall be kept even between them; there shall be no mutual envies or jealousies between them; they shall not keep up any separate interests, but shall heartily unite in their counsels, and act in concert for the common good; and this happy agreement between the city and the country, the head and the body, is very necessary to the health, welfare, and safety of any nation. (1.) The governors of Judah, the magistrates and gentry of the country, shall think honourably of the citizens, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the merchants and tradesmen; they shall not run them down, and contrive how to keep them under, but they shall say in their hearts, not in compliment but in sincerity, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength, the strength of my country, of my family, in the Lord of hosts their God, Zec 12:5. They will therefore, upon all occasions, pay respect and deference to Jerusalem, as the mother-city, the ruling-city, and the city that is to be first served, because they look upon it to be the bulwark of the nation and its strongest fortification in times of public danger and distress, which therefore they would all come in to the assistance of and come under the protection of, and this not so much because it was a rich city, and money is the sinews of war, nor because it was a populous city and could bring the greatest numbers into the field, nor because its inhabitants were generally the most ingenious active men, the best soldiers and the best commanders (of Zion it shall be said, This and that brave man were born there), but because it was a holy city, where God's house and household, the temple and the priests, were, where his worship was kept up and his feasts were observed, and because it should now be more than ever a praying city, for upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem God will pour a spirit of supplication (Zec 12:10); therefore the governors of Judah shall say, These are my strength; they are so upon the account of their relation to, their interest in, and their communion with, the Lord of hosts, their God. Because the Lord of hosts is in a particular manner their God (for in Salem is his tabernacle and his dwelling-place in Zion), therefore they shall be my strength. Note, It is well with a kingdom when its great men know how to value its good men, when its governors look upon religion and religious people to be their strength, and consider it their interest to support them, and learn to call godly praying people, and skilful faithful ministers, the chariots and horsemen of Israel, as Joash called Elisha, and not the troublers of the land, as Ahab called Elijah. (2.) The court and the city shall not despise, nor look with contempt upon, the inhabitants of the country; no, not the meanest of them, much less upon the governors of Judah; for God will put signal honour upon Judah, and so save them from the contempt of their brethren. As Jerusalem was dignified by special ordinances, so Judah shall be dignified with special providences. God says (Zec 12:4), I will open my eyes upon the house of Judah, upon the poor country people. Proud men scornfully overlook them, but the great God will graciously look upon them and look after them. Nay, (Zec 12:7), the Lord shall save the tents of Judah first. Those that dwell in tents lie most exposed; but God will remarkably protect and deliver them before those that dwell in Jerusalem. He will appear glorious in what he does for the inhabitants of his villages in Israel, Jdg 5:11. Thus, in the mystical body, God gives more abundant honour to that part which lacked, that there may be no schism in the body (see 1Co 12:22-25), which is the reason here given why the glory of the house of David, which has great power, and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who have great wealth, and both which live in great pomp and pleasure, may not magnify themselves against Judah and the tents of Judah, the dwellers in which work hard, and fare hard, and perhaps are not so well bred. Note, Courtiers and citizens ought not to despise country people, nor look with disdain upon those whom God opens his eyes upon and who are first saved, while it is so hard for the rich and great to enter the kingdom of God. If God by his grace has magnified the dwellers in the tents of Judah, having chosen the weak and foolish things of the world and chosen to employ them, we affront him if we vilify them, or magnify ourselves against them, Jam 2:5,6. This promise has a further reference to the gospel-church, in which no difference shall be made between high and low, rich and poor, bond and free, circumcision and uncircumcision, but all shall be alike welcome to Christ, and partake of his benefits, Col 3:11. Jerusalem shall not then be thought, as it had been, more holy than other parts of the land of Israel.
9-14
Promises to Judah; Evangelical Predictions (500 BC)
給猶大的應許；福音的豫言（主前500年）
⁹ 那日，我必定意滅絕來攻擊耶路撒冷列國中的民。
¹⁰ 我必將那施恩叫人懇求的靈，澆灌大衛家和耶路撒冷的居民。他們必仰望我，就是他們所扎的；必為他哀哭，如喪獨生子，又為他愁苦，如喪長子。
¹¹ 那日，耶路撒冷必有大大的悲哀，如米吉多平原之哈達臨門的悲哀。
¹² 境內一家一家地都必悲哀。大衛家，他們的族的，獨在一處；他們的婦人獨在一處；拿單家，他們的族的，獨在一處；他們的婦人獨在一處；
¹³ 利未家，他們的族的，獨在一處；他們的婦人獨在一處；示每家，他們的族的，獨在一處；他們的婦人獨在一處；
¹⁴ 其餘的各家，他們的族獨在一處；他們的婦人也獨在一處。
此處所說的 那日 是耶路撒冷蒙護衛、得拯救之日——神為他百姓施行拯救的那個榮耀之日；這若指馬加比時代猶太人對仇敵的得勝，卻肯定看得更遠，指 福音之日，指基督勝過黑暗之權的勝利、和他為選民所成全的大救恩。我們在此看見 那日 所設計的兩件值得注意之工。
I. 神為他百姓所要成就的榮耀之工：我必定意滅絕來攻擊耶路撒冷列國中的民，Zec 12:9。列國來攻擊耶路撒冷——許多強盛的列國；但他們都必被滅，他們的勢力必被打破，他們的企圖必被挫敗；他們所謀之禍必歸到自己頭上。神要定意滅絕他們，不是說他為成就之法而手足無措（無限的智慧從不困惑），而是他定意如此行，表明他對此極其認真專心（他為錫安大發嫉妒，心中懷有 報應之日），並且他調度方法工具、以及一切第二因的運行，以達此目的。他 對他們籌災；當他似乎在扶持他們時，他正在定意滅絕他們。在基督首次來時，他 定意要滅絕那掌死權的，也確實滅絕了，傷了蛇的頭，並打碎了一切與神在人間的國爭戰、並與那國忠信臣民爭戰的 黑暗之權；他 擄掠 了他們，明明地羞辱他們。 在他第二次來時，他要完成他們的毀滅，那時他要 廢掉一切 反對的 執政的、掌權的、有能的，死 本身也要被那 勝利所吞滅。最後必被毀滅的仇敵，就是那 攻擊耶路撒冷的。
II. 神在他百姓裡面所要成就的恩典之工——為要成就那為他們所作的工。當他定意滅絕他們仇敵時，他要 將那施恩叫人懇求的靈澆灌他們。 注意，當神定意向他百姓施大憐憫時，他所作的頭一件事就是使他們禱告；如此他定意滅絕他們仇敵，是藉著激動他們去求他為他們成就；因為雖然他已經定規、應許了，並要行這是為他自己的榮耀，然而他仍要 為此被以色列家求問，結 36:37。祈求，就必給予。 他要以此尊自己，也要以此尊禱告和禱告的人。當他的百姓被激動為他切切呼求時，這是受苦教會拯救臨近的可喜豫兆，可說是它的日子破曉。但這應許也指著、並在成全在賜給一切信徒的聖靈之恩上，如賽 44:3：我要將我的靈澆灌你的後裔——在 耶穌得榮耀 時應驗，約 7:39。這是聖靈的應許，並與他同來的是 在基督裡一切屬靈的屬天的福氣。 如今當注意，
1. 這些福傾倒在誰身上。(1.) 大衛家——偉大的人；因他們不過是、也不外是神的恩所使他們成為的。曾應許（Zec 12:8）大衛家 必 如耶和華的使者。 為此，施恩的靈傾在他們身上；因為聖徒越有施恩之靈，便越像聖天使。神將為那地顯現時，便把施恩之靈傾在大衛家——那地的首領。當君王和大人物在善事上走在百姓前頭，這對一國是好兆頭，如代下 20:5。大衛家都總歸在耶穌基督——大衛的子孫——裡面；在他這元首身上，施恩的靈傾倒出來，從他那裡擴散到一切肢體；從他豐滿裡我們都領受了，而且恩上加恩。 (2.) 耶路撒冷的居民——平民；因為聖靈的作為在微小軟弱的基督徒身上與在剛強長成者身上相同。耶路撒冷的居民不能像大衛家的偉人那樣以權勢策略影響公事，卻可藉禱告服大用，所以施恩的靈也必傾在他們身上。教會就是耶路撒冷，天上的耶路撒冷；一切真信徒——那些在天的國民的——都是這耶路撒冷的居民，這應許屬於他們。神要 把他的靈傾在他們身上。 這是 一切信基督之人 要受的憑據；如此他們得成聖；如此他們得蓋印。
2. 這些福是甚麼：我必將……靈……澆灌他們。 這包括一切美物，因它使我們配得神的恩、和他一切別的恩賜。他要把靈澆灌出來，(1.) 作 施恩的靈——使我們成聖、使我有恩。(2.) 作 懇求的靈——使我們傾向禱告的本分，並指教幫助我們。注意，聖靈在哪裡賜下作施恩之靈，他也在哪裡賜下作成聖之靈。他在哪裡作兒子的靈，他就 教導人呼喊：阿爸，父。 保羅一歸信，看哪，他正禱告，徒 9:11。要找一個活人而沒有氣息，如同找一個聖徒而不禱告一樣難。如今福音之下禱告之靈的澆灌比律法之下更豐盛；成聖之工在我們裡面越深，懇求之工藉我們而作也越好。
3. 它們的果效將是甚麼：我必將施恩的靈澆灌他們。 人或想接下來該是：「他們必仰望他們所信的，並歡喜」（這誠然是澆灌聖靈的果子之一，故我們讀到 聖靈的喜樂）；但接下來是：他們必哀哭；因為有一種聖潔的哀哭，是澆灌聖靈的果效——為罪哀哭，這有助於激發對基督的信、並預備在神裡的喜樂。此處以哀哭為應許的內容，因為有一種哀哭要結出喜樂，並附帶祝福。這哀哭是施恩之靈的果子，是靈魂裡恩典之工的證據，也是懇求之靈的同伴——它表達在禱告中活潑的情感運行；故禱告與眼淚常並列，王下 20:5。與神較力的雅各 哭泣懇求。 但此處是澆灌聖靈之果的為罪哀哭。
(1.) 這是建立在看見基督之上的哀哭：他們必仰望我，就是他們所扎的，必為他哀哭。 此處，[1.] 豫言基督將被扎，這經文被引用為基督在十字架上肋旁被扎時的應驗；見約 19:37。[2.] 他被說成為我們所扎；此處首先指猶太人，他們逼迫他至死（我們見 那些扎他的人 與地上將 因他哀號 的別的 宗族 有別，啟 1:7）；然而這對我們眾人——罪人——也是真的，我們扎了基督，因我們的罪是他死的原因，因他 為我們的過犯受害，那些罪是他靈魂的 憂傷；他 被淫蕩的罪人之心 所 壓碎，因此他們被說為 重新把他釘十字架、明明的羞辱他。[3.] 那些真正為罪悔改的人看基督為他們所扎的——為他們的罪而扎、也被他們所扎；這促使他們 仰望他，如同深為他關切的人。[4.] 這是他們仰望基督的果效；這使他們哀哭。這特別應驗在那些聽彼得傳釘十字架之基督的人身上；他們聽見，那些曾參與扎他的人 覺得扎心，便喊著說：我們當怎樣行？ 這也應驗在一切依著神的意思憂愁的人身上；他們仰望基督，為他哀哭——不是那麼為他的受苦，而是為他們自己那招致這些受苦的罪。注意，悔罪靈魂的真憂愁，是從憑信看那被扎的救主而來的。憑信看基督的十字架，必使我們依著神的意思為罪哀哭。
(2.) 這是大哀哭。[1.] 它如父母為愛子之死而哀哭。他們必 如喪獨生子 為罪哀哭——獨生子的墳墓埋葬了家族的盼望；他們必內心 如喪長子而愁苦，如埃及人當遍地為首生子之死而有大哀號之時。兒女為父母之死的哀哭有時是假的，往往很小，不久便消逝遺忘；但父母為孩子、為兒子、為獨生子、為首生子的哀哭，是天然的、真誠的、不受勉強、不作作的，是隱秘而持久的；真悔改者的憂愁正是如此，純然出於對基督之愛，超乎一切。[2.] 它如百姓為賢明善良君王之死而哀哭。它必 如米吉多平原之哈達臨門的哀哭——在那裡好王約西亞被殺，為他有普遍的哀悼（Zec 12:11），或許更大，因為他們被告知是他們的罪惹神剝奪他們如此大福；故他們喊著：我們冠冕從頭上落下。我們有禍了，因我們犯了罪！ 哀 5:16。基督是我們的王；我們的罪是他的死，正因如此，當作我們的憂傷。
(3.) 這是普遍全國的哀哭（Zec 12:12）：境內……必悲哀。 地本身在基督死時披上哀哭，因那時 遍地都黑暗了，地也震動；但這是應許：因基督之死，必有大批人被有效帶到為罪憂愁、歸向神；這必如 以色列全家傾向耶和華（撒上 7:2）那樣普遍的恩典哀哭。有人想這事還要在猶太全國普遍歸信時得著完全應驗。
(4.) 這也是私下個別的哀哭。不但有 全境 在公會中由代表的哀哭（如士 2:5，那地被稱為 波金—哭泣者之地），它更要擴散到全地各角：一家一家地獨在 悲哀（Zec 12:12），其餘的各家 也是（Zec 12:14）。眾人都對罪惡有分，故都當同分憂傷。注意，除了在公眾聚集敬拜之外，私下家庭也當在自家履行靈修。國家禁食不僅當在會堂守，也當在家中守。在這裡所豫言的哀哭中，婦人們在自家的內室獨自哀哭，如以斯帖和她的使女。有人想這暗示在普遍自卑之時，連合法的娛樂也當禁用（林前 7:5）。此處指定四個家族作為這哀哭中別人的榜樣：[1.] 兩個是王室：大衛家（在所羅門裡）和拿單家——大衛另一個兒子，所羅門的兄弟，撒拉鐵從他而出，如基督的家譜所見，路 3:27-31。大衛家——特別是現為大衛家主幹的拿單家——當在這善工上居前。最偉大的君王不可自視免於悔改之律，反更當最莊嚴地表達，以激發別人，如希西家自卑（代下 32:26），眾首領與王自卑（代下 12:6），尼尼微王也如此（拿 3:6）。[2.] 兩個是聖家族（Zec 12:13），利未家——屬神的支派——其中特別 示每家——利未支派的一個分支（代上 6:17），這家族的後裔中可能有人如今以向百姓傳道或在壇前事奉而著稱。首領當為官長之罪哀哭，照樣祭司當為 聖物之罪孽 哀哭。在普遍患難與自卑之時，主的僕人當 在廊子和祭壇之間哭泣（珥 2:17），不僅在那裡，也在自己家中獨自哀哭；因為若不在牧師家中，敬虔的形式與能力當在哪裡的家庭尋見呢？
英文原文
Promises to Judah; Evangelical Predictions (500 BC)
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.
The day here spoken of is the day of Jerusalem's defence and deliverance, that glorious day when God will appear for the salvation of his people, which, if it do refer to the successes which the Jews had against their enemies in the time of the Maccabees, yet certainly looks further, to the gospel-day, to Christ's victories over the powers of darkness and the great salvation he has wrought for his chosen. Now we have here an account of two remarkable works designed in that day.
I. A glorious work of God to be wrought for his people: "I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem, Zec 12:9. Nations come against Jerusalem, many and mighty nations; but they shall all be destroyed, their power shall be broken, and their attempts baffled; the mischief they intend shall return upon their own head." God will seek to destroy them, not as if he were at a loss for ways and means to bring it about (Infinite Wisdom was never nonplussed), but his seeking to do it intimates that he is very earnest and intent upon it (he is jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and has the day of vengeance in his heart) and that he overrules means and instruments, and all the motions and operations of second causes, in order to it. He is framing evil against them; when he seems to be setting them up he is seeking to destroy them. In Christ's first coming, he sought to destroy him that had the power of death, and did destroy him, bruised the serpent's head, and broke all the powers of darkness that fought against God's kingdom among men and against the faithful friends and subjects of that kingdom; he spoiled them, and made a show of them openly. In his second coming, he will complete their destruction, when he shall put down all opposing rule, principality, and power, and death itself shall be swallowed up in that victory. The last enemy shall be destroyed of all that fought against Jerusalem.
II. A gracious work of God to be wrought in his people, in order to the work that is to be wrought for them. When he seeks to destroy their enemies he will pour upon them the Spirit of grace and supplication. Note, When God intends great mercy for his people the first thing he does is to set them a praying; thus he seeks to destroy their enemies by stirring them up to seek to him that he would do it for them; because, though he has proposed it and promised it, and it is for his own glory to do it, yet he will for this be enquired of by the house of Israel, Eze 36:37. Ask, and it shall be given. This honour will he have to himself, and this honour will he put upon prayer and upon praying people. And it is a happy presage to the distressed church of deliverance approaching, and is, as it were, the dawning of its day, when his people are stirred up to cry mightily to him for it. But this promise has reference to, and is performed in, the graces of the Spirit given to all believers, as that Isa 44:3, I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, which was fulfilled when Jesus was glorified, Joh 7:39. It is a promise of the Spirit, and with him of all spiritual blessings in heavenly things by Christ. Now observe here,
1. On whom these blessings are poured out. (1.) On the house of David, on the great men; for they are no more, and no better, than the grace of God makes them. It was promised (Zec 12:8) that the house of David should be as the angel of the Lord. Now, in order to that, the Spirit of grace is poured upon them; for the more the saints have of the Spirit of grace the more like they are to the holy angels. When God was about to appear for the land, he poured his Spirit of grace upon the house of David, the leading men of the land. It bodes well to a people when princes and great men go before the rest in that which is good, as 2Ch 20:5. The house of David is all summed up in Jesus Christ, the Son of David; and upon him, as the head, the Spirit of grace is poured out, from him to be diffused to all his members; from his fulness we receive, and grace for grace. (2.) On the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the common people; for the operations of the Spirit are the same upon the mean and weak Christians that they are upon the strong and more grown. The inhabitants of Jerusalem cannot influence public affairs by their powers and policies, as the great men of the house of David may, yet they may do good service by their prayers, and therefore upon them the Spirit shall be poured out. The church is Jerusalem, the heavenly Jerusalem; all true believers, that have their conversation in the heaven, are inhabitants of this Jerusalem, and to them this promise belongs. God will pour his Spirit upon them. This is the earnest which all that believe in Christ shall receive; thus they are sanctified; thus they are sealed.
2. What these blessings are: I will pour upon them the Spirit. That includes all good things, as it qualifies us for the favour of God, and all his other gifts. He will pour out the Spirit, (1.) As a Spirit of grace, to sanctify us and to make us gracious. (2.) As a Spirit of supplications, inclining us to, instructing and assisting us in, the duty of prayer. Note, Wherever the Spirit is given as a Spirit of grace, he is given as a Spirit of sanctification. Wherever he is a Spirit of adoption, he teaches to cry, Abba, Father. As soon as ever Paul was converted, Behold, he prays, Ac 9:11. You may as soon find a living man without breath as a living saint without prayer. There is a more plentiful effusion of the Spirit of prayer now under the gospel than was under the law; and the further the work of sanctification is carried in us the better is the work of supplication carried on by us.
3. What the effect of them will be: I will pour upon them the Spirit of grace. One would think that it should follow, "And they shall look on him whom they have believed, and shall rejoice" (and it is true that that is one of the fruits of the pouring out of the Spirit, whence we read of the joy of the Holy ghost), but it follows, They shall mourn; for there is a holy mourning, that is the effect of the pouring out of the Spirit, a mourning for sin, which is of use to quicken faith in Christ and qualify for joy in God. It is here made the matter of a promise that they shall mourn, for there is a mourning that will end in rejoicing and has a blessing entailed upon it. This mourning is a fruit of the Spirit of grace, an evidence of a work of grace in the soul, and a companion of the Spirit of supplication, as it expresses lively affections working in prayer; hence prayers and tears are often put together, 2Ki 20:5. Jacob, that wrestler with God, wept and made supplication. But here it is a mourning for sin that is the effect of the pouring out of the Spirit.
(1.) It is a mourning grounded upon a sight of Christ: They shall look on me whom they have pierced, and shall mourn for him. Here, [1.] It is foretold that Christ should be pierced, and this scripture is quoted as that which was fulfilled when Christ's side was pierced upon the cross; see Joh 19:37. [2.] He is spoken of as one whom we have pierced; it is spoken primarily of the Jews, who persecuted him to death (and we find that those who pierced him are distinguished from the other kindreds of the earth that shall wail because of him, Re 1:7); yet it is true of us all as sinners, we have pierced Christ, inasmuch as our sins were the cause of his death, for he was wounded for our transgressions, and they are the grief of his soul; he is broken with the whorish heart of sinners, who therefore are said to crucify him afresh and put him to open shame. [3.] Those that truly repent of sin look upon Christ as one whom they have pierced, who was pierced for their sins and is pierced by them; and this engages them to look unto him, as those that are deeply concerned for him. [4.] This is the effect of their looking to Christ; it makes them mourn. This was particularly fulfilled in those to whom Peter preached Christ crucified; when they heard it those who had had a hand in piercing him were pricked to the heart, and cried out, What shall we do? It is fulfilled in all those who sorrow for sin after a godly sort; they look to Christ, and mourn for him, not so much for his sufferings as for their own sins that procured them. Note, The genuine sorrows of a penitent soul flow from the believing sight of a pierced Saviour. Looking by faith upon the cross of Christ will set us a mourning for sin after a godly sort.
(2.) It is a great mourning. [1.] it is like the mourning of a parent for the death of a beloved child. They shall mourn for sin as one mourns for an only son, in whose grave the hopes of his family are buried, and shall be inwardly in bitterness as one that is in bitterness for his first-born, as the Egyptians were when there was a cry throughout all their land for the death of their first-born. The sorrow of children for the death of their parents is sometimes counterfeited, is often small, and soon wears off and is forgotten; but the sorrow of parents for a child, for a son, for an only son, for a first-born, is natural, sincere, unforced, and unaffected, it is secret and lasting; such are the sorrows of a true penitent, flowing purely from love to Christ above any other. [2.] It is like the mourning of a people for the death of a wise and good prince. It shall be like the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon, where good king Josiah was slain, for whom there was a general lamentation (Zec 12:11), and perhaps the greater because they were told that it was their sin that provoked God to deprive them of so great a blessing; therefore they cried out, The crown has fallen from our head. Woe unto us, for we have sinned! La 5:16. Christ is our King; our sins were his death, and, for that reason, ought to be our grief.
(3.) It is a general universal mourning (Zec 12:12): The land shall mourn. The land itself put on mourning at the death of Christ, for there was then darkness over all the land, and the earth trembled; but this is a promise that, in consideration of the death of Christ, multitudes shall be effectually brought to sorrow for sin and turn to God; it shall be such a universal gracious mourning as was when all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord, 1Sa 7:2. Some think this is yet to have its complete accomplishment in the general conversion of the Jewish nation.
(4.) It is also a private particular mourning. There shall be not only a mourning of the land, by its representatives in a general assembly (as Jdg 2:5, when the place was called Bochim—A place of weepers), but it shall spread itself into all corners of the land: Every family apart shall mourn (Zec 12:12), all the families that remain, Zec 12:14. All have contributed to the guilt, and therefore all shall share in the grief. Note, The exercises of devotion should be performed by private families among themselves, besides their joining in public assemblies for religious worship. National fasts must be observed, not only in our synagogues, but in our houses. In the mourning here foretold the wives mourn apart by themselves, in their own apartment, as Esther and her maids. And some think it intimates their denying themselves the use even of lawful delights in a time of general humiliation 1Co 7:5. Four several families are here specified as examples to others in this mourning:—[1.] Two of them are royal families: the house of David, in Solomon, and the house of Nathan, another son of David, brother to Solomon, from whom Zerubbabel descended, as appears by Christ's genealogy, Lu 3:27-31. The house of David, particularly that of Nathan, which is now the chief branch of that house, shall go before in this good work. The greatest princes must not think themselves exempted from the law of repentance, but rather obliged most solemnly to express it, for the exciting of others, as Hezekiah humbled himself (2Ch 32:26), the princes and the king (2Ch 12:6), and the king of Nineveh, Jon 3:6. [2.] Two of them are sacred families (Zec 12:13), the family of the house of Levi, which was God's tribe, and in it particularly the family of Shimei, which was a branch of the tribe of Levi (1Ch 6:17), and probably some of the descendants of that family were now of note for preachers to the people or ministers to the altar. As the princes must mourn for the sins of the magistracy, so must the priests for the iniquity of the holy things. In times of general tribulation and humiliation the Lord's ministers are concerned to weep between the porch and the altar (Joe 2:17), and not only there, but in their houses apart; for in what families should godliness, both in the form and in the power of it, be found, if not in ministers' families?
使徒（加4:25-26）區別了「那現在的耶路撒冷，和她的兒女同為奴僕」——即拒絕基督的猶太教會所剩下的殘骸——以及「那在上的耶路撒冷，是自由的，是我們眾人的母」——即基督教會，屬靈的耶路撒冷，是神所揀選、要將他名安置在其中的。在前一章我們讀到了前者的結局，並把那殘骸留給了要聚集其上的鷹作獵物。如今在本章，我們看見後者的福分：藉著那位（亞12:1）宣告自己有能力成就這些應許的主，向福音的耶路撒冷賜下了許多寶貴的應許。應許如下：I. 教會的仇敵攻擊她的圖謀，必反成自己的毀滅，他們必發現：若傷害她，便是自取危險（亞12:2-4,6）。II. 教會的朋友與護衛為她益處所作的努力，必是敬虔、循規、並大有成效的（亞12:5）。III. 神必保護並堅固屬他教會中最微小、最軟弱的人，並為他們施行拯救（亞12:7-8）。IV. 作為這一切憐憫的預備和憑據，他必將禱告和悔改的靈澆灌在他們身上，其效果必是普世的，也十分具體（亞12:9-14）。這些應許在當時對那些生活在安提阿古及其他逼迫者與欺壓者手下的動亂時期中的敬虔猶太人很有益處；而歷世歷代以來，它們仍可被用以引導我們關乎福音教會的禱告，並鼓勵我們的盼望。