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thee he is just, and having salvation; lowly and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt, the foal of an ass. And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off; and he shall speak peace unto the heathen. And his m dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river n even to the ends of the earth. As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein there is no water. Zech. ix. 9-11 P.

No. CXXII.

A prophetic Intimation of the Misconduct of the Jewish Rulers, their selfish Attention to themselves, and their Disregard of the People under their Charge-of God's leaving the Jews to themselves, and withdrawing from them his peculiar Care-of the

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was spoken of the prophet, saying, 'Tell ye the daughter of Sion, "behold thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and (or even) a colt, the foal of an ass." Matt. xxi. 4, 5. The passage in St. John is, "Jesus, when he had found a young "ass, sat thereon, as it is written, 'Fear not, daughter of Sion, be"hold thy King cometh, sitting on an ass's colt.' These things "understood not his disciples at the first; but when Jesus was glorified, then remembered they that these things were written of him." John xii. 14-16.

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"And," rather "even."

1 "Cut off," &c. i. e. destroy or make useless all implements of hostility, by inculcating peace upon earth, good will amongst See Isa. ix. 5; Isa. xi. 6.

men.

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"His dominion," &c. So in the same words, Ps. lxxii. 8. n "The river," i. e. " the Euphrates."

"The pit wherein there is no water," where destruction seemed inevitable; from whence all chance of escape was hopeless.

P For a commentary on this prophecy, see Chandler's Defence, p. 102-107.

Price that should be set upon Christ, and the Purpose to which that Price should be applied.

No. 122. Thus saith the Lord, my God: "Feed the "flock of the slaughter, 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: 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 Iland, and out of their hand I will not deliver them. 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 Bands: and I fed the flock. Three shepherds also I cut off in one month; and my soul loathed them, and their soul also abhorred me. Then said I," I will not feed you: that that dieth, let it "die; and that that is to be cut off, let it be cut off; and "let the rest eat every one the flesh of another." And I took my staff, even Beauty, and cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the people. 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: 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. And the

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"The flock of the slaughter;" i. e. (probably)" the Jews;" that people upon whom, for its wickedness and unbelief, God's vengeance was to fall.

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My covenant;" i. e. (perhaps)" that they should be God's people."

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Thirty," &c. St. Matthew mentions this as the price the Jews covenanted to give Judas for betraying Jesus: "Then one "of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, "and said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver "him unto you?' And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces

Lord said unto me, "cast it unto the potter; a goodly "price that I was priced at of them." And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the Lord. Then I cut asunder mine other staff, even Bands, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and " Israel. Zech. xi. 4-14.

No. CXXIII.

A prophetic Intimation of future Favour and Deliverance (perhaps in Times not yet arrived) to the Jews, of God's extraordinary Interposition on their behalf, of the Vengeance that should be taken upon their Opponents, and of their Repentance and Conversion.

No. 123. The burthen 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

"of silver." Matt. xxvi. 14, 15. Mark and Luke only say they promised to give him "money ;" they are silent as to the amount. Mark xiv. 11; Luke xxii. 5.

"The potter," &c. It is to this passage St. Matthew refers, when he mentions the purchase of the potter's field with the thirty pieces of silver Judas had received, though he names "Jeremiah" as the prophet, not Zechariah: "Then was fulfilled that which "was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, 'And they took the "thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, whom "they of the children of Israel did value, and gave them for "the potter's field, as the Lord appointed me."" Matt. xxvii. 9, 10.

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"Israel." If Israel is here put for the ten tribes, as distinct from the Jews, the reason why a difference should be made between the two is obvious. The Jews, the two tribes, were alone guilty of rejecting and crucifying Christ; and it was upon them alone, therefore, that the punishment for it ought to fall.

"Which stretcheth," &c. A solemn exordium, to signify the importance of what follows.

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spirit of man within him, "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. 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. 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. "And the Governors of Judah shalla say in their heart, "The Inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in "the Lord of Hosts, their God.' 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

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on the left; and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her "own place, even in Jerusalem." 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. 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: and it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. 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

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y "Of trembling,” i. e. "the cause of it in others-not the ob"ject of it herself."

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"The people," i. e. "those who should be gathered against "Judah."

a "Shall say," i. e. " shall have reason to say."

b "Him," &c. St. John refers to this passage as written prophetically of Christ. When they were about to take down our

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 first-born. In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon. And the land shall mourn, every family apart, all the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart. 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. Zech. xii. 1-12; Zech. xiii. 1 c.

No. CXXIV.

Upon the Death of Christ; the Desertion of him by his Apostles; the Proportion between those who should embrace his Religion and those who should not; the Trials the former should undergo; and the Vengeance which should be taken upon the latter.

No. 124. "Awake, O sword, against my d shepherd, "and against the man that is my fellow," saith the Lord of Hosts: "Smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be

Saviour from the cross, and would have broken his legs had he not been already dead, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and forthwith came thereout blood and water. St. John saw it, and his observation upon it is this: "For these things were done, that the Scripture should be fulfilled,” "A bone "of him shall not be broken." And again, another Scripture saith, "They shall look on him whom they pierced."

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For a commentary on the latter part of this passage, see Chandler's Defence, p, 107-115.

d s My shepherd." See Isa. xl. 11. "He shall feed his flock "like a shepherd."

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"The man that is my fellow." A singular expression! aptly suiting Christ, as "very God of very God," otherwise difficult to be explained.

f Smite," &c. Our Saviour refers to this passage, as if written prophetically of him and the twelve Apostles: "Jesus saith unto

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