Zechariah 12:10

And perhaps it is then that the words "all flesh" will become more perfectly fulfilled. Now I mean to say, flesh has seen him, but not all flesh. Then, however, at the judgment, as he comes with his angels to judge the living and the dead, "when all who are in tombs hear his voice and come forth, some to the resurrection of life, others to the resurrection of judgment," it is not only the just but also the wicked, those on the right, these on the left, who will see that form which he pleased to take on for us. Even those who killed him "will look on the one whom they have pierced." So "all flesh shall see the salvation of God." Body will be seen by body, because he will come to judge him in his real body. But to those placed on the right and sent on into the kingdom of heaven, he is going to show himself in the same way as he could already be seen in the body; and yet he had said, "Whoever loves me shall be loved by my Father; and I will love him, and manifest myself to him."

He commanded them, among other things, to pray as follows: "And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors." Or [it may be that] he calls his disciples "evil" because in comparison with the divine goodness, every creature is judged to be evil, as …

I will pour - This was fulfilled on Christ's exaltation, when he sent the Comforter to his disciples, it is daily performed to the children of God, and will be continually, 'till we are brought to be with Christ forever. The house of David - The whole family of Christ, his house who was the seed of David, and who is called David, Ezek. xxxvii, 24.

But this promise has reference to, and is performed in, the graces of the Spirit given to all believers, as that Isa. xliv. 3 , I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, which was fulfilled when Jesus was glorified, John vii. It is a promise of the Spirit, and with him of all spiritual blessings in heavenly things by Christ.

); 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.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens

And I will pour out upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem,....

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.

I will pour upon the house of David - This is the way in which the Jews themselves shall be brought into the Christian Church. 1. “They shall have the spirit of grace,” God will show them that he yet bears favor to them. 2. They shall be excited to fervent and continual prayer for the restoration of the Divine favor. 3. Christ shall be preached unto them; and they shall look upon and believe in him whom they pierced, whom they crucified at Jerusalem.

THIS prophecy, first of all, refers to the Jewish people. And I am happy that it confirms our hearts in the belief of the good which the Lord will do unto Israel. We know of a surety, because God has said it, that the Jews will be restored to their own land and that they shall inherit the goodly country which the Lord has given unto their fathers by a Covenant of salt forever.

NOTICE in this verse the very remarkable change of persons which you find in it, for you have, first, the first person, and then, the third—"They shall look upon Me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him.''" It is the same Person who speaks in each case and He is speaking concerning Himself in both instances, so it is very remarkable that He should first say, "Me," and then say, "Him." What is this but another illustration of the Unity of the Godhead and yet the Trinity of the adorable Persons in it?

The act of the Roman soldier who pierced Him was their act (Mt 27:25), and is so accounted here in Zechariah. The Hebrew word is always used of a literal piercing (so Zec 13:3); not of a metaphorical piercing, "insulted," as MAURER and other Rationalists (from the Septuagint) represent. as one mourneth for . . . son-- (Jer 6:26;

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens

HARDNESS of heart is a great and grievous evil. It exists not only in the outside world, but in many who frequent the courts of the Lord's House. Beneath the robes of religion many carry a heart of stone. It is more than possible to come to Baptism and the sacred Supper, to come constantly to the hearing of the Word and even, as a matter of form, to attend to private religious duties—and yet still have an unrenewed heart—a heart within which no spiritual life palpitates and no spiritual feeling exists.

THIS prophecy, first of all, refers to the Jewish people. And I am happy that it confirms our hearts in the belief of the good which the Lord will do unto Israel. We know of a surety, because God has said it, that the Jews will be restored to their own land and that they shall inherit the goodly country which the Lord has given unto their fathers by a Covenant of salt forever. But, better still, they shall be converted to the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ and shall see in Him the house of David restored to the throne of Israel. The day is coming when they shall see in Jesus of Nazareth, that Messiah for whom their saints looked with joyful expectation, of whom the Prophets spoke with rapture, but who was despised and rejected of their blinded sires. Happy day! Happy day! When our Jewish Brethren shall all be found worshipping before the Lord of Hosts through their great High Priest, who is a Priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek! We must remember the prophecy concerning this thing. We must enquire of the Lord concerning His promise. We must expect its fulfillment, labor for it and then beyond a doubt, when the due season shall have arrived, Israel shall own her king and upon the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of Grace and supplication shall be poured out. We intend to hear our text, upon the present occasion, as it speaks to ourselves. A great mistake is very common among all classes of men—it is currently believed that we are, first of all, to mourn for our sins and then to look by faith to our Lord Jesus Christ. Most persons who have any concern about their souls but are not as yet enlightened by the Spirit of God think that there is a degree of tenderness of conscience and of hatred of sin which they are to obtain, somehow or other, and then they will be permitted and authorized to look to Jesus Christ.

Look, Beloved, from where every good thing flows—"I will pour upon the house of David the Spirit of Grace." The starting point is the Lord's sovereign act in giving the Spirit! Every work of Grace begins with God! No gracious thought or act ever originates in the free will of unregenerate man. The Lord is first in all things which are acceptable in His sight. It is God that "works in us to will and to do of His own good pleasure." "You have worked all our works in us."

Look, Beloved, from where every good thing flows—"I will pour upon the house of David the Spirit of Grace." The starting point is the Lord's sovereign act in giving the Spirit! Every work of Grace begins with God! No gracious thought or act ever originates in the free will of unregenerate man. The Lord is first in all things which are acceptable in His sight. It is God that "works in us to will and to do of His own good pleasure." "You have worked all our works in us." Then notice how exceedingly effectual the work of the Lord is. Men may persuade and even inspired Prophets may warn without effect, but when the Lord puts His hand to the work, He never fails! As soon as He says, "I will pour," the next sentence is, "and they shall look." When He works, who shall hinder? His people shall be willing in the day of His power! "They shall look upon Me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn." This is effectual calling, indeed! In such results we see what is the exceeding greatness of His power to usward who believe according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead. Observe, thirdly, the dignity and the prominent position which is occupied by faith. "I will pour upon them the Spirit of supplication and they shall look." Faith is evidently intended here, for faith is always that glance of the eyes which brings us the blessing which Christ has to bestow. "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up that whoever believes in Him should not perish." A look at the bronze serpent healed Israel and, according to the figure, believing in Jesus Christ is a saving look. Now, this look of faith is mentioned as the first fruit of the Spirit—before they mourn, they look. When the Spirit of Grace and supplication is given, its principal result is looking unto Jesus.

HARDNESS of heart is a great and grievous evil. It exists not only in the outside world, but in many who frequent the courts of the Lord's House. Beneath the robes of religion many carry a heart of stone. It is more than possible to come to Baptism and the sacred Supper, to come constantly to the hearing of the Word and even, as a matter of form, to attend to private religious duties—and yet still have an unrenewed heart—a heart within which no spiritual life palpitates and no spiritual feeling exists. Nothing good can come out of a stony heart—it is barren as a rock. To be unfeeling is to be unfruitful. Prayer without desire; praise without emotion; preaching without earnestness—what are all these? Like the marble images of life, they are cold and dead! Insensibility is a deadly sign. Frequently it is the next stage to destruction. Pharaoh's hard heart was a prophecy that his pride would meet a terrible overthrow. The hammer of vengeance is not far off when the heart becomes harder than an adamant stone. Many and great are the advantages connected with softness of spirit. Tenderness of heart is one of the marks of a gracious person. Spiritual sensibility puts life and feeling into all Christian duties. He that prays feelingly, prays, indeed. He that praises God with humble gratitude, praises Him most acceptably and he that preaches with a loving heart has the essentials of true eloquence. An inward, living tenderness, which trembles at God's Word, is of great price in the sight of God. You are in this matter agreed with me—at least I know that some of you are thoroughly thus minded, for you are longing to be made tender and contrite. Certain of you who are truly softened by Divine Grace are very prone to accuse yourselves of being stony-hearted. We are poor judges of our own condition and in this matter many make mistakes.

NOTICE in this verse the very remarkable change of persons which you find in it, for you have, first, the first person, and then, the third—"They shall look upon Me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him.''" It is the same Person who speaks in each case and He is speaking concerning Himself in both instances, so it is very remarkable that He should first say, "Me," and then say, "Him." What is this but another illustration of the Unity of the Godhead and yet the Trinity of the adorable Persons in it? Notice that the One who, in this chapter, speaks of Himself as, "Me" and "Him," is none other than Jehovah who made the heavens and the earth. Read the first verse—"The burden of the word of the Lord for Israel, says the Lord, which stretches forth the heavens and lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him." The Creator of the heavens and the Creator of our spirit is the same Person who was pierced, and who says, "They shall look upon Me." Yet there is a distinction, for we next read, "They shall mourn for Hm" Jesus Christ is God and, therefore, so speaks of Himself. Yet He is also Man and, therefore, He is spoken of in the third person. There are other instances in which the Divine and Human in Christ Jesus are spoken of in a very remarkable manner. Turn, for instance, to the 50th Chapter of the prophecy of Isaiah at the 3rd verse—"I clothe the heavens with blackness, and I make sackcloth their covering." No one but God could truly say that. Now turn to the 6th verse.

And I will pour - As He promised by Joel, “I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh” (Joe 2:28. See vol. i. pp. 193, 194), largely, abundantly, “upon the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem,” all, highest and lowest, from first to last, the “Spirit of grace and supplication,” that is, the “Holy Spirit” which conveyeth “grace,” as “the Spirit of wisdom and understanding” Isa 11:2 is “the Spirit” infusing “wisdom and understanding,” and the “Spirit of counsel and might” is that same Spirit, imparting the gift “of counsel” to see what is to be done and “of might” to do it, and the Spirit “of the knowledge and of the fear of the Lord” is that same “Spirit,” infusing loving acquaintance with God, with awe at His infinite Majesty. So “the Spirit of grace and supplication,” is that same Spirit, infusing grace and bringing into a state of favor with God, and a “Spirit of supplication” is that Spirit, calling out of the inmost soul the cry for a yet larger measure of the grace already given. Paul speaks of “the love of God poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given unto us” Rom 5:5; and of “insulting the Spirit of grace” , rudely repulsing the Spirit, who giveth grace. Osorius: “When God Himself says, ‘I will pour out,’ He sets forth the greatness of His bountifulness whereby He bestoweth all things.” And they shall look - with trustful hope and longing. Cyril: “When they had nailed the Divine Shrine to the Wood, they who had crucified Him, stood around, impiously mocking. But when He had laid down His life for us, “the centurion and they that were with him, watching Jesus, seeing the earthquake and those things which were done, feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God” Mat 27:54. As it ever is with sin, compunction did not come till the sin was over: till then, it was overlaid; else the sin could not be done. […]