Zechariah 9:12

Turn you to the strong hold - Ye who feel your sins, and are shut up under a sense of your guilt, look up to him who was delivered for your offenses, and rose again for your justification. Ye have hope, let that hope lead you to faith, and that faith to the blood of the covenant; and, through that blood, to God, the Father of all. I will render double unto thee - Give thee an abundance of peace and salvation.

[Another Sermon by Mr. Spurgeon on the same text, is #2839 , Volume 49— "PRISONERS OF HOPE"] THIS morning, [See Sermon #1186, Volume 20—THE BLOOD OF THE COVENANT]. I tried to show that in consequence of the blood of the Covenant having been shed and the Covenant having so been fulfilled, Jesus Christ was brought back out of the prison of the grave, set at liberty and exalted to indescribable Glory in the highest Heaven.

An image for the security which the returning Jews shall have in Messiah (Zec 9:8) encamped about His people (Ps 46:1, 5; compare Isa 49:9; Pr 18:10). prisoners of hope--that is, who in spite of afflictions (Job 13:15; Ps 42:5, 11) maintain hope in the covenant-keeping God; in contrast to unbelievers, who say, "There is no hope" (Jer 2:25;

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

THIS passage unquestionably has to do with our Lord Jesus Christ and His salvation. We are not at all in doubt about this matter, for the connection is exceedingly clear. If you begin to read at the 9th verse, you will see that we have, from that place on to our text, much prophetic information concerning our Lord and His Kingdom. We read, first, something about His own manner of triumph and His way of conducting Himself in His Kingdom—"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, your King comes unto you: He is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass." We know that the Prophet speaks not thus of any man save of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the King who put aside the pomp and pageantry in which Eastern monarchs delighted and, instead of riding upon a horse, He mounts a lowly ass. If He must ride in procession through the streets of Jerusalem, it shall be in that meek and humble guise. The King of the Kingdom of Grace is not high and lofty, haughty or proud, but condescends to men of low estate. The Pharisees and scribes murmured, "This Man receives sinners, and eats with them," and it was quite true. He is a King, and of a right royal nature, but His Kingdom is not that of pomp and show, of force and oppression. He is just and righteous, but He is also lowly, gentle and kind. The little children flocked around Him while He was here below and, now, the meek and lowly ones of mankind delight to serve Him. How glad I am that I can say to any of you who have not yet yielded yourselves up to Him that you need not fear to become the subjects of Jesus, the Son of God, for He is so gentle a King that it shall always be for your profit and pleasure, and never to your real loss or sorrow, to bow down before His gracious scepter! We have not to set before you a Pharaoh or a Nebuchadnezzar.

THIS passage unquestionably has to do with our Lord Jesus Christ and His salvation. We are not at all in doubt about this matter, for the connection is exceedingly clear. If you begin to read at the 9th verse, you will see that we have, from that place on to our text, much prophetic information concerning our Lord and His Kingdom.

[Another Sermon by Mr. Spurgeon on the same text, is #2839 , Volume 49— "PRISONERS OF HOPE"] THIS morning, [See Sermon #1186, Volume 20—THE BLOOD OF THE COVENANT]. I tried to show that in consequence of the blood of the Covenant having been shed and the Covenant having so been fulfilled, Jesus Christ was brought back out of the prison of the grave, set at liberty and exalted to indescribable Glory in the highest Heaven. I then showed that Jesus Christ is the Representative of all His people— that when He was set free, they were virtually set free, and that when He returned into Glory, He went there as their Representative, taking possession of the heavenly places in their name, so that, in due time, where He is, there they may also be. I had not time, this morning, to make a fitting application of our subject. But happily for us, here stands another text, an older one, and yet most suitable to come after the other, so I will use it now. Jesus Christ has been delivered from the bondage of the grave and I have to remind you, first, that there are other prisoners who have been set free through the blood of the Covenant. Secondly, that there are otherpersons yet to be set free through the blood of the Covenant. And then I shall close with a few words in honor of the secret reason of their liberation—the blood of the Covenant. I. First, then, dear Friends, we have to notice that THERE ARE SOME PERSONS WHO HAVE BEEN ALREADY SET FREE THROUGH THE BLOOD OF THE COVENANT. This leads us to consider where they were prisoners and to what they were prisoners. We are told, in the text, that they were in "the pit." That is where all God's people were once. You know that, in the East, they did not always take the trouble to build prisons—an empty well, or a place where they had been accustomed to hide their corn, or an underground, unused reservoir would serve for a prison.

Turn ye to the stronghold - that is, Almighty God; as the Psalmists so often say, “The Lord is the defense of my life” (Psa 27:1, add Psa 31:5; Psa 37:39; Psa 43:2; Psa 52:9); and Joel, “The Lord shall be a stronghold of the children, of Israel” ; and Nahum, “The Lord is a stronghold in the day of trouble” Nah 1:7; And, David said, “Thou hast been a shelter for me, a strong tower against the enemy” Psa 61:3; “the Name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous runneth into it and is safe” Pro 18:10; and again, “Be Thou to me a rock of strength, a house of defense to save me - Bring me forth out of the net that they have laid privily for me; for Thou art my stronghold” . The “stronghold,” “cut off” from all approach from an enemy, stands in contrast with the deep dungeon of calamity. The “return” must be a willing return, one in their own power; “return to the stronghold,” which is Almighty God, must be by conversion of heart and will. Even a Jewish commentator Kimchi paraphrases, “Turn ye to God; for He is a stronghold and tower of strength.” Ye prisoners of - (the) hope Not, accordingly, any hope, or generally, “hope,” but the special hope of Israel, “the hope” which sustained them in all those years of patient expectations, as Paul speaks of “the hope of Israel,” for which he says, “I am bound with this chain” Act 28:20. “I stand to be judged for the hope of the promise made by God unto our fathers, unto which promise our twelve tribes, serving God instantly day and night, hope to come; for which hope’s sake, King Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews” Act 26:6-7. And in his Epistles, “the hope laid up for you in heaven” Col 1:5; “the hope of the Gospel” Col 1:23; and, “looking for the blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ” Tit 2:13. […]