The
two kingdoms of providence and grace are what we are all very nearly
interested in, and therefore are concerned to acquaint ourselves with, all
our temporal affairs being in a necessary subjection to divine Providence,
and all our spiritual and eternal concerns in a necessary dependence upon
divine grace; and these two are represented to us in this chapter--the
former by a vision, the latter by a type. Here is, I. God, as King of
nations, ruling the world by the ministry of angels, in the vision of the
four chariots, ver. 1-8. II. God, as King of saints, ruling the church by
the mediation of Christ, in the figure of Joshua the high priest crowned,
the ceremony performed, and then explained concerning Christ, ver. 9-15.
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The
Vision of the Four Chariots.
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B.
C. 520.
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1 And I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and
looked, and, behold, there came four chariots out from between two
mountains; and the mountains were mountains of brass. 2
In the first chariot were red horses; and in the second chariot black
horses; 3 And in the third chariot white horses; and in the
fourth chariot grisled and bay horses. 4 Then I answered and
said unto the angel that talked with me, What are these, my
lord? 5 And the angel answered and said unto me, These are
the four spirits of the heavens, which go forth from standing before the
Lord of all the earth. 6 The black horses which are
therein go forth into the north country; and the white go forth after them;
and the grisled go forth toward the south country. 7 And the bay
went forth, and sought to go that they might walk to and fro through the
earth: and he said, Get you hence, walk to and fro through the earth. So
they walked to and fro through the earth. 8 Then cried he upon
me, and spake unto me, saying, Behold, these that go toward the north
country have quieted my spirit in the north country.
The prophet is forward to receive this vision, and, as if he expected it, he
turned and lifted up his eyes and looked. Though this was the seventh
vision he had had, yet he did not think he had had enough; for the more we
know of God and his will, if we know it aright, the more desirous we shall
be to get a further acquaintance with God. Now observe here the sight that
the prophet had offour chariots drawn by horses of divers colours,
together with the explication of the sight, v. 1-5. He did not look
long before he discovered that which was worth seeing, and which would serve
very much for the encouraging of himself and his friends in this dark day.
We are very much in the dark concerning the meaning of this vision. Some by
the four chariots understand the four monarchies; and then they read
(v. 5), These are the four winds of the heavens, and suppose
that therein reference is had to Dan. vii. 2, where Daniel saw, in vision,
the four winds of the heavens striving upon the great sea,
representing the four monarchies. The Babylonian monarchy, they think, is
here represented by the red horses, which are not afterwards
mentioned, because that monarchy was now extinct. The second chariot with
the black horses is the Persian monarchy, which went forth northward
against the Babylonians, and quieted God's Spirit in the north country,
by executing his judgments on Babylon and freeing the Jews from their
captivity. The white, the Grecians, go forth after them in the
north, for they overthrow the Persians. The grizzled, the Romans, who
conquered the Grecian empire, are said to go forth towards the south
country, because Egypt, which lay southward, was the last branch of the
Grecian empire that was subdued by the Romans. The bay horses had
been with the grizzled, but afterwards went forth by themselves; and
by these they understand the Goths and Vandals, who with their victorious
arms walked to and fro through the earth, or the Seleucidæ and Lagidæ, the
two branches of the Grecian empire. Thus Grotius and others.
But I incline rather to understand this vision more generally, as designing
to represent the administration of the kingdom of Providence in the
government of this lower world. The angels are often called the chariots
of God, as Ps. lxviii. 17; xviii. 10. The various providences of God
concerning nations and churches are represented by the different colours of
horses, Rev. vi. 2, 4, 5, 8. And so we may observe here, 1. That the
counsels and decrees of God are the spring and original of all events, and
they are immovable, as mountains of brass. The chariots came from
between the two mountains; for God performs the thing that is
appointed for us: his appointments are the originals, and his
performances are but copies from them; he does all according to the
counsel of his will. We could as soon grasp the mountains in our arms as
comprehend the divine counsels in our finite understandings, and as soon
remove mountains of brass as alter any of God's purposes; for he
is in one mind, and who can turn him? Whatever the providences of God
are concerning us, as to public or private affairs, we should see them all
coming from between the mountains of brass, and therefore see it as
much our folly to quarrel with them as it is our duty to acquiesce in them.
Who may say to God, What doest thou, or why doest thou so? Acts ii.
23; iv. 28. 2. That God executes his decrees in the works of Providence,
which are as chariots, in which he rides as a prince in an open chariot, to
show his glory to the world, in which, as in chariots of war, he rides forth
conquering and to conquer, and triumphing over all the enemies of his
glory and government. God is great and terrible in his doings (Ps. lxvi. 3),
and in them we see the goings of our God, our King, Ps. lxviii. 24.
His providences move swiftly and strongly as chariots, but all directed and
governed by his infinite wisdom and sovereign will, as chariots by their
drivers. 3. That the holy angels are the ministers of God's providence, and
are employed by him, as the armies of heaven, for the executing of
his counsels among the inhabitants of the earth; they are the chariots,
or, which comes all to one, they are the horses that draw the chariots,
great in power and might, and who, like the horse that God himself describes
(Job xxxix. 19, &c.), are clothed with thunder, are terrible, but cannot
be terrified nor made afraid; they are chariots of fire,
and horses of fire, to carry one prophet to heaven and guard another on
earth. They are as observant of and obsequious to the will of God as
well-managed horses are to their rider or driver. Not that God needs them or
their services, but he is pleased to make use of them, that he may put
honour upon them, and encourage our trust in his providence. 4. That the
events of Providence have different aspects and the face of the times often
changes. The horses in the first chariot were red,
signifying war and bloodshed, blood to the horse-bridles, Rev. xiv.
20. Those in the second chariot were black, signifying the
dismal melancholy consequences of war; it puts all into mourning, lays all
waste, introduces famines, and pestilences, and desolations, and makes whole
lands to languish. Those in the third chariot were white,
signifying the return of comfort, and peace, and prosperity, after these
dark and dismal times: though God cause grief to the children of men, yet
will he have compassion. Those in the fourth chariot were of a mixed
colour, grizzled and bay; some speckled and spotted,
and ash-coloured, signifying events of different complexions
interwoven and counter-changed, a day of prosperity and a day of adversity
set the one over-against the other. The cup of Providence in the hand
of the Lord is full of mixture, Ps. lxxv. 8. 5. That all the
instruments of Providence, and all the events of it, come from God, and from
him they receive their commissions and instructions (v. 5): These
are the four spirits of heaven, the four winds (so some), which seem to
blow as they list, from the various points of the compass; but God has them in
his fists and brings them out of his treasuries. Or, rather,
These are the angels that go forth from standing before the Lord
of all the earth, to attend upon him and minister to him, to behold his
glory in the upper world, which is their blessedness, and to serve his glory
in their blessedness, and to serve his glory in this lower world, which is
their business. They stand before him as the Lord of the whole
earth, to receive orders from him and give up their accounts to him
concerning their services on this earth, for it is all within his
jurisdiction. But, when he appoints, they go forth as messengers of
his counsels and ministers of his justice and mercy. Those secret motions
and impulses upon the spirits of men by which the designs of Providence are
carried on, some think, are these four spirits of the heavens, which go
forth from God and fulfil what he appoints, who is the God of the
spirits of all flesh. 6. That there is an admirable beauty in
Providence, and one event serves for a balance to another (v. 6): The
black horses went forth, carrying with them very dark and melancholy
events, such as made every person and every thing look black; but presently the
white went forth after them, carrying joy to those that mourned, and, by
a new turn given to affairs, making them to look pleasant again. Such are
God's dealings with his church and people: if the black horses go forth, the
white ones presently go after them; for as affliction abounds consolation
much more abounds. 7. That the common general aspect of providence is
mixed and compounded. The grizzled and bay horses were both in
the fourth chariot (v. 3), and though they went forth, at
first, towards the south country, yet afterwards they sought to
walk to and fro through the earth and were directed to do so, v.
7. If we go to and fro through the earth, we shall find the events of
Providence neither all black nor all white, but ash-coloured, or gray, mixed
of black and white. Such is the world we live in; that before us is unmixed.
Here we are singing, at the same time, of mercy and judgment, and we
must sing unto God of both (Ps. ci. 1) and labour to accommodate
ourselves to God's will and design in the mixtures of Providence, rejoicing
in our comforts as though we rejoiced not, because they have their allays,
and weeping for our afflictions as though we wept not, because there is so
much mercy mixed with them. 8. That God is well-pleased with all the
operations of his own providence (v. 8): These have quieted my
spirit, these black horses which denote extraordinary judgments,
and the white ones which denote extraordinary deliverances, both
which went towards the north country, while the common mixed
providences went all the world over. These have quieted my spirit in the
north-country, which had of late been the most remarkable scene of
action with reference to the church; that is, by these uncommon appearances
and actings of providence God's wrath is executed upon the enemies of the
church, and his favours are conferred upon the church, both which had long
been deferred, and in both God had fulfilled his will, accomplished his
word, and so quieted his Spirit. The Lord is well-pleased for his
righteousness' sake; and, as he speaks, Isa. i. 24, made himself easy.
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The
Coronation of Joshua; Prediction of the Messiah.
B. C. 520.
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9 And the word of the LORD
came unto me, saying, 10 Take of them of the captivity, even
of Heldai, of Tobijah, and of Jedaiah, which are come from Babylon, and come
thou the same day, and go into the house of Josiah the son of
Zephaniah; 11 Then take silver and gold, and make crowns, and
set them upon the head of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high
priest; 12 And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD
of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he
shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD:
13 Even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the
glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon
his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.
14 And the crowns shall be to Helem, and to Tobijah, and to Jedaiah, and to
Hen the son of Zephaniah, for a memorial in the temple of the LORD.
15 And they that are far off shall come and build in the temple of
the LORD,
and ye shall know that the LORD
of hosts hath sent me unto you. And this shall come to pass, if ye
will diligently obey the voice of the LORD
your God.
God did not only at sundry times, but in divers manners, speak
in time past by the prophets to his church. In the former part of this
chapter he spoke by a vision, which only the prophet himself saw; here, in
this latter part, he speaks by a sign, or type, which many saw, and which,
as it was explained, was an illustrious prediction of the Messiah as the
priest and king of his church. Here is,
I. The significant ceremony which God appointed, and that was the coronation
of Joshua the high priest, v. 10, 11. It is observable that there
should be two eminent types of Christ in the Old Testament that were both
named Joshua (the same name with Jesus, and by the LXX., and
in the New Testament, rendered Jesus, Acts vii. 45)-- Joshua the
chief captain, a type of Christ the captain of our salvation, and Joshua the
chief priest, a type of Christ the high priest of our profession, and both
in their day saviours and leaders into Canaan. And this is peculiar to
Joshua the high priest, that here was something done to him by the divine
appointment on purpose that he might be a type of Christ, a priest after the
order of Melchizedek, who was both a king and a priest. Joshua was far from
being ambitious of a crown, and the people of having a crowned head over
them; but the prophet, to the great surprise of both, is ordered to crown
Joshua as if he had been a king. And, as Zerubbabel's prudence and piety
kept this from being any affront to him (as the setting up of a rival with
him), so God's providence kept the kings of Persia from taking umbrage at
it, as raising a rebellion against them. In doing what we are sure is God's
pleasure, as this was, we may well venture men's displeasure. 1. Here were
some Jews come from Babylon that brought an offering to the house of God, some
of the captivity, here named to their honour, that came from Babylon
on a visit to Jerusalem. They ought to have bidden a final farewell to
Babylon, and to have come and settled with their brethren in their own land,
and for their remissness and indifference in not doing so they thought to
atone by this visit. Perhaps they came as ambassadors from the body of the
Jews that were in Babylon, who lived there in ease and fulness; and, hearing
that the building of the temple went on slowly for want of money, they sent
them with an offering of gold and silver for the service of the house of
God. Note, Those that by reason of distance, or otherwise, cannot forward a
good work by their persons, must, as they are able, forward it by their
purses; if some find hands, let others fill them. 2. Time and place are
appointed for the prophet to meet them. They thought to bring their present
to the priest, God's ordinary minister; but God has a prophet, an
extraordinary one, ready to receive them and it, which would be an
encouragement to them, who, in their captivity, had so often complained, We
see not our signs, there is no more any prophet, and would invite them
and others to re-settle in their own land, which then began to look like
itself, like a holy land, when the Spirit of prophecy was revived in it.
Zechariah was ordered to give them the meeting the same day they came
(for when they had arrived they would lose no time, but present their
offering immediately), and to bid them welcome, assuring them that God now
accepted their gifts. He was to meet them in the house of Josiah, the son of
Zephaniah, who probably was receiver-general for the temple, and kept the
treasures of it. They brought their gold and silver, to be employed about
the temple, but God ordered it to be used in honour of One greater than
the temple, Matt. xii. 6. 3. Crowns are to be made, and put
upon the head of Joshua, v. 11. It is supposed that there were
two crowns provided, one of silver and the other of gold; the former (as
some think) denoting his priestly dignity, the latter his kingly dignity.
Or, rather, he being a priest already, and having a crown of gold, of pure
gold, already, to signify his honour and power as a priest, these crowns of
silver and gold both signify the royal dignity, the crown of silver
being perhaps designed to typify the kingdom of the Messiah when he was here
on earth, for then he was the King of Israel (John i. 49), but the
crown of gold his kingdom in his exalted state, the glory of which as far
exceeded that of the former as gold does silver. The sun shines as gold,
when he goes forth in his strength; and the beams of the moon, when
she walks in brightness, we call silver beams. Those that had
worshipped the sun and moon shall now fall down before the golden and silver
crowns of the exalted Redeemer, before whom the sun shall be ashamed and the
moon confounded, being both out-shone.
II. The signification which God gave of this ceremony. Every one would be
ready to ask, "What is the meaning of Joshua's being crowned
thus?" And the prophet is as ready to tell them the meaning of it. Upon
this speaking sign is grafted a prediction, and the sign was used to make it
the more taken notice of and the better remembered. Now the promise is,
1. That God will, in the fulness of time, raise up a great high priest, like
Joshua. Tell Joshua that he is but the figure of one that is to come, a
faint shadow of him (v. 12): Speak unto him in the name of the
Lord of hosts, that the man whose name is The BRANCH shall grow
up out of his place, out of Bethlehem the city of David, the place
appointed for his birth; though the family be a root in a dry ground, yet
this branch shall spring out of it, as in the spring, when the sun returns,
the flowers spring out of the roots, in which they lay buried out of sight
and out of mind. He shall grow up for himself (so some read it) propria
virtute--by his own vital energy, shall be exalted in his own
strength.
2. That, as Joshua was an active useful instrument in building the temple,
so the man, the branch, shall be the master-builder, the sole builder
of the spiritual temple, the gospel-church. He shall build the temple of
the Lord; and it is repeated (v. 13), Even he shall build the
temple of the Lord. He shall grow up to do good, to be an instrument of
God's glory and a great blessing to mankind. Note, The gospel-church is the temple
of the Lord, a spiritual house (1 Pet. ii. 5), a holy temple,
Eph. ii. 21. In the temple God made discoveries of himself to his people,
and there he received the service and homage of his people; so, in the
gospel-church, the light of divine revelation shines by the word, and the
spiritual sacrifices of prayer and praise are offered. Now Christ is not
only the foundation, but the founder, of this temple, by his Spirit and
grace.
3. That Christ shall bear the glory. Glory is a burden, but not too heavy
for him to bear who upholds all things. The cross was his glory, and he bore
that; so was the crown an exceeding weight of glory, and he bears
that. The government is upon his shoulders, and in it he
bears the glory, Isa. ix. 6. They shall hang upon him all the glory
of his Father's house, Isa. xxii. 24. It becomes him, and he is par
negotio--well able to bear it. The glory of the priesthood and royalty
had been divided between the house of Aaron and that of David; but now he
alone shall bear all the glory of both. That which he shall bear, which he
shall undertake, shall be indeed the glory of Israel; and they must
wait for that, and, in prospect of it, must be content in the want of that
external glory which they formerly had. He shall bear such a glory as shall
make the glory of this latter house greater than that of the former. He
shall lift up the glory (so it may be read); the glory of Israel had
been thrown down and depressed, but he shall raise it out of the dust.
4. That he shall have a throne, and be both priest and king upon his throne.
A throne denotes both dignity and dominion, an exalted honour with an
extensive power. (1.) This priest shall be a king, and his office as a
priest shall be no diminution to his dignity as a king: He shall sit and
rule upon his throne. Christ, as a priest, ever lives to make
intercession for us; but he does it sitting at his Father's right hand, as
one having authority, Heb. viii. 1. We have such a high priest as
Israel never had, for he is set on the right hand of the throne of the
Majesty in the heavens, which puts a prevailing virtue into his
mediation; he that appears for us within the veil is one that sits and rules
there. Christ, who is ordained to offer sacrifices for us, is authorized to
give law to us. He will not save us unless we be willing that he should
govern us. God has prepared him a throne in the heavens; and, if we
would have any benefit by that, we must prepare him a throne in our hearts,
and be willing and glad that he should sit and rule upon that throne;
and to him every thought within us must be brought into obedience. (2.) This
king shall be a priest, a priest upon his throne. With the majesty
and power of a king, he shall have the tenderness and simplicity of a
priest, who, being taken from among men, is ordained for men,
and can have compassion on the ignorant, Heb. v. 1, 2. In all the
acts of his government as a king he prosecutes the intentions of his grace
as a priest. Let not therefore those that are his look upon his throne,
though a throne of glory and a throne of judgment, with terror and
amazement; for, as there is a rainbow about the throne, so he is a priest
upon the throne.
5. That the counsel of peace shall be between them both. That is,
(1.) Between Jehovah and the man the branch, between the
Father and the Son; the counsels concerning the peace to be made between God
and man, by the mediation of Christ, shall be concerted (that is, shall appear
to have been concerted) by Infinite Wisdom in the covenant of
redemption; the Father and the Son understood one another perfectly well in
that matter. Or, rather, (2.) Between the priest and the throne, between the
priestly and kingly office of Jesus Christ. The man the branch must
grow up to carry on a counsel of peace, peace on earth, and, in order
to that, peace with heaven. God's thoughts towards us were thoughts of
peace, and, in prosecution of them, he exalted his Son Christ Jesus to
be both a prince and a Saviour; he gave him a throne, but with
this proviso, that he should be a priest upon his throne, and by executing
the two offices of a priest and king should bring about that great
undertaking of man's reconciliation to God and happiness in God. Some think
it alludes to the former government of the Jews' state, wherein the king and
priest, separate officers, did take counsel one with another, for the
maintenance of peace and prosperity in church and state, as did Zerubbabel
and Joshua now. I may add, the prophets of God helping them. So shall
the peace and welfare of the gospel-church, and of all believers, be
wrought, though not by two separate persons, yet by virtue of two separate
offices meeting in one--Christ purchasing all peace by his priesthood and
maintaining and defending it by his kingdom; so Mr. Pemble. And his
prophetic office is serviceable to both in this great design.
6. That there shall be a happy coalition between Jews and Gentiles in the
gospel-church, and they shall both meet in Christ, the priest upon his
throne, as the centre of their unity (v. 15): Those that are far
off shall come and build in the temple of the Lord. Some understand it
of the Jews that were now afar off in Babylon, that staid behind in
captivity, to the great discouragement of their brethren that had returned,
who wanted their help in building the temple. Now God promises that many of
them, and some of other nations too, proselyted to the Jewish religion,
should come in, and lend a helping hand to the building of the temple, and
many hands would make light work. The kings of Persia contributed to the
building of the temple (Ezra vi. 8) and the furnishing of it, Ezra vii. 19,
20. And, in after-times, Herod the Great, and others that were strangers,
helped to beautify and enrich the temple. But it has a further reference to
that temple of the Lord which the man the branch was to build.
The Gentiles, strangers afar off, shall help to build it, for from
among them God will raise up ministers that shall be workers together with
Christ about that building; and all the Gentile converts shall be stones
added to this building, so that it shall grow up to a holy temple,
Eph. ii. 20-22. When God's temple is to be built he can fetch in those that
are afar off and employ them in the building of it.
7. That the accomplishment of this will be a strong confirmation of the
truth of God's word: You shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me
unto you. That promise, that those that were afar off should come and
assist them in building the temple of the Lord, was as it were the giving
of them a sign; by this they might be assured that the other promises
should be fulfilled in due time. This should be fulfilled now very speedily;
it was so, for those that had been their enemies and accusers, in obedience
to the king's edict, became their helpers and did speedily what they were
ordered to do for the furtherance of the work, and by that means the work
went on and was finished; see Ezra vi. 13, 14. Now, by this surprising
assistance which they had from afar off in building the temple, they might
know that Zechariah, who told them of it before, was sent of God, and that
therefore his word concerning the man the branch should be fulfilled.
8. That these promises were strong obligations to obedience: "For
this shall come to pass (you shall have help in building the temple) if
you will diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God. You shall have
the help of foreigners in building the temple, if you will but set about it
in good earnest yourselves." The assistance of others, instead of being
an excuse for our slothfulness, should be a spur to our industry. "You
shall have the benefit and comfort of all those promises if you make
conscience of your duty." They must know that they are upon their good
behaviour; and, though their God is coming towards them in a way of mercy,
they cannot expect him to proceed in it unless they conform to his laws.
Note, That which God requires of us, to qualify us for his favour, is
obedience to his revealed will; and it must be a diligent obedience. We
cannot obey the voice of God without a great deal of care and pains,
nor will our obedience be accepted of God unless it be laboured by us.
III. The provision that was made to preserve the remembrance of this. The
crowns that were used in this solemnity were not given to Joshua, but
must be kept for a memorial in the temple of the Lord, v. 14.
Either they were laid up in the temple treasury or (as the Jews' tradition
is) they were hung up in the windows of the temple, in the view of all, in
perpetuam rei memoriam--for a perpetual memorial, for a traditional
evidence of the promise of the Messiah and this typical transaction used for
the confirmation of that promise. The crowns were delivered to those who
found the materials (and some think their names were engraven on the
crowns), to be preserved as a public testimony of their pious liberality and
an encouragement to others in like manner to bring presents to the house of
God. Note, Various means were used for the support of the faith of the
Old-Testament saints, who waited for the consolation of Israel, till the
time, the set time, for it came.
