Let us turn to God's Word in
the chapter that we were reading, Zechariah chapter 12. And I want to read the last part
of the chapter for our text from verse 10 through 14. Zechariah 12 verse 10 through
14. 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. In that day shall there be a
great mourning in Jerusalem as the mourning of Adadrimmon in
the valley of Megiddon 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 the family of the house of Levi apart and their wives
apart the family of Shimei apart and their wives apart all the
families that remain every family apart and their wives apart we want to take up the subject
of that mourning that he's spoken of a mourning that is clearly
associated with the grace of repentance it's a interesting
chapter but it's a chapter that is not easy to read or to interpret
and to understand but there are some remarkable statements made
throughout the chapter and you will have observed as we were
reading through the chapter that time and again we have reference
to that day repeatedly that day is spoken
of I think it's spoken of some six or seven times throughout
these verses in verses 3 and 4, in verses 6 and 8 and 9 and
11, that day. And then we read on into the
13th chapter and again, 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. and in many ways the key to understand
what is being said in this chapter and then again at the beginning
of the 13th chapter is to be found in that expression in that
day because he clearly directs us to the gospel day when we
read in the Old Testament of that day or the day of the Lord
or the last days We are to think immediately of the New Testament
and the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, the great day of the
Lords. There is the key whereby we can
understand then what we've read in this strange and mysterious
chapter. And of course in verse 10 we
have that reference to looking upon one whom they have pierced
and mourning for him. And then in chapter 13 we have
mention of the fountain opened to the house of David and to
the inhabitants of Jerusalem. It is the death of the Lord Jesus
Christ that is the source, of course, of
the fountain that is now opened for sin and for uncleanness,
that precious blood that he sheds. There is a fountain filled with
blood drawn from Emmanuel's veins and sinners plunged beneath that
flood lose all their guilty stains. A familiar language of William
Cooper the poet. It's the Lord Jesus then who
is being spoken of here. But it's not so much that I want
to speak of the Lord Jesus make some reference to that death
that he died of course but the consequence the outcome and the
outcome is that there is the evidence of grace in those who
are brought to that place of mourning over him that mourning
that is associated with a very real experience of true repentance
As we come to consider then this passage, these five verses that
we've read as a text, I divide what I say into three parts. First of all, to say something
with regards to Christ. As I said, we must begin there,
the piercing of the Lord Jesus Christ. And then secondly, to
say something with regards to the promise that God is making
here. And then finally, we'll consider
that repentance. that is the experience of the
true Israel of God. First of all then, what we have
in the 10th verse, and we read of Christ, they shall look upon
me whom they have pierced, and 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. That is my usual practice. Before we come to that spiritual
significance, let me say something with regards to the context,
the circumstances in which this word is first given to the prophet
Zechariah. Zechariah was the Lord's prophet
at the time of the Restoration. He was there, of course, in the
days of Ezra the Scribe. when they returned out of captivity
and were engaged in the rebuilding of the walls of the temple there
in Jerusalem. That was the period of his ministry
and it's interesting how the chapter opens. It opens with
those words, the burden. of the words of the Lord for
Israel." The burden of the word of the Lord. When such an expression
is used, the burden of the word, we find it again in the opening
words of the following prophecy of Malachi. The burden of the
word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi. It's also used in reference
to the ministry of Nahum there in the opening verses of that
book well the burden is usually associated with threatenings
when the prophet is burdened with the message that he is to
convey to the people it is because it's going to be a solemn word
of God's threatenings against the sins of the people And yet,
strangely here, instead of threats, we have many promises given to
Jerusalem. The burden doesn't so much seem
to be directed against Jerusalem and those who were engaged in
the rebuilding of the Temple of the Lord, the burden rather
seems to be directed at those of the Jews who had not departed
from Babylon and returned to Jerusalem engaging in that blessed
work. Remember how the Lord God had
raised up one called Cyrus, the Babylonians had taken the Jews
into captivity, but then their great empire had fallen to the
Medes and Persians, and we read of the Persian Cyrus, the great
Persian emperor, and he's spoken of by name there at the end of
Isaiah 44 and the beginning of chapter 45. Some hundred years
before he lived, the Lord God names him. And he is the man
who issues the decree whereby the Jews are permitted to go
back and rebuild the temple. and again in Isaiah, Isaiah 48
and verse 20 that word is given go ye forth of Babylon but there
were those who had become comfortable and they were disobedient and
it appears that the the word that is being spoken in some
ways is being directed to them God will watch over those who
have returned to engage in the rebuilding of the temple and
all who will oppose them well God will frustrate all the designs
of their enemies what we have here really is comforting words
being spoken to Jerusalem look at the language in verse 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. In that day will I make Jerusalem
a burdensome stone for all the people. And so it goes on throughout
the chapter. We read the chapter. Again, verse
8, In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
and he that is feeble among them, that that day shall be as David,
and the house of David shall be as God, as the house 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. This is the word then of the of the prophets addressing the
immediate situation that he finds the people in. But as I said,
we can only really understand what is being said in this chapter
in the light of the New Testament because it repeatedly directs
us to that day, the great day of the Lord, the coming of the
Lord Jesus Christ. And it is so evident that it
is a prophecy of that day, because those words that we have in the
10th verse, they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, are
taken up directly by John there in his Gospel, in John chapter
19 and verse 37. John of course in that chapter
is writing in some detail concerning the sufferings of the Lord Jesus
Christ. that cruel death that he must
endure upon the cross at Calvary. And in verse 37 of that chapter
we read again, another scripture says, they shall look on him
whom they have feared. This chapter speaks to us then
concerning the Lord Jesus, that one who suffered and bled and
died at the hands of wicked men and yet all the time of course
it was Christ executing that work that the Father had given
him to do it was not so much the pains of his body but all
the pains of his mind as he made the great sin atoning sacrifice
and interestingly we see how it goes on in chapter 13 And
verse 6, one shall say unto him, what are these wounds in thine
hands? Then he shall answer, those with
which I was wounded in the house of my friends. Isn't that also
referring to the Lord Jesus and his sufferings? He comes unto
his own. His own receive him not. He's of the house of David.
He's of the tribe of Jude. and he comes there to the land
wherein are the Jews and what do they do? they reject him they
will not have this man to rule over them they cry out crucify
him, crucify him what are these wounds in thine hands those with
which I was wounded in the house of my friends he says all the
sufferings of the Lord Jesus but he who came that first time
and came with that great purpose to make the sin atoning sacrifice
the very sacrifice that he's spoken of here in the 10th verse
of our text he will come again he is to come the second time
because the father now has committed all judgment to the son and he
is to return in power and glory these things are spoken of particularly
of course in the last book of holy scripture there in the revelation
we read these words behold he cometh with clouds and every
eye shall see him and they also which pierced him and all the
kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him even so amen every
knee is to bow and every tongue is to confess that he is Lord
to the glory of God the Father even those who pierced him or
they shall look upon me whom they have pierced now look upon
him then as he comes to judge but ought to be those who would
behold him now in the day of grace and know something of the
consequence when we are brought to see that remarkable sight,
Christ in the sinner's place, the great doctrine of substitutionary
atonement. Here then, we read of the Lord
Jesus. He's in the text. But in the
second place, I want us to observe that it's couched, isn't it,
in the language of promise. Our text tonight is a promise.
As we see from the opening words of verse 10, I will pour upon
the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the
Spirit of grace and the supplications, and they shall look upon me whom
they have pierced. Here is the promise. And what
a blessed promise it is. It's a promise of the Holy Spirit
and He's promised here is that spirit of grace and of supplications
and it's only as we know the ministry of the Spirit that we
can look upon the Lord Jesus Christ and know what it is to
mourn to mourn for Him even as one mourneth for his only Son
and to be in bitterness for Him as one that is in bitterness
for his firstborn We can know nothing of that true mourning
that is associated with gospel repentance except we have that
blessed gift of the Holy Spirit. And what is He? He's the Spirit
of Grace. He's the Spirit of Grace. And
grace, of course, is the unmerited favour of God. Grace reminds us of God's free
gift. And here is that, best of all
the donations of God, we're living in this day of the Holy Spirit. This is the dispensation of God,
the Holy Ghost. What a favoured people we are
to live in such a day as this. And what a remarkable verse this
10th verse is, because surely here we see or the fullness of
the Godhead we see Father, Son and Holy Ghost. It is the Father
who is speaking and he speaks through his servant the Prophet
Zechariah. But here we read of both the
person of the Holy Ghost and the person of God the Son, the
one who was pierced. in the fullness of the time God
sends forth His Son made of a woman, made under the law to redeem
them that were under the law. He's the one who has come to
be the great redeemer of sinners. So all the persons, Father, Son
and Holy Ghost are set before us here in the tent. But it is
the great promise, the promise of the Holy Ghost Himself, the
Spirit of grace. And if by grace, then it is no
more of works, otherwise grace is no more grace. Oh, it's all
the free gift of God that He should bestow such a One as the
Holy Spirit. And now we're to remember the
blessed sovereignty of the Spirit. remember when the Lord Jesus
speaks of him in the third chapter of John there in discourse with
Nicodemus he likens the spirit to the wind he says the wind
bloweth where it listeth and thou hearest the sound thereof
but canst not tell whence it cometh nor whither it goeth so
is every one that is bored of the spirit those mysterious windings of the wind how they're
spoken of there in the opening chapter of the book of Ecclesiastes
the circuits of the wind and that's the figure that the
Lord uses when he speaks of the spirit when he comes to do his
work in the soul of the sinner that great work of the new birth
how he is a sovereign spirit He is the Spirit of Grace. And of course when we think of
Him as the Spirit of Grace, we clearly see Him primarily as
that One who is the Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ. As Christ is that One who is
sent of the Father to be the Saviour of sinners, so it is
the Lord Jesus Christ who will shed abroad the Spirit Now He will send him as that
one who is to bear testimony to all that Christ has done.
This is the outworking of the covenant of grace. The Lord says,
doesn't He there in John 16, It is expedient for you that
I go away, for if I go not away, the Holy Spirit will not come. But if I depart, I will send
him unto you. or there is a promise. As the
Father promises the Spirit, so the Son also promises the Spirit. He proceeds from the Father and
the Son. This is the doctrine of the Triniton. The Father begetting the Son,
the Son begotten of the Father, the Holy Spirit proceeding from
the Father and the Son. There is the inter-Trinitarian
relationship, three persons, and yet one undivided Godhead. But how when he comes, it is
Christ who sends him. And what does the Lord say concerning
his ministry? How be it when he, the Spirit
of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth, for he shall
not speak of himself. what a statement is that he shall
guide you into all truth he is the spirit of truth and he'll
guide you into all truth but he doesn't speak of himself Christ
says he shall glorify me for he shall take of mine and shall
show it unto you that is his ministry and though Christ is
the one who sheds him abroad on the day of Pentecost Peter
makes so plain in the course of his preaching what does he
say concerning Jesus of Nazareth therefore being by the right
hand of God exalted having received of the Father the promise of
the Holy Ghost he has shed forth this which ye now see and hear this is the promising the promise
of the father, the promise that the father gave to the son as
he accomplishes his work and so the son sheds abroad the spirit
the father had given the son to him in a remarkable way of
course as he began his public ministry as we're told there
at the end of John 3 the father giveth not the spirit
by measure unto him Or there was such an effusion of the Spirit
upon him, even at his baptism, the Spirit appearing in the form
of a dove and lighting upon him, even as the Father declares those
words, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And what does the Lord Jesus
say concerning that ministry of the Spirit to us? Those words
in Luke 11.13 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts
unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father
give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him? All we have but to ask, we have
but to ask, and the Father will give us the Spirit. I will pour
upon the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the
Spirit of Christ. That is the Spirit of the Lord
Jesus Christ Himself. There we need that blessed ministry
of the Spirit. We sang that lovely hymn, that
29th hymn of Joseph Hart on the Holy Spirit. What it is to be
led by the Spirit. Those words In the second verse,
point out the place where grace abounds. He's the spirit of grace. Point out the place where grace
abounds. Direct us to the bleeding wounds
of our incarnate God. Conduct, bless, guide thy sinner
train to Calvary where the Lamb was slain and with us there abide.
Let us our loved Redeemer meet. Weep o'er His pierced hands and
feet. and view his wounded side. Isn't
it really a commentary on this whole passage that we're looking
at? The one who's pierced, and those who see him, and what do
they do? They mourn over him. They weep over him. And that's
the ministry of the Spirit. The Spirit of grace, but not
only the Spirit of grace, the Spirit also of supplications.
Or we refer to those words of the Lord in the Gospel that we're
to ask for the Holy Ghost. But how can we ask? How can we
pray without the Spirit? We need Him. And we need Him
to help us in all our prayers. We know not what to pray for
as we ought. It is the Spirit who helps our
infirmities, who make us into a session for us with groanings
that cannot be uttered. At times we can scarcely formulate
a prayer we use. We know we need the Spirit, but
how can we, such poor sinners, how can we pray for the Spirit?
We feel that so often we grieve the Spirit of God. And yet, the
Blessed Spirit, He helps us in all our infirmities. And He makes intercession for
us according to the will of God. That's our comfort. Or when we
pray with the Spirit, we pray for those things that are pleasing
and acceptable. And how we need the Spirit. Or we come into a new year and
we wonder what will the year bring and maybe we're emboldened
to pray that the Lord will grant us such a blessed year, a gracious
visitation from heaven, a time of quickening in our own souls,
that the Spirit of God might yet be abroad again to work in
the awakening of many souls. Well, I'm sure if you've read
anything of of revivals amongst the people of God you're well
aware of what's said time and again that when God intends great
mercy for his people he'll first of all set them to pray or do
we pray do we desire to know the spirit of grace and of supplications
helping us helping us we know don't we that when when the Lord God would restore
the Jews from that time of bondage in captivity there in Babylon
He would move them to pray we refer to the words this morning
the familiar words there at the end of Ezekiel 36 and I just
direct you to them again because they are remarkable words Thus saith the Lord God, I will yet for this be inquired
of by the house of Israel to do it for them. God will do it,
and He'll do it for His people. But first of all they must inquire. You see, We believe in the sovereignty
of God, but God has appointed the ordinance of prayer. That's
how God accomplishes His purposes. I will yet for this be inquired
of by the house of Israel to do it for them. I will increase
them with men like a flock. As the holy flock, as the flock
of Jerusalem in the solemn feast, so shall the way cities be filled
with flocks of men, and they shall know that I am the Lord
and them. You know what follows there at
the beginning of the 37th chapter. The hand of the Lord is upon
the prophet and in the spirit he is set down in the midst of
the valley which is full of bones. And the bones are very dry. And
he represents the whole of the house of Israel languishing in
captivity. Like unto a field of battle where
there are many slain. But then the prophet is told
to prophesy upon the bones, and say unto them, O ye dried bones,
hear the word of the Lord. And there was he prophesied,
bone comes to bone, and they're covered with sinews and flesh,
and they stand up a mighty army, but there's no breath in them.
And then he's commanded to prophesy unto the winds, prophesy son
of man and say to the wind thus saith the Lord God come from
the four winds and breathe upon these slain that they may live
and he does as he's commanded and there is an exceeding great
army well it's historically it's referring to the restoration
of the Jews but surely there's a spiritual application there
it's it's the Lord God visiting this sinful world and accomplishing
a great work in the salvation of many sinners those sinners
dead in trespasses and sins or when God pours out the Spirit
and the promise that God is giving here in the text I will pour
out upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem
the Spirit of grace and of supplication That's the promise. What are
we to do? Well, the old Puritan says, turn the promise to prayer.
We're to turn God's promises into our prayers. That's what
we're to do. When God speaks, we take His
words and we hold Him true to His promises. Oh God, grant us
such Holy Ghost boldness in in our praying. And what is the
consequence of all of this? The coming of the Spirit, the
revelation of the Saviour of sinners in all His sufferings.
Well, we see true penitence, real repentance. That's what
we have, isn't it? The end of the 10th verse and
then in all the following verses. They shall mourn for Him. as
one that mourneth for his only son and shall be in bitterness
for him as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn and so forth
now as we come to this repentance I want to mention some four things
concerning this repentance and the manner of the repentance
first of all it's a great repentance it's a great mourning It's that
of a parent mourning over a beloved child. Can you imagine it? It happens, of course. We anticipate
that our children will outlive us. But there are those who lose
their children. And here is the mourning. 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. It is a great mourning that is
being spoken of. But it goes on, doesn't it? Verse
11, In that day there shall be a great mourning, it says, in
Jerusalem as the mourning of Adadrimon in the valley of Megiddon. Now, the reference here is to
the history that's recorded in 2 Chronicles 35. 2nd Chronicles 35 and there at
verse 20 following the death of a good king, a gracious king
King Josiah and what lamentations there were over the death of
the king he was killed there in the valley of Megiddo you
can read that passage there 2nd Chronicles 35 and verse 20 and
the following verses that's what's being referred to, it was a great
time of mourning in Jerusalem over the death of a gracious
king and so what's being spoken of here is something great and also it is something that
is very general as we see at the beginning of verse 12 it
says, and the land shall mourn the land shall mourn didn't creation
truly mourn at the death of the Lord Jesus we're told how there
was that awful darkness over the whole earth for those three
hours now from the sixth hour there was a darkness over all
the land until the ninth hour it says and of course the sixth
hour would be noon they would measure the day from 6am in the
morning so the 6th hour would be 12 noon where the sun is at
its zenith the brightest part of the day really and yet at
that hour there was a darkness over all the land until the 9th
hour till 3 o'clock in the afternoon and then we're told about the
9th hour Jesus cried with a loud voice saying, ilohe ilohe lama
sabachthanai, which being interpreted is, my God, my God, why hast
thou forsaken me? How creation, how the land was
mourning over the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, what a
mourning is this. It is a great mourning, it's
a general mourning. And yet, though general, it is
so personal. And we see that in verses 12,
13 and 14. How personal, it's very personal.
Eleven times we read that word apart. 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 the family
of the house of Levi apart and their wives apart the family
of Shimei apart and their wives apart all the families that remain
every family apart and their wives apart it's personal true religion is personal yes
there's a place for The corporate side of our worship, we gather
together to worship. We unite in prayers and in praises. But we know how God deals with
us individually, personally. How does the Lord Jesus instruct
us to pray? When thou prayest, he says, enter
into thy closet and shut thy door and pray to thy father in
secret. And thy father which seeth in
secret will reward thee openly. The Lord has very personal dealings
with us and if we know personal religion,
we know real religion at all surely. There's a place for Christian
fellowship, we thank God for that. We believe in the communion
of saints. The Lord takes the solitary and
he puts them in families. Thank God for the local church.
But the Lord deals with us also in a very personal fashion and
we see it here when he comes to mournings and repenting over
our sins when we view the Lord Jesus Christ. We see then that
this mourning, this repentance, it's great, it's general, it's
personal and ultimately we recognize this is gospel repentance. It's gospel repentance. It centers
very much in the one who is pierced. It centers then in the Lord Jesus
Christ. False repentance is different
to that. It centers in self. It centers in self. Do we not
see it in Esau? He sells his birthright to his
brother Jacob the supplanter, and Jacob does supplant him.
But he obtains the birthright, because he so despised the birthright. And when he realizes what he's
done, what does he say to his father Isaac? He comes in there
in Genesis 27 and he says, Bless me, even me. Oh it's me, it's me. it centers
in himself and we have mention of him don't we there in Hebrews
chapter 12 and verse 7 those solemn words verse 17 rather
for you know that afterward when he would have inherited the blessing
he was rejected for he found no place of repentance though
he sought it carefully with tears he found no place of repentance
he knew nothing of real repentance or there was remorse what did
he lost? what did he lost? but you see
gospel repentance is that that centers in the Lord Jesus Christ
Oh yes, the Lord itself brings the conviction of sin. By the
Lord is the knowledge of sin. But there is also that truth
that's brought out in the lines of the hymn. Law and terrors
do but harden all the while they work alone, but a sense of blood
would pardon. Soon dissolves the heart of stone. 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." Godly sorrow. Oh,
it's godly sorrow. It worketh repentance to salvation
not to be repented of. And the sorrow of the world works
death. Godly sorrow. The sorrow that
centers in the Lord Jesus, we see it in the repentance of David.
We have it recorded, don't we? His great penitential psalm,
Psalm 51. And what does he cry out against
thee? Thee only have I sinned, and
done this evil in thy sight. How he had pierced his God with
his sins. How he had pierced God with his
sins. And isn't that true of us? The hymn writer again says
the soldiers pierced his sight is true. but we have pierced
him through and through. Oh, is that how we see our sin? How it pierces him. And yet, when we know that blessed
ministry of the Spirit of grace and supplications, we're born by that blessed Spirit to the
place of true mourning, mourning over the Lord Jesus Christ. Recently
we were considering those words of the Saviour in the Beatitudes,
Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.
All this is comfort you see. There's comfort in the Gospel
for those who know those graces of faith and repentance. O the
Lord, then, be pleased to grant that we might know that great
favour, that blessed ministry of the Spirit, that He might
come to us, the Spirit of grace and of supplications, the Spirit
of the Lord Jesus Christ, and revealing Christ to us, but more
than that, revealing Christ in us, and bringing us to be those
who would truly sorrow over our sins as we mourn over our crucified,
but now risen and glorified Lord. May the Lord be pleased to bless
this word to us. Amen.