Let us turn to the word of God
and I'll consider with you this evening a portion from Isaiah
chapter 9, sorry not Isaiah, Zechariah chapter 9 and verses
9 and 10. You may remember on the Lord's
Day we were considering a part of Zechariah chapter 4, Zechariah
4 verse 6. Then he answered and spake unto
me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel,
saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit saith
the Lord of hosts. Well, I thought we would continue,
as it were, in the book of Zechariah, and turning now to chapter 9
and verses 9 and 10. Rejoice greatly, daughter of
Zion, Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, thy King cometh unto
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 dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the
river even unto the ends of the earth. The Prophet Zechariah
prophesied at the time of the rebuilding of the Temple, following
the restoration of the Jews to their own land after the 70 years
of captivity. The Prophets Haggai and Zechariah
both prophesied at this time, and their ministry was to encourage
the people of God in their work of rebuilding the Temple. We
consider these things, as I say, on the Lord's Day, last Lord's
Day evening. We read the history in Ezra,
chapter 5. The first two verses there, then
the prophets Haggai, the prophet and Zechariah, the son of Ido,
prophesied unto the Jews that were in Judah and Jerusalem in
the name of the God of Israel, even unto them. Then rose up
Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua, the son of Josedach,
and began to build the house of God which is at Jerusalem
and with him were the prophets of God helping them. Now previous to this there had
been a delay of about 15 years due to the opposition of the
false religionists and due to the opposition of the state. This we read of in Ezra chapter
4, there were those ecumenicals of the day who pretended to be
the friends of the people of God and who pretended to be worshippers
of God. They would help in the rebuilding
of the temple. But they were in reality adversaries. See Ezra chapter four, the first
two verses there. Now when the adversaries of Judah
and Benjamin heard that the children of the captivity builded the
temple unto the Lord God of Israel, then they came to Zerubbabel,
and to the chief of the fathers, and said unto them, Let us build
with you, for we seek your God as ye do. And we do sacrifice
unto him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assa, which brought us
up hither. and we see the wisdom that was
given to the Jews and I believe it's the same wisdom which has
been granted to us who have separated from the ecumenical movement
and from the liberals and from the charismatics and the false
evangelicalism of today and from the mongrel calvinists too But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and
the rest of the chief of the fathers of Israel said unto them,
Ye have nothing to do with us to build a house unto our God,
but we ourselves together will build unto the Lord God of Israel,
as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, hath commanded us. If you read
on there in Ezra chapter 4, you will see how the enemies of the
people of God engaged the power of the state to hinder the work
and King Artaxerxes eventually gave a commandment for these
men to cease. In Ezra 4 verse 21, part of his
letter it says, give now commandment to cause these men to cease and
that this city be not builded until another commandment be
given from me. There was then, as I say, a delay
of about 15 years after the work of the rebuilding of the temple,
but then the prophets begin to preach and we read of the powerful
effect of their preaching in the book of Haggai. In Haggai
chapter 1 verse 14, And the LORD stirred up the spirit
of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit
of Joshua, the son of Josedek, the high priest, and the spirit
of all the remnant of the people. And they came and did work in
the house of the LORD of hosts, their God. You see, when God works, his
people begin to work. They work out that which God
works in. And for the encouragement of
the people, the prophets declare that the glory of this latter
house shall be greater than of the former. And why is that?
Well, because the Messiah himself shall come to that temple that
they were then engaged in rebuilding. Again in Haggai, Haggai chapter
2, reading from verse 6, For thus saith the Lord of hosts,
Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens
and the earth, and the sea and the dry land, and I will shake
all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come. And I
will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts. The
silver is mine and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of hosts.
The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the
former, saith the Lord of hosts. And in this place will I give
peace, saith the Lord of hosts. Yes, Christ was to come to that
place. and in this sense the glory of
that latter house would be greater than of the former because Christ
is the glory He is the glory and He is the peace and this is what Zechariah declares
here in the words of our text this evening Rejoice greatly,
O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, thy King cometh unto 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 dominion shall be from sea even to sea,
and from the river even unto the ends of the earth." Oh, there
was so much opposition from the surrounding nations, and no doubt
this caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to fear. But the Lord
declares that He will deal with those nations. He will deal with
all his people's enemies. And we see that in the first
seven verses. of this chapter. It's reading
from verse 3, And Tyrus did build herself a stronghold, And heaped
up silver as the dust, And fine gold as the mire of the streets.
Behold, the Lord will cast her out, And will smite her power
in the sea, And she shall be devoured with fire. Ashkelon
shall see it and fear. Gaza also shall see it and be
very sorrowful. And Ekron, for her expectation,
shall be ashamed. And the king shall perish from
Gaza, and Ashkelon shall not be inhabited. And a bastard shall
dwell in Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines. God will deal with his and his
people's enemies. And God himself will watch over
the rebuilding of his temple, and he will guard it against
the enemy. Verse 8. And I will encamp about
mine house because of the army, because of him that passeth by,
and because of him that returneth. And no oppressor shall pass through
them any more, for now have I seen with mine eyes. or thy foes in
vain designs engage, against his throne in vain they rage,
like rising waves with angry roar that dash and die upon the
shore, says the hymn writer. How true that is! The enemies
of the gospel cannot prevail against Almighty God. Satan himself
cannot prevail against the church that Christ is now at this very
present time engaged in building. And in verse seven, there is
an intimation of a remnant, even of the Gentiles, who shall be
for our God. But he that remaineth, even he
shall be for our God. and he shall be as a governor
in Judah and Ekron as a Jebusite. Now Ekron was of course a city
of the Philistines and a Jebusite was an inhabitant of Jerusalem. And Ekron as a Jebusite. There are of course many other
prophecies in the Holy Scriptures regarding this matter of the
bringing in of the Gentiles into the Kingdom of God. And we have
many of them here in the book of the prophecy of Jeremiah. in the previous chapter, in chapter
8 and verse 22. Yea, many people and strong nations
shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem and to pray
before the Lord. Thus saith the Lord of hosts,
in those days it shall come to pass that ten men shall take
hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take
hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew. Who is that man? Who is that? Jew, that they will
lay hold of, saying, we will go with you for we have heard
that God is with you. In Zechariah chapter 6 and verse
15. And they that are far off shall
come and build in the temple of the Lord. In Zechariah chapter
2 and verse 10. Sing and rejoice, O daughter
of Zion, For lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of
thee, saith the Lord, and many nations shall be joined to the
Lord in that day, and shall be my people. My people, yes, Gentiles,
my people. And of course the most ancient
prophecy of all concerning the bringing in of the Gentiles is
to be found way back in the book of Genesis Genesis chapter 9
verse 27 God shall enlarge or persuade as the margin has it
Japheth and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem well here then
is an encouragement to the people of God the prophecies are about
to be fulfilled The King Messiah is coming and he is coming to
that very temple which they were then engaged in rebuilding. Behold,
thy King cometh unto thee. This is what the prophet is to
declare to the people. Behold, thy King cometh unto
thee. And we know that this scripture
was literally fulfilled. when the Lord Jesus Christ rode
into Jerusalem on the back of a young ass, as we read in John's
Gospel, John chapter 12 and verse 12. On the next day, much people
that would come to the feast when they heard that Jesus was
coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went forth
to meet him and cried, Hosanna! Blessed is the King of Israel
that cometh in the name of the Lord and Jesus. When he had found
a young ass, sat thereon, as it is written, then we have this
quotation from this very prophecy of Zechariah, Fear not, daughter
of Zion, behold, 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, and that they had done these things unto him. Matthew
tells us, and when he was come into Jerusalem, and all the city
was moved, saying, Who is this? And the multitude said, This
is Jesus, the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee. And Jesus went into
the temple of Mark those words. And Jesus went into the temple
of God. And so were fulfilled the remarkable
prophecies of Haggai and Zechariah. And Jesus went into the temple. Well, in these verses in Zechariah,
we see something of the character of the king and the characteristics
of his kingdom. These are the two things which
I would consider with you this evening. I trust with the Lord's
help and blessing. Firstly, the character of the
King. He's just and having salvation,
lowly and sitting upon an ass and upon a colt, the foal of
an ass. In this blessed character of
the King as he's portrayed to us here by the Spirit of God,
we see how precious a saviour, and what
a suitable saviour he is to poor and needy sinners who tremble
at God's word. He is just. He is just. He is altogether righteous. He is holy, harmless, undefiled,
separate from sinners. He is righteous not only as God,
but as man, his human nature being formed in the womb of the
Virgin Mary, and preserved from the defilement of Adam's transgression. Therefore that sacred human nature
was called, in the Gospel, that holy thing, that holy thing. The words of the angel Gabriel
to Mary. And the angel answered and said
unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power
of the highest shall overshadow thee. Therefore also that holy
thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son
of God. You see, Mary was not the Immaculate
Conception. You know, that's one of the titles
they give to Mary, the Immaculate Conception. They say that she
was born without sin. It's not true, it's a lie. It's
a lie of Antichrist. Like us, Mary was shapen in iniquity,
she was conceived in sin. Ah, but being born again, not
of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, she was able to rejoice in God
her Saviour. As you know, only sinners can
truly rejoice in God as their Saviour. And Mary said, My soul
doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my
Saviour." Oh, she was a sinner. She needed salvation, just like
you, just like me. Oh, it is the Lord Jesus Christ
who is the Immaculate Conception, not Mary. Christ then was holy
in his birth, he was holy in all his works, who did no sin,
neither was guile found in his mouth. He kept all the commandments
of God. Not one commandment did he break,
either in thought or in word or in deed. His righteousness
is a perfect righteousness. He brought a perfect righteousness
as a man in human flesh, body and soul. He brought a perfect obedience
to all the holy law of God. but when the fullness of the
time was come God sent forth his son made of a woman made
under the law he was under the law and he never broke that law he
kept it perfectly intact not one commandment broken Now why
was it that he was made under the law? Well he was made under
the law that he might bring in everlasting righteousness, as
it says in Daniel. And this he did as a man that
men and women might be justified, that is counted righteous. that
his righteousness might be imputed to them, as Paul says in Romans,
for as by one man's disobedience, that's Adam's disobedience, for
as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by
the obedience of one, that is the Lord Jesus Christ, so by
the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. He brought
in everlasting righteousness. Oh, how happy are the saints
who have Jesus for their King. He is just. He can do no wrong. He cannot say one wrong word. He cannot speak one wrong word.
He cannot perform one wrong deed. Everything he does is perfect.
He is just. He can do no wrong. He will not
mistreat His subjects. He will not make wicked laws
for them. He will govern them righteously.
And neither does He rule His people against their wills, no.
His people are a people made willing in the day of His power. His throne is established with
judgment and with justice, for He is just. and having salvation
and having salvation this was of course his purpose in coming
his very name Jesus means saviour and thou shalt call his name
Jesus for he shall save his people from their sins and he saves
his people from their sins by offering up himself as an atonement
for their sins Remember his cry from the cross. It is finished. It is finished. What is finished? What is finished? Daniel tells us. Again in his
prophecy, Daniel chapter 9, verse 24. Seventy weeks are determined
upon thy people and upon thy holy city. To finish the transgression. That's what's finished. It is
finished. What is finished? To finish the
transgression. And to make an end of sins. And to bring in everlasting righteousness. And to make reconciliation for
iniquity. And to bring in everlasting righteousness. is the work of the Lord Jesus
Christ for his people and on behalf of his people he brings
in an everlasting righteousness and he finishes the transgression
their transgression he makes an end of it he's done away with
it and having salvation we'll see
his resolution there in the gospel in Luke chapter 9 verse 51 And it came to pass when the
time was come that he should be received up, he steadfastly
set his face to go to Jerusalem. He steadfastly set his face to
go to Jerusalem. Now Mark tells us that this caused
his disciples to be amazed and to be very afraid. In Mark 10
verse 32, and they were in the way going
up to Jerusalem and Jesus went before them and they were amazed
and as they followed they were afraid and he took again the
twelve and began to tell them what things should happen unto
him saying behold we go up to Jerusalem and the son of man
shall be delivered unto the chief priests and unto the scribes
and they shall condemn him to death and shall deliver him to
the gentiles and they shall mock him and shall scourge him kill
him, and the third day he shall rise again. It is by this means that he saves
his people. He saves them from sin, he saves
them from death, and he saves them from hell. As he says by
the mouth of another prophet, I will ransom them from the power
of the grave, I will redeem them from death. O death, I will be
thy plagues. O grave, I will be thy destruction. This scripture is gloriously
fulfilled in the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ from
the dead. The Apostle speaks of the appearing of our Saviour,
Jesus Christ, who has abolished death. Mark Joseph's words, has
abolished death. and brought life and immortality
to light through the gospel. Death is abolished. Death is
cancelled for the Lord's people. and having salvation, and having
salvation. The words and having salvation
may be rendered and saving himself, as you see in the margin. If
you look at the margin there, the alternative reading is and
having salvation. The Lord Jesus Christ saved himself,
as it were, when he took up his life again, after having laid
it down. Therefore, doth my father love
me, he says, Because I lay down my life, that I might take it
again. No man taketh it from me, but
I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down,
and I have power to take it again. For he is just and having salvation. He saved himself from death.
Now if he saved himself from death, is he not then able surely
to save the least of his saints from death? And this is the Father's
will which hath sent me, he said, that of all which he hath given
me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the
last day. And this is the will of him that
sent me, that everyone which seeth the Son and believeth on
him may have everlasting life, and I will raise him up at the
last day. This is the gospel, and there is no other gospel
but this, and there is no other deliverance from death than this.
Life is in Christ. Outside of Christ there is nothing
but death. Here then is a salvation to the
uttermost, and it is Jesus who has this salvation. Neither is
there salvation in any other for there is none other name
unto heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. I am the way, the truth and the
life, he said. Oh, he is just and having salvation,
lowly, lowly. Oh, this is a most excellent
attribute, isn't it, of Christ's blessed character? Because it
makes him immediately accessible to the least of his saints. Indeed, his lowliness or his
meekness is an encouragement to poor and needy and humbled
sinners to come to him. Come unto me. All ye that labour
and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest, take my yoke upon
you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and
ye shall find rest unto your souls, for my yoke is easy and
my burden is light. Yes, though the Lord be high, yet have the respect unto the
lowly. Though the Lord be high because he is a great king, Yet
hath he respect unto the lowly, because he himself is meek and
lowly in heart. He is just and having salvation,
lowly, and riding upon an ass, upon the colt, the foal of an
ass. When the Lord Jesus rode into
Jerusalem, it was not in a chariot or on a stately horse, not like
the Roman victor who would ride into Rome on a white stallion.
With his army, great army, going behind him. No, he didn't come
in a chariot or on a stately horse. It was not with regal
splendor or with outward pomp or with any ceremony. He didn't
come with force of arms and a great army. Look at his army. A dozen
fishermen and tax collectors. A few women. This was his army. And he rides upon a colt, the
foal of an ass. The young ass, as John tells
us. Matthew Henry points out that this would be more likely
to disgrace the rider than be any credit to him. You see, he
made himself of no reputation. He made himself of no reputation.
This humble entry of the king into Jerusalem demonstrated before
the eyes of all the people that which the Lord Jesus Christ was
to verbally declare a little later on to Pontius Pilate when
he said, my kingdom is not of this world. My kingdom is not
of this world. Oh, see the character of the
king. But consider in the second place
the characteristics of his kingdom. 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 to the heathen, and
his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river
even unto the ends of the earth. And we note two characteristics
here of his kingdom. It is both peaceful and it is
extensive. It is peaceful. 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. is a peaceful kingdom. Many times
throughout the scriptures the Holy Spirit uses metaphorical
language, as it were, to convey the truth to men's minds and
to their hearts. And here is one example. 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. It speaks of the peace of Christ's
kingdom. The weapons of warfare, you see,
have been removed. Another example of this metaphorical
language, if you like, is found in Isaiah. The wolf and the lamb
shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the
bullock, and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not
hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountains, saith the Lord. begain
in Isra and he shall judge among the nations and shall rebuke
many people and they shall beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks. These things which are
metaphorically set before us in the Old Testament are more
explicitly taught us in the New Testament. For example in Romans
chapter 14 verse 17 For the kingdom of God is not
meat and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy
Ghost. For he that in these things serveth
Christ is acceptable to God and approved of men. Let us therefore
follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith
one may edify another. Here you see the swords being
beaten into plowshares, spears into pruning hooks and in 2 Corinthians 13 verse
11 finally brethren farewell be perfect be of good comfort
be of one mind live in peace and the God of peace and the
God of love and peace shall be with you and we're exhorted in
another place, aren't we, in Ephesians, to endeavor to keep
the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. The Lord Jesus
Christ describes the blessed subjects of his kingdom in the
Sermon on the Mount. You remember that, the attitude? Blessed are the peacekeepers,
for they shall be called the children of God. Oh, Christ's
kingdom is a kingdom of peace. It is not the Lord Jesus Christ
himself called the Prince of Peace. For unto us a child is born,
unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his
shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor,
the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace,
of the increase of his government and peace. upon the throne of David and
upon his kingdom to order it and to establish it with judgment
and with justice from henceforth, even forever. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
Prince of Peace. When he came into the world,
being born as a man, his birth was announced by angels, you
remember. And suddenly there was with the
angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising gods and saying
glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, goodwill toward
men. He's coming into the world, was
announced by angels, announcing and proclaiming peace. And after
the Lord Jesus Christ had finished the work that the father gave
him to do, after he was risen from the dead, He appeared to
his disciples, didn't he? John 20 verse 19. Then the same day at evening,
being the first day of the week when the doors were shut, where
the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus
and stood in the midst and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
And when he had so said, he showed unto them his hands and his feet,
his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad
when they saw the Lord. Then said Jesus to them again,
peace be unto you. It is only the sight by faith of the living Christ that a living heart will be made glad. It is only in seeing by faith
the wounds of the crucified one that we can experience that peace
of God which passeth all understanding. Was it not by his blood that
our peace was procured with God? We read it there, didn't we,
in Zechariah chapter 9, verse 11, As for thee also, by the
blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out
of a pit wherein is no water. All Christ's kingdom is a kingdom
of peace. Therefore, being justified by
faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
There is peace between Jew and Gentile in the kingdom of our
Lord Jesus Christ. For in Christ, the old division
is done away, and both are reconciled to God by His death. Paul writing
to the Gentiles says, but now in Christ Jesus. ye who sometimes
were far off, are made nigh by the blood of Christ, for he is
our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the
middle wall of partition between us, having abolished in his flesh
the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances, for
to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace. and
that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross
having slain the enmity thereby and came and preached peace to
you that were afar off and to them that were nigh and you notice
what Paul says there in Ephesians he says that Christ came and
preached peace to you which were far off that is to you Gentiles
and this he did by the apostles whom he sent You remember the
words he said to his apostles before being taken up into heaven.
And Jesus said unto them, Go ye into all the world and preach
the gospel to every creature. And then we read in there in
Mark's gospel. And they went forth and preached
everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the
word with signs following. Amen. Luke's Gospel we read and
he said unto them thus it is written and thus it behoved Christ
to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day that repentance
and remission of sins should be preached in his name among
all nations beginning at Jerusalem these things you see are the
fulfillment of the prophecy that we have here in Zechariah chapter
9 and he shall speak peace unto the heathen. He speaks peace to the heathen
by the apostles whom he sent and by his ministers of the gospel. Oh, his is a kingdom of peace
and it is an extensive kingdom too. And he shall speak peace
unto the heathen and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea
and from the river even to the ends of the earth. We see the
familiar words of Psalm 72. Psalm 72, we shall shortly sing
some of these words in the metrical version. Psalm 72 verse 8. He shall have dominion also from
sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. They
that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him, and his
enemies shall lick the dust. The kings of Tarshish and of
the Isles shall bring presents. The kings of Sheba and Seba shall
offer gifts. Yea, all kings shall fall down
before him. All nations shall serve him. In Psalm 22 we read that he is
the governor among the nations, that's the crucifixion psalm.
Christ even now, this very moment, is the governor among the nations. All nations shall serve Him,
and He shall deliver the needy when He crieth, the poor also,
and him that hath no helper. He shall spare the poor and the
needy, and shall save the souls of the needy. He shall redeem
their soul from deceit and violence, and precious shall their blood
be in His sight. Verse 17 of that psalm, His name
shall endure forever, His name shall be continued as long as
the sun, and men shall be blessed in Him. All nations shall call
him blessed. Oh, there are those of all the
nations who are blessed in him. They are the needy who cry to
him. They are the poor who have no
other helper. They are those who are spared,
as it says here, who are saved, who are redeemed. They are redeemed
by His precious blood. Why are they redeemed? Because
their blood was precious in His sight. He loved His dear elect,
even from everlasting. Their blood was precious in His
sight. And we see them there in heaven, those that were redeemed
from among men, praising the Lamb who was slain. And they
sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book,
and to open the seals thereof, for thou wast slain, and hast
redeemed us to God by thy blood, out of every kindred, and tongue,
and people, and nation. Such is the extensive nature
of Christ's spiritual kingdom. and his subjects are described
there in that 72nd Psalm, are they not? Verse four, he shall
judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of
the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor. Verse 12, for he shall deliver
the needy when he crieth, the poor also, and him that hath
no helper. He shall spare the poor and needy and shall save
the souls of the needy. Oh, they are the poor and needy,
that is in a spiritual sense, destitute of any merit in themselves. They know that they are transgressors
of the law and the law demands a perfect obedience which they
cannot pay. They have no other helper, no
helper in self, no helper in any other man, No priest can help them? No. Their help is in the Lord
alone. And to Him they look, to Him
they cry. And He shall speak peace unto
the heathen. And His dominion shall be from
sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the
earth. for his kingdom is both peaceful
and it is extensive. Now, as we draw to a conclusion,
we know that it was a part of the ministry of the apostles
to raise the expectations of the Lord's people for the coming
of the Messiah. That's what Zechariah is doing
here, isn't it? Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion. Shout, O
daughter of Jerusalem. Behold, thy King cometh unto
thee. Well, I do believe that it is a part of the ministry
of the Gospel today, a part of the ministry of the preachers
of the Gospel today, to raise the expectations of the people
of God for the second appearing of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ. You remember the parable of the
virgins, and at midnight was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom
cometh, go ye out to meet him. Well, we see the day getting
darker and darker and darker. If we can call it day, of course,
it's more like night, isn't it? And it's getting darker. We're
approaching the midnight hour. And at midnight there was a cry
made. Behold, the bridegroom cometh.
Go ye out to meet him. This is a part of the work of
the ministry, to make that cry. Behold, the bridegroom cometh.
go ye out to meet him. As we see that there was a literal
fulfillment of such prophecies as we have here in Zechariah
tonight respecting Christ's first advent so we shall without a
doubt see a literal fulfilling of all those prophecies concerning
Christ's second advent for yet a little while and he that shall
come will and will not tarry. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of
Zion. Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem.
Behold, thy King cometh unto thee. He is just and having salvation. Remember what Paul says in Hebrews. Unto them that look for him shall
he come the second time without sin unto salvation. Lift up your heads, for your
redemption draweth nigh. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of
Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, thy King cometh unto
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 dominion shall be from sea even to sea,
and from the river even unto the ends of the earth. Well,
may the Lord bless his word to each of our souls tonight. Amen.