ZECHARIAH. Chvity.
cried, &c.] The Lord, by the former prophets — called them to repentance and obedience; and they would not bear; his words, nor obey his voice: jathey cried; when they were befieged in Feru/alem, and were carried captive into Babylow: and I would not bear, faith the Lord of béefis; fo as to deliver them out of the hands of their enemies; fee Prow. i, 24—28.
yx. 14. But I fcattered them with a whirlwind, &c.] Denoting the fiercenefs of his wrath, and the ftrength of his fury, feen in their difperfion: among all the nations, whom they knew not; fach as the Babylonians, Medes, and Perfians, people before unknown to the Yews: thus the land wes defolate after them; that is, the. land of Fudea was deftitute of inhabitants, or had but few remaining in it, after the ews were carried captive into Babylon,; for the reft, after the death of Gedaliab, fled into Egypt: that no man paffed thro’, nor returned; neither from Egypt, nor from Babylon, until the feventy years of captivity were. ended; nor indeed did any from other nations pafs to and fro, or fettle in it, during this time, that we have any account of: for they laid the pleafant land defolate, either the J/raelites by their iniquities, which were the caufe of it; or the Babylonians, as the inftruments of God’s vengeance. ‘This pleafant land is the land of Canaan, a land flowing with milk and honey; the glory of all lands, for its great | fruitfulnets, and delightful firuation; and efpecially for being the feat of the divine majefty, and where his people dwelt, and where his temple was, and he was worfhipped; fee Ezek. xx. 6. Deut. viii. 7—I10,
HIS chapter contains promifes of various leffings to the people of the Jews; and exhortations to feveral duties incumbent on them; and is concluded with a prophecy of the calling of the Gentiles. The caufe of all the bleffings promifed is the love of God to them, fignified by zeal, or jealoufy for them, ¥. 1, 2. The bleffings promifed, are the Lord’s return to dwell in Ferufalem, and the integrity and holinefs of that city, ¥. 3. The long-life of the inhabitants of it, and the plenty of children that fhould be born in it, ¥. 4, 5. and however wonderful and incredible this might feem to fome, it was not to the Lord, who was determined to bring his people that were in feveral diftant countries to Ferujalem, and fettle them there; and renew and re-eftablifh his covenant with them, y. 6, 7, 8. wherefore the Lord encourages them to go on in rebuilding the temple, ¥.g. and promifes them that things would be better with them than in times pafts that whereas there had been nothing but penury, affliction and diftrefs, now there fhould be great affluence and profperity, ¥. 10, 11, 12. and tho’ before. they were a curfe among the nations, now they. fhould be a bleffing; and tho’ their fathers were punifhed, they fhould be dealt well with, ¥. 13, 14, 15. and then they are exhorted to the difcharge of feveral duties mentioned, to which they are induced by the Lord’s hatred of that which is evil, and by his turning their fafts into chearful feafts, y. 16, 17, 18, 19. to which is added a prophecy of the calling and converfion of the Gentiles, which would — make for the glory of the Yewifh church; who are defcribed by their numbers, being many people, and the inhabitants of many cities; by their aflociation together, to pray to the Lord, and worfhip him; by their coming up to Ferufalem for that purpofe; and by their junction with the Jews, to which they'll be encouraged by having heard that God is with them, ¥. 20, 21,22. 23.
¥. 1. Again the word of the Lord of hofts came unto me, /aying.] The phrafe, usto me, is wanting in the Hebrew text; and is the only place it is wanting in, as the Mg/ora obferves; tho’ undoubtedly it is to be underftood; and therefore is rightly fupplied, as it is by the Zargum, with me. Mention being made in the latter part of the’ preceding chapter of the defolations of the earth, comfort is here adminiftred, as ben Ezra notes.
¥. 2. Thus faith the Lord of hofts, &e.] This prophecy, according to Kimchi and Ben Melech, refpects time to come; the days of the Meffiah, in the war of Gag and Magog, when they fhall come up againit Feru/falem, and the Lord fhall pons out his great wrath upon them; and it feems right to interpret it, not only literally of Feru alem, but fpiritually of the church in zofpelittines: I was jealous for Zion with great jealoufy; the Arabic verfion reads, for Ferufalem, and for Zion; as in ch. i, 14. fee the note there: and I was jealous for ber with great fury; that is, againft her ene-
Ch. viii. ¥. 348) ZECHARIAH. 68r mies; the Babylonians and Chaldeans now, and the antichriftian powers in gofpel-times. The Targum paraphrafes it, againft the people. that provoked: ber to jealoufy; the paft tenfe- is: put for the future, as Kinchi-and Ben Melech odferve: boi ¥. 3. Thus faith the Lord, I am returned to Zion, &c.} The temple being’ now: building, and almoft finifhed, sand the worthip of God reftored in it. The Targum renders it, J will return to Zion;,and it may refer to the time of Chrift’s incarnation, when the Redeemer came to. Zion, If. lix. 20. 0r to the time of the converfion of the Yews:in,the Jatter day, of both which. it is true; fee Rom. xia 26: and will dwell im the midft of ferufalem; -or caufe my Shekinab. to dwell there, as the Targum paraphrafes it 5° which was fulfilled when the word was made flefh, % ecxnwsen; and dwelt or tabernaeled among: the inhabitants of Fudea, and of ‘Ferufalem, and taught his dottrines, and wrought his miracles, in the midft of them and will be alfo, when he fhall dwell among them by his Spirit and grace in the latter day: aid Ferufalers foall: be called a city of truth; when Chiift, who is truth itfelf, was in it, and the truths of the gofpel were preached there by him and: his apoftles, and they were received and profeffed by many, though defpifed by others; and efpecially in the latter day,- when. the Fews fhall generally and ‘cordially embrace -Chritt and his gofpel, and fhall worfhip God in fpirit and in;truth, and not in that fhadowy, formal, and hypocritical way they do now; fee -J/? i. 26,.27. and efpecially: this will be true of the new Feru a- dem, into which nothing ‘fhall enter that makes’ a lie, Rev. xxi. 27: the mountain of the Lord of hofts; which will be eftablifhed upon the top of the mountains, and where the Lord will be feen and exalted jn his glory, even the Lamb with the hundred and forty-four thoufand with him, J/ ii. 2. Rev. xiv. 1: the holy mountain; where the holy word of God will be preached, the holy ordinances adminiftred, and holinefs of life and converfation will be ftrictly attended to; yea, holinefs will be: upon the bells of the horfes, Zech. xiv.'20. ¥. 4.-Thus faith the Lord of hofts, 8&c.] Thefe words are ufed at every confolatory promife given, as Kimchi obferves, for the confirmation’ of it: there foall yet old men and old women dwell in the yireets of Ferujalem; fignifying that the inhabitants fhould. be very heathful; no fweeping difeafe.or, calamity fhould be among them, but they fhould live to a good old age, as follows: and every man-twith his fiaff in bis band for very age; or becaufe of mulinde of days‘; the length of time they ‘fhould have lived in the world, being worn out, not with cifeafes, but with old age,. and therefore obliged to ufe a ftaff. when they walk the ftreets for. their ~ fupport 5 -all which is an emblem of the healthfulnels of the inhabitants of Zion, who have no reafon’ to complain of ficknefs, becaufe their fins are forgiven ‘them; and of that fpiritual and eternal life, which they-that are written among the living in Yerufalem do enjoy; who are in. underftanding men, fathers in Chrift, and. are: growing up to the meafure of the ftature of the fulnefs of Chrift; fee J/. Ixv. 20.
born babes, who are regenerated by the grace and Spirit of God, and are accounted of by the Lord for a generation: playing in the ftreets thereof; being in health and vigour, and in great fecurity. The Targum renders it, fiuging or praifing in the Spacious places thereof, finging the praifes of God in gofpel-ftrains; faying their Hofannas to the Son of David; tejoicing in the great falvation by Chrift, and magnifying the grace of God, and fetting forth fongs; fee Matt. xi. 16, 17. and xing, 16: In Ferufalem, literally taken, there were various ftreets; befides the ftreet of the temple, which led to it, Ezra x.-g. mention is ‘made ‘of others’ in Fewi/h writings, as of the upper ftreet *, and of the ftreet of the butchers, and of the ftreet of thofe that dealt in wool!,;
¥. 6. Thus faith the Lord of hofts, &c.] This is repeated for the fame end as before; fee the note ony. 4: af at be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in thefe days; either in the then prefent days and time; and the fenfe is, if it fhould | feem wonderful, incredible, and {carcely poffible to the {mall number of the Fews in Fudea, that all the great and good things before promifed fhould be fulfilled; or in the times of the gofpel, when the remnant, according to the election of grace, would wonder at the marvellous loving-kindnefs of the Lord, in doing fuch great things for his church and people: /hould it alfo be marvellous in mine eyes, [aith the Lord of hofts? no, not.as if it was impoffible to be done; it fhall be done as marvellous as it may feem to be. ben Ezra underftands thefe words, not as fpoken by way of interrogation and admiration, but as an affirmation; that God would do that which was marvellous, and fuch as*he had never done the like, even as follows ¥
¥.7. Thus faith the Lord of bofts, behold, &c.} As being fomething wonderful, of great importance,: and deferving attention: J will fave my people from the caft country, and from the weft country; this can’t be underftood of bringing thofe Jews that remained in Babylon, and other places, to their own land, for Babylon lay. north of Fudea; fee ch. vi. 6, 8,' and ‘as yet there were no Fews in the weftern part of the world; but now they are chiefly in the eaft and weft, from whence they will be gathered at the time of their general converfion: tho’ this may refer to the times of the apoftles of Chrift, and to their miniftry in the feveral parts’ of the world; who went forth, eaft, weft, north, and fouith, and were the means and inftruments of faving the Lord’s people, both Yews and Gentiles, whereever they came, from the rifing of the fun, to the fetting of the fame; fee Mal. i, 11. Matt. viii:
¥. 8. And I will bring them, &c.] To Zion, into the church of God, the gofpel-fold, where Chrift has engaged to bring his other fheep, that there may be one fold for Few and Gentile, Fer. ili. 14.
rufalem; the gofpel-church; and.be no more foreigners and ftrangers, but of the houfhold of God, enjoying all the immunities and privileges of the x. 5. And the frreets of the city foall be full of hoys end girls, 8cc.| Denoting a large increafe of inhabitants, ina literal fenfe, and may fpiritually, fignify the large numbers of converts, of new-! 4 coreg? Vd pre multitudine dierum, V.L. Ferufalem that is above, the mother of us all:\ aad they fhall be my people; appear to be fo by effectual vocation; which makes thofe manifeft to be the people of God, to be in the covenant of his gamer: Pagninus, Montanus, Junius & Tremellius, Cocceius, Burkius.
the glories of it in pfalms, hymns, and fpiritual |
Fohn x. 16: and they fhall dwell in the miaft of Fe-.
682 ZECHARIAH. Ch.vit.¥.9—17. before were hot known to be fo, either by themfelves or others, 1 Pet. ii. 10: and I will be their God, in truth, and in righteoufnefs, according to the covenant of his grace, which will now in a very open manner be truly and faithfully fulfilled; and they, in confequence of the grace beftowed ‘on them, will worfhip God in fincerity and truth, being juttified by the righteoufnefs of Chrift, and fo will have no dependence on their own, for their acceptance with God; fee Ho/. li, 19, 20.
¥. 9. Thus faith the Lord of bofts, let your bands be firong, &c.| In going on with the building of the temple, which was typical of the church of God, fince fo many great and good things were promifed by the Lord, Hagg. ii. 4: ye that bear in thefe days; fuch as Zerudbabel the ruler, Fofbua the high-prieft, and the reft of the people of the land: thefe words by the mouth of the prophets, that is, thefe prophecies of future good things, which were delivered by Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, who were the prophets, which were in the day that the foundation of the boufe of the Lord of hofts was laid; which was in the fecond year of Darius, on the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, Hagg. ii. 10. 18: that the temple might be built, in order to the rebuilding of it, the foundation was laid; and from that time it was to continue building, till it was finifhed »,
¥. 10. For before thefe days, &c.] That the temple began to be built: there was no hire for men, nor any hire for beafts; that turned to any account; the wages earned by the one, and with the other, were as if they were put into a bag with holes, did not profper with them, or do them any fervice, Hagg.i. 6. and ii. 16: weither was there any peace to him that went out or came in, becaufe of the affliction; there was no fafety in paffing to and fro, nor any peaceable enjoyment of what a man had, becaufe of affliction and oppreffion by. the enemy on every fide, and from every quarter: for I fet all men, every one againft his neighbour; expreffive of the inteftine divifions and contentions among themfelves, which are faid to. be of the Lord, becaufe he permitted them as a chaftifement upon them for their fins.
¥. 11. But now I will not be unto the refidue of this people, &c.]. The remnant brought out of captivity, fettled in the land, and now rebuilding the temple: as in the former days, faith the Lord of bofts; when they neglected the houfe of the Lord, caring only for their own cieled houfes, Hagg. i. a—tilI,
¥. 12. For the feed hall be profperous, &c.} Being caft into the earth, it fhall {pring up again, and produce a large increafe; whereas before, tho’ they fowed much, it came to little, Hagg. i. 6: the vine fhall give ber frujt; be loaded with clufters, and produce large quantities of wine; whereas before, there was a drought upon the new wine; and where there were wont to be had fifty vefiels out of the prefs, there were but twenty, Hagg. i. 11. andii. 16: aud the ground foall give ber increafe; as ufual, meaning of wheat and barley; Whereas before there was a drought upon the corn, and where there ufed to be an heap of twenty meafares, there were but ten, Hagg. i. 11. and ii, 16: and the heavens fall give their dew; which makes the earth fruitful; whereas before the heaven over them was ftayed from dew, and inftead of it were blafting, mildew, and hail, Hagg. i. ro. and ii, 17: and I will caufe the remnant of this people to inherit all thefe things; as afymbol of better things inherited by the remnant according to the ele¢tion of grace; and who have the promife both of this life and that to come; and who feeking in,the firft place fpiritual things, have all others added to them, convenient for them..
y. 13. And it fhall come to pals, that as ye were a curfe among the heathen, &c.|] Reproached, vili- _ fied, and called accurfed by them, fee Fer. xxiv. g. as true chriftians, and real believers in Chrift, are by the men of this world, 1 Cor. iv. 12, 13: O houfe of Fudah, and houfe of Ifrael; both being carried captive at different times, and were typical of the true and fpiritual Irae] of God: fo will I fave you, and ye fall be a blefing, be blefied in themfelves, with the above bleffings of plenty and profperity in outward things; fee Hagg. ii. 19. and a bleffing to others, and blefied by them; and all thofe who are faved in the Lord with an everlafting falvation, are bleffed with all fpiritual bleffings in him: fear not; neither their enemies, nor the ac complifhment of thefe promifes: dat Jet your hands be firong; asin ¥. 9. - y. 14. For thus faith the Lord of hofts, 8c.) In order to affure them of the truth of what he promifed, he obferves the fulfilment of what he had’ threatened, he being as true and faithful in the one, asin the other: as I thought to punifh you; determined to do it, by fuffering them to be carried captive: when your fathers provoked me to wrath, faith the Lord of hofts; by their immorality, idolatry, and contempt of his prophets: and I repented not; the Targum adds, of my word; of the refolution he had taken up in his heart, and of the declaration of it by his prophets, that he would punifh them; this he did not repent of, revoke, change, and alter, but fteadily abode by it, and executed it.
¥. 45. So again, &c.] Or fo lam returned”, as in ¥. 3: Ihave thought in thefe days to do well unto Ferufalem, and to the boufe of Judah; by beftowing the above-mentioned bleffings on them; and as Jehovah has thought, fo it comes to pafs, and as he has purpofed, fo it ftands; whatever he determines - fhall be, as for evil, fo for good, Jf. xiv. 24: fear ye not; ainy. 13. | y. 16. Thefe are the things that ye foall do, &c.} Which were duties incumbent on them, and which it became them to perform, under a fenfe of the _ favours beftowed on them, to fhew their gratitude to God, and that they might glorify him: peak ye every man the truth to bis neighbour; not ufing deceit, prevarication, and lying, Eps. iv. 25. and it becomes every man under the gofpel-difpenfa- — tion, according to the gift he has received, to fpeak, publifh, and declare the truth of the gofpel, to the edification of others: execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates, that is, execute true judg~ ment, as in ch. vii. 9. do juftice between man and man, without refpect of perfons; the iffue of which will be peace between the contending parties: and this was to be done iz their gates, becaufe there their courts of judicature were kept.
y.17. And let none of you imagine evil in your — hearts againft his neighbour, 8c.] See the note on
~ ™ The true reading of thefe words, according to the accents, is, Thus faith the Lord of hofts: Jet your hands be ftrong, that hear in thofe days thee words: ont of the prophets, U fay, ye have heard that Pte the day the houfe of the Lord of bofts foall be Sounded, the temple fhould be continued to be built. So Reinbeck. De accent. Heb. p. 453- * Ne Jo fic converfus fum, Pagninus, Montanus, Calvin ita converfas, Junius & Tremelliys, Pifcator; reverfus fam, Burkius,; i:
ch. vii. 10. hatred without a caufe was a governing vice under the fecond temple, and Farchi fays was the caufe of the deftruction of it; fee Fobn xv. 25: and love no falfe oath; whereby the character and property of a fellow-creature are hurt; nor any vain one, which the Fews were addicted to, Matt. v. 34, 35: for all thefe are things that I bate, faith the Lord as being contrary to his nature, and to his law; and is a reafon why they fhould be hated and avoided by men.
¥. 18. And the word of the Lord of bofts came unto me, faying.| The word of prophecy, as the Yargum paraphrafes it: here begins a new prophecy, refpecting the abrogation of Fewi/h fafts, and the calling of the Gentiles.
¥. 19. Thus faith the Lord of bofts, &c.] What follows is a full anfwer to the queftion in ch. vii. 3: the faft of the fourth month, the month Tammuz, which anfwers to Fune: this faft was kept on the ninth day of the month, on account of the city of Ferufalem being broken up on that day », as it is faid, 2 Kings xxv. 3, 4. Fer. xxxix. 2. and lii. 6, 7. tho’ Kimchi fays, this was on the feventeenth day of that month, as alfo fays the MG/na’; on which day a faft was kept likewife, for the break-| ing of the two tables of the law on that day: the reconciliation of this, with the above {criptures, is attempted in the Yalmud *, by obferving, that the fcripture fpeaks of the firft temple, the AG/na of the fecond temple: and the faft of the fifth; the month 46, which anfwers to Fuly, on the tenth of which the city was burnt, Fer. lii. 12, 13. but the fafton account of it was kept on the ninth day; fee the note on ch. vii. 3. on which day the Yews fay, that both the firft and fecond temple were deftroyed, Bitker was taken, and the city plowed «: and the faft of the feventh; the month Tifri, which anfwers to September; on the third of this month a fait was kept on account of the murder of Gedaliah; fee ch. vii. 5. and on the tenth day of the fame, was the day of atonement, which was the grand faft; fee Ads xxvii. 9: and the faft of the tenth, the month Tebet, which anfwers to December, on the tenth day of which the city of Ferufalem was befieged by Nebuchadnezzar; and this fait was kept on that account, Yer. lii. 4. now of all thefe fafts the Lord by the prophet fays, they fball be to the houfe of Fudab joy and gladne s, and chearful feafts; that is, there fhall be no occafion for them, but on the contrary, fuch plenty of good things, both temporal and {piritual, fhall be had, that inftead of them, rather feftivals fhould be kept with the greateft chearfulnefs, joy and gladnefs. So Maimonides * fays, that all thefe fafts fhall ceafe in the times of the Meffiah, with all others, which will be times of joy and gladnefs. Therefore love the truth and peace; love to {peak truth, and execute the judgment of peace, y. 16. or exprefs by words and deeds love to Chrift, who is the way, the truth, and the life; and alfo is our peace, the peace-maker, and peace-giver; and on thefe accounts, as well as on others, is greatly to be loved: likewife the gofpel, which is the word of truth, and the gofpel of peace; which contains nothing but truth, and is the miniftry of reconciliation, and is to be loved on that account; and even peace with men is no farther to be loved and fought after, than as it is confiftent with truth; and thefe being the principal things under the go- {pel-difpenfation, thefe, and not fafts, or any other cerertionial obfervances, are to be attérided to. ¥. 20. Thus faith the Lord of bofts; it fhall yet come to pafs, &c.} This is another thing that fhall certainly be accomplifhed:. that there /hall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities; in the Gentile world; they fhall come and hear the word, believe in Chrift, and join together in a gofpelchurch-ftate; as they did at Antioch, Theffalonica; Corinth, and many other places: Ben Meélech fays, this fhall be in the days of the Meffiah; and f it has been in the days of the true Meffiah Jefus, and will be again in the latter day. ¥. 21. And the inhabitants of one city fhall go ta another, 8c.) Which fhows their concern for the fpiritual welfare of each other; their zeal for the honour and glory of God, and their readinefs to attend divine worfhip: faying, let us go fpeedily to pray before the Lord, for pardoning, juftifying, and fanctifying grace; which fhows their fenfe of need of thefe things, and that they aré only to be had: of the Lord; and that their cafe required hatte, and would admit of no delay: and to feck the Lord of bois; by prayer and fupplication, as before; the Chaldee paraphrafe is, to feek doétrine from the Lord of bofts; to learn the truths of his gofpel to know his will, and be informed of the right way of worfhipping him, as well as to feek to Chrift for life and falvation: I will go alfo; that is, this fhall fay to that, as the Targum fupplies it one fhall fay to another, and expréfs himfelf in fuch language, by way of example and encouragement. ¥, 22. Yea, many people, and firong nations, &c.] Or mighty kingdoms, as the Targum renders it; even fuch have embraced the gofpel, and profefféd the chriftian religion; of which there has been abun= dant proof, fince the downfal of paganifm under Confiantine: fhall come to feek the Lord of hots in Ferufalem; that is, fhall attend the public worfhip of God in the church: and to pray before the Lords join in public prayer, and other ordinances of the gofpel. This phrafe, which is ufed alfo in the preceding verfe, fignifies that the Lord, and he only, is the object of prayer 5 it is not to be made to a creature, or to an idol made with hands, they had been ufed to pray to before, but to the one only living and true God, Father, Son, and Spirit; and that this is to be done as in the prefence of God, who is omnifcient, who knows all perfons and their cafes, and what are their ends and views in their petitions to him, and whether thefe come from a true heart and unfeigned lips; for all things are naked and open unto him, with whom we have to do; that under the gofpel~ difpenfation efpecially, men may come into the prefence of God with great freedom and liberty, and pour out their fouls before him, and with great boldnefs and confidence, thro’ the blood of Chrift being fhed, and a new and living way opened by it, in which they may come and afk in faith whatever they want; tho’ this fhould always be performed with reverence and godly fear, and with all humility and fubmiffion to the will of God: and tho’ it may take in all forts of prayer, and wherever, and by whomfoever performed, either mental or vocal, in the clofet or in the family, which is always to be done in like manner before God; yet it feems chiefly to defign focial and public prayer; which being put up to God a the 4 T. Bab, Taanith, fol. 28. 2.
ithe church, may be faid to be before the Lord, it being in the affembly of his faints, where he more efpecially “grants his: prefence, and: fhews: himfelf to. be a God hearing. and ‘anfwering prayer; fee Pf la, 34.2.
¥. 23. Thus faith the Lord of ‘hofts, &c.]. For the further confirmation and _illuftration of this ‘prophecy: in thofe days it fhall come to pafs, this fhall be done in the times of the preaching of the gofpel. by Chrift.and, his-apoftles:; ¢bat ten men foall.take hold out of alldanguages of the nations, even fhall take bold of:the fkirt of him thatisa few;
which may be underftood either of our Lord Jefus Chrift; who was a Jew by nation, the Fews were his own, people, and udee, his nation; by defcent, he fpringing from the tribe of Fudah, and the family. of David; by religion,. being made under the Fewi/h law; by his habit and drefs, by which, as well as -by his language, the woman of Samaria knew he was a Few, John iv. 9: and very probably he wore the fringe the Fews did on the border of his garment, Matt. ix. 20.-Mark vi. 56, and:which the ewifh doctors think is here meant t by the fkirt,; but this may-intend: in a fpiritual fenfe, the fkirt being put for the whole garment, Ezek. xvi. 8. the;robe of Chrift’s righteoufnefs, which fenfible finners take hold of by faith, and put it on. as their juftifying righteoufnefs: and ten men out of all nations being {aid to do it, and this number fignifying many, Lev. xxvi. 26. 1 Sam. i. 8. may denote,.that the number, of them that believe in Chrift for righteoufnels, and are juftified by'it, are many, Jf liii. 11. tho’ they are but few when compared with others;.and that as God has chofen,. Chrift. has redeemed, fo the Spirit calls are juftified. by.hims as well as the other, Rom. iii. 29, 30. or this may. be underfteod of any of the, apoftles of Chrift, who were all) Jews; and efpecially the apoftle, Paul, who was the apottle of the Gentiles;. who were: fent into,all the world to.
preach the gofpel.to: the Gentiles, by which means ‘they came tovhearit; and many,of them out of every nation laid hold on the flirts of thefé men; believed:and embraced the doétrines they preached were greatly affected.towards them; gave up them: felves' to them conforted with. them accompa-