Ch. Zec 2:1<\/span>. a man<\/em> ] Probably an angel in human form, called a “young man,” Zec 2:4<\/span>, where see note<\/p>\n a measuring line<\/em> ] The word is not the same as in Zec 1:16<\/span>; but the promise there is taken up here, and its literal fulfilment, which the action of the man with the line seemed about to secure, is merged in a greater blessing. In Eze 40:3<\/span>, Rev 11:1<\/span>; Rev 21:15<\/span>, a reed is used, in addition to, or instead of, a line as here.<\/p>\n A man with a measuring line in his hand – <\/B>Probably the Angel of the Lord, of whom Ezekiel has a like vision. Jerome: He who before, when he lift up his eyes, had seen in the four horns things mournful, now again lifts up his eves to see a man, of whom it is written, Behold a man whose name is the Branch Zec 6:12<\/span>; of whom we read above, Behold a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees, which were in the bottom Zec 1:8<\/span>. Of whom too the Father saith; He builded My city, whose builder and maker is God Heb 11:10<\/span>. He too is seen by Ezekiel in a description like this, a man whose appearance was like the appearance of brass Eze 40:3<\/span>, that is, burnished and shining as fire, with a line of flax in his hand and a measuring reed Eze 1:7<\/span>. The office also seems to be one of authority, not to measure the actual length and breadth of Jerusalem, but to lay down what it should be, (Cyril), to mark it out broad and very long.<\/P><\/p>\n Zec 2:1-4<\/span><\/p>\n A man with a measuring line in his hand <\/em><\/p>\n The man with a measure<\/strong><\/p>\n The <\/em>prophet asks where the man is going, and the answer given is–to measure; and then he shows what would be the measure of Jerusalem, that it would hereafter extend beyond the walls, as that compass would not contain the vast number of the people.<\/p>\n God will extend, he says, far and wide the holy city; it will no longer be confined as before to its own walls, but will be inhabited through all its villages. There is then no doubt but that God intended here to bear witness respecting the propagation of His Church, which was to follow a long time afterwards, even after the coming of Christ. For though Jerusalem became wealthy and also large in its compass, and, as it is well known, a triple city, and heathen writers say that it was among the first of the cities of the East when Babylon was still existing, yet this prophecy was not verified in the state of Jerusalem, for it was not inhabited without its walls, nor did it spread through the whole of Judaea. We hence conclude that the spiritual Jerusalem is here described which differs from all earthly cities. Here is described the heavenly Jerusalem, which is surrounded by no walls, but is open to the whole world, and which depends not on its own strength, but dwells safely though exposed on all sides to enemies; for the prophet says, not without reason, through the villages shall Jerusalem be inhabited; that is, it shall everywhere be inhabited, so that it will have no need of defence to restrain or hinder enemies to come near; for a safe rest shall be given to it, when every one shall quietly occupy his own place. Though few returned from exile, God was yet able to increase the Church, and to make it a vast multitude, and this was certain and decreed, for it was shown by the vision that however unequal they were to their enemies, God was still sufficiently strong and powerful to defend them; and that however destitute they were of all blessings, God was still rich enough to enrich them, provided they relied on the blessing which He had promised. (John Calvin.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The optimism of faith<\/strong><\/p>\n Zechariah was the most uniformly hopeful of all the prophets. He was a young man. His little book is the work of a youthful imaginative mind, richly endowed with poetic gifts, as well as steeped in the diviner fount of inspiration. He saw all things bathed in the glory of the morning. The time in which he wrote was near the end of the Babylonian captivity. The prophet draws one picture after another of the glorious things which were nigh. Here the prophet sees a young man going with a measuring line in his hand, and asks Whither? To measure Jerusalem, is the answer, and straightway he marches on. Then the angels appear, and one says to the other, Go after that young man, and tell him that his measuring line is too short. Jerusalem will expand beyond all boundaries and all measurements, because of the number of people in it. Tell him that he is going to measure the immeasurable. This allegory contains these two Gospel truths.<\/p>\n 1. <\/strong>Faith realises that which does not exist.<\/p>\n 2. <\/strong>These Divine things which faith realises are so great that even faith cannot measure them.<\/p>\n The man with the measuring line<\/strong><\/p>\n It was natural enough. We dream of what occupies our waking thoughts; and probably Jerusalem was full of surveyors, engaged in mapping out the new streets and walls.<\/p>\n 1. <\/strong>The pessimist comes with his measuring line, and draws the plan of the city within the narrowest possible boundaries. He justifies his forecast by quoting such a text as Fear not, little flock; or Strait is the gate and narrow is the way that leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. Sometimes he fears that he will not enter, at other times he doubts all others but himself.<\/p>\n 2. <\/strong>The bigot comes with his measuring line and insists that the city walls must coincide with his shibboleth, and follow the tracings of his creed.<\/p>\n 3. <\/strong>The experimentalist is apt to refuse to consider as Christians those who have not experienced exactly the same doubts, fears, ecstasies, deliverances, and cleansings which he himself has felt.<\/p>\n 4. <\/strong>The universalist goes to the other extreme, and practically builds his walls around the entire race of man, including within their circumference every member of the human family. It is not for us to fix the boundaries, or insist on our conceptions. These are secret things which belong to the Lord our God. So shall it be with the saved. We have no right to include in their ranks any who know not God, and obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus, who have loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. But apart from these, there will be a multitude which no man can number, out of every nation and of all tribes, and peoples, and tongues; as stars in the midnight sky, or the sand grains on the seashore. (P. B. Meyer, B. A.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n An interesting future of the world<\/strong><\/p>\n 1. <\/strong>Measurable only by the Divine. Who had the measuring line? Not a mere man, not any created intelligence, but the God-man, the Messiah. Men cannot measure the growth of piety in the world. They attempt it, but make fearful mistakes. They deal in statistics, they count the number of churches in the world and the number of professed worshippers. But piety cannot be measured in this way. Have you scales by which to weigh genuine love? Any numbers by which to count holy thoughts, aspirations, and volitions? Any rules by which to gauge spiritual intelligence? Have you any plummet by which to fathom even the depths of a mothers affections? No one but God can weigh and measure the holy experiences of holy souls.<\/p>\n The true glory of the Church<\/strong><\/p>\n 1. <\/strong>Although Zion has not yet lengthened her cords and widened her stakes to her appointed limits, yet the measuring line has gone forth that gives her bounds to be the habitable earth. Hence, if this future extension was a motive to the Jew, in his work of rearing the temple of wood and stone, much more is it to us in our work of erecting the great spiritual temple on the foundation, Jesus Christ (Zec 2:1-4<\/span>).<\/p>\n 2. <\/strong>We learn here the true glory of the Church. It is not in any external pomp or power, of any kind; not in frowning battlements, either of temporal or spiritual pretensions; not in rites and ceremonies, however moss grown and venerable; not in splendid cathedrals and gorgeous vestments, and the swell of music, and the glitter of eloquence, but in the indwelling glory of the invisible God. Her outward rites and ceremonies, therefore, should only be like what the earths atmosphere is to the rays of the sun, a pure, transparent medium of transmission (Zec 2:5<\/span>).<\/p>\n 3. <\/strong>The punishment of the wicked as truly declares the glory of God as the salvation of the righteous (Zec 2:8<\/span>).<\/p>\n 4. <\/strong>The wicked shall ultimately be the slaves of their own lusts; those appetites and passions which were designed to be merely their obedient servants, shall become their tormenting and inexorable tyrants (Zec 2:9<\/span>).<\/p>\n 5. <\/strong>The incarnation of Christ and His indwelling in the Church are grounds of the highest joy (Zec 2:10<\/span>).<\/p>\n 6. <\/strong>Christ is a Divine Saviour. In Zec 2:10-11<\/span>, we have one Jehovah sending another, and the Jehovah sent is identified with the angel of the covenant, who was to come and dwell in the Church, whom we know to be Christ. Hence, unless there are two distinct Jehovahs, one Divine and the other not, Christ, the Jehovah, angel of this passage, is Divine.<\/p>\n 7. <\/strong>The Church of God shall cover the earth, and become in fact, what it is in right, the mightiest agency in human history. Though now feeble and despised, she shall one day include many nations, and every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Zec 2:11<\/span>).<\/p>\n 8. <\/strong>Delay of punishment is no proof of impunity. God often seems to be asleep, but He is only awaiting the appointed time; in the end, when all seems as it was from the foundation of the world, the herald cry shall go forth, Be silent, O earth, for Jehovah is aroused to His terrible work, and the day of His wrath is come. Let men kiss the Son whilst He is yet in the way, before His anger is kindled but a little, and they perish before Him like stubble before the whirlwind of flames. (T. V. Moore, D. D.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The man with the measuring line<\/strong><\/p>\n In this vision God presented to the prophet, and through him to the nation at large, the prospect and the assurance of the restoration of Jerusalem, and the reestablishment of the Jewish state as it had been before the captivity. The city should not only be rebuilt, but greatly extended: the temple should be restored, and the worship of Jehovah resumed; His presence should be with His people, and they should enjoy His protection; and whilst they were thus blessed, judgment should come upon those nations that had oppressed them, and they should have supremacy over those by whom they had been enslaved. All this was literally fulfilled. But even in these promises there seems to be a reference to things of still higher import, and of spiritual significancy Who can such a speaker be but that Being who in the fulness of time appeared in our world, uniting in His one person the human and the Divine natures? May we not say, then, that there is here a promise of blessing to the Church through the advent of the Redeemer? Then certainly was glory brought to the temple of the Lord. The Church of God, under the latter dispensation, may take to herself as her own the comfort and encouragement which those promises, given to the Church in the old times, were intended to convey. Security, protection, glory, grace, blessing, extension, and final triumph are all assured to her by the promise of Him whose word cannot fail. (W. L. Alexander, D. D.<\/em>)<\/p>\n CHAPTER II <\/P> The vision with which this chapter opens, portended great<\/I><\/P> increase and prosperity to Jerusalem. Accordingly Josephus<\/I><\/P> tells us, (Wars v. iv. 2,) that “the city, overflowing with<\/I><\/P> inhabitants, extended beyond its walls,” as predicted in the<\/I><\/P> fourth verse, and acquired much glory during the time of the<\/I><\/P> Maccabees; although these promises, and particularly the<\/I><\/P> sublime image in the<\/I> fifth verse, has certainly a still more<\/I><\/P> pointed reference to the glory and prosperity of the Christian<\/I><\/P> Church in the latter days<\/I>, 1-5. See Re 21:1-27<\/span>; Re 22:1-21<\/span>.<\/P> In consequence of these promises, the Jews, still inhabiting<\/I><\/P> Babylon and the regions round about, are called upon to hasten<\/I><\/P> home, that they might not be involved in the fate of their<\/I><\/P> enemies, who were destined to fall a prey to the nations which<\/I><\/P> they had formerly subdued; God’s great love anti zeal for his<\/I><\/P> people moving him to glorify them by humbling all their<\/I><\/P> adversaries<\/I>, 6-9.<\/P> The most gracious promises of God’s presence with his Church,<\/I><\/P> and her consequent increase and prosperity, set forth in the<\/I><\/P> remaining verses<\/I>, 10-13,<\/P> were to a certain extent fulfilled in the great number of<\/I><\/P> proselytes made to Judaism after the return from the captivity;<\/I><\/P> but shall be more fully accomplished after the restoration of<\/I><\/P> the Jews to the favour of God under the Gospel. “For if the<\/I><\/P> casting away of the natural Israel be the reconciling of the<\/I><\/P> world, what shall the receiving of them be but life from the<\/I><\/P> dead?”<\/I> <\/P> NOTES ON CHAP II<\/P> <\/P> Verse 1<\/span>. A man with a measuring – line in his hand.<\/B><\/I>] Probably a representation of Nehemiah<\/I>, who got a commission from Artaxerxes<\/I> Longimanus<\/I> to build up the walls of Jerusalem; for hitherto it had remained without being enclosed.<\/P> <\/p>\n I, <\/B>Zechariah, <\/P> lifted up mine eyes again:<\/B> this is the third emblem or vision he had seen. Looked very diligently and intently<\/I>. <\/P> A man; <\/B>one in form of a man; some say it was Christ, others say a type of Nehemiah; it was an emblem of some master-builder to be sure, and it is probable the prophet took him for no more than a man. <\/P> With a measuring line in his hand; <\/B>he appeared ready and prepared to lay out the platform of Jerusalem for extent, form, and beauty, <\/P> <\/p>\n 1. man with a measuring-line<\/B>thesame image to represent the same future fact as in Eze 40:3<\/span>;Eze 47:4<\/span>. The “man” isMessiah (see on Zec 1:8<\/span>), who,by measuring Jerusalem, is denoted as the Author of its comingrestoration. Thus the Jews are encouraged in Zechariah’s time toproceed with the building. Still more so shall they be herebyencouraged in the future restoration.<\/P><\/p>\n I lifted up mine eyes again, and looked<\/strong>,…. And saw a third vision; which, as Kimchi owns, refers to the times of the Messiah; though it might be of use to the Jews then present, to encourage them to expect the rebuilding of Jerusalem, in a literal sense:<\/p>\n and behold a man with a measuring line in his hand<\/strong>: by whom is meant, not Nehemiah, nor Zerubbabel; see Zec 4:10<\/span> who were concerned in the building of Jerusalem; nor any mere man, nor even a created angel; for, though he may be the same with the other angel, that did not talk with the prophet, Zec 2:3<\/span> as Kimchi observes; seeing he seems to be superior to him that did; yet not a ministering spirit, but the Messiah, who in this book is often spoken of as a man;<\/p>\n [See comments on Zec 1:8]<\/span> and by “the measuring line in his hand” may be meant eternal predestination, the Lamb’s book of life, which is in his keeping; and is the measure and rule by which he proceeds in the calling, justification, and glorification of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven; or the Scriptures of truth, the measure and rule of doctrine, discipline, worship, and conversation; and according to which Christ forms, constitutes, and regulates Gospel churches; see Eze 40:3<\/span>.<\/p>\n Whilst the second vision sets forth the destruction of the powers that were hostile to Israel, the third (Zec 2:1-5<\/span>) with the prophetic explanation (Zec 2:6-13<\/span>) shows the development of the people and kingdom of God till the time of its final glory. The vision itself appears very simple, only a few of the principal features being indicated; but in this very brevity it presents many difficulties so far as the exposition is concerned. It is as follows: Zec 2:1<\/span>. “And I lifted up my eyes, and saw, and behold a man, and in his hand a measuring line.<\/em> Zec 2:2<\/span>. Then I said, Whither goest thou? And he said to me, To measure Jerusalem, to see how great its breadth, and how great its length.<\/em> Zec 2:3<\/span>. And, behold, the angel that talked with me went out, and another angel went out to meet him.<\/em> Zec 2:4<\/span>. And he said to him, Run, speak to his young man thus: Jerusalem shall lie as an open land for the multitude of men and cattle in the midst of it.<\/em> Zec 2:5<\/span>. And I shall be to it, is the saying of Jehovah, a fiery wall round about; and I shall be for glory in the midst of it.”<\/em> The man with the measuring line in his hand is not the interpreting angel (C. B. Mich., Ros., Maurer, etc.); for it was not his duty to place the events upon the stage, but simply to explain to the prophet the things which he saw. Moreover, this angel is clearly distinguished from the man, inasmuch as he does not go out (Zec 2:3<\/span>) till after the latter has gone to measure Jerusalem (Zec 2:2<\/span>). At the same time, we cannot regard the measuring man as merely “a figure in the vision,” since all the persons occurring in these visions are significant; but we agree with those who conjecture that he is the angel of Jehovah, although this conjecture cannot be distinctly proved. The task which he is preparing to perform – namely, to measure Jerusalem – leads unquestionably to the conclusion that he is something more than a figure. The measuring of the breadth and length of Jerusalem presupposes that the city is already in existence; and this expression must not be identified with the phrase, to draw the measure over Jerusalem, in Zec 1:15<\/span>. Drawing the measure over a place is done for the purpose of sketching a plan for its general arrangement or the rebuilding of it. But the length and breadth of a city can only be measured when it is already in existence; and the object of the measuring is not to see how long and how broad it is to be, but what the length and breadth actually are. It is true that it by no means follows from this that the city to be measured was the Jerusalem of that time; on the contrary, the vision shows the future Jerusalem, but it exhibits it as a city in actual existence, and visible to the spiritual eye. While the man goes away to measure the city, the interpreting angel goes out: not out of the myrtle thicket, for this only occurs in the first vision; but he goes away from the presence of the prophet, where we have to think of him as his interpreter, in the direction of the man with the measuring line, to find out what he is going to do, and bring back word to the prophet. At the very same time another angel comes out to meet him<\/em>, viz., the angelus interpres <\/em>, not the man with the measuring line. For one person can only come to meet another when the latter is going in the direction from which the former comes. Having come to meet him, he (the second angel) says to him (the angelus interpres <\/em>), “Run, say to this young man,” etc. The subject to can only be the second angel; for if, on grammatical grounds, the angelus interpres <\/em> might be regarded as speaking to the young man, such an assumption is proved to be untenable, by the fact that it was no part of the office of the angelus interpres <\/em> to give orders or commissions to another angel. On the other hand, there is nothing at all to preclude another angel from revealing a decree of God to the angelus interpres <\/em> for him to communicate to the prophet; inasmuch as this does not bring the angelus interpres <\/em> into action any further than his function requires, so that there is no ground for the objection that this is at variance with his standing elsewhere (Kliefoth). But the other angel could not give the instructions mentioned in Zec 1:4<\/span> to the angelus interpres <\/em>, unless he were either himself a superior angel, viz., the angel of Jehovah, or had been directed to do so by the man with the measuring line, in which case this “man” would be the angel of Jehovah. Of these two possibilities we prefer the latter on two grounds: (1) because it is impossible to think of any reason why the “other angel” should not be simply called , if he really were the angel of the Lord; and (2) because, according to the analogy of Eze 40:3<\/span>, the man with the measuring line most probably was the angel of Jehovah, with whose dignity it would be quite in keeping that he should explain his purpose to the angelus interpres <\/em> through the medium of another (inferior) angel. And if this be established, so far as the brevity of the account will allow, we cannot understand by the “young man” the man with the measuring line, as Hitzig, Maurer, and Kliefoth do. The only way in which such an assumption as this could be rendered tenable or in harmony with the rest, would be by supposing that the design of the message was to tell the man with the measuring line that “he might desist from his useless enterprise” (Hitzig), as Jerusalem could not be measured at all, on account of the number of its inhabitants and its vast size (Theod. Mops., Theodoret, Ewald, Umbreit, etc.); but Kliefoth has very justly replied to this, that “if a city be ever so great, inasmuch as it is a city, it can always be measured, and also have walls.”<\/p>\n If, then, the symbolical act of measuring, as Kliefoth also admits, expresses the question how large and how broad Jerusalem will eventually be, and if the words of Zec 2:4<\/span>, Zec 2:5<\/span> contain the answer to this question, viz., Jerusalem will in the first place (Zec 2:4<\/span>) contain such a multitude of men and cattle that it will dwell like p e razoth <\/em>; this answer, which gives the meaning of the measuring, must be addressed not to the measuring man, but simply to the prophet, that he may announce to the people the future magnitude and glory of the city. The measuring man was able to satisfy himself of this by the measuring itself. We must therefore follow the majority of both the earlier and later expositors, and take the “young man” as being the prophet himself, who is so designated on account of his youthful age, and without any allusion whatever to “human inexperience and dim short-sightedness” (Hengstenberg), since such an allusion would be very remote from the context, and even old men of experience could not possibly know anything concerning the future glory of Jerusalem without a revelation from above. Hallaz <\/em>, as in Jdg 6:20<\/span> and 2Ki 4:25<\/span>, is a contraction of hallazeh <\/em>, and formed from lazeh <\/em>, there, thither, and the article hal <\/em>, in the sense of the (young man) there, or that young man (cf. Ewald, 103, a<\/em>, and 183, b<\/em>; Ges. 34, Anm. 1). He is to make haste and bring this message, because it is good news, the realization of which will soon commence. The message contains a double and most joyful promise. (1) Jerusalem will in future dwell, i.e., to be built, as p e razoth <\/em>. This word means neither “without walls,” nor loca aperta <\/em>, but strictly speaking the plains<\/em>, and is only used in the plural to denote the open, level ground, as contrasted with the fortified cities surrounded by walls: thus are p e razoth <\/em>, cities of the plain, in Est 9:19<\/span>, as distinguished from the capital Susa; and ‘erets p e razoth <\/em> in Eze 38:11<\/span>, the land where men dwell “without walls, bolts, and gates;” hence p e raz <\/em>, inhabitant of the plain, in contrast with the inhabitants of fortified cities with high walls (Deu 3:5<\/span>; 1Sa 6:18<\/span>). The thought is therefore the following: Jerusalem is in future to resemble an open country covered with unwalled cities and villages; it will no longer be a city closely encircled with walls; hence it will be extraordinarily enlarged, on account of the multitude of men and cattle with which it will be blessed (cf. Isa 49:19-20<\/span>; Eze 38:11<\/span>). Moreover, (2) Jerusalem will then have no protecting wall surrounding it, because it will enjoy a superior protection. Jehovah will be to it a wall of fire round about, that is to say, a defence of fire which will consume every one who ventures to attack it (cf. Isa 4:5<\/span>; Deu 4:24<\/span>). Jehovah will also be the glory in the midst of Jerusalem, that is to say, will fill the city with His glory (cf. Isa 60:19<\/span>). This promise is explained in the following prophetic words which are uttered by the angel of Jehovah, as Zec 2:8<\/span>, Zec 2:9<\/span>, and Zec 2:11<\/span> clearly show. According to these verses, for example, the speaker is sent by Jehovah, and according to Zec 2:8<\/span> to the nations which have plundered Israel, “after glory,” i.e., to smite these nations and make them servants to the Israelites. From this shall Israel learn that Jehovah has sent him. The fact that, according to Zec 2:3<\/span>, Zec 2:4<\/span>, another angel speaks to the prophet, may be easily reconciled with this. For since this angel, as we have seen above, was sent by the angel of Jehovah, he speaks according to his instructions, and that in such a manner that his words pass imperceptibly into the words of the sender, just as we very frequently find the words of a prophet passing suddenly into the words of God, and carried on as such. For the purpose of escaping from this simple conclusion, Koehler has forcibly broken up this continuous address, and has separated the words of Zec 2:8<\/span>, Zec 2:9<\/span>, and Zec 2:11<\/span>, in which the angel says that Jehovah has sent him, from the words of Jehovah proclaimed by the angel, as being interpolations, but without succeeding in explaining them either simply or naturally.<\/p>\n The Vision of the Measuring Line.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/I><\/span><\/P> <\/TD> B. C.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN> 520.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/P> <\/TD> <\/TR> <\/TABLE> 1 I lifted up mine eyes again, and looked, and behold a man with a measuring line in his hand. 2 Then said I, Whither goest thou? And he said unto me, To measure Jerusalem, to see what is<\/I> the breadth thereof, and what is<\/I> the length thereof. 3 And, behold, the angel that talked with me went forth, and another angel went out to meet him, 4 And said unto him, Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as<\/I> towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle therein: 5 For I, saith the LORD<\/B>, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her.<\/P> This prophet was ordered, in God’s name, to assure the people (ch.<\/I><\/span> i. 16<\/span>) that a line should be stretched forth upon Jerusalem.<\/I> Now here we have that promise illustrated and confirmed, that the prophet might deliver that part of his message to the people with the more clearness and assurance.<\/P> I. He sees, in a vision, a man going to measure Jerusalem (Zec 2:1<\/span>; Zec 2:2<\/span>): He lifted up his eyes again, and looked.<\/I> God had shown him that which was very encouraging to him, (ch.<\/I><\/span> i. 20<\/span>), and therefore now he lifted up his eyes again and looked.<\/I> Note, The comfortable sights which by faith we have had of God’s goodness made to pass before us should engage us to lift up our eyes again, and to search further into the discoveries made to us of the divine grace; for there is still more to be seen. In the close of the foregoing chapter he had seen Jerusalem’s enemies baffled and broken, so that now he begins to hope she shall not be ruined. But that is not enough to make her happy, and therefore that is not all that is promised. Here is more carpenter’s work to be done. When David had resolved to cut off the horns of the wicked<\/I> he engaged likewise that the horns of the righteous<\/I> should be exalted,<\/I> Ps. lxxv. 10<\/I><\/span>. And so does the Son of David<\/I> here; for he is the man,<\/I> even the man Christ Jesus,<\/I> whom the prophet sees with a measuring line in his hand;<\/I> for he is the master builder of his church (Heb. iii. 3<\/span>), and he builds exactly by line and level. Zechariah took the boldness to ask him whither he was going<\/I> and what he designed to do with that measuring line. And he readily told him that he was going to measure Jerusalem,<\/I> to take a particular account of the dimensions of it each way, that it might be computed what was necessary for the making of a wall about it, and that it might appear, by comparing its dimensions with the vast numbers that should inhabit it, what additions were necessary to be made for the receiving and containing of them; when multitudes flock to Jerusalem (Isa. lx. 4<\/span>) it is time for her to enlarge the place of her tent,<\/I> Isa. liv. 2<\/I><\/span>. Note, God takes notice of the extent of his church, and will take care that, when ever so many guests are brought in to the wedding supper, still there shall be room,<\/I> Luke xiv. 22<\/I><\/span>. In<\/I> the New Jerusalem, my Father’s house<\/I> above, there are many mansions.<\/I><\/P> II. He is informed that this vision means well to Jerusalem, that the measuring line he saw was not a line of confusion<\/I> (as that Isa. xxxiv. 11<\/span>), not a line to mete out for destruction, as when God purposed to destroy the wall of the daughter of Zion he stretched out a line<\/I> (Lam. ii. 8<\/span>); but it is as when he divided the inheritance by line,<\/I> Ps. lxxviii. 55<\/I><\/span>. The angel that talked with<\/I> the prophet went forth,<\/I> as he designed, to measure Jerusalem,<\/I> but another angel went out to meet him,<\/I> to desire that he would first explain this vision to the prophet, that it might not occasion him any uneasy speculations: Run, and speak to this young man<\/I> (for, it seems, the prophet entered upon his prophecy when he was young, yet no man ought to despise his youth when God thus highly honoured it); he is a young man, not experienced, and may be ready to fear the worst; therefore bid him hope the best; tell him that Jerusalem shall be both safe and great, 1. As safe and great as numbers of men can make it (v.<\/I><\/span> 4<\/span>): Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls;<\/I> the inhabitants of it shall increase, and multiply, and replenish it to admiration, so that it shall extend itself far beyond the present dimensions which now there is an account taken of. The walls of a city, as they defend it, so they straiten and confine it, and keep its inhabitants from multiplying beyond such a pitch; but Jerusalem, even when it is walled, to keep off the enemy, shall be inhabited as towns without walls.<\/I> The city shall be in a manner lost in the suburbs, as London is, where the out-parishes are more populous than those within the walls. So shall it be with Jerusalem; it shall be extended as freely as if it had no walls at all, and yet shall be as safe as if it had the strongest walls, such a multitude of men<\/I> (which are the best walls of a city) shall there be therein,<\/I> and of cattle too,<\/I> to be not only food, but wealth too, for those men. Note, The increase of the numbers of a people is a great blessing, is a fruit of God’s blessing on them and an earnest of further blessings, Ps. cvii. 38<\/span>. They are multiplied, for he blesses them.<\/I> 2. As safe and great as the presence of God can make it, v.<\/I><\/span> 5<\/span>. (1.) It shall be safe, for God himself will be a wall of fire round about it.<\/I> Jerusalem had no walls about it at this time, but lay naked and exposed; formerly, when it had walls, the enemies not only broke through them, but broke them down; but now God will be unto her a wall of fire. Some think it alludes to shepherds that made fires about their flocks, or travellers that made fires about their tents in desert places, to frighten wild beasts from them. God will not only make a hedge<\/I> about them as he did about Job (ch.<\/I><\/span> i. 10<\/span>), not only make walls and bulwarks about them, Isa. xxvi. 1<\/span> (those may be battered down), not only be as the mountains round about them, Ps. cxxv. 2<\/span> (mountains may be got over), but he will be a wall of fire round them, which cannot be broken through, nor scaled, nor undermined, nor the foundations of it sapped, nor can it be attempted, or approached, without danger to the assailants. God will not only make a wall of fire about her, but he will himself be such a wall; for our God is a consuming fire<\/I> to his and his church’s enemies. He is a wall of fire, not on one side only, but round about on every side. (2.) It shall be great, for God himself will be the glory in the midst of it.<\/I> His temple, his altar, shall be set up and attended there, and his institutions observed, and there then shall the tokens of his special presence and favour be, which will be the glory in the midst of them, will make them truly admirable in the eyes of all about them. God will have honour from them, and put honour upon them. Note, Those that have God for their God have him for their glory; those that have him in the midst of them have glory in the midst of them, and thence the church is said to be Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
I. <\/strong>Faith realises that which is to be. This young man was going to do an apparent absurdity. He was going to measure a city which had not yet been built. All the practical, materialistic, matter-of-fact people of the world would call that the very climax of folly. The Gospel of common sense says, Let us have no illusions. Give us facts, for anything which is not built upon facts is foolishness. Our religion indulges throughout in this foolishness, if foolishness it may be called. Faith realises the city that is not yet built., grasps coming events as though they were already present. All the best and greatest men and women that have ever been upon this earth have lived and moved and had their being in what was called a world of dreams, a world, that is, of fair, sweet hopes, of treasures and of glories that had not yet been created. Illustrated by Abraham, David, etc. It is the source and secret of all our strength and confidence, that where other eyes see only imperfections, we see a city of God which He will most assuredly build.<\/p>\n
II. <\/strong>These Divine things which faith realises before they come into existence are so great that even faith cannot measure them. The angel speaks to the young man, to rebuke him for the presumption of thinking that he can measure the city–it is immeasurable. We cannot measure anything that God builds. You cannot gauge moral influences or tabulate spiritual forces. There is no plummet that can sound the depths of love Divine. You could have measured Giant Goliath, but you could not have measured the faith and the courage of the young man who came up to meet him in the name of the Lord. Illustrated from the company carried by the Mayflower<\/em>; or by comparing the French Revolution with the beginning of missionary enterprise. You cannot measure the Church, the Church of Christ. It is infinitely broader, larger, stronger, than the most flattering statistics show. (J. G. Greenhough, M. A.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
I. <\/strong>The future increase of good men on the earth. Two remarks are suggested concerning the extent of genuine religion. It is–<\/p>\n
II. <\/strong>The future security of good men on the earth. Who shall penetrate a massive wall of fire? But that wall is God Himself, omnipotent in strength. Omnipotence is the Guardian of the good.<\/p>\n
III. <\/strong>The future glory of the good men on the earth. Good men are the recipients and the reflectors of the Divine glory. They are the temples for the Holy Ghost to dwell in, and they reveal more of Him than the whole material universe. Holiest souls are His highest manifestations. (Homilist.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\nFuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible <\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n