[0:00] Welcome to our service this morning and as we come together around the Word of God, let us seek his blessing upon his Word.
[0:10] Lord, eternal and ever-blessed Lord, we give thanks unto thee for thy goodness and thy kindness to us when thou hast enabled us to gather in this manner this morning in an act of worship, whereby we try to glorify thine own name, to uplift thy name and to praise thy name for all thy goodness and kindness and compassion towards us.
[0:46] And we give special thanks unto thee for the provision that thou hast made for us in and through thy Son, our Lord and our Saviour, Jesus Christ, that in and through him that we have boldness and confidence to come into thy presence and to seek thy mercy and to seek thy grace to help us in our time of need.
[1:16] And as we come before thee, O Lord, in this manner, we indeed have that need of the grace to humble ourselves in thy presence and to acknowledge our sinnership before thee, that we sin in thought, in word and in deed.
[1:39] But blessed be thy name for that great promise that thou hast given to us and have been sealed for us in the blood of the everlasting covenant, that those who will confess their sins, that thou art faithful and just to forgive them their sins, and that thou art the one who will cleanse them from all unrighteousness.
[2:03] Giving thee thanks, O Lord, for the efficacy of the finished work of Christ, that is able to reconcile us to our God, that is able to bring us to that place wherein we have peace with God.
[2:22] We give thee thanks, O Lord, for all the promises of thine own word, that they are true for us who trust in thee, that they, O Lord, will be fulfilled in thine own appointed time in the life of thy people.
[2:42] We give thee thanks, O Lord, for thy goodness to us in the gospel. O, we pray that it may indeed go forth this day in the power and demonstration of thine own spirit, for we are dependent upon thee for everything.
[3:03] We are dependent upon thee regarding the gospel, that it may penetrate into the hearts of our people, for we acknowledge, O Lord, that it is only thy spirit that can open the hearts of our people to receive the gospel, to receive thy word.
[3:23] And we pray that thy spirit would work among us, that thy spirit would work in our nation, O, that there would be many today who would come to see their great need of that salvation, that thou has worked out for sinners such as we are, through thy son, and that there would be many who through thy spirit would be drawn and would come and put their trust in Christ.
[3:55] We pray, O Lord, for days of repentance, days when we would sorrow over our sin and when we would seek the mercy of God and Jesus Christ.
[4:09] We pray, O Lord, that thou would bless our homes and our families, that thou would bless those who are indifferent and careless. O Lord, draw them through thy spirit and bring them to that place where they would embrace thy salvation and that they would come to know the joy of thy salvation.
[4:32] We ask, O Lord, that thou would bless our young people and our children, O, that thou would raise up a generation that would fear thine own name.
[4:47] Bless those who are ill among us. We pray that thine own healing hand may be upon them and those who may be waiting for hospitalisation.
[4:59] We pray, O Lord, that thou wouldst be with them and prepare them in their heart, that they would be enabled to lean upon thee, knowing that thou art the one who can truly grant to them that comfort that they stand in need of.
[5:16] We remember all those who mourn the passing of loved ones. And at this time, we remember the Queen in her loss of a beloved husband and in her new role now as a widow.
[5:33] We commend her to thine own loving care and keeping. We give thanks for the years that they were together and for their support to each other in good and hard times.
[5:43] We give thanks for the devoted public service of the late Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and his sense of duty to our nation and the Commonwealth for his dedication to Her Majesty the Queen and her family.
[5:58] We remember Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward and their respective families and the loss of a father-in-law, grandfather and great-grandfather.
[6:09] We commend them all to the Lord who is full of compassion, the God of all comfort. And we pray for the Lord's closeness to them at this time of grief and sorrow.
[6:24] And for all those who mourn today along with our royal family, we pray that they may know in their experience the words of the psalmist who says, those that are broken in their hearts and grieved in their minds.
[6:40] He healeth and their painful wounds he tenderly abinds. Oh, we are reminded again that death is no respecter of persons.
[6:53] And grant, O Lord, that we may be given the wisdom to number our days and to make our calling and election in Christ Jesus sure.
[7:06] We give thee thanks, O Lord, for the work of thy grace in the hearts of sinners such as we are, that thou art the one who raiseth the poor out of the dust and lifteth the needy out of the jungle, that thou may set them with princes, with the princes of thy people.
[7:27] Oh, we give thee thanks, O Lord, for the work of thy grace in the hearts of sinners such as we are. And although we may sometimes feel weary and tired and we may be so conscious of our own failures in our walk with thee, yet, O Lord, we know that where thou hast begun that good work, that thou wilt bring that work to perfection in thine own day, in thine own appointed time.
[8:01] And we give thanks unto thee, O Lord, for all the tokens of thy goodness and kindness to us. And we pray that thou would continue with us as we come to read thy word and as we come to meditate upon thy word.
[8:18] And, O Lord, we ask for the forgiveness of our many sins is in Jesus' name and for his sake. Amen. We shall now read the word of God in the Old Testament and in the book of Zechariah and chapter 12 and 13.
[8:38] Zechariah chapter 12 and 13. The burden of the word of the Lord for Israel, saith the Lord, which stretcheth forth the heavens and layeth the foundation of the earth and formeth the spirit of man within him.
[8:58] Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about when they shall be in siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people.
[9:12] All that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it. In that day, saith the Lord, I will smite every heart with astonishment and his rider with madness.
[9:26] And I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah and will smite every heart of the people with blindness. And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength and the Lord of hosts their God.
[9:40] In that day I will make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood and like a torch of fire in a sheaf. They shall devour all the people round about on the right hand and on the left.
[9:54] And Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in their own place even in Jerusalem. The Lord also shall save the tents of Judah first and the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against Judah.
[10:12] In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David and the house of David shall be as God as the angel of the Lord before them.
[10:26] And it shall come to pass in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. and I will pour upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and of supplications.
[10:40] And they shall look upon me whom they have pierced and they shall mourn for him as one mourneth for his only son and shall be in bitterness for him as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
[10:52] In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem as the mourning of Hadad-Rimon and the valley of Mageddon and the land shall mourn every family apart the family of the house of David apart and the wives apart and the family of the house of Annith apart and their wives apart the family of the house of Levi apart and their wives apart the family of Shemni apart and their wives apart all the families that remain every family apart and their wives apart in that day there shall be a fountain open to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered.
[11:39] And also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land. And it shall come to pass, and when any shall get prophesied, then his father and his mother that begat him shall say unto him, Thou shalt not live, for thou speakest lies in the name of the Lord.
[11:55] And his father and his mother that begat him shall thrust through when he prophesied. And it shall come to pass in that day that the prophets shall be ashamed to every one of his vision.
[12:07] When he hath prophesied, neither shall they wear a rough garment to deceive. But he shall say, I am no prophet, I am husbandman, for man taught me to keep cattle from my youth.
[12:18] And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer those with which I was wounded in the house of my friend. Away go sword against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the Lord of hosts.
[12:33] Smack the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered. And I will turn mine hand upon the little ones. And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die.
[12:45] But the third shall be left therein. And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried. They shall call on my name, and I will hear them.
[12:59] I will say, It is my people. And they shall say, The Lord is my God. May the Lord bless unto us the reading of that portion of his word, and seeking his help.
[13:12] And bless you, let us turn to chapter 12, and we'll read at verse 9. And it shall come to pass in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
[13:25] And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications. And they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
[13:51] This morning we are going to come to our last reflection on Zechariah. Zechariah does not record for us that Zerubbabel completed the building of the temple.
[14:07] That is left to be found in the book of Ezra, chapter 6, where we read, And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adah, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king.
[14:20] It is the message for the subsequent period that is taken up here by Zechariah from chapters 9 to 14. That is the period after the temple had been built.
[14:36] Now these chapters have been a matter of much debate. Unlike the earlier chapters which mention Zechariah by name, there is no specific reference made to the prophet.
[14:49] The earliest chapters focus was, as we have already noted, on the rebuilding of the temple. But now there is a change in focus.
[15:01] It is no longer on building the temple or even on resettling the land, but rather to keep going in a period of change all around.
[15:11] And seemingly there is little encouragement for the people of God. I think we can accept that chapters 9 to 11 is presenting to us what would happen in the closing years of the Old Testament church, particularly up to the events in the first coming of Christ and his rejection by the Jews.
[15:38] And in chapters 12 to 14, that the focus is principally on the period from Christ's ascension to his return again.
[15:51] Now our main focus today is going to be on chapter 12 and 13. Now in this passage, as elsewhere in the prophecy, we come across a very common phrase.
[16:04] In that day. And it shall come to pass in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
[16:15] And I will pour upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and supplications. And they shall look upon me whom they have pierced and they shall mourn for him as one mourneth for his only son and shall be in bitterness for him as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
[16:37] Now in the New Testament, the day of the Lord almost always refers to the second coming of Jesus Christ and to his final judgment.
[16:50] For instance, in 2 Peter chapter 3, we read, But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat.
[17:05] The earth also, and the works that are in, shall be burnt up. And for that reason, many commentators assume that the expression also points to the same event in the Old Testament.
[17:20] But it does not necessarily follow that the New Testament meaning be simply read back into the Old Testament. The word day does not mean that what is foretold is going to occur in a single 24-hour period, for it can mean a significant and unimportant period of time, no matter how long it lasts.
[17:48] For example, in Psalm 137, we read, Remember, O Lord, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem. Now there, the day of Jerusalem is referenced to the time of its downfall.
[18:03] Also in 2 Samuel chapter 21, we read, Then there was a famine in the days of David, three years, year after year. The days of David there is a reference to the reign of David.
[18:20] How then are we going to interpret in that day which we find here in our passage? Well, I think that we can safely say that the phrase is always associated with a time when God intervenes in a significant way.
[18:38] And it is a phrase that is always associated with manifestations of God's power and God's holiness and God's grace.
[18:52] Now here in chapter 12, verses 1 to 9, the nations are seen attacking Jerusalem. And the promise of divine intervention is given to defeat them all.
[19:04] In verse 5, we read, And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength, and the Lord of hosts their God.
[19:16] This is to be their strength, and this is also to be our strength, that the Lord of hosts is our very God. We must stand firm against the world in total reliance upon God.
[19:35] In verse 7 and 8, The Lord also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against Judah.
[19:51] In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David, and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the Lord before them.
[20:06] What we have here described for us is the Lord's care for his covenant people. The feeble, the weakest, shall find strength and shall be like David.
[20:20] And will be able, like David, to achieve and accomplish much through faith in his name. John Calvin argued that this passage was at least in part directed against the Jews in Zechariah's day, who were afraid to come and to live in Jerusalem, who instead remained in Babylon.
[20:44] Jerusalem walls were not yet built, our enemies were many, and there were many problems. Yet, here we find that God would protect and strengthen all who would put their trust in him.
[21:01] In his strength, we can find strength to endure days of hardship. In him to find strength in our struggle with fear, and strengthen our struggle with temptations and sin.
[21:17] Paul could say, I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Our strength comes from an act of faith in God, through our Lord Jesus Christ.
[21:30] For instance, in Psalm 20, we read some trust in chariots, and some in horses, but we will remember the name of the Lord, our God.
[21:44] An act of faith in the living God should be exercised by us in all our conflicts, in all our hardships. One of the Psalms says, this poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.
[22:06] Now, as we come to verse 10 of chapter 12, the focus is no longer on war, or enemies, or destruction. Instead, the focus is upon the inner change that must take place.
[22:21] And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace, and of supplications. And they shall look upon me, whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him as one mourner for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
[22:45] In that day, shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem as the mourning of Atre-Durman in the valley of Makedon. Now, there are many who view this passage as a prediction of the future.
[23:00] They believe that Zechariah, speaking of ethnic and even national Israel, and think of a great conversion of the Jews through the gospel, corresponding to what Paul calls the fullness of Israel in Romans chapter 11, where Paul writes, For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be but life from the dead?
[23:30] But there are others who hold that the passage speaks of the Christian church as a true Israel of God in the New Testament, and that it finds its fulfillment taking place all through the current age of grace.
[23:46] The general Reformed view is that this prophecy speaks of God's mighty provision for the salvation of his people in every age, and especially for the church as it stands against a hostile world.
[24:03] What is here promised is the spirit of grace and supplication, which can be rendered the Holy Spirit.
[24:15] As the spirit of grace, the Holy Spirit comes, bringing the Lord's free favor and producing within a person the inner realization of their spiritual rebellion and blindness, which leaves them convicted and convinced of their sin.
[24:35] Jesus said to his disciples that when the Comforter, which is the Holy Spirit, comes, that he will reprove the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment.
[24:48] Charles Spurgeon says, There never was any real godly sorrow such as work of repentance acceptable to God, except that which was the result of the Holy Spirit's own work within the soul.
[25:05] The work of the Holy Spirit enlightens a person's understanding so that the person comes to understand what the offense is in the sight of God.
[25:17] The Holy Spirit works upon the conscience of the person so that the person sees the evil of sin which they have committed against God.
[25:29] The person is brought to confess, like David in Psalm 51, Against thee, thee only have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight, that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest and be clear when thou judgest.
[25:46] This conviction is not a product of the mere conscience or something produced by a mere terror and fear of judgment, but a genuine work of the grace of the Holy Spirit.
[26:03] And in this helpless and hopeless condition, the person makes a plea to God, which again is the product of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a spirit of supplication, works within the same person, a seeking for forgiveness and for mercy.
[26:26] Charles Spurgeon again says, despairing repentance does not pray, but godly repentance, which the Holy Spirit gives, always sets the sinner praying.
[26:42] We often come across people who say, pray for me. Now, there is nothing wrong with praying for people or for people to ask to be included in prayer.
[26:55] But alas, I fear that a lot of people are putting their eternal hope on other people's prayers. But the genuine work of the Holy Spirit is a work that is going to bring every individual to prayer.
[27:13] when Paul was converted, we are told in Acts chapter 9, and there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias. And to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias, and he said, behold, I am here, Lord.
[27:28] And the Lord said unto him, arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tashus, for behold, he prayeth.
[27:43] This was a man who was breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord. But the Holy Spirit brought him to his knees, and now he prays to the very Lord that he opposed.
[28:02] In the book of Exodus, we read that Pharaoh grieved for the effects of his sin in refusing to let the children of Israel go when the Lord plagued him with frogs.
[28:13] And he said to Moses, entreat the Lord that he may take away the frogs from me and from my people, and I will let the people go that they may do sacrifice unto the Lord.
[28:28] He asked Moses to pray for him, and at the same time attaching a promise to his asking, both showing that this was no work of the Holy Spirit.
[28:40] he was like those who asked you to pray for them, promising that they will change their lives. But like Pharaoh, we are told that when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart.
[28:57] Judas Iscariot was deeply greed for his sin, for he said, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. but he never turned to God in prayer.
[29:10] Through repentance worked by the Holy Spirit in the hearts of sinners, always grieves for their sin, and not merely for the situation into which it has brought them.
[29:24] You know, a thief that is caught may feel very remorseful for the simple fact that he was caught. He will show no sorrow whatsoever for the act of theft.
[29:37] A work of the Holy Spirit, you see, makes a person grieve over sin, and not merely for the consequences of sin.
[29:49] The Holy Spirit brings a person to grieve over sin, and not merely the consequences of sin. In this condition, a person makes his plea to God.
[30:01] Again, Psalm 51, we have these words by David. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean. Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
[30:12] Make me to hear joy and gladness that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.
[30:23] Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew and write spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence, and take not thy Holy Spirit from me.
[30:38] And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace, and the spirit of supplication.
[30:51] And then Zechariah points to us the object of true godly sorrow. And they shall look upon me whom they have pierced. Now this look was not to be a mere passing look, but a look of faith, and a look of contemplation.
[31:11] We look to Jesus pierced on the cross of Golgotha. And when we do so, what do we see? Well, for many on that day that Jesus was crucified, they saw nothing but just another man hanging upon the cross, suffering for his apparent crime.
[31:31] But to the eye of faith on that day, and to the eye of faith today, there was a lot more. I believe genuinely expressed by the centurion when he said, truly this man was the son of God.
[31:49] God. You know, what is remarkably interesting in this verse is a sudden transition from the first person, me, to the third person, him.
[32:02] And they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him. I think this may remind us of the Trinity, one God, three persons.
[32:15] Only a man can fulfil this prophecy, but being pierced, and yet we find that the man is himself God. God manifest in the flesh, two distinct natures, but one person forever.
[32:33] Paul could say to the elders of Ephesus in Acts chapter 20, take heed the effort unto yourselves and to all the flock over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers to feed the church of God which he hath purchased with his own blood.
[32:53] For hundreds of years this prophecy lay in waiting, but John in his gospel notes what took place at the cross of Golgotha. In the gospel of John we read, one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, that is the side of Jesus, and forthwith came there out blood and water.
[33:14] Now this would have been a deep wound for the Lord invited Thomas to thrust his hand into his side. But John saw great significance in what took place for he says, again another scripture share, they shall look on him whom they pierced, which is the scripture of our focus today.
[33:36] This look of faith leads to intense mourning. mourning. This mourning is deep, it is an intense mourning. It refers to the beating of the breast in deep distress.
[33:52] Luke records for us in his gospel what took place among the crowd at the cross. And all the people that came together to that side, beholding the things which are done, smote their breasts, and returned.
[34:06] Now whether this mourning is to be associated with what happened then, it certainly has to be associated with what took place, with the people's response, for instance, to Peter's sermon on the day of Pentecost, as recorded for us in Acts chapter 2, where we read now, when they heard this, they were preached in their hearts and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, men and brethren, what shall we do?
[34:36] This morning is shared by all who look by faith to Jesus as pierced on the cross. This is, there is no mourning for sin until the Holy Spirit is poured out.
[34:51] I will pour upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and of supplication, and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him as one mourneth for his only son, and so on.
[35:07] True repentance goes hand in hand with a correct understanding and appreciation of what took place at the cross of Golgotha.
[35:21] Should we not mourn over what made Jesus sink so low? Jesus Christ hangs on the cross pierced for my sins, but he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities.
[35:39] Through the effectual work of the Holy Spirit a person comes to acknowledge his or her personal part in piercing Jesus Christ on the cross of Golgotha.
[35:52] If I hate sin only because of the punishment then I have not truly repented of my sin. I just regret that God is a just God who punishes sin.
[36:09] But if I see sin as an offence against God and loathe myself for it and understand that only God in the person of his son by suffering and dying could bring me salvation, that is true repentance.
[36:31] Here on the cross suffering for my sins is one who is pure in his heart. In him there was there never was any sin.
[36:43] He is sinless. He is the Lamb of God without blemish. But it is he who bears what mine and your sins deserve.
[36:57] Here on the cross is one who does not deserve any of what he is receiving. He is rejected. He is falsely accused.
[37:09] He is mocked and beaten. Blood dripping from his head mixing in with the spittle of the soldiers who spat upon him. His hands and his feet are pierced.
[37:21] His back is a blood spattered. As we read in Psalm 129, the ploughers ploughed upon my back. They made long their furrows.
[37:33] Isaiah chapter 50, I gave my back to the smithers and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair. I hid not my face from shame and spitting.
[37:45] His arms and feet are nailed to a wooden cross. And he feels the agony of his body as the cross is slammed down into the socket in the earth.
[37:59] But these were only physical sufferings. The intense sufferings began at 12 noon on that day at Golgotha when God intervened with darkness and when God veiled the scene.
[38:14] As the late Professor Finlayson says, and there in these words he helps us to appreciate this aspect where he says, it was very significant that when the extreme sacrifice was about to be offered, God stretched out his hand and threw a curtain over the face of the sun.
[38:36] It was obviously the direct intervention of God, not as an expression of sorrow, not a garment of mourning cast over the world, rather does it express the imposing of judgment upon the lonely outcast sufferer.
[38:54] That darkness was to him the true expression of the curse. Another writer, Parker, in his book, Knowing God, writes, Jesus' death.
[39:13] Jesus' sufferings were mental and spiritual and what was packed into less than 400 minutes was an eternity of agony, eternity that such each minute was an eternity in itself.
[39:30] Jesus' on the cross was aware of the sense of abandonment even by his father.
[39:42] Jesus has entered the presence of the judge of all who cannot look upon sin with pleasure even when carried by his sinless son.
[39:54] Jesus as a sin bearer is now made sin and so he enters the place of judgment and he discovered that it was a terrible location to be found in.
[40:09] It is God the father in covenant dealing with God the son as a servant. God in covenant as judge dealing with his son as the servant. Dealing with him on account of the sins of his people.
[40:26] Suffering and death was not made inevitable by taking our nature but by God in our nature taking our sins for the wages of sin is death.
[40:41] The veil was only lifted by the cry my God my God why have you forsaken me? Indeed it is the most appalling sound that ever pierced the atmosphere of this earth.
[40:57] In the entire Bible there is no other sentence that is so difficult to try and explain than these words my God my God why hast thou forsaken me?
[41:12] Spurgeon wrote that he did not think that the records of time or even of eternity contain a sentence full of anguish here you may look as into a vast abbess and though you strain your eyes and gaze till sight fails you yet you perceive no bottom it is measureless unfathomable inconceivable we will adore where we cannot comprehend and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced and they shall mourn for him when we look at him by faith the son of God pierced for my sins when we look at the excellency of his person but who in his grace and love for me and you was willing to have his visage so marred more than any man and is far more than the sons of men we cannot but mourn in our hearts the sinfulness of my sins that pierced the son of
[42:19] God the love of him that willingly took the cup of God's wrath against my sins into his hands and drank it to the very dregs so that nothing was left and to fill it for me and you as a cup of salvation so that we can see a psalm 116 I will take the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord the verses that follow brings forward the intensity of that mourningでしょう of one in the valley of humanity the the first is the grief of the hugely O the death of an only child Zechariah offers this picture for us first of all of parents who mourns the loss of their only child. How painful, how deep and bitter such mourning is. And the second comparison is one of the most tragic instances of public mourning in the history of Israel with the death of King Josiah the last of Judah's godly kings that is recorded for us in 2nd Chronicles chapter 35 which records for us that great lamenting that great mourning was led by the prophet Jeremiah over the death of the king. The verse 12 to 14 records for us that this morning is so deep that they separate themselves and the land shall mourn every family apart the family of the house of David apart and their wives apart. The family of the house of Nathan apart and their wives apart. The family of the house of Levi Y apart and their wives apart. The family of Shemaiah part and their wives apart. All the families had remained every family apart and their wives apart. The
[44:31] The piercing is in reference to what took place at the cross after Christ had yielded up his spirit. The mourning is the action of those who have identified themselves by faith as those whose sins was placed upon Christ.
[44:49] Upon Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The mourning is the action of those who have identified themselves by faith as those whose sins was placed and pierced Jesus Christ.
[45:02] Those who have been brought to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. There are another two references that are required to be mentioned in connection with this mourning.
[45:15] The first is found in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 24, where we read, And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
[45:32] And the other references in the book of Revelation, chapter 1. Behold, he cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see him. And they also which pierced him, and all kinds of the earth shall wail because of him.
[45:46] The mourning mentioned there in Matthew and Revelation is completely different to the mourning that we have been focusing upon today. The mourning found in Matthew and Revelation is not the mourning of those who are brought to repentance, but the distress of those who have come to recognize that it is now too late to repent.
[46:08] Jesus is presenting himself to you as saviour today. But the day shall come, and he will come and present himself as your judge.
[46:21] My friend, make sure that your mourning is now. Look to him now and mourn for the sins that he bore on the cross, and find salvation for your soul.
[46:34] Mourn now in faith unto salvation, before you are caught out, and you mourn into eternal destruction. Continually throughout our earthly pilgrimage, we must keep looking to the patient Christ on the cross, and continually confess and mourn over our sins.
[46:56] Paul could say to the Corinthians, as every believer can say today, For I deter not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ and him crucified.
[47:08] Zechariah chapter 13 follows on without a breaking thought from chapter 12. In that day there shall be a fountain open to the house of David, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness.
[47:25] The idea of a fountain open for sin and uncleanness follows on from the Gospel of John, and the point to which we noted earlier, when John focused upon what happened immediately after Jesus died.
[47:38] John records for us that from the soldier's wound forthwith came there out blood and water. Now there are various explanations given for the blood and water.
[47:52] But John in his first letter writes, This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ. Not by water only, but by water and blood. So obviously John attaches some significance to the water and blood.
[48:07] They both flowed from the Persian side of our Redeemer. There was the blood for atonement, and there was the water for cleansing. How often we bring that before you?
[48:18] Justification, sanctification cannot be separated. Blood and water cannot be separated. Blood to deal with the guilt of sin, and water to deal with the power of sin.
[48:30] Washed judicially by the blood once and for all in our justification. But we need the washing of sanctification every day in order to be purified. The washing with the blood is completed and perfect, but the washing with water in the work of sanctification is progressive, and one day it shall be perfected.
[48:53] But they all come from the one sacrifice, the blood and the water. Justification, sanctification come from the one sacrifice.
[49:05] The need for blood and water was always kept before the eye of Israel. In the tabernacle that we studied recently, we saw how the altar and the laver both were required.
[49:17] Remember the words of Jesus to his disciples after he had washed their feet in the upper room. He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit.
[49:29] And what follows from verse 2 is cleansing from idolatry and a rejection of false prophets. It was a reminder to us that when we receive cleansing at the fountain of the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, our hearts are cleansed, idols are renewed, and we are drawn to worship God in spirit and in truth.
[49:51] There is a craving for the pure word of God, rejecting any other message that is not founded on the authority of God's truth. Showing such great passion and enthusiasm and devotion to God, and there is that rejection of all that is false.
[50:10] We are told that the false prophets are now ashamed and unwilling to be known as prophets. And it shall come to pass in that day that the prophet shall be ashamed.
[50:21] Every one of his vision, when he hath prophesied, neither shall he wear a rough garment to deceive. But he shall say, I am no prophet, I am a husbandman. For man taught me to keep cattle from my youth.
[50:33] And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in mine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends. We have spoken of godly sorrow.
[50:48] We have spoken of the object of true godly sorrow. We have spoken of what true repentance contains, what is included in true repentance.
[51:00] But here we find, in chapter 13, and in verses 4 onwards, down to 6, we find a people who is ashamed of their falsehood.
[51:15] The answer that they give is really a cover-up story. Instead of a frank confession of their past, they explain away all that seems to link them up with what they had been doing before.
[51:32] When they are asked, What are these wounds in mine hands? They answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends. The wounds is a reference to the scars received in pagan rites.
[51:45] As we saw recently in our study of Elijah on Mount Carmel, where we saw that the prophets of Baal went about cutting themselves. These people are ashamed of what they were doing, but they are not brought to true repentance.
[52:02] What is required is a frank confession of the past, and they're not giving that. And that is required in a true, genuine repentance.
[52:12] Oh, make sure, my friend, that is not of what you pin your hope for eternity on. Being ashamed without coming to a true, frank confession. Covering up, perhaps, your past.
[52:25] But be frank with God. Be frank with God. And when we have these words then, Away go sword against my shepherd, against the man that is my fellow, saith the Lord of hosts.
[52:39] The shepherd and the sheep shall be scattered, and so on. I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried.
[52:51] They shall call on my name, and I will hear them. I will say to my people, and they shall say, The Lord is my God. Well, very briefly, as time has gone on, Paul and Barnabas told the early church, that we must, through much tribulation, enter into the kingdom of God.
[53:08] And here we are told, we are to be purified from sin, just like the silversmith, who refines his silver, and the goldsmith, who tests his gold. When does the silversmith know, that this work has been done?
[53:23] When he looks and sees his own reflection. And so it is with the children of God. This is the apex of our redemption. This is the climax of our redemption.
[53:35] For whom he did foreknow, he also did previously, to be conformed to the image of his Son. May the Lord bless our thoughts, let us pray.
[53:48] Eternal and ever-blessed God, we give thanks to thee today, for the provision that thou hast made for us, in thy Son, Jesus Christ.
[54:00] And grant to us, O Lord, that we may have that look of faith, upon the events of Golgotha, and there that we may see him, bearing our sins, in his own body, upon the cross.
[54:16] May we see the blood and the water, may we see the blood of atonement, may we see the water of cleansing, and may we be assured, that we have come to trust, in that work of Golgotha.
[54:29] Oh, that we would repent for our sins, that we would sorrow over our sins, as we looked at the Peutert One, of Golgotha. We pray, O Lord, that thy Spirit would work in the hearts, of our people, and would bring them to, have a true believing, look at the one, who was upon the cross, that they would be unable to say, like another, truly this was no other, than the Son of God.
[54:59] We pray, O Lord, that thou would continue with us, and now may the grace, of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all, now and forevermore.
[55:12] Amen.