Transcription downloaded from https://sermons.heritagesermons.org/sermons/6973/zechariah/. Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions. Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt. [0:00] I will ask your attention to a portion of the Word of God in the Prophecy of Zechariah. [0:15] The Prophecy of Zechariah, chapter 9, and I shall read three verses, the verses 9, 10, and 11 of the ninth chapter of the Prophecy of Zechariah. [0:30] Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold thy King coming unto thee! He is just, and having salvation, lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt, the foal of an ass. [0:50] And I will come off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off. And he shall speak peace unto the heathen, and his dominion shall be from sea, even to sea, and from the river, even to the ends of the earth. [1:11] As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant, I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit, wherein is no water. [1:24] Verses 9 to 11 of the ninth chapter of the Prophecy of Zechariah. We were reading together this morning from that chapter of the Gospel by Matthew, and a very wonderful day in the history of Jerusalem, when, not only was there a remarkable event that happened, but that there was a remarkable fulfillment of a prophecy of God in the event that did happen. [1:51] It was a remarkable prophecy, a prophecy that found an utter inconnement of remarkable things. But nevertheless, friends, I'm quite sure there was nothing more remarkable or wonderful than the fulfillment of the prophecy itself. [2:06] Here indeed was the direct and powerful work of God in the hearts of men, because there were multitudes of people in those days who had a great hatred towards the one who was acclaimed in Jerusalem in that way. [2:20] And also, it is sad to reflect from this, that although he was acclaimed like that in that day, and the whole of Jerusalem seemed to be moved about him, the inquiries were being made about this one who was the subject of such wonderful praises, nevertheless, in a very few days. [2:38] Multitudes of Jerusalem were moved in a very different way, not by God then, but by Satan, to cry out concerning the same blessed one to whom they had addressed their news and their news. [2:49] They cried out saying, crucify him, crucify him. I feel persuaded, friends, in view of this, that we must say, here is a great work of God. [3:00] The work of God that can cause men to say things that shall fulfill the purposes of God, the prophecies the Lord has granted, that can identify clearly the person of the one who God did send upon an errand of mercy, absolutely unparalleled in the history of humanity. [3:19] Although God did send other men upon errands of mercy from different occasions, but this was one completely unparalleled in the whole of the history of his life, and not only was he identified, but also, as the body was promised, he was prized. [3:37] Well, now, it is my hope that, as the Lord should help me this morning, we might look into the prophecy, remembering, of course, the fulfillment of it, and the glorious and wonderful and miraculous, I feel, fulfillment of the prophecy. [3:51] That God is here doing according to his own will, in the armies of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth, and there is none that can say his hand or say unto him, what doest that? [4:02] Surely the words of Nebuchadnezzar do apply in such a case as this. Well, the prophecy from which the word is taken is perhaps rather strange one. [4:14] I'm not going to give you reasons for this, but I believe there are substantial ones for us to think, friends, that the prophecy really deals with an event, or shall we say the previous prophecy, really deals with an event that was a prior to the great fulfillment of the prophecy in these words. [4:34] I feel that it is right to say that this particular chapter of the prophecy of Zangriah deals with an event when, how it's armed with a grave of brewing in Egypt, and how, in the course of his warlike pursuits, he made war against Persia and the government of Babylon, and he invaded those countries. [4:59] And in the course of the invasion, Israel being in the pathway, he went up by the seacoast route and then across the northern part of the land of Palestine, and ended him to Babylonia and Persia in that way. [5:16] Of course, his victims were very great there. He completely subjugated those great nations that had preceded him and brought them completely under his rule. As he was girding on this warlike pursuit, there were great fears that filled the heart of the people of Jerusalem, of the land of Canaan, because they knew that they were in the course of his invasion and there was no telling what he might do to them. [5:45] The manner of Alexander's great conquest was certainly barbarous into a great degree. And we are told in the history of old ages that Alexander had a purpose of destroying Jerusalem, that he was for the fury against the land of Palestine, and he was determined to destroy the Jews. [6:09] And also, historical records say that as he was contemplating the destruction of Jerusalem and the journey toward that country and that city, he had a dream. And in that dream, he was so influenced by his dream that he turned aside for his purpose to destroy Jerusalem. [6:27] And instead of that, he showed great pain as to that city, as he went to God. In other words, the law by reason of this dream, if we would believe, the record, that the law by reason of this dream turned away the hatred, the anger, to give this man's heart from Jerusalem, and they were preserved. [6:47] Well, to what degree, of course, we give credence to the traditions of the past. I think it depends, my friends, and from the nature of the records. But this we do know, that by that man who destroyed so many cities and so many nations and brought so many people into captivity, the Jews of Israel were not treated in that way at that time by that man. [7:10] By some of his successors, of course, they had a terrible time. Antiochus Epiphanes, of course, he was a man who caused terrible devastation in Jerusalem, invaded the city and the temple and desecrated the holy places in a terrible way. [7:26] But not in the days of Alexander the Great. And it will seem to me, my friends, that these words are primarily referring to such an event as that. [7:37] But whilst I've made reference to that in order that we might have some understanding of the things that are written in the chapter, nevertheless, I want to say that the great fulfillment of the prophecy is undoubtedly in the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ in Jerusalem. [7:55] And it is among those lines that I particularly want to speak to you today. I believe you could even from the historical setting, referring to the days of Alexander, we could draw some very valuable lessons and speak about the mighty power of divine preservation that is upon people who are so defenseless and how God can turn the hearts of men from their evil thoughts and determination against those who the Lord regards and has a freedom towards and he can want to be reserved in the midst of danger. [8:28] Probably we need to be reminded of that truth today, I don't know. Maybe some of you, my friends, are looking around upon the true children of Christ today and you think, well, a lot of small remnant of people in here who really care God. [8:42] When you consider the why in which the generality of people in the nation and among the nations of the earth are given up to ungodliness and holiness and holiness and there you see the spread of religious superstitions that are completely contradictory to the revelation of God and you also see the spread of immudality in the guise of communism which of course is also completely antagonistic to divine revelation with all these things around whatever is going to happen to the little church of Christ and of course friends the children of Israel who have said when Alexander's conquest were going on well this man of course he will just simply wherever he passes through Israel he will be just simply a tribe of African destruction and we shall be completely destroyed but it wasn't the will of the Lord that he should do so the Lord had a purpose of goodness and favor to all his national Israel and he preserved and he hanged out not because of that word or because of their holiness or the perfection of their obedience of Paul but entirely from the ground of his grace and his eternal purpose in the performance of his covenant with well now as we can't determine particularly the words of the text here [10:01] I want to know this friends how the Lord by the spirit through this man Decker I said rejoice greatly over all the time I think I looked the other day in William Ann said that the church of Christ should be unhappy people and you know I really believe that they should be unhappy people they've got great cause to be happy you know they have cause to be happy even in the midst of their desolation in the midst of their afflictions and their deepest distress the church of Christ have great cause to be unhappy people you may say that they are but happiness doesn't just simply rest of them the cause of it you see we must be in a condition in a state of mind or a spirit whereby we can really be happy and be in full enjoyment of the things that should make us happy in other words of course what you're really saying is this that you need faith in what God said to really believe the word of God and to believe that God is and that he is the rewarder of them that didn't just be seeking according to his promises that he will reward them in that way and upon the ground of this exercise of faith and its sweet increase and the hope of faith and in the end we trust that the confidence of faith we may know a hope which will make us happy in the revelation of the [11:27] Lord our God for us you may say to me where if I am the seal of the spirit in that wife and my will be happy once he will be happy once he will be gracious he doesn't say it is my will now that the daughter of Zion should be miserable and troubled and distressed and afflicted there will be times when they will know misery and they will be troubled and they will be distressed and they will be afflicted the prevalence of fear not of the word of God is an open assurance of the fact that that will be the path they tread but the Lord says my will is that my people shall rejoice and that they shall rejoice greatly because they are the Lord of Zion they are the people of God they are the chosen ones of the Lord they are those that have been committed into the hand of a mighty stranger and a glorious advocate and a blessed mediator and he doesn't find it his word is sure his work shall never pay your accomplishment and because this is their condition the children of Zion there is occasion for them to rejoice greatly [12:34] I know friends it must have been movie guy in Jerusalem when there the people tore down the palm branches and they spread them in the wine and there is the dear Lord Jesus Christ rode along up in a colt of an ass into Jerusalem they sang their hosannas hosanna unto the son of David the message is he that cometh in the name of the Lord hosanna oh friends what praises these people sang to the Lord Jesus Christ I know you will say to me men are very very fickle yes but the Lord isn't that's the mercy of men men are fickle I know they are sinners are so are saints but to be sure that my friends there's anything that is fickle in us we're changeable creatures oh we are not like unto the Lord who change if not we are changeable creatures but oh our God is not fickle no rejoice brightly oh Lord as I I must admit to you my friends that there have been things that have happened to me during the past week that have been the very reverse and what would give me cause to rejoice but you know the reason why I've been so depressed and so sad and so cast down in my spirit is just simply because my friend [13:51] I've been looking at myself I've been doing what I am and my failure you see my helplessness the fact that I don't bless the Lord helps me there is no strength or good or grace or within at all but it must all come from God but oh when pain revives when God just works in the heart and with it to do a day in his good pleasure and directs the attention and the aspiration and the desire and the love and the hope of the soul towards the person of his own dear son then there is every cause to rejoice with me oh my friends he's still the same Jesus Christ the same yesterday to die in breath may I say this friend that his word will never fail his person he is a great work for sinners he has entered him as only as not without blood and that blood my friends does speak on behalf of poor guilty wrenches who depend upon him for all grace and speak better things than the blood of angels even the blood of angels called [14:53] God's curse upon the sinner that all the blood of Jesus speaks peace and harm to those that are guilty rejoice with them rejoice with them he died he died he died to provide the sins of his people he rose again from their justification he's ascended on high he's made captivity captive gifts to give unto men yung to the rebellious altar what are you in my hearing this morning and convinced that thy who art that of the nature is sin rebellious sin and yet even for rebellious for the rebellious also there is mercy power peace love grace abundance all bring seat in the hand of your God don't be satisfied to be rebellious sinners don't continue in the ways of sin carelessly speaking all that it doesn't matter for more to forgive may God give you the grace to strive against and although you know the power of but hope in that one who can forgive and can restore and can maintain the lot of his people even in conflict of the great enemies like himself all friends his people should be overcome through him that loved them that's the secret of that thing rejoice rightly oh not a little but rejoice me that is my hope rejoice me this week my friend you've gone through the week although there be those things that distressed and disturbed you you really haven't known how to take an extent as it were upon your pathway in fact there has been just a rind of hope of life as though my friends in the winter time if you winter time you are sold the clouds that cover the sky and then just one day during the week there was perhaps for an hour a shining trimmer in the cloud of that warrior sun sky and there you just seem to be able to rejoice in the fact that yes the covenant word of God is true even with regard to the order of his creation creation oh how much more in spiritual things there my friends perhaps just a wright light concerning [17:05] Christ has illuminated the darkness of your soul you've been able just to rejoice for a few moments that that God is the God of your hope and that stranger is the stranger of the lost but also of your soul you're good and all friends you've been able to just for a moment to rejoice in this fresh rhyme of light and hope that has illuminated it up but oh I want you to notice here the Lord says rejoice right to you rejoice right to you that is my will for me that not not only shall it be an occasional shaft of light that shines in your winter time but the time shall come and you shall know the summer time you see and there the sun shall shine all the way on and rejoice greatly over our daughter of love my God who do great things I'm dissuade of that what a mercy it is my dream sometimes to be able to listen to the proclamation of such a truth as this and to find it having an entry into our hearts to listen to a prayer of a man who confesses that of himself he's nothing and contrarious and rebellious found in him and yet to find in his heart there is something that goes out toward that God who changes [18:17] God the land that's in the midst of the throne and he believes that he will accomplish his own word rejoice greatly rejoice greatly all there's a cave you've got there's a cave you've got there's someone here who says Lord bring me into that liberty whatever you've never prayed before why not why haven't you prayed with God that you should be brought out into this blessing liberty let me say my darkness and my ignorance and my consciousness and my sin the nature of my rebellion is all hindered me in prayer yes that's what we need the Lord to come to his own peace and unlock that great of sale of our legality and bring us out into the liberty of real faith in Jesus Christ to believe that he is God and that he is a reward for obeying the village of the suit and his words certainly will provide oh rejoice rightly oh God rejoice greatly isn't just simply a command to name to do this if it were my things it would almost tease us wouldn't it we should we should hear such a word of this and we should say but how can I there's everything else that would cause me to complain rather than to rejoice [19:24] I'm sad I can't rejoice I'm cast down I can't rejoice look at this dark shadow that's of course my pathway how can I rejoice with this in my mind but you see the command of the king and the command of the king and the wonderful town and the Lord said I will remove those things I will overthrow them I will overcome them I will cause it to rise up over them I'll get these shoes of brass together to tread right through them rejoice frankly my God is with me a Lord of time it's the God who has revealed himself in Jesus Christ his only itself rejoice frankly so you may you be able not to try and conjure you up within yourself something that may seem always a culture but may you be able to go with your sadness and your hand to the Lord this morning and say look it's thy own work it's what thou hast commanded and even devils will have to give twice to thee dear [20:31] Lord and even the rich of my person and my enemies they'll all have to give twice to thine authority that will ride in a room and over the room even for the good that thy people be called it to be to thy glory rejoice greatly O Lord of Thine and shout O Lord of Jesus shout them Lord of Jesus remember then you might tell Christ or not to be out a will that shall be put in the view of all sorts of people but it is my will that your life should be put upon and six so that it may give light to all that it is all down now that is the teaching of the Lord Jesus shout now Notice here it is something to know. [21:18] Shout, O Lord of Jerusalem. Let not your words be silent. Do not be a dumb dog. But there declare what the Lord has done. [21:29] Shout, O Lord of Jerusalem. Even as you've shouted in the midst of your distress and cried out in the midst of your anguish, or when you resound, shout it in the mind of the Lord, declaring without his exposure, this is the Lord's duty. [21:45] And it is marvelous in our hearts. Even the very heathen looked upon the mighty deliverances of God around you through Israel. And they said, the Lord has done the heathen. [21:57] Nobody else could have done this. We didn't believe in him, but nobody else could have done this for them. The Lord has done great things for them. But my friends, Israel, they take the very words of the heathen that they made a personal application to their own case, and the glory of their God, and they said, yes, the Lord has done great things for them. [22:17] Well, we are there. My dear friends, Israel, now they begin to speak. And as they begin to speak, so their heart warms within them and they begin to speak more loudly. [22:29] And in the end, my friends, they shall shout, despite all the fine words of men around them, they shall assert with absolute strength of confidence that their God who may worship is the eternal God, the God and Father of the Lord and Savior. [22:45] Shout, O Lord of Jerusalem, shout, O Lord of Jerusalem. Lord, friends of mine, will be the times to go into the book absolutely assured in my soul that Christ is after me, that Christ is after me, and to be able to claim that the unsearchable riches of Jesus Christ is my message, and to say, this is what I believe, that here is where I be my own, and I hope that I shall be able to build my hope for time and eternity for nothing less than Jesus Christ and increase in life. [23:19] Paul was there when he said, I'm determined and I'm not even a man who was there. My friends, he was one of the daughters of Jerusalem and was championing the good tidings of the grace of God. [23:30] Yes, and he didn't hesitate to betray me. He lived, my friends, in persecution and hatred, and even death itself as the outcome of the now, the fervent, the sure, the strong proclamation of these blessed truths that made his heart dead, that he was a sinner so many, by the grace, at so great a cost, that even the heart and blood of Jesus Christ poured out on his heart. [24:00] Oh, come and hear, said one of the chiefs, I, come and hear all ye that fear God, that the others won't hear at all, they might think, they may curse at you, but come and hear all ye that fear God, and I will tell you what you have done for my soul. [24:15] What would you say? It's so little. Well, well said it's little. Why not speak about it? Why not declare the little thing that you may think the Lord has done to you? What would you say? [24:25] I'm waiting for more. Ah, but in the key be, there'll be a statue very great reward. Let's not forget that bullet, might we? All so often, do we not just be wiped and shriek back and sort of, you know, look within ourselves? [24:40] Oh, what a massive when the grace of God is poured into the heart and you're able, you know, to declare the good thing that all the time. It may seem that for some of you you've been waiting such a long time, but a season of liberty is such a bit. [24:58] Well, it's well to wait for me. I know what it is to go through days and weeks, sometimes, without my soul really being set free with this blessed strength in Jesus Christ. [25:12] God, give God's work within my soul. But oh, what a merciless be brought according to the promise of such a word as this, to the price of real living, when the Lord will make known his own purpose in our hearts so that we shall rejoice greatly as daughters of Zion and we shall be able to shout the price of our God even as daughters of Jerusalem. [25:36] Then, I want us to know as my friends, how the prophet here goes on to speak about what is really the secret of this, what is the cause that what you bring to Christ. [25:48] He says, behold, behold, something amazing is that happening. That's always the meaning of the word behold. And there's a preface of any statement of God with this word behold. [25:59] It signifies strength that here's an amazing, a creative act of God, a mighty miracle. The work of the Lord that only the Lord can do. Here is something that is supreme and above everything the man could ever accomplish. [26:13] Behold! Behold! Behold! All God feels great to see in that life. You know, very high sometimes, one, when I come here to preach, you know, whether, I've ever known such a sense of emotion seems to be contained in this word that the Lord says to his people, behold. [26:33] Sometimes when I'm speaking about what seems to me to be glorious things for myself, the amazing grace of God, the heights and depths and lengths and rent and love of God and I know my infernity and the helplessness I seem to lay for under with regard to rightly proclaiming the fair glory of the dear that of God. [26:54] Sometimes, when I look upon and perhaps someone who seems to be half a smooth, the others can sit there without any movement at their place, you know, I remind you sometimes that some of you don't share about that the one that the God breaks as I try to set them before. [27:09] Or would you say there should be completely out of order and it would be something that we must retrograde within our congregation. The emotion is an excitement of that nature. Of course, we wouldn't possibly allow it. [27:21] We should have to get people out of the doors and start a crash and do this. Ah, my dear, I think they're having time, you know. Ah, of course, they don't couldn't be, right? [27:32] They couldn't be fine. Oh, they just had to speak, even if they didn't speak in the, you know, public assemblies and sanctification of everybody outside. And when they went outside, they weren't talking about the weather and how the stuff was. [27:45] And my friend, they were talking about the glory of Jesus. One of these things. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, the man gives you this glorious gospel, the gospel of our Lord and Savior, Jesus, God, behold, my feet, come to the feet, oh, my feet, he's drawing up, he's neither, neither, my feet. [28:15] Remember, when people were going up to one of the priests and Jews and they said to themselves, do you think you'll come up to the feet? [28:26] Do you think he will come? he's standing behind, he wasn't going up there, but he's not a year that he will come. [28:39] And they were praying, perhaps there was somebody who came along, he said, come, come. Not far away, we saw him in the family, we saw him in the family, he's come. [28:52] He left the family, he's coming longer, we weren't finding around the family. We had a long life. We had a long life. [29:05] When there's something that dissipation might happen. Did we really expect him to come? Did we want him to come? Did we long my friends to be in his presence? [29:16] Would we really only as king? Would we prided him right and right only as a king accomplished by will and for power they really for all of. we start getting to his son. [29:28] He said, he said, I do when I come to chapter 8. He sure he is. He sure my friends that your mind is open. [29:39] is completely clear of anything else and there you have completely something to keep the word of Jesus Christ. Don't bring other things with you. [29:50] My friend, I am not to confine that he is a poor to him. Sometimes when you say, my mind was always with us. Oh, what is a king? There you can go. [30:01] There you go. To my life affairs, my family, my dear one. Or what would I have to keep? Would I have them in my home, in my house? [30:14] Do I have them to say to me, that's offensively, that is dangerous to you, my child, I can you lead those things. Depart from them, cast them out, into our holy people. [30:27] Or friends, do we set up ourselves against the religion of kingdom or more than that. The religion declarations of our heart of what is holy and good in his sight. [30:39] The thing he does to prove that his good people will be called disafferment and he will be cast out of the good thing held hands to them. My friend, we bow before the sovereignty of our God. [30:52] Rejoice, rejoice greatly. Oh, shepherd daughter of God, his whole body keep coming under thee. Oh, well, of course, it was all right, my friend, while the farm branches were coming down, while he was crashing right on the acid coal, when the whole city is moved and excited and the emotion is very pregnant, it's all very nice then, which you know, when this one goes into the tent, and there my friend even in the tent, of course, it can ground the experience with it, things have been brought in there, that have always been there. [31:31] You know, the payments were money changes, well, of course, the Jews would argue, it's ever so easy, here are these people who come up from foreign lands and they've got foreign currency, and the gifts of the sanctuary have got to be given in a certain currency that is ordained by the Jews, and it must be given in that currency, and so we need to go to money changes, and change our foreign money into it's a right-ish money, and that's why we've got the tables there. [32:02] Ah, except the Lord Jesus Christ, I know what your money was. There was a time when people used to go outside and change their money, and they used to change the money before they came to the temple, and then somebody thought to themselves, well, if I get a table inside the temple, and I can change the money there, they'll come to me, rather than, you know, take the journey of the man outside, and we should get some more from it. [32:27] this, for our friends, the Lord on the side, and the best church about it. Let's introduce this, and that in the arm, in all virtue, it goes people toward religion and God. [32:41] You get a bit more money, even for the house of prayer, the sanctuary, all these we can have, well, I don't know, there's no limit to it, friend, once that begins to start, there's no reason. [32:56] Oh, behold, my kingdom, my house should be made a house of prayer, as you have made to the dead of Jesus. Behold, my kingdom. And mind it, I have a persuasion in my mind, that such actions as though that this great king, in overturning the money came to the soul, was but a contributory cause to the hatred that was there in the hearts of multitudes in Jerusalem, although they were those persons who sang to the dead to the son's dead. [33:30] I'll remember that a faithful declaration of the holiness of God is a great offense to sin. It's only, my friend, under the work of the spirit of God that they can really humble themselves and give and confess that he has a perfect right to rule over it and they desire to know his great to rule more in the world. [33:54] Rejoice, greatly, O Lord, to die, and shout, O Lord, of Jerusalem, behold, my being coming unto you. He's just an conclusion. What is coming to do? [34:06] He's put wrong things right, yes, to reprove sinners, yes, to introduce the holy practices of human wisdom, and rationality. [34:17] Yes, and always, he's come, my friend, the side step by the up in the winter, by the shedding of his own of them. Oh, he's come, he's come, he's come before Mary Matthew, he's come before swearing, thirsty, fear, he's come by the king. [34:44] This king, who is supreme of all kings, he's the son of the living God of everlasting, his throne is in eternity even in the heaven of the heavens, and this one has come, he's come in some way, my friends, the holy God is the round of the powerful influence of the holy ghost can ever recognize the nature of wine his kind. [35:08] He won that the Lord says he must be born again. If you're not born again, you're recognized him. You're not behind him. [35:20] My friend was an activist crucified across the side of Jesus who was born again. He knew that there's part of a king. He knew that this one would be. [35:33] Behold, behold, the one who despised and rejected him, the one that is received with gratitude and thankfulness and praise. [35:44] in the four sinner cross who sought the mercy of God. The pain and temptation of that will probably be when he died. God will be merciful to be a sinner. [35:57] May the Lord bless you. Amen. Amen. In number 127. [36:15] conveying of who can tell to who can read Why. [36:37] Oh, God will In place, the name of the Lord That God of divine Oh my God They are alive Allinears [37:59] The Sache Pentecostal No. No. [38:16] No. No. The Holy Spirit He has all the glorious joy And every hope of strength Let us know, thank you and joy Let us know how day other voices Let us know, thank you, this excuse [39:19] The End The End The End