Exposition of Zechariah 1-9, Chapter 10
CHAP. X.
ASke you of the Lord Raine in the time of the latter Raine: ſo ſhall the Lord make white Clouds, and give you ſhowres of Raine, and to every one graſſe in the field.
2 Surely the Idols have ſpoken vanitie, and the Sooth-ſayers have ſeene a lye, and the Dreamers have told a vaine thing: they comfort in vaine: therefore they went away as ſheepe: they were troubled, becauſe there was no Shepheard.
3 My wrath was kindled againſt the Shepheards, and I did viſite the Goates: but the Lord of hoſtes will viſite his flocke, the houſe of Iuda, and will make them as his beautifull horſe in the Battell.
4 Out of him ſhall the corner come forth: out of him the nayle, out of him the bow of battell, and out of him every Appointer of Tribute alſo.
5 And they ſhall be as the mightie men, which tread downe their Enemies in the myre of the ſtreetes in the battell, and they ſhall fight, becauſe the Lord is with them, and the riders on horſes ſhall be confounded.
6 And I will ſtrenthen the houſe of Iudah, and I will preſerue the houſe of Ioſeph, and I will bring them againe, for I pitie them, and they ſhall be as though I had not cast them off: for I am the Lord their God, and will heare them.
7 And they of Ephraim ſhall bee as a Gyant, and their heart ſhall rejoyce as through wine: yea, their children ſhall ſee it, and be glad: and their heart ſhall rejoyce in the Lord.
8 I will hiſſe for them, and gather them: for I have redeemed them: and they ſhall encreaſe, as they have encreaſed.
9 And I will ſow them among the People, and they ſhall remember me in farre Countries: and they ſhall live with their Children, and turne againe.
10 I will bring them againe alſo out of the Land of Egypt, and gather them out of Aſhur: and I will bring them into the Land of Gilead, and Lebanon, and place ſhall not bee found for them.
11 And he ſhall goe into the ſea with affliction, and ſhall ſmite the waves in the Sea, and all the Depthes of the River ſhall dry up: and the pride of Aſhur ſhall be caſt down, and the ſcepter of Egypt ſhall depart away.
12 And I will ſtrengthen them in the Lord, and they ſhall walke in his Name, ſaith the Lord.
2. AMplified two waies:
1. By the true meanes whereby theſe bleſſings were to be obtained: which are,
1. Prayer unto God in the time of their neceſſities, [Aske ye of the Lord Raine] Synecdoch. for all other bleſſings of Fruitfulneſſe and Encreaſe, whereof that is a principall Cauſs [in the time of the latter Raine] when there is greateſt need of it. foreign Pluvia ſerotina, The latter Raine, which fell in the latter end of the Spring, betweene the latter end of March and May, which brought the Corne to an eare, and made it kearne, before Harveſt: There was anothet Raine alſo greatly needfull foreign Pluvia matutina, The former Raine, which fell in the Autum, about the latter end of September and beginning of October, in the ſeede time. GreataIob. 29.23. expectation there was of theſe two moſt ſeaſonable Raines: in regard that Syria and Iudaea lying very hot, there was not, nor is at this day uſually for three or foure MonethsbThis is confirmed, not only by that 1 Sam. 12.17. where raine is an unuſuall thing to bee ſeene in harveſt; and that of Hierome on Amos 4.…. who lived in Iudaea, and ſaith, hee never ſaw Raine there in Iune and Iuly, but alſo by the common experience of ſuch as at this day live there by, at Aleppo a little more Northerly, where, for three or foure Moneths after May, they ſcarce have ſo much as any deaw upon the ground. ſpace, from the end of May to the end of September, any raine at all, nay ſcarce ſo much as any Deaw. And therefore if the former Raine in ſeede time had not fell, the ground, by reaſon of that long drought, would have been unfit for tilling for its hardneſſe and want of moyſture; and if the latter fell not before Harveſt, the Corne would have parched away in the blade, before it had bin eared and kearned.
2. Gods Bleſſing upon the worke of nature, in making Clouds, pouring out of ſhowres, and cauſing the Earth to give her Encreaſe. [So the Lord ſhall make bright Clouds] foreign the Seventie foreign, apparitiones, miſtaking the roote from foreign videre: The Chaldaean foreign ventos, but improperly, and not to the Text: The Vulgar nives for nubes, by an errour of the Tranſlator or Scribe. foreign properly ſignifie Fulgetra, Coruſcationes, Lightnings, Iob 28.26.
The French turne it properly [de eſclairs] Iunius [Nimbos] i.e. more ſtormie and violent Raines: our old Tranſlators [white Clouds] our new [bright Clouds]. If we take it for lightnings, it muſt be underſtood by acas Kimchi foreign Coruſcationes erunt … pluvia Metonymie of the adjunct, Raine being a uſuall concomitant of lightning and thunder, though alſo ſuch weather is more for terrour than comfort. If wee take it for Clouds, what is here meant by Bright, or White Clouds? ſeeing here is a promiſe of Raine, and ſuch Clouds are barren Clouds; as experience ſhewes, thoſe that are full of Raine are darke and blacke. Buxdorfius verbo foreign hath ſomething to this Point not improbable, out of Bereſchith Rabba, and the Talmud; to this effect, The Clouds have five names foreign, and foreign are interpreted to be Nubes curſitantes, i.e. Thin Clouds, fleeting under the thicker and heavier: that which in Engliſh wee call the Racke, and theſe are thinne whitiſh Clouds that flye ſwiftly in the ayre moſt commonly before and after very rainy weather. And ſo they may be called foreign Clouds bringing raine, as R. Salomon interprets foreign here. Sed quaere.
[And give them ſhowres of raine] foreign *The Seventy foreign.Imbrem pluviae, Synonymicē, yet with ſome Epitaſis, for plentifull and ſufficient raine. [to every one graſſe in the field] foreign that is, as the Paraphraſt wel expounds it, foreign i. e. Corne for the foode of man, and graſſe for cattell: for foreign compriſes all, namely, foreign olus, foreign faenum, foreign frumentum, and foreign legumen, as Schindler obſerves verbo foreign. Verſe 1.
2. By the wrong meanes, whereto this People had formerly truſted, and bin deceived, and whereto in their blindneſſe they haply might have recourſe againe: theſe were their Idols and falſe Prophets. The little helpe and great hurt which the Iewes had received from them is here largely expreſſed, to the intent that they might learne henceforward, whom to ſeeke unto for ſuccour, namely, to God alone. By that which is paſt he puts them in minde what ſhould bee the ſucceſſe for time to come upon like occaſion.foreign, ſay the Seventie. [For the Idols] foreign in generall, any Image, 1 Sam. 19.13. in ſpeciall, Images dedicated to Idolatrous Worſhip, Gen, 31.30.34. ſo here, and very commonly the Paraphraſt takes it for foreign Worſhippers of Images, but the Metonymie is harſh; twas to them the Idol ſpake vanity. [Have ſpoken] How? by Oracles uttered out of them, or by their Prieſts from them. That may bee, and tis not unlike but the Divell uſed the like feates to couſen the Iewes, as he did to the Graecians, and other ſimple Gentiles. But*Vide Rain. Idol. l. 2. c. 3. Sort. 59. & ſeq. we may take it as properly with reference to the Idolaters Prayers, unto which the Idols, ſet up as gods, ſeemed to promiſe audience and performance of their wiſhes: and ſo the Idolaters conceited. But what they ſeemed to ſpeake and promiſe, was but [vanitie] foreign *The Seventie foreign.wicked deceit and couſenage: there being in them no power at all to effect that good which they ſeemed to promiſe unto their Worſhippers. [The Diviners] falſe Prophets, Sorcerers, Witches, Aſtrologers, and the reſt of that damned crew, unto whom this People had reſorted for counſel in time of their diſtreſſe, [have ſeene a lye] in ſtead of a true Viſion from God, the Diabolicall fancie of a ſeduced braine, and ſpeaking as they conceived [Have told a falſe dreame] uttered that for a divine Revelation, which was but a very dreame, ariſing out of their owne idle heads, or inſpired by Sathan, without all truth. [They comfort in vaine] the Idols, the Prophets, have deceived the confidence which the miſerable Jewes put in their power, in their Prognoſtications: which failed them when they ſtood in neede of their helpe, and ſorted to a quite contrary Event than they expected. See Ier. 10.8. and 27.9, 15, 16. and 29.8, 9. Hab 2.18.
Now this their vaine confidence for proſperitie and ſecuritie by ſuch bad meanes
End of the text · William Pemble, Exposition of Zechariah 1-9 (1629)