Page:Visions and Prophecies of Zechariah (Baron, David).djvu/215



The pronoun is again emphatic: He Himself, and none other, shall build the Temple of Jehovah, and He Himself shall bear the glory, or regal majesty, as none other has borne it. He is peerless in His work and in His reward. His is the glory of the only -begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

Already, as the result of His sufferings, having by the grace of God tasted death for every man, He is " exalted and extolled, and lifted very high," " crowned with honour and glory "; but this prophecy speaks especially of the royal majesty which He shall bear when He shall come forth again from the presence of the Father and, all His enemies having been made a footstool for His feet, He shall sit down upon His own throne as the theocratic King of Israel.

Then, indeed, upon His head there shall be " many crowns "; for, not only will God the Father invest Him with glory and majesty, but men too, especially His own nation, will glorify Him; " and He," as the true Son of David, the One Whose right it is to reign, " shall be for a throne of glory to His Father's house: and they shall hang upon Him all the glory of His Father's house, the offspring and the issue, every small vessel, from the vessels of cups to the vessels of flagons" (Isa. xxii. 23, 24). We come to the next sentence of the prophecy:

"And He shall sit and rule upon His throne"

i.e.) He shall not only possess the honour and dignity of a king; He shall not be " a constitutional " monarch, who reigns but does not rule; but He shall Himself exercise all royal power and authority. Yes, the rule of King- Messiah will be absolute and autocratic, but autocracy will be safe