Page:Visions and Prophecies of Zechariah (Baron, David).djvu/461



FINAL CONFLICT AND DELIVERANCE 445

same blessed quickening and fertilising effects as " waters " and " streams " are poured " upon the dry and thirsty ground." l

" Upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem" Jerusalem and its inhabitants are mentioned alone in the text, " not as though the blessing of the gracious outpouring of the spirit was to be confined to them, but because Jerusalem is used as a designation for the whole people, in accord with the custom of regarding the capital as the representative of the whole nation " ; 2 for it is clear enough from the whole context that, if the great penitential sorrow which is to be the fruit of this out pouring commences in Jerusalem as the centre, and with " the house of David," which stands for the highest among the people, it extends to " the whole land " (ver. 1 2), and to all " the families of the people."

" TJie spirit of grace and of supplication " D wnrn jn nn, ruach hen v thachnunim is the Holy Spirit of God who conveys grace and brings our hearts into a condition of grace. Just as " The spirit of wisdom and understanding " is the spirit infusing wisdom and understanding, and " the spirit of counsel and might " is that same spirit imparting the gift of counsel to see what is to be done, and of might to do it, and " the spirit of knowledge, and of the fear of the Lord" is that same spirit infusing intimate acquaintance with God with awe at His infinite majesty ; so " the spirit of grace " is that same spirit infusing grace and bringing into a state of favour with God, and a " spirit of supplica tion " is that spirit calling out of the inmost soul the cry for a yet larger measure of the grace already given. 3 But the simplest way to understand the two kindred terms, hen and thachnunim " grace and supplication "is to view them in the light of cause and effect, for grace is that which God bestows and the Holy Spirit conveys, and " supplication " is the fruit of that condition of heart, or soul, which that same spirit creates within us.

1 Isa. xliv. 3 ; see also Ezek. xxxix. 29, xxxvi. 26, 27. - Keil. 3 Pusey.