Zechariah 9:12

Zechariah 9:12. Turn you to the strong hold To Zion, to the church of God, the strong city, mentioned Isaiah 26:1, which has salvation for walls and bulwarks; to the name of the Lord, which is a strong tower, his mercy, truth, and grace: ye that are under any bondage or oppression, any trouble or distress, do not despair, be not discouraged, but apply to and rely upon the blood of the new covenant; hasten to Christ, through whose blood alone you can have redemption, reconciliation, peace, and comfort. Ye prisoners of hope Captives, yet not without hope. The Jews that were returned out of captivity into their own land were yet, in effect, but prisoners, servants, as they confess themselves to be, even in the land which God had given them, Nehemiah 9:36; yet prisoners of hope, or expectation, for God had given them a little reviving in their bondage, Ezra 9:8-9. Those that continued still in Babylon, detained by their affairs there, yet lived in hope, some time or other, to see their own land again: now both these descriptions of Jews are here directed to turn their eyes to the Messiah, set before them in the promise, as their strong hold, to take shelter in him and stay themselves upon him, for the perfecting of the mercy which, by his grace, and for his sake, was so gloriously begun. But, as their deliverance was typical of our redemption by Christ, Zechariah 9:11, so this invitation to the strong hold speaks the language of the gospel call. Sinners are prisoners, but they are prisoners of hope; their case is sad, but it is not desperate; there is yet hope in Israel concerning them. Christ is a strong hold for them, a strong tower, in whom they may be safe and quiet from the fear of the wrath of God, the curse of the law, and the assaults of their spiritual enemies: to him they must turn by a lively faith, to him they must flee, and in his name they must trust.

Even to-day In this day of lowest distress, when things appear to be at the worst, and you think your case deplorable to the last degree, I declare I solemnly promise, that I will render double unto thee To thee, O Jerusalem, to every one of you prisoners of hope; I will give you comforts double to the sorrows you have experienced; or blessings double to what I ever bestowed upon your fathers, even when their condition was at the best; the glory of your latter state, as well as of your latter house, shall be greater, yea, twice as great as that of your former. Now this it was no otherwise than by the coming of the Messiah, the preaching of the gospel, and the setting up of his kingdom. These spiritual blessings in heavenly things were double to what they had ever enjoyed in their most prosperous state. Now as a pledge of this, to be enjoyed in the fulness of time, God in the next verses promises to the Jews victory, plenty, and joy, in their own land, which yet would be but a type and shadow of more glorious victories, riches, and joys, in the kingdom of Christ.