Zechariah 13:9

And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It [is] my people: and they shall say, The LORD [is] my God.

Ver. 9. And I will bring the third part through the fire] Few they were, but not faultless; they must, therefore, go through the fire, that there they may leave their dregs and dross behind them. For Quod ignis est auro, lima ferro, ventilabrum tritico, lixivium panno, sal carni, hoc tribulatio est viro iusto, saith Corn. a Lapide upon this text; that is, what the fire is to the gold, the file to iron, the fan to wheat, the soap to clothes, the salt to flesh, that is tribulation sanctified to a righteous man. God is said to have his "fire in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem," Isaiah 31:9, to carry his through fire and through water, Psalms 66:12, from above to send fire into their bones, Lamentations 1:13, to put them to the fiery trial, 1 Peter 4:12; yea, he himself is a refiner's fire unto them, and fullers' soap. Malachi 3:2 See Trapp on " Mal 3:2 " He knows them to be right gold, which will endure the seventh fire (alchemy gold will not so), and, therefore, he puts them to it; "that the trial of their faith, being much more precious than that of gold that perisheth, though tried in the fire, may be found to praise and honour and glory," 1 Peter 1:7; himself, meanwhile, goeth with them into the fire and pulleth them out as a brand, Zechariah 3:2 Non sic impii, not so the ungodly, Psalms 1:4. True it is, the trial of their works also shall be by fire, 1 Corinthians 3:13, and they shall give an account one day with all the world on a light flame about their ears, 2 Peter 3:12. Then shall they find that the law they are judged by is a fiery law, the tribunal is of fire, Ezekiel 1:27, the judge a consuming fire, Hebrews 12:29, his attendants seraphims, that is, flaming creatures, Hebrews 1:7, his pleading with sinners in fire of flame (εν πυρι φλογος), 2 Thessalonians 1:8, the place of punishment a lake of fire fed with a river of brimstone, Isaiah 30:33, a formidable fire it is, fed with tormenting temper, and kindled by God's own breath instead of bellows. Bellarmine is of the opinion that one glimpse of this fearful fire were enough to make a man not only turn Christian and sober, but hermit and monk, and to live after the strictest order that can be. Pope Clement V, upon the death of a nephew of his, and one of his catamites, a sent his chaplain to a conjuror, to inquire how it fared with him in the other world. The conjuror showed him to the chaplain, lying in a bed of fire in hell. This news so affected the wretched Pope, that he never held up his head, but, Nabal-like, died within a few days after it. But oh what a dreadful shriek gave his guilty soul, to see itself launching into an infinite ocean of scalding lead, and to think that it must swim naked therein for ever.

And will refine them as silver is refined] This is all the hurt he doth them by the fire; he hides pride from them, Job 33:19, &c., and divides between the sin which he hates and the son whom he loves. For by this the iniquity of Jacob shall be purged; and this is all the fruit, the taking away of their sin, Isaiah 27:9, which they may very well spare, and never hurt themselves. Surely, as one poison is antidotary to another, so is affliction to sin; when sanctified, it is no more penal, but medicinal; not a curse, but a cure: as oil of scorpions is good against the biting of scorpions; as the wine wherein a viper hath been drowned cureth a leprosy; as the juice of hemlock (a deadly plant) heals hot corroding ulcers, and assuageth the inflammation of the eyes; or as rhubarb, though full of choler, doth mightily purge choler. Moses neglected to circumcise his child (as we do our hearts, it is such a bloody work) till God met him and would have killed him. David could never see the benefit of affliction till God, by those sharp waters, had cleared up his eyesight. Gehazi's leprosy cured him; his white forehead made him have a whiter soul. Surely, as the refining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold, so is affliction to the soul. Corrections of instruction are the way of life, Proverbs 6:23, but "he that refuseth correction despiseth his own soul," Proverbs 15:32. Winds and thunder clear the air (whereof they are the besoms, saith Rupertus), so do crosses the soul. If the outward man decay, the inward is thereby renewed, 2 Corinthians 4:16; and the winter of the one is the spring of the other. As the viper, when he is lashed, casteth up his poison; so doth the good soul, when afflicted, purge itself from all filth of flesh and spirit, striving to perfect holiness in the fear of God. These Jews, after they had been in the Babylonish furnace for idolatry, hated and feared that sin as much as the burnt child dreads the fire. They would die any death rather than admit an idol. Josephus tells how stoutly they opposed Pilate and Petronius, that would have set up Caesar's statue in their temples, offering their throats to the swords of the soldiers rather than they would endure that idol in God's house. What God is now doing with them, and for them, in this long time of their sad desolation and dispersion, who can tell? There are those who think that, after much purging and proving, as here, God will gather a Church of them to himself; according to that which followeth; "They shall call upon my name, and I will hear them: I will say, it is my people," &c. And that upon their profession of Christ shall come the sorest time of affliction that ever was, Zechariah 14:1,2, when Gog and Magog, with all his troops and armies, shall compass the beloved city, Revelation 20:8,9. But the Jews shall get a glorious conquest; for God himself from heaven will miraculously fight for them, Zechariah 14:3,5, together with all the holy angels, the ministers of his judgments, Zechariah 14:5. Sure it is, that the Turks fear some such thing as this; and therefore they cannot abide that any Jew among them should turn Christian. In the year 1528 a certain Jew, dwelling in Constantinople, became a good Chrisitian, and was baptized; which the Turks understanding, were vehemently exasperated against him for it; fearing lest his conversion should prove prejudicial to their Mahometan religion, and, therefore, they apprehended and cruelly murdered him.

And try them as gold is tried] viz. That when I have tried them they may come forth as gold, Job 33:10. Hence God's people fall into manifold temptations, James 1:2; they fall, they go not into them step by step, but are precipitated, plunged into them; and not into one of them, or a few, but into manifold temptations, or trials; yea, fiery trials, so afflictions are called, because thereby God proves what is in his people, Deu 8:16 Revelation 2:10. Not to better his own knowledge of them either; for he knows all things, and is intimo nostro intimior nobis, Joh 2:25 Act 1:24 Hebrews 4:12. Artificers perfectly know the nature and properties of their own works, and shall not God see? Psalms 94:9,10. But tentat ut sciat, hoc est, ut seire nos faciat (August.), he trieth us, 1. That he may make discoveries of himself unto us, especially of his power and goodness; and so get him a name, as Isa 63:11-13 2 Corinthians 12:9. Elijah would have water poured upon the sacrifices, yea, the altar covered therewith, that God's power might the more appear, in consuming it with fire from heaven, and the people thereupon might cry, Jehovah, he is God! Jehovah, he is God! 1 Kings 18:39 : think the same here. 2. That he may make discoveries of us to ourselves, and to others; who are apt to misjudge and undervalue us; as not only Satan did, Job 1:9, but even Elihu also (though otherwise a good man, and the best of his friends), xxxiv. 36. But when they see our holy carriage under the cross, they can say of us, as that centurion did of our Saviour, Luke 23:1,56 "Verily, this was the Son of God"; and as one Culocerius, in the Church-histery, when he saw the piety and constancy of the martyrs, he cried out, Vere magnus est Deus Christianorum, The Christian's God is a great God indeed. But as by afflictions we are made known to others, so to ourselves much more. We are apt either to overvalue or else to undervalue ourselves, till put to the trial; as is to be seen in the history of Saunders and Pendleton. Hard weather tries what health; wind and storms what sap; withered leaves soon fall off. Rotten boughs with heavy weights quickly break. Wooden vessels, set empty to the fire, soon break and leak; not so vessels of gold and silver. The best divination what men are is at the parting-way, as Ezekiel 21:21. When the fire comes to green wood it will appear what is within; when the pond is empty, what is in the bottom. It is not known what corn will yield

And will refine them as silver is refined] This is all the hurt he doth them by the fire; he hides pride from them, Job 33:19, &c., and divides between the sin which he hates and the son whom he loves. For by this the iniquity of Jacob shall be purged; and this is all the fruit, the taking away of their sin, Isaiah 27:9, which they may very well spare, and never hurt themselves. Surely, as one poison is antidotary to another, so is affliction to sin; when sanctified, it is no more penal, but medicinal; not a curse, but a cure: as oil of scorpions is good against the biting of scorpions; as the wine wherein a viper hath been drowned cureth a leprosy; as the juice of hemlock (a deadly plant) heals hot corroding ulcers, and assuageth the inflammation of the eyes; or as rhubarb, though full of choler, doth mightily purge choler. Moses neglected to circumcise his child (as we do our hearts, it is such a bloody work) till God met him and would have killed him. David could never see the benefit of affliction till God, by those sharp waters, had cleared up his eyesight. Gehazi's leprosy cured him; his white forehead made him have a whiter soul. Surely, as the fining-pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold, so is affliction to the soul. Corrections of instruction are the way of life, Proverbs 6:23, but "he that refuseth correction despiseth his own soul," Proverbs 15:32. Winds and thunder clear the air (whereof they are the besoms, saith Rupertus), so do crosses the soul. If the outward man decay, the inward is thereby renewed, 2 Corinthians 4:16; and the winter of the one is the spring of the other. As the viper, when he is lashed, casteth up his poison; so doth the good soul, when afflicted, purge itself from all filth of flesh and spirit, striving to perfect holiness in the fear of God. These Jews, after they had been in the Babylonish furnace for idolatry, hated and feared that sin as much as the burnt child dreads the fire. They would die any death rather than admit an idol. Josephus tells how stoutly they opposed Pilate and Petronius, that would have set up Caesar's statue in their temples, offering their throats to the swords of the soldiers rather than they would endure that idol in God's house. What God is now doing with them, and for them, in this long time of their sad desolation and dispersion, who can tell? There are those who think that, after much purging and proving, as here, God will gather a Church of them to himself; according to that which followeth; "They shall call upon my name, and I will hear them: I will say, it is my people," &c. And that upon their profession of Christ shall come the sorest time of affliction that ever was, Zechariah 14:1,2, when Gog and Magog, with all his troops and armies, shall compass the beloved city, Revelation 20:8,9. But the Jews shall get a glorious conquest; for God himself from heaven will miraculously fight for them, Zechariah 13:3,5, together with all the holy angels, the ministers of his judgments, Zechariah 13:5. Sure it is, that the Turks fear some such thing as this; and therefore they cannot abide that any Jew among them should turn Christian. In the year 1528 a certain Jew, dwelling in Constantinople, became a good Chrisitian, and was baptized; which the Turks understanding, were vehemently exasperated against him for it; fearing lest his conversion should prove prejudicial to their Mahometan religion, and, therefore, they apprehended and cruelly murdered him.

And try them as gold is tried] viz. That when I have tried them they may come forth as gold, Job 23:10. Hence God's people fall into manifold temptations, James 1:2; they fall, they go not into them step by step, but are precipitated, plunged into them; and not into one of them, or a few, but into manifold temptations, or trials; yea, fiery trials, so afflictions are called, because thereby God proves what is in his people, Deu 8:16 Revelation 2:10. Not to better his own knowledge of them either; for he knows all things, and is intimo nostro intimior nobis, Joh 2:25 Act 1:24 Hebrews 4:12. Artificers perfectly know the nature and properties of their own works, and shall not God see? Psalms 94:9,10. But tentat ut sciat, hoc est, ut scire nos faciat (August.), he trieth us, 1. That he may make discoveries of himself unto us, especially of his power and goodness; and so get him a name, as Isa 63:11-13 2 Corinthians 12:9. Elijah would have water poured upon the sacrifices, yea, the altar covered therewith, that God's power might the more appear, in consuming it with fire from heaven, and the people thereupon might cry, Jehovah, he is God! Jehovah, he is God! 1 Kings 18:39 : think the same here. 2. That he may make discoveries of us to ourselves, and to others; who are apt to misjudge and undervalue us; as not only Satan did, Job 1:9, but even Elihu also (though otherwise a good man, and the best of his friends), Job 34:36. But when they see our holy carriage under the cross, they can say of us, as that centurion did of our Saviour, Luke 23:47 "Verily, this was the Son of God"; and as one Culocerius, in the Church histery, when he saw the piety and constancy of the martyrs, he cried out, Vere magnus est Deus Christianorum, The Christian's God is a great God indeed. But as by afflictions we are made known to others, so to ourselves much more. We are apt either to overvalue or else to undervalue ourselves, till put to the trial; as is to be seen in the history of Saunders and Pendleton. Hard weather tries what health; wind and storms sap the strength; withered leaves soon fall off. Rotten boughs with heavy weights quickly break. Wooden vessels, set empty in the fire, soon break and leak; not so vessels of gold and silver. The best divination what men are is at the parting way, as Ezekiel 21:21. When the fire comes to green wood it will appear what is within; when the pond is empty, what is in the bottom. It is not known what grain will yield till it come to the flail; nor what grapes, till it come to the press. Grace is like the stone chrysolampis, quem lux celat prodit obscurum, which shines brightest in the dark (Solinus). The skill of a pilot is unknown but in a tempest; the valour of a captain but in a battle; the faithfulness of a wife but in an assault. The wicked tried are found to be but reprobate silver; or, at best, but alchemy gold, that endureth not the seventh fire. They are αμφιβιοι, as crocodiles, chameleons, bats, spunges, &c. They murmur when tried, as Psalms 78:40,41; or curse, as Micah's mother, Judges 17:2; or fret, and howl upward, as wolves when hungry, Isaiah 8:21; or faint in the day of affliction, as Saul, who lay upon the ground like a beast, 1 Samuel 28:20, or Nabal, who lay in his bed like a block; or desert God and his cause, as those renegades, Daniel 11:32, and those in the Palatinate, who defected to Popery as fast as leaves fall off the trees in autumn. Many titular Christians among us were, in times of peace, but as wolves in a cage, but as lions tamed by art; they wanted nothing but liberty and opportunity to show their wolvish and worrying natures, which now these late shedding and discriminating times have sufficiently discovered. "Have all these workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up God's people as they eat bread, and call not upon God," Psalms 14:4. They shall call upon my name, and I will hear them. No time for hearing of prayers and obtaining of suits like that of affliction. Those are mollissima fandi tempera, the time of affliction is the very time of supplication; then our hearts are largest, then God's ear is most open. Then the saints may have anything for asking, Psalms 50:15; Psalms 91:15. Thus Lot had Zoar at his request, Genesis 19:18,23. Paul had all the souls in the ship given him, Act 27:22-25 Jacob, greatly fearing to be bereft of his Benjamin, prayed, God give you bowels of mercy before the man, Genesis 43:14. He prayed it, and he had it, Genesis 43:30 "For Joseph made haste; for his bowels did yearn upon his brother," &c. God reserves his best comforts for the worst times; as the feast maker kept his best wine till the last, John 2:10; as the mother brings forth ber conserves and cordials when the child is the most sick. Israel was never so royally provided for as in the wilderness. I will bring her into the wilderness and speak to her heart, Hosea 2:14. As a bone, once broken, is stronger after setting, and as lovers are never greater friends than after falling out; so is it between God and his people. Affliction exciteth devotion, as the bellows do the fire, and excited devotion prevaileth much, James 5:16 .

I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God] By a gracious compliance they shall, with highest estimations, most vigorous affections, and utmost endeavours, bestow themselves upon that God that hath so far owned and honoured them as to strike a covenant with them; the fruits whereof are sure mercies, compassions that fail not, all the blessings of this and a better life. A covenant is the collection of many promises, as a constellation is the collection of many stars; and though it be (in sum) but one promise, "I will be thy God," yet it is such a one as comprehends all, and is therefore fifteen times, at least, mentioned in Scripture. It is the substance of the covenant of grace, saith Junius; the soul of it, saith Pareus; the head or top of it, saith Musculus; Deus meus et omnia, saith Luther, God is mine, all is therefore mine. But then, as God must be our All-sufficient, so we must be his altogether; and when he cries out, Who is on my side, who? "One shall say, I am the Lord's; and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall subscribe with his hand to the Lord, and surname himself by the name of Israel," Isaiah 44:5. Oh it is a blessed sign that God hath chosen us first, 1 John 4:19, when we choose God, as Psalms 73:25, sincerely avouching him for our God. Sincerity (or evangelical perfection) is the only absolute condition of the covenant of grace, Genesis 17:1. God and the saints have ever judged of men by this: "Judge me, O Lord, according to mine integrity," saith David. The promises are made to it, Psa 119:1 Matthew 5:8. God's eye is upon it, as in David the man after God's own heart. He blesseth the little that such have, as in Nathanael, Cornelius, the eunuch. He passeth by their infirmities, as in Asa, 1 Kings 15:14, and accepteth their services nevertheless, as 2 Chronicles 30:19,20 .

a A boy kept for unnatural purposes. ŒD