454 VISIONS AND PROPHECIES OF ZECHARIAII
in that day as "him whom his mother comforteth," and they " shall be comforted in Jerusalem."
When once this great but godly sorrow shall have accomplished its blessed end in working a repentance never to be repented of, He shall pour His consolations into their broken hearts, and give unto them the " oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness." Like Joseph to his brethren (in whom the history of Christ and Israel is depicted), He will say unto them : " As for you, ye thought evil against me, but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive : now, therefore, be not grieved nor angry with yourselves." l
We are done with the exposition of this great Messianic prediction. The ultimate literal fulfilment of it lies yet in the future, in the day for which we watch and pray, when our Lord Jesus shall, according to His promise, appear in His glory, and the Jewish nation shall literally look upon Him whom they have pierced, and be, as it were, " born in a day." But there is a forestalment, so to say, in the fulfil ment of this prophecy in the case of the individual even now. " And thus," to quote the words of an honoured Hebrew Christian brother and true master of Israel, "every Jew who, by the grace of God since the Day of Pentecost, has been brought to Christ, fulfils this prediction ; he looks unto Him whom he has pierced. It is the look of repent ance ; for only a sight of the crucified Jesus shows us our sin and grief. It is the look of supplication and faith ; for He only can bless and save, and He saves all who believe. It is the look of peace and adoration ; for His love is infinite, unchanging, and omnipotent. It is the look which never ceases and never ends ; for now the veil is taken away, and we with open face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory." 2
And as it is with the individual Jew, so it is with the individual Gentile. Yes, thanks be to God, as we all,
1 Gen. xlv. 5, 1. 20. 2 Adolph Saphir.
