Ver. 1. Again the word of the Lord of hosts] As for reprehension in the former chapter, so for consolation in this; that they might not be discouraged, or say, as once they did, There is no hope; but lifting up the hands which hung down, and the feeble knees, they might go on to lay the last stone with joy. To which end also no less then eighteen different times in this one chapter God is styled the Lord of hosts; that, resting upon God’s power and goodness (whereof they are assured by many precious promises), as upon the Jachin and Boaz, the two main pillars of a Christian’s faith, they might have strong consolation. Came to me] [See Trapp on “Zec 7:8”]
Ver. 2. I was jealous for Zion] [See Trapp on “Zec 1:14”] Jealous as a husband, zealous as a loving father; for, Non amat qui non zelat, He does not love who does not ardently low, saith Augustine; and a father being rebuked by some for his exceeding forwardness for his friend, answered, Ego aliter amare non didici, I know not how to love any otherwise than earnestly. God, therefore, to ascertain his people of the truth of the ensuing promises, and to cure their unbelief, lets them know that all this he will do for them of his free grace without their having deserved it. As at first he loved them merely because he loved them, Deuteronomy 7:7,8; so, out of the same love, he will bestow upon them all the good things here mentioned. See the like Isaiah 9:6,7, where, after a sweet description of Christ, his kingdom and benefits, he concludes all with “The zeal” (that is, the tender love and free grace) “of the Lord of hosts will perform this. Fear ye not.” So 2 Samuel 7:21 “For thy word’s sake,” that is, for thy Christ’s sake, “and according to thine own heart, hast thou done all these things” which thou hadst promised. “According to thine own heart,” that is, ex mero motu, out of pure and unexcited love, or zeal, which is the top of all the affections and the heat of the heart.
Ver. 3. I am returned unto Zion] After a long absence, as it may seem by the late troubles, and that dismal dispersion, Zechariah 7:14. God was gone aside and returned to his place, till they should acknowledge their offence and seek his face: In their affliction, said he, they will seek me early. Neither was he frustrated, as appeareth, Hosea 5:15 cf. 6:1. Come, and let us return unto the Lord, say they. Do so, and then I will come again unto you as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth, with a cornucopia of peace, plenty, and prosperity. Neither this only will I do as a stranger in the land, or as a wayfaring man, that tarrieth for a night, But I will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem] My shechinah, or settled habitation, shall be in the midst of it, sc. in my temple there situated, Jeremiah 14:8. Maimonides saith, that the Hebrew word here used signifieth continuationem stationis, a sure and settled abode; such as was that of the Godhead of Christ in his manhood. “For the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us,” εσκηνωσεν. The word seems to be made of this Shacan in the text. And Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth] A faithful city, Isaiah 1:26. A Verona rightly so called; a place where the sincere service of the true God is set up and practised; in opposition to other cities (such as Athens was, wholly given to idolatry, Acts 17:16, κατειδωλον), that went a whoring after lying vanities, and so forsook their own mercies, Job 2:8. And the mountain of the Lord of hosts the holy mountain] This and the former clause may safely and fitly be extended to the holy Catholic Church of the New Testament also; whereof Jerusalem and the mount Moriah, whereon the temple stood, were figures. The Rabbis themselves expect the good things here promised to be performed when their Messiah shall come, quem tantis ululatibus exposcunt.
Ver. 4. There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem] Because the “Ancient of days, the just Lord, is in the midst thereof,” Zephaniah 3:5, and he will give every “good gift and perfect giving,” James 1:17, that is, both temporal and spiritual. The Father of lights will be to his both a sun and a shield; and no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly, Psalms 84:11. Godliness hath the promises of both lives, 1 Timothy 4:8. Christ is heir of all, Hebrews 1:2, and the saints are his coheirs, Romans 8:17. He is the “everlasting Father,” and also the “Prince of peace,” Isaiah 9:6; his children and subjects shall have both the upper and nether springs, both the blessing of the right hand (spiritual blessings in heavenly things in Christ Jesus), and also of the left; riches and honour, delight and pleasure, life and length of days, peace and prosperity, &c., Proverbs 3:16,17 8:18 Ps 112:2,3 De 28:2-6. And every man with his staff in his hand] His third leg, as they call it; q.d. they shall live so long that they shall need a staff, a servant or a son (such as Scipio was to his old decrepit father) to lean upon; because the strong men, the legs, shall bow themselves, that is, bend and buckle under their burden, Ecclesiastes 12:3. They shall not be cut off by the devouring sword of war, that slaughter-man of mankind that lays heaps upon heaps, and by chain bullets cuts its way through a heap of men at once, without respect of old or young.