Zacarias 3

¹ And he showed me Joshua the high priestHe prayed to Christ the Mediator for the state of the Church.standing before the angel of the LORD, andWhich declares that the faithful do not only war with flesh and blood, but with Satan himself, and spiritual wickedness; (Eph_6:12).Satan standing at his right hand to resist him.

² And theThat is, Christ speaks to God as the mediator of his Church, that he would rebuke Satan: and here he shows himself to be the continual preserver of his Church.LORD said to Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: [is] not this aMeaning that Joshua was wonderfully preserved in the captivity, and now Satan sought to afflict and trouble him when he was doing his office.brand plucked out of the fire?

³ Now Joshua was clothed withWith regard to the glorious garments and precious stones that the priests wore before the captivity: and by this contemptible state the Prophet signifies, that these small beginnings would be made excellent when Christ will make the full restitution of his Church.filthy garments, and stood before the angel.

⁴ And he answered and spoke to those that stood before him, saying, Take away the{{See Zec_3:3}}filthy garments from him. And to him he said, Behold, I haveHe shows of what apparel he speaks, which is, when our filthy sins are taken away, and we are clothed with God's mercies, which refers to the spiritual restitution.caused thy iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment.

⁵ And I said, Let themThe Prophet prays that besides the raiment, the Priest might also have attire for his head accordingly, that is, that the dignity of the priesthood might be perfect: and this was fulfilled in Christ, who was both Priest and King. And here all those are condemned, that can content themselves with any average reformation in religion, seeing the Prophet desires the perfection, and obtains it.set a clean mitre upon his head. So they set a clean mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the LORD stood by.

⁶ And the Angel of the Lorde testified vnto Iehoshua, saying,

⁷ Thus saith the LORD of hosts; If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou shalt alsoThat is, have rule and government in my Church, as your predecessors have had.judge my house, and shalt also keep myBy which he means to have the whole charge and ministry of the Church.courts, and I will give thee places to walk amongThat is, the angels, who represented the whole number of the faithful: signifying that all the godly would willingly receive him.these that stand by.

⁸ Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for theyBecause they follow my word, they are condemned in the world, and esteemed as monsters. {{See Isa_8:18}}[are] men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant theThat is, Christ, who did so humble himself, that he not only became the servant of God, but also the servant of men: and therefore in him they should have comfort, even though in the world they are condemned; (Isa_11:1) (Jer_23:5; Jer_33:14-15).BRANCH.

⁹ For behold theHe shows that the ministers cannot build before God lay the first stone, which is Christ, who is full of eyes, both because he gives light to all others, and that all ought to seek light from him; (Zec_4:10).stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone [shall be] seven eyes: behold, IThat is, I will make perfect in all points, as a thing done by the hand of God.will engrave the engraving of it, saith the LORD of hosts, and I willThough I have punished this land for a time, yet I will even now be pacified, and punish their sins no more.remove the iniquity of that land in one day.

¹⁰ In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbour under theYou will then live in peace and quietness, that is, in the kingdom of Christ; (Isa_2:2; Mic_4:4; Hag_2:9).vine and under the fig tree.