22.  The prophecies of Zechariah, containing as they do a portraiture of the destiny of God’s people to the end of time, and comprehending so many mighty events which yet await their fulfilment, present to the interpreter many difficulties, some of which have hitherto been found insoluble, and will probably remain unsolved till the mystery of God contained in them shall have been fulfilled.  One thing, however, they clearly reveal to us:  that the future triumph of God’s kingdom is certain, and that all the great movements in the history of the nations, however unpropitious they may seem at the time, are parts of the mighty plan of divine providence which shall end in making the kingdoms of this world the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ.

In Matt. 27:9, 10, there is a quotation for substance of the words of Zechariah 11:13, but they are ascribed to “Jeremiah the prophet.”  Of this discrepancy various explanations have been proposed.  Some have suspected an early error in the manuscript of Matthew’s gospel; but of this there is no satisfactory proof.  Others have thought that the part of our present book of Zechariah which contains the prophecy in question actually belongs to Jeremiah; but upon this hypothesis it remains a mystery how it should have been attached to the writings of Zechariah.

Upon the ground of diversity of style and other alleged internal marks, it has been maintained by some biblical scholars that the whole of the last part of Zechariah belongs to an earlier age; but the validity of this conclusion is denied by others.  To give even a summary of the opposing arguments would exceed the limits of the present work.  The internal proofs being very nearly balanced against each other, the fact that these chapters have always been connected with the writings of Zechariah ought to be allowed a decisive influence in favor of their genuineness.

XII.  MALACHI.

23.  In Hebrew Malachi signifies my messenger, being the very word employed in chap. 3:1.  Hence some have supposed that this is not the prophet’s name, but a description of his office.  Such a supposition, however, is contrary to scriptural usage, which in every other case prefixes to each of the prophetical books the author’s proper name.  Malachi has not given the date of his prophecies, but it can be determined with a good degree of certainty from their contents.  The people had been reinstated in the land, the temple rebuilt, and its regular services reestablished.  Yet they were in a depressed condition, dispirited, and disposed to complain of the severity of God’s dealings towards them.  Their ardently cherished expectation of seeing the Theocracy restored to its former glory was not realized.  Instead of driving their enemies before them sword in hand, as in the days of Joshua, or reigning triumphantly over them in peace, as in the days of Solomon, they