125. Mourning At The Cross.

And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. - Zechariah 12:10.

NOTE the remarkable change of persons: "look upon me" and "mourn for him:' Such changes indicate unity and distinctness; and afford us a hint as to the Unity of the Godhead, and the Trinity of the Persons.

He who speaks is Jehovah, "which stretcheth forth the heavens" (see verse 1), and yet he says "me, whom they have pierced."

It is Jehovah - Jesus who is pierced, and pours out the Spirit of grace.

It is a marvel that Jesus should be crucified when the Jewish law required stoning; and that, when crucified, the Roman soldier, though ignorant of the prophecy, should pierce him with his spear.

The conversion of the Jews is here promised: they will be converted to a crucified Christ.

They, by their unbelief and hatred, were guilty of his death: let us pray that they may be saved by it right speedily.

Our text reveals their way of repentance, and this must also be ours. Evangelical sorrow for sin is to be our subject at this time. We shall remark that:

I. IT IS CREATED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT. "I will pour upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications."

1. It is not produced by mere conscience, nor by terror, nor by the use of a form of penitence; muchless by music, pictures, etc.

2. It comes as a gift of grace: "I will pour:" The understanding is enlightened, the heart renewed, etc., by a distinct act of the Spirit of God, sent forth by the Father.

3. It is attended by prayer: "grace and of supplications:' In this differing from remorse, which never prays.

4. It is continuous, for it comes with abiding things, such as the fountain opened (see next chapter); and it flows from an abiding source, for the Spirit of grace and of supplications abides in the saints.

II. IT IS CAUSED BY LOOKING TO JESUS. "They shall look upon me, whom they have pierced."

It cannot, therefore, prepare for that look: we look to Jesus as we are, and the look makes penitents of us.

1. We see the horrible hatred which sin bears toward purity, for it slew the Holy One, and that when he was arrayed in the most lovely and attractive form.

2. We see its ingratitude to love. Sin repays infinite compassion with inveterate hate, and therefore crucifies Jesus.

3. We see its abhorrence of God. It would slay him if it could, and it did so in effect. Sin is Deicidal in intent and tendency.

4. We see that such is the terrible guilt of our sin that nothing but an infinite sacrifice could atone for it. >5. We see that we have entered into the sin of Calvary by our conduct towards the Lord Jesus in our rejecting and resisting him and his cause! We have repeated the crime of the cross.

III. IT IS THE CHIEF OF SORROWS. "They shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son."

1. Comparable to a terrible parental agony, for an only son, or for a first-born child: both very special sources of grief.

2. Comparable also to the national mourning for Josiah (see verse 11). Never nation sustained greater loss than Judah when it lost Josiah, and the people showed it by the national lamentation. Such is a penitent's sorrow at the death of Jesus.

3. It is personal and private (see verses 12-14).

4. It is spreading and social. "The land shall mourn" (verse 13).

IV. IT IS NOT IN ITSELF THE CLEANSING FOR SIN.

By it we confess the crime, but cannot thereby remove it. Conviction is a glass to show our spots, not a bath to cleanse them.

1. It acknowledges our need of the fountain; but it is not itself a fountain of cleansing.

2. It goes with the saving look to Jesus, but it is no rival to it.

3. It leads away from self, and even from its own self.

4. It leads to Jesus: we mourn for him; and this linking us with Jesus is most operative upon our hearts.

Come, bleeding heart, and look to Jesus for healing!

Come, hard heart, and look to Jesus for brokenness!

Come, careless heart, for the sight of Jesus may arrest even thee!