ary
cleaving of the black heavens, so that the glory of the Lord will break
through, and He will, for an instant, be revealed in close proximity to
earth. Will it be thus that the Jew will receive his sign from heaven?

That which follows, and which should be rendered: "_Then shall all the
tribes of the land mourn_," points to the connection of this verse with
Zechariah's prophecy: "_And I will pour upon the house of David, and
upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and
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_." Zech. xii. 10.

"And again, the manner in which Zechariah's prophecy is quoted in the
Apocalypse may, perhaps, afford some slight argument in favour of the
explanation of the sign suggested above, namely, that it is Christ
Himself seen for a moment through a rift in the clouds, for John says,
'_Behold He cometh with the clouds: and every eye shall see Him, and
they also which pierced Him: and all the TRIBES OF THE LAND shall mourn
because of Him_.'

"Thus the Jews, although they may not as yet understand all, will at
least know that it was the Messenger of Jehovah whom they slew, and
that in so doing they pierced Himself. And they will mourn with no
feigned lamentation, but as one mourns for his first-born, nay, his
only son. All their pride will have broken down; for the word will
then have been fulfilled, '_I will take away out of the midst of thee
them that rejoice in thy pride, and thou shalt no more be haughty
because of My holy mountain. I will also leave in the midst of thee an
afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the name of the
Lord_.' Zeph. ii. 11, 12.

"Then will God look down upon the stiff-necked and rebellious people,
whom long centuries of chastisement could not subdue, and lo! a
remnant, broken-hearted and contrite, humbly confessing that '_all
their righteousnesses are as filthy rags, that they are all fading as a
leaf, and that their iniquities, like the wind, have carried them
away_.' They long for the personal interposition of God their Father,
and cry, '_Oh that Thou wouldst rend the heavens, that Thou wouldst
come down!_' They are ready at last, for their Messiah. Christ has
become precious to them: there is no need that He, the true Joseph,
should longer refrain Himself. He