lness of God. The prophet, therefore, passes suddenly
from threatening to promise. _Calvin_ thus expresses the relation of
these two: "But I must now come to the little remnant. Hitherto I have
spoken about the judgment of God, which is near at hand, upon the
king's councillors, upon the priests and prophets, upon the whole
people in short, because they are all wicked and ungodly, because the
whole body is pervaded by contempt of God, and by desperate obstinacy.
Let them receive, then, that which they all have deserved. But I now
gather the children of God apart, for to them too I have a message to
deliver."

The intimate relation of the first part of the promise to the preceding
threatening has been already demonstrated, p. 420. The Mount of Zion,
which forms the subject of vers. 1-7, shall, in future, not only be
restored to its former dignity, but it shall be exalted above all the
mountains of the earth. The kingdom of God, which is represented by it,
shall, by the glory imparted to it by a new revelation of the Lord
(compare ver. 7: "And [Pg 442] the Lord shall be King over them on
Mount Zion"), outshine all the kingdoms of the world, and exercise an
attractive power upon their citizens; so that they flow to Zion, there
to receive the commands of the Lord, vers. 1, 2. By the sway which the
Lord exercises from Zion, peace shall have its dwelling in the heathen
world, ver. 3, and, consequently, the Congregation of the Lord ceases
to be a prey to injury from the world's power, ver. 4^a. How incredible
soever it may appear, this promise shall surely be fulfilled; for
omnipotent faithfulness has given it, ver. 4^b, and has given it indeed
for this very purpose; for it is altogether natural, and to be
expected, that the glory of the Lord should in all eternity display
itself in His dealings with His people, ver. 5. In vers. 6, 7, the
promise receives a new impetus, by which it connects itself with ver.
4^a. In that time of mercy, the Lord will put an end to all the misery
of His people.

Ver. 1. "_And it shall come to pass at the end of the days, that the
mountain of the house of the Lord shall be firmly established on the
top of the mountains, and exalted above the hills, and people flow unto
it._"

The words, "And it shall come to pass," excite the attention to the
great and unexpected turn which things are to take. The expression,
[Hebrew: baHrit himiM], is explained by many as meaning: "In times to
come," "in futu