xi.; Dan. ix. The only plausible
argument against this reference is this,--that the capture of the city
by the Romans was subsequent to the appearance of the Messiah, and that
it is, after all, the latter which forms the subject of the
announcement of salvation in v. 1 (2), which, again, refers to the
sufferings described in the verse before us. This argument, however, is
set aside by the following considerations. 1. The prophet, indeed,
designates the misery which was inflicted by those enemies upon the
Covenant-people only according to its acme, viz., the siege and capture
of the city; but he, nevertheless, views it in, and understands it of,
its whole extent, and from its first beginnings. These, then, in so far
as the Romans are concerned, fall in the time before Christ, for the
Jewish [Pg 479] people were already subjected to the Roman dominion by
Pompey. 2. This alone, however, is not sufficient. If, with _Vershuir_
(_de celebri oraculo Mic._ iv. 14, in the _Dissert. Philol. exeg._
Leuw. 1775), we confine ourselves to the capture by Pompey, we cannot,
by any means, get rid of the feeling that that fulfilment does not
exhaust the prophecy. But we are, on the other hand, quite entitled to
add that highest point, viz., the destruction of Jerusalem by the
Romans, along with all its still existing consequences, if only we
consider, that the announcement of salvation in chap. v.--as is shown
by its contents, and by its accordance with the analogy of all the
Messianic prophecies--is not limited to the short period of the first
appearance of Christ. That comes into consideration rather as the grain
of seed only from which the tree grew up, under which all the fowls of
heaven were to dwell. Hence it is, that the salvation, no less than the
punishment, is a continuous one, until, at the end of the days, it
appears in its glorious consummation. But if it be established that
Christ is presented as the only Saviour from the calamity here
described, then that calamity must still continue for those who reject
Him, yea, it must still be increased. It is only by giving up their
opposition that they can be delivered from the yoke which presses upon
them. The election, on the other hand, is, from the very beginning,
received into the communion of His kingdom, which extends over the
whole world. Here, however, that which has been already remarked in
reference to vers. 11-13 finds its application. The siege and capture
of Zion are pre