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Appendix 10 Eilardus Westerlo’s June 27, 1782 sermon, with
General George Washington in attendance, in
Albany, NY
1) Zechariah 12:5: “And the governors of Judah 724 shall say in
their heart: ‘the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the Lord of
hosts, their God.’”
I. A. א. In the first four verses of this chapter the prophet
foretells an awful, terrible judgment, which the Lord should inflict upon the
enemies of His Church in the latter days.
ב. But the words of our text contain a remarkable confession of the
leaders of God’s delivered people, encouraging themselves under all their
remaining difficulties from this consideration that the inhabitants of their land
were faithful, pious, and true worshippers of the Lord of Heaven and Earth.
B. A declaration, YHWH, 725 which I thought might be not improper for
the present occasion! Seeing that we are honored with the presence of some of the
illustrious governors of our Judah, for it intimates our duty and may at the same
time bring comfort to our souls. We shall
א first consider the distinguished personage whom the prophecy
introduces speaking with and among themselves,
ב and then their pious discourse.
II A. א. The prophet then first calls for and fixes our
attention to the high personages, whose words he had in view to foretell these. He
describes by a mysterious name as α) governors of Judah you easily perceive the
prophecy means by this expression to point out the rulers, of the professing people
of the land both in Church and State. These are in allusion to the division in
1000 726 which formerly took place among the tribe (of Judah, Judges 6:15) 727
called the governors of Judah; hence the 1000 of Judah, Micah 5:1, 728 are
rendered, Matthew 2:6, 729 the governors of Judah the more so, because the
kingdom of Israel was annexed and exiled upon to the tribe of Judah, Genesis
49:18, 730 and indeed (in א [?]) as Judah was a peculiar type of the Church of God
724
The tribe of Judah is the one from which David arose; Westerlo is probably referring to Judah as a
kingdom, the Southern Kingdom, later on in this sermon.
725
There are several interjections of YHWH, Yahweh, the name of God in the Old Testament,
throughout the sermon. The Heidelberg Catechism tells believers that they should “use the Holy name
of God no otherwise than with fear and reverence, so that He may be rightly confessed and worshiped
by us, and be glorified in all our Words and works” [Lord’s Day 36, Question 99].
726
The Great Schism, in which tribes of Judah and Benjamin formed the kingdom of Judah, took place
from 922 and 915 B.C. [Harris 1997:141]. Likely the reference here is not to the year but to the
number of tribes the tribe of Judah was divided into. Note: “What Micah calls thousands, Matthew
calls princes; the Israelites being divided into thousands, and each thousand having its prince” [Jenks
1836:8 note].
727
“He responded, ‘But sir, how can I deliver Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am
the least in my family.’” [No mention of Judah in this section of Judges].
728
“Now you are walled around with a wall; siege is laid against us; with a rod they strike the ruler of
Israel upon the cheek.”
729
“And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for
from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.”
730
“I wait for Your salvation, O Lord..”
353