THE PROPHET OF HOPE - STUDIES IN ZECHARIAH

[nChrist]

THE PROPHET OF HOPE - STUDIES IN ZECHARIAH
IV.  THE MAN WITH THE MEASURING LINE
BY F.B. MEYER, B.A.

Are you like an unwalled town, with nothing between you and the attacks of poverty, misfortune, godless fellow-workmen, and false brethren? Do not lose heart! you may yet dwell within the devouring fire of God's presence, and be surrounded by the everlasting burnings of his protection (Isaiah 33:14). He hath declared: "No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rite in judgment against thee thou shalt condemn.'' Such an one may well exclaim with David, "I will not be afraid of ten thousands of the people that have set themselves against me round about; for Thou, Lord, art a Shield for me, my glory, and the Lifter up of mine head." Remember to realize God as between you and everything. Some put circumstances between them and God; it is far wiser to put God between oneself and circumstances. Yes, we are as safe, stretched on the bare earth with no covering but the fall of night, as when engirt by massive walls and palace doors. Nay, it is even a blessed thing to be deprived of all that men are so prone to magnify, that we may be thrown back absolutely on God. We never discover how much He can be to the soul until we have no other resource.

Three appeals follow: -- One to the exiles (Zechariah 2:6, Zechariah 2:7). There were still vast numbers of Jews in Babylon, and to these an earnest invitation was addressed: "Ho, ho, flee from the land of the north, saith the Lord; for I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heaven, saith the Lord! Ho, Zion, escape thou that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon!" And this invitation was backed by two considerations. On the one hand, safety is assured to them if they return. God would be as quick to protect them as a man to raise his arm when injury is threatened to his eye. On the other hand, they are warned of the certain danger they incur by lingering in Babylon. God was already shaking his hand over that guilty city, as a signal to the nations she had oppressed to gather to her overthrow, and to share her spoils.

Ah, Christian soul, art thou still sojourning in Babylon, conforming to the conventions of the world, moulded by the spirit of the age? Heed the Divine summons to arise and depart. This cannot be thy rest. And flatter not thyself that thou canst do as the world does, and yet enjoy immunity from its destruction. The conquering troops would make no nice distinctions between Jews and Babylonians, but would slay indiscriminately; and the recoil of natural law, violated by the professing Christian, will be as sharp and inevitable as on those who do not assume to be other than men of the world. Thou mayest be a child of God; but if this do not prevent thee from behaving as a child of this world, it will not prevent thee from suffering as the children of this world suffer when inevitable retribution befalls.
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[nChrist]

THE PROPHET OF HOPE - STUDIES IN ZECHARIAH
IV.  THE MAN WITH THE MEASURING LINE
BY F.B. MEYER, B.A.

How comforting it is to know that our souls are as safe and dear to God as the apple of his eye! for there is no part of the body so safely guarded as the eye. The strong frontal bones, the brow or eyelash to intercept the dust, the lid to protect from scorching glare, the sensitive tear-glands incessantly pouring their crystal tides over its surface -- what a wealth of delicate machinery for its safety and health! We have all these in God. He is always on the alert to warn, defend, and cleanse us. "I, the Lord, do keep it; I will water it every moment! lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day."

An Appeal to Zion (Zechariah 2:10). The daughter of Zion might be a scattered remnant, settled amid the blackened ruins of the city; but she might well sing and rejoice, since God declared his willingness to come and share her humble lot, helping her children in their toils, and attracting many nations to Himself. "Lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the Lord." She might well dispense with walls and bulwarks, with splendid buildings and holy fanes, since God was in the midst of her. When the tabernacle of God is with men, and He dwells with them, wiping away all tears, there is no mourning nor crying nor pain; but the mouth is filled with laughter, and the tongue with singing. Sometimes the Christian gets a vision of this. He realizes that since God has come into the midst of his work, it is no longer his, but God's; he is only the agent and errand-lad. God comforts and teaches the people; Gad restores the ruins; God builds the walls of Jerusalem; God does good in his good pleasure to Zion; God attracts the people, who join themselves not to a congregation, a church, or a minister, but to the Lord, and become his. He is not only a wall of fire round about, but the glory in the midst.

An Appeal to all Flesh (Zechariah 2:13). In the bold imagery of Scripture, God is sometimes represented as sleeping (not that there is any weariness or indifference in the Divine nature, for He that keeps us neither slumbers nor sleeps, but, to account for his apparent apathy. Such times are always those in which Zion herself slumbers in Sleepy Hollow. There never can be any change in his power or tenderness; but the exertion of his energy is often arrested through the indifference and unbelief of his people.
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[nChrist]

THE PROPHET OF HOPE - STUDIES IN ZECHARIAH
IV.  THE MAN WITH THE MEASURING LINE
BY F.B. MEYER, B.A.

When the Church awakes to repentance, humiliation, and prayer, God is said to awake. The stir among the restored exiles, in consequence of the preaching of Zechariah and Haggai, is here described as his awakening -- not, however, that He had ever slept.

When God arouses Himself, let all flesh be silent before Him. Let there be the silence of reverence, of eager expectancy, of humble obedience, of wistful desire. "Be silent, O all flesh, before the Lord: for He is raised up out of his holy habitation." "My soul, be silent unto God, for my expectation is from Him."

WE learn from the Book of (Ezra 2:36-39) that among the exiles who returned with Zerubbabel from Babylon, were Joshua or Jeshua, and 4,289 priests. But they were in a sorry plight -- their character is described by the prophet Malachi; and it was in sad contrast, as he suggests, to the original type of the priesthood represented in Phinehas.

They despised God's name. Without scruple they offered on his altar the lame, the blind, and the sick. They said that the table of the Lord was polluted, and the fruit thereof, even his meat, contemptible. They did not hesitate to affirm that the routine of Levitical service was a weariness; and they snuffed at it, and brought that which was taken by violence, or the lame and the sick. They had turned aside out of the way themselves, and had caused many to stumble in the law. From these disgraceful characteristics the prophet turned to paint, with a few bold touches, the noble priest whose burning zeal for the honour of God averted his wrath from the people, and secured for himself and his seed after him the covenant of an everlasting priesthood (Numbers 25:10-13).

"My covenant was with him," the Spirit of God declares, "of life and peace; and I gave them to him that he might fear: and he feared Me, and stood in awe of my name. The law of truth was in his mouth, and unrighteousness was not found in his lips; he walked with Me in peace and uprightness, and did turn many away from iniquity" (Malachi 2:5-6).

As a judgment on the priesthood, the whole body had fallen under great reproach: "Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base before all the people, according as ye have not kept my ways" (Malachi 2:9).
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[nChrist]

THE PROPHET OF HOPE - STUDIES IN ZECHARIAH
IV.  THE MAN WITH THE MEASURING LINE
BY F.B. MEYER, B.A.

There is every reason to believe, also, that the regulations for the maintenance of the priesthood by the people had fallen into disuse; so that they had neither robes, nor vessels, nor the proper equipment required for the stately ceremonial of the House of God. Under such conditions there was great propriety in Zechariah's vision of Joshua, the high priest, and his fellows that sat before him: "And He showed me Joshua the high priest, standing before the Angel of the Lord .... Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and stood before the Angel." There was no mitre on his head, no insignia of exalted office on his person; whilst his dishevelled robes told the sad story of neglect. The description at least reflected the general conception entertained of the priesthood; and the question may even have been raised as to whether there was any use in rebuilding the Temple whilst the officiating ministers were so unworthy of their high calling.

There have been times in the past when the leaders of various branches of the professing Church might have been described in similar terms; when the services of God's House have been performed in a slovenly and perfunctory manner; when the religious instincts of the people have been subordinated to the sport, pleasure, and material advantages, of their religious teachers; when services have been without decorum, prayers without reverence, music without taste, buildings in such repair as would not for a moment be tolerated in our homes -- everywhere dirt, cobwebs, neglect. Such a condition of things may still be described as the robing of the priestly caste in filthy garments.
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[nChrist]

THE PROPHET OF HOPE - STUDIES IN ZECHARIAH
IV.  THE MAN WITH THE MEASURING LINE
BY F.B. MEYER, B.A.

But is there not another and deeper meaning in these words? Recall the Angel's words: "Hear now, O Joshua, the high priest, thou and thy fellows that sit before thee; for they are men which are a sign." May not this mean that they represent all who have been made priests unto God, called "to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ "? (1 Peter 2:5). Are there not times in our lives when we feel unfit to render that sacred service? It may be at the hour of evening prayer, when the household is assembling; but we hesitate to open the sacred Word, or engage in prayer, because something has gone amiss during the preceding hours, which has soiled the heart and ruffled the inward peace. It may be, as we take our wonted seat in the House of God on the morning of God's day, and there flashes across us the memory of habits indulged, practices sanctioned, methods of making money pursued, which are unworthy of our Christian profession; and again our hearts condemn us. Or, as we ascend the pulpit, take our class, mingle with our fellow-workers, we remember outbursts of irritability, proud and vainglorious thoughts, words and deeds of senseless folly; and we feel the incongruity of standing up as God's messengers between the living and the dead. At all such times we are, like Joshua, clothed in filthy garments.

The sense of shame becomes more acute when we stand before the Angel of the Lord. "He showed me Joshua, the high priest, standing before the Angel of the Lord." In the world's twilight much may pass muster which, in the light of that sweet, pure face, must be utterly condemned. Garments which served us well enough in the short, dark winter days are laid aside when spring arrives; they will not bear the searching scrutiny of the light. In the ordinary life of our homes, we are less particular of our attire than when, on some special occasion, we have to undergo the inspection of stranger eyes. Thus we are prone to compare ourselves with ourselves, or with others, and to argue that the habit of our soul is not specially defiled. Alas! we reason thus in the dark. But when the white light of the throne of God breaks on us, we cry with Job: "If I wash myself with snow-water, and make my hands never so clean, yet wilt Thou plunge me in the ditch, and mine own clothes shall abhor me."

Joshua must have felt much as Isaiah did, when he was passing through the supreme crisis of his life. Prophet though he were, admired and beloved by the good, hated by the bad, when he beheld the Lord sitting on his high and exalted throne, the cry of soul-anguish was extorted from him: "Woe is me, for I am undone." He was probably the last man in Israel who would have been deemed capable of such a confession; yet he was the first to make it. The greatest saints are they who, like Augustine, write confessions. The larger the sphere of light, the wider the circumference of darkness. The more we know of God, the more we loathe ourselves and repent.
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[nChrist]

THE PROPHET OF HOPE - STUDIES IN ZECHARIAH
IV.  THE MAN WITH THE MEASURING LINE
BY F.B. MEYER, B.A.

What is to be done under such circumstances? Renounce our priesthood? Disclaim its God-given functions? No: remain standing before the Angel. He knows all -- we need not shrink from his searching eyes -- but He loves infinitely. He has power to make our iniquity pass from us, and clothe us with change of raiment -- that white linen which is the righteousness of saints.

It is at such moments, however, that our great adversary puts forth his worst insinuations. "Satan standing at his right hand to be his adversary." Since he was cast out of his first estate, he has been the antagonist of God, the hater of good, and the accuser of the brethren. He discovers the weak spots in character, and thrusts at them; the secret defects of the saints, and proclaims them upon the housetops; the least symptom of disloyalty, inconstancy, and mixture of motive, and flaunts it before God's angels. He is keen as steel, and cruel as hell. Ah, it is awful to think with what implacability he rages against us!

When we pray, he is quick to detect the wandering thought, the mechanical repetition of well-worn phrases, the flagging fervour. With a sneer, he says, "Dost thou hear that? Is not this the voice of one whom Thou hast redeemed?"

When we work for God, he is keen to notice our desire to dazzle our fellows, to secure name and fame, to use the cross as a ladder for our own exaltation instead of our Master's. "Is this," he hisses, "the kind of service which thy chosen servants offer Thee?"

When we approach the Lord's table, and our hearts are cold in the very presence of that mystery of Love, he claps his hands in glee, and takes care to taunt the Bridegroom with the irresponsiveness and coolness of the Bride. And Christ suffers much. He had noticed all this; but who cares to be accosted with that which is already gnawing at your heart!
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[nChrist]

THE PROPHET OF HOPE - STUDIES IN ZECHARIAH
IV.  THE MAN WITH THE MEASURING LINE
BY F.B. MEYER, B.A.

And when, like Job, we do bear trial patiently and nobly, the great adversary suggests that we do it from a selfish motive -- " Doth Job serve God for nought?"

Satan cannot reach the Son of God now, save through the members of his Body; but he misses no opportunity of thrusting at Him, as he accuses them.

Let us now turn to notice the intervention and answer of the Angel of the Covenant. It is spontaneous and unsought. Before Joshua had time to say, "Shelter me," his faithful Friend and Advocate had cast around him the assurance of his protection, and had silenced the adversary. The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan. As the Aaronic Priest, He died; but as the Melchizedek Priest, He ever lives to make intercession on our behalf; and as the torpedoes of the enemy are launched against us, He catches them in the net of his Intercession, and makes them powerless to hurt. Before we call, He answers. Before we realize the strong and cunning charges accumulated against us, He has rebutted them. In the same breath in which the Master told Peter that Satan had sought to sift him as wheat, He told him that He had prayed for him.

It is founded on electing grace. For He says: "The Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee." Before ever He chose her, He must have foreseen all that she would become, her backslidings and rebellions, her filthy garments, her wounds and bruises and putrefying sores; but, notwithstanding all, He set his heart upon her. Surely, then, He would not abandon her because of anything that her adversary might rake up to her discredit. He knew the worst about her before He chose her as his own; nothing could happen that had not been well considered in the white light of eternity. Satan could allege nothing which the Advocate had not weighed in the balances of his Divine prescience. He had realized the very worst before making his final choice.
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[nChrist]

THE PROPHET OF HOPE - STUDIES IN ZECHARIAH
IV.  THE MAN WITH THE MEASURING LINE
BY F.B. MEYER, B.A.

These are foundation thoughts, on which we rest the structure of our hopes. When we are most agonized at the memory of recent failure, most distressed as we weigh and consider the cruelty and meanness of our selfish actions, most ashamed for the vileness and inveteracy of our impure and unholy passions, we can only turn to those passages which assure us that we were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world, and that He predestinated those whom He foreknew. For God to reject us now would be a reflection on his omnipotence. Yes, thou great adversary, thou canst not tell our Lord worse things about us than He knows; and notwithstanding all, He loves, and will love.

Moreover, it has already done too much to go back. The point of the metaphor which follows is very reassuring. "Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?" You have been writing all the morning at your desk, answering letters, assorting papers and manuscripts, destroying much that there was no need to keep. After two or three hours of work, there is a heap of papers which you wish to destroy, and you place them in your stove or fireplace, the fire kindles on them, and they begin to blaze. Suddenly, to your dismay, you remember that there was a cheque or note amongst them, or a letter with an address, or a paper which has cost you hours of work. As quick as thought you rush to the kindling flames, and snatch away the paper, and attempt to stay the gnawing edge of flame. But what an appearance the paper suggests! It is yellow with smoke, charred and brittle round the edges, scorched and hot, here and there are gaps -- it is a brand plucked out of the fire. Would you have snatched it out if you had not valued it? And, after you have taken such pains to rescue it, is it likely that you will thrust it back to destruction? And would Jehovah have snatched Israel out of Babylon, and expended so much time and care over her, if at the end He meant to destroy her? The fact of his having done so much, not only proved his love, but implied its continuance.

What depths of consolation are here! As we look back on our lives, we become aware of' the narrowness of our escape from dangers which overwhelmed others. We have been involved in companionships and practices which have ruined others irretrievably; but somehow, though we are charred and blackened, we have escaped the ultimate results. We have been plucked out of the burning. What can we infer from so gracious an interposition, except that we have been preserved for some high and useful purpose; and that God will yet make use of us for his kingdom and glory, in spite of all that Satan may say or do on the other side -- and this because He sees, what Satan cannot see, the bitterness of our repentance, the poignancy of our grief, and the sincere desire of our hearts yet to serve Him, before we go hence.

Manoah's wife was perfectly justified in meeting the fears of her timorous husband by saying, "If the Lord were pleased to kill us, He would not have told us such things as these." All the past is an argument for faith. God resembles an investor who has sunk so much in an under-taking that, though it has hitherto proved unprofitable, he dare not abandon it; he is bound to go on until the scale turns, and it begins to pay -- then he will be abundantly recouped. Has God snatched you from destruction, from the jaws of the lion, and the mouth of hell? It is a proof that He will perfect what concerneth you. Let Satan try his worst, God cannot deny Himself. He does not say, Yea, yea; nay, nay. "Whom He called, them He also justified; and whom He justified, them He also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us!"
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[nChrist]

THE PROPHET OF HOPE - STUDIES IN ZECHARIAH
VI.  THE CANDLESTICK
BY F.B. MEYER, B.A.

(My Note: I don't have a chapter five. I don't know if there was one at one time or if this is just mis-labelled. I just know this is very old material and quite beautiful.)


(Zechariah 4:1-14.)

ON their return from Babylon the Jews were confronted with immense difficulties arising from the opposition of their neighbours, their want of resources, and the incompetence of their leaders. The last was probably their most serious difficulty. Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and Zerubbabel had faltered in his attempt to rear the Temple. His hands had laid the foundation, but, after a brief effort, they had fallen paralysed by his side. Royal blood was in his veins, but he sadly lacked the energy and faith of the princes of his line. The rebuilding of the Temple had been greatly hindered, and for some years had been entirely suspended; and, all around, the heaped-up ruins and unused materials showed how much needed to be done. The suspicion may have suggested itself, and spread from lip to lip, that there could be no improvement, no hope of advance, whilst Zerubbabel was to lead.

These difficulties and forebodings rose like a mountain range between the returned exiles and the accomplishment of their purpose. Not more absolutely do the Himalayas, which seem like a vision of clouds to dwellers on the plains of India, wall out invasions and bar the northern route, than did these tremendous obstacles rear themselves before the returned remnant.

It was at this juncture, and to reassure them, that the angel that talked with Zechariah came again, and waked him, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep. He did not minimise the greatness of the discouragements, but he brought a message of hope. Even though Zerubbabel might lack the essentials of a great leader, yet the success of their undertaking did not depend upon him, but on the Divine power, which was working through him to achieve the Divine purpose. "Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of Hosts. Who art thou, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone with shoutings of Grace, grace unto it."
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[nChrist]

THE PROPHET OF HOPE - STUDIES IN ZECHARIAH
VI.  THE CANDLESTICK
BY F.B. MEYER, B.A.

In the most express and unmistakable terms Zechariah was further assured that God would certainly fulfil his word through this scion of David's house. "Moreover, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundations of this house; his hands shall also finish it." With what new pleasure the prophet would contemplate the state of the Temple area; and, the day of small things, as it undoubtedly was! With what new fortitude he would bear the adverse criticisms of the old men who had seen the glory of the former house, and were loth to believe that anything could come of beginnings so feeble and delayed! He could already see the Prince of Judah, standing in the sunny air, plummet and trowel in hand, fixing the capstone in its place, amid the enthusiastic shouts of the people. Better than all, he could see the eyes of God, seven in number, because of their perfection, which run to and fro throughout the whole earth, rejoicing as they beheld the plummet in his hand. We pause here for a moment to absorb the sweetness of the suggestion, that God delights in his people's work for Him, and joins his congratulations with theirs when the crown is placed on their labours.

In order to make God's meaning clearer, the prophet was granted the vision of the candlestick (lamp-stand), the gist of which was that the wick, though necessary to the light, played a very inconsiderable part in its production. It had no illuminating power; it could only smoke, and char, and smoulder. At the best, it could only be a medium between the oil in the cistern and the fire that burnt on its serried edge. Thus Zerubbabel might be weak and flexible as a wick, but none of his deficiencies could hinder him finishing the work to which he had been called, if only his spirit was kindled with the Divine fire, and fed continually by the gracious influences of the Holy Spirit.
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[nChrist]

THE PROPHET OF HOPE - STUDIES IN ZECHARIAH
VI.  THE CANDLESTICK
BY F.B. MEYER, B.A.

The candlestick, which Zechariah beheld in prophetic ecstasy, was evidently fashioned on the model of that in the Temple, the shape of which is still preserved to us on the Arch of Titus. At the top there was a large bowl or cistern filled with the golden oil, in which the wicks of the lamps were dipped, and which stole up their texture to burn for the light of all that were in the house. The branches radiated from a central stem to the seven lamps. According to the R.V., there were seven pipes to each lamp, and therefore forty-nine in all. Nor was this all. On either side of this massive candlestick stood an olive-tree, from the heart of which, by a golden pipe, the oil was continually being poured into the reservoir; so that even though it might be limited in its containing power, there could be no failure in its ability to meet the incessant demands of its lamps.

So far as the Jews were concerned, the meaning of the vision was obvious. They were represented in the candlestick, of which the many lamps and the precious metal of its composition set forth their perfection and preciousness in the thought of God. Their function was to shed the light of his knowledge on the world, as it lay under the power of darkness; whilst, to aid them in fulfilling this mission, Divine supplies would be forthcoming from a celestial and living source, and brought to them through the golden pipes, of which one represented Joshua the priest, and the other Zerubbabel the prince. These men, therefore, were but mediums for Divine communications. Their sufficiency was not of themselves, but of God. The mission of Israel would be realized not by them, but by the Spirit of God through them. They might seem altogether helpless and inadequate; but a living fountain of oil was prepared to furnish them with inexhaustible supplies.

For us, too, this vision is full of teaching, encouragement, and admonition, to which we would do well if we pay heed.

The first chapter of the Book of Revelation, which compares the work of the Church during the present age to seven light-bringing candlesticks, suggests the application of this vision of Zechariah's to ourselves. As yet dawn has not broken; darkness envelops the earth, and gross darkness the peoples. But God has called his people, in the meanwhile, to "shine as lights in the world, holding forth the word of life." Let us recognise the important work 'to which God has called us; and whether it be as the household candle, the street lamp, or the gleam of the lighthouse, let us beware of hiding our light under a bushel, lest men stumble to their destruction. The lights of a dark night seldom receive their meed of notice or gratitude; but how could we do without them? And though the children of this world rarely recognise their indebtedness to the Christian Church, they would be in a sorry plight if it were not for its three-fold beam of faith, hope, and love.
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[nChrist]

THE PROPHET OF HOPE - STUDIES IN ZECHARIAH
VI.  THE CANDLESTICK
BY F.B. MEYER, B.A.

The golden bowl filled with oil is an eloquent symbol of the relationship of our Redeemer to his people. "It hath pleased the Father that in Him should all fulness dwell." The fulness of the Holy Spirit is always at high-water mark within his glorious nature. It is not possible to imagine any aspect of Holy Ghost fulness which is not embraced and included in our glorious Lord; and there is no quality needed for the outshining of Christian character which is not richly stored in Him; He is "the fulness of the Godhead bodily." His the spirit of wisdom and understanding; his the spirit of counsel and might; his the spirit of understanding and of the fear of the Lord; and He "is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption." Press this thought to your heart, child of God, and dwell on it -- that in Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge; He is the ocean-basin of God's infinite resources, that we may for ever draw on his stores, and be replenished from his fulness with grace upon grace.

It was explained to Zechariah that the olive trees on either side of the candlestick were The two sons of oil that stand by the Lord of the whole earth. If, in its primary significance, this figure indicated the royal and priestly elements of the Jewish national life, in our case it signifies the royal priesthood of our Lord and of us his people. He is a Priest upon his throne. He is a Priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek, who was King of Salem as well as Priest of the Most High God. Had He been only our Aaron, He would have made peace between God and us by the shedding of blood, and have gone into the Holy of Holies to intercede; but the vail would have fallen intact behind Him, and He would have had no power to introduce us into the Most Holy Place, and maintain us there. He would not have been able to communicate a royal and victorious life, which defies the power of sin, and goes forth to conquer in eternal vigour and beauty. Christ is King as well as Priest; and therefore He not only brings us nigh to God, but makes us sit with. Him in the heavenlies of his eternal supremacy.

Yes, friend, we may be but as wicks, with no pith or power of our own, smoking, charring, burning out; unnoticed amid the flame we yield; unrewarded and unthanked; pieces of coarse tow. But let us keep saturated in the fulness that is in Christ Jesus; let us abide in Him; let us clip deep into the well of his supplies so shall the quality of his glorious nature yield itself up through us to the illumination of men.
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[nChrist]

THE PROPHET OF HOPE - STUDIES IN ZECHARIAH
VI.  THE CANDLESTICK
BY F.B. MEYER, B.A.

It is easy to see what comfort this vision brought to the handful of exiles amid those blackened ruins. It seemed as though mountain ranges of difficulty stood between them and the accomplishment of their great undertaking. But now they learnt that at the best they were only the channels and instruments; and that God was prepared to accomplish the results they sought. It was not to be by their might, nor power, but by his Spirit, pouring into and through them with inexhaustible fulness as the oil poured into and through the golden pipes from the two olive trees.

We are often menaced by apparently insurmountable difficulties, which extort from us the groan, "O great mountain!" At other times we are oppressed with a sense of our impotence, and of the weight and weariness of life. How can we be always good? How obey the heavenly vision? How last? We are told that Daniel continued unto the first year of Cyrus. Ah, this patient endurance and continuance in well-doing! If we are to live for twenty, thirty, or flay years from now, in a world in which the shocks, perils, and demands will certainly not diminish as the coming of the Bridegroom draws nigh, shall we be able to endure to the end? Will not the lamp expire before the gust which shall precede the grey dawn of Advent? The outward man decays; will the inward man be always renewed?

These thoughts attracted me to a conversation with the wick of my lamp. For long it had served my purpose, silently ministering as I read beside it. I felt ashamed that I had not before noticed its unobtrusive ministry. I said to the wick: --

"For the service of many months I thank thee."
"What have I done for thee?"
"Hast thou not given light upon my page?"

"Indeed, no; I have no light to give, in proof whereof take me from my bath of oil, and see how quickly I expire. Thou wilt soon turn from me, as a piece of smoking tow. It is not I that burn, but the oil with which my texture is saturated. It is this that lights thee. As for me, I simply mediate between the oil in the cistern and the fire on my edge. See this blackened edge. It slowly decays, but the light continually burns."
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[nChrist]

THE PROPHET OF HOPE - STUDIES IN ZECHARIAH
VI.  THE CANDLESTICK
BY F.B. MEYER, B.A.

"Dost thou never fear becoming exhausted? See how many inches of coil remain! Wilt thou be able to give light till every inch of this is slowly charred and cut away?"

"I have no fear so long as the supply of oil does not fail, if only some kindly hand will remove, from time to time, the charred margin, trimming me, and exposing a fresh edge to the flame. This is my two-fold need: oil and trimming. Give me these, and I shall burn to the end."

"I thank thee, gentle teacher," I said, as I turned away; "thou hast greatly encouraged me. I, too, shall endure, so long as I abide in Him, in whom God has stored the measureless residue of the Spirit; and so long also as the Divine hand, with delicate thoughtfulness, uses the golden snuffers, removing the debris and decay, pruning that I may bear fruit; piercing to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, ,that I may enter into his rest."

Some among us appear to think that the soul can accumulate a stock of grace, in a sacrament, a convention, or a night of prayer. But this is at variance with the teaching of the wick. It accumulates nothing. It has no stores. From hour to hour it is always on the edge of bankruptcy, but always supplied. So should we live -- at every moment giving all we have, but never doubting about the supplies of the future. Bear pain for one moment at a time; there is patience enough in Jesus for the next moment. Do your Christian work with as much energy as though each service were your last. You cannot exhaust God; and your work is to be, not in your might or power, but by his Spirit.

Moment by moment I'm kept in his love;
Moment by moment, I've life from above:
Looking to Jesus! till glory doth shine,
Moment by moment, O Lord, I am thine.

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[nChrist]

THE PROPHET OF HOPE - STUDIES IN ZECHARIAH
VI.  THE CANDLESTICK
BY F.B. MEYER, B.A.

There is also a warning for us all implied in this vision, to which we must give heed. We must very carefully abide in Christ, that He may abide in us; always recognising his royalty, which calls for obedience; always resting upon his priesthood, which reconciles us to God. In obedience and faith the bond of fellowship is perpetually maintained and strengthened. Every time we do as our Prince bids, though it contradict the strongest desires of our nature; every time we resort to our Priest -- there is an accentuation of that fellowship which draws his nature into ours.

Forgive me if I return to this thought again and again. It has become so precious an emblem of my relationship. with my Lord, to think of the union between the wick and the limitless supplies of the olive tree. Hour after hour the oil climbs up the wick to the flame: and thus insensibly the grace of the risen Lord passes through the medium of our faith into the radiant beauty of a life on fire with God. O fire of God, thou shalt burn on us for evermore; and our spirits shall be thy candles, because we have learnt to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man, and Christ dwells in our hearts by faith.

We must expect that Christ will use his golden snuffers. Let us not flinch from them. When He seems sacrificing some vital, necessary part of our nature, He is only cutting away the black, charred, burnt-out debris. Trust Him. That piece which He has cut away was smoking badly, and spoiling the testimony of the rest. It was better for it to come off; but He thinks so much of this work, that He will use only golden snuffers. Can you not trust the hand that holds them? It bears the nail-print of Calvary.

Beware, also, that nothing chokes the golden pipes of obedience to his kingliness, and trust in his priesthood; else the entrance of the golden oil will be arrested. They may soon become stopped by neglect, inattention, or disuse.

Do not weary of the slow advance of your life to Christian perfection. This is the day of small things; of the foundation-trench rather than the top-stone; of the testing of line and plummet, rather than of shoutings of "Grace, grace unto it." But be of good cheer; the seven eyes of the Lord are upon the worker and the work. They run to and fro throughout the whole earth; but they return to rest in loving interest on the progress of his work. He will perfect that which concerneth you; He cannot forsake the work of his own hands.

Grace all the work shall crown
Through everlasting days;
It lays in Heaven the topmost stone,
And well deserves the praise.

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