The notices for the coming week
are God willing as follows. Pastor will preach here next
Lord's Day at 10.30 and 2 o'clock. Also on Thursday evening at 7
o'clock. There will be no prayer meeting
on Tuesday this week. Let us commence our services
today by singing together hymn 643 The tune is Evening Hymn 709. Again, dear Lord, we would be
fed. We come to seek for living bread
and feast on love divine. Dear Father, let thy presence
be enjoyed by all thy family and make each face to shine.
Hymn 643, tune Evening Hymn Again, my Lord, we bow our heads We come as sheep for living bread,
And pleased for love divine. Dear motherland, thy presence
here, and joy for all thy family, and make it age to shine. Give thee, O person, which thee
be, Come again and give us thoughts and dreams, and let us be in
Thee. Her nettle-spired web of hair Ever onward brave, and free,
and free! As sons from old made free, They take this moment with such
strife ? And keep it there shall be a
night ? ? That glory can prepare. ? ? As a friend ? ? Upon Him live
? ? His Lord and Friend ? ? And follow Him ? ? Tis now ? It is begun, dead men of old,
The land of Israel, It is strong, a boundless strong, In ev'ry time of need we'll cry,
The Lord, our God, hath each supplied. and earth with smiling face. Let us read together from the
holy word of God in the prophecy of Zechariah and chapters 3 and
4. Zechariah chapters 3 and 4. And he showed me Joshua the high
priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing
at his right hand to resist him. And the Lord said unto Satan,
The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan, even the lord that hath chosen
jerusalem rebuke thee is not this a brand plucked out of the
fire now joshua was clothed with filthy garments and stood before
the angel and he answered and spake unto those that stood before
him saying take away the filthy garments from him and under him
he said Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee,
and I will clothe thee with change of raiment.' And I said, Let
them set a fair metre upon his head. So they set a fair metre
upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel
of the Lord stood by. And the angel of the Lord protested
unto Joshua, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, if thou wilt
walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou
shalt also judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts, and
I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by. Hear
now, O Joshua, the high priest, thou and thy fellows that sit
before thee, for they are men wondered at. For behold, I will
bring forth my servant the branch. For behold, the stone that I
have laid before Joshua, upon one stone shall be seven eyes.
Behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the Lord of hosts,
and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. In that
day, saith the Lord of hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbour
under the vine and under the fig tree. And the angel that
talked with me came again, and waked me as a man that is wakened
out of his sleep, and said unto me, What seest thou? And I said,
I have looked, and behold, a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon
the top of it, I did seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the
seven lamps which are upon the top thereof, and two olive trees
by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon
the left side thereof. So I answered and spake to the
angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my Lord? Then
the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, knowest
thou not what these be?' And I said, No, my Lord. 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 thereof
with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it. Moreover, the
word of the Lord came unto me, saying, The hands of Zerubbabel
have laid the foundation of this house. His hands shall also finish
it. And thou shalt know that the
Lord of hosts has sent me unto you. For who hath despised the
day of small things? for they shall rejoice and shall
see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven. They are the eyes of the Lord,
which run to and fro through the whole earth. Then answered
I and said unto him, what are these two olive trees upon the
right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof?
And I answered again and said unto him, What be these two olive
branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden
oil out of themselves? And he answered me and said,
Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my Lord. Then said he, These are the two
anointed ones that stand by the Lord of the whole earth. May
the Lord bless the reading of his own precious word and grant
unto us the spirit of real prayer. Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty,
which is an art, an art to come, we bow before thy glorious majesty,
Father, Son and Holy Ghost, And we desire, O Lord, a spirit of
true worship, that we may worship thee this day in spirit and in
truth. And we pray that the grace of
our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God our Father, and the
sacred fellowship of the Holy Spirit may rest and abide upon
us today, that we may truly worship thee. We pray to be led by the
spirit of God, We come, Lord, as poor sinners. We come as the
poor fallen sons and daughters of Adam, born in sin, shapen
in iniquity, unrighteous altogether. And Lord, we painfully feel it.
And we think of thy words at the time of Noah. For I know
that the imagination of the heart of man is evil continually. Gracious God, deliver us from
evil. Deliver us from the power and
dominion of sin. Deliver us, O Lord, from that
sin that lives within us. And though sin lives in us, may
we not live in sin, but may we live to Him that died. May we
be surrendered to the Crucified One. May we be followers of Jesus
Christ. Oh, do hear us, Lord, we humbly
pray thee. Show us thy ways, teach us thy
paths, lead us forth in the footsteps of the flock, and grant that
we may be led of the Spirit. For as many as are led by the
Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. And may there be the
power of the Holy Ghost. Lord, we think of the dear apostle
when he could witness when he was at Thessalonica, For our
gospel came unto you, not in word only, but in power, in the
Holy Ghost, and with much assurance. Lord, we do pray that it may
be so today, that there may be signs that shall follow the preaching
of the word. May the power that brings salvation
be exerted in the word. May we feel those divine drawings
of a heavenly Father, drawing us unto his best beloved Son. None come except the Father draw. May we have the presence of our
Lord Jesus Christ. May he come and stand in our
midst and say, peace be unto you. Hear us, O Lord, we pray
thee. In thy presence I am happy. In
thy presence I am secure. In thy presence I can easily
all things in due. Gracious God, we do pray for
grace to serve thee and to follow thee. We do pray that thou wouldst
bless us as a church and as a congregation, and work mightily, powerfully,
and effectually in our midst, that we may see thy work and
thy power and thy glory as thou usest to be in the sanctuary.
We think of that wonderful promise, I will work and who shall let
it? I will yet be inquired of the house of Israel to do this
thing for them. I will increase them with men
like a flock. O Lord of hosts, O God of Israel,
O thou that dwellest between the cherubim, shine forth. We
do humbly beseech thee. Make bare thine holy arm in the
gospel. Pull down the strongholds of
Satan. set up the kingdom of the Lord
Jesus in the hearts of sinners. Let thy work appear unto thy
servants and thy glory unto their children, O Lord, we do humbly
beseech thee. Show us thy ways, lead us in
thy paths, revive us and renew us, build us up a truly spiritual
people, cause the prodigals to return, stretch out thy almighty
arm in this, cause them to be in want, cause them to return
unto the sanctuary. Send out the light and glory
and power of the gospel into this village and into the surrounding
villages and hamlets, that we may yet see precious souls gathered
in, that we may yet see a building of the wall of Jerusalem. Arise,
arise, O God of grace, into thy rest descent, Thou and the ark
of thy strength, and let thy priests be clothed with salvation,
and thy saints shall shout aloud for joy. Fulfill those wonderful
gospel promises. I will bring thy sons from far
and thy daughters from the ends of the earth, and they shall
come from the north and from the south and from the east and
from the west. O Lord, do hear us, we pray thee,
for thy great name's sake. that we may see an ingathering,
that we may see a rebuilding, a renewing, and a reviving, and
that we might know that reviving in our own souls, that we might
have a closer walk with thee. Remember our brethren, the deacons,
and graciously bless them, and undertake for them. We thank
thee for the safe return of our friends who've been away from
us, and we pray that they may be bettered by the rest and change.
Lord, we pray that thou would remember each one of our brethren
and sisters in church fellowship, and graciously bless them. Bless
our beloved brother and sister in Holland, and graciously undertake
for them. And remember our friends here
today from Holland, and bless them indeed, O Lord, we do beseech
thee. And O Lord, we pray that thou
would bless the little ones and the children, that thou hast
put the fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom, into
their hearts, and graciously bless them with those rich spiritual
blessings in Christ Jesus, that we may see the fulfilling of
that wonderful promise. Instead of thy fathers shall
be thy children, whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth.
Remember our young friends, and bless them indeed, and guide
them by thy counsel, and teach them thy Bring them to living
faith in Jesus Christ. And oh, gracious God, we do pray
that thou wouldst be with our young friends in all the paths
of providence, in their education, give wisdom and understanding.
Grant future employment, Lord, we do pray thee. Supply all their
needs in providence. Grant them a partner in life's
journey, one that shall fear thy great name. that they may
be heirs together of the grace of life. May the parents give
wisdom and help to bring their children up in the nurture and
admonition of the Lord and the reading and prayer in the family
that they may be instructed in their young and tender years.
And that remember all in the midst of the journey of life
and undertake for each one. Deliver us from the temptations
of Satan deliver us from the power and dominion of sin, we
do humbly beseech thee. And, O gracious God, grant a
closer union with thee. Grant that we might know the
love of Christ shed abroad in our hearts. Grant that we might
know the love of our eternal Father, and that we might have
the spirit of adoption whereby we may cry, Abba, Father, Hear
us, O Lord, we pray thee. Remember that those of us in
the evening time of life's journey. Lord, we pray to be prepared
for that great change. Gracious God, hear us, we pray
thee, and remember us each. Remember all thy servants as
they labour in word and doctrine upon the walls of Zion today,
and set them free, and set them at liberty, and help them to
preach the Word, help them and give them that gracious determination
to know nothing among men save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Hearken, O Lord, we pray Thee,
and we pray Thee, the great Lord of the harvest, that Thou wouldst
yet send true labourers into the harvest. O gracious God,
incline Thine ear, we pray Thee, Remember the little causes of
truth up and down our land. Oh, we do pray that thou wouldst
blow with the wind of the Spirit, that instead of hearing of the
closure of chapels, we should hear of the building of chapels.
Instead of hearing of a declension, we may see, O Lord, a reviving,
a renewing, a replenishing. Lord, do hear us, we pray thee,
for thy great name's sake. And, O Lord, we do pray that
they always remember our nation and give wisdom to our leaders
and guidance and direction in all matters. Lord, we are exhorted
to pray for all in authority over us, and we would indeed
do that, that we might live a quiet and a peaceable life. Hear us,
O Lord, we do pray thee, and that remember our King, and the
Princess of Wales in their affliction, and grant that thou wouldst be
Jehovah Rophi, that thy healing hand may be known there. But
above all, that thou wouldst grant the grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ, and bless the royal household with it, we do humbly pray thee. Lord, we do pray that thou wouldst
remember those that go from among us that preach the gospel in
other lands. We think of Ian Sadler and that
great work that he does in so many places in the distribution
of Holy Scripture and the exposition of it in the north and east and
west of our world. Lord, supply all his needs. Remember
the Savannah Education Trust in Ghana and that great work
that they're doing there. and grant thy richest blessing,
we do humbly beseech thee. Remember the Mombasa mission
in Kenya and thy servant that labours there. Grant, Lord, that
he may see good success unto his labours. Hear us, O Lord,
we pray thee. We thank thee for every mercy
and every favour. We thank thee for our little
house of prayer. We thank thee for the gathering
together of the people, We thank Thee for the open Bible, but
above all we thank Thee for Jesus Christ, for the incarnation of
the Son of God, for the Word that was made flesh and dwelt
among us. We thank Thee for that holy life
He lived as a man here upon earth, and the bringing in of everlasting
righteousness in His glorious person. We thank Thee for the
law fulfilled and honoured and magnified, We thank thee for
Calvary, where the Lamb was slain, where sin was put away, where
divine justice was satisfied, where God and sinners are reconciled. We thank thee for the blood of
Jesus Christ, God's Son, that cleanseth us from all sin. And,
O Lord, we do thank thee that he died for our sins and rose
again for our justification and has now bodily ascended into
heaven. for such an high priest have
we, who is passed into the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God. Oh, we
do thank thee, most gracious Lord, for the glory of thy name,
for the wonder of thy grace, and that in our Lord Jesus Christ,
we know the love of our eternal Father, and we receive the gift
of the Holy Ghost. Come and touch one's lips with
a live coal, from off the heavenly altar, come and breathe the word
of God into our hearts. We ask with the forgiveness of
all sin, for Jesus Christ's sake, amen. Let us now sing together hymn
number 542, The tune is Judah 475. Jesus is my great high priest,
bears my name upon his breast, and that we may never part, I
am sealed upon his heart. Hymn 542, tune Judah 475. ? Jesus, Jesus ? ? Where art thou, Lord? ? ? This my nation of angels ? ?
And shall be ever glorious to thee ? ? The children of Israel ? ? Oh,
I sing to you, God dear God ? ? In the heav'nly host ? ? Give him, Lord, thy blessing
strong ? ? And thou shalt have my soul at night ? I wish I were a star in the sky. May my world have the starry
sky. God shall make thee one of His
Sons, and be ever thankful to Him. ? Ascend its way ? ? Through its
vast ? ? On earth to reign ? ? And within your eyes ? ? The Lord of glory reigns ? ?
He has won, he reigns his love ? ? Praise and consolation ? ever after. May he be glorified
forevermore, and crowned with the sacred throne. Greatly feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help, I'll direct your attention to the prophecy of
Zechariah, chapter 3, and we'll read verses 8 and 9 for our text. Zechariah, chapter 3, verses
8 and 9. Hear now, O Joshua the high priest,
Thou and thy fellows that sit before thee, for they are men
wondered at. For behold, I'll bring forth
my servant the branch. For behold, the stone that I
have laid before Joshua, upon one stone shall be seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave the engraving
thereof, saith the Lord of hosts. and I will remove the iniquity
of that land in one day. Here now, O Joshua the high priest. We need of course just to look
at the context and the setting of this chapter and it was the
just after the return of the children of Israel from the 70
years of Babylonian captivity. About 18 years before this happened,
Nehemiah returned with 42,000 of the Jews from the land of
Babylon. And Nehemiah, the governor of
Judah at that time, he rebuilt the city of Jerusalem when he
When he came there, it was literally ruins and heaps of rubbish and
trees growing out of the ruins of Jerusalem. But we read this,
but the people had a mind to work and they cleared away all
that rubbish and they rebuilt the city of Jerusalem. But this here is some 18 years
later. Indeed, if you just look with
me at the prophecy of Haggai, with the previous prophecy, and
because Haggai prophesied at the same time as Zechariah, and
if you look into Haggai, and at the beginning of it, he says
here in verse 2, thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, this
people say, that is the people that were secure in the rebuilt
city of Jerusalem, the time has not come. The time that the Lord's
house should be built. Then came the word of the Lord
by Haggai the prophet saying, is it time for you, O ye, to
dwell in your sealed houses, and this house lay waste? So
the context is, is that children of Israel had safely returned
from Babylon, Jerusalem had been rebuilt and now they'd settled
down. And there was no house of God.
There was no temple at Jerusalem. And so the Lord, he stirs them
up. Is it time for you to dwell in
your sealed houses? You're all comfortable. Everything's
going along nicely. Now therefore, thus saith the
Lord of hosts, consider your ways. And he tells them what
he'd done. You have so much, and bring in
little. You eat, but you have not enough. You drink, but are
not filled with drink. You clothe you, but there is
none warm. And he that earneth wages, earneth
wages to put it into a bag with holes. Thus saith the Lord of
hosts, consider your ways. Go up to the mountain. and bring
wood and build the house and I will take pleasure in it and
I will be glorified, saith the Lord. You see, my beloved friends,
sometimes we get into a condition where we just jog along. We come
to the house of God backwards and forwards, like the door upon
its hinges. But what's going on in your heart?
What's going on between your soul and God? How stands the
things of God with you? Have you been born again? Has
your soul been quickened by the Holy Ghost? See, my beloved friends, we can
continue in a way and not be aware that we lack the most important
thing. Ye must be born again. except a man be born of water
and of the spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. Oh that
the Lord would impress these things and that you would indeed
be enabled to consider your ways, consider your ways. And we read
here in this first chapter in verse 14, and the Lord stirred
up the spirit of Zerubbabel, the son of Sheolteel, governor
of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua, the son of Josedek, the high
priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people. And
they came and did work in the house of the Lord of hosts their
God. You know, friends, we need stirring
up. We do. The preacher can't do it. The Holy Spirit can. John Kent, in that well-known
hymn, How stands the case, my soul, with thee? For heaven are
thy credentials clear? Is Jesus' blood thine only plea? Is he thy great forerunner there? Is he? That's the point. You
know, friends, over the years, in preaching around the chapels
and, you know, I get this impression sometimes with some people and
they seem to think that by some means or other because they've
always been to chapel, because they had godly parents, because
of this, because of that, because of something else, that in the
end everything's going to be alright. But it won't be. You must be
born again. You must be born again. You cannot enter the kingdom
of heaven unless you're born again. It's an utter impossibility. Unless you're brought by the
Spirit of God to live in faith in Jesus Christ. How vital that
is. Oh that the Lord might stir us
up. And of course the Haggai, he
encouraged them. He says in the second chapter,
that who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? And how do you see it now? Is
it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing? As nothing? Why? Because Solomon's temple
was magnificent. It was huge, it was all overlaid
with gold. It was a magnificent building.
The second temple was nowhere near as large as the first temple. But he says here that The glory
of this second temple would be greater, it says in verse 9 of
the second chapter of Haggai. The glory of this latter house
shall be greater than that of the former, saith the Lord of
hosts, and in this place will I give peace. Why would the glory
of the second temple be much greater than Solomon's temple?
Because the Lord Jesus Christ would preach there. because the
Lord Jesus Christ would do miracles there because the Lord Jesus
Christ will walk in that place and the glory of that second
temple would be far greater than the former because of the wonders
that were to be wrought by our Lord Jesus Christ here upon earth. So this is the context then of
this And the Lord raised up a high priest for them when they came
back from the land of Babylon. And he showed me Joshua, the
high priest, standing before the angel of the Lord. You know,
the Lord was working. And shall I tell you something?
If the Lord's working, so will the devil. So will the devil. He showed me Joshua the high
priest standing before the angel of the Lord and Satan standing
at his right hand to resist him. In the book of Job chapter 1
and chapter 2 we read of the sons of God coming together.
Now there's no doubt that the sons of God coming together at
that time was to worship. And what does it say? And Satan
appeared among them too. And Satan appeared among them
too. You see, where the Lord is working,
so was Satan. One of the names, and names in
Scripture are very important, one of the names given to Satan
in Holy Scripture is Apollyon, the destroyer. The destroyer. The other description we have
of Satan in Holy Scripture, the separator of the brethren. The
separator of the brethren. He tries to drive a wedge between
brethren. He does. Satan's work. How we need to pray that prayer
as taught by our Lord Jesus Christ, lead us not into temptation.
Lead us not into temptation. And the Lord said unto Satan,
the Lord rebuked thee, O Satan. Even the Lord that hath chosen
Jerusalem rebuked thee. Is not this a brand plucked out
of the fire? Joshua, just the same as all
the Lord's servants are, born in sin, shapen in iniquity, unrighteous
altogether, but plucked from the burning, born again of the
Spirit. Now Joshua, and this is where
we all are by nature, now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments,
and stood before the angel. The angel here, there is no doubt
in my mind whatsoever, the angel here is the Lord Jesus Christ,
the angel of the everlasting covenant. Indeed, in the context
here, he's called the Lord of hosts. And the angel spake unto those
that stood before him, saying, take away the filthy garments
from him. And under him he said, behold,
I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will
clothe thee with change of raiment. Take away the filthy garments. My old grandfather, who was the
pastor at Black Boys Chapel for many years, speaking of the divine
work of the spirit in the heart, he used to say, and the Lord
will bring you into the stripping room. Now what did he mean? He'll strip away all your self-righteousness
because you know by nature we're self-righteous, we're proud,
we think we've got something, we think we're so upright, we
go to church and we live a moral life and we do this and we do
that and we do something and we don't do this and we don't
do that and we don't do something else. What is it? Paratheism. Self-righteousness. It'll damn
your soul forever. If you live and die in self-righteousness,
it will damn your soul forever. We need what is spoken of here. Take away the filthy garments
from him. Your self-righteousness in the
sight of God is filthy. It is. You know friends, the Pharisees
were renowned as being the most religious of the Jews. They were
looked up to by everybody else as being the most religious,
the most serious in their practice of religion. The Lord Jesus Christ speaks
more woes to the Pharisees than any other people in Holy Scripture. They had a name to live, but
they were dead. They were dead. They were resting
on their own righteousness. They were resting on their own
good works. They were resting on what they
didn't do. Because they thought they were
more righteous than everybody else. Oh, that the Lord would
open your eyes and show you, and show you what
you are. If the Holy Spirit enters the
heart, and listen to the words of Jesus Christ in John chapter
16, when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will reprove, the
margin says, convince the world of sin, and of righteousness
and of judgment. And that is what each one of
us needs. We need to be convinced of our
sin, because by nature we aren't. Take away the filthy garments
from him. All my beloved friends, may the
Lord do that for each one of us. And unto him he saith, Behold,
I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will
clothe thee with change of raiment. There's only one way, my beloved
friends, that our iniquity can pass from us. It's through the
precious blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son. The blood of Jesus
Christ, God's Son, cleanseth us from all sins all sin, or
that the Lord would grant us this precious gift, I have caused
thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change
of raiment. Not only do we need that filthy
garments of self-righteousness taken away, but we need a new garment, that
glorious everlasting robe of the righteousness of Jesus Christ. That's what we need. It says in Ezekiel chapter 16,
it speaks of that wretched infant that was left in the open field.
That speaks of us by nature. And what does it say there? And
I passed by thee. Who's speaking? God. And I passed
by thee and said, live, live. That wretched infant, cast in
the open field, helpless, hopeless. That's you and I by nature. And
I passed by and said, live. You see, and on the last verse
of that description of that wretched infant, the Lord says this, comely
in my comeliness. Comely in my comeliness. In other
words, righteous in my righteousness, the righteousness of Jesus Christ. of late it's been very sweet
to me that in that lovely description of Christ in Solomon's Song chapter
5, the most beautiful description of Christ in the whole of scripture
and the beginning of it, it seems so sweet to me. My beloved is
white and ruddy. White is his holiness, his righteousness,
Christ's holiness, Christ's righteousness. Ruddy means red, it's his precious
blood. So the first thing that the spouse
sees in Christ is his blood and his righteousness and that by
the Spirit's inward teaching becomes the most attractive thing,
the thing that you desire most is the precious blood and righteousness
of Christ. My beloved is white and ruddy." Now, here in the context, we
read together chapter 4, and Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah,
was about to lay the foundation stone of the Second Temple. Now
the Jews were a very weak and impoverished people. There was
a few thousand of them there, but they were surrounded by their
enemies, Sambali and others were enemies against God and against
truth and against righteousness. And Zerubbabel was greatly concerned
that if he laid this foundation that he would never be able to
finish that building. And so the Lord gave a vision
unto Zechariah. And the angel that talked, it's
the fourth chapter, the angel again, it's Christ, the angel
that talked with him came again and waked me as a man that is
wakened out of his sleep. He said, what see'st thou? I
said, I have looked and behold a candlestick all of gold with
a bowl upon the top of it. And it's seven lamps there on,
and the seven pipes of the seven lamps are upon the top there
on, and two olive trees by it. The one upon the right side of
the bowl, and the other upon the left side of the bowl. Now
my beloved friends, this candlestick represents the church on earth. From every nation, kindred, tongue,
and tribe, and people. It has seven lamps. And then
there are these two olive trees beside the Lord of the whole
earth, constantly producing the oil of grace and pouring it into
that lamp. That's the church on earth. Those
two anointed ones is Christ and the Holy Ghost. They stand by
the Lord of the whole earth, our eternal Father, and pouring
into the church through Christ and the Holy Ghost, is the grace
of God, that's what it all represents, the grace of God. So the vision
that he was given, in verse 6, Zechariah interprets the vision
to Zerubbabel, then he answered and spake unto him, saying, This
is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by What he's saying to Zerubbabel,
it is Zerubbabel, there's this great mountain and it seems so
impossible, but this is my church, and this is my people, and I
will build it. And it won't be by your might,
nor by my might, nor by anyone else's might, but by the power
of the Holy Ghost. 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 thereof with shoutings
crying grace, grace unto him. So the Lord was giving Zerubbabel
this instruction through Zechariah the prophet. It was his turn. You may be greatly burdened that
you're not going to be able to finish this building. But you will. And it won't be
by your own strength. And it won't be by your own wisdom.
It'll be by my strength and my wisdom. My strength and my wisdom. Look at verse nine in chapter
four. The hands of the rubber will lay the foundation of this
house. His hands shall also finish it. and thou shalt know that the
Lord of hosts hath sent me unto you." You know, we look at the
church today, see the declension in the church. You think, a hundred
years ago, in this area, virtually every single village had a chapel
and a congregation. But now look at it. Think of the chapels in the past
50 years, around here, that have closed. Many of them now turned
into houses. It's a day of small things. But
we shouldn't despair. No. It says in verse 10 of chapter
four, for who has despised the day of small things? For they
shall rejoice and see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with
those seven They are the eyes of the Lord, which run to and
fro through the whole earth. Know our texts, verses 8 and
9 of chapter 3. Hear now, O Joshua the high priest,
thou and thy fellows that sit before thee, for they are men
wondered at. For behold, I will bring forth
my servant the bronze, For behold, the stone that I have laid before
Joshua, upon one stone shall be seven eyes. Seven is the number of perfection,
and that is the Lord that sees all things, that knows all things,
that understands all things. Behold, I will engrave upon the
grave in thereof, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the
iniquity of that land, in one day. What was he doing? He was
pointing Joshua to Christ. I will remove the iniquity of
that land in one day. That's Christ. That's the cross
of Christ. That's the blood of Christ that
cleanses from all sin. You know, in that wonderful,
sacred transaction that took place in the Garden of Gethsemane,
when we see our Lord Jesus Christ on his knees before his Holy
Father, Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me, but
not my will, but thine be done. What was that cup? What was it
that happened in Gethsemane? Why was the Lord Jesus Christ
in agony, in agony pleading And he being in an agony, sweat as
it were, great drops of blood falling down to the ground. Why? In Isaiah chapter 53, we read
this, he, that is our heavenly father, laid upon him, that is
his only begotten son manifest in the flesh, he laid upon him
the iniquity of Saul. The sin of the whole church.
Our Eternal Father took it, lifted it off the church and laid it
on Christ. And He being in agony. That is
called the doctrine of imputation. The Lord imputed our sin onto
His Holy Son. He was made sin for us. Or as
Isaiah says in chapter 53, he was wounded for our transgressions,
he was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace
was upon him and with his stripes we are healed. That's why he
suffered. But there's something here my
beloved friends that is even more wonderful and even more
glorious. He took the perfect, holy obedience
of Christ. Christ lived as a man here upon
earth for 33 years. As the apostle Paul puts it in
Galatians, made of a woman, made under the law that he might redeem
them that are under the law. When Jesus, the Son of God, lived
here upon earth as a man, And we read in scripture, the law
was made for man. When he became a man, he came
under the law. Under the law. And he lived under
the law as a man. And he did no sin. He never broke
God's holy law. Not in thought, word or deed.
That perfect, what is called the active obedience of Christ. the active obedience of Christ
to the law. There's that lovely word in the
prophecy of Daniel, to the bringing in of everlasting righteousness. That's what Christ has done.
He's brought in everlasting righteousness for his people. That is what
he did when he lived as a man here upon earth. You know, the life of Christ
is just as important as the sufferings and death of Christ. Because
in that holy life of Jesus Christ, that's the church's righteousness. I love what the hymn writer says,
unless the shadow of a spot should on my soul be found, he took
the garment he had wrought and cast it all around. That lovely hymn, isn't it? I'm
blessed, I'm blessed, forever blessed. My rags are gone and
I am dressed in garments white as snow. The everlasting robe
of the righteousness of Jesus Christ. I remember when that
was my experience. in a time of great trouble and
the Lord drew near and so blessed my soul. My wife was in hospital
and seriously ill and the Lord drew near and it was really the
lines of that hymn we just quoted that the Lord, it seemed to express exactly
how I felt. I'm blessed, I'm blessed, forever
blessed. My rags are gone and I am dressed
in garments white as snow. I looked for my sins and my sins
could not be found. No. Swallowed up in the everlasting
love of God in Christ. Clothed in that glorious everlasting
robe in Jeremiah chapter 23. In capital letters it says the
Lord Our Righteousness, in the Hebrew it says Jehovah Sidkenu,
the Lord Our Righteousness. So the Father, we've spoken of
the imputation of the sin of the church to Christ, but just
think of the imputation of the perfect obedience or the righteousness
of Christ to the church. It becomes theirs. Their nakedness
is covered in the glorious everlasting robe of the righteousness of
Jesus Christ. Hear now, O Joshua, the high
priest, thou and thy fellows that sit before thee, for thou
art men wondered at. That was the elders, of course,
of Israel at that time. For behold, I will bring forth
my servant the branch. Notice capital letters. Why? It's Christ. My servant, the
branch. If you look with me, Zechariah
chapter 6 and verse 12, and speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh
the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is the branch,
and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the
temple of the Lord. That's Christ, whose name is
the branch. He shall grow up. We read in
Revelation chapter 22, Christ speaking, I am the root and offspring
of David. The bright and morning star,
the root and the offspring. As the son of God, he was David's
root. David drew all his strength from
the son of God. In his human nature, he's his
offspring. He was born of the seed of David.
So he's the root and offspring of David, the bright and morning
star in the prophecy of Isaiah. Again, it speaks there of the
wonderful days that will come in Isaiah chapter four. And it says in verse two, in
that day, this is the gospel day, in that day shall the branch
of the Lord be beautiful and glorious. That's Christ. and
the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them
that are escaped of Israel. And it shall come to pass that
he that is left in Zion and he that remaineth in Jerusalem shall
be called holy, even every one that is written among the living
in Jerusalem. I, you, am I, the living in Jerusalem. What does it mean? Has your soul
been quickened into life? You know, friends, We cannot
build on the church that we belong to. There's no foundation. We can only build on the eternal
rock of ages. Jesus Christ the same yesterday
and today and forever. Upon this rock I build my church
and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. It says here
in chapter 4 of Isaiah, when the Lord shall have washed away
the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the
blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment
and by the spirit of burning. It is only in and through the
finished work of Jesus Christ, in and through the precious blood
and righteousness of Jesus Christ, Hear now, O Joshua the high priest,
thou and thy fellows that sit before thee, for they are men
wondered at. For behold, I will bring forth
my servant, the branch. In Isaiah it says, the days come
when a king shall reign in righteousness. That's Christ, a king. King Eternal. When Paul speaks of his call
by grace to his son Timothy in the faith, he breaks out into
most beautiful doctrinology. He's telling Timothy how the
Lord stopped him on the road to Damascus when he was persecuting the church.
And the very recollection of that, of the Lord's wonderful
grace to him, the persecutor of the church, and of the followers
of Christ. And he says, now unto the King
eternal, immortal and invisible, the only true God, be honour
and glory everlasting. Amen. It's as much to say that
is where my salvation is. That is where my redemption is.
It's in the finished work of Jesus Christ. My beloved friends,
what are you building on? Are you building on the eternal
rock of ages, our Lord Jesus Christ? These are vital questions. For behold, the stone that I
have laid before Joshua upon one stone shall be seven eyes. This is speaking of the perfect
If we look into Psalm 139, and David, he says there in Psalm
139, whither shall I flee from his presence? He's speaking of
God. If I make my bed in hell, behold
thou art there. If I go up into heaven, behold
thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning
and go to the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall
they hang hold me. You see, even there, what he's
saying is that God is everywhere. God sees everything, God knows
everything, God understands everything. He does. It's a very solemn thing, you
know, when the Lord brings you to really feel that. You may
believe it, and you may understand it doctrinally, But when the
Lord really gives you to experience that, thou God seest me, it's
a very solemn thing. You can't hide from God. David
says in Psalm 139 that, he said, there's not a word in my tongue,
but thou knowest it altogether. The Lord knows everything. The
Lord sees everything. The Lord understands everything.
We read in scripture, his understanding is infinite, that means without
measure. There's nothing that God doesn't see, doesn't know,
doesn't understand. Upon one stone shall be seven
eyes. Behold, I will engrave the graving
thereof, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity
of that land in one day. You think of that one day. Dr. Kramniker, in his book on
the Suffering Saviour, he speaks so beautifully of Calvary, of
that place which is called Calvary. And if we consider what the Word
of God says, that the Lord's people come from every nation,
every kindred, every tribe, every people. The Lord has elect people. He chooses from the whole world. And Kramerker, as he speaks of
the cross of Calvary, and of that place where Christ was crucified,
he said he was taken from before the leaders of the Jews and condemned
to death. the holy spotless Son of God,
falsely accused, condemned to death, taken outside
of the city of Jerusalem. And Kromiker, he explains it,
he said that was a barren, arid place, no mercy, justice, naked
justice. And that is where the Holy Son
of God was taken, to that barren, arid place. But he goes on to
say that as he was crucified, and those precious drops of blood
fall into the ground from that dear Saviour on Calvary's tree.
He said it's ever since then, that place is called Calvary. is the most verdant pasture in
the whole world and the very center of the universe in that
glorious crucified Savior. Because that is where sin was
put away. That is where divine justice
was satisfied. That is where God and sinners
are reconciled. That is where the holy blood
of Jesus Christ was shed. And that precious blood of Christ
has opened the gates of heaven, has made a new and living way
into the holy place, it has. I will remove the iniquity of
that land in one day, and in that one sacrifice. You think how the apostle throughout
the Hebrews, he compares the sacrifice of Christ to the thousands
and thousands and thousands of sacrifices under the Levitical
dispensation. And he says this, Not one of
them could take away sins. No. There's only one sacrifice
that takes away sin. There's only one sacrifice that
reconciles unto God. There's only one sacrifice that
brings peace into your soul, and that is the sacrifice of
Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary. Wasn't far from here. many years ago now, I'd sinned against the Lord.
And that so distressed me. I went about
my work. I was actually in Wadhurst, as
you know, it's not that far from here. And, oh, I was in such
distress. begging of the Lord. I thought
I'd sinned him away that he'd never return. And about 11 o'clock that morning,
I was driving a truck at the time, those words were poured
into my heart like a heavenly balm. He was wounded for our
transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace
was upon him and with his stripes we are healed. I had such a view
of Jesus suffering for me. And it was my sins, it was my
sins were the nails and the spear. It was my sins that caused him
to suffer, bleed and die. There's a lovely hymn, Hymn 158,
and it was so sweet to me at that time. Sweet the moments,
rich in blessings. which before the cross I spend,
life and health and peace possessing from the sinner's dying friend.
May I sit forever viewing mercy's streams in streams of blood,
precious drops, my soul be doing, plead and claim my peace with
God. And then the last verse, he says,
love and grief, my heart dividing with my tears, his feet are bare. If I had to stop the truck I
was driving because I wept and I wept and I wept. Do you know
friends, I proved there at that time far deeper conviction of
sin than ever I knew under law. When I saw my holy precious Redeemer
suffering and bleeding and dying for me, oh the deep conviction
of sin I felt, grief, My heart was full of grief because it
was my sins that crucified him. But then love, love and grief,
such a love to him. He loved me and gave himself
for me so freely. Oh, my beloved friends, these
things are the very heart of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And I will remove the iniquity
of that lamb in one day. May the Lord add his blessing. Let us now sing together hymn
number 141 and the tune is Billing 849. Behold the sure foundation
stone which God in Zion lays, to build our heavenly hopes upon
and his eternal praise. Hymn 141, tune billing 849. And he is eternal rest. O'er the ramparts we watched,
were so gallantly streaming? And the rocket's red glare, the
bombs bursting in air, O say can you see, by the dawn's
early light, O'er this land of strong and
free, We'll never walk in dismay, Ne'er walk in sorrow, ? And crown thy good ? ? With brotherhood
from sea to sky ? ? Will be bright ? ? Israel my
home ? ? Alighting up and down my way ? Now may the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, the sacred fellowship
of the Holy Spirit, rest and abide with us each. Amen.