these wondl'rs? (See end of ver. 10, and the reference there to " those seven " eyes to be found on thRl" st-One; " also· Rev. v. 6; 2 Chron. xvi. 9; and compare end of ver. 6 in this chapter.) To secure that•• stone" is to secure that sevenfold blessing, nod all it involves. II. lTs t;EORET. A yet further point, in regard to this, seems revealed to us in that which comes next. It is not enough to have the blessing referred to, so to speak, in reversion. If the Church is to shine as a living witness, some channel of communica-. tion must be in existence by which it can be always supplied therewith without foil. To understand the emblem employed (as before desctibed in ver. 3) to represent this, we n,ay notice: 1. The prophet's i_qnoranc,e of its meaning. See this five times referred io, viz. in vers. 4, 5, 11, 12, 13. ,vhateyer he meant, therefore, it is evidently some- thing the nature of which is so fa.r occult and secret that even the eyes of a prophet might fail to discern it at first. 2. The angers surprise at his ignorance. "Knowest thou not?'' (see vers. 5 and 13; and comp. John iii. 10; Mark iv. 13; Rom. vi. 3, 16; vii. 1). The prophet ought to have discerned it, although he did not. 3. The expla- ,w,tion that follows. (Ver. 14.) An explanation which seems to show us: (1) Why the prophet ought to have understood the emblem, viz. because it represented an ordinance carefully ordered and arranged, even that of certain persons" anointed" for special service; an ordinance, also, ancient and settled (" ~tand by," as a custom or habit); an ordinance of most extensive import, even affecting the whole earth. (2) What we may understand thereby, viz. that God always maintains in the world a succession of special witnesses for him, who" stand by" him, as it were, so as to be informed of bis will, and who are "anoin led," as it were, so as to keep alive in turn the general witness of bis Church (see 2 Cor. v. 18-20; iv. 7; 2 Tim. ii. 2; Gen. xviii. li; Amos iii. 7); and who also, either 88 being always sufficient in number (2 Cor. xiii. 1, and references; also Rev. xi. 3, 4), or else 88 being usually divided, as were Zernbbabel and Jeshua, in the spirit of Luke x. 24 and 1 Tim. v. 17, are set forth to us as "two " in number. In these ways it is that it pleases God always to keep alive the life of his Church (1 Cor. i. 21). See illustrated here also, in conclusion : 1. God's great love for his people. He gives his Son for them in order, afterwards, to give them his Spirit as well (John iv. 10; Gal. iv. 4---6). He buyl! these earthen vessels for a sum beyond cost, in order, then, to fill them with an ointment which is also beyond cost I 2. God's great care for his Ohurch. Whatever the objects of the" ministry of angels," God has entrusted specially to men the duty of keeping alight among men the "candlestick" of his truth. How often this light has been all but extinct (Gen. vi. :5-8; xii. 1 compared with Josh. x:xiv. 2; 1 Sam. iii. 1; vii. 3; 1 Kings xix.10, 14; Ps. xii. 1; lsa. liii. 1; Micah vii. 2; Rev. xi. 7-10)! Yet how wonderfully preserved throughout; and to be pre- served to the end (Matt. xvi. 18) I
HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vere. 1-7.-The Ohurch in three aspects. L SYMBOLICALLY REPRESENTED. (Vers, 2, 3.) Candelabrum. II. DEVOUTLY ooNTEMPLATED. (Ver. 5.) Humble, earnest, reverent inquiry. III. DIVINELY INTERPRETED. 1. The unity of the Church. 2. The spiritual use of the Church. 3. The Divine care of the Church. 4. The future glory of the Church. The Church should be: (1) Receptive of the Divine. (2) Communicative of the Divine, "They empty themselves," etc. Freely, constantly, rejoicingly. (3) Reflective of the Divine. Life and work. Not only true of the Church as a whole, but of every individual member. "Let your light shine before men."-F.
Ver. 2.-0n seeing. The question, "What seeet thou?" suggeste- r. THE SLUMBER OF THE souL. (Ver. 1.) Want of consciousness and activity. Delusions (Isa. xxix. 7). Peril (Mark xiii. 36). II. THE AWAKENING OF THE souL. (Ver. 1.) "The angel" may be taken to illustrate the various ministries employed by God to quicken and rouse his people. Providence. Loss of health, propertv, friends, and such-like incidents. Word of th11 CH, IV, 1-14.] 'l'HE BOOK OF ZECHARJAH. 45