Ver. 3.-Shall we fa8t1 This question has been often e.sked down to our own day. I. There are NATIONAL FASTS. These are rare, and only appointed under very solemn circumstances. In 1853, when cholera prevailed, the Presbytery of Edinburgh (Church of Scotland) suggested to Lord Palmerston, then Home Secretary, the propriety of ordering e. national fast. His lordship, in his reply, recommended observance of natural le.ws rather than fa.sting. If this were attended to, all would be well Ot.berwise pestilence would come, "in spite of all the prayers and fastings of a 'United "but inactive nation." He does not seem to have understood the.t the two things were quite compatible. Prayer and inaction is folly; but prayer and action is the highest wisdom. Surely there ill something grand and beautiful in e. whole nation bowed in humility e.nd supplication before the Most High. (Buckle, vol. ii., has a characteristic notice of this, where he falls into the odd mistake that in Scotland "fasting" meant abstinence from food I) IL Then there a.re CmraoH FASTS, These a.re only binding on the members of the several Churches that appoint them. In Scotla.nd it he.s for long been customary to 'hs.vefast-days in connection with the sacrament of the Lord's Supper; but as to this there is now a change. First their enforcement under penalties ceased ; then the rigour of their observance was given up; then, from the necessities of modem life, e.nd the knowledge that they were often the occasion of more evil than good, they have come in many cases to he discontinued. The question is one of Christian expediency, and requires to be dealt with both with wisdom and gentleness. Ill. Besides these there is PRIVATE FASTING. As to this, no rule can be laid down (cf. Rom. xiv. 5, 6). But certain principles should be kept in view, such as that fastina has no virtue in itself; that what may be good for one Christian me.y not suit anotb:r; e.nd the.t the great end of all such observances is spiritual good, " room to deny ourselves," a path" to bring 11!! daily nearer God."-F.
Ver. 7.-Gori's education of the peopl,e. L THE :MORAL RELATIONSHIP OF THE PEOPLE. We are not absolutely separate existences. Related through birth, custom, association, and in ot.her ways, we are connected, we are parts of one great whole. Hence in e. large degree we are what others have made UB. This must be taken into account as a factor in life. II. THE CONTINUOUS SPIRITUAL EOU'0ATION OF THE PEOPLE. The past speaks to us as well as the present. We learn from the dead e.s well as the living. Above all, we Lave the Bible. It is God's book, for it is man's hook. In it God speaks to us. Shows w whe.t he we.s, and therefore whe.t he is; what he has done, and therefore wl,at he will do. Reveals the le.ws and principles of government, and thus makes manifest his will, and that the only way to reach our true destiny is by loving and duiL, his will. 111. THE GROWlliG BESPONBIBILl'l'Y OF THE PEOPLE, Increased knowledge. Larger on. v11. 1-14.] THE BOOK OF ZECHARIAH. 73
experience. Grander opportunities. More may be learned, and therefore 011,ght to be learned, Better lives may be lived, and therefore ought to be lived. Greater things may be done for the good of others and for the advancement of the c:iuse and kinadom of the Lord, and th1Jrefore greater things ought to be done, Pri vileae 0 is the me~sure of responsibility.-F,
Ver. 11,-The history of ungodliness. I. GERM. The question is-Self or God, our own will or God's will. Must be settled. Pressed by prophet after prophet. The answer shows the state of the heart. "Refused to hear." II. PnoonEss. There is growth in evil, as in good. Stages. "First the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear." 1. Wilful refusal. "Pulled away the shoulder." Sinners will not submit to be guided by the higher will. Anary and fretted, they will not bow to God's yoke. 2. Insolent rejection. "Stopped their ears." Warnings and counsels are in vain. Pride rises to insolence. Refusal, to determine,l opposition and rebellion. 3. Settled obduracy. (Ver. 12.) This implies a steady process. The had is more and more gaining the mastery. Every fresh victory bringc:1 the time nearer when the evil becomes" unconquerable" (Greek adhamas). III. CONSUMMATION, (Ver. 13.) The end is come. 1, Ruined character. 2. Blasted life. 3. Hopeless future. "Oh I where is that mysterious bonrne, By which our path is crossed, Beyond which God himself bath sworn That he who goes is lost? "How far may we go on in sin? How long will God forbear? Where does hope end, and where begin The confines of despair? "An answer from the skies is sent, •Ye that from God depart, While it is called to-day, repent, And harden not your heart.' " ( Alexander.) l!'. Vers. 1-7.-Religious beliefs that are right; religious services that are wrong. "And it came to pass in the fourth year," etc. The preceding visions and symbu,ic actions recorded in this book occurred, we are informed, in the eighth month of the second year of King Darius, What is here recorded appears to have taken place in the ninth month of the fourth year of that king's reign-about twp years later. The ninth month is here called Chisleu, and corresponds with the latter part of November and the first part of December. What was the prophet doing during these two years? We hear nothing of him, although we doubt not he was busy in his prophetic labours. Indeed, we are informed in the Book of Ezra (vi. 14) that the elders of the J e1Vs builded, and they prospered through the prophecy of Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah the son of Iddo. Their prophetic words stimulated the activities and prompted the efforts of the builders. Here is an account of a commission composed of two men. called Sherezer and Regem-melech, distinguished personages, no doubt, still remaining in Babylon, sent as envoys to the house of God, that is, the temple at Jerusalem; and their work there was "to pray before the Lord, and to speak unto the priests." It would be well, perhaps, to give Dr. Henderson's translation of these two verses; and his trans- lation agrees with that of Keil: " And it came to pass in the fourth year of Darius the king, that the word of Jehovah was communicated to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Chislev, when Babel sent Sherezer Regemelech and his men to conciliate the regard of Jehovah," Looking at these words homiletically, they present two subjects for thought--religious beliefs that are right, and religio-us sei·vices that are wrong. J, RELIGIOUS BELIEFS THAT ARE RIGHT. There are three beliefs implied in this commission entrusted to Sherezer. What are they? 1. The efficacy of prayel', 'rhey 74 THE BOOK OF ZECRARIAH. [on. VII. 1-14.