"In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the Lord unto Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, the prophet, saying, The Lord hath been sore displeased with your fathers. Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Return unto Me, saith Jehovah of hosts, and I will return unto you, saith Jehovah of hosts."

     His one inclusive appeal is contained in the words,

     "Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Return unto Me, saith Jehovah of hosts, and I will return unto you, saith Jehovah of hosts."

     Everything which follows is by way of application and illustration.

     Notice first very carefully the suggestive title thrice repeated, "Jehovah of hosts," go to its history and its meaning. Think of its history. You cannot find it in Genesis; it does not occur in Exodus; it is absent from Leviticus; it is to be discovered neither in Numbers nor Deuteronomy. You never find it in the Pentateuch. You may go still further and you will not find it in the book of Joshua or the book of Judges. Then you come to the first book of Samuel, which is the book of transition from the Theocratic to the monarchic form of government, the story of how these people turned from God to a human government. In that book the title first occurs. The phrase was born with the monarchy. On the human side, as Perowne suggests, it was the result of the people's new thought of massed and marshalled armies. We are principally interested in the significance it gathered in the process of the years. In the historic books it very rarely occurs; but in the prophetic literature it is the constantly recurring title of Jehovah. Isaiah repeatedly employed it. Jeremiah used it more often than did Isaiah. Zechariah used it more frequently than any other prophet. Fifty-three times at least does this majestic and wonderful title appear upon the pages of this brief prophecy of fourteen chapters. In order to an understanding of the suggestiveness of the title we should need a careful examination of the prophetic use of it; not merely a study of the actual words, but of the place in which we find them in our Bible. Let three very simple thoughts suffice. The word hosts is used of stars, of angels, of the nation of Israel, of the armies of other nations. The significance of this fact is that whatever the title meant when it was first employed, it came ultimately to mean that Jehovah is sovereign Lord and Master of the universe. In the prophetic use of it is suggested, not the sovereignty of Jehovah in the abstract merely, but that sovereignty in activity. The prophet saw Jehovah marshalling all hosts-of stars, of angels, and of men. Zechariah lived in a day when Israel had lost its army, its power, and its organization; and he constantly spoke of Jehovah of hosts, thus reminding the people of the abiding and active sovereignty of Jehovah. The threefold use of the title in the opening paragraph of Zechariah speaks of that fact of sovereignty to the conditions in the midst of which the people found themselves.

     "Thus saith Jehovah of hosts."

     The declaration first suggests that the will of God is made known to His people. That is further illustrated by what follows.

     "Be ye not as your fathers, unto whom the former prophets cried, saying, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, Return ye now from your evil doings : but they did not hear, nor hearken unto Me, saith Jehovah. "

     The main value of that reference to the past is its insistence upon the fact that God has spoken His will to His people. That is His perpetual method. He speaks. He makes known His Will. The prophet insists upon it that He continues that method. That is the first part of the prophetic burden.

     "Return unto Me."

     That is the second value of the prophetic message. Jehovah calls His people back, and provides a way for their return. In the subsequent vision of Joshua, the high priest, confronted by Satan the adversary, the title is linked to the great announcement.

     "Thus saith Jehovah of hosts . . . Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou and thy fellows that sit before thee; for they are men which are a sign: for, behold, I will bring forth My Servant the Branch."

     Thus the way back to God is provided.

     "I will return unto you."

     That is the third value of the message. Jehovah promises to return to His people, and He accomplishes the work which makes this return possible.

     "Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith Jehovah of hosts."

     The power necessary for the restoration of order will be provided by the coming of God to His people, by His Holy Spirit.

     These are only the key-phrases, but around them the whole system of the prophet's thinking was grouped. His conviction was threefold; Jehovah reveals His will; Jehovah calls men back to Himself, and provides the way for their coming; Jehovah promises that if they will return, He will return to them, and He does so in the power and might of His own Holy Spirit. I am not prepared for one single moment to affirm that Zechariah apprehended the great doctrine of the Trinity, or those of our evangelical faith; but all are to be found potentially in his words. Jehovah of hosts speaks; it is the perpetual method of God with men, that of making known His will. Jehovah of hosts calls men to return; and in the mystery of that Branch-Whose nature is dealt with later on in the prophecy, and Whose history is writter-, in the last movement-He makes the way of return. Jehovah of hosts declares that if men will return to Him, He will return to them, and this He does by the coming of the Spirit. All this teaching was inclusively an unveiling first, of the pervasive power of God: and secondly, of the persistent purpose of God.

     The pervasive power of Jehovah is illustrated by the visions and by the oracles. This is seen when we take each one in separation, and allow it to make its own impression upon the mind In every-case certain conditions are described and side by side with the conditions, facts are declared which the average man cannot see.

     The first vision is that of the shady place; and also of the Watcher, the angel of Jehovah. The people were conscious of the shady place; but they were not conscious of the Watcher. He was unveiled.

     The second vision is that of the opposing forces and the weapons being formed against the people of God ; and also of the forces for the destruction of the opposing forces. The people are conscious of the weapons formed against them; but not of the forces for the destruction of those weapons. These were unveiled.

     The third vision is that of n city, and a young man so interested therein that he desired to measure it; and also of the fact that the new city had no walls, for two reasons ; first, because it is too great to be included by walls, and secondly, because it does not need the defense of walls by reason of the defense of Jehovah. The people were conscious of the city and of its imperfections, but they were not conscious of the splendour of the city that is to be. This was unveiled.

     The fourth vision is that of the adversary; and also of the Advocate. The people were conscious of the adversary; but they were not conscious of the Advocate. He was unveiled.

     The fifth vision is that of responsibility, the candlestick and the light shining in the dark places; and also a vision of resource, the oil and the perpetual supply. The people were conscious of the responsibility, but not of the resource. That was unveiled.

     The sixth vision is that of the presence of evil; and also of the practice and application of law. The people were conscious of the presence of evil; but not of the administration of law. That was unveiled.

     The eighth vision is that of the need of administration; and also of the spirit of government, the horsemen from the mountains of brass riding through the world for the establishment of order. The people were conscious of the need of administration; but were not conscious of the spirit of government. That was unveiled.

     Thus, under all circumstances, the prophet was conscious of the presence and activity of Jehovah of hosts. Jehovah the becoming One, the One Who becomes exactly what His people need in any and every hour of need. Are they in the shady place? He is the Watcher. Are weapons being formed against them? He is the destructive force that breaks the weapons. Is the new city being built? He is its defense. Is the adversary unmasked? He is the Advocate. Is the responsibility heavy 3 He is sufficient resource. Is evil present everywhere? He gives the law to which evil must bow. Is commerce polluted? He restricts the area. Is there need of administration? He sends forth riders upon horses from mountains of brass. This man in the midst of the difficulty, disappointment, and desolation of his day, saw Jehovah everywhere.

     The oracles teach the same lesson. The anointed King is rejected, but the book does not end with that story. The rejected King is enthroned by the pervasive power of Jehovah.

     The persistent purpose of Jehovah is illustrated by the same visions and oralcles. This is seen when they are considered, not in separation, but in sequence. Here I am compelled to touch upon controversial ground in the matter of interpretation. I hold that the vision of the myrtle trees is the vision of the present hour, so far as Israel is concerned, and that all the succeeding visions are yet unfulfilled. Israel has been in the shady place for over two millenniums. During all the period the Watcher is with her. Beyond the day of adversity, the day of trouble, will come the hour when Israel's enemies will be defeated. Then Jerusalem will be rebuilt. Israel, as the servant of God, will be cleansed from filthiness. Then she will fulfill her function in the world as the great light-bearer. Under those conditions the law will go forth from Jerusalem for the government of the world. Then Babylon will be held in check. Finally the Kingdom of Heaven will be established on earth, when the riders upon horses will proceed from the mountains of brass, and in the power of the Spirit encompass the world.

     All this reveals the persistent purpose of Jehovah, whereby, in spite of human failure, and all opposition of men or demons, He moves on towards the final goal.

     The same principle is illustrated by the oracles. The Advent of rejection prepares for the Advent of coronation. The Advent of coronation perfects the Advent of rejection.

     This prophecy, then, reveals the true attitude and activity of the people of God in days of darkness and of difficulty.

     "Thus saith Jehovah of hosts."

     What is the attitude of the people of God in the presence of that declaration? That of attention.

     "Return unto Me, saith Jehovah of hosts, and I will return unto you, saith Jehovah of hosts."

     What is the attitude of the people of God in the presence of that promise? To believe it, obey it, and work in the power of it:

     The great burden of the prophet to the men of his own age was that they were to build the house of God even though it was a day of darkness and disappointment; that they were to abolish their fasts by removing the cause for them, to have done with them by getting rid of the sin which occasioned them.

     However diversified our opinions may be as to the interpretation of the details of this book, its spirit speaks with no uncertain sound. There can be no mistaking its living message.

     There can be no mistaking its living message. If the final charge of Haggai is "Be strong . . . and work," the supreme message of Zechariah is its revelation of the secret of strength.

     When Paul was feeling the difficulties and discouragements of the Christian ministry, he wrote,

     "We faint not; but though our outward man is decaying, yet our inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is for the moment, worketh for us more and more exceedingly an eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal ; but the things which are not seen are eternal."

     That is the message of Zechariah in New Testament terms.

     "While we look not at the things which are seen." Haggai said, "Be strong . . . and work." Zechariah said, You will only be strong as you see the things that are not seen, the heavenly visions, and hear the things that are never heard, the heavenly voices. While we look at and while we listen to the unseen things and the unheard things: we do our best work.

     The proof of vision is strength. You tell me these days are dark days. So they are. But let us look not only at the things seen, but also at the things unseen. See the shady place if you will, but see also the angel of Jehovah watching. See clearly the horns that are being prepared for the destruction of the purposes of God, but see also the smiths that will destroy the horns. See the unseen. The secret of strength is vision. The proof of vision is strength. If men declare that they see these things and believe these things, and still do nothing, I cannot believe what they declare. Their sight is borrowed sight. They have been looking at a picture and not at the living fact. The man who sees the unseen is the man who grips the seen and masters it. The man who is conscious through all the appalling defeat of the hour, of the immediate, pervasive presence and power of God, is the man who gets hold of the piece of desolation nearest to him, and wrestles with it until it blossoms like the rose. The demonstration of vision is the strength with which men take hold of the difficulty of the present hour. I turn once again to the New Testament for the word which reveals the thought that was in the heart of the prophet, and which inspired him as he saw the visions fulfilled.

     "Wherefore lift up the hands that hang down, and the palsied knees; and wake straight paths fur your feet, that that which is lame be not tuned out of the way, but rather be healed."

     I am very much afraid that there are those who think it to be a sign of true sanctification to have hands hanging down, and palsied knees; that the measure of sanctification is the measure of pessimism; that the measure in which men are really spiritual is the measure in which they waste their breath deploring the difficulties of the hour.

     Though there be darkness to-day, if we see Jehovah, know His Presence, and fall in line with His power, it is ours to be sure of the consummation, and to hasten it. To see God here and now. and to fall in line with Him, is to be perfectly certain that presently when the Rejected is the Crowned, we shall share in the triumph, as we have shared in the travail.