The Golden Lamp and Its Goodly Lessons

DELIVERED BY

C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.

"And the angel that talked with me came again and awakened me, as a man
that is wakened out of his sleep and said unto me, What do you see? And
I said, I have looked and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl
upon the top of it and it has seven lamps thereon and seven pipes to
the seven lamps, which are upon the top: and two olive trees by it, one
upon the right side of the bowl and the other upon the left side. And I
answered again and said unto him, What are these two olive branches
which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of
themselves? And he answered me and said, Don't you know what these are?
And I said, No, my lord. Then he said, These are the two anointed ones
that stand by the Lord of the whole earth." Zechariah 4:1-3; 12-14.

THE Prophet, as he tells us in the introduction to His vision, had to
be awakened by the angel as one is awakened out of his sleep. His mind
was dull and heavy. Perhaps he was weary and worn out. Do you not often
feel a similar lethargy from which you need to be awakened before your
mind is equal to the study of those Truths which God is revealing to
your soul? May it not, then, be well, at the commencement of our
meditation, to pray the Lord to awaken us as a man is awakened out of
his sleep? A divinely mysterious power can brood over us and quicken us
out of lethargy. Have you ever felt it? "Or ever I was aware my soul
made me like the chariots of Amminadib." I had been slow before, but
when the Spirit came, then was fulfilled that ancient proverb, "Draw me
and I will run after You."

The touch of the Holy Spirit makes our faculties strong, our powers of
thought are greatly enlarged and we get the key to mysteries which we
never had been able to unlock before. Come, blessed Spirit, then, to
each one of Your slumbering children at this good hour and awaken us,
that we may see what You would set before us! Like young Samuel, whom
You called in his sleep, we would, each one, heartily say, " Speak,
Lord, for Your servant hears."

Beloved Friends, we live in a world which is naturally shrouded in
darkness. The "Prince of this world," "the Prince of the power of the
air" is a dark spirit loving ignorance and sin! This darkness hovers
over all the world as it did over Egypt–a darkness that might be felt
is upon the souls of men! We sometimes fear that this gloom will
thicken into an awful midnight. When we mix up with men in the ordinary
avocations of life and hear their profane language; when we see the
angry passions, the earthly propensities and the worldly policies that
prevail among people who are held in repute among their fellow
creatures, if we are children of God we cannot fail to be distressed
that the world should still be so benighted and so destitute of that
knowledge which purifies the heart.

Nearly 1,900 years have passed since the blessed feet of our Divine
Master touched this globe and yet it still smokes beneath the hoof of
the Wicked One! The sun has risen on this Egypt and yet a miserable
midnight covers the guilty people. We are apt, therefore, to become
somewhat desponding, lest the Light of the knowledge of God should
gradually wane–till at length it shall utterly die out. What, then,
would become of the world? If the one golden candlestick were taken out
of its place–if those who are the light of the world should all be
removed and if the sure Word of Prophecy which is like unto a light
that shines in a dark place, should become extinct–what, then, would
be the horrible darkness?

Now, I think the vision of Zechariah may remove all fear on that score.
Rest you well assured that the lighthouse which God has lighted to
guide men across the boisterous sea and preserve them from the peril of
eternal shipwreck shall have its lamps trimmed throughout all time!
Until the "Sun of Righteousness" shall rise, that lantern shall never
go out, for the Lord will take care that the Light of God shall still
shine, notwithstanding all that the powers of darkness may

do, or devise to extinguish it. This one thought I beseech you so to
grasp that it may strengthen your faith and comfort your hearts–the
light of God's Grace has been kindled never to be quenched! To this end
I invite your attention to the interesting parable contained in the
marvelous vision which Zechariah the Prophet beheld and described.

I. First, turn aside and see this great sight! Look, I beseech you, at
THE WONDERFUL LAMP WHICH GOD HAS

PROVIDED TO LIGHT THE SONS OF MEN. "He said unto me, What do you see?
And I said, I have looked and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a
bowl upon the top of it and it has seven lamps thereon and seven pipes
to its seven lamps, which are upon the top." Here is a candlestick that
must challenge the notice of all who gaze at it, for it is of costly
material and curious form–the work of wisdom fitted for the Holy Place
of the tabernacle of the Most High! It resembles the candlestick whose
pattern Moses received from God and yet, in some respects, it differs,
as we shall see.

The object is scarcely more remarkable than its position. Note that it
stood in the open. Under the old Covenant the candlestick stood within
curtains where only priestly eyes might see it–it was hidden from the
mass of the people. We are very apt to think that because the Jewish
ritual was full of symbols, the worship of the people must have been of
so materialistic a character that there was little or nothing to raise
the soul to spiritual adoration of the Invisible One. But it was not
so–to the average Israelite there was little more of symbol than to
us. Although it is true that within the Holy Place there were many
symbols, yet there were very few of God's people who ever saw one of
them and most probably we, ourselves, know far more about the types
than the Jews ever did.

The worship was not visible to the camp, for it was within an enclosed
space and when the people were settled in Canaan the actual temple area
could only hold a few of the vast multitudes who inhabited the land.
Within the Holy Place, the holiest of all, the "Holy of Holies," no man
ever entered except the High Priest and he but once in the year so that
they who worshipped God in the further parts of Palestine would, for
the most part, not even see the Tabernacle or the Temple! And when they
did go up to Jerusalem, they believed that the symbols were inside,
behind the veil. Their worship had less of the visible about it than we
are apt to imagine, for most of the material emblems were simply
certified to them by testimony and not otherwise verified to their
senses.

Then, as if to let us know that the Light of God did not yet fully
shine among men and that the fullness of Grace and Truth had not yet
been revealed, seeing Christ had not come, the seven-branched golden
candlestick stood out of sight of the mass of the people, shut in
within the curtains, enclosed within the Holy Place. But the lamp which
Zechariah saw was in the open air! We are quite sure of this because he
saw two olive trees growing, one on each side of it. It was, therefore,
in an open space. Today, Beloved, "the veil of the temple is torn in
two." What was mystery before has become plain to us now. Now we see
Jesus and, seeing Jesus, we behold a Light such as never greeted the
eyes of Prophets and kings. Though they longed to behold it, they died
without the sight.

Let us take care that we keep this lamp in the open–do not let us
suffer anyone to shut it up. Let the Gospel be preached plainly to the
masses of the people. Let the adorable name of Jesus Christ be
proclaimed in your street corners. In every place where you can have
access to the sons of men, let it be known that there is salvation in
none other than by Him and all that believe in Him shall obtain the
forgiveness of sins. Some would cover up the golden lamp with
ceremonial observances and others would hide it away under
philosophical quibbles and theological jargon! But be it yours to be a
"city set on a hill that cannot be hid" and what is said to you in
secret, speak in the light–what you learn in closets–publish aloud
upon the housetops!

Lift up the beacon that it may flame afar all over the land and across
the sea! Let the blaze of Gospel light flare out till dwellers in the
utmost parts of the earth shall ask, "What is this light? From where
does it come?" and you shall answer, "It is the candlestick of the Lord
once hidden among the peculiar people, but now set out before the
nations in Christ Jesus! It was once concealed under type and emblem,
but now made manifest by Him who speaks no more by parable, but tells
us plainly of the Father."

Note, next, that it was a lamp of pure gold. This is a fact of much
significance. We are emphatically told that it was a "candlestick all
of gold." The major vessels of the tabernacle were all of gold and
this, I think, indicates that the lamp which God has kindled is of the
most precious kind. The Church, which may be said to represent this
candlestick, is as God has made it–of pure gold. Those who are united
together in the fellowship of the Church of God on earth should be a
holy people, precious in the sight of the Lord, as gold is precious
among metals. There should be no mixture of dross

and tin, no careless reception of carnal men and mere formalists–but
those who are elect of God, precious in His sight and honorable.

God's chosen should be choice men. The lamp which holds the golden
light should itself be of gold! The Lord will not use an unholy church
to be His light-bearer and where there is an apostasy as to doctrine,
an absence of spiritual life, or a defection as to holiness of conduct,
He will not use such a church, lest His holy name be polluted among
men! His candlestick is all of pure gold! His people are a "peculiar
people," "sanctified unto Himself," "zealous of good works." If any who
seem to be religious delight themselves in sin–if they fail in
purity–they have no power to give light. And because of their
depravity they are as spots in our solemn feasts and mists that dim the
brightness of our shining.

Ungodly churches are not the candles of the Lord! If men find pleasure
in unrighteousness, they exert an influence baneful as the shadow of
death. How can the Light of God shine from them while they serve the
Prince of Darkness? What a mercy it is that God has set up a Church in
the world which shall bear testimony to His name and shall scatter the
Light abroad, because His Grace makes and keeps it "holiness unto the
Lord"! Let us love the Church of God! We must never think that any one
congregation, or any thousand congregations, can comprise the whole of
that Church! It is not for us to say, "The temple of the Lord are we."
God forbid!

He has a people scattered up and down throughout the whole earth–He
has a remnant even among churches which err from the faith who have
still kept their garments unspotted from the world, "And they shall be
Mine, says the Lord, in the day when I make up My jewels." Let us pray
for the Church militant, the entire body of His elect, the redeemed of
the Lord, the quickened of the Spirit, the called-out ones, the true
ecclesiae, the assemblies of the Lord, for these are they that are His
candlesticks, standing in the open as a "city set upon a hill that
cannot be hid," holding forth the Word of Life, that all who see the
Church in its life and the Church in its testimony may behold the Light
of God!

This wonderful candlestick, all of gold, you will observe, is lit with
golden oil. Such is the expression used in our text. At the 12th verse,
we read, "Which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out
of themselves." The quality of the oil is, doubtless, here commended,
for I suppose it means the very best possible oil of a rich golden
color and in value, in splendor, in purity and in clearness excellent
beyond all praise. This represents that precious doctrine, that golden
Truth of God, that fullness of Gospel Grace which keeps alive the Light
of the Church of God. Or may it not remind us of the Divine Spirit,
who, coming into His Church and imparting to her the golden oil of His
Graces and gifts, enables her to maintain her brilliance of testimony
and to scatter her Light among the sons of men.

The Holy Spirit is also the flame by which the oil is kindled and made
to burn and give its light–and thus we have the Truth of God on a
blaze with sacred fervor–sound doctrine united with intense zeal–and
all because the Spirit of Truth is present and reveals Himself at the
same time as the Spirit of Power! We will say of this golden oil that
it is the Truth, the living and incorruptible Word of God. This is the
oil which the Church must burn and with this she must trim her lamps.
No strange doctrines, no vain traditions, no scientific conjectures, no
poetical reveries, no thoughts of men, no excogitations of human
brains, but the revealed Word of God, the Truth as Jesus Christ has
given it to us! The Truth as the Holy Spirit has revealed it in the
sacred Book! The Truth as He brings it home with Divine power to our
understanding and conscience.

This it is that we must use and we must take care that if we have it,
we empty it out of ourselves into the golden pipes that they may never
be without sacred oil to keep the flame alive! Precious beyond all
conception is the Truth of God! God will not be served with falsehood,
but in Truth is His delight. Take care that you bring nothing here but
the best of the best, nothing but the unadulterated olive oil of
Revelation. What blunders and mistakes we make in the management of our
own business! Should not this make us very careful in doing the work of
the Lord that we do it not in a slovenly manner and so provoke Him to
anger?

Dear Brothers and Sisters, I hope we desire to be clean before God as
to His Truth. I pray you not to trifle with it! Never tack with the
wind of public opinion, but watch, if necessary, while the world lasts
and wait for the fulfillment of God's Word and be assured that it will
surely come to pass. Though you may well be tolerant of error in
others, since you are so liable to it yourselves, yet be jealous of
your own hearts and keep out of them every false doctrine. "Contend
earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints." If there is any
adulteration of the oil, the lamps will burn but dimly– perhaps they
will go out. This golden lamp shone with a sevenfold brightness! There
were seven lamps to this golden can-

dlestick and there were seven pipes to the seven lamps–and, as some
read it, there were seven pipes to each one of these lamps, so that it
gave seven times the light that the old lamp of the Temple ever gave.

The suggestion has been hazarded that there were seven times seven
pipes and the Hebrew might allow of such a translation. At any rate,
there was seven times more light given by this mystic lamp seen by
Zechariah than had ever been given by the candlestick of the old
dispensation. God has given us Light enough to flood the world with,
today, in the generous Gospel that is preached among all nations. The
light of the Law all but blinded the dim eyes of the Jew, but oh, the
Light of the Gospel! How it has sometimes overpowered all our senses!
Saul of Tarsus tells us that about noon, suddenly there shone a great
light round about him and he fell to the earth. So, too, many of us can
testify that when the Glory of God in the salvation of a lost sinner
first flashed upon our souls, we were so amazed that no strength
remained in us!

"Dissolved by His goodness we fell to the ground and wept to the praise
of the mercy we found." Overpowering was the effect when the brilliance
of Gospel Light beamed upon our weak eyes at first and even now, though
the Lord has strengthened our spiritual sight so that we rejoice in the
Light, it is still, at times, more than we can bear! What a glory it
has! Vain men ask us to delight ourselves with the sparks they have
kindled! Let it suffice that our Light renders all the flashes of
natural joy, things too dim to notice! They tell us of something new
they have thought up. To their apprehension, no doubt, it seems very
wonderful. They may strike their matches and light their candles if
they will–we are more than satisfied with the Eternal Sun!

You may bring your ancient lamps from Rome. You may fetch your tapers
from Oxford and the Anglican imitators of Rome, but the lamp which the
Holy Spirit has kindled by the Divine Word is better than all the glare
of Antichrist! This despised Book has seven times more light than all
the solons of antiquity or all the glare of modern times. There is none
like it! Only have eyes to see it and you shall rejoice in this Light!
It is the Light of God, Himself! Spread it, then, if you have it and
let it shine in your families! Let it shine on the town or city where
you dwell! Let it shine all over the earth, for there is no such light
as the Light of the Eternal Gospel, "the light of the glory of God in
the face of Jesus Christ." Oh that all saw it and loved it and lived in
it!

II. Thus have I spoken about the wonderful lamp. Now, I ask those of
you who love the study of God's Word to follow me a little in
considering the description that is given of THE COMPLETE MACHINERY,
THE PERFECT APPARATUS PROVIDED FOR THIS LAMP. If you notice, it was a
"Candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it and it has
seven lamps thereon and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon
the top: and two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl
and the other upon the left side." We do not read anything about pipes
and bowls in the old Temple lamp. I suppose that each one of its seven
lights had to be fed distinctly and separately by the officiating
priest with a separate portion of oil, but in this case there seems to
have been a bowl at the top of the seven branches into which the golden
oil first entered and from which it flowed out again and thus each of
the branch lights was fed.

At any rate, you see that a complete apparatus was provided and is
described. The details are given. The pipes, bowl and so on were all
arranged with exquisite precision. Correspondingly, in the Church of
God we ought to pay much attention to detail. I do not think we look to
it half as much as we should. If the lamps are to be kept trimmed, you
must attend to the pipes and you must see to the golden oil. We ought,
each man, to think, "Now, I have something to do to keep this
candlestick in proper order. I have something to do with keeping this
lamp burning." One man may be compared, as it were, to the bowl because
he yields much of the light of intelligence and instruction,
communicating knowledge and counsel to the Church of God.

Another is a pipe to the Sunday school and yet another golden pipe runs
to the young men's class. One is a pipe to the poor and ignorant in the
streets, another to the sick, another is a golden pipe to those who are
at home with their families. There is some point to which each one in
Christ's Church may help to conduct the golden oil to keep the blessed
flame of the Truth of God always burning in this dark world. I want
you, Brothers and Sisters, to look, one and all of you, after the
details of Church work. Especially in a Church of such magnitude as
this, with such a multiplicity of agencies, attention to detail is most
requisite. What can one overseer do? What could 20 pastors do? It is
impossible if you leave this work entirely to us that it will ever be
properly discharged.

Oh no–let each member have its own office in the body, even as each
pipe had its own oil to carry to the one light of the candlestick which
it had to supply. Do not get out of your place, do not interfere with
other people's service–do

your own work and see that it is well done and then look over all the
Church and pray the Lord to supervise the whole, so that the golden
bowl and the golden pipes may all be in full operation. Of this
machinery which is thus mentioned in detail there seems to have been an
abundance. If there were seven pipes to each one of the lights of the
lamp, (and I think it was so), there could have been no lack of
service. So, beloved Friends, we must mind that the Church in her
machinery is ever kept abundantly supplied!

We ought not to be slack in our labors nor scanty in our equipments.
The everlasting Gospel should be promulgated with great energy and
varied service. Little oil will mean little light–little Grace will
mean little work for God and little Glory to His blessed name. But let
us endeavor to make every arrangement more effective. The light might
not be extinguished even in one pipe–to the completeness of the Divine
design every light must be in good order. Be it our aim to keep the
seven pipes constantly flowing and feeding so as to convey a sevenfold
measure of oil that the light may burn steadily on from hour to hour
till the Lord comes! This apparatus still further suggests to us the
idea of unity. As I have already said, there were seven distinct lights
to the old lamp of the Jewish sanctuary and these could be individually
filled–but here they are all one.

One bowl is filled with oil and from it the oil runs down the pipes to
each of the lights. So is there unity in the Church. We all suffer if
one suffers! We are all the better if one is in a prosperous condition.
No man lives to himself and no man dies to himself. Though I speak of
myself now as a fool, yet, it is true–if I decline in Grace I injure
all of you, more or less, and you, also, in some measure, exert a like
influence upon me, though not to the same extent, because you do not
occupy the same public station. Every member of the Church who grows
poor in Grace impoverishes all the rest in some degree. We act and
react upon each other. I am sure the preacher can do injury to the
hearer and the hearer can, in measure, injure the preacher. Let your
Grace decline and your prayerfulness be restrained and the pastor must
feel the loss and his ministry will bear melancholy evidence that the
Spirit of God is not witnessing mightily among us.

So instead of one enriching the other we may, by sinful neglect,
mutually endanger our prosperity–no, we may beggar each other and
become partners in destitution and distress! May it never be so with
us, but may we always prove ourselves to be a warm-hearted, loving,
prayerful people who are so glowing ourselves that we warm up those
that are cold and kindle fresh life in those that are expiring! Then if
the whole congregation is consecrated to God and the Grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ gladdens them all and they are filled with the fruits of
righteousness, the minister can never be dull and drowsy–his heart
will be aglow with sacred fervor and his preaching will be resplendent
with Divine Light and fire!

The pews will respond to the pulpit! Fire will kindle to a flame and
the flame will kindle fresh fire! Vitality will promote revival–our
tone will be spirited and inspiriting! A breath from the four winds
will make a stir among the dry bones and an army shall presently arise.
The force of sympathy shall be felt and oh, free commerce in all our
holy gifts will flourish in our commonwealth! Oh may it be so! I know
it is desirable and I feel that it will be attained. Nor is it merely
for one Church we are thus anxious–all the Churches need the same
consecration. If one Church is dull, it injures other Churches. All the
Churches of Jesus Christ are really one and, as even my little finger
cannot be ailing without my head suffering in consequence, so even the
smallest Church in the most remote village cannot decline without the
entire body of the faithful, whether it is known to themselves or not,
being losers thereby.

Look well, then, to every portion of the apparatus of this golden
lamp–examine its details–keep it well trimmed and abundantly
supplied. Remember its unity, for with all its many pipes, it is but
one candlestick.

III. But the most remarkable disclosure in this vision was THE
MYSTERIOUS SUPPLY BY WHICH THESE

LAMPS ARE KEPT BURNING. There were no priests to trim these lamps, nor
is mention made of anyone being appointed to keep them in order! No
golden snuffers nor golden snuff dishes were used. Nor was any oil
brought by any living man to replenish them. That is remarkable!
Moreover there is no mention of oil being given by the people. The lamp
in the Temple was fed by the offerings of the people–they brought the
best oil to keep the lamp perpetually burning before the altar. There
is nothing of the kind here–that is not the way by which this oil gets
to the lamp in the vision before us. Neither by priest nor people is it
supplied.

But how, then? Why simply by a natural process without any
machinery–for there are two olive branches–"Two olive trees by it,
one upon the right side of the bowl and the other upon the left side.
And these trees in this vision empty the golden oil out of themselves
through the two golden pipes and so the marvelous lamp is kept
supplied! It is a very

amazing picture which is now before you, oil flowing directly from the
living tree and at once creating light! Ordinarily, when the olive tree
yields its berries, they must be taken to the mill and ground before
oil can be produced. I have gone into the olive mill, myself, and seen
the great stones crushing the berries and I have seen the other
processes by which the olive oil is prepared for the lamp–but there is
no mention, here, of any mill, or press, or strainer, or jar, or bottle
of oil.

The food of this light does not come in that way at all, but the tree
grows and, in a mysterious way imparts its fatness to the bowl from the
pipe and in this way the flame is fed. Thus we are shown that the Light
of God is not dependent upon human will or human skill! It is an apt
illustration of the text we were reading just now which lights up the
whole chapter. "Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the
Lord of Hosts." Not by your grinding out your oil by laboriously
turning the mill of study, nor by your contributions of wealth, nor by
your eloquence and logic, but by Divine agency shall living men be
raised up and through these living men shall come the wondrous golden
oil of Grace by which the lamp of testimony shall be kept bright and
the darkness of the world shall be overcome!

At first sight the provision may appear to be inadequate to the
purpose. For God to make two olive trees grow by the side of the
candlestick seems, at first, to be a deficient arrangement because the
trees stand out so separate from the lamp that we cannot perceive any
connection between them. Had I beheld that vision as the Prophet saw
it, I feel I should have been as perplexed as he was. I would have
said, "What are these?" I could not have made it out. Two olive trees
growing by the side of a candelabrum! What connection can there be
between them and it? But that is the very pith of the vision! You are
to be shown the unique manner in which the Lord keeps His Church
burning and shining without mechanism. He simply raises up chosen men,
perhaps only two, sometimes more, who live and grow and in their life
and growth they bring forth, by God's Grace, as from their very souls,
the sacred Truth of God–the holy oil with which the lamp of God is
kept burning!

I suppose that the two olive trees represent, in this case Joshua, the
High Priest, of whom we read that his filthy garments were taken away
and he was clothed with change of raiment. And Zerubbabel, of whom we
read in this chapter that his hands had laid the foundation and his
hands should finish the house. These were the two men whom God
strengthened and enabled to set up a standard because of the Truth of
God. The Lord qualified them to build the Temple that He might be
glorified. Those two men, by Divine Grace, carried out the Lord's
design, moving the people to the sacred service. Joshua was made the
ruler and teacher of the people and Zerubbabel was promised that his
hands should lay the top stone, as his hands had laid the foundation of
the Temple. And this, too, when Judah's lamp burned

dim and her light was well-near gone out!

These two, though they were nothing in themselves but godly men, who,
like living trees, brought forth fruit unto God, should be the means,
according to the appointment of God, of keeping up the sacred Testimony
so long as they lived. Such means certainly appear insignificant in
comparison with the magnificent result to be achieved. But that is
God's way of working–He generally works by ones or twos and when He
uses two, He couples them well. In the missions of the Lord's ordaining
we observe Moses and Aaron, Caleb and Joshua, Elijah and Elisha, Peter
and John, Paul and Barnabas, Calvin and Luther, Whitefield and Wesley.

Foolish persons rail at a one-man ministry, but what can they say
against a two-man ministry? To the end of time there will be two
witnesses–representative men will rise in pairs and do the work of the
Lord so as to awaken the whole Church. Little as the world may think of
them at the time, men do arise whose influence wonderfully displays the
power of God, for they are made to stand like olive trees and, by some
mysterious means, it is through them that the lamp of God is kept
burning continuously! Of these two men I want you to notice two things.
You wonder how it is that God should speak of them as keeping the lamp
burning. He does so speak of them, for He says, "These are the two
anointed ones that stand by the Lord of the whole earth."

First, remember that they are able to do this because they stand before
the Lord of the whole earth! Those whom God chooses to do His work
stand as His servants in His sight–they could do nothing of themselves
or by themselves, but their testimony comes from God and their unction
is of the Holy One and they are clothed with Divine energy– otherwise
they would be weak as the rest of their brothers. Then be sure of this
that they have been anointed–they are said to be "anointed ones." We
have no power to pour forth oil till we have been, ourselves, anointed.
It is not possible that we should feed the holy Light until God has
worked in us the will of His own good Spirit. These men are said to

have been filled with the Spirit of God according to the sixth
verse–"Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord."

There is Joshua! You can see him. He is clad in filthy garments! Is
this the Lord's High Priest? Is this he that is to instruct the people?
Is he the man who wears garments that are old and soiled and foul? Yes,
that is the man! "Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says
the Lord of Hosts," and My Spirit shall rest upon this poor Joshua,
this brand plucked out of the burning and he shall teach My people!
There is the other man over yonder–Zerubbabel. He is a poor, timid
creature. It is the day of small things with him. He has but little
confidence. God has to chide him and say, "Who has despised the day of
small things?" But he is the man before whom the mountain shall become
a plain! He is the man that shall build the Temple of the Lord because
the Spirit of God shall be upon Him–"Not by might, nor by power, but
by My Spirit, says the Lord of Hosts."

You will always find that when God chooses men to do His work, He makes
it palpable to everybody that they are nothing but men. Sometimes they
have imperfections over which we mourn very much and over which they
mourn far more than we do! But these manifest tokens of their infirmity
show more distinctly the infinite skill of Him who uses such poor
instruments. The frailty of the earthen vessels is made evident so that
the excellency of the power which is of God and not of them may be the
more conspicuous! So it is with God's work, for He will have it known
that it is not by charm of eloquence, nor by force of reasoning, but by
His Spirit that He operates with resistless power! He takes men, poor
humble men that seem no more able to trim the golden lamp than two
olive trees would be and He works by them to the praise of the Glory of
His Grace!

Yet these men must be full of faith. "Who are you, O great mountain?
Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain." I doubt not that
Zerubbabel grasped that promise, relied upon it and rejoiced in it and
proved himself to be a man of faith. God will use us, whatever our
faults are, if we have faith! I do not know what use He could make of
any man who has no faith. Read the 11th chapter of Hebrews and notice
on what strange men God set the seal of His approbation because they
had faith. Samson may be quoted as an extreme case–speaking after the
manner of men we might have thought that God would have set him aside,
altogether, because there were such serious flaws in his character. Yet
he was a great child-man who, with all his faults, believed in God and,
perhaps, believed more in God than many who were far better than he in
other respects.

With a thousand enemies before him, only think of that one man, daring,
through His confidence in God, to fling himself upon them all–with no
weapon except a poor ass's jawbone! Look! He leaps upon the crowd!
"Heaps upon heaps. With the jawbone of an ass have I slain a thousand
men." He never counted the odds. He just went at it, believing that God
would help him, however tremendous the struggle might be. So when they
put him, blind as he was, into that huge temple of the Philistine gods
where everything was so strong and massive that it could bear up all
the Philistine lords up there in the gallery, he begins feeling for the
pillars. This poor blind man, whose hair had been shorn and who had
been made a prisoner by his bitter adversaries, feels for the huge
columns, believing that God would enable him to snap them like reeds,
or rock them to and fro as bulrushes!

Oh what a desperate and glorious tug was that! What a transcendent act
of faith when he bowed himself with all his might and pulled the
structure down upon the heads of his oppressors! A glorious faith
animated him! He was a poor specimen of propriety in many respects–he
was made of strange stuff–but there was grandeur in his faith and that
saved him! O my dear Brother, if you can believe God, God can use you!
But if you have no faith, or if you have but a weak, trembling faith,
your unbelief will hinder the Lord and it will be said of you, "God
could not do many mighty works by him, because of his unbelief."

Oh, if we could believe more implicitly and venture to act more
unreservedly on the certainty of the covenanted promises, what exploits
we might achieve! The limit of our usefulness is narrowly set by our
lack of confidence in God. If we had more faith, the harvests we reap
which yield tenfold, might yield fifty-fold, or a hundred-fold! With
more faith the weakest of us might be as David and David would be as
the Angel of the Lord! God grant us His Grace that we may so believe
and rely upon His sure Word that we may become men fit for His use and
profitable for His service. One thing more is prominent and
unmistakable about these men–these olive-tree men that fed the lamp
and kept it burning–they ascribed all their success to Grace, for it
is said that when the top stone of the Temple should be brought out
there should be shouts of, "Grace, Grace, unto it."

If souls are saved, it is always by a ministry of Grace! Whatever else
is left out in a soul-saving testimony, there must be a clear ring as
to Grace! Election by the Grace of the Father, regeneration by the
Grace of the Holy Spirit, remission of sins by the Grace of God through
the atoning blood of Jesus–Grace beginning, continuing and perfecting!
I like the word, "Grace," even when it is coupled with an adjective and
spoken of as, "Sovereign Grace," "Free Grace," "Effectual Grace"–and
all those whom God will bless must be men that love His Grace and feel
His Grace and preach His Grace– for this is the very essence of the
golden oil by which the lamp is trimmed. These men, or rather these
trees, emptied out the golden oil, "out of themselves."

They did not make the golden oil–it came into them by the miraculous
power of God–the process was beyond Nature! Men cannot create Grace
any more than trees could prepare oil themselves. Olive trees cannot
distil oil without a press, nor can men be the means of Grace to others
unless God shall cause them to be so and then they empty out themselves
to a good and gracious purpose. Well, dear Brothers and Sisters, if you
want to know how to be useful, one of the things that is absolutely
necessary is that you empty yourselves out! Do you expect to give
anything to another without losing it yourself? You will be mistaken!
Take it as a general rule that nothing can come out of you that is not
in you and as the next general rule it takes something out of you to
give something to other people.

Paul said he did not merely wish to impart the Gospel to the people,
but himself, also. Though he did not preach himself, yet he was willing
to spend and be spent so long as he could bring souls to Christ. I
believe the difference between the result of the labor of one man and
another is often this–one gives more out from himself than another. I
am acquainted with some very learned Brothers of mine who do not feed
many people. They are huge barrels of learning, like the Heidelberg
wine cask and they are full to the brim with the best wine in the
world, but never much comes out! On the other hand, I have never,
myself, been anything but a very small cask but I let everything run
out that is put into me. If you have not 10 talents to boast of, turn
the one talent you have over and over and over and over again and you
will make far more of it than if you let many talents lie still and
rust.

Take care that you are actively earnest in the cause of the Master and
a blessing will surely come out of it. Oh how it shows the wisdom of
God and the power of God when He makes simple means produce surprising
results and, by feeble instruments, compasses His infinite
forethoughts! God might have been glorified by doing the work Himself,
as when of old He stretched forth the heavens and laid the foundations
of the earth, speaking and it was done. But He is far more glorified by
using poor, unworthy creatures for the accomplishment of His Divine
purposes! When Quintin Matsys made the celebrated well-cover at
Antwerp, it would have been highly creditable to him even if he had
used the best of implements to make it with.

When we are told, however, that his fellow workmen robbed him of his
tools and that he did it with one common hammer or some such
instrument, our estimation of the artist's skill is greatly enhanced.
It is no wonder that the Spirit of God can, Himself, convert souls–the
wonder is that He converts men by us! That we, who are so imperfect and
so feeble, should become channels of blessing is a great marvel! Those
two olive trees might, it was feared, grow in the way of the light, but
God made them to be its maintainers! The branches of our infirmity
might hide the light from the people's eyes if Grace did not intervene
and make every one of them yield its olives and pour out its measure of
oil for the supply of the golden candelabrum!

Therefore, Brothers and Sisters, if you have the Light of God, shed it!
If you have Grace, endeavor to impart it! The Lord has blessed you–ask
Him to bless you more by His Holy Spirit. Let those olive trees,
yielding abundance of oil, be your model that your lively vigor may
prove of lasting value to the Church. So be the Lord with you from now
on and forever. Amen and amen!
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The Lamentations of Jesus