I. SYMBOLICALLY REPRESENTED. (Vers. 2, 3.) Candelabrum.

II. DEVOUTLY CONTEMPLATED. (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.

I. AS A STUDENT OF THE DIVINE REVELATION. "I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his 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?" This candelabrum made of gold, with a bowl on the top, its seven lamps and seven pipes, etc., is taken by most expositors to represent the Church of God, and popular preachers go on to draw analogies between the candlestick and the Church. Of course, this is easy work. But the Church of God, as the phrase is, has not, alas! been very golden or very luminous. The ideal Church is all this. The candlestick may, I think, fairly represent the Bible, or God's special revelation to man: that is golden, that is luminous, that is supernaturally supplied with the oil of inspiration. In fact, in the passage, the interpreting angel designates this candlestick, not as the Church, but as the "word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel." I make two remarks concerning this revelation.

1. It has in it sufficient to excite the inquiry of man as a student. The prophet, on seeing these wonderful objects, exclaimed, "What are these, my lord?" He seemed to feel as Moses felt in relation to the burning bush, when he said, "I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not consumed." What wonderful things are in this Bible! It is a museum of wonders; and the greatest of all wonders is God manifest in the flesh.

2. It has an interpreter that can satisfy man as a student. The angel to whom the prophet directed his inquiry promptly answered. "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." The prophet here displays two of the leading attributes of a genuine student of the Divine.

(1) Inquisitiveness. He inquires; and because he inquires, he receives an answer. Had he not inquired, the object would have remained an unmeaning symbol. The Bible is an unmeaning book to the great masses of mankind, because they do not inquire into its significance. Truth is only got by genuine inquiry.

(2) Ingenuousness. The first reply of the interpreting angel to the prophet was, "Knowest thou not what these things mean? and he said, "No, my lord." At once he confesses his ignorance. "Let us," says Dr. Wardlaw, "imitate the twofold example - both that of inquisitiveness and that of ingenuousness. Let us be on the alert in our inquiries after knowledge; and in order to our acquiring it, never foolishly, and to save our pride and vanity, affect to have what we have not." The man who develops; these two attributes in relation to God's Word, has a Divine Interpreter at his side, namely, the Spirit of God, who will lead him into all knowledge.

II. AS A DOER OF THE DIVINE WILL. Man has not only to study, but to work; not only to get Divine ideas, but to work them out. "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 hath sent me unto you." The work of the prophet was to convey a message from God to Zerubbabel, and the message he conveyed was a men, age to work. Man is to be a "worker together" with God. I offer two remarks concerning man as a worker out of the Divine will.

1. That though his difficulties may appear great, his resources are infinite. Zerubbabel, in rebuilding the temple, had enormous difficulties. Those difficulties hovered before him as mountains. But great as they were, he was assured that he had resources more than equal to the task. "Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts." By this is meant, not that human might and power are not required, or are utterly useless, but Divine might would give aid to all honest, effort and endeavour. The difficulties in a good man's path of duty rise oftentimes like mountains before him; but let him not be disheartened; those mountains are nothing compared with the might that is guaranteed. "If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove," etc.

2. That though his efforts may seem feeble, his success will be inevitable.

(1) The feebleness of human efforts is here implied. "Who hath despised the day of small things?"

(a) It is common to despise small things. Proud man will only honour what seem to him great things - conventionally great. A small house, a small business, a small book, - these are despised.

(b) It is foolish to despise small things. All great things were small in their, beginnings.. London was once a little hamlet; the oaken forest once an acorn. We do not know what really are small things; what we consider small may be the greatest things in the universe.

(c) It is contemptible to despise small things. Truly great souls never do so.

(2) The success of feeble efforts is here guarenteed. "He shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it." Literally, the promise is that Zerubbabel, notwithstanding all the difficulties he had to contend with in rebuilding the temple, should see it completed, should see the crowning stone laid on the building, amid the hosannahs of the people: "Grace, grace unto it!" So it will be with every genuine work to which a true man puts his hand in the name of God. It will be finished; there will be no failure, success is inevitable. "As I live, saith the Lord, the whole earth shall be filled with my glory" (Numbers 14:21). - D.T.

I. THE SLUMBER OF THE SOUL. (Ver. 1.) Want of consciousness and activity. Delusions (Isaiah 29:7), Peril (Mark 13:36).

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, property, friends, and such like incidents. Word of the truth. Law and gospel. The Spirit of Christ. (1 Kings 19:11, 12; John 16:8-13; Revelation 1:10-20.)

III. THE GLORIOUS THINGS REVEALED TO THE AWAKENED SOUL. The question. Mark:

1. The time. When the soul was awakened; not before (Isaiah 1:4; Luke 9:32).

2. The purpose. To stimulate activity. "I have looked." Must use our own faculties.

3. The reset. Manifold things revealed. As we are, so will our sight be. Press thee question, "What seest thou?" In nature.

"O lady, we receive but what we give,
And in our lives alone does nature live."

(Coleridge) Human life. Life all confused and dark, a maze without a plan, or the hand of God. Holy Scriptures. God. Truth. Immortality. Christ. "We see Jesus (Hebrews 2:9). - F.

I. THE SPIRIT OF THE LEARNER. Humility. The first thing to know, as the ancient sage said, is that we know nothing. Love of truth. For its own sake. To be sought for as hidden treasure - with ardour and delight. Obedience. Not merely readiness to receive, but courage to act. Faithful carrying out of principles. Progress. Step by step, in the spirit of self-sacrifice "When first thine eyes unveil, give thy soul leave to do the like" (Vaughan).

Study is like the heaven's glorious sun,
That will not be deep search'd with saucy looks;
Small have continuous plodders ever won,
Save base authority from others' books."

(Shakespeare.)

II. THE SPIRIT OF THE LEARNED.

1. Wisdom. Not mere knowledge, but insight into character, and capacity to turn knowledge to the best account.

2. Kindness. Hence patience with ignorance and prejudice. Loving endeavour to give to others what has been good and a joy to themselves.

3. Faithfulness. Not hiding what should be told; not making compromises of principle; not striving for the mastery, but for the victory of truth.

4. Humility is as much the character of the learned as of the learner (cf. Newton likening himself to a child gathering shells).

"Were man to live coeval with the sun,
The patriarch-pupil would be learning still,
And dying leave his lesson half unlearnt." F.

I. THE MINISTRY OF THE CHURCH. Talent, culture, wide sympathies, zeal and eloquence, not enough. Even truth not enough. Need more. "My Spirit." There must be a right relation to God. There must be the quickening of the soul with the life of God - the energizing and elevating of the natural powers to the highest capacity and use. This influence is necessary both for preachers and hearers.

II. THE WORSHIP OF THE CHURCH. In the Church God draws near to us and we draw near to God. As a Father to his children he speaketh unto us; as children unto a Father we should speak unto him.

1. Praise.

2. Prayer.

3. Hearing of the Word.

4. Communion.

5. Times of refreshing.

It is only as we are quickened from above that our worship is hearty and true (cf. John 4:23), acceptable to God, and profitable to ourselves.

III. THE WORK OF THE CHURCH. Life must precede work. As individuals, in the society to which we belong, and in our daily life, we are called to serve God. Every one has his place and his work. It is as we carry out faithfully the duty committed to us that the cause of the Lord will prosper, and "his kingdom come" at home and abroad. - F.

I. THOUGH THE WORK BE DERIDED, IT IS GOD'S WORK. Therefore we are sure it is right and good. We can throw ourselves into it with all our heart. Patience. What is of God cannot fail.

II. THOUGH THE DIFFICULTIES BE GREAT, THEY ABE CAPABLE OF BEING OVERCOME, Difficulties are a test. They show what spirit we are of. They separate the chaff from the wheat. Remember "Formality" and "Hypocrisy" in the 'Pilgrim's Progress.' Difficulties are a challenge. They put us on our mettle. Courage mounteth with occasion. Once we can say, "It is our duty," nothing should daunt us (Acts 5:29; Acts 20:24). In A.D. Napoleon wanted to cross the Alps with his army into Italy. He asked Marescot, chief of the engineers, "Is it possible?" He replied, "Yes, but with difficulty." "Let us, then, set out," was the order of the great captain (1 Corinthians 9:25). Difficulties are our education. It is not ease but effort that makes men. "Our antagonist is our helper," said Burke. "He who has battled, were it only with poverty and hard toil, will be found stronger and more expert than be who could stay at home from the battle, concealed among the provision waggons, or even resting uuwatchfully, abiding by the stuff" (Carlyle). So it is in all spheres of activity. "To overcome, we must conquer as we go." Difficulties lead us to a deeper and truer appreciation of our dependence upon God (Romans 5:3-5; Romans 8:31, 37).

III. THOUGH THE PROGRESS BE SMALL, ULTIMATE SUCCESS IS CERTAIN. God's Word is sure. He is truth, and cannot lie. He is love, and cannot betray. He is almighty, and cannot be defeated. The laying of the foundationstone, in his Name, implies the completion of the structure; and, by faith, we already hear the shoutings and the jubilant cries as the work is finished. "Grace, grace unto it!" - F.

I. THEY HAVE A HIGH ORDER OF LIFE IN THEM. They are represented by the olive branches. There are few productions of the vegetable kingdom that are of such a high order as the olive. Though not large, seldom rising higher than thirty feet, it has a rich foliage, beautiful flowers, abundant fruit, and withal is filled with precious oil. One tree contains often not less than a thousand pounds of precious oil. Its fatness was proverbial (Judges 9:9); it is an evergreen, and most enduring. In short, it is marked by great beauty, perpetual freshness, and immense utility. It was one of the sources of wealth in Judaea, and its failure was the cause of famine. The emblems of a true teacher are not dead timber or some frail vegetable life, but an olive tree. Religious teachers should not only have life, but life of the highest order. They should be full of animal spirits, full of creative genius, full of fertile thought, full of Divine inspiration. Men whose vitality is of a low order are utterly disqualified to be public religious teachers. They should not be reeds, fragile, and with temporary foliage, but like a "green olive tree in the house of God." The curse of the modern pulpit is its lack of vitality, freshness, and power.

II. THEY COMMUNICATE THE MOST PRECIOUS ELEMENTS OF KNOWLEDGE. They "empty the golden oil out of themselves." Whether the expression "golden" here signifies merely the richness of its colour or the preciousness of its property, it scarcely matters. It has been observed by modern travellers that the natives of olive countries manifest more attachment to olive oil than to any other article of food, and find nothing adequate to supply its place. Genuine religious teachers feed the lamp of universal knowledge with the most golden elements of truth. They not only give the true theory of morals and worship, but the true theory of moral restoration. What a high value Paul set on this knowledge! "I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord." What are the true genuine religious teachers doing? They are pouring into the lamps of the world's knowledge the choicest elements of truth.

III. THEY LIVE NEAR TO THE GOD OF ALL TRUTH. "Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth." They "stand," a position of dignity; "stand," a position of waiting - waiting to receive infallable instructions, ready to execute the Divine behests. All true religious teachers live consciously near to God. To "stand by the Lord of the whole earth" is one thing, to be conscious of it is another. All "stand by" him; but few of the race are practically conscious o! the position and these few alone are the true teachers.

CONCLUSION. Let us, who are engaged in the office of public teaching, try ourselves by these criteria. The olive tree gave what it had in it - gave out its nature. So must we. Manufactured discourses, intellectual speculations, rhetorical flourishes, - these have no oil. - D.T.