Monday, January 12, 2009

The Interpretation



Then lifted I up mine eyes, and saw, and behold four horns. And I said unto the angel that talked with me, "What be these?" And he answered me, "These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem." And the Lord shewed me four carpenters. Then said I, "What come these to do?" And he spake, saying, "These are the horns which have scattered Judah, so that no man did lift up his head: but these are come to fray them, to cast out the horns of the Gentiles, which lifted up their horn over the land of Judah to scatter it.”-Zechariah 1:18-21.


If the seer of the vision asked for an interpretation, much more may you and I. He was not idly curious, but reverently teachable: let us imitate his holy diligence in desiring to learn. Be it remembered, that God’s Word is never out of date. It is not like an almanack which is useful this year, but which will be mere waste paper the next, but it always stands good; and the promises of God, when once fulfilled, are still valid for another fulfillment; unlike a cheque, which being once paid, ceases to be of any force, the promises of God have a perpetual value in them; and if we can lay hold upon them by faith, having once drawn upon the great bank of divine mercy, we may go again with the self-same word, and get as much from the liberal hand of God as we did aforetime. Let us come then with reverent attention to this passage, hoping that God will instruct us in its meaning, and help us to grasp its promises, and win a new fulfillment.

From a sermon entitled "Two Visions," delivered November 6, 1864. Image by Giovanni Neri under Creative Commons License.

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