Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Zechariah 4:6

Then he answered and spoke 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.

6. Not by might, &c.] This is the teaching of the vision, its message from Jehovah to Zerubbabel. Fed “without hands” (Dan 2:34) with oil the lamp in the vision shone brightly. So without the resources of human “might and power,” which to “these feeble Jews” (Neh 4:2) were altogether wanting, but by the “Spirit” of Jehovah, of which the oil was a symbol, should the Church shine yet again on Mount Sion, and eventually as the Church of Christ throughout the world.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel – Osorius: As if he were to say, the meaning of the vision and scope of what has been exhibited is, Gods doings have almost cried aloud to Zerubbabel that all these visions shall come to an end in their time, not effected by human might nor in fleshly strength, but in power of the Holy Spirit and through Divine Will. For the Only Begotten became Man as we are, but He warred not after the flesh, to set up the Church as a candlestick to the world, nor did He, through sensible weapons and armed phalanxes, make those two people His own, or place the spiritual lights on the candlestick; but in the might of His own Spirit He appointed in the Church first Apostles, then prophets and evangelists 1Co 12:28, and all the rest of the saintly band, filling them with divine gifts and enriching them abundantly by the influx of His Spirit.

Cyril: Not then in great power nor in fleshly might were the things of Christ, but in power of the Spirit was Satan spoiled, and the ranks of the adverse powers fell with him; and Israel and those who aforetime served the creature rather than the Creator, were called to the knowledge of God through faith. But that He saved all under heaven, not by human arm, but by His own power as God Emmanuel, Hosea too protested, I will have mercy upon the house of Judah and will save them by the Lord their God, and will not save them by bow nor by sword nor by battle nor by chariots nor by horses nor by horsemen Hos 1:7. But exeeeding fittingly was this said to Zerubbabel, who was of the tribe of Judah and at, that time administered the royal seat at Jerusalem. For that he might not think that, since such glorious successes were foreannounced to him, wars would in their season have to be organized, he lifts him up from these unsound and human thoughts, and bids him be thus minded, that the force was divine, the might of Christ, who should bring such things to pass, and not human.

Having given this key of the whole vision, without explaining its details, God enlarges what He had said to Zerubbabel, as He had in the preceding chapter to Joshua Zec 3:8-10.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Zec 4:6

Not by might, nor by power

The Word of the Lord to Zerubbabel

Dwell upon the very remarkable interpretation of the vision given by God Himself in the words of the text.

I. The false grounds of confidence which are to be rejected. Summed up in the words might and power, including all earthly means and human instrumentality. We must beware of substituting temporal means and mortal instruments for the work of the Spirit, or the glory of God. Nothing short of the almighty power of God can open the blind eyes or awaken the dead affections of the natural man to see and embrace the Gospel. If we may not trust to the strength of reason, or the force of truth, neither may we to the powers of oratory. The gifts of oratory or eloquence are lovely and excellent, but trusted in, or gloried in, they become snares and stumbling blocks, drawing away the heart and affections from Christ, and converting our acts of worship into an idolatrous service. Every Christian, too, has a sphere of influence with which to serve and honour God, and to help and strengthen others. But this must not be rested in. Religion must be a personal concern, a deed of contract, a life of communion between the soul and God. And there are those who imagine that they love the truth because they love some of those who profess it. The power of affection on the minds of such persons is almost unbounded. But a religion based on such grounds is not to be trusted. When the Spirit of God is not the Author of the work it cannot stand trial, even in this world; it can never issue in the salvation of the soul.

II. The only source of spiritual prosperity. The work and efficiency of the Spirit of God. In three things this work is distinguished.

1. In transforming the character.

2. In overcoming the world.

3. In glorifying the grace of God. (J. M. Wilde, B. A.)

Force–spiritual and material

We have need to study the Christian dynamics. Good arrangements, good instructions, good intentions, are all well; but what can they avail without a sufficient, continuous force? Let us take a lesson from the angel who spoke to the prophet. Zechariahs object was to instruct the Jews on their return from captivity, and to cheer them on in the work of rebuilding the temple. They were not to be appalled by obstacles ever so formidable, for the work was of God, and God was able to remove mountains of difficulty out of the way. No adversary would be able to injure them. It is easy to pass from this to New Testament teaching. The foundation of the Church has been laid; it grows up slowly but surely, a Holy Temple in the Lord. The work proceeds slowly because it is arduous in its own nature, obstructed by many adversaries. Zerubbabels temple was finished in about twenty years; but a building which is spiritual needs much more time than one which is constructed of wood and stone. The affections and dispositions of men cannot be shaped as material things may be; and just because the Church is a structure so noble, a habitation of God in the Spirit, its progress is difficult, and in comparison with the works of man it is slow. It has also been hindered by the mistakes and dissensions of the builders; but in the end the same Prince who laid its foundations will certainly finish it. He will say, It is finished, and in His completed Church He will fill the whole earth with His glory. We speak of the propagation of the Gospel and the construction of the Church: the one movement is diffusive, the other formative; both agree in one, and both are of the Lord. The propagation of the Gospel is not only for, but also by, Christ. He publishes the testimony through all the earth, and saves sinners. The construction of the Church is also by Christ from first to last, and the builders, from Paul and Apollos downwards, are nothing without Him. And oh! with what patience and with what wisdom does He preside over His vast and complex work. Christ is always building His people together, healing, reconciling, moulding, blending, compacting them together as living stones that form the One Temple of the One Holy Ghost. We have said that there is much opposition to this work. So it has always been, and especially at critical emergencies, mountains have threatened to fall upon and to destroy the work of God. Moses went down to Egypt to redeem Israel; then was the power of Pharaoh as a great mountain against him. And as the people escaped the mountain seemed to come nearer, the Egyptian army pursued and threatened to destroy them. Hezekiah revived religion in Judah; then came the power of Assyria, and as a great mountain impended over Jerusalem. The heathen army invested the city, and Hezekiah had no power of resistance, and he spread the matter before the Lord, and in one night the angel of death removed the mountain and laid the Assyrian host still and dead. The Messiah came, not to condemn but to save the world; then the kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers took counsel together against the Lord and His anointed. Herod, Caiaphas, Pilate, Pharisees, Sadducees, priests, elders, and populace all joined in one desperate resistance. The acts of the Apostles were all performed, in spite of mountains of obstruction, by the power from on high that rested upon them. So they carried the Gospel to Europe, and planted it in Macedonia and Greece and Italy, and long afterwards missionaries of apostolic spirit bore it onward through the dense forests of Helvetia, Gaul, and Germany, and penetrated to the distant shores of Britain. The rage of the heathen threatened to devour them, but the Lord stood with them, and before His face the mountains melted away. We have great mountains against us still; huge masses of heathenism which resist our missions. The scepticism which becomes every day more pronounced. There is something else to do than wring our hands and pour out lamentations on the ear. Let us have the faith that removes mountains, and, oppose and deride us who may, let us be of good courage and build. In order to this, mark well what the energy is which surmounts or removes obstacles. Not might, nor power of mortal man. It would have been as vain for the Jews of Zerubbabel to cope with the power of Darius, or for the Apostles and early Christians to grapple with the power of the Roman emperor, or for a few labourers to attack a mountain in the Alps with their spades and try to reduce it to a plain. And equally impossible it is for us to remove, the more intellectual or spiritual obstructions in the way of the Gospel by merely human persuasion and argument. The removal of such mountains as we encounter is a thing possible only with God. It was not before Moses, Hezekiah, Peter or Paul, Columba or Boniface, Zwingle or Luther, that mountains became plain, but before Jesus Christ. Zechariah had a vision of the continuous supply of the Spirit as of holy oil flowing through golden pipes from two olive trees or branches. By this we understand the kingly and priestly institutions which were represented at the time by Zerubbabel the prince and Joshua the high priest. In Jesus Christ, our exalted Saviour, the kingship and priesthood are united. He is the Priest upon a throne, and from the Father through Jesus Christ proceeds to the Church a constant supply of the Spirit. This is the present truth for us; if we believe it, why do we give way to languor or discouragement? If we have strength, learning, money, let us consecrate it to the Lord. But, knowing that these cannot prevail, let us lift our eyes to the Lord Himself, and cast our care upon Him. Let me encourage all Christian teachers and preachers to persevere in this confidence, undaunted and unwearied. The holy Temple on the rock will be finished, and the headstone brought forth with shoutings. Indeed, no man can understand all the symmetry of our Lords plan till it is completed; but then, it will be seen how He has overruled all the persecutions, martyrdoms, and controversies for higher ends, and has made even the rending of the outward frame of the Church of God a means of preserving and purifying its inward life. What bursts of admiration when all is finished! What shouts of praise, grace, grace! No shout of human names or party distinctions will be attempted in that bright day. All is due to the grace of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, to whom be glory in the Church. (D. Fraser, D. D.)

The Spirit of the Lord

The message which this vision was intended to convey was an assurance of Gods presence and readiness to help, and of utter dependence on Him. The prophet was greatly puzzled by this vision. The interpretation was given in such form as would be likely to make it most effective for the enterprise in hand.

1. Rulers and people must under stand at the outset that as Gods chosen they were utterly dependent on Him. It is true for every man in every age. Not with a strong right arm can we make our spiritual livelihood; not with a mighty intellect can we plan and execute the purposes of a holy life. The Spirit of the living God must quicken, energise, inspire.

2. The vision was interpreted to mean that difficulties should not block the way. All hindrance shall disappear. God shall touch it with His almighty hand. Nothing is too hard for Him.

3. The vision gave assurance of the ultimate completion of the temple. The work had languished for years. But as to the final issue there was no shadow of doubt. A day of great things was coming, if the present did seem to be a day of small things. Remember that we live in the dispensation of the Spirit. The Church is the organism through which the Spirit is working towards the restitution of all things. The Church is the one great power in history. Its influence is inexplicable on any except supernatural grounds. At every point of Christian faith and life we are dependent on its influence. Our life begins with the operation of the Spirit in the new birth. Our sanctification is through the Spirit. A symmetrical character comes in no other way. Our success in Christian service is conditioned in the same way. (D. J. Burrell, D. D.)

The need of Gods Spirit

This scene has a natural application to the Divine working among men, and suggests the need of Gods Spirit. The human spirit should be the temple of God. Its foundations are laid in the capacities of the soul made in His image. Sin opposes the work, worldliness hinders it. How shall it be completed? Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.

I. We need Gods Spirit, because through the Spirit the Deity reveals Himself most clearly. Our first necessity is to know God.

1. Some of the Divine attributes are revealed in nature. Wisdom, power, glory everywhere, but not the King eternal, immortal, invisible. Scripture declares that since the foundation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made. Mark the reservation,–His attributes, not Himself. He is ever hidden within impenetrable isolation. Nature leaves us crying, Show us the Father.

2. God was revealed in Christ. Because men could never by searching find out the Almighty, the Word which was with God, and was God, became flesh and dwelt amongst us, revealing Him even to our senses. The incarnation shows that, while the Deity is an Infinite Spirit pervading immensity, He is yet a person. He has feeling, and thought, and will, as we have. Taking to Himself a body like ours, He manifests every quality which makes earthly friends real. Very God was with men in human body and human soul.

3. God is revealed by His Spirit. When Jesus ascended, the dispensation of the Spirit began, a closer and fuller Divine manifestation. The incarnation was not an immediate revelation of God. By the Holy Ghost God enters directly into our spirits; we know Him, commune with Him, without any earthly faculty called in to interpret. Neither did the incarnation complete the revelation. The fullest manifestation of God to man began at Pentecost. The office of the Spirit is not to supersede the revelation through Christ, but to disclose its meaning and apply its power. Nature shows God above us; Christ is God with us; the Holy Spirit is God in us.

II. We need Gods Spirit, because through the Spirit the most powerful Divine influence is exercised upon men. God does not merely reveal Himself to the soul, He also acts upon it.

1. The influence of the Spirit was needed to write the Scriptures. Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. He put before their intellect deep things which it was quickened to apprehend. Their affections were exalted to delight in the infinite grace unveiled to them. Their conscience was purified to behold and adore the Divine holiness. What they saw and felt they were moved to declare to the world. It is this supernatural influence upon the writers which has given the Bible its authority and power. By this influence the Scriptures are understood. Only He who illuminated the writer can enlighten the reader. Spiritual things are spiritually discerned. Critical acumen without spiritual insight cannot understand the book.

2. The influence of the Spirit is needed in regeneration and sanctification. The plainest truths of the character of God will not of themselves renew the soul. The intellect discerns them, the heart feels, the conscience trembles, the will may struggle to obey, but all this does not give life. There must be added a Divine, a creative touch, which shall send a new energy into every faculty, thrilling through the will itself, and quickening all to the sacred activities of a regenerated soul. This creative act separates the new life in its feeblest beginnings, at a worldwide distance from the most admirable exhibitions of the old life. Wonderful and awful is the entrance of God into the human soul. Under the Old Testament dispensation the Spirit was sent to exceptional individuals for exceptional purposes; it is the mission of the Comforter to abide permanently in every believer, bringing him into personal union with God, and making him like God. The fruit of the Spirit is not dreams and visions, signs and wonders, but love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance,–healthy everyday virtues that make kind husbands, patient mothers, dutiful children, upright citizens, and pure officials.

3. The influence of the Spirit is needed in Christian work. The Almighty uses human agents. Heathen abroad and unbelievers at home are to be saved through the efforts of Christians. The most powerful Divine influence is given them to accomplish this. We do not always realise that the Almighty is working more efficiently in His present manifestation through the Spirit than He has ever wrought in any other method. He who gives grace to receive the truth also gives grace to speak it. The understanding mind, the earnest heart, the wise tongue, these are the gift of the Spirit. All the Christian power comes from this help. Through our study, our pleading, our prayer must breathe that holy presence which is the power of God unto salvation. This lesson has a special promise to feeble Churches and discouraged Christians. It shows that all human opposition is of no account in the sight of God. He gives power to the weak, and grace to the faulty to do His work. (Monday Club Sermons.)

The might of the Spirit

What is the secret of the immense and amazing, victory of Christianity? It lies in the out-poured Spirit of Pentecost. It was that which made the might of weakness irresistible; it was that which gave to the feeble seedling its imperishable vitality. Nor is it only that Christianity is still preached; it is still no dead doctrine, but a living force to those who truly receive it. Is there nothing for men who are filled with the Spirit of God to do now? Look at the universal worldliness around us; look at the passionate Mammon worship; at the reckless competition; at the desecration of Sundays in the mere voluptuous wantonness of pleasure. O God, give us saints; O God, pour out the Spirit of Thy might! (Dean Farrar.)

The world-conquering Spirit

The work of the early Churches, and that of the Churches of this age, agree in principle and purpose. The difficulties and forms of opposition are substantially the same. They are more moral than intellectual.

1. The prevalent worldly spirit.

2. The careless spirit manifest in another direction. There is an intellectual indifference to Christianity. But the majority of those who are indifferent to Christianity do not lay claim to any such difficulties. They are simply and utterly careless.

3. The sceptical spirit that lifts its voice around us. Then wherein lies our power? Is it in intellectual subtleties of reasoning? No intellectual power can touch the root of mans alienation from God. It lies in supernatural power: a power which, springing from the Divine heart, lays hold of our hearts and permeates them with His own energy, infusing our intellectual powers with His own strength. With increased supernatural power–the power of the Spirit–we shall yet come against the world spirit, the careless spirit, the sceptical spirit, and cast them down, and the sea of everlasting love shall roll on until the knowledge of the Lord shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. (R. F. Bracey.)

The spiritual work of the Church

1. It is with the spiritual nature of man the Church has to do.

(1) Her purpose is not political. A great and important factor she certainly is in all true political progress; but she was not instituted to promote either Republicanism or Imperialism.

(2) Her purpose is not to effect great social and moral reforms. These reforms are certain results of her progress. Wherever she becomes a power the character of the people is purified, the tone of life is raised.

(3) Her purpose is not only to secure the worlds belief in her creed.

2. In mans spiritual nature she has to effect the most radical changes–the greatest transformations. Conversion must be wrought. There must be a change in the spirits condition, the spirits relations, and the spirits aspirations.

The accomplishment of this work requites a special power, a spiritual power.

1. It cannot be done by the might and power of the sword. Or–

2. By the power of law. You cannot make men moral by acts of parliament. Or

3. By the might and power of reason. Your premises may be admitted, your arguments conclusive, and your pulpits distinguished for logical force, but men may remain as stones, and our churches as deserts. Or–

4. By the might and power of sympathy. Sympathy can touch the heart as no other human force van. But sympathy fails to convert and renew. The essential power is in the Spirit of the Lord of hosts only.

1. This Spirit is greater than the forces in opposition.

(1) Greater than the human spirit which has to be won.

(2) Greater than the spirit of evil, united with the human spirit, that has to be conquered.

2. This Spirit infuses a new life. He creates.

3. This Spirit effects the change in perfect harmony with mans freedom. The Church is in the greatest power when she is most filled with the Holy Spirit. Filled with the Spirit, she can be confident of success, although her members be few and the opposing forces strong. The Churchs truest friends are those who are the most spiritual, and who most earnestly seek the Spirits power in her. (Rombeth.)

The Spirit of the Lord

This message of God is addressed to Zerubbabel, as the former was addressed to Joshua. In this fact the difference in the nature of the vision is to be accounted for. Joshua represented the nation spiritually, and the nation had sinned. So the message to him is a message of mercy, and forgiveness, and promise. Zerubbabel was the civil ruler, and represented the nations might and resources and means of defence. So he is bidden not to rely upon these, as he was prone to do, but to rely upon God. Two thoughts are prominent.

I. The completed temple was symbolised. Zechariah saw a golden candlestick. What did it mean? The candlestick which in old time had been made by Moses and set up in the tabernacle, and which afterwards was removed to the temple at Jerusalem, had been removed out of its place because of the infidelities and sins of the people. There was no tabernacle now where God dwelt, no temple with its mercy-seat and golden candlestick. But there it stood in its perfect and incomparable beauty before the eyes of the prophet as the symbol of a restored temple, with its lamp and altars of sacrifice and incense and songs of joyful worship. It was a picture of what was to be, a prediction of a future which in Gods gracious purpose was near at hand.

II. The complete restoration of national life. Israel was meant to be the light of the world, as the Christian Church is in a more perfect manner. When the chosen nation fell into sin, and had to be punished by the desolation of temple, city, and land, the world was darkened, and the lamp which God had lighted before the nations was put out. Restored worship and a revived nation meant a rekindling of this lamp. To illustrate these ideas and apply them to daily dangers and duties. (Mat 5:14-16; Mar 4:21-22; Luk 12:35; Php 2:15; Rev 1:20; Rev 2:5.)

III. The means of restoration was declared. Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.

(1) Man is prone to rely upon the material Never was this more manifest than today. Man believes in himself, in his resources, in his mastery over the world. He boasts of what his science has discovered, of what his hands have wrought. Look, he says, at the bridges which span mighty livers, at the tunnels I have bored through the earth. See how I can control the electric spark, and make it light up great cities, and send my messages to the ends of the earth. But the power which really does all these things is Gods. One object of the Bible is to correct the short-sightedness of man, which fails to see through modes of operation to the Divine Mover and Sustainer of the universe, and so to teach us not to trust in our own strength, or in the strength of human allies, or the forces of wealth, nor yet to be afraid of failure in Gods work, because consciously weak and poor and girt about with dangers. The vision is equally fitted to humble us in the hour of triumph, and to inspire courage in the hour of apparent failure and in the day of small beginnings.

(2) The material often fails. Success marks mans life, yes, but failure also. A frost undermines his bridges, and they are roiled into the torrent. The forces of nature often rise up to defy man. In the events of life unforeseen accidents frustrate his plans, and pour mockery on his devices. The Jews had broken down in their attempts to rebuild the temple. They began well, and laid the foundations thereof with rejoicing, but reverses followed, and they gave it up. We must not in our life rely upon self. It is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.

(3) God works for us when we work for Him. By My Spirit, saith the Lord. This truth was wondrously illustrated in the history of the Hebrew people. But that which happened to them was an ensample to us. He is with us if we are with Him, and we may boldly say, The Lord of hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our refuge.

(4) God never fails. What He promises to do He does–does perfectly, and does at the right time. Let us look up. Let us trust in Him. (T. Vincent Tymms.)

The true source of power

We recognise the lesson which this vision furnishes, namely, that God is in His Church and in the world, and that His government in both is enforced and supported by the adoption of his own agencies. And furthermore, we learn that there is order and unanimity in the employ of such agencies. In the symbol there is unity, order, cooperation, and maintenance. Vegetable life is maintained through a system of organisation. The whole system of human life is carried on by the same principle. The great truth laid down in our subject is that of cooperation. The golden pipes of the candlestick cooperate with the off in giving light to the lamps. It is not the mere outward forms and institutions by which only the Church is to preserve her God-like character, and to diffuse her good and saving influence upon the world, but by the Divine Spirit acting through these, uniting them to Himself in one grand scheme of cooperation. The means are required, but they must be made subservient to the Divine will, and cooperate, in their dependency and trust, with the omnipotence and guidance of the Almighty. Consider, then, the true source–

I. Of power. Power belongeth unto God. To Him we ascribe all might. This is the one and only source of our power, personally or nationally. We have our instrumentalities, we have our Church and national appliances for building up and enlarging all that is right and beneficial; but we wait for the fire from heaven to kindle it.

II. Of courage. Courage lies not in dexterity, but in the heart, in the mind. It is shown by a cool obedience, by a steadiness of manly purpose. Courage that is true is the power of mind over matter. But in order to trace out its source we must look above mind to that Divine Spirit who acts upon the mind.

III. Of conquest. The noblest battle is against sin, and the noblest conquest is that of self. Hence as the foes of God, of ourselves, and of truth accumulate upon our life path, may we meet them with a power, a courage, and a conquest embodied in the words,–Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. (W. D. Horwood.)

The agency of the Holy Spirit

The primary allusion of these words requires no explanation. The typical import is not less apparent than the primary reference. That by the law of types is not mere, not accidental resemblance, but similarity designed, as well as complete and unquestionable. Man was created to be the temple of God. That temple is now in ruins. The grand end of Christianity is to restore that temple, to clear away the rubbish that conceals its glory. From the contemplation of existing ruin, glance at the ideal of future restoration,–its amplitudes, its completeness, its perpetuity. How can the vision be realised? If, looking at the disproportion of the agency, there comes over the heart the painful impression of inadequacy, and the corresponding, the contingent apathy of despair, then listen to the spirit: stirring voice of the text, Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. We are not to conclude that weakness is at all necessarily connected with this influence of the Spirit. The laws that determine the nature and regulate the action of this power of the mind. It must be cognate in kind to that on which it acts. Again, mind is responsible; and to be so must be free. Anything therefore that moves it must not interfere with its liberty of choice or its freedom of judgment. Again, mind is infinitely, constitutionally diversified. Its idiosyncrasies are endless, and, under the influence of a spiritual power, we have reason to expect full tolerance of such varieties, and that no attempt will be made to reduce all into dull uniformity. We are not to interpret the text as teaching that the Spirit is to act independently of, and unconnected with, human agency. The power of coercion, our Gospel leaves to error or secularised systems. The philosophy of the Cross, nevertheless, continually associates Divine power and human agency. In its moral canons and apparatus, the energy of God does not supersede the activity of man; nor is the activity of man efficient without the energy of God. These remarks lead to the proposition of the text, that no human, no created instrumentality, which acts independently and alone, is adequate to the restoration of the fallen temple; but that the Spirit of the Lord of hosts provides the sole efficient energy for the conversion of the world. I recognise the adaptation of truth, scriptural truth, to the nature and necessities of man. That adaptation is universal. Biblical truth is entirely accommodated to our condition and character. Let truth be admitted to the heart and it must conquer. Undoubtedly it must. But a prior question exists, how is it to obtain admission there? The avenues are blocked up by sin.

1. Now it is fair to reason for the truth of a principle from the necessary inconsistencies of its opposite, to urge anomalies irreconcilable, except on the supposition of the accuracy of the assertion before us. Consider then these anomalies. It will be generally granted that in similar circumstances uniformity of cause will be accompanied with uniformity of result. If, accordingly, in the evangelical plan no power beyond the human is at work, similar external energy will issue in similar results. Yet such is not our experience. If dependent on human power, the Gospel will be most successful when preached by the most eloquent men. The skill of an advocate often compensates for the hollowness of the cause. But if the measure of real ministerial success be the conversion of souls to God, the most logical and eloquent preachers of the Gospel are not the most successful. Again, the Bible contains a system of pure ethics. We might expect the most cordial reception of this system from the purest moralists when and where it is ever propounded. All history attests the reverse.

2. Another train of illustration unfolds itself in analogy. The emblems of conversion are not more numerous and varied than they are one in, indirectly but really, tracing all the results of the Gospel to the power of the Spirit of God. What we want is a ministry thrilled into life by Gods Spirit, and thrilling men into vigorous, healthy, sustained life, by the same Spirit, superinduced by faith and prayer.

3. Coincident with this conclusion is the experience of the Church, not only in its more ordinary and routine movements, but in its epochs that stand out in bold relief. Consider then the history of the modern revived Church. Consider the relative success of the preaching of our Lord and of His apostles. Conclude by appeal to scriptural assertion. The Spirit then is the power with which the Church is to be armed. (Thomas Archer, D. D.)

Independence of Christianity

Gods first and greatest object is His own glory. This is true in the general of the great acts of God, this is equally true in the minutiae of them. God is jealous of His own honour; He will not suffer even His Church to be delivered in such a way as to honour men more than God; He will take to Himself the throne without a rival.

I. Not by might. Might properly signifies, the power of a number of men combined together. Power signifies the prowess of a single individual. Treat might as meaning might collectedly.

1. Collected might in human armies. The Church can neither be preserved, nor can its interests be promoted by human armies. The progress of the arms of a Christian nation is not the progress of Christianity.

2. Might may signify great corporations or denominations of men. There never ought to have been any denominations at all. They may do some good, but they do a world of mischief. Whenever a denomination begins to get too great, God will cut away its horns, and take away its glory, till the world shall say, It is not by might nor by power.

II. Nor by power, that is, individual strength. The greatest works that have been done have been done by the ones. Take any church, there are multitudes in it, but it is some two or three that do the work. Individual effort is, after all, the grand thing. Learning is useful, so is eloquence; but God does not work by these His great works.

III. By the Spirit of God. What a magnificent change would come over the face of Christendom if God were on a sudden to pour out His Spirit as He did on the day of Pentecost. The grand thing the Church wants at this time is Gods Holy Spirit. Whatever faults there may be in our organisation, they can never materially impede the progress of Christianity, when once the Spirit of the Lord is in our midst. Be in earnest in praying for this. All we want is the Spirit of God. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

A work beyond human ability

I. As implying some important propositions.

1. That many things which it is our duty to attempt evidently lie beyond human powers.

2. We have reason to expect that God will grant the necessary aid while we use the means which are in our power.

3. God communicates spiritual aid in a manner concealed from human observation.

4. These invisible operations of the Holy Spirit do not supersede human agency, nor alter, in general, the connection between cause and effect.

5. God uses men and means in such a way as to leave no doubt to whom the accomplishment is owing.

II. As suggesting some useful admonitions.

1. The words convey instruction. They throw great light on events which have occurred, for which historians have not been able to assign an adequate reason.

2. A lesson of reproof. Some lay great stress on human means and do not look for the influences of the Spirit.

3. A lesson of encouragement. We are too apt to despise the day of small things. God acts by degrees. The kingdom of God is as a mustard seed, but that can grow into a great tree. (C. Jerram, M. A.)

The triumph of the Divine kingdom

So much is in the hands of providence that, in general, we can only conjecture what may be the result. In proportion as events are dependent on the will of God, they are uncertain to us.

I. The Most High has clearly promised in His Word, that the kingdom of Christ shall ultimately prevail over the earth. The religious history of the world presents a threefold aspect.

1. We may regard man in the state into which he was plunged by the first transgression; obnoxious to the wrath of the Most High., and distant from Him. Men divide into two classes:–those who forget God altogether, and the Jews to whom were committed the oracles of God.

2. To the head of the Jewish people it was promised, In Thee shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.

3. These promises formed part of the joy set before the Redeemer, by which He was stimulated in His work of self-denial.

II. God has enjoined it as a duty on His Church to endeavour to promote this end. The inspired writers derived this notion from two sources.

1. Express commands.

2. The principle on which those commands went. The appointment of a Christian ministry implies this duty.

III. The Most High has communicated to the Church adequate means for accomplishing this end. We do not now need the aid of miracles. Our power lies in the presence and impulse of the Spirit of truth.

IV. We may anticipate the period when the kingdom shall be fully established. Some hopeful signs are–

1. An increasing respect for the Word of God.

2. A more general appeal to the great converting principle of the Word of God.

3. A universal endeavour to pay the debt of obligation to the diffusion of the Word of God.

4. Much success has already attended the labours of Christians, and this shows how God smiles on the rising energies of His Church.

5. The hopeful state of the Church as the administrator of truth in the present day. If the Spirit of the Christian religion live in our minds, we shall want no exhortation to advance a cause like this. (W. Wilson, A. M.)

The necessity of the Holy Spirits aid

The sentiment here recorded refers to the building of the second temple. When the prophet contemplated the difficulties that lay in the way of the accomplishment of this great design, the magnitude of the work, the obstacles to be overcome, and the insignificance of mans best energies, he was ready to despair. But the assurance came to him that the work should certainly be accomplished, but not by mans might, only in the power of the Spirit of God.

I. A negative proposition. Not by might, can any design be brought to a successful issue. Illustrate by recalling some of the great occurrences which have taken place in the history of the world, and which declare this incontrovertible truth. History of Tyre, Babylon, Assyrian attack on Israel, degradation of Rome, story of Spanish Armada, French Revolution, etc.

II. An affirmative proposition. Illustrate some instances of the success which attends spiritual exertions sustained amid prayers, and blessed by the presence of the Spirit of God. Noah, the only righteous man in the world at that period of prevailing sin. Success of Joshua when Moses hands were held up. Success of the Apostles. Reformation of Luther. Triumphs of missionaries. This principle of dependence on the Spirit applies to our reading the Word of God, and to the mode of a sinners acceptance before God. (John Cumming, D. D.)

The work o] the Holy Spirit

The primary application of these words was to the Jews who were engaged upon the great work of rebuilding their temple. Because they could not depend upon themselves, the Lord, in these words addressed to Zerubbabel, opened a better resource. It was not by might nor by power that they were to succeed, but by His Spirit. Now the Spirit, whereby God helped the Jews in their necessity, was the very same Spirit which, from the commencement, has been concerned in all that regards the well-being of man, and the government of this lower world. He moved upon the face of the waters. Upon the world thus created through the eternal Spirit, the work of redemption was to be carried out and accomplished. We do not marvel that the Lord Jesus, on entering upon the great work of His ministry, received a visible communication of that same Spirit; and through that same Spirit He offered Himself a sacrifice unto God. The Holy Spirit does not now descend for miraculous operations in the Church. But the promise of the Holy Spirit is a perpetual promise. And it is necessary for the whole Christian community.

I. The influence of the Spirit in bringing about the acceptance of the Gospel. The Apostles and first missionaries had to encounter difficulties of every shape and character. Where did they get the wisdom which their adversaries were not able to gainsay or confute? How were they enabled to speak those gracious words which never failed? It was through the Spirit of God. We do not confine these marvellous interpositions of the Spirit to apostolical times. The Spirit has always accompanied the Word with power.

II. The influence of the Holy Spirit in carrying forward the work of sanctifying and likeness unto God. After our conversion we must count upon many a long and weary day of trial and temptation, and spiritual conflict, and heart distress. If we would take a deeper insight into the things of God, we must ask the Holy Spirit to take of the things of Jesus and show them unto us. Our enemies may be overcome, because greater is He who is with us than all who can be against us. It is promised that we shall be strengthened with might by the Spirit in the inner man. And the consolation of a Christian mans heart comes direct from the influence of the Holy Spirit. And what is true concerning the individual is true concerning the great Christian body. When the Church is despised and persecuted and everywhere spoken against, God puts forth His interposing arm, delivers His people, and comforts them, confirming the truth of His ancient word, Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. (E. Robins, M. A.)

The might and power of Gods Spirit demonstrated

Our subject is, the Spirits influence on the human mind.

I. The necessity of Spiritual influence. Considering the varied moral effects of the fall, we may ask, can any less powerful agent than the Spirit of God reorganise our faculties, and adduce harmony, loveliness, and order, out of the confusion that prevails within us? No one can savingly know the truth and be really holy, but as taught of God and sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

II. The nature of Spiritual influence. We are not called upon to explain the mode or manner of the Spirits operation on the human mind. The fact is sufficient for our purpose. The value of the agency will correspond with the nature of the agent. Agreeable to His high and essential excellence will be the Holy Spirits work. The Spirits work should not be thought of as miraculous, Influence only of an ordinary and necessary kind do we contend for, and that only in an ordinary way, and the use of ordinary means. It is–

1. Quickening in its nature, The Spirit that quickeneth.

2. It is enlightening.

3. It is renewing.

4. It is sanctifying.

5. It is consoling.

6. It is assuring.

III. The evidence of Spiritual influence. The tree is known by its fruits, so also is the Holy Ghost. His fruits are love, joy, peace, etc. An immediate effect of supernatural agency will be, a deep and humbling conviction of sin. Another will be,–a ceaseless restlessness till mercy and forgiveness be obtained. A third will be,–a supreme valuation of Jesus Christ. A fourth will be,–a prevailing desire to be holy. (W. Mudge.)

A law of Divine operations among men

A rule upon which the eternal God acts in the affairs of His people. The law is this,–that not human energy nor resources but the Spirit produces good; that not man but God gives success. Recall some illustrations of this law.

1. In the circumstances in which it was given. The builders of the second temple were disheartened and hindered. Their power was gone; they were taught to look to the Divine power which would work through them.

2. In the operations of the third Person in the Trinity upon the Church. Its progress has always been due, not to human might and power, but to the Holy Ghost.

3. The effect of the truth upon the heart of man is not of man, it is of God.

4. The advancement of Divine life in the soul is in accordance with the same rule. It becomes then the duty of believers to depend on the Holy Spirit at all times for success. Reliance on the Holy Spirit for producing spiritual effects is the rule for Christians. To lose sight of this rule brings a blight upon efforts however earnest. This reliance will act in a twofold way; it will hinder any resting or boasting in lawful human resources; and it will give encouragement where there is little human resource. Faith in the power of the Holy Ghost will inspirit men, will shed new light upon their humble path, will put new vigour into their exertions, and will make them bold for God according to their measure, their capacity, and their means. And a pressing necessity arises for continual prayer that the Spirit may be given. While you seek more of the Spirit for yourself, pray earnestly that the gift may be bestowed on others. (Forster G. Simpson, B. A.)

The Word of the Lord to Zerubbabel

The vision seen by the prophet Zechariah in this chapter is evidently descriptive of the spiritual character and strength of the Church of God, shining with a communicated light, and sustained by a communicated strength perpetually supplied. We dwell on the interpretation of it. We are told–

1. The false grounds of confidence which are to be rejected. Might and power include all earthly means and human instrumentality. The powers of reasoning, the exhibition of truth, or the force of argument, are not to be despised or neglected. It is the trusting to them, the resting in them, or the boasting of them, that is to be, and must be, utterly rejected if we would look for the favour and blessing of Almighty God. If we may not trust to the strength of mason, or the force of truth, neither may we to the powers of oratory. The gifts of oratory or eloquence are lovely and excellent, but trusted in, or gloried in, they become snares and stumbling blocks, drawing away the heart and affections from Christ, and converting our acts of worship into an idolatrous service. Every Christian has his own peculiar sphere of influence with which to serve and honour God. But all brought under such influence must beware lest they rest in it and go no farther. Religion must be a personal concert. Then there are those who imagine that they love the truth, because they love those who profess it. A religion based on such grounds is not to be trusted. When the Spirit of God is not the author of the work, it cannot stand trial, even in this world.

2. The only source of spiritual prosperity. There are three particulars in which the work of the Spirit may be distinguished. In transforming the character. In overcoming the world. In glorifying the grace of God.

3. The certainty of these effects of the Spirits work issuing in the glory of the grace of God. That which God only can effect, to God only can be attributed. To bring man back again to His own likeness is Gods own work, for the manifestation of His almighty power, the revelation of His infinite love, and the perfection of His eternal praise; when, the holy temple completed, the top stone shall be brought forth with shoutings of, Grace, grace unto it. (J. M. Wilde, B. A.)

Opposition to the Gospel in every age

The opposition made to the building of the temple in that age may be considered as emblematical of the opposition made to the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the hearts of men and in the world. By the Spirit of the Lord we may understand Divine power generally, or the Holy Ghost. The proposition to illustrate is, that the existence and prevalence of religion in the heart and in the world are not owing to human power but wholly to the Holy Ghost. If it were the result of human power, then–

1. Men of great learning and talents would be the first to embrace the Gospel. Their talents and learning seem to qualify them in a peculiar manner for investigating the evidences of the truth of religion. We reasonably expect that they will be the first to receive with meekness, humility, and gratitude, every doctrine which the Bible reveals. How different the actual facts are! The majority of men of talents and learning have either rejected the Bible or treated it with scorn. And the comparatively ignorant and unlearned have become wise unto salvation. How shall we account for this difference? Never, without taking into account the work of the Holy Ghost.

2. If religion in the heart were by might and by power, then those who are decent and moral would be the first to embrace the Gospel. To all the duties of the second table they pay strictest attention. To such it might be supposed that the Gospel would be exceedingly acceptable. Then there are persons who seem utterly careless and dead; to all appearance they are the children of perdition. And yet, contrary to all expectation, we see the decent formalist passing smoothly to perdition; while the wicked and profane are often plucked as brands from the burning.

3. If religion were by might and power, then those who hear the ablest preachers would always be the best Christians. But facts do not correspond with expectations. Some of the ablest preachers have laboured with little success; while others, greatly their inferiors, have been wise in winning souls. As the existence and prevalence of religion in the heart is wholly the work of the Spirit of God; so the existence and prevalence of religion in the world must be the fruit of the same agency. The arguments which illustrate the one also illustrate the other. The progress of religion in the world is just the progress of religion in a multitude of hearts. Look at the state of the world when the Apostles of Christ were first sent forth to preach the Gospel of the blessed God. The men who were sent to preach were few in number, without learning, without wealth, without influence, without eloquence. What rendered their work so successful? Only the power of the Spirit of the Lord. In process of time superstition almost extinguished the light of the Gospel. Corruption spread so rapidly, and diffused itself so widely, that in a little time nothing remained of Christianity but the name. Would the reformation have been such a power and blessing to the world without the presence of the Spirit of the Lord? The success of modern missions is not due to instrumentality, but to the power of the Spirit in the instrumentality. Then let us pray for the outpouring of the Spirit of the Lord upon ourselves and upon our missionaries. This is a matter of unspeakable importance. And let us feel a deeper interest in the salvation of our own souls and the souls of others. Let us be more generally, more fervently, more perseveringly, employed in prayer for the Spirit of the Lord. (W. S. Smart.)

Gods work in man

In the work of God in the heart, and for the work of God in our lives, we require the operation of Gods Holy Spirit. Man is continually seeking and claiming for Himself independence. But they are happy, and they alone are happy, who can commit all their ways unto the Lord their God whether we are converted or unconverted, we must be inhabited by some spirit.

I. The necessity for a spiritual agency. This arises–

1. From mans wants on earth. He needs life. By nature he is dead, dead in trespasses and sins. How is spiritual life to be obtained? It must be the effect of Gods sovereign mercy, by the operation of His Holy Spirit. But man wants light as well as life. He is dark by nature. By the fall his understanding became darkened, and he requires to have that understanding renewed, before he can in any wise comprehend the plain and simple truth which concerns his everlasting peace. Men continue walking in that same darkness in which they were originally created. None but the Holy Spirit of God enlightens man. But if man wants light and life, so also does he require love, because by nature he is at enmity with God. The carnal mind is enmity against God. Again, man requires health, for he is spiritually sick. This also comes by the Spirit. Man requires confidence in God, for by nature he distrusts God.

2. We require the Holy Spirit for our admission into heaven.

(1) There must be a title to heaven. How is this obtained? We are regenerated by the Spirit. We are adopted into Gods family by the application of the blood of Christ to the conscience by that same Spirit.

(2) There must be meetness for heaven. This does not depend on our outward circumstances, but upon the inward working of the Holy Ghost. It is the same Spirit that supplies our daily want of grace.

II. The results which follow from this spiritual agency. There is security for us amid all the trials and temptations of this life. The subject suggests to us the greatest encouragement in the midst of our many difficulties. The road to everlasting life is beset with difficulties. Who shall be able to overcome these many adversaries? None but they who have the Spirit of God working with them. Address those who are disheartened in the endeavour to live the Christian life. Do not attempt to serve God with a half-hearted service; the failure will be as complete in itself as it will be miserable and wretched to you. Be decided, if you are really seeking to be Gods children. Are any of you trying to hinder the work of God in others? Remember, there is One above who sees all the malice, perceives all the enmity, and considers that any opposition offered to His children is offered to Himself. (H. M. Villiers, M. A.)

Gods modes of working

When Zerubbabel was ready to bend before the interruption of his work, his heart was greatly encouraged to persevere in the arduous undertaking by the assurance that through Gods special interposition and grace the work should be carried forward to a happy and honourable termination, till at last he should bring forth the headstone thereof with shouting, Grace, grace unto it. The expression Not by might, etc., intimates that God will carry on and complete His work, as He had begun their deliverance from Babylon, not by external force, but by the internal influence of His Spirit upon the minds of men.

I. Observations for illustrating the text.

1. It is usual for God to bring most important and stupendous results out of causes apparently trivial and unimportant.

2. The words of text imply Gods accomplishment–of the most gracious designs by the weakest and most insignificant instruments.

3. That it is our duty to attempt many things which evidently lie beyond human power.

4. God will grant the necessary aid while we employ the means that are in our power.

II. Practical inferences from the subject.

1. That ministers should preach the Gospel with an humble and confidential dependence on the cooperation of the Spirit to crown their labours with success.

2. This subject administers reproof to those who pervert it into an argument for carnal sloth and security.

3. Learn not to despise the day of small things. As in the natural, so in the moral world, the progress of Gods power is often hid from our view; but still, is it making no advancement? The Spirit of God is again moving on the face of the deep, preparatory to a new creation. (James Hay, D. D.)

The only power that can set the world right

An infidel, who was also a well-known socialist marked down by the police, entered a meeting of the Salvation Army in Switzer land to make satirical remarks for a Constantinople paper, but during the meeting he was moved by the power of God, and at the close, with tears running down his cheeks, he said, Ah, I believed in dynamite to set the world right, but now I see theres another power, and the only one.

The Spirit of the Lord

It was the mission of Zechariah to stimulate the courage of Gods people, to kindle again the enthusiasm for the temple and the theocracy with which they had set out from Babylon. Opposition from their foes, the enormity of the task of restoring the temple, and the necessity of providing homes for themselves, had broken their courage, and diverted them from contemplation of their great spiritual destiny. They must be brought again to the deep theocratic feeling cherished among their fathers of old. The Lords message to Israel through Zechariah was communicated to the prophet in a series of eight visions. It was a hard lesson for these returned exiles, this lesson of implicit trust in God. The nation was just awaking out of a long night, in which God seemed to have abandoned them. They were little practised in seeing the invisible. Like Elishas servant, they needed to have their eyes opened to perceive the mountains of Jerusalem full of horses and chariots of fire round about the Lords chosen. The tendency of our times is away from all special reliance on the Spirit of God. Relatively, we have too great faith in secondary causes. To build a temple, you need only a competent architect, a good contractor, and a good force of masons. If opposition is threatened, simply provide yourself with a sufficient police force. Such is mens creed now. We glorify organisation. We deify law. We apotheosise the practical. We are witnessing a revival of the heretical belief in salvation by works. If it was necessary for James to say, Faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone, it is necessary for us to say, Work, if it hath not faith, is dead, being alone. We give up our inspiration for institutions. We lose the Spirit of God in elaborately designed methods for His operation. The intellectual, the practical, the spiritual; this is the order of importance according to the judgment of many contemporaries. Few things, therefore, could be of more importance to the religious life of today than this message of Zechariah to the returned exiles. However truly and clearly seers and prophets may still apprehend God, the life of thousands goes on nowadays in practical atheism. And the infection has spread to the churches. Witness the almost frantic efforts of some among them to keep themselves alive. Having insensibly withdrawn from the sources of vital piety their only recourse is the process of artificial respiration. We need schooling in the science of spiritual dynamics and economics. That this thought may assume greater definiteness, let me specify some of the lessons which the vision of Zechariah has for us. I mention, out of many, three–

I. The proper relation of Gods Spirit to the Church is a vital one. Philosophically considered, the main conceptions of God which have been current in the religious progress of the race are two: God as transcendent above the world, and God as immanent in the world. The one erects a throne for the Ruler of the universe somewhere above the sky, and worships Him from afar. It reached its extreme form among the Deists of the last century, who denied all interference on the part of God in the affairs of the world. It was the dominant, though not the only conception of God among the Jews before the coming of Christ, which helps to account for the formality and barrenness of their religion. Nothing so robs religion of its transforming and sustaining power as the drawing of its sanctions from some distant sphere, and the deferring of its rewards to some future age. The other conception–that God is immanent in the world–finds its best exposition in the literature of Pantheism, and has had expression and adherents ever since the time of the Vedic hymns. It reaches its extreme form in the view, still current, which denies to God personality, and identifies Him with the forces which upbear and impel the world. Both these conceptions are found–though not in their extreme forms–in the Bible. The New Testament doctrine of the Holy Spirit may be regarded as the evangelical counterpart of the philosophical doctrine of immanence. The New Testament teaching here is summarised for us in the fulfilment, in Act 2:17, of the prophecy of Joel. God would no longer be confined above the sky, or by the walls of a single building, or by the lines which separate the nations. He would come out into the open, so to speak, and be seen everywhere. He would make every place sacred by His presence. The universe, and no longer a booth of skins or a house of cedar, would be His dwelling place This dispensation of the Spirit began on the day of Pentecost. In it the Gospel assumes its universal character and function. But the New Testament does not say that the Holy Spirit abides in the world and world forces in such a sense as to become one with them. In the ministry of the Holy Spirit God is still a person different from us and from His world, but He is no longer remote. With Paul we are thrilled with the awe of a great, tender reverence when we reflect that He is not far away from any one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being. I know of no more blighting heresy than the practical denial among us of this New Testament and Old Testament teaching concerning the presence of Gods Spirit in His world, in His Church, as a vital blessed and mighty equipment for lifes battles and duties.

II. Gods Spirit is the Churchs only proper equipment for service. The presence of Gods Spirit for defence and for aggression was the burden of Zechariahs message to Zerubbabel. God is our defence. It is said that William Penn was the only colonist in America who left his settlement wholly unprotected by fence or arms, and that his was the only one which was unassailed by the Indian tribes. The first Christians depended in a peculiar manner upon the Holy Spirit for protection and leadership, and with the result that they were delivered from the hands of persecutors. History affords no more striking enforcement of Zechariahs message: Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.

III. Gods Spirit, appropriated by prayer, is now intended to operate through all believers. In the time of Zechariah, Gods Spirit wrought His will by means of special representatives. The olive trees supplied the oil to the candelabrum. Only, the anointed ones were in full measure supplied with the Spirit. But when Joels prophecy was fulfilled the Lord poured out His Spirit upon all flesh. It was a new epoch in the spiritual progress of mankind. God wills now to operate directly, without mediation, upon the hearts and minds of all believers. What matters it, however, if while we are within reach of strength we elect to continue in all our old weakness? The nearness of God does not ensure that we shall, in spite of ourselves, personally feel the thrill and joy of His strength. Prayer is a condition to this. Through prayer the very air about us may be charged with God, so as to bear us up like eagles in electric clouds. Closer than our breath is God with His Almighty Spirit and grace. Before Franklins experiment for harnessing the lightning the air was as full of electricity as it is today, but men did not know how to appropriate it. A battery may be charged with electric fire, but you must make your connections to get the power. We need to gear our personal lives and our church work on the Power which moves the world. Then shall we see a revolution in spiritual commerce and economics which will speedily bring in the completed kingdom that was the hope of Zechariah and the inspiration of His message to Zerubbabel. We make this connection by prayer. Pray in faith, and there shall quiver along every fibre of your being a thrill of the life, light, and might of God. (E. M. Poteat.)

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Verse 6. This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel] This prince was in a trying situation, and he needed especial encouragement from God; and here it is:

Not by might, (of thy own,) nor by power, (authority from others,) but by my Spirit – the providence, authority, power, and energy of the Most High. In this way shall my temple be built; in this way shall my Church be raised and preserved. No secular arm, no human prudence, no earthly policy, no suits at law, shall ever be used for the founding, extension, and preservation of my Church. But the spirit of the world says, “These are all means to which as we must have recourse; otherwise the cause of God may be ruined.” Satan, thou liest!

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

Then; so soon as Zechariah had owned his nescience.

He; Christ.

This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel; or, This word of the Lord is to Zerubbabel, it is particularly designed to him, and in an emblem prefigureth what a church, how precious as gold, how full of light; how framed, how maintained it should be by God himself. This hieroglyphic is a representation of what the church should be.

Zerubbabel; the governor, on whose hand much of the care and trouble of building the temple did lie; yet let him not be discouraged, for this work lieth on God.

Not by might; or, by an army, as the word bears, Hebrew; you may think you shall need all army to defend you in carrying on this building, which ill-will of neighbours about you hindereth, but I tell you there is no need of an army.

Nor by power; courage and valour, all which make, arms considerable; no need of this neither. Or might and power here may be of the same import, and added only for elegancy and assurance of the thing.

But by my spirit; which garnished the heavens and can beautify the church; which moved upon the darkness in the creation, and brought forth a beautiful and mighty structure, and can do as much now. By spirit we may understand either the Third Person of the Trinity engaged in building the church, with the Father and the Son; or by spirit you may understand the power of God. Either is encouragement enough, and secureth the future effect, and promiseth a future state of the church, pure and precious as gold, full of knowledge in the doctrines of God, as this candlestick with seven lamps, full of holiness from abundant measures of grace; persevering in it by continued supplies from the Spirit of grace in ordinances, &c.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

6. Not by might . . . but by mySpiritAs the lamps burned continually, supplied with oil froma source (the living olive trees) which man did not make, soZerubbabel need not be disheartened because of his weakness; for asthe work is one to be effected by the living Spirit (compare Hag2:5) of God, man’s weakness is no obstacle, for God’s might willperfect strength out of weakness (Hos 1:7;2Co 12:10; Heb 11:34).”Might and power” express human strength of everydescription, physical, mental, moral. Or, “might” is thestrength of many (an “army,” literally); “power,”that of one man [PEMBELLUS].God can save, “whether with many, or with them that have nopower” (2Ch 14:11;compare 1Sa 14:6). So in theconversion of sinners (1Co 3:6;2Co 10:4). “Zerubbabel”is addressed as the chief civil authority in directing the work.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

Then he answered, and spake unto me, saying,…. In great condescension, in order to instruct him into the true meaning of the vision:

This [is] the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel; this signifies what was said by the Lord to Zerubbabel, by some one of the prophets sent unto him:

saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts: that is, that as the candlestick was supplied with oil, from the two olive trees by the side of it, without the help of any man, to pour in the oil, and trim the lamps; so the temple should be built by Zerubbabel, not through the multitude and strength of men, but through the Spirit of God, animating, exciting, encouraging, and strengthening them to go through the work. The temple was a type of the church, and Zerubbabel a type of Christ; he was so in the high esteem he was had in by the Lord; he was chosen by him; made as a signet, and was precious to him, Hag 2:23 in his titles and characters, a servant of the Lord, and governor of Judah, Hag 1:1 and in his work, in bringing the Jews out of captivity, and in rebuilding the temple: so Christ is the chosen of God, and exceeding dear and precious to him; is his righteous servant, and Governor of the church, or King of saints; and who has redeemed and delivered his people from the captivity of sin, and Satan, and the law; and is the builder of his church; who has laid the foundation of it, and will bring in the headstone; and which church is built up in all generations through the conversion of sinners; and that is done, not by external force, by carnal weapons, or moral persuasion; but by the sword of the Spirit, the word of God; and not by the power of man’s free will, but by the efficacious grace of the divine Spirit: it is indeed done by power and might, but not of the creature: man, whatever power he has to do things natural, civil, outwardly religions, and materially moral, or however in appearance, has no power to do anything spiritually good; not to think a good thought, nor do a good action, in a spiritual manner; much less to work such a work as the work of regeneration, conversion, and sanctification; since he is dead in sin, and can not quicken himself; his understanding is darkened, yea, darkness itself, and he can not command light into it; his will is stubborn and obstinate, and he can not bend it, and subdue it; his heart is hard as a nether millstone, and he cannot soften it, and repent of his sins, in a truly spiritual, gracious, anti-evangelic manner; his affections are inordinate; and he is a lover of sinful pleasures, and not of God, nor of anything divine, to which his carnal mind is enmity; he cannot believe in Christ of himself; faith is not of himself, it is the gift of God, and so is repentance, and every other grace. The work of grace on the soul is expressed by a regeneration, a resurrection from the dead, a creation, and the new man, or a transformation of a man into another man; all which require almighty power to effect: regeneration is not of the will of man, nor of the will of the flesh, but of God, of Jehovah the Spirit: sanctification is called the sanctification of the Spirit, and every grace of it is a fruit of his; it is he who is the Spirit of life from Christ, that quickens men when dead in trespasses and sins, and enlightens their dark minds with spiritual light, in divine things; it is he that produces evangelical repentance in them, and faith in Christ is of his operation; it is he that begins the work of grace on the heart, and carries it on, and causes to abound in the exercise of every grace, and performs the work of faith with power. The Targum, instead of “by my Spirit”, renders it “by my Word”.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

Now follows the explanation the angel gives this answer — This is the word of Jehovah to Zerubbabel, saying, etc. Here the angel bears witness to what I have shortly referred to that the power of God alone is sufficient to preserve the Church, and there is no need of other helps. For he sets the Spirit of God in opposition to all earthly aids; and thus he proves that God borrows no help for the preservation of his Church, because he abounds in all blessings to enrich it. Farther, by the word spirit we know is meant his power, as though he had said, “God designs to ascribe to himself alone the safety of his Church; and though the Church may need many things, there is no reason why it should turn its eyes here and there, or seek this or that help from men; for all abundance of blessings may be supplied by God alone.” And host and might, (46) being a part for the whole, are to be taken for all helps which are exclusive of God’s grace. It is indeed certain that God acts not always immediately or by himself, for he employs various means, and makes use in his service of the ministrations of men; but his design is only to teach us that we are very foolish, when we look around us here and there, or vacillate, or when, in a word, various hopes, and various fears, and various anxieties affect us; for we ought to be so dependent on God alone, as to be fully persuaded that his grace is sufficient for us, though it may not appear; nay, we ought fully to confide in God alone, though poverty and want may surround us on every side. This is the purport of the whole.

But God intended also to show that his Church is built up and preserved, not by human and common means, but by means extraordinary and beyond all our hopes and all our thoughts. It is indeed true, as I have just said, that God does not reject the labors of men in building up and in defending his Church; but yet he seems as though he were not in earnest when he acts by men; for by his own wonderful power he surpasses what can be conceived by human thought. To be reminded of this was then exceedingly necessary, when the Church of God was despised, and when the unbelieving haughtily ridiculed the miserable Jews, whom they saw to be few in number and destitute of all earthly aids. As then there was nothing splendid or worthy of admiration among the Jews, it was needful that what we find here should have been declared to them — even that his own power was enough for God, when no aid came from any other quarter. The same also was the design of what we have noticed respecting the seven pourers and the olive-trees; for if God had need of earthly helps, servants must have been at hand to pour forth the oil; but there were seven pourers to supply the oil continually. Wherefrom? even from the olive-trees. As then the trees were fruitful, and God drew from them the oil by his hidden power, that the lamps might never be dry, we hence clearly learn, that what was exhibited is that which the angel now declares, namely, that the Church was, without a host and without might, furnished with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and that in these there was a sufficient defense for its preservation, in order that it might retain its perfect state and continue in vigor and safety.

When therefore we now see things in a despairing condition, let this vision come to our minds — that God is sufficiently able by his own power to help us, when there is no aid from any other; for his Spirit will be to us for lamps, for pourers, and for olive-trees, so that experience will at length show that we have been preserved in a wonderful manner by his hand alone.

We now then understand the design of the Prophet, and the reason why this vision was shown to him — that the faithful might be fully induced to entertain a firm hope as to that perfect condition of the Church which had been promised; for no judgment was to be formed of it according to earthly means or helps, inasmuch as God had his own power and had no need of deriving any assistance from others. And Zechariah says also, that this word was to Zerubbabel, even that he might take courage and proceed with more alacrity in the work of building the temple and the city. For Zerubbabel, we know, was the leader of the people, and the Jews returned to their country under his guidance; and in the work of building the city his opinion was regarded by all, as peculiar honor belonged to him on account of his royal descent. At the same time God addressed in his person the whole people: it was the same as though the angel had said, “This word is to the Church.” The head is here mentioned for the whole body, a part being specified for the whole.

Now as Zerubbabel was only a type of Christ, we must understand that this word is addressed to Christ and to all his members.

Thus we must remember that all our confidence ought to be placed on the favor of God alone; for were it to depend on human aids, there would be nothing certain or sure. For God, as I have said, withdraws from us whatever may add courage according to the judgment of the flesh, in order that he may invite or rather draw us to himself. Whenever, then, earthly aids fail us, let us learn to recumb on God alone, for it is not by a host or by might that God raises up his Church, and preserves it in its proper state; but this he does by his Spirit, that is, by his own intrinsic and wonderful power, which he does not blend with human aids; and his object is to draw us away from the world, and to hold us wholly dependent on himself. This is the reason why he says that the word was addressed to Zerubbabel. The rest I shall consider tomorrow.

(46) ᾿Ουκ ἐν δυνάμει μεγάλη ὀυδὲ ἐν ἰσχυι, Septuagint. ; “ non in exercitu nec in robore,” Jerome; “ non virtute neque vi,” Jun. et Trem Newcome and Henderson adopt our version, “not by might nor by power.” The first word, [ חיל ] seems to mean combined force, either of wealth or of armies; and the second, [ כח ], is the strength or vigor of men — courage or valor. It was not by the united power of the world, nor by individual strength or courage, that the work was to be effected — “not by power nor by strength.” — Ed.

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

(6) This . . . word.The vision is called the word, as being a symbolical prophecy. (Comp. Zec. 1:7.) As the golden candlestick was placed in the holy place of the Tabernacle (and the Temple) before the LORD, as an everlasting statute for their generations on behalf of the children of Israel (Exo. 27:21), so did the congregation on whose behalf (or as a symbol of which) was the candlestick, require a sanctuary in which to let their light shine before the Lord, and from which it might shine before men. This sanctuary Zerubbabel had founded, and his hands were to complete (Zec. 4:9); but not by any merit or strength of his own or of Israel, but simply by the Spirit of the Lord of Hosts, which would revive the dry bones of the house of Israel, that they should live, and be placed in their own land (Eze. 37:11-14).

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

6. When the prophet confesses ignorance the angel proceeds to explain.

This The entire vision. All the features were needed to complete the picture which was to serve as the means of instruction; but the angel attaches here a symbolic meaning only to one feature, the mysterious oil supply; the other features are of secondary importance, though a symbolical meaning is attached also to the two branches (Zec 4:12), and perhaps to the lamps (Zec 4:10). The message was intended primarily for Zerubbabel, the civil governor. The interpretation is given in a single sentence.

Not by might, nor by power By human strength or military power.

By my spirit As the oil is supplied to the lamps without human efforts, so Zerubbabel will be able, without the ordinary human resources (compare Neh 4:2), but assisted by the divine Spirit, to carry to completion the task which he has undertaken. This is not to be understood as a commendation of inactivity, but as a promise to one whose resources are exhausted, that Jehovah will not permit him to fail in his noble endeavor. For spirit see on Joe 2:28. What was the enterprise that baffled Zerubbabel is not stated, but Zec 4:7 shows that the prophet is thinking of the rebuilding of the temple, for which both Haggai and Zechariah pleaded, and to the completion of which the two are said to have contributed much (Ezr 5:2).

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Zec 4:6. This is the word, &c. See the note on chap. Zec 3:8. It appears as if Zerubbabel had been misrepresented at the Persian court; and hoping that he or his Son might prove the deliverer, of whom the prophets wrote, the apprehension of being recalled before he had finished the temple, filled him with much uneasiness. At this time Zechariah saw in vision the golden candlestick of the temple, Zec 4:2 which noble piece of workmanship figured out the temple service, and the whole polity of the Jewish constitution, depending on the restoration of the temple: for so Titus, to express the perfect subjection of Judaea, carried this candlestick afterwards in triumph, as the proper emblem thereof. The vision is explained to the prophet by an angel, who, having shewn him the contrivance of this hieroglyphic, and how the lamps were fed by pipes from the bowl with a secret, gentle influence, thus applies it; “This is the word of the Lord, to or of Zerubbabel: these things are not done by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord:” that is to say, “As in this vision all things are so contrived, that oil should not fail in the lamps, though no one pour it in; so shall it come to pass, by the immediate providence and administration of God, that the religion and polity of the Jews shall still continue to shine in the earth.” He goes on, Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain. The general meaning whereof is, that the strongest opposition shall be levelled before him whom God makes his instrument. Samaria, and the opposers of the building of the temple, are more immediately meant. He goes on, For, or so shall ye bring forth, &c. Here the angel mixes things common to Zerubbabel and the Messiah whom he represents; or, speaking of Zerubbabel’s finishing the temple, he passes thence to another Zerubbabel, who should be indeed the head or top-stone, the last ornament, beauty, and perfection of this building; who should be grace, grace, or, the chief grace thereof, as the Hebrews express it by the reduplication of the word. The Jewish Targum, therefore, understands the last part of this verse of the Messiah, and paraphrases it thus: “This Messiah shall emerge, who was named before the world, and shall obtain the empire of all the kingdoms of the earth.” St. Jerome tells us, that the old Jews explained it so; and the ancient book Tanchuma, and other of their writings still extant, bear them witness; and perhaps the Greek interpreters had the same person in view, when they rendered the top-stone by , the stone of inheritance; pointing out him, to whom of right the kingdom of the Jews belonged, and the heritage of the earth, and who was signified by the former prophets, by the cornerstone,the foundation-stone, elect and precious. See Chandler’s Defence, p. 203.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

DISCOURSE: 1243
ALL IS OF GOD

Zec 4:6. 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.

MANY parts of the prophetic writings are extremely dark: but many, which appear dark, would become clear, if we were contented to explain their main scope, without descending to every particular contained in them. Indeed they are, for the most part, explained by God himself; so far, at least, as to leave us in no doubt respecting their general import. The vision before us appears to be of difficult interpretation: to the Jews, methinks, it was altogether inexplicable; but the design of it was plainly declared in the words which we have just read: and, indeed, the declaration of its chief design reflects no inconsiderable light on every part of it. Perhaps we may say, that the lamps are the Church of God; the oil which feeds them is the Holy Spirit; the pipes conveying it are the ordinances; the bowl which supplies those pipes is the Gospel; and the olive-trees, which pour continually their sacred stores into the bowl, are the Lord Jesus Christ, in his offices of Priest and Prophet [Note: See this more fully treated, in the Discourse on ver. 1114.]. But, supposing we are mistaken in the precise meaning which we have assigned to these several parts, the import of the whole together is perfectly clear. You perceive that these lamps are kept alight, not by human agency, in any respect: the oil is secretly conveyed, from God himself, to every lamp, through the means of his own appointment: and this is the precise meaning which God himself, by his angel, annexes to the vision: 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, asying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of Hosts.

Let us consider these words,

I.

In reference to the work which was then in hand

Zechariah was sent to encourage the Jews to rebuild their city and temple. Great opposition was made to them; so that they despaired of ever accomplishing so great a work. But God, by this vision, instructed the prophet what to say unto them. He was to shew them,

1.

That they needed not to desire the aid of men, nor to fear their opposition

[Men are only what God is pleased to make them. They can do neither good nor evil, any further than he for his own glory enables them to do it. He had not sent armies to deliver them from Egypt: nor could all the power of Pharaoh detain them there. Nor had he brought them out of Babylon by human might or power. Mighty as the Chaldean empire was, and powerful as were the Medo-Persian conquerors of that empire, he had brought them forth, without force, to their native land: and therefore they should bear in mind how impotent the creature was, either to effect or prevent any thing, but in perfect accordance with his purpose, and in subserviency to his will.]

2.

That they needed only to trust in Him alone

[Nothing in the vision could either promote or obstruct the supplies of oil from the olives to the lamp: yet not a lamp was left destitute, or ceased to exhibit a splendid light. The Spirit of God did all; and kept alive the lamps, by a secret, continued, and effectual communication. It was the Spirit, that, by operating on the hearts of men, supplied every part of the furniture belonging to the tabernacle [Note: Exo 35:21-22; Exo 35:26.]. It was the Spirit alone that moved the heart of Cyrus to issue his proclamation for their return from Babylon [Note: 2Ch 36:22-23.]. And it was the same Spirit that raised up Zerubbabel, and inspired them with a zeal to forward the great work which they had in hand [Note: Hag 1:14.]. And was He not still as able as ever to accomplish his own gracious purposes? or did they need to indulge either hope or fear with respect to man, when they had the Almighty God for their help?]

But, as the words are spoken generally, let us consider them more at large,

II.

In reference to the work which was therein typified

The whole work of redemption from Babylon was typical; and had respect to,

1.

1. The establishment of Christianity in the world

[What was then done for the Lord in the erection of a material temple, was done by Jesus Christ in the formation of a spiritual temple, of which the Prophets and Apostles were the foundation, and he himself the Chief Corner-stone; and the whole being fitly framed together, is continually growing up a holy temple to the Lord [Note: Eph 2:19-22.]. But how has this been built? or how is it carried on? Is it, or has it at any time been, by might or by power? Who instructed the Prophets and Apostles? Who gave effect to their word? Who digs out the stones from the quarry, if I may so speak, and fits them for their places in this spiritual building [Note: 1Pe 2:5-6.]? It is the Spirit of God altogether. The powers of the world have been exerted to the uttermost against it: yea, men and devils have been confederate against it from the very beginning: but it is founded on a rock; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.]

2.

The maintenance of religion in the souls of men

[The soul of every individual believer is a temple of the Lord [Note: 1Co 3:16.]. But every such temple is the workmanship of Jehovah altogether [Note: Eph 2:10.]: it is a new creation. In the natural man there is not any thing of which such a building can be formed: there is not in him either power or inclination to serve God: it is the Spirit of God alone that gives him either to will or to do, and that altogether of his own good pleasure. Human power has no part in effecting it: We are born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God [Note: Joh 1:13.]. It is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy [Note: Rom 9:16.]: and, in the bestowment of his blessings, the Spirit divideth to every man severally as he will [Note: 1Co 12:11.].]

3.

The future restoration of the Jews

[The restoration from Babylon was but a partial accomplishment of what is to be more completely fulfilled at a future period. If we look into the prophecies of Zechariah, we shall find that he peculiarly and pre-eminently delights to dwell on this subject [Note: Compare chap. 1:16, 17 and 2:1012 and 6:1215 and especially the whole 8th chapter.]. And how shall this future restoration be effected? Not by human might or power; for all the power of man will be exerted to prevent it [Note: Mic 4:11-13.]; but by the power of the Holy Ghost: for the Prophet Hosea, speaking of the time when the children of Judah and the children of Israel shall he gathered together and appoint themselves one head, and shall come out of the land, for great shall be the day of Jezreel, says expressly, I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by the Lord their God; and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen [Note: Hos 1:7; Hos 1:11.].]

Thus we have ascertained the import of the declaration before us. Now let us proceed to the improvement of it.

It is clear, that when Almighty God saw fit to give a special vision to his servant, for the express purpose of fixing more deeply on his mind, and on the minds of the Jewish people, this particular truth, it must deserve at our hands the strictest attention. Learn then from it,

1.

On whom alone to depend

[We are prone to creature-confidence, and to place our reliance on an arm of flesh. But God denounces a curse on all who indulge this propensity: Cursed is the man that trusteth in man, or that maketh flesh his arm; and whose heart departeth from the Lord [Note: Jer 17:5.]. And the truly godly arc particularly distinguished by their victory over this sin: We are the circumcision, who have no confidence in the flesh [Note: Php 3:3.]. It is not possible to divest ourselves of this propensity in too great a degree: for not even so small a matter as the falling of a sparrow takes place without the special direction of the Almighty. We see how dependent a little infant is on its mother; and such must we be in the arms of God. We must undertake nothing in our own strength: in no circumstances whatever may we lean to our own understanding: whatever is devised, or whatever is done, the creature must be nothing; but God must be all in all.]

2.

To whom alone to give the glory of all that is done

[We must not sacrifice to our own net, or burn incense to our own drag [Note: Hab 1:16.]. God is a jealous God, and will not give his glory to another. When Herod was pleased with the adulation of his courtiers, and took honour to himself, instead of giving it to the Lord, he was smitten and eaten up with worms [Note: Act 12:21-23.]. And we also shall be made monuments of his displeasure, if we ascribe not to Him the glory due unto his name. Whereinsoever our success has been, whether in temporal or spiritual concerns, this must be our invariable acknowledgment, Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name, be the praise [Note: Psa 115:1.].]

3.

In what light to view the very beginnings of grace

[Were we left to accomplish any thing by our own might or power, we might well despond. But when we recollect that all is of God, and that He is a Being that changeth not, we may take comfort in the slightest expressions of his love, and in the smallest tokens of his grace. This is a very particular lesson to be learned from our text. We are not to despise the day of small things [Note: ver. 10.]: but to believe, that He who has laid the foundation of good within us will also finish it [Note: ver. 9.]. And, if any enemy vaunt himself as sure to prevail against us, we should address him in that triumphant language, Who art thou, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain [Note: ver. 7.]. The communication between the olives and the lamps could not be intercepted by mortal man; nor can the effectual aids of the Holy Spirit be kept from us. These lessons, well learned, are worth a vision: for in the practice of them shall all imaginable good flow down unto us, and God eternally be glorified.]

Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)

Zec 4:6 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.

Ver. 6. This is the word of the Lord ] That is, this hieroglyphic contains the mind of God in it. This is the interpretation of the vision, neither so concise nor obscure, ut Oedipode sit opus (as a Lapide after Ribera here saith), that it can hardly be understood. For who seeth not by the opposition here made between human help and divine, that in building and beautifying his Church with safety and salvation God will make bare his own holy arm; and do the work alone, or by the weakest means against the strongest resistance? Thus, then, have we (saith Mr Pemble) in three words the scope of this whole vision. That as the making and maintaining of this candlestick and his lamps was without the art and cunning of man, by means supernatural; so God’s Spirit, without and above all human helps, should suffice for the rebuilding and preservation of the material temple and true Church.

Unto Zerubbabel ] The Tirshatha, or chief magistrate, Ezr 2:63 , called also, as it is thought, Sheshbazzar, Ezr 1:8 . He was a type of Christ; to whom also God the Father here speaketh concerning his Church to be gathered by the preaching of the gospel.

Not by might, nor by strength ] As Mahomet in the East and the Spaniard in the Indies; but by the power of his Spirit, that great wonder worker, whereby the people fall under him, Psa 45:5 , and strongholds are cast down before him, 2Co 10:4 , as once the walls of Jericho. Thus he unwalled all the children of Sheth, Num 24:17 , viz. by the foolishness of preaching; and thus he still rideth upon his white horses, his ministers, conquering and to conquer, Rev 6:2 . Britannorum inaccessa Romanis loca Christo subdita sunt (Tertull.). The Romans could never subdue this nation, but Christ could. The Germans and other western people embraced the Christian religion in the year 772, when the Mahometan impiety wasted the East. God’s Spirit is irresistible, compared to the wind, Joh 3:8 , to a mighty rushing wind, Act 2:2 , that bears all before it, therefore called a spirit of power, 2Ti 1:7 , of counsel and of might, Isa 11:2 , and therefore here fitly opposed to an army, and to the arm of flesh, to all human power and policy whatsoever, though the gates of hell come to their help.

Not by might, nor by strength, &c. ] These two words some take to be synonymous; Mercer saith that the former signifieth stout and noble acts, the latter importeth power and faculty of doing those acts; and is the same as in Greek. By the spirit of God we are to understand his power, providence, and grace, 2Th 2:8 Isa 11:4-9 , whereby he helpeth his people with a little help, Dan 11:34 , that through weaker means they may see his greater strength. Thus he helped David against Goliath, and the Israelites against the Philistines often; but especially then, when unarmed they marched with their slings and plow staves and hooks and forks, and other instruments of their husbandry, against a mighty and well furnished enemy, and returned laden both with arms and victory. Sometimes, again, God helpeth his without any visible help, as when he destroyed Sennacherib’s army by an angel, swept away Sisera’s army by the river Kishon, and the Saracens and Persians by the river Euphrates, in the days of Theodosius (smitten with a panic terror, they ran headlong into the river, and were drowned, to the number of 100,000), for whom also the winds fought in that famous battle against Maximus; as both winds and waves did for us against the invincible navy. The Church alone deserveth to be styled invincible, that hath the Lord of hosts to be her champion, who hath armies above and armies beneath (as the Rabbis well observe). 2. General troops, as his horse and foot soldiers, ready pressed; legions of angels, millions of other creatures. The curtains of the tabernacle embroidered with Cherubims signified the service and protection of the Church by the angels. Let the Pope be the sun and the emperor the moon (as the canonists style them), yet the sun must not smite the Church by day nor the moon by night; but the stars in their courses must fight against Sisera, and both the Pope’s bull and the emperor’s thunderbolt tend exceedingly to the furtherance of the Reformation begun by Luther. Whereupon Scultetus makes this observation, Ecce tibi adimpletum Psalmicum illud, Psa 54:3 . Behold that of the psalmist made good. “He shall send from heaven and save us from the reproach of him that would swallow us up. Selah.” God shall send forth his mercy and his truth. He shall; but when will he? may some say. First, when his people in distress cry aloud, I came for thy word, Dan 10:12 . He will come, but he will have his people’s prayers lead him. Secondly, when his enemies blaspheme and insult, saying, Where is now their God? when Rabshakeh (a renegade Jew, as the Rabbis report him) shall jeer at Hezekiah’s prayers as an empty business, an airy nothing, as words of the lips only; whereas counsel and strength are for the war (thus some read that text, Isa 36:5 ). Thirdly, when the Church is at lowest, and all seems lost and desperate; when the enemy is above fear, and the Church below hope; when she is talking of her grave, like Israel at the Red sea; then is God’s season to set in; it is his glory to help at a dead-lift, to begin where we have given over, to relieve those that are forsaken of their hopes, to come when we can scarcely find faith upon the earth. God sees when the mercy will be in season. When his people are low enough, and the enemy high enough, then usually appears the Church’s morning star; then Christ came leaping and skipping over the mountains of Bether, all impediments that might seem to hinder (as sins of his people, oppositions of his enemies), and make the Church’s mountain to be exalted above all mountains, mole hills in comparison to her.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

the LORD. Hebrew. Jehovah. App-4.

might = might [of man].

nor = and not.

power = power [of flesh].

but by, &c. i.e. as in the lampstand the oil flowed silently, without help from man,

Spirit. Hebrew. ruach App-9.

the LORD of hosts. See note on Zec 1:3.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

The Supremacy of the Spiritual

Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.Zec 4:6.

1. The Lord, through the prophet Zechariah, addressed this message, under remarkable circumstances, to Zerubbabel, the prince and leader of the Jews, under whom the first company of the exiles, numbering about fifty thousand, returned from Babylon. On reaching Jerusalem, he with his fellow-exiles promptly set about building the second Temple. They laid the foundations with great rejoicing, in high hope of speedily completing the work. But seeing the smallness of their resources and the vastness of the undertaking, the large numbers who opposed and the fewness of those who helped, Zerubbabel and his people became discouraged, and ceased from their labours. For full fifteen years nothing was done. To arouse the leader and to stir up the people to resume and press forward the undertaking, the Lord by Zechariah addressed them, telling them that, though they were poor and weak in comparison with the builders of Solomons Temple, yet God would have them know that the work was not wholly theirs, but was emphatically His, and must therefore be accomplished. For their encouragement He promised that His favour and the aid of His Spirit would be given them, furnishing in ways of His own all that was needed to complete the building. This He taught them by the symbolic vision of the golden candlestick and two olive trees, which is recorded in the context preceding the text, and of which the text is the explanation. The prophet saw a candlestick of gold, having seven lamps on the tops of seven branches, all connected with the central stem and to the bowl above by a golden pipe. On the right side of the candlestick was a living olive tree, and on the left side a similar olive tree. These trees poured from themselves a plentiful and unfailing supply of oil into the central bowl of the candlestick. Then the prophet asked what the vision meant. The reply given was the words of the textThis is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.

2. Zechariah had shared in the prevailing despondency of his time. He did not see what good could be accomplished by men of so little pith as Zerubbabel and the rest. He had taken their measure, and he despaired of them as the root or beginning of any noble undertaking or any fruitful work. Such men can never shine as lights in the world. Such feeble, incompetent persons could only bring disgrace on religion. In the vision of the candlestick it was made clear to Zechariahs mind that he had been wrong, not perhaps in his judgment of his contemporaries, but in forgetting one contemporary of whom he had made no account. Not by might, nor by powerso far he was right, there was neither might nor powerbut by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. He was reminded of the source of the Churchs light, and it was revealed to him that the oil which fed this lightthe Spirit, that is, which produces right and God-glorifying results in menflows from an inexhaustible source beyond the light itself; so that we can never measure the light by looking at the wick, or at the amount of oil each bowl can contain, but only by looking at the source whence the oil is supplied. With immense significance the oil was seen to be derived from two living olive treesobviously to teach that, though the bowls might be very small, the supply out of which they could be refilled was inexhaustibly large, a living fountain of oil.

Here the angel bears witnessthat the power of God alone is sufficient to preserve the Church, and there is no need of other helps. For he sets the Spirit of God in opposition to all earthly aids; and thus he proves that God borrows no help for the preservation of His Church, because He abounds in all blessings to enrich it. Father, by the word Spirit we know is meant His power, as though He had said, God designs to ascribe to Himself alone the safety of His Church; and though the Church may need many things there is no reason why it should turn its eyes here and there, or seek this or that help from men; for all abundance of blessings may be supplied by God alone.

When therefore we now see things in a despairing condition, let this vision come to our mindsthat God is sufficiently able by His own power to help us, when there is no aid from any other; for His Spirit will be to us for lamps, for pourers, and for olive trees, so that experience will at length show that we have been preserved in a wonderful manner by His hand alone.1 [Note: Calvin, Commentaries on the Twelve Minor Prophets, v. 109.]

I

1. The text teaches the central thought of religionthe supremacy of the spiritual over the material. There is no dispensing with the material, but the spiritual is supreme through the material. Here, in a single vision, is the relationship of life to organization, the relationship of the spiritual to the material; the material candlestick necessary to support the light, but the supply of the living flame coming, as it must come, from something which has life and continuance in itself, from the living olive trees.

The supremacy of the spiritual over the materialno truth is more difficult really to grasp as a practical belief than this. The world is so real, its forces are so powerful; not only the natural forces which we capture and tame and bend to our uses, the power of air and water and gravitation, the power of steam and electricity and explosives, but those other powers, the power of social position, the power of money, the power of combination, the power of custom, even the power of fact. We are so controlled by forces all around us that we are apt to forget that as Christians we walk by faith, not by sight. Religion consists in emancipation from the deadening slavery of things seen. It teaches us that behind this outward and visible framework there lives and moves a great spiritual Power with whom we may be united, that this universe which we see is but the clothing of God Himself, that the soul is a more wonderful thing than the body, that eating and drinking are not the chief concerns of the citizens of Gods Kingdom, but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost, that the mightiest machine in the world is not to be compared with the humblest flower that grows, that Christianity is above riches, that love is stronger than death. In a word, religion teaches us the supremacy of the spiritual over the material.

2. There is a remarkable fascination about mere might and power. The tramp of armed men makes the city thrill with pride; the display of wealth and resources makes the nation glory in its enterprise and industrial capacity. Some men never tire of looking at that mighty proof of power, the locomotive, as it tears its way at express speed from one end of the land to the other, bearing its heavy freight as lightly as if it were a plaything of the nursery. How our eyes follow the mighty ocean liner as it draws itself quickly out of sight, and is soon lost to view over the horizon! How imposing as an illustration of power is a great fleet of war ships! Lines upon lines of mighty vessels; a huge collection of engines of destruction; a great display of human resource and ingenuity; a splendid proof of a nations might and power upon the seas. All are attracted by these things. The dullest, the most self-centred, those with the smallest grasp of things secular and material, will be drawn out somewhat to the world of wonder and awe by the attractiveness of might and power.

Yet not a day passes but we see what a fitful and feeble thing at the best is human power. We cannot open a newspaper but we notice what veritable weaklings are mans mightiest works in the hands of the Creator. The wind rises in hurricane, and our strong creations are dashed in pieces like cockleshells. What of the ruined emblems of mans mightiest works in the hands of the Creator. The wind rises in hurricane, and our strong creations are dashed in pieces like cockleshells. What of the ruined emblems of mans power to be found in ancient Greece and Romestupendous works like the Pyramids and Sphinx of Egypt, the temples of Assyria and India? Where is the might of these mighty empires to-day? Once they held sway over the known world. Once Egypt and Assyria made every neighbouring nation tremble at the mention of their name. Once upon a time the eagles of Rome flew from the farthest east to the farthest west. But where is their might to-day? Who would have prophesied the time when their power should be shattered, and all that was left of them should be the ruins of temple and palace, fit theme for poet to sing about and moralist to discourse upon?

3. It is not by might. That is a word of very comprehensive meaning. Sometimes it denotes an army, and is significant of brute force, of coercion, of sheer repression. In all Christian work force is no remedy. And sometimes it denotes wealth, and is significant of material substance, of buying power, bribing power, the carnal energies by which men are illicitly enticed and enslaved. Not by these means can the Kingdom be advanced. And sometimes it denotes valour, and is significant of the large energies of heart and will. And it is not by the unconfirmed courage of men that the work of the Lord is to be done. Nor by power. This is surely suggestive of capacity. It is a word which is elsewhere translated lizard, probably as signifying stealth. It is also translated chameleon, denoting adaptability, smartness, sharpness, the quick-change type of character. It was to this particular class that our Lord referred when He said: I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent.

(1) The worship of physical force is anything but an obsolete idolatry. People of all classes in society crowd in admiration round the man with the strong arm. A war is the unfailing specific for all the worlds diseases. Is anything wrong anywhere? War will set it right. It is well for us, however, to remember that the man who declared that Providence was on the side of the big battalions died defeated, a prisoner and an exile. Think of the equipment of the early Church in the Upper Room. How it would have excited the ridicule of military men of the world! This unarmed, undrilled company going to lead an attack upon the powers of darkness! But which would really be the more absurdthe sneer of the soldier, or the faith of the Apostles?

In the course of a letter to a friend in Glasgow, a professor of the University of Copenhagen writes: Indeed the war is terrible, but we understand that the mortal struggle cannot finish before the Germans have learned that physical force, as Professor T. A. Fleming says, is in the long run impotent unless backed by those spiritual forces which spring only from loyalty to the everlasting difference between right and wrong.1 [Note: Glasgow Herald, Dec. 31, 1914.]

There are two opposite ways of trying to promote the triumph of good over evil. One way is that followed by the best men, from Buddha in India and Jesus in Palestine, down to the Non-Resisters of our own time. It is, to seek to see the truth of things clearly, to speak it out fearlessly, and to endeavour to act up to it, leaving it to influence others as the rain and sunshine act upon the plants. The influence of men who live in that way spreads from land to land and from age to age. But there is another plan, much more often tried, which consists in making up ones mind what other people should do, and then using physical violence if necessary to make them do it. People who act like thatAhab, Attila, Csar, Napoleon, and the Governments and militarists of to-dayinfluence people as long as they can reach them, and even longer; but the effect that lives after them and spreads furthest, is a bad one, inflaming mens hearts with anger, with patriotism, and with malice. These two lines of conduct are contrary the one to the other, for you cannot persuade a man while he thinks you wish to hit or coerce him.1 [Note: A. Maude, The Life of Tolstoy: Later Years, 36.]

(2) Another modern symbol of power is money. The worship of wealth was never such a popular faith as it is to-day. And the power of money in Christian work is not to be despised. All honour to the rich men who have given the Saviour their wealth because they had first given Him their hearts; who have remembered their duties as stewards responsible to an Almighty Master; who have spent their money in relieving the wants of the least of the Lords brethren, instead of wasting it on personal luxury, or hoarding it in useless avarice. Yet, after all, money is a broken reed in Christian work. Money may buy place and authority in religious organizations, but it cannot buy spiritual power.

If a thing was according to the need of man and the will of God, it had to be done, and Paton laughed at the idea that considerations of money should stand in the way of its accomplishment. We must never lose the battle for lack of powder and shot, he would say. But in itself money was nothing to him. It was kept in its proper place as means and not end. Money I care not for, he writes to Mr. Henry Ollard, save as all influence and all agencies it can bring are used unreservedly and sacredly for the winning of the world to God and holiness.2 [Note: John Brown Paton (1914), 507.]

We live in a world where visible and tangible things exist, to which, on the immaterial side, there are spiritual correspondences. One of these things is money. The higher order of people are apt to say there are better things than money; that there is the wealth of aspiration, of noble purpose, of generous and liberal sympathies, of good health and right feeling. And this is deeply true; and if one were to choose from financial riches on the one side, and spiritual riches on the other, he who would choose the former rather than the latter would be a madman rather than a rational human being. All the same, however, there is no truth in a sort of vague, traditional feeling that material poverty is necessarily synonymous with spiritual wealth, or that material wealth is synonymous with spiritual poverty. That this not unfrequently is true does not in the least argue that it is necessarily so, or that it is an ideal state of affairs. Still, when wealth is gained by a man giving himself over, body and soul, to material accumulation; when it is gained by grinding down the wages of employs, by the oppression and selfishness of all competitive industry, why, then, to amass financial wealth is at the fearful price of spiritual development.1 [Note: Lilian Whiting, The World Beautiful, 172.]

(3) Another thing much worshipped in these days is physical courage. But a man may be physically brave yet morally a cowardas bold as a lion in one part of his nature and timid as a hare in others. A man may even lead a regiment into battle in face of the most fearful fire as stiff and unflinching as if he were made of steel; and yet when one talks to him one may find him timid in his opinions, always asking what others think and afraid to take any firm moral stand. To face danger boldly, to keep cool in trying circumstances may be the result of possessing a frame so truly strong that no nerve is exposed or sensitive. Physical courage, the mere meeting of pain or peril without quivering, by no means implies a similar endowment of moral courage.

The Greek virtue of courage, confined almost entirely to valour in battle, has but little correspondence to anything that is supremely important in modern life. The kind of fortitude which is required for valour in battle is, even in its most inward aspect, somewhat different from that fortitude which sustains the modern man of science, politician, scholar, or philanthropist. Hence this side of ethical study is one which each generation of writers requires almost to reconsider for itself. However instructive the great work of Aristotle may still remain on this point (and there is perhaps nothing more instructive in the whole range of ethical literature), it is yet not quite directly applicable to the conditions of modern life.2 [Note: J. S. Mackenzie, A Manual of Ethics, 353.]

We are not entitled to say that the Aristotelian ideal of fortitude has been either more or less pure than that which has been operative in Christendom; but there is no doubt that the latter has become far more comprehensive, and it has become so in correspondence with an enhanced fulness in our conception of the ends of living. Faculties, dispositions, occupations, persons, of which a Greek citizen would have taken no account, or taken account only to despise, are now recognized as having their place in the realization of the powers of the human soul, in the due evolution of the spiritual from the animal man. It is in consequence of this recognition that the will to endure even unto death for a worthy end has come to find worthy ends where the Greek saw nothing but ugliness and meanness, and to express itself in obscure labours of love as well as in the splendid heroism at which a world might wonder.1 [Note: T. H. Green, Prolegomena to Ethics, 280.]

II

1. Physical force, then, will not do the work that has to be done. Money will not do it. Courage will not do it. But if these are away, what is there left? If we tell men of the world that our desire cannot be accomplished by these things, they will reply, Then you simply cannot do it at all. And they are right. We cannot. But God can, and God will. Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. Over against our weakness is set the almighty power of Jehovah. If we ask, Who is sufficient for these things? we have the answer, Our sufficiency is of God. We speak the truth when we say that without Christ we can do nothing; but not the whole truth until we add, I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Even earthen vessels may hold a treasure. Even in weakness strength may be made perfect.

It is by the operation of the Holy Spirit that the Church of Christ, and the Christian world in obedience to her authority, has condemned infanticide, slavery, cruelty, injustice, intemperance, impurity, and all the long catalogue of social evils in the world. The men and women who have fought these evils in Christs name have one and all professed that it was not they who won the victory of themselvesnot they, but a power within them, stronger than themselves, inspiring and energizing them, and rendering them capable of achievements beyond their natural scope. That Power, as they knew, had been no other than the Spirit of God. Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts, is the motto inscribed upon their hearts.1 [Note: J. E. C. Welldon, Revelation of the Holy Spirit.]

2. One of the greatest dangers of modern life is that we tend to put more faith in the power of machinery than in the power of the Spirit. If we are wise, there will be a growing resentment in our minds at the way in which life is broken up, and rendered shallow and unspiritual, by the mere multitude of good works, by want of depth and concentration. No doubt it is the natural temptation of an active and busy generation that so many workers for good causes are simply lost in the multiplicity of their own doings, immersed in practical and semi-secular affairs, absorbed in the mechanism of their work. We try, in fact, to do too many things; we have never really taken to heart the story of Martha and Mary; we forget that nothing will go well with us if the mechanism of our work is more thought of and cared for than the inspiration which alone makes it real and progressive. Men are so accustomed to look on the outward appearance and on material resources, even in Christian work. They are disposed to trust to the might of numbers, of organization, of training, and of experience. They rely also on the ability of their leaders, on their own prestige and past achievements. They make much of high official position, of social rank, of wealth and worldly relationship. These God also takes into His account and uses them; but He is not confined to them. He has other and mightier powers which He employs to build up His house. In all Christian work there is a tendency for the mind to become concentrated upon the lamp-stand of solid gold, and to forget the olive trees; to be engrossed in the costly mechanism and to be forgetful of the life. It is well, therefore, for us to be reminded that our most elaborate equipment will be futile without the mystic grace of God.

Amiels Journal Intime is the history of a man told by himself,a fine mind and beautiful nature, but on the whole a pathetic storythe conflict, so common in our time, between the intellect and the heart, including in that last word the spirit, which is the Divine side of the heart. He was in heart a believer, in intellect not an agnostic, but perplexed. I suppose the right view is that neither is to be taken by itself. The heart without the intellect will lead to superstition, the intellect without the heart to Pantheism, or Materialism or blank Nihilism. The intellect must take the emotional and spiritual part of man into account in forming its theories, as the physicist does with the facts of nature. How to give the intellect and spirit their proper place is the cause of the conflict, and perhaps this conflict is a necessary condition of our progress and of our final establishment in the best way. Without sin the solution would have been easier. The conflict might have been only a keen, friendly discussion. And so the way to get above doubt is to rise into the region of the spirit, carrying our reason with us: He that doeth his will shall know, etc. Blessed are the pure in heart.1 [Note: Letters of the Rev. John Ker, 355.]

3. Nothing aroused the anger of Christ more than this intrusion of the mechanical into the spiritual, the encroachment of machinery upon life. As He studied with prophetic eye the religion of His day, as exhibited in its most orthodox representatives, He saw how fatal that intrusion was. Religion had passed from a life into a mechanism. We know how constantly, and how easily, in the history of religion, the spiritual hardens into the mechanical. The prayer-wheel of the Buddhist, the ceaseless repetitions of the Koran, are but symptoms of a disease that has not left Christianity itself unassailed. They have their counterparts in Christendom to-day. Even the regular attendance at public prayer, even the constant participation in the highest act of Christian worship, carry with them the perils of familiarity. The danger of mechanical religion is that we may lose sight of the end in the means, may even forget that there is an end for each and all of us, here and hereafterpersonal righteousness, the realization of the image of God in man, the saving of the soul. Behind the things of sense lie the things of the spirit; behind Nature, God; behind time and the world, death and judgment and eternal life. Let us hold fast to the first principles of our faith, to the things which are not seen but are eternal.

Keble was ordained Deacon on Trinity Sunday, 1815, and Priest on Trinity Sunday, 1816, both by the Bishop of Oxford, Dr. William Jackson; and in July of the latter year, writing to me, he said, I want your prayers, too; very much I want them, for every day I feel the dangers and anxieties of my profession increase upon me. Pray for me that I may not pollute Gods altar with irregular, worldly-minded, self-complacent thoughts. Pray for me that I may free myself from all pride, all ambition, all uncharitableness. You cannot think how a little word which you dropped one day, the last we met together at Oxford, struck me, and how it has abode with me ever since. You cautioned me against Formalism; I thought it hard at the time, but now I know you had too good reason. Help me by your prayers, your advice, if any occurs to you; and your reproof, if you at any time think I need it, to get rid of that dangerous habit.1 [Note: J. T. Coleridge, A Memoir of the Rev. John Keble, i. 59.]

III

1. Human might has limits set to it, if it were only because it cannot achieve the highest and best results. It can civilize, but it cannot redeem. It can bring changes, some of them excellent changes, in the shape of social, physical, and even intellectual benefits; but it cannot Christianize. It can reform, but it cannot convert. It can alter circumstances, but it cannot change character. It can do much on the surface; but it cannot go deep down to the roots of the nature, and produce radical changes, the highest and eternal results. Now, it is just here that the magnificent claim of the text comes in. At the point where social reform and human culture lie baffled and broken, the Christian faith comes in with its supreme influence, because it is backed by the Divine power of the Spirit. It aims at the best results. It is omnipotent in the sphere of moral and spiritual things. It changes the heart and renews the mind. It redeems the soul and cleanses the character. It goes down to the springs of human nature; hence it revolutionizes the life; and thus it redeems society, because it first redeems the individual. Its sphere is found where human might and resource know no way of admittance. It deals with the soul, with the heart, with the eternal part of human nature. It speaks to men of sin and righteousness, of death and eternity and judgment, of salvation and heaven and life everlasting. It introduces new motives, and instils new desires. It implants new aims, holds up new and glorious ideals, gives grace and strength to work up to them. Where human might cannot enter, the Spirit of God has supreme dominion. Where human power falls back hopeless and helpless, the Spirit of God achieves its grandest results. Human empires come and go; they rise and fall, and others take their place; but the Empire of the Divine Spirit retains its early power to regenerate human hearts and renew and glorify human lives.

When I was turned from one whose business was to shirk into one whose business was to strive and persevere, it seemed to me as though all had been done by some one else. I was never conscious of a struggle, never registered a vow, nor seemingly had anything personally to do with the matter. I came about like a well-handled ship. There stood at the wheel that unknown Steersman whom we call God.1 [Note: R. L. Stevenson.]

Not by power are we to conquer, but by the sacred energies of the Holy God. By my Spirit; shall we reverently give it the old translation and say, By my wind? It is the breath of the Lord, creating atmosphere sometimes like a cool, refreshing air, sometimes like a withering simoom; sometimes like a tempestuous whirlwind. He breathed upon them and said, Receive ye the Holy Ghost. But here is the other ministry of the same breathing: The grass withereth, because the Spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it. It is an atmosphere in which the good is quickened, and in which all that is evil is inevitably destroyed. It is, therefore, with this mystic wind, this spiritual minister, that we are to go about our work. We are to do it in the intimate fellowship of the Lord.2 [Note: J. H. Jowett.]

2. Now, may we not say that, in regard to the work of the Christian Church, this power is indispensable and essential? that where there is not the power of the Spirit of the Lord of Hosts all else is vain? We can never count upon success when the Spirit of God is absent. Every dry and barren period of the Churchs history tells the same tale. There may be intellectual gifts and literary culture. There may be riches and worldly resource. There may be social status and human influence. But over against these, with all the goodness that may be in them, we hear the cry echoing through the vaulted corridors of the Churchs life, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. These, at their best, are of the earth, earthy. They are but parts of human might and earthly resource, which have their limits appointed to them. But this supreme force of the Spirit of God is Divine; it is Almighty. It partakes of the nature of Him who is everlasting and omnipotent. Those others are the hands that lay the train; or, rather, they are the materials laid upon the pile. This is the magic flash of fire that kindles them into a mighty flame. This is the electric touch that can call forth all the force that lies in these, and make them truly mighty for the overthrow of strongholds of sin and Satan. Learning and scholarship, literary power, tact, address, resource; who shall despise them? They are all needed in the work of the Kingdom. But the first essential that can make men truly powerful is the Spirit of the Lord of Hosts.

Therefore, to rest on any other source of power is to lean on a bruised reed that will break and pierce the hand that leans upon it. What constitutes the power of a church? Numbers? God would rather have seven consecrated men and women than seven thousand who are living according to the course of this world. Where lies the strength of a church? In human wealth and patronage? Sometimes these are curses instead of blessings. The power of any church is the Holy Spirit. If He be in the preacher and in the believer, and in the general body of disciples, there is no telling what wonderful things may be done.

The baptism of the fulness of spiritual energy, of moral force, is a mysterious and an extraordinary event in the history of the race. God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this; that power belongeth unto God. The Old Testament knew the manifestation of this power in varying measures, yet it never witnessed the revelation of that power in its fulness. The Romans with pick and spade could do little in making roads through rocks and mountains. The use of gunpowder in the seventeenth century raised blasting to a science. The introduction of dynamite, thrice as powerful as gunpowder, entirely revolutionized that science. And then, again, nitro-glycerine, half as strong again as dynamite, has largely superseded dynamite. In the moral world, in various directions and ages, men have proved in various degrees the spiritual power by which they subdue sin and achieve holiness, but to us is the Spirit given without measure. Do I realize the saving, sanctifying Power?1 [Note: W. L. Watkinson, The Gates of Dawn, 132.]

3. Did not the Lord who breathed on His Apostles, saying, Receive ye the Holy Ghost, also charge them to tarry at Jerusalem till they were endued with power from on high. For nothing less than the power from on high could fit them for their arduous work, and nothing less than the Spirit of God could effect the great change to be wrought in the hearts and lives of the people. So it came to pass that, when Gods time came, even the Day of Pentecost, the Spirit of God gave the Apostles new powers and gifts, and the people new ears to hear and hearts to feel and understand. In a word, the Spirit of God breathed the breath of spiritual life into the new gospel creation. His life was the source of the Churchs spiritual power then and has been ever since. We must get back, therefore, to the primal sources of spiritual power; to prayer and meditation, to the study of the Bible, to sacramental grace and the realization of the Divine Presence. There are many among us who seem to have no capacity for suffering; and if we cannot suffer, how can we save? If we are never haunted by the sinfulness of the world, if we never know what it is to be crushed, humbled by the littleness of our own work and the greatness of mens needif we are satisfied with the tiny circle of our own self-complacent career, and never look out into the wide wilderness about us where men toil and faint and suffer and despairlet us go back to the Bible and learn to see in that cross which throws its splendour and its shadow on every page the bitterness of human sorrow and the awfulness of human sin. The story of the cross, the story that changed the world, is the means by which the Divine Spirit works His great miracles. The cross of shame, the cross of bitter agony, the cross of terrible defeat, but also the cross of atoning love, love gloriously triumphant,by this sign the Spirit conquers, proving Himself stronger than warlike might and earthly substance. Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit revealing to sinful men a crucified and risen Redeemer, the sinners refuge, the sinners hope, the sinners plea.

The Spirit of the Lord of Hosts is lovethe sacrifice of might and power. The world has been made great by the gentlest of all its forces. Man had no dominion over the beast of the field until the advent of love. The animal raged within him unsubdued until the Christ came. Thunder, earthquake, and fire strove in vain to quell it; it yielded only to the still small voice. The Jew proposed the terrors of the law; the philosopher advised the crucifixion of feeling. Neither could suppress the passions of the soul. But when love came, it conquered the old passions by a new passion. It sent not thunder but lightning. It forbade nothing; it crucified nothing; it destroyed nothing; it simply flashed on me the light of a new Presence and the old presence died. There was no mutilation of the heart; there was no destruction of the hearts ancient possessions; there was just a transcendent glory which made the ancient possessions valueless; they were destroyed by the brightness of his coming.1 [Note: G. Matheson, Voices of the Spirit, 89.]

4. We often speak and act as though we expected the presence of the Spirit to be shown in the same miraculous manner as on the Day of Pentecost, but have we any right to expect this? We forget that we are living after Pentecost, not before it; that the Holy Spirit has come to this earth and has not departed. Our Lords words were, I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Paraclete, that he may abide with you for ever. If we read the Epistles carefully, we shall not find a single passage commanding Christians to pray for the outpouring of the Holy Ghost; only one passage that can possibly be interpreted as a prayer of the writer that the Church might receive the blessing of the Holy Ghost; but scores of passages implying that the Holy Ghost is already in the Church, and that what Christians have to do is not so much to pray that He may come as to take heed lest by their own unfaithfulness they lose the blessing which is already theirs. The warning, Quench not the Spirit, is addressed not to unbelievers but to believers; and the way in which we quench the Spirit is by refusing to open our hearts to the influences that are always waiting for entrance. Are we wrong, then, when we pray to be filled with the Spirit, when we pray that that Spirit may take more complete possession of our hearts? By no means. There is none of the good gifts of God that we do wrong to pray for. But we do wrong if we pray for the Spirit, and then, when His voice speaks, close our ears. We do wrong if we pray for the Spirit, and then bolt the door of the heart. How often we clamour for more light, when all that we need is to open our eyes!

The keynote of the twenty-first annual convention of Christian Endeavour at Middlesborough was struck by the Rev. James Spedding of Birkenhead, who reminded the delegates that all the elaborate plans and programmes for the convention would be as machinery with no driving force apart from the Divine Spirit. He little thought how perfect an illustration of his message the convention would provide. The great Town Hall of Middlesborough, seating some 4000 people, was thronged for a praise serviceThe Evangel of Jesus, composed by a local organist of conspicuous ability; a choir of 350 voices was in readiness; Felix Corbett, a master musician of the north, was at the keyboard of one of Englands noblest organs. The brilliant composer, R. G. Thompson, Mus.Bac., was on his dais. But the organ remained silent. We could soon tell there was some misadventure, the fact being that one of the wires of one of the electric motors was out of order. Till an electrician had been sent for, and had repaired the fused and broken wire, the choir had to sing to the weaker accompaniment of the piano. Great was the relief of conductor, choir, and audience when once more the electric power was free to rush into the organ. Only as the link between ourselves and God is established and maintained can great things happen in our individual lives and our Christian societies.1 [Note: S. Pearce Carey.]

Some time ago I stood on the east coast of England and looked out over a stretch of oozy slime and ill-smelling mud. There were the barges high and dry, lying on their sides, in the mud. No good their heaving the anchor or hoisting the sailall this availed them nothing. And as I looked out upon it I thought within myselfWhat is the remedy? Were it any use for the Corporation to pass a bye-law that every citizen should bring pot, kettle, or pan filled with water, and pour it out upon the stretch of mud? But as I watched I saw the remedyGod turned the tide. In swept the waters of the sea and buried the mud, and then came the breath of sweetness and life. And it flowed in about the barges, and instantly all was activity. Then heave-ho with the anchor, then hoist the sails, then forth upon some errand of good. So is it that we stand looking out upon many a dreadful evil that fills us with dismaydrunkenness, gambling, impurity. Is there any remedy? And the churches, so very respectable, dreadfully respectable many of thembut alas! high and dry on the mudfor these, too, what is the remedy? We want the flood-tidethe gracious outpouring of the Spirit; then must come the roused and quickened churches. It is ours now if we will have it: Ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses unto me.2 [Note: M. G. Pearse, Parables and Pictures, 108.]

Mysterious Presence, Source of all,

The world without, the soul within,

Fountain of Life, O hear our call,

And pour Thy living spirit in!

Thou breathest in the rushing wind,

Thy beauty shines in leaf and flower;

Nor wilt Thou from the willing mind

Withhold Thy light and love and power.

Thy hand unseen to accents clear

Awoke the psalmists trembling lyre,

And touched the lips of holy seer

With flame from Thine own altar-fire.

That touch divine still, Lord, impart,

Still give the prophets burning word;

And vocal in each waiting heart

Let living psalms of praise be heard.1 [Note: S. C. Beach.]

The Supremacy of the Spiritual

Literature

Dods (M.), Footsteps in the Path of Life, 82.

Edwards (H.), The Spiritual Observatory, 85.

Horwill (H. W.), The Old Gospel in the New Era, 27.

Little (J.), The Day-Spring, 50.

Matheson (G.), Voices of the Spirit, 89.

Neville (W. G.), Sermons, 97.

Pierson (A. T.), The Hopes of the Gospel, 41.

Rutherford (R.), That Good Part, 135.

Spurgeon (C. H.), New Park Street Pulpit, iii. (1857), No. 149.

Swanson (W. S.), Gethsemane, 96.

Voysey (C.), Sermons, iv. (1881), No. 32; xi. (1888), No. 5.

British Congregationalist, Feb. 6, 1908 (J. H. Jowett).

Christian World Pulpit, xvi. 161 (D. Fraser); xxxviii. 298 (R. F. Bracey); lxiv. 186 (S. Barnett); lxviii. 21 (G. R. Eden); lxix. 152 (A. F. W. Ingram).

Church of England Pulpit, lv. 42 (P. T. Bainbrigge); lxiii. 359 (G. A. Lefroy).

Church Pulpit Year Book, 1913, p. 33.

Fuente: The Great Texts of the Bible

Not: Zec 9:13-15, Num 27:16, 2Ch 14:11, Isa 11:2-4, Isa 30:1, Isa 32:15, Isa 63:10-14, Eze 37:11-14, Hos 1:7, Hag 2:2-5, 1Co 2:4, 1Co 2:5, 2Co 10:4, 2Co 10:5, 1Pe 1:12

might: or, army, 2Ch 32:7, 2Ch 32:8, Psa 20:6-8, Psa 33:16, Psa 33:20, Psa 33:21, Psa 44:3-7

Reciprocal: Jos 6:4 – trumpets of rams’ Jos 10:14 – the Lord Jdg 7:2 – too many Jdg 14:6 – rent him Jdg 15:14 – the Spirit 1Sa 2:9 – by strength 1Sa 7:10 – discomfited 1Sa 13:22 – there was neither 1Sa 14:6 – for there is no restraint 1Sa 17:39 – put them off 1Sa 17:47 – the battle 1Ki 19:11 – but the Lord was not in the wind 1Ki 19:12 – a still 1Ch 3:19 – Zerubbabel Ezr 1:8 – Sheshbazzar Ezr 2:2 – Zerubbabel Ezr 3:2 – Zerubbabel Ezr 5:1 – in the name Ezr 9:9 – to set up Neh 12:1 – Zerubbabel Job 34:20 – without Isa 59:19 – the Spirit Isa 63:11 – where is he that put Jer 49:20 – Surely Dan 2:34 – was cut Mic 2:7 – is Mic 5:11 – and throw Hag 1:1 – unto Hag 2:5 – so Hag 2:21 – Zerubbabel Hag 2:22 – and I will overthrow the chariots Hag 2:23 – for Zec 6:12 – he shall build Zec 12:7 – save Zec 14:10 – the land Luk 17:20 – observation Joh 2:15 – he drove Act 1:8 – ye shall Act 4:11 – the head 1Co 1:25 – the foolishness 2Ti 1:7 – but

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

THE HOLY SPIRITS WORK

Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of Hosts.

Zec 4:6

We speak of this Person and that of the Holy Trinity as distinct, but in their work they are the same. The Holy Spirit cries, Abba, Father! in our hearts, and takes of Christ, and shows Him to us.

I. First, why are we justified in believing that the Holy Spirit should be present working in our midst?And I must ask you to throw your minds back for a few moments to the earliest records that we have of the Holy Spirits work. Let us recall the time when this earth was chaos, when it was still, as we may say, in solution, and we are told the Spirit of God brooded on the face of the waters. When we are asked how this cosmos, this Divine order, this beautiful world which we see to-day was brought out of that chaos, we may say it is the work of the Holy Spirit.

We go on, and we come to the Old Testament time of the Prophets. What do we see the Holy Spirit do then? Man after man He takes, often of the roughest kind, men of no education; but the Spirit of the Lord comes upon this man and that, and uses him for His work. And there is no understanding how these simple, uneducated men did such marvellous work, unless they did it by the power of the Holy Spirit. Then came the next work of the Holy Spirit. Gods great revelation is at hand. But who is to prepare for the mighty Incarnation? Who is to work it out? Who is to bring it to pass? The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee; and the Holy Thing that shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

The Incarnation is the work of the Holy Spirit. The Incarnate Son comes forth upon His ministry. In whose power is He to resist temptation? In whose power is he to work His miracles? In whose power is He to preach? We are told that he went in the power of the Spirit to preach the Word. He worked His miracles in the power of the Holy Ghost. The Spirit driveth Him into the wilderness. The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach the Gospel to the poor. And yet all the time the Incarnate Son of God points on to an even more intimate nearness of the Holy Spirit. He is with you, He says, but He shall be in you. It is expedient for you that I go away, for if I go not away the Holy Spirit will not come. I will not leave you orphans, I will come to you.

And then comes that wonderful day, the birthday of the Christian Church. Any one who watches the work of Pentecost must acknowledge the power of God the Holy Ghost, and the promise was fulfilled. Has He gone back to heaven? Has there been a day on which we commemorate the return of God the Holy Ghost to heaven? Thank God there has not. The whole history of the Christian Church is one great evidence of the presence of the power of the Holy Ghost.

II. What, then (that brings me to the second question), if we are certain that He is here, what should we be expecting Him to do in the parish and individual soul, if He is at work among us?First, in the parish at large, if the Holy Ghost has had free scope among you there must be a growing unity year after year, because the Holy Ghost is the Spirit of Love. There must be more harmony between Church-workers, less and less friction, if the Holy Ghost is at work, between Christians. Ever unceasingly is the Holy Ghost trying to make Christians love one another. Now abideth, He ever whispers, Faith, Hope, Love, these three; but the greatest of these is Love. If the Holy Ghost is working among you there must be an ever-increasing mission zeal among you every year, more and more determination, at any sacrifice, to spread the kingdom of Jesus Christ in this world; you will have been interested in your own business, but ten times more interested in the business of the Kingdom of God. There will be a more generous devotion to mission work, a keener interest to know whether that tribe or nation is coming in to hear the Gospel or not. The Holy Ghost, if He is at work, and allowed full work, spreads undying mission zeal among Gods people.

Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary

Zec 4:6. The trees are explained to represent the spirit of the Lord. That was because spiritual light comes from that, source, even as oil furnishes temporal light.

Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary

Zec 4:6. Then he answered, Not by might nor by power, &c. That is, Zerubbabel and Joshua, with the Jews under their conduct, shall finish the temple and re-establish the Jewish state, not by force of arms, nor by human power, but by the aid of my providence and grace; just as the lamps are supplied with oil in a secret and invisible manner, without the help of man. Thus the angel answers the prophets question, not by descending to an explanation of particulars, but by giving the general purport of the vision; the design being, not to gratify a partial curiosity, but to comfort and encourage an almost desponding people by the assurance that God would, not by those human means, in which they were sufficiently sensible of their own deficiency, but by his own Spirit, render his church triumphant over all opposition. Blayney. We may observe further here, that what is done by Gods Spirit, is done by might and power; but this stands in opposition to visible force. Israel was brought out of Egypt, and into Canaan, by might and power: but they were brought out of Babylon, and into Canaan the second time, by the Spirit of the Lord of hosts; working upon the spirit of Cyrus, and inclining him to proclaim liberty to them, and upon the spirits of the captives, inclining them to accept the liberty offered them. It was by the Spirit of the Lord that the people were excited and animated to build the temple, and therefore they are said to be helped by the prophets of God, Ezr 5:2; because by their mouths the Spirit of God spoke to the peoples hearts. It was by the same Spirit that the heart of Darius was inclined to favour and further that good work, and that the sworn enemies of it were infatuated in their counsels, so that they could not hinder it as they designed. Observe, reader, the work of God is often carried on very successfully, when yet it is carried on very silently, and without the assistance of human force: the gospel temple is built, not by might or power, for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but spiritual; namely, the force of truth and love, which, through the Spirit of the Lord, are mighty to pull down strong holds, and bring mens hearts and lives into captivity to the obedience of Christ. Thus the excellency of the power is of God, and not of man.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

4:6 Then he answered and spoke to me, saying, This [is] the word of the LORD to {c} Zerubbabel, saying, Not by {d} might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.

(c) Who was a figure of Christ, and therefore this doctrine was directed to all the Church who are his body and members.

(d) He shows that God’s power alone is sufficient to preserve his Church, even though he does not use man’s help to do it.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes

2. Two oracles concerning Zerubbabel 4:6-10

The writer inserted two oracles that Zechariah received from the Lord concerning Zerubbabel at this point because they help clarify the meaning of the vision.

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

The first oracle 4:6-7

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

The angel announced a word of explanation from Yahweh that Zechariah was to pass on to Zerubbabel, the descendant of David who became the leader of the first group of returnees from exile. [Note: See David L. Petersen, "Zerubbabel and Jerusalem Temple Reconstruction," Catholic Biblical Quarterly 36:3 (1974):366-72.] He was to tell him, "not by might [Heb. hayil] nor by power [Heb. koah] but by the Spirit [Heb. ruah] of Yahweh of hosts."

"This principle is an elliptical sentence: ’Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of hosts,’ a kind of motto, as it were, to guide all endeavors and enterprises of the nation in these evil days. If we were to complete the ellipsis we might formulate the statement somewhat after the following fashion: If success is to be gained in the achievements of the people of God it will not be secured by what man can do but by the Spirit’s work." [Note: Leupold, p. 87. See also Thurman Wisdom, "’Not by Might, nor by Power, but by My Spirit,’" Biblical Viewpoint 24:2 (November 1990):19-26.]

Since Zerubbabel was leading the rebuilding of the temple and the restoration of the community, the Lord’s word to him was a word of encouragement. These restorations would not need an army of workers, as Solomon’s temple did (1Ki 5:13-18), nor unusually strong laborers. The strength of the workers, in fact, failed because the work was so strenuous (cf. Neh 4:10). The work would succeed because of the supernatural grace (help) that the Lord would provide by His Spirit (cf. Gen 1:2; Exo 15:8; Exo 15:10; Exo 28:3; Exo 31:3; Num 11:17-29; Jdg 3:10; Jdg 6:34; Jdg 11:29; Jdg 13:25; Jdg 14:6; Jdg 14:19; Jdg 15:14; Jdg 15:19; 2Sa 22:16; Eze 37:1-14). This is, of course, true of any work that seeks to carry out God’s will in the world (cf. 2Co 12:9).

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)