Zechariah 3:1 - 7, 8, 9; Zechariah 4:1 - 10; Zechariah 6:12 - 13; Malachi 1:11; Malachi 2:1, 2, 4 - 7

I wish to speak, dear brethren, of the great objective in view in the work of the Lord which Paul calls "your toil" -- "your toil is not in vain in the Lord". If you want people to work hard at something, they must know the objective. You must give them an incentive to work, so that they realize what they are labouring for. And the great objective in church exercises and labours is that God might have His portion, that "in every place", as He says, "incense shall be offered to my name and a pure oblation;" and with that in view we must, in its features, build the House, for we cannot connect God's Name with that which is unsuited to Him. Men may do so; men connect God's Name with all kinds of things; but God does not, and we ought not to identify God's Name with anything with which God Himself does not connect it. God connects His Name only with what is suited to Him. He cannot associate His Name with what dishonours Him and displeases Him, and therefore yields nothing to Him. Much of that with which men connect God's Name is simply for the pleasure and will of man, as Paul says when, in Colossians, he speaks of men's religious works as for the satisfaction of the flesh.

But God would deliver us from all that, in order that, with pure hearts, we might seek His pleasure, and conduct ourselves as those who really are members of the one Body and are true to it, and as those who really do belong to the House of God and are true to it. While we cannot restore things publicly, God looks for the features of an afflicted and poor

people who trust in and call on the Name of the Lord -- "the Name", having respect to that Name, as it says of Levi, "he trembled before my name", "he feared me and trembled before my name", and of the recovered remnant it says they "thought upon his name". I cannot conceive anything greater to think about or meditate upon. We are apt to let our minds drift on to mere trifles, but the remnant in Malachi feared the Lord and thought upon His Name. The more you really think upon God's great Name and all that is due to it, the more it is going to affect you and bring you into accord with it. It says that they "spoke often one to another". What would their theme be? It would be what they were thinking about. What we speak about is what we are thinking about; and so they would be speaking of God's Name, and what was suited to that great Name, and what was for His pleasure.

I think we can recognize amongst that remnant in Malachi, features of God's house; God says, "and I will spare them as a man spareth his own son that serveth him". All that God desired in its moral features were found amongst them even as we find in Luke; there was a priest serving according to the order of his course in the midst of the general departure and ruin and Pharisaism. There, there was a priest and his wife, just before God, and, in the order of his course, maintaining what was due to God in His house in a day of great weakness; although, alas, in some respects even he was marked by unbelief. But then we would concentrate on the true objective, which we need to keep steadily before us, and not be diverted. If God is to have the incense and the pure oblation offered unto His Name this can only be in conditions corresponding with His house, and therefore to reach that objective we must get down to foundational truth, and see that the foundations are truly laid in our souls -- that is where they must

be laid -- and then labour at rearing up the structure. God has brought in the living stones, then we must use the true mortar, the tempered mortar of the divine nature, that we might be built together. God is working from His side, and we are being built up a spiritual house, but there is the question of our side and our responsibility to see that this is going on and to have our part in it. "We are God's fellow-workmen", Paul says, and "ye are God's husbandry, God's building" -- but Paul was thoroughly engaged in it, and we are to be so engaged, therefore we must first see to the foundation, a very essential and present and urgent matter, that the foundation is well laid in our souls. Then we are to build one another up and build ourselves together in the divine nature to the exclusion of evil -- what is contrary to God -- so that in the power of the Spirit there might be down here, so far as there can be in our mixed state, in our flesh and blood conditions, that which corresponds with the place above. Our place above is already prepared; but what about the place down here for God? David said he would not give sleep to his eyes or slumber to his eyelids until he had found a place for Jehovah down here. The place above is perfect and we can enter there in spirit, but it is a question of something down here, because it is in that setting that the incense and the pure oblation are to be offered unto God's Name. So that the building of the house has that objective in mind, that God might have home conditions, as we might say, even in a world where His rights are disowned, and that this incense and pure oblation might be offered unto His Name.

Well now, there are two related aspects of this matter -- one is the structure, the building, and the other is connected with husbandry, and these two lines run on together. "Prepare thy work without", it says, "and put thy field in order, and afterwards

build thy house". (Proverbs 24:27) We have to look after one another, both as husbandry and as living stones; the husbandry thought coming first, and on that line the Lord Jesus who is, of course, always unique, is referred to as "the Branch". The husbandry thought is linked more with what we are as the priesthood. There is the house and there is the priesthood; we are both, "a spiritual house, a holy priesthood". But the Lord, as the priestly King, is referred to as the Branch which really means, as the note says, "the Sprout", which is connected with the thought of "growing up", as it says of Him, "He shall grow up from his own place". There is this thought of growing up as Isaiah says, "He shall grow up before him as a tender sapling, and as a root out of dry ground". What a wonderful contemplation! The Lord Jesus growing up out of His own place, the One who is to bear the glory, growing up out of His own place as the promised Branch or Sprout. It is connected with the priestly King; He sprang out of the tribe of Judah.

In connection with Zechariah we have the two thoughts in two different men: Zerubbabel, the kingly side, and Joshua, the priestly side; but they combine in Christ, and are combined in the saints now. It is not God's thought to separate them; having been perfectly expressed in Christ, in the same Person, they are never to be separated again. In fact the first person stated to be priest in Scripture was King of righteousness, King of peace -- Melchisedec -- priest of the Most High God. And so Christ has made us, to His God, kings and priests, and in that respect we are all sprouts and are to grow up out of our place in order to grow up to Him who is the Branch. So that, in our measure, we should function as priestly kings too. Christ, the One of course ever pre-eminent, has died that we might be qualified for this highest office in the universe. Sonship is a

relationship; priesthood and kingship are offices, now combined; and God has willed that His Son should hold the highest office, and that we should be nothing less than kings and priests; and as right with God, and moving in the affections of sonship we shall not fail Him. David and Solomon were an example of this in the type. Both were sons, and God says of David, "I will make him firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth", and of Solomon, "I will be his father, and he shall be my son". They were both priestly kings, they were priests upon the throne. Though not officially the priests at that time, they led in the service of God, organised it, directed it. But they are just a faint type of Christ. We need to get before us the glory of the One who is indeed the Branch, the Sprout, who has grown up out of His place and is now bearing the glory, and sitting "a priest upon his throne;" the One who is building the temple from the divine side; He is building it and nothing shall stop Him. "I will build my assembly", He said. (Matthew 16:18).

So you can see that the husbandry thought must come first because it is the One who as the Branch grew up out of His place who becomes the Builder. Unless the husbandry side prospers there will be no building now. We need to grow up out of our place and develop in spiritual sensibilities and in the knowledge of God so as to become builders. Thus Paul puts husbandry first in saying to the Corinthians, "Ye are God's husbandry, God's building". He cared for them as God's husbandry, had spent 18 months amongst them, but they had been blighted by partisanship and so on, and the result was that their hands were slack in building; indeed they were building with wrong material. All this bears on what I have been saying that the great objective is that God should have His portion in His house, but we must first have this thought of husbandry so that

it may be brought about for His own satisfaction. The idea of "living stones" is that we are built together; it is the structural idea, living, and full of life; but it is the permanent structure, things being established in our souls so that we are immovable, like stones fixed in a building, but living stones. We do not move from principles; we stand for what is of God; we know what is due to God; and we are set for it and fixed in it. That is one side. The other side is, that having grown up out of our place, we develop more and more as kingly priests to serve God and to represent God. This is the great objective to have before us. I do not belittle the idea of saving souls; I believe the more we are in this the more we shall save souls, and really save them; not leave them at the point of knowing their sins forgiven, but concerned as Peter was to bring his converts to the end of their faith, the salvation of their souls, and that is present salvation, so that they might function as kingly priests. Because, you see, you cannot function in liberty as a kingly priest unless as a present matter you are in practical salvation. We have 'ups and downs', I know, but how blessed it is when we reach the end of our faith, the salvation of our souls, liberated from everything and free to serve the living God, with hearts welling up in worship to Him.

Well, that is the objective we are to have before us, and if we keep it before us we shall be stimulated to face what is involved; to face the hard work of building; to face the hard work of removing the rubbish; to face the conflict -- because the enemy is trying to stop the building, and he would attack us from every angle to make our hands weak and slack either by violence or by corruption. The enemy would weaken our hands in the work as he did with the remnant of old, so that, though we may start, and start well, we may get slack. Fifteen years

elapsed from the day they began to lay the foundation of the house till the time they finished it. Fifteen years! Well, let us get on with things, dear brethren, and, as having the true objective before us, work -- and do, what we do, with all our might in this world. Our toil is not in vain; it may seem to be, but we are assured, "your toil is not in vain in the Lord".

But now, we began with referring to Joshua, and one verse which is outstanding in that chapter (3) is Zechariah's own contribution, as we might say, to the meeting, when he says, "Let them set a pure turban upon his head". See this young man breaking out in spirituality. There were all those standing by, the angel of the Lord and others, and it says, the Angel "spoke and said unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from off him. And unto him he said, See, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I clothe thee with festival-robes". Then this young man, Zechariah, speaks up, and he has got the right objective before him. He says, "Let them set a pure turban upon his head". That is really the end in view; get him suitable and ready for the priest's office. God made room for this young man to express his exercises, and how it must have stirred everybody present as they saw that he had the divine objective; and we want the young men and young women now to get this divine objective. Do not be diverted by popular evangelisation which can never bring people into this, as it has not this objective; get God's objective before you, young man or young woman, let this be your language: "Let them set a pure turban upon his head". It is worth labouring for, from youth onward, that there should be an adequate response to God; not that we can ever say it is really adequate, but that there should be a response that will give God pleasure. Our thoughts go to Christ especially as to the pure turban, but Joshua was representing

the people as the high priest, and he had had filthy garments on him. But now how wonderful to have a pure turban upon our heads as engaged in the priestly service!

Now if we are to reach that, we must be established in the truth of the gospel, and that was what was needed at this stage. Joshua was clothed in filthy garments, the sins of the dispensation. I wonder whether we have understood enough the sins of the dispensation! The sins of the early Church, the sins of the dark ages, the terrible sins committed in opposing Reformation truth, the sins of not going on to completion in Protestantism, and the terrible sins that have been committed during the last year or two amongst those we have known. The sins of the dispensation all coming upon us, the whole array of it, filthy garments. You see, he represented the people, represented the dispensation. You may say, 'How can we take up this service with all this load of sin upon us? Our sins, and the sins of our people, they crush us right down!' But the wonderful thing is to learn over again the truth of the gospel, and to apprehend that when Jesus went into the darkness and distance as being made sin for us and bearing our sin He bore all the sins of the dispensation.

He not only bore our sins as sinners as we speak, but bore our sins as Christians which are worse in a way.

He took account of the whole solemn matter; He looked down throughout the dispensation and all was borne by Him on the Cross. Wonderful grace!

All was taken into account! He bore the iniquity of the sanctuary right down through all the years!

So that what we find, as we confess our sins and the sins of our people, as Nehemiah did and Daniel did, is that the work of Christ is so efficacious and the gospel message is so great that there is still glad tidings even for Christian sinners, even for those who as Christians have forfeited everything. There is still

glad tidings. The Angel would, as it were, say today, "Take away the filthy garments from off him. And unto him he said, See, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee". In another and different aspect we are always bearing it in our spirits, but when we are before God the sense of it is caused to pass from us, "See I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee" -- although they are the dispensation's sins and our sins -- he causes them to pass from us. He says, "and I clothe thee with festival-robes". It is the best at the end of the dispensation; God would bring in His best, because He is not defeated. The atoning work of Christ is so marvellous and efficacious and complete that God can bring in the best at the end. And it is not only priestly garments, but festival robes. The name Haggai, which means "festival of Jehovah", suggests this; so God would have His festival and festivity at the end. I am not suggesting anything public or ostentatious, but what is current amongst an afflicted and poor people who trust in the Name of the Lord. You can understand, as knowing God, how He loves to bring in festivity amongst such, those who are really poor and afflicted and who own their state, and confess their sins and the sins of their people -- it delights the heart of God because it is all provided for. Here are festival robes -- the best now at the end of the dispensation in an inward and spiritual way; God giving the best to us that we might give the best to Him, because it is of His own we give Him. All priestly service springs from appreciation of the gospel, the appreciation of God known in grace -- all response flows from that. We ought to have a greater appreciation of the gospel, in this sense than any other thing because of what objects of pure mercy we are -- just brands plucked from the burning, that is all we are, and it is because of the burning, as it were, that Jesus endured when He bore the wrath of God. Do not

let us forget that all these sins have had to be atoned for -- terrible thought, to consider what Jesus bore in His own body on the tree!

And so you see, as grounded in the truth of the gospel, now you have got persons who are ready for priestly service and to have a pure turban set upon their heads. Think of this young man realizing that that was really the end in view in the filthy garments being taken off Joshua and his being clothed with festival robes. It would make Zechariah happy and Joshua happy too, of course, but the real point was, as we may say, speaking reverently, to make God happy. That God should have His portion -- "Let them set a pure turban upon his head" -- pure priestly service. When we see the pure turban on the head of Christ who has ever been a delight to God, how we rejoice to think of His joy. In manhood He has ever had the turban in a unique way, of course; "He shall drink of the brook by the way", it says of the priest after the order of Melchisedec, "therefore shall he lift up the head". You see, as we give to Christ His portion in bridal affection -- the brook by the way -- He already lifts up His head bearing the priestly turban. Amongst His own, He lifts up the head in a priestly way, and that for service, and we, all available to Him, His people willing in the day of His power in holy splendour.

Well, it is following that that God brings in the first thought of the Branch or the Sprout -- precious thought that I have tried to develop -- in view of the priestly response, that we should all grow up out of our place; and because we have grown up out of our place we should be diligent builders to secure the setting in which the priestly service can go on. You must have the house, the foundation laid, the altar put on its base, and the features of the house in evidence, all with this end in view. So as we grow up out of our place our concern is to

get all these things established and functioning in our place, and in every place, -- "with all that in every place call on the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ both theirs and ours" -- to get these things in movement so that in every place incense is offered unto His Name, and a pure oblation.

Well now, in the next chapter it speaks of the lampstand all of gold, but you need the house in order to house the lampstand, you see. These thoughts run together. You will find where house conditions are not catered for, as I might say, where there is no exercise about them, there is little light of God, practically nothing, because the lampstand does not function except in its own setting in the house. Once you have got the house, however, the principles of the house maintained, you will find the lampstand begins to function -- because the Spirit is free. "The word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, and my Spirit, remain among you", and if we provide the house conditions we will find the lampstand there with its seven lamps, with the bowl on top and the seven pipes for the lamps and we shall begin to get light. You see, the priests need light; you need light if you are to serve God acceptably. You can see how these thoughts hang together, the foundation, the building, the lampstand functioning, the priests growing up out of their place, and now a sphere where they can carry out their priestly service, having light as necessary to serve God acceptably. We could say much about that lampstand, but there was just that thought. Then Zerubbabel is encouraged that as he had laid the foundation so he would bring forth the headstone; and that touches on another point we had this afternoon, that not only is the foundation Jesus Christ, but the whole structure is Jesus Christ, and He is the Headstone. It is wonderful when you can bring forth the Headstone with shoutings, for you have arrived

at completion. This is what is before us, but the Lord says of Sardis, "I have not found thy works complete before my God". Think of the work before us, dear brethren, to lay in our own souls and in one another's, the foundation, to erect the structure, binding us together, and to bring forth the Headstone with shoutings as "Christ is everything, and in all", Colossians 3:11.

We hear a lot about getting rid of the old system, but we need to judge and refuse the old man -- our old man. Your old man, and my old man, how much scope does it have? Our old man has been crucified with Christ. What Paul meant when he said, "I did not judge it well to know anything among you save Jesus Christ, and him crucified" was, that nothing of that old man should come into the structure. That old man cannot do anything right. "The mind of the flesh is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God; for neither indeed can it be".

It is lawless and can never do anything right. The features of that man will always bring in discord and confusion. Let that man do what he likes and he will ruin everything. What we want is Christ as the Foundation, Christ as the Structure, and Christ as the Headstone: "Jesus Christ and him crucified", meaning we have Jesus Christ alone. The apostle says, "Examine your own selves ... that Jesus Christ is in you, unless indeed ye be reprobates". Through grace, Jesus Christ is in every true believer, but let Him shine, let Him have all the place, let Him give character to all our words and movements!

I pass on now just for a moment to Malachi 2 -- we have already referred to the verse in chapter 1. It says, "Now, ye priests, this commandment is for you". God has called us to the priesthood, and one's concern is that we should answer to the call and be true priests, considering for the glory of God's Name. Now chapter 2 brings out another

feature of the priest and that is, the law of truth is in his mouth. We have thought of the priesthood Godward, and there is the priesthood manward in the proclamation of the glad tidings which you could not get clearly put out, of course, in the Old Testament. Peter speaks of it, "that ye might set forth the excellencies of him who has called you out of darkness to his wonderful light". A true Christian gospel needs to be preached by a priest. We are all priests, but we are to be in the gain of priesthood! If you heard Paul preaching, you would hear a priest preaching. He could say, "God, whom I serve (and that word is priestly service) in my spirit, in the glad tidings of his Son". It needs a priest to tell forth the excellencies of Him who has called us out of darkness into His marvellous light. The priest is acquainted with those excellencies; he learnt them in the holy shrine. He has contemplated those excellencies inside with God, and so he can tell them forth.

But here in Malachi chapter 2, it says of Levi, "The law of truth was in his mouth and unrighteousness was not found in his lips: he walked with me in peace and uprightness". We spoke about that this afternoon; the first idea of fellowship is walking with GOD, not whether you are going to walk with your brethren or not. If we are each walking with God we shall walk with each other. "He walked with Me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many from iniquity. For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and at his mouth they seek the law; for he is the messenger of Jehovah of hosts". It is an immense matter that we should be able to speak the law of God -- "at his mouth they seek the law". Now, as you are a priest, brother or sister, people have got a right to come to you, and at your mouth to seek the law of God on any subject. Are you equal to this? It is required of you as a priest, to know the

law, to speak the law, to carry it out. Now, the remarkable thing is, that, when God put man under law in responsibility, law was never established. The law could only show man what a sinner he was. But in putting men under grace, law is established. Putting him under grace does not mean lawlessness; by bringing in grace and putting man under grace, God has established law in the universe, which could never be done by putting men under law. Paul says, "Do we make void the law by faith?" "No", he says, "we establish law". God has established law throughout the ages of ages through bringing in the gospel by way of the cross of Christ. In the eternal state wherein will dwell righteousness, that is the opposite of lawlessness, there will never be an atom of lawlessness. Righteousness will dwell, and righteousness means that the law of God prevails. Righteousness is regulation by God's law. Of course, God has reckoned righteousness to us by faith. Christ is our Righteousness; we have a perfect righteousness from that standpoint as to our standing before God. I do not want to put anyone under law for salvation, because you could never get it that way. "Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth". He becomes my righteousness, the glorified Man is my righteousness before God. But it is all in view of bringing to pass a universe wherein righteousness will dwell; there will not be any deviation whatever from the law of God through an endless eternity, and the thought of God is that His law should be established among Christians now, and it begins in Romans 7, as to our soul history, "I delight in the law of God after the inward man" -- a marvellous thing! You have got a man now, not cringing from the law like they did at Sinai, but he is saying, "I delight in the law of God after the inward man;" he would love to keep it -- he loves righteousness, that man, although he has still

got no power to keep it and is feeling self-condemned because he has not got power to keep it; but he loves it, and at the end of the chapter he makes a resolve, "I myself with the mind serve the law of God", never mind what other people do, "I myself", he resolves, "with the mind serve the law of God". Now if you serve the law of God with your mind, you will begin to be able to speak about it. People will be able to come to you and hear something at your mouth -- a priest's mouth -- as to the law of God. Have we each made that resolve? Never mind what Mr. So-and-so's doing, or someone else, "I myself with the mind serve the law of God", I am not going to move from it, my mind is set that way. I am going to refer to God's law on every matter, irrespective of the consequences. That is before he begins to think of fellowship and who he is going to walk with; that is the initial resolve, and he finds immediately in the next chapter that in the Spirit he has the power to fulfil it. If your mind is set that way, the Spirit of God is entirely with you, "The Spirit is life in view of righteousness" that is how law is established. The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus sets us free from the law of sin and death, and in result the righteous requirement even of the law of Moses is performed in us; for the righteous requirement of the law of Moses is "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thine understanding, and with all thy strength ... and thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself". Christianity goes further than neighbour; you lay down your life for the brethren, which the law never required you to do. Christianity brings in excess and there it is.

Now, at the priest's mouth they seek the law; I do not want to say much more as to it but it is not said to be the law of Moses, of course, it is the law of God; "I delight in the law of God", the rule of God,

and the essence of it is love -- divine love, because divine love hates evil; they are incompatible. If evil comes in, love goes out, therefore love cannot tolerate evil. Love will be the power of the universe of bliss wherein dwells righteousness. Love is the whole law, it says. Love will give God what is due to God, with heart, soul, strength and mind, and will give the neighbour his due -- but God first -- what is due to God first. How can I talk about loving God with all my heart and soul and strength and mind if I am playing fast and loose with this principle, if I am not concerned as to the holiness of His house? "Upon the top of the mountain, all its border round about is most holy". If I love God, I must stand by that at all costs; if nobody will walk with me, then I must walk with God anyway, and hold to what is due to Him. So I just wish to stress that side of priesthood, that the priest's lips keep knowledge and at his mouth they seek the law -- that is the priest's duty. The priests were failing God in Malachi. God was speaking to them because they were entirely failing in their office and thinking for themselves instead of for Him.

Well, let us go on with the work, dear brethren, having in view the priesthood functioning Godward, and then in the gospel, and in knowing and serving and being prepared to speak with our mouths the law of God, and standing for that. It is going to prevail in the whole universe, it is going on through the ages of ages. The law of God will prevail, let it prevail now! That is the test of the moment, let it prevail now. It may cost you something but let it prevail now. "Keep the commandment spotless, irreproachable until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ". Everything will be all right then; but keep it till then, that is the thing -- stand for what is due to God till then. There is not long to wait. May the Lord help and encourage us all. Amen.