Zechariah

[0:00] By the grace of God, let us read our text in the prophecy of Zechariah, chapter 13, and verses 8 and 9.

[0:16] The prophecy of Zechariah, chapter 13, verses 8 and 9. And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off, and I, that the third shall be left therein.

[0:47] And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried.

[1:03] They shall call on my name, and I will hear them. I will say, it is my people.

[1:17] And they shall say, the Lord is my God. It may appear initially incongruous for an anniversary day, that we should bring to you, in the glorious name of the Trinity, this subject.

[1:49] Because it is one of the utmost gravity and solemnity, and at the same time, blessedness and glory.

[2:07] Emanating from, and revealing, toward the human race, the very character and being of Jehovah.

[2:24] And also displaying how heinous and malignant in his piercing sight is sin.

[2:43] And how, through the centuries, and in a terminal sense, he will proceed to deal with sinners.

[3:02] It is therefore exceedingly solemn and impossible for us to do justice to this word, that we should see before us such divinely inspired terminology, and it shall come to pass.

[3:30] That in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off, and die.

[3:47] And if we are in, included in those two parts. The solemnity of our case and standing before God is beyond expression for it will be a hopeless case.

[4:15] But how amazing that the third shall be left therein all to be amongst that blessed third part that shall be left therein that shall know no manifestation of divine vengeance or wrath or vindictive anger from God but shall experience his divine clemency and mercy and compassion and boundless love.

[5:12] Just two preliminary observations you will have immediately seen the connection between our lesson and the text.

[5:27] for there we have that very solemn account of that catastrophic event that took place in Sodom and Gomorrah those two cities that were given to wickedness and how the Lord cut them off cut them off by his fiery vengeance granting mercy and deliverance and deliverance to Lot and his favoured few just a little remnant but for the inhabitants of those two most wicked cities continuing in their crime and rebellion and rebellion against God how that he sent the fire and brimstone from heaven and the smoke of those cities went up like a furnace and this is factual this is God's word this is the solemn truth of God are you not amazed that he does not exercise his vengeance today even upon perhaps even a part of

[7:18] Great Britain if you know anything about the underworld of the metropolis are you not astonished that God does not execute his vengeance and exercise his fiery displeasure upon us in this land and it's not only London the city of our nativity and the place that we love it is the provincial cities and the towns and the villages right through this land my friends let us pause this afternoon to bless and praise God for his clemency and compassion and that he has spared us till this day let us ask him for his dear son's sake to preserve to us a sufficient remnant of righteous souls throughout our land so that it may be like salt preservative the Lord will say no I will not destroy because of this third part this remnant but oh friends do you never tremble in relation to the fact that we are undoubtedly according to the fulfilled prophecies of the scriptures especially the New Testament that we are living in the dregs of time and the latter days of this present dispensation do you never tremble before God

[9:40] I am so amazed and bless God as highly as I can for this revealed truth in the scripture he delighteth in mercy and whilst the world is in a deplorable condition having the legacy from Adam of original sin and transgression so that we are polluted and vile and filthy and I don't use the terms as you know lightly we are corruptibles we have bodies of sin and death wicked and deceitful hearts but all the wonder that he delighteth in mercy and I just want to say at this very early stage in the discourse how it heartens and rejoices my soul to realize the truth of this that everywhere in this world on this planet every nation wherever there is or there are poor sinners that are awakened to know their danger to know their guilty state and to feel their need of divine compassion there is a blessed saviour to welcome them as they cry to him for divine mercy and not one will be disappointed it doesn't matter whether it's in

[11:57] Bethesden I suppose there are quite a few in this village who would never think of entering this sanctuary apart from perhaps a funeral or a wedding or something like that but oh that the Lord of his mercy would open those eyes that are blind and give a deep sense of need to I have prayed this with you to hundreds thousands yea millions if his will of Britons and not only to Britons but those in all nations now the sweet theme of the gospel is not one will be turned away they certainly know not a word of the

[13:02] English language but the spirit of God is their teacher and so however great the crime however hardened the sinner was however far from God however vile if the Lord is pleased to show them their need of divine mercy there's this blessed person to come to my friends cry for mercy if there should be one in this place this afternoon who has never cried for mercy the Lord give you his spirit so that you may begin to cry to this precious one smiting on your breast and saying God be merciful to me a sinner now this my friends is transcendent for glory and wonder and bliss not a sinner needy sinner on the face of the earth will

[14:19] Christ ever turn away never oh I do love the glory gospel of our blessed God and let us bless the Lord this afternoon that he has sent his spirit to impart divine life to our souls that he has deeply convinced us of our sin those crimes those horrid crimes the perversion and distortion and corruption of our fallen nature and that he has revealed to us the son of his love oh that wonderful revelation salvation of the dear son of god in his dolorous and vicarious sufferings on the rugged ward of calvary's cross so that he has given us a living hope the cleansing of our souls and

[15:45] I believe in many cases pardon and peace but you see the solemnity of the subject but I wanted to present this in a balanced way you see what I mean not just to say well look there are two parts here now they're going to be cut off and die full stop that is true but the Lord has his chosen people and I do wish to present it in this way that no poor sinner brought to feel their need of divine mercy will ever be rejected will ever be dealt with according to the strict tenor of the holy moral law will never know the curse they'll know the sweet compassion and boundless love of the dear redeemer listen does it come from your breast why oh

[17:00] Lord such love to me why love so amazing so divine demands my soul my life my all all the mercy of God it's all the mercy of God it is nothing that we can produce because all that is defiled now I just want to mention the second point and that is Zechariah and Haggai were contemporaries and they belonged to the post captivity period something like five hundred six hundred years before the advent and so that what happened was they came back and they were raised up of

[18:15] God with that little remnant that returned from Babylon that's a wonderful thing isn't it how the Lord turned their captivity and brought them to their own land and think of the mercy and the faithfulness of our God here we have a poor weak scattered sort of little remnant the new temple and so

[19:21] I would have the friends cognizant of this fact and not only aware of it but to bless God you think of it your dear pastor has mentioned as to how many many years the church of God has been maintained here at Bethesden Union Chapel now you think of the wonder of it all through the years the Lord has been pleased to provide I suppose it is in this same pulpit the original pulpit a prophet a minister of the everlasting gospel and especially that dear man of illustrious memory and virtue and godliness the late dear

[20:26] Herbert Dawson who for so many years exercised his fatherly pastoral loving care over the flock entrusted to him but I want you just to think of the faithfulness of God so he gave to this little remnant these godly prophets Zechariah Haggai others and what a blessing they were made to them now that is something that I felt that I wanted to name to you because you are living witnesses to the faithfulness and goodness of God you don't have to look up to an empty pulpit earth and now the Lord has supplied your need and he has sent to you another dear pastor may the

[21:34] Lord bless this sweet union together and make it very fruitful Now let us see then exactly what the prophet Zechariah is saying here.

[21:51] And I must for a little while dwell on verse 8. Remember that down through history, all through history, I believe it right to say that the pouring out of the Holy Ghost, which is the essential thing in the Church of God, has been according rather to the pattern of the ebb and the flow of the tides.

[22:33] Sometimes it has been an ebb tide. Now our lot has been cast in rather that period, an ebb tide.

[22:49] The tide of spirituality and vital godliness has seemed to go out. It's very solemn the day in which we live to see this.

[23:01] And not only in relation to the masses, do not think for one moment that I despise my fellow mortals.

[23:15] I don't. I have a stone to cast at the vilest sin on the face of the earth, because I know my wicked heart. But it is not only the masses that are given over to iniquity, to the desecration of the Holy Day of God, to the disregard of his word, to the violation of the moral law.

[23:49] You see, the disease, it is almost like sarcona, this disease spread so rapidly, and tends to infiltrate even the Church of God.

[24:11] And where is this spirituality and vital godliness? Where is it?

[24:24] To the degree that we would rejoice to witness and experience. It is like then this sort of ebb tide.

[24:37] It's gone out. It doesn't matter whether it's the royal family, and I have the greatest respect for the royal family, but to realize that the Lord's day is not observed as it should be, grieves my spirit.

[24:57] And all these manifestations of evil. Now then, and the declension and the disunity among even the people of God.

[25:14] Now may we hope that presently there will be a turn in the tide. Another glorious resignation effected by the Holy Ghost so that we shall see that tide turn and the tide of the Spirit of God, the Holy Ghost, come sweeping over our land again.

[25:45] What a day that would be. So, undoubtedly, through Church history, there have been these periods, ebb tide, flood tide.

[26:05] You go back to those halcyon days of the Puritans and so on, and it was a flood tide. Why, those giants in the troth, they could go out onto the village grain, or wherever it was, amongst the coal miners, and stand up and preach the gospel, and there were hundreds of conversions.

[26:32] Genuine conversions. It was a flood tide. Doesn't it make your mouth water? I say that reverently.

[26:44] What about those taste buds of faith? Don't they begin to find an activity? Don't you long for a measure of the same today? The one point I wanted especially to emphasize was this.

[27:03] All through the ages, the Lord has preserved to Himself in the earth a remnant, a godly remnant.

[27:16] for when He destroyed the earth, I'm using the terminology of the Bible, when He destroyed the earth by the element water, obviously it doesn't mean that He destroyed the solid core of the planet, but it is termed the first destruction by water, now there was a remnant.

[27:50] Have you ever pondered those words how that God saw the wickedness of man that it was so great, and it repented Him that He had made man?

[28:04] That's too deep for me, but I can understand it just a little. It is one of the profoundest mysteries to me that we've got these 60 odd millions in Great Britain and the world population is enormous and they're all God's creatures.

[28:28] It's such a mystery that they should be here and yet not serve and love God. profound mystery to me this is.

[28:43] If only the Spirit of God would come and open those eyes, many of them, multitudes of them. But the point remains that all through history we've had this remnant.

[29:01] now He sent the inundation used that very wonderful element as it is water that used it in its destructive form to drown the earth.

[29:17] But here was Noah and his favorite few. There was a remnant. The third shall be left therein. There was a third. and the Lord taught him by faith to build that vessel and when the time came for him to enter the Lord said to him come thou into the ark.

[29:53] Now I've often referred to this he didn't say go into the ark he said come. Why? Because God was in the ark.

[30:06] That's why. If the Lord is leading you in any particular path for his glory he will say to you come because he's there and he'll be with you there.

[30:24] he says come come into the ark. And they were perfectly safe because God shut him in and God has shut in his dear people in his heart in the covenant of his grace by immutable love by redemption they're shut in they're perfectly safe you'll never fall out of the father's hands you'll never be plucked out of his hand so they were saved and I know that this is not exactly the subject but it always delights me to just give a passing reference to one very amazing fact and that is this because it seems to point to the restitution of all things in the pristine innocency of man prior to the

[31:34] Adamic fall there was no belligerency between the animals between anything created they didn't fight each other or prey on one another but after the Adamic fall they all fought each other and preyed on one another but they didn't in the ark when all those beasts went up into that ark there was peace in that ark man never thought of it surely it points to the restitution and ultimately of all things but it's a joyous fact to me there all these animals were but they were not angry they were not belligerent they didn't hate each other they didn't fight each other they didn't make war there was absolute peace in that ark what about it

[32:55] I know that you can equate this where the wonders of the work of the spirit in poor sinners in all their various types and dispositions and cases and by the spirit's work they're all in harmony that's another miracle of grace you can take an ignorant man comparatively and a learned man and the lord puts grace in both hearts and they don't resent each other they love each other temperaments that would be abrasive and traumatic to each other but instead of enmity there's amity by grace that's a miracle it's a miracle how a pastor and people a flock and a pastor can live together for 50 years or less than that we will say in love and union it's a miracle divine well just think for a moment then of that peace that was in that ark but my point of course was the line going through it the remnant there's always been this remnant the third shall be left therein oh yes why because they are in debt according to the foreknowledge of god the father through sanctification of the spirit and to obedience and sprinkling of the blood of jesus christ and so because the lord loves them eternally the third shall be left therein do you hope that you are one of this little remnant and so reading through the pages of the book of god you will see this this remnant according to the election of grace in isaiah's time the lord had left them a small remnant there was a small remnant there was so much idolatry and so on but there was a small remnant and various cases will occur to your spiritual understanding such as the prophet elijah and he he felt he had come to the conclusion that he was the only one left and they seek my life to take it away he thought he was the only one on the earth as far as I can see or in that land what a past to be in to feel to be the only one but the lord gave him an amazing revelation

[36:20] I said there's seven thousand here's this third part you see this remnant that shall be left therein the seven thousand that have not bowed the knee to bale which will lead me to with pleasure name this truth to you undoubtedly there are far more who love and fear god in the british isles and in the world than we begin to know for our knowledge is so very very limited i'm quite sure that there are many in scotland and the lord knows how many there are in in wales and in england he knows how many there are in the soviet union persecuted for their faith he knows you know it would be an amazing revelation to us if the lord showed us how many there were that had not bowed the knee to bale and this is the sort of the earth it preserves the earth from destruction god looks down on the planet he spares it for their sakes the third shall be left therein blessed be god born of him