ON

SERMON

LVII.

Preached before the Governor, and Council, and the House of Affembly, in Georgia, on January 28, 1770.

ZECH. iv. 10.

For who bath defpifed the Day of Small Things?

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EN, brethren, and fathers, at fundry times and in

divers manners, GOD fpake to the fathers by the prophets, before he spoke to us in these last days by his Son. And as GOD is a fovereign agent, and his facred Spirit bloweth when and where it lifteth, furely he may reveal and make known his will to his creatures, when, where, and how he pleaseth;" and who fhall fay unto him, what doeft thou?" Indeed, this seems to be one reason, to display his fovereignty, why he chofe, before the canon of fcripture was fettled, to make known his mind in fuch various methods, and to fuch a variety of his fervants and meffengers.

Hence it is, that we hear, he talked with Abraham as a man talketh with a friend." To Mofes he fpoke "face to face." To others by dreams in the night," or by "vifions" impreffed ftrongly on their imaginations. This feems to be frequently the happy lot of the favourite evangelical prophet Zechariah, I call him evangelical prophet, because his predictions, however they pointed at fome approaching or immediate event, ultimately terminated in Him, who is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the VOL. VI.

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end of all the lively oracles of Gon. The chapter from which our text is felected, among many other paffages, is a ftriking proof of this: An angel, that had been more than once fent to him on former occafions, appears again ́to him, and by way of vifion, and "waked him, (to use his own words) as a man that is wakened out of his fleep." Prophets, and the greatest servants of GOD, need waking fometimes out of their drowsy frames.

Methinks I fee this man of GOD ftarting out of his fleep, and being all attention: the angel afked him, "what feeft thou?" He answers, " I have looked, and behold, a candlestick all of gold," an emblem of the church of GOD, “with a bowl upon the top of it, and seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the feven lamps, which were upon the top thereof;" implying, that the church, however reduced to the lowest ebb, fhould be preferved, be kept fupplied, and fhining, through the invifible, but not lefs real, because invifible aids and operations of the bleffed Spirit of GOD. The occafion of such an extraordinary vision, if we compare this passage with the fecond chapter of the Prophecy of the prophet Haggai, feems to be this: It was now near eighteen years fince the Jewish people had been delivered from their long and grievous Babylonish captivity; and being fo long deprived of their temple and its worship, which fabric had been rased even to the ground, one would have imagined, that immediately upon their return, they should have postponed all private works, and with their united strength have first fet about rebuilding that once ftately and magnificent ftructure. But they, like too many chriftians of a like lukewarm ftamp, though all acknowledged that this church-work was a neceflary work, yet put themselves and others off, with this godly pretence, "The time is not come, the time that the LORD's houfe fhould be built." The time is not come! what, not in eighteen years! for fo long had they now been returned from their fate of bondage: and pray, why was not the time come? The prophet Haggai tells them; their whole time was fo taken up in building for themselves cieled houfes, that they had no time left to build

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an habitation for their great and glorious Benefactor, the mighty God of Jacob.

This ingratitude muft not be paffed by unpunished. Omniscience obferves, Omnipotence refents it! And that they might read their fin in their punifhment, as they thought it best to get rich, and secure houses and lands and estates for themfelves, before they fet about unneceffary church-work; the prophet tells them, "You have fown much, but bring in little ye eat, but ye have not enough: ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink ye clothe you, but there is none warm and he that earneth wages, earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes." Still he goes on thundering and lightening, "Ye looked for much, and lo it came to little : and when ye brought it home, (pleasing yourselves with your fine crops) I did blow upon it: why? faith the LORD of Hofts; because of mine house that is wafte, and ye run every man unto his own houfe." A thundering fermon this! delivered not only to the common people, but alfo unto, and in the prefence of "Zerubbabel, the fon of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua, the fon of Fofedech the high-priest. The prophet's report is believed; and the arm of the LORD was revealed. Zerubbabel, the fon of Shealtiel, and Joshua, the fon of fofedech, (O happy times when church and state are thus combined) with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the LORD their GOD; and the words of Haggai the prophet."

The spirit of Zerubbabel, and of Joshua, and the fpirits of all the remnant of the people were stirred up, and they immediately came, difregarding, as it were, their own private buildings, and did work in the house of the LORD of Hofts their God." For a while, they proceeded with vigour; the foundation of the houfe is laid, and the superftructure raised to fome confiderable height: but whether this fit of hot zeal foon cooled, as is too common, or the people were difcouraged by the falfe reprefentations of their enemies, which perhaps met with too favourable a reception at the court of Darius; it fo happened, that the hearts of A a 2 the

the magiftrates and minifters of the people waxed faint; and an awful chafm intervened, between the finishing and laying the foundation of this promifing and glorious work.

Upon this, another prophet, even Zechariah, (who with Haggai had been joint fufferer in the captivity) is sent to lift up the hands that hang down, to ftrengthen the feeble knees, and by the foregoing inftructive vifion, to reanimate Joshua and the people in general, and the heart of Zerubbabel, the fon of Shealtiel, in particular, maugre all difcouragements, either from inveterate enemies, or from timid unftable friends, or all other obftacles whatfoever. If Haggai thunders, Zechariah's meffage is as lightening. "This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, faying, Not by might, nor by power, (not by barely human power or policy) but by my fpirit, faith the LORD of Hofts: Who art thou, O great mountain? (thou Sanballat and thy affociates, who have been fo long crying out, what mean these feeble Jews? however great, formidable, and feemingly infurmountable) before Zerubbabel thou shalt (not only be lowered and rendered more acceffible, but) become a plain;" thy very oppofition fhall, in the end, promote the work, and help to expedite that very building, which thou intendeft to put a stop to, and destroy.

And left Zerubbabel, through unbelief and outward oppofition, or for want of more bodily ftrength, should think this would be a work of time, and that he should not live to fee it compleated in his days, "The word of the LORD came to Zechariah, faying, The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this houfe; his hands also shall finish it, and he fhall bring forth the headftone thereof with fhoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it." Grace! grace! unto it: a double acclamation, to fhew, that out of the abundance of their hearts, their mouth fpake; and this with fhoutings and crying from all quarters. Even their enemies fhould fee the hand and providence of GOD in the beginning, continuance, and ending of this feemingly improbable and impracticable work; fo that they fhould be conftrained to cry, "Grace

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