Zechariah 7:1-14 - Homilies By W. Forsyth

God and men.

I. THE UNITY OF GOD 'S PURPOSE . God's thoughts do not vary, though he varies his methods. His end for nations and individuals is always the same—advancement, not merely in knowledge and culture, but in moral goodness.

II. THE MERCIFULNESS OF GOD 'S WARNINGS . At no time hath God left himself without wirelesses. By word and providence and in countless ways his warnings come. We see this in the past. ( Zechariah 7:7 , "former prophets.") So in the prosper. Every mercy has a voice calling for thankfulness. Every chastisement has a summons to moral thoughtfulness and prayer. There is no excuse for continuance in sin.

III. THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD 'S JUDGMENTS . Persistence in transgression must bring punishment. God's laws fulfil themselves. Every rejection of God's counsels, every refusal of God's offers, every slighting of God's love, works for evil, blinding, hardening, alienating, bringing dire ruin nearer. Judgment is God's strange work, but it must come. "The pleasant land laid desolate."—F.