Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit · Sermon No. 1805
“And I will strengthen them in the Lord: and they shall walk up and down in His name, says the Lord.” Zechariah 10:12.
THIS text is pitched in the royal key. It has nothing of the caution and doubting of man about it. Where the word of a king is, there is power, and this is the word of a King, indeed! It is the Word of Jehovah, King of kings and Lord of lords, and you may know it by His sovereign style—“I will,” and, “they shall.” Look at it. You sometimes say, “I will,” but you mistake your power and your talk ferments into boasting. Never make your mouth longer than your arm, for that is monstrous! You have said, “I will,” but you cannot achieve your purpose, for you forgot to say, “If the Lord wills”—and that forgotten factor masters you. And when you say, “They shall”—ah, then you are out of your reckoning—for who are they that you can command? You cannot say it without question concerning your own children, nor your own wife, nor your own friend. The wills of men and women are wayward and fickle—and if you calculate upon them, you may soon find yourself at fault.
Hesitate before you say, “They shall,” in reference to any of our liberty-loving race! Sometimes the word is no sooner spoken than you discover that you have provoked a, “shall not!” Men are not to be ruled and governed just after that fashion. They are not like your boy’s chessmen, which he can move at his pleasure and take in and out of the box whenever he likes. Will and shall are not for us feeble beings. But the Lord has a right to the imperial style and it is in order for Him to say, “I will,” and, “they shall,” since He has the power to make good His words. This majestic speech is no novelty with Him. You will find it all through His Covenant utterances. He speaks in the tone of Omnipotence! He speaks like One who knows His own mind and understands how to rule the minds of others. “Oh,” says one, “but men are free agents!” I never thought that they were not, although I am not sure that it is much to their gain that they are! The glorious privilege of the freedom of the will has been terribly overrated—it is a dangerous heritage which has already lost us Paradise and will lose us all hope of Heaven unless the mighty Grace of God shall interpose.
But, let it stand as it may, God is able to say of free will and of free agents, “I will,” and, “they shall.” His government is such that without violating the nature of the creature that He has made, or putting upon it any physical constraint contrary to its own condition, He can accomplish His own purposes in all respects. Grace knows how to work gently, quietly, yet potently, so that the most unwilling feel themselves sweetly constrained to be willing—and those who were most desperately opposed—feel their hearts relenting and their spirits yielding to the Divine purpose! The Grace of God secretly melts down the ice, breaks to pieces the rock and dissolves the adamant. The man’s obstinacy is broken, his rebellious spirit is melted and yet the man remains entire and cries with all his heart, “I will,” though a little before he had been stubborn and resolute!
The “shall” of Grace is mightier than the “I will” of pride! The will of the Lord leads the will of man in silken bonds, stronger than fetters of iron! Do not be afraid of the Sovereignty and Omnipotence of Divine Grace, but, on the contrary, look to it as the last resource of a broken-down spirit. When there remains no strength in you, nor any ability of any kind or sort, then fling yourself upon the Divine strength and lay hold upon it—and rejoice that if God has said, “they shall,” then assuredly you will! I call your attention to this sovereign style on purpose, for there are many that exalt man in these days. He has become the god of modern idolatry! But as for us, we have yet to speak on the behalf of God and to lift up His name higher and higher, only wishing we had greater power with which to tell out the Glory of the Ever Blessed who is Lord of All, who does as He wills in the armies of Heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth!
With that as a preface, let me call your attention to the very delightful promise of this text. It relates to the Jews, no doubt, and in them will have a form of fulfillment. In the first utterance of it, it relates to that nation, but every Covenant promise that belongs to the seed of Abraham belongs to every Believer, for Believers are the truest seed of Abraham. These are the true Israel that worship God in spirit and have no confidence in the flesh! In Christ Jesus there is neither Jew nor Gentile, circumcision nor uncircumcision. The inheritance is not according to the flesh, but it is according to the spirit, according to the promise, according to the Grace of God and the Power of God. Without the slightest hesitation each Believer here may appropriate to himself this text as far as it suits his condition and necessity. “I will strengthen them in the Lord: and they shall walk up and down in His name, says the Lord.”