In thy seed shall all the
families of the earth be blessed.' When the mission of Moses had made
the people familiar with the idea of a man who was the medium of
revelation, then a further stage was reached--'a Prophet shall the Lord
your God raise up unto you, of your brethren, like unto me.' The kingdom
of David prepared the way for the prediction of the royal dignity of the
Messiah, as the peaceful reign of Solomon for the expectation of one who
should bring peace by righteousness. The approach of national disaster
and sorrow was reflected in Isaiah's vision of the suffering Messiah,
and that prophet's announcements of exile had for their counterpoise the
proclamation of Him who should bring liberty to the captive. So, here,
the kingless band of exiles, painfully striving to rear again the
tabernacle which had fallen down, are heartened for their task by the
thought of the priest-king of the nation, the builder of an imperishable
dwelling-place for God.

To-day we need these truths not less than Zechariah's contemporaries
did. And, thank God! we can believe that, for every modern perplexity,
the blessed old words carry the same strength and consolation. If kings
seem to have perished from among men, if authorities are dying out, and
there are no names of power that can rally the world--yet there is a
Sovereign. If old institutions are crumbling, and must still further
decay ere the site for a noble structure be cleared, yet He shall build
the Temple. If priest be on some lips a name of superstitious folly, and
on others a synonym for all that is despised as effete in religion, yet
this Priest abideth for ever, the guide and the hope for the history of
humanity and for the individual spirit. Let us, then, put ourselves
under the Prophet's guidance, and consider the eternal truths which he
preaches to us too.

I. The true hope of the world is a priest.

The idea of priesthood is universal. It has been distorted and abused;
it has been made the foundation of spiritual tyranny. The priest has not
been the teacher nor the elevator of the people. All over the world he
has been the ally of oppression and darkness, he has hindered and
cramped social and intellectual progress. And yet, in spite of all this,
there the office stands, and wherever men go, by some strange perversity
they take with them this idea, and choose from among themselves those
who, being endowed with some sort of ceremonial and symbolic purity,
shall di