"And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, they set the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise the Lord, after the ordinance of David king of Israel. And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the Lord; because He is good, for His mercy endureth for ever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. But many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers, who were ancient men, that had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice; and many shouted aloud for joy:so that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people:for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the noise was heard afar off" (Ezra 3:10-13).

Israel had terribly failed, and that which lay at the root of all the failure, and brought in all the disaster that had overtaken them, was disobedience to the Word of God. Solomon's Temple, reared in the midst of the beloved city, had been the visible answer on their part to God's gracious thoughts and purposes towards them. It was His dwelling-place and there He had set His name; but it had become a heap of ruins in consequence of their sin, and the city itself had been laid waste. But now they had come to a time of reviving. They discovered that God was faithful though they had failed, and in a mighty paean they celebrated the fact that, "The Lord is good and His mercy endureth for ever." What a consolation was this to them! What a comfort and joy it is to us!-for it is as true for us as it was for them. Let the thought of it sing through our souls until it brings us into tune with the triumph of God which shall be celebrated by His Church in everlasting praise.

The laying again of the foundations of the temple made the people realize that though Israel had failed God had not. His purposes and promises remained unchanged, and though they were a feeble band and their work as feeble as themselves, yet they associated themselves now with God, His purposes, and His house. It is this that we must do. And though they were a feeble band, a mere remnant, they were able to take up sanctuary service to the Lord and to praise Him "after the ordinance of King David"-and David's day was the brightest hour of Israel's history. This was not imitation on their part, but the joy of the Lord's house, and their devotion to it because it was His house produced in them the same results that were produced in David. And we only need to come afresh under the influence of Christ, and have our hearts devoted to Himself and His assembly, because it is His, and there will be effected in us the joy and liberty of the best days.

But many of the chief of the fathers and the ancient men wept as they thought of the splendor of the former days, so that the noise of the joy could not be discerned from the noise of the weeping. It is the failure that causes the tears. They wept as they looked back, but shouted as they realized God's unfailing grace and the glorious future that it will bring to pass. The truth will not make us indifferent to the failure; the more we know it the more deeply we shall feel the failure; but it will not depress us if we view it with God, it will then deliver us from self-confidence and we shall turn from it to the Lord, "because He is good, for His mercy endureth for ever," Here is no cause for weeping, but much for shouting.

The Brightest Days are Before Us
Now let us hear the word that the Lord sent to those weepers through His prophet Haggai in the second chapter of his prophecy:"Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? And how do ye see it now? Is it not in your eyes in comparison as nothing? Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the Lord; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the Lord, and work:for I am with you, saith the Lord of hosts:according to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so My Spirit remaineth among you:fear ye not."

Note that the Lord goes back to their deliverance from Egypt, and spans the whole period and story of their failure, and says, "My Spirit remaineth with you." He had remained true to His own word and purpose, and if that was true for Israel it is more intensely and blessedly true for the assembly.

"Christ with His Church hath ever stood." And His Spirit is still here.

Then He goes on to tell them that He would shake everything-the heavens, the earth, the sea and the dry land. So that everything that was mutable and without foundations would be removed out of the way; but He would fill that house with His glory, and the glory of it should be greater than any that had gone before.

The shaking has begun, beloved readers, and nothing that is not founded upon God's immovable foundation will stand; but His assembly will stand, for it is founded upon the ROCK, and the glory that is coming is greater than any that has gone before. The best days are before its, and hope lifts up her head and rejoices. You may tell me of those Pentecostal days, when all were together of one mind and one heart, and the power of the Holy Spirit went forth in widespread blessing. We can rejoice in it, but there are brighter days before us. You may recall later days when God graciously gave revival, and the Word was greatly prized. Again we rejoice, but there are brighter days before us. We are hastening on to the time when the assembly completed, as the holy Jerusalem shall descend "out of heaven from God, having the glory of God:and her light like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone clear as crystal" (Rev. 21:10,11). In view of that bright day let us labor, for what privilege could be greater, or honor higher than to be permitted to hold on to the truth and work on for the truth, and to be found doing this when the Lord comes to catch up His assembly for that glory? Can you imagine anything more blessed than for the Lord to come and find us maintaining His truth and testimony, holding steadfastly the fact of His supremacy and walking in the truth of His assembly? But we must know the truth if we are to hold it, and if we know it and hold it we shall be like the people who shouted for joy in Ezra's day, and we shall not dwell upon the past with its failures, but we shall look forward to the future with its glory, and we shall sing as we press on to that future:"The Lord is good and His mercy endureth for ever." J. T. Mawson