Zechariah 8:6
“Thus saith the LORD of hosts; If it be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be marvellous in mine eyes? saith the LORD of hosts.”
MARVELOUS! Marvelous! Probably there is no adjective more frequently on our lips than this, in these wonderful years when we are reaping the harvest of centuries of patient sowing, and when any morning the newspapers may announce a discovery which will revolutionize our methods of illumination, or locomotion, or military organization.
The other day we were told that the philosopher’s stone was found at last; and that silver can be transformed into gold; tomorrow we may rub our eyes at the marvelous news that the North Pole has been reached. Men resemble the little child led into a toy-shop, or listening to a lecture at the Royal Institute, with open-eyed wonder and open-mouthed exclamation.
But none of these things are wonderful to God; they are but the unraveling of His thoughts, the discovery of His secrets! They are only marvelous to us because we are as yet in the baby stage, waking up to know a little of what a wonderful God He is. Like a little child in Wonderland, our God is leading man from room to room, telling him such wonderful stories of His nature and creative work, as make us continually exclaim, How wonderful!
But there are more wonderful things than these—that rebels should be forgiven, prodigals restored, the sons of darkness changed into children of light, Satan driven out before the Stronger than he, the unclean heart made the pure temple of the holy God. Talk they of marvels in the natural world! These pale before the star of Bethlehem, the sunset of Calvary, and the radiance of the Resurrection morning. And we shall see greater things than these, when we follow on to know through unending ages.
indeed, more of Thy fullness to know! the fullness of Thy gift of salvation, the length, the breadth, the heights, the depths of Thy love. but the mind needs to be trained, to transcend the material things, the veil of the flesh, to bask in the light of eternity and relish spiritual things. oh, for the constancy, the unceasing strength of Thy abiding.