[Awakening in 7]
The angel woke the prophet,
Like a sleeper called by name.
A lampstand stood in hammered gold,
Seven lamps alive with flame.
A bowl above, seven channels flowing,
Olive trees on either side.
Oil arrived without the striving
Of a hand that fed its pride.
[Question]
“What are these?” he asked the angel.
“Do you not know?” the answer came.
Then the word addressed Zerubbabel,
And the mountain heard its name.
[Chorus]
Not by might, nor by power,
But by the Spirit of the LORD.
Mountains flatten into pathways,
Every stone returns in order.
Not by might, nor by power,
Hands that laid the base will crown it.
Grace, grace rises with the headstone;
No proud empire can account it.
[Verse II]
Who despises small beginnings,
Dusty tools and measured line?
Seven eyes rejoice to witness
Plummet, wall, and true design.
[Instrumental Break]
Oil keeps falling, lamps keep burning,
Branches bend but do not break.
Quiet power feeds the calling,
Spirit gives what hands cannot make.
[Final Chorus]
Not by might, nor by power,
But by the Spirit of the LORD.
Zerubbabel will finish building,
Faithful hands complete the word.
Not by might, nor by power,
Two anointed stand attending.
Golden light across the rubble,
Small beginnings reach their ending.
[Outro]
The flame was fed in silence,
And the mountain became a plain.
Named in this songZerubbabel
About the passage
Zechariah 4: The lampstand and the hands that will finish
A golden lampstand, a bowl, seven lamps, and two olive trees form one of Zechariah’s most intricate visions, and the prophet’s first useful act is to admit that he does not understand it. The explanation turns toward Zerubbabel and the unfinished temple. “Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit” does not remove human labor from the scene, because the same word promises that the hands which laid the foundation will also finish the house. The great mountain becomes a plain, the despised day of small things is vindicated, and the plummet remains in the builder’s hand while the LORD’s eyes range through the earth. Zechariah then returns to the olive trees until they are identified as two anointed attendants standing by the Lord of all the earth. The chapter holds divine supply and ordinary work together without reducing either one.
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