Who hath despised the day of small things— By the day of small things, I suppose to be meant the time when the resources of the Jewish nation appeared in the eyes of many, even well-wishers, so small and inadequate to the building of the temple, against a powerful opposition, that they despaired of seeing it carried into effect. Such persons would of course rejoice, when the event turned out so contrary to their expectations.
The eyes— The fountains, Here again, as chap. Zechariah 3:9. עיני ainei, I conceive, should be translated fountains. The lamps considered as part of the furniture belonging to the candlestick, that is, the church, can represent no other than the ministers and dispensers of evangelical light and knowledge; in which sense our Saviour says of them, Ye are the light of the world, Matthew 5:14. These, taken in conjunction with their pipes, may not improperly be represented as fountains or conduits for conveying and communicating to others the gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit, with which they are replenished themselves. And as fountains they are said to run to and fro through the whole earth, which was in an eminent degree seen in the apostles and first preachers of the Gospel, whose sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world; Romans 10:18. Nor is it less true of all the faithful ministers of God's word and sacraments, that they too are special instruments of diffusing grace over all countries, where the truths of the Gospel are taught and inculcated by them.