And cried with a loud voice unto the Lord their God. Nehemiah 9:4-38 The suppliant W. Ritchie. The true test of the good received in religious ordinances is their sanctifying effect on the life. Many a tree is gay with blossoms in spring that yields no fruit in autumn; and so many gospel hearers, who appear full of promise in the time of ordinances, show no decided piety in their subsequent conduct. I. THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE PRAYER. It is often easier to act for God than to pray to Him — to work in His vineyard than to wait at His throne. Activity may afford occasion for excitement, and scope for display, and opportunity to attract the admiration of others; while prayer calls to the exercise of faith, to cultivate humility, to live under the eye of God. Spiritual work, indeed, might be expected to draw the servant near to the Master for communion and help. It soon discovers human weakness and want, and dependence on almighty power for strength, for supply, for all blessing. But, instead of proving an incentive to prayer, it is often made a substitute for it; and the labourer feels as if too busy in service to find time for unceasing supplication. And thus the people of Judah here set a high value on prayer. They have laboured to restore the walls and temple of Jerusalem, and success has crowned their efforts. But activity in these sacred undertakings, so far from cooling their devotion, inspires them to growing fervour in prayers and supplications to God. In reference to the circumstances of this prayer, it may be remarked — 1. It was offered immediately after the observance of the Feast of Tabernacles. On the fifteenth day of the seventh month this festival commenced, on the twenty-second it was closed; and "on the twenty-fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled" for this prayer. The time of meeting is proof of the ardour of their devotion. Formal worshippers are soon wearied in spiritual exercises, and ask, "When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn; and the Sabbath, that we may set forth wheat?" It is a frame of devotion much to be desired. Protracted meetings like this, for religious exercises, may be expedient only on extraordinary occasions, but habitual love of communion with God is both the strength and joy of a holy heart. It is not one intense momentary influence, flowing from the summer sun, that covers fields with corn and trees with fruit, but the daily glow of his genial beams; so it is not a single hour in the presence of Christ, receiving one full manifestation of Him in the soul, that saves it from the fears of guilt, and beautifies it with His image, but it is an abiding in Him, a "looking unto Jesus," a "coming unto God by Him." "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me. Further, this prayer was offered in a season of solemn fasting (ver. 1). In the pilgrimage to the better land, the valley of humiliation lies near the delectable mountains; and the goodly prospects of Emmanuel's land obtained from the one prepare for walking in safety through the rugged paths of the other, while the same life of faith is maintained in both. Moreover, the prayer was offered amid earnest desires after new obedience. "The seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers" (ver. 2). This sincere desire to put away sin, and to obey the Divine Word, is essential to effectual prayer. "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me." II. THE SUBSTANCE OF THE PRAYER. 1. An adoration of the Divine majesty (ver. 6). 2. A review of past mercies, The mercies celebrated are — God's choice of Israel; His deliverance of them from bondage; His guidance of them through the wilderness; and His bestowal on them of spiritual privileges. 3. We notice in the prayer confession of numerous sins (vers. 16-35). The light of Divine mercy here shows the dark cloud of their iniquities. They confess their obstinate disobedience to God (vers. 16-19). They hardened their necks, and hearkened not to the Lord's commandments. They confess their slighting of almighty goodness (vers. 20-26). They confess their refusal of Divine warning (vers. 27-30). They confess they did not glorify God in His gifts (vers. 34, 35). 4. We observe in the prayer a plea for sovereign mercy (vers. 32, 36, 37). III. THE LESSONS OF THE PRAYER. 1. The duty of prayer in public distress. The people of Judah were here in public distress, and they offer united prayer to God for His help in their time of need. 2. The blessing of prayer to a community. This prayer for Jerusalem was succeeded by times of prosperity in the holy city, and all it represented. 3. The power of prayer for the revival of the Church. ( W. Ritchie. ) Thou, even Thou, art Lord alone; Thou hast made heaven The Te Deum W. P. Lockhart. In this we have perhaps the fullest setting forth of the glorious and manifold character of Jehovah which is to be found in any single passage of Scripture, and in it also is brought out in striking contrast the sinful conduct of His chosen people. The Almighty is here recognised as — 1. The God of creation. 2. The God of the covenant. 3. The God of redemption (vers. 9-11). 4. The Leader of His people. 5. The Lawgiver. 6. The Sustainer of His people. 7. The God of compassion and the hearer of prayer. ( W. P. Lockhart. ) The purpose of the rehearsal of national shortcomings W. P. Lockhart. I. TO ENCOURAGE THEM TO EXPECT FURTHER HELP FROM GOD. II. TO CONSTRAIN THEM TO ENTER INTO CLOSER COVENANT WITH HIM. ( W. P. Lockhart. ) Thou art the Lord the God, who didst choose Abram God's choice Dean Farrar. My strength during all my life has been precisely this, that I have made no choice. During the last thirty-six years God has twelve times changed my home and fifteen times changed my work. I have scarcely ever done what I myself would have chosen. ( Dean Farrar. ) And hast performed Thy words The certainty of God's promises Thomas Jones. All means are in His hands. A father may promise his son that he will make something of him when he grows up, but his business declines, he is made bankrupt. But the great Father will never become bankrupt, never fail; His power is infinite. Many a sea captain has had, during a storm, to tell the passengers, "I have done all I can; there is now nothing but the boat." God has never to tell His people that. ( Thomas Jones. ) The Divine promise sure Hervey. Corporations may be disfranchised and charters revoked. Even mountains may be removed, and stars drop from their spheres; but a tenure founded on the Divine promise is inalienably secure, and lasting as eternity itself. ( Hervey. ) And didst see the affliction of our fathers in Egypt. Nehemiah 9:9 The path of duty the path of trial Homilist. I. THAT THE PATH OF HUMAN DUTY HERE RUNS THROUGH GREAT TRIALS. 1. Sometimes it involves the sacrifice of endeared friendship. Lot had to separate from Abraham, Barnabas from Paul, Paul from Mark. 2. Sometimes it involves the sacrifice of worldly prospects. 3. Sometimes it involves the endangering of life itself. 4. Sometimes it involves an outrage on our tender sentiments. Abraham offering up Isaac. II. THAT GREAT TRIALS THROUGH WHICH THE PATH OF DUTY HERE RUNS SERVE TO TEST THE PRINCIPLES OF THE PILGRIMS. 1. It reveals the bad principles of the heart. The Jews at the Red Sea revealed their ingratitude, meanness, aspostasy, cowardice, 2. It reveals the good principles of the heart. III. THAT UNBOUNDED FAITH IN GOD IS ESSENTIAL TO CARRY US SAFELY 'THROUGH THE PATH OF DUTY WITH ALL ITS GREAT TRIALS. ( Homilist. ) God our helper The following is an extract from Stanley to Sir William Mackinnon: "You, who throughout your long and varied life have steadfastly believed in the Christian's God, and before men have professed your devout thankfulness for many mercies vouchsafed to you, will better understand than many others the feelings which animate me when I find myself back again in civilisation, uninjured in life or health, after passing through so many stormy and distressful periods. Constrained at the darkest hour to humbly confess that without God's help I was helpless, I vowed a vow in the forest solitudes that I would confess His aid before men. A silence as of death was round about me; it was midnight; I was weakened by illness, prostrated with fatigue, and worn with anxiety for my white and black companions whose fate was a mystery. In this physical and mental distress I besought God to give me back my people. Nine hours later we were exulting with a rapturous joy. In full view of all was the crimson flag with the crescent, and beneath its waving folds was the long-lost rear column." Mungo Park was comforted by the Lord by a tiny morsel of moss, and Livingstone was preserved by Him when most people gave him up for lost: and now, from the awful gloom of endless forests, Stanley cries unto the living God, and lives to bear witness to the faithfulness of the prayer-hearing Jehovah. Moreover Thou leddest them in the day by a cloudy pillar. Nehemiah 9:12 The pillars of cloud and fire Samuel Gregory. The people who for forty years followed that fire-cloud have left footprints in the sands of time which serve us as an alphabet of life. The march of the Israelites is an allegory of the life of man. Like a providence palpable to the very eyes of man, the fire-cloud indexed that will of God which it is the longing of true hearts in every age to fulfil. This fire-cloud suggests — I. THAT MAN'S LIFE ON EARTH IS A DIVINELY-CONDUCTED DISCIPLINE. The Israelites emerged from Egypt a huge bee-swarm of humanity making for another hive. From the dark superstitions of life and the coarse immoralities of antiquity they went into the wilderness to learn the rudiments of life. Outside the sphere of man's natural resources Israel had to learn faith in the supernatural environment of man, Their wilderness journey was the drill of a nation destined to be the vehicle of Divine revelation to a world. Our life on earth is mainly a prolonged and various discipline, and its significance lies in the finally resulting manhood. The main matter is not how long it takes us to cross this strip of earth, or how much we have while we travel, but what the journey makes of us as regards the naked, moral character of us all. Very suggestive, if you will ponder, is Israel's inability to comprehend the meaning of a great deal of their march. Why they should lie still, and why move, were not always plain. We cannot readily comprehend the zigzag ways of life. Looking at our things, and not at our soul, we sometimes seem to be moving in a very resultless way — marking time rather than marching. Said a good and active man whose work is his life, "By this sickness I have lost a month." How so? Through every day of his life henceforth he will carry a reverent thoughtfulness of God, and in all his character there will be the tinge of a mellow tenderness, the results of that "lost month's" meditative realisations. Was the month lost, then? God leads and leaves us not where we would like to be, but where we have need to be. There is wisdom in every stage of life's march and countermarch. Life's roughest mile is "ordered of the Lord," and its darkest place is illuminated by the pillar of fire. It is wisdom to store the lessons of experience. Child-like, we forget the back lessons. The teachings of sorrow's school are forgotten in the playground of our joyfulness. II. THAT THROUGHOUT OUR LIFE-JOURNEY WE FOLLOW A GOD WE NEVER SEE. That fire-bordered cloud was not God. The cathedral window ablaze with its mingled glories hides the sun, while it is at the same time a many-coloured witness of his living radiance. Life leaves room for doubt, and gives worldliness its chance. Herein lies much of our probation. Those tokens of God which are evidence of things not seen are frequently familiarised into comparative powerlessness over the soul. 1. Some of the Israelites sinned under the very shadow of the pillar of fire. The sentiments of reverence and wonder are in danger of exile from the mind. 2. Nature, with its transformations of the seasons. 3. The Sabbath. 4. The house of God. 5. "Prayer; our prayers may become like the winding of our watches — acts we do, scarcely sure whether they are done or not. We often see most of God' in the night of experience. III. THAT PROTECTION WHICH GOD'S PRESENCE INSURES TO THOSE THAT FOLLOW HIM. Over the sleeping camp the cloud lay like a golden warrior-shield. Yet how slowly was Israel trained to courage! Every new danger created a coward hubbub in the camp. Their foes could do them no harm; but their imaginations were terrible to them as an army with banners. Their minds were made nervous by their own delusions. The Parisians have exhibited what they call a "Panorama of the War." Climbing what appears to be a kind of tower, you seem to see the country around Paris alive with the grim activities of war. Nearest the spectator are placed real cannon and the like, and these shade off into painted forms beyond so perfectly as to produce an illusion like that of the painter who attracted the quick-eyed birds to his painted grapes. The illusion is wonderful, and you can all but smell the gunpowder. But there is no movement — the soldiers are still as stones, the bursting shell remains in the act of explosion, and the flame-flash continues from the cannon-mouth. That breaks the spell. It is but picture, after all. Thus we go at times up the tower of apprehension, and see besieging armies of trouble. Near to us are some real objects of fear, and from them we go on to paint a long perspective of morbid fancies, until life seems ringed round with innumerable foes. After awhile we find it is mostly picture — "the very painting of our fear." Let the chief anxiety of all be to follow the great Leader of life's pilgrimage. ( Samuel Gregory. ) Thou careen down also upon mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven. Nehemiah 9:18 Go by the directions J. Reid Howatt. I saw a picture once which has stuck to my memory for years and years. It was a picture of a dark, wild, stormy night, and a traveller was standing up in the stirrups of his horse at a parting of the way, trying to read the directions on the finger-post. How eagerly he is looking! I can see him yet-holding the lighted match carefully in his hands lest the wind should blow it out before he had read the directions I It was a good thing for him that there were directions, and it is a good thing we have them too. Where are our directions? They are — the Bible. That is God's Word to us, telling us which road to take when we come to the parting of the way. Go by the directions. Do what God rays, and you will never go wrong. ( J. Reid Howatt. ) But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks. Nehemiah 9:16 Hardened by sin Dr. Manton says: "As a delicate constitution is more capable of pain than a robust and stubborn one, and the tender flesh of a child will sooner feel the lash than the thick skin of a slave, so the children of God, having a more serious apprehension of things, and a more tender spirit, soonest feel the burden of their Father's displeasure, and do more lay it to heart than careless and stupid spirits, who laugh at their cross, or drink away their sorrows." Tenderness of heart is thus an attribute of the child of God, and a very precious attribute, too. Hard-hearted men are not men after God's own heart. In proportion as feeling declines, life has declined. Spiritual men are sensitive men. Ossification of the heart is a fatal disease. Declensions in grace are a searing of the soul. When water is warmed by the summer sun, the smallest stone sinks into it; when it is frozen in the northern blast, a huge block will be borne up upon the surface of it, and will never penetrate to its depths. So, when the soul grows cold with distance from God, it will sustain an enormous weight of sin; but when grace returns, and the soul is in a fight spiritual condition, an ounce of sin will be more than the soul can bear. Oh, for more of this holy sensitiveness! ( C. H. Spurgeon . ) But Thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful. Nehemiah 9:17 Divine forgiveness W. Jay. I. WHAT IS NECESSARY TO RENDER THE SUBJECT INTERESTING. 1. A conviction of guilt. 2. An apprehension of our danger as transgressors. 3. A discovery of the privileges of a pardoned state. II. THE PROOFS WHICH ESTABLISH THE TRUTH OF THE DOCTRINE. 1. The provision He has made for the exercise of pardon. 2. The promptitude with which He pardons on our return, 3. His earnestness to excite us to seek after the blessing. 4. The character of those who have received pardon. 5. The number of those who obtain forgiveness. III. THE WAY IN WHICH THIS SUBJECT MAY BE ABUSED. 1. When it leads us to deny any disposition in God to punish. 2. When it encourages us to hope for pardon in ways not warranted by the Word of God. (1) Without a reference to the work of Christ. (2) Without repentance. (3) By delaying an application for it to the close of life. (4) By expecting to find this pardon in another world if we fail to obtain it in this. IV. IMPROVMENT. 1. It should yield encouragement to the brokenhearted. 2. It should afford consolation to those who have believed through grace. 3. The subject demands our admiration and praise. 4. It also calls upon us not only to admire, but to imitate ( Ephesians 4:31, 32 ; Ephesians 5:1 ). ( W. Jay. ) Pardon of sin W. S. Edwards. I. THE CERTAINTY OF THIS READINESS TO PARDON. This may be discerned — 1. In the plans which He devised for its bestowment consistent with His honour as a sovereign, and compatible with His character as a just and moral Ruler. 2. In the repeated assurances and urgent entreaties with regard to the facts which are furnished in His Word. 3. In the efforts He makes to effect it, and so frequently recorded in the pages of history. II. THE CONDITIONS OF THIS READINESS TO PARDON. 1. A vivid apprehension of personal guilt. 2. A full consciousness of personal danger. 3. Repentance and faith. ( W. S. Edwards. ) The pardon of sin Essex Congregational Remembrancer. No attribute of the Deity is so calculated to afford encouragement and relief to the distressed and penitent sinner as that of His mercy. His justice and holiness make him tremble. The Divine mercy is the only fountain from which all our hope is derived. If God were unmerciful — if He were unable and unwilling to forgive, how awful and desperate would be our condition! I. SOME OF THE DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS OF DIVINE PARDON. Respecting this blessing, we observe that it is — 1. Gratuitous in its bestowment. Had it not been perfectly free, it would be for ever beyond our reach. As fallen man is altogether destitute of all inherent and acquired righteousness, he can never obtain it on the ground of his own merit. Conscious of his utter unworthiness, and that he was destitute of all merit, the psalmist cried, "For Thy name's sake, pardon mine iniquity, for it is great." In the forgiveness of sin, God acts like the creditor towards his two debtors; one owes him five hundred pence, and the other fifty; and when they had nothing to pay, he frankly (freely) forgave them both. It is true that there are certain duties which must be discharged by the sinner; he must repent and believe; but these acts can never merit forgiveness. The pardon of the penitent flows from the free and sovereign grace of God, and is conveyed through the channel of the Redeemer's atoning blood. 2. Unlimited in its extent. The pardoning mercy of God is not confined to any degrees of guilt or amount of transgression. "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits; who forgiveth all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases." The pardoning mercy of God extends to the most flagrant transgressions, and transcends all human conception. There is no sin so heinous which God cannot forgive, and no guilt of so deep a hue which He cannot remove. 3. Permanent in its enjoyment. II. PROVE THE TRUTH OF THE DECLARATION. God's readiness to pardon is manifest — 1. From the provisions made for this purpose. Before sinners could be pardoned and saved, there were certain barriers that must be removed. As God was the supreme Lawgiver and Judge of the world — the Protector of righteousness and goodness — it became Him not to pardon the guilty without the punishing of sin, and that in such a manner as would satisfy His injured justice, and vindicate the honour of His despised law, and at the same time declare His greatest hatred to sin. Had there been no Mediator, the justice and holiness of God would have stood as everlasting obstructions to the exercise of pardoning mercy. 2. The express declarations of Scripture. Listen to the exulting and triumphant language of the prophet Micah: "Who is a God like unto our God, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He retaineth not His anger for ever, because He delighteth in mercy." See how earnestly does God exhort the careless and impenitent, saying, "Turn ye, turn ye from your evil way, for why will ye die, O house of Israel?" "How shall I give thee up, O Ephraim? How shall I deliver thee, O Israel? How shall I make thee as Admah? How shall I set thee as Zeboim?" Observe the grand commission of the apostles, "that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name, among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem." 3. Recorded facts. This glorious truth is not only declared by the voice of inspiration, but also by the loud and impressive testimony of experience. What multitudes have already obtained forgiveness! The Scriptures abound with the most astonishing and striking instances of this delightful truth. But if we look into the New Testament, we shall see this truth shining forth with greater lustre still. The first instance that strikes us here is Peter. How great and dreadful were his sins! He denied his Divine Lord and Master, and that with oaths and curses; and yet repenting, he was forgiven. In the same list we behold Mary Magdalene, "out of whom seven unclean spirits were cast." ( Essex Congregational Remembrancer. ) Pardoning mercy Sketches of Four Hundred Sermons. These words — I. PREFER AN IMPORTANT CHARGE. "And refused to obey," etc. Though this charge was primarily brought against the Jews, it is substantially applicable to all impenitent sinners. Here is — 1. A charge of obstinate disobedience. We are guilty of the same charge. We are under infinite obligations to the Divine Being. He is the Creator, Sovereign, Benefactor, Redeemer, Saviour, and Judge of mankind. 2. A charge of criminal forgetfulness. "Neither were mindful of Thy wonders, ( Psalm 78:10-17 ; Psalm 106:21-26 ). God has crowned each of us with loving-kindness and tender mercies, and wrought wonders in our creation, preservation, redemption, and salvation. We have too often unfaithfully forgotten His innumerable benefits, and ungratefully murmured against His kind dispensations ( Isaiah 1:2, 3 ). 3. A charge of hardened impenitence. "But hardened their necks,". etc. This is an awful state ( Proverbs 29:1 ; Romans 2:5, 6 ; Hebrews 3:15 ). II. CONTAIN A GRACIOUS DECLARATION. "Thou art a God ready to pardon." This is manifest from — 1. The perfections of the Divine character. 2. The glorious scheme of human redemption ( Isaiah 53:5, 6 ; Romans 3:25, 26 ; 2 Corinthians 5:18, 21 ). 3. The testimonies and promises of Scripture. III. SUGGEST APPROPRIATE INSTRUCTION. ( Sketches of Four Hundred Sermons. ) A God ready to pardon I. THE HISTORY OF ISRAEL SINGULARLY ILLUSTRATES THE READINESS OF GOD TO PARDON. II. IT IS EQUALLY TRUE THAT THE LORD AT ALL TIMES IS A GOD READY TO PARDON. 1. It is true of Him by nature. Mercy is an essential attribute of God. 2. He Himself removed the impediment which lay in the way of forgiveness. 3. He sends His message of love to sinners while they are yet in their sins. 4. He makes no hard conditions with sinners. 5. What He demands of man by the gospel He also works in Him by His Spirit. 6. He accepts even the very lowest grade of the necessary graces. Repentance, etc. ( C. H. Spurgeon . ) A pardoning God E. R. Derry. I. THE NATURE OF THIS PARDON. It is — 1. Free. Pardon must be so. It is no objection to say that Christ has purchased it. True, He has purchased, but it is free in its bestowment on us, because we could not merit it, nor claim it as a right. 2. Complete. Do not mean that it refers to the future. Some say when once pardoned all done. Not so Scriptures. Complete because it refers to all; complete because it is full. 3. Present. Some say not until death. Not so Scriptures. 4. Righteous. "Be it known unto you, therefore, men and brethren," etc. Righteous because bestowed on righteous principles; because of Christ's atonement. 5. Discriminating. If Christ died for all, how is it that all are not pardoned? Remedy only available for those who apply for it. Hence — II. THE CONDITIONS. Scriptures teach us duty of forgiveness if offender repents and asks. So with God our confession must be — 1. Frank. "He that covereth his sins shall not prosper, but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy." 2. Penitent. "The sacrifice," etc. Many frankly confess, but not penitently. True penitence seen in the publican. 3. Believing. III. EVIDENCE THAT GOD IS READY TO PARDON. 1. From scheme of redemption. Love in scheme, end of scheme; and if pardon not dispensed, end defeated. 2. From His relation to the Saviour. As Father He could not furnish a greater guarantee. 3. From means He employs to bring to Him. Sends Spirit — Providence — Word. Characterised by love. 4. From receptions others have met with. Manasseh — dying thief — Saul. Shown in Prodigal.Lessons : 1. Subject does not imply God will not punish. 2. Subject shows only way of deliverance, and that way to be taken now. ( E. R. Derry. ) The joy of pardon H. W. Taylor. — A man named John Welsh lay in prison in Chicago under sentence of death. His friends tried to get his sentence commuted to imprisonment for life. The day before that fixed for the execution arrived without any favourable reply being received. The prisoner sat in his cell listening and longing earnestly for a respite. Presently he heard the rumbling of the wheels of a car. It brought the materials for his scaffold, and soon he heard the strokes of the hammers, and pictured himself hanging on the scaffold which he could hear them raising. The sound almost drove him frantic, and he sent for the governor, and begged that he might be taken away anywhere from that dreadful noise. He was taken to a distant cell, and there he sat on the edge of his bed, haunted with gloomy thoughts, all hope gone. He was startled from his rom, erie by a hurried step along the corridor. The key was thrust into the lock, and one of the officers of the prison stood before him. He held a paper in his hand signed by the Governor of the State of Illinois. It was a commutation of his sentence .... How the truth burst on his mind! When the paper was handed to him he could not read it for tears; but it was a paper bringing him his life, and he hugged it, and clasped it, and kissed it. ( H. W. Taylor. ) Nevertheless they were disobedient, and rebelled against Thee. Nehemiah 9:26-29 Provocations and punishment Lilly Butler. I. HOW JUSTLY WE MAY BE CHARGED, AS THE JEWS IN THE TEXT, WITH HAVING WROUGHT GREAT PROVOCATIONS. This will be manifest if we consider — 1. To what a prodigious height all kinds of iniquity are raised amongst us. Atheism, infidelity, blasphemy, intemperance, impurity, commercial immorality. 2. What engagements we are under to abstain from all transgressions of the laws of God. 3. That our sins have been committed against the most prevailing attempts of the Spirit of God to restrain and reclaim us from them. 4. That our sins have been committed against many and great mercies. 5. That our sins have been committed against the discipline of God's rod and those many judgments He hath sent to teach us righteousness. II. THAT WE HAVE GREAT REASON TO FEAR THAT OUR GREAT PROVOCATIONS MAY BE PUNISHED BY GOD AS THOSE OF THE JEWS WERE. Conclusion: What is the most effectual means to prevent the punishment our great provocations threaten us with? ( Lilly Butler. ) And testifiedst against them, that Thou mightest bring them again unto Thy law God's laws F. S. Webster. Some years ago I was enjoying a ramble on the Portsdown Hills, a favourite resort of the Portsmouth people, and commanding a delightful view of the sea. They are all open to the public, except a few places which are carefully fenced off. Are these the most luxurious spots, where the grass is softest and the moss most green? No, indeed, these are the broken and precipitous parts, where serious accidents might occur. God's laws are just like these fences. God's love has placed fences there to keep us from hurting ourselves. ( F. S. Webster. ) Danger signals In travelling along our great railroads we pass many signal stations. In connection with each of these there is a man appointed, one of whose duties it is to see that the way is clear. If a bridge should be broken, or any obstruction is on the road, he is expected to ring a bell, wave a flag, or make a signal of some kind, so that the driver of any train coming along the road may know in time to stop his train before any harm is done. And the flag the man waves, or the signal he puts out, is the warring given to approaching trains to save them from injury. In the journey that we are pursuing through this life we are sure to meet with many dangers. The Bible is the guide-book which God has given us to use on the journey. And the warnings found in this book are the signals to tell us of the dangers that lie along our path in order that we may avoid them. We cannot be safe in our journey through the world unless we are careful to mind these warnings. Howbeit, Thou art just in all that is brought upon us. Nehemiah 9:33 The miseries of life; their origin and remedy John Taylor, LL. D. The miseries of life have been a fruitful theme to writers in all ages. Some have endeavoured to engage us in their contemplation for a wise and good end. Others have taken occasion from them to dispute the wisdom, justice, and goodness of God. Such notions, thus derogatory from the providence of God, tend, even in the best of men, if not timely eradicated, to weaken those impressions of reverence and gratitude which are necessary to add warmth to devotion and vigour to virtue. The teaching of Scripture is, that God is not to be charged with disregard of His creation. He created man for happiness, and this happiness was forfeited by a breach of the conditions to which it was annexed. Physical and moral evil entered the world together. To avoid misery we must avoid sin. Consider — I. HOW FEW OF THE EVILS OF LIFE CAN JUSTLY BE ASCRIBED TO GOD. We must carefully distinguish that which is actually appointed by Him from that which is only permitted, or that which is the consequence of something done to ourselves, and could not be prevented but by the interruption of those general laws which we term the course of nature or the established order of the universe. If we examine all the afflictions of mind, body, and estate by this rule, we shall find God not otherwise accessory to them than as He works no miracles to prevent them, as He suffers men to be masters of themselves, and restrains them only by coercions applied to their reason. 1. In making an estimate of the miseries that arise from the disorders of the body, we must consider how many diseases proceed from our own laziness, intemperance, or negligence; how many the vices or follies of our ancestors have transmitted to us. 2. Nor are the disquietudes of the mind less frequently excited by ourselves. (1) Pride is the general source of our infelicity. (2) Immoderate desires. (3) Undue solicitude about future events which gives rise to harassing fears and anxieties. 3. Poverty is not always the effect of wickedness — it may often be the effect of virtue; but it is not certain that poverty is an evil. II. HOW FAR A GENERAL PIETY MIGHT EXEMPT COMMUNITY FROM THOSE EVILS. A community, in which virtue should generally prevail, of which every member should fear God with his whole heart and love his neighbour as himself, where every man should labour to make himself "perfect even as his Father which is in heaven is perfect," would find these evils practically non-existant. III. HOW MUCH IN THE PRESENT CORRUPT STATE OF THE WORLD PARTICULAR MEN MAY

Benson Commentary Nehemiah 9:1 Now in the twenty and fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, and with sackclothes, and earth upon them. Nehemiah 9:1 . Now in the twenty and fourth day — The feast of tabernacles began on the fourteenth day, and ended on the twenty-second, all which time mourning had been forbidden, as contrary to the nature of the feast, which was to be kept with joy. But now, on the twenty-fourth, the next day but one after the feast, their consciences having been fully awakened, and their hearts filled with grief for their sins, which they were not allowed to express in that time of public joy, they resume their former thoughts, and, recalling their sins to mind, set apart a day for solemn fasting and humiliation. Nehemiah 9:2 And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers. Nehemiah 9:2 . The seed of Israel separated themselves — From all unnecessary society with the heathen, and particularly from those strange women whom some of them had married. For although Ezra had effected this separation formerly, as far as he had knowledge of the faulty persons, and power to reform them; yet it seems there were some criminals who either had escaped his knowledge, or were beyond the reach of his power; or there were some new delinquents that since that time had fallen into the same error, and now showed the truth of their repentance by forsaking their beloved sins and dearest relations. And the iniquities of their fathers — Which they confess, partly as one cause of their present sufferings; and partly because they, by their practices, had justified their father’s sins, and made them their own. Nehemiah 9:3 And they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of the LORD their God one fourth part of the day; and another fourth part they confessed, and worshipped the LORD their God. Nehemiah 9:3 . They stood up and read in the book of the law — That is, the Levites stood up in a place built for them, and read the law as they did before, interpreting the sense of what they read. One fourth part of the day — To wit, for three hours; for there were reckoned twelve hours in their day. Probably they began to read after the morning sacrifice, at which time divers religious people used to be present, and continued reading till the sixth hour, that is, till midday; and another fourth part — Namely, from midday to the time of the evening sacrifice; they confessed — Both God’s mercies, as appears from the following prayer, and their own sins, as is expressed Nehemiah 9:2 , this day being chiefly set apart for the work of confession and humiliation; and worshipped the Lord their God — Partly by their acknowledgment and adoration of his wonderful mercy, in forgiving their sins, and saving them from the judgments which they had deserved, and for giving them his law, and the knowledge thereof; and partly, by imploring his further grace and mercy to them. The work of a fast-day is good work; and we should endeavour to make a day’s work, a good day’s work, of it. Nehemiah 9:4 Then stood up upon the stairs, of the Levites, Jeshua, and Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani, and cried with a loud voice unto the LORD their God. Nehemiah 9:4 . They stood upon the stairs — Upon such stairs or pulpits as the Levites usually stood upon when they taught the people. But they stood upon several pulpits, each of them teaching that part of the congregation which was allotted him, or praying or blessing God with them. And cried with a loud voice — Thereby testifying their deep sense of their sins and miseries, and their fervent and importunate desire of God’s mercy. Nehemiah 9:5 Then the Levites, Jeshua, and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabniah, Sherebiah, Hodijah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, Stand up and bless the LORD your God for ever and ever: and blessed be thy glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise. Nehemiah 9:5 . Then the Levites, Jeshua, &c., said, Stand up, and bless the Lord for ever and ever — Praise him and give him thanks, as long as you have any being; and blessed be thy glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise — The super-excellent perfections of which, the noblest creatures cannot worthily magnify. The Levites, it is likely, praised him in these or such like words, in which all the people joined, either with their lips, or in their hearts. Nehemiah 9:6 Thou, even thou, art LORD alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee. Nehemiah 9:6 . Thou, even thou, art Lord alone — Jehovah, the self-existent and independent being; there is no God beside thee; thou hast made heaven, &c. — They acknowledged the God they worshipped to be the supreme Sovereign, the Lord over all, who had created all things whatsoever, who preserved them by his providence, and therefore had a sovereign dominion over all. And the host of heaven worshippeth thee — The angels, archangels, cherubim, and seraphim, and all the inhabitants of heaven, of whatever order, acknowledge thee as the universal King. Nehemiah 9:7 Thou art the LORD the God, who didst choose Abram, and broughtest him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, and gavest him the name of Abraham; Nehemiah 9:7 . Thou art the Lord who didst choose Abraham — Here follows a compendious history of the affairs of the Hebrew nation, which, it is likely was composed by Ezra or Nehemiah in the form of a prayer, and delivered to the Levites, that they might pronounce it distinctly before the whole congregation, from their several scaffolds, which were conveniently placed, in several parts of the assembly, for that purpose. Nehemiah 9:8 And foundest his heart faithful before thee, and madest a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Jebusites, and the Girgashites, to give it, I say , to his seed, and hast performed thy words; for thou art righteous: Nehemiah 9:8 . And foundest his heart faithful before thee — In many instances, especially in that great trial of his faith and obedience, when thou requiredst him to offer up his only son as a sacrifice. And hast performed thy words; for thou art righteous — True to thy word, faithfully fulfilling all thy promises. Nehemiah 9:9 And didst see the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heardest their cry by the Red sea; Nehemiah 9:9-10 . And didst see the affliction of our fathers in Egypt — God’s providences over Isaac and Jacob are passed by, to come to his interpositions in their behalf, since they became a nation; that is, since he had made good his covenant with Abraham, in multiplying his seed as the stars of heaven; at the time of entering into which covenant he had foretold that his seed should suffer grievous affliction in Egypt; from which having rescued them, he completed their deliverance at the Red sea, when they cried to him, as is here mentioned. It was reasonable to remember this, now they were interceding for the perfecting of their deliverance out of Babylon. And showedst signs and wonders upon Pharaoh — Many and mighty, such as were unprecedented and unparalleled, thereby getting honour upon him, and upon his servants and people, the deliverance of thy people being the destruction of their enemies. For thou knewest that they dealt proudly against them — Intending to make them their slaves for ever, as, for the present, they treated them with the utmost contempt and cruelty. Nehemiah 9:10 And shewedst signs and wonders upon Pharaoh, and on all his servants, and on all the people of his land: for thou knewest that they dealt proudly against them. So didst thou get thee a name, as it is this day. Nehemiah 9:11 And thou didst divide the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; and their persecutors thou threwest into the deeps, as a stone into the mighty waters. Nehemiah 9:12 Moreover thou leddest them in the day by a cloudy pillar; and in the night by a pillar of fire, to give them light in the way wherein they should go. Nehemiah 9:13 Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and gavest them right judgments, and true laws, good statutes and commandments: Nehemiah 9:13 . And gavest them good statutes — The moral and judicial precepts were all founded on natural equity. And even the ceremonial were tokens of God’s goodness, being types of gospel grace. Nehemiah 9:14 And madest known unto them thy holy sabbath, and commandedst them precepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses thy servant: Nehemiah 9:14 . And madest known unto them thy holy sabbath — That holy sabbath day which thou didst bless and sanctify to Adam, commanding him, and in him all his posterity, to observe it, which yet almost all nations have quite forgotten; that day thou didst graciously reveal unto thy people, reviving that ancient law by another particular law respecting it, given to us in the wilderness. The Holy Scriptures speak of the sabbath as a singular gift of God to the Jewish nation, Exodus 16:29 ; it being a sign between God and them, who sanctified, that is, separated them from all other nations to be his peculiar people, or to be the worshippers of him who created the world in six days and rested in the seventh, while the heathen nations worshipped the sun, moon, and stars, and other creatures. Nehemiah 9:15 And gavest them bread from heaven for their hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and promisedst them that they should go in to possess the land which thou hadst sworn to give them. Nehemiah 9:16 But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments, Nehemiah 9:16-17 . But our fathers dealt proudly, &c. — Notwithstanding all thy singular and wonderful mercies, they sinned presumptuously, and with a high hand, scorning to submit their wills to thine. Having hitherto recounted God’s mercies toward them, with a view to aggravate their guilt, he now comes to confess their sins, in order that he might lead them to a sincere and ingenuous grief for them, not only on account of the sufferings which they had brought on themselves, but for the injury and indignity which they had offered to God; and refused to obey — Persisted in disobedience after many admonitions and invitations to repentance. And in their rebellion appointed a captain — That is, designed, purposed, and resolved to do so, ( Numbers 14:4 ,) and therefore they are said to do it; as Abraham is said to have offered up Isaac, ( Hebrews 11:17 ,) because he intended and attempted to do it. Nehemiah 9:17 And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not. Nehemiah 9:18 Yea, when they had made them a molten calf, and said, This is thy God that brought thee up out of Egypt, and had wrought great provocations; Nehemiah 9:18-19 . Yea, they made them, a molten calf — This was a very high provocation, considering how little a time before God had expressly commanded them not to make any graven image, and how many cautious he had afterward given them against doing any such thing. Yet thou forsookest them not in the wilderness — Where, if thou hadst left them without thy conduct and support, they would have been utterly undone and lost. The pillar of cloud departed not, &c. — Notwithstanding their great provocations, thou didst still continue thy gracious presence among them, of which the pillar of the cloud was a glorious token. Nehemiah 9:19 Yet thou in thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness: the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to shew them light, and the way wherein they should go. Nehemiah 9:20 Thou gavest also thy good spirit to instruct them, and withheldest not thy manna from their mouth, and gavest them water for their thirst. Nehemiah 9:20 . Thou gavest also thy good Spirit to instruct them — Which thou didst graciously and plentifully impart, first unto Moses, and then unto the seventy elders, ( Numbers 11:17-26 ,) to the end that they might be able to direct and govern thy people wisely, and in thy fear. Nehemiah 9:21 Yea, forty years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing; their clothes waxed not old, and their feet swelled not. Nehemiah 9:22 Moreover thou gavest them kingdoms and nations, and didst divide them into corners: so they possessed the land of Sihon, and the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og king of Bashan. Nehemiah 9:22 . And didst divide them into corners — That is, the heathen nations, whom God in a great measure destroyed, and the remainders of them he dispersed into corners; that whereas, before the Israelites came, they had large habitations, now they were cooped up, some in one town, and some in another, in the several corners of their land, while the Israelites dwelt in a large place, and had the possession of their whole land, some few and small parcels excepted. Nehemiah 9:23 Their children also multipliedst thou as the stars of heaven, and broughtest them into the land, concerning which thou hadst promised to their fathers, that they should go in to possess it . Nehemiah 9:24 So the children went in and possessed the land, and thou subduedst before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gavest them into their hands, with their kings, and the people of the land, that they might do with them as they would. Nehemiah 9:25 And they took strong cities, and a fat land, and possessed houses full of all goods, wells digged, vineyards, and oliveyards, and fruit trees in abundance: so they did eat, and were filled, and became fat, and delighted themselves in thy great goodness. Nehemiah 9:25-26 . And delighted them in thy great goodness — In all those comforts and blessings which, by thy great goodness, they obtained and enjoyed. Nevertheless they cast thy law behind their backs — They neglected and despised thy laws, would not regard nor observe them; whereas they ought to have had them continually before their eyes, to direct and govern them in all their ways. The good things they enjoyed in the land which God had given them, made them wanton and forgetful of God and his commandments. And slew thy prophets — Of which see the margin. Nehemiah 9:26 Nevertheless they were disobedient, and rebelled against thee, and cast thy law behind their backs, and slew thy prophets which testified against them to turn them to thee, and they wrought great provocations. Nehemiah 9:27 Therefore thou deliveredst them into the hand of their enemies, who vexed them: and in the time of their trouble, when they cried unto thee, thou heardest them from heaven; and according to thy manifold mercies thou gavest them saviours, who saved them out of the hand of their enemies. Nehemiah 9:27 . When they cried unto thee, &c. — The whole book of Judges verities this, that God delivered them for their sins unto the Moabites, the Canaanites, and divers other enemies, who grievously domineered over them; but when they cried to God for help, he was so gracious as to send such men as Barak, Gideon, and others, to be their saviours, that is, deliverers, from tyranny. Nehemiah 9:28 But after they had rest, they did evil again before thee: therefore leftest thou them in the hand of their enemies, so that they had the dominion over them: yet when they returned, and cried unto thee, thou heardest them from heaven; and many times didst thou deliver them according to thy mercies; Nehemiah 9:28-29 . Therefore leftest thou them in the hand of their enemies — God so abandoned them once, that he permitted the Philistines to rule over them forty years, ( Jdg 13:1 ,) unto which, perhaps, this passage refers. Many times didst thou deliver them according to thy mercies — Nothing else could have moved God to do it, but his own essential goodness and mercy, they being, in all ages, inconstant in their obedience, and prone to backslide from him; and testifiedst against them — By many remarkable punishments he testified how highly he was displeased with them, that he might reform them. Yet they dealt proudly — Against what one would have expected should have humbled them, God’s judgments; and, from time to time, they became more bold and obstinate in their sins. And withdrew the shoulder — A metaphor taken from refractory oxen, that draw back, and will not submit to the yoke. Nehemiah 9:29 And testifiedst against them, that thou mightest bring them again unto thy law: yet they dealt proudly, and hearkened not unto thy commandments, but sinned against thy judgments, (which if a man do, he shall live in them;) and withdrew the shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not hear. Nehemiah 9:30 Yet many years didst thou forbear them, and testifiedst against them by thy spirit in thy prophets: yet would they not give ear: therefore gavest thou them into the hand of the people of the lands. Nehemiah 9:30 . Many years didst thou forbear them — Thou didst delay to bring upon them those judgments which thou hadst threatened, and they had deserved, and didst wait for their repentance. And testifiedst against them by thy Spirit in thy prophets — Who spake to them by thy divine inspiration, whom therefore they ought to have obeyed. Yet would they not give ear — That is, would not obey them, or even vouchsafe so much as to hear them. Therefore gavest thou them into the hand of the people of the lands — At last God delivered them into the hands of the Chaldeans, who are called the people of the lands, because they got possession of all the neighbouring countries, which God put under their power, as he had other countries beyond the Euphrates. Nehemiah 9:31 Nevertheless for thy great mercies' sake thou didst not utterly consume them, nor forsake them; for thou art a gracious and merciful God. Nehemiah 9:31 . Nevertheless, thou didst not utterly consume them — But didst leave a remnant of the poorer people in the land, and show favour to the captives in Babylon. For thou art a gracious and merciful God — To which alone they owed their preservation from utter destruction. Nehemiah 9:32 Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the terrible God, who keepest covenant and mercy, let not all the trouble seem little before thee, that hath come upon us, on our kings, on our princes, and on our priests, and on our prophets, and on our fathers, and on all thy people, since the time of the kings of Assyria unto this day. Nehemiah 9:32-33 . Who keepest covenant and mercy — He adds mercy, because the covenant in itself was not a sufficient ground of hope, because they having so basely broken it, God was discharged from keeping it, and therefore they flee to his free and rich mercy for relief. Howbeit, thou art just in all that is brought upon us — We cannot complain of any of thy dispensations toward us, for the whole series of our history shows that thou art just in all thy ways toward the children of men. It becomes us, when we are under the rebukes of Providence, be they ever so sharp, or ever so long continued, still to justify God, and to own we are punished less than our iniquities deserve. Nehemiah 9:33 Howbeit thou art just in all that is brought upon us; for thou hast done right, but we have done wickedly: Nehemiah 9:34 Neither have our kings, our princes, our priests, nor our fathers, kept thy law, nor hearkened unto thy commandments and thy testimonies, wherewith thou didst testify against them. Nehemiah 9:35 For they have not served thee in their kingdom, and in thy great goodness that thou gavest them, and in the large and fat land which thou gavest before them, neither turned they from their wicked works. Nehemiah 9:35 . For they served thee not in the land which thou gavest them — That is, which thou didst lay open to their view and possession; removing their enemies, and all impediments, out of the way. Neither turned they from their wicked works — They not only all acted wickedly, from the highest to the lowest, but would not be reclaimed. Thus they acknowledge the justice of God in all the punishments he had inflicted on them, though heavy and of long continuance. Nehemiah 9:36 Behold, we are servants this day, and for the land that thou gavest unto our fathers to eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof, behold, we are servants in it: Nehemiah 9:36 . Behold, we are servants in the land — In that land wherein heretofore, under thee, and by thy favour, we were rightful lords and owners. God had, indeed, marvellously restored them to their own country; yet the marks of his displeasure for their sins still remained very visible: for they were tributary unto others, and not free owners and proprietors of the land which God had given to their fathers. Nehemiah 9:37 And it yieldeth much increase unto the kings whom thou hast set over us because of our sins: also they have dominion over our bodies, and over our cattle, at their pleasure, and we are in great distress. Nehemiah 9:37 . And it yieldeth much increase unto the kings, &c. — We plough, and sow, and labour, and thou givest thy blessing to our endeavours; and yet in a great measure this is not for ourselves, as formerly it was, but for our kings, to whom we pay heavy tributes. Also they have dominion over our bodies — Which are liable to be pressed, to serve in the king’s wars, or in his works. And over our cattle at their pleasure — Our cattle are liable to be made use of, when there is occasion to employ them about the king’s business. And we are in great distress — Though we are permitted to live by our own laws, which we account a great privilege, yet we lie under these public burdens, and are compelled to bear them. Thus, as Mr. Peters observes, this prayer contains a beautiful epitome of the history of the Jews, raised and animated by a spirit of devotion, which appears in all that moving eloquence so well suited to the great occasion; and, at the same time, with all that chasteness and correctness of thought and expression, which so eminently distinguish the sacred writings of this sort from all merely human compositions. Nehemiah 9:38 And because of all this we make a sure covenant , and write it ; and our princes, Levites, and priests, seal unto it . Nehemiah 9:38 . Because of all this we make a sure covenant — Considering all this, they resolved to renew their covenant with God for better obedience, which they promise as the only remedy to procure perfect deliverance. And to make it more effectual, they seem to have declared this in the presence of God, at the conclusion of the foregoing confession and prayer. And write it — It was but of little consequence what such a refractory people promised, even in writing; for what regard would they have to their own hand-writing, who regarded not the ten commandments, written on tables of stone by the finger of God? It was, however, very useful that there should be a public instrument to convince them of their impiety, that they might be publicly confounded if they proved perfidious deserters, by showing them their engagements, under their own hands, to future fidelity. And our princes, Levites, and priests, seal unto it — Thus they would become witnesses against themselves if they dealt deceitfully. Benson Commentary on the Old and New Testaments Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.

Expositor's Bible Commentary Nehemiah 9:1 Now in the twenty and fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, and with sackclothes, and earth upon them. THE RELIGION OF HISTORY Nehemiah 9:1-38 AFTER the carnival-Lent. This Catholic procedure was anticipated by the Jews in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah. The merry feast of Tabernacles was scarcely over, when, permitting an interval of but a single day, the citizens of Jerusalem plunged into a demonstration of mourning-fasting, sitting in sackcloth, casting dust on their heads, abjuring foreign connections, confessing their own and their fathers’ sins. Although the singular revulsion of feeling may have been quite spontaneous on the part of the people, the violent reaction to which it gave rise was sanctioned by the authorities. In an open-air meeting which lasted for six hours-three of Bible-reading and three of confession and worship-the Levites took the lead, as they had done at the publication of The Law a few weeks earlier. But these very men had rebuked the former outburst of lamentation. Must we suppose that their only objection on that occasion was that the mourning was then untimely, because it was indulged in at a festival, whereas it ought to have been postponed to a fast day? If that were all, we should have to contemplate a miserably artificial condition of affairs. Real emotions refuse to come and go at the bidding of officials pedantically set on regulating their alternate recurrence in accordance with a calendar of the church year. A theatrical representation of feeling may be drilled into some such orderly procession. But true feeling itself is of all things in the universe the most restive under direct orders. We must look a little deeper. The Levites had given a great spiritual reason for the restraint of grief in their wonderful utterance, "The joy of the Lord is your strength." This noble thought is not an elixir to be administered or withheld according to the recurrence of ecclesiastical dates. If it is true at all, it is eternally true. Although the application of it is not always a fact of experience, the reason for the fluctuations in our personal relations to it is not to be looked for in the almanac; it will be found in those dark passages of human life which, of their own accord, shut out the sunlight of Divine gladness. There is then no absolute inconsistency in the action of the Levites. And yet perhaps they may have perceived that they had been hasty in their repression of the first outburst of grief, or at all events that they did not then see the whole truth of the matter. There was some ground for lamentation after all, and though the expression of sorrow at a festival seemed to them untimely, they were bound to admit its fitness a little later. It is to be observed that another subject was now brought under the notice of the people. The contemplation of the revelation of God’s will should not produce grief. But the consideration of man’s conduct cannot but lead to that result. At the reading of the Divine law the Jews’ lamentation was rebuked; at the recital of their own history it was encouraged. Yet even here it was not to be abject and hopeless. The Levites exhorted the people to shake off the lethargy of sorrow, to stand up and bless the Lord their God. Even in the very act of confessing sin we have a special reason for praising God, because the consciousness of our guilt in His sight must heighten our appreciation of His marvellous forbearance. The Jews’ confession of sin led up to a prayer which the Septuagint ascribes to Ezra. It does so, however, in a phrase that manifestly breaks the context, and thus betrays its origin in an interpolation. { Ezra 9:6-15 } Nevertheless the tone of the prayer, and even its very language, remind us forcibly of the Great Scribe’s outpouring of soul over the mixed marriages of his people recorded in Ezra 9:1-15 . No one was more fitted to lead the Jews in the later act of devotion, and it is only reasonable to conclude that the work was undertaken by the one man to whose lot it would naturally fall. The prayer is very like some of the historical psalms. By pointing to the variegated picture of the History of Israel, it shows how God reveals Himself through events. This suggests the probability that the three hours’ reading of the fast day had been taken from the historical parts of the Pentateuch. The religious teachers of Israel knew what riches of instruction were buried in the history of their nation, and they had the wisdom to unearth those treasures for the benefit of their own age. It is strange that we English have made so little use of a national history that is not a whit less providential, although it does not glitter with visible miracles. God has spoken to England as truly through the defeat of the Spanish Armada, the Puritan Wars, and the Revolution, as ever He spoke to Israel by means of the Exodus, the Captivity, and the Return. The arrangement and method of the prayer lend themselves to a singularly forcible presentation of its main topics, with heightening effect as it proceeds in a recapitulation of great historical landmarks. It opens with an outburst of praise to God. In saying that Jehovah is God alone, it makes more than a cold pronouncement of Jewish monotheism; it confesses the practical supremacy of God over His universe, and therefore over His people and their enemies. God is adored as the Creator of heaven, and, perhaps with an allusion to the prevalent Gentile title "God of heaven," as even the Maker of the heaven of heavens, of that higher heaven of which the starry firmament is but the gold-sprinkled floor. There, in those far-off, unseen heights, He is adored. But earth and sea, with all that inhabit them, are also God’s works. From the highest to the lowest, over great and small, He reigns supreme. This glowing expression of adoration constitutes a suitable exordium. It is right and fitting that we should approach God in the attitude of pure worship, for the moment entirely losing ourselves in the contemplation of Him. This is the loftiest act of prayer, far above the selfish shriek for help in dire distress to which unspiritual men confine their utterance before God. It is also the most enlightening preparation for those lower forms of devotion that cannot be neglected so long as we are engaged on earth with our personal needs and sins, because it is necessary for us first of all to know what God is, and to be able to contemplate the thought of His being and nature, if we would understand the course of His action among men, or see our sins in the only true light-the light of His countenance. We can best trace the course of low-lying valleys from a mountain height. The primary act of adoration illumines and directs the thanksgiving, confession, and petition that follow. He who has once seen God knows how to look at the world and his own heart, without being misled by earthly glamour or personal prejudice. In tracking the course of revelation through history, the author of the prayer follows two threads. First one and then the other is uppermost, but it is the interweaving of them that gives the definite pattern of the whole picture. These are God’s grace and man’s sin. The method of the prayer is to bring them into view alternately, as they are illustrated in the History of Israel. The result is like a drama of several acts, and three scenes in each act. Although we see progress and a continuous heightening of effect, there is a startling resemblance between the successive acts, and the relative characters of the scenes remain the same throughout. In the first scene we always behold the free and generous favour of God offered to the people He condescends to bless, altogether apart from any merits or claims on their part. In the second we are forced to look at the ugly picture of Israel’s ingratitude and rebellion. But this is invariably followed by a third scene, which depicts the wonderful patience and long-suffering of God, and His active aid in delivering His guilty people from the troubles they have brought on their own heads by their sins, whenever they turn to Him in penitence. The recital opens where the Jews delighted to trace their origin, in Ur of the Chaldees. These returned exiles from Babylon are reminded that at the very dawn of their ancestral history the same district was the starting-point. The guiding hand of God was seen in bringing up the Father of the Nation in that far-off tribal migration from Chaldaea to Canaan. At first the Divine action did not need to exhibit all the traits of grace and power that were seen later, because Abraham was not a captive. Then, too, there was no rebellion, for Abraham was faithful. Thus the first scene opens with the mild radiance of early morning. As yet there is nothing tragic on either side. The chief characteristic of this scene is its promise, and the author of the prayer anticipates some of the later scenes by interjecting a grateful recognition of the faithfulness of God in keeping His word. "For Thou art righteous," he says. { Nehemiah 9:8 } This truth is the keynote to the prayer. The thought of it is always present as an undertone, and it emerges clearly again towards the conclusion, where, however, it wears a very different garb. There we see how in view of man’s sin God’s righteousness inflicts chastisement. But the intention of the author is to show that throughout all the vicissitudes of history God holds on to His straight line of righteousness, unwavering. It is just because He does not change that His action must be modified in order to adjust itself to the shifting behaviour of men and women. It is the very immutability of God that requires Him to show Himself froward with the froward, although He is merciful with the merciful. The chief events of the Exodus are next briefly recapitulated, in order to enlarge the picture of God’s early goodness to Israel. Here we may discern more than promise; the fulfilment now begins. Here, too, God is seen in that specific activity of deliverance which comes more and more to the front as the history proceeds. While the calamities of the people grow worse and worse, God reveals Himself with ever-increasing force as the Redeemer of Israel. The plagues of Egypt, the passage of the Red Sea, the drowning of the Egyptians, the cloud-pillar by day and the pillar of fire by night, the descent on Sinai for the giving of The Law-in which connection the one law of the Sabbath is singled out, a point to be noted in view of the great prominence given to it later on-the manna, and the water from the rock, are all signs and proofs of God’s exceeding kindness towards His people. But now we are directed to a very different scene. In spite of all this never-ceasing, this ever-accumulating goodness of God, the infatuated people rebel, appoint a captain to take them back to Egypt, and relapse into idolatry. This is the human side of the history, shown up in its deep blackness against the luminous splendour of the heavenly background. Then comes the marvellous third scene, the scene that should melt the hardest heart. God does not cast off His people. The privileges enumerated before are carefully repeated, to show that God has not withdrawn them. Still the cloud-pillar guides by day and the fire-pillar by night. Still the manna and the water are supplied. But this is not all. Between these two pairs of favours a new one is now inserted. God gives His "good Spirit" to instruct the people. The author does not seem to be referring to any one specific event, as that of the Spirit falling on the elders, or the incident of the unauthorised prophet, or the bestowal of the Spirit on the artists of the tabernacle. We should rather conclude from the generality of his terms that he is thinking of the gift of the Spirit in each of these cases, and also in every other way in which the Divine Presence was felt in the hearts of the people. Prone to wander, they needed and they received this inward monitor. Thus God showed His great forbearance, by even extending His grace and giving more help because the need was greater. From this picture of the wilderness life we are led on to the conquest of the Promised Land. The Israelites overthrow the kings east of the Jordan, and take possession of their territories. Growing in numbers, after a time they are strong enough to cross the Jordan, seize the land of Canaan, and subdue the aboriginal inhabitants. Then we see them settling down in their new home and inheriting the products of the labours of their more civilised predecessors. All this is a further proof of the favour of God. Yet again the dreadful scene of ingratitude is repeated, and that in an aggravated form. A wild fury of rebellion takes hold of the wicked people. They rise up against their God, fling His Torah behind their backs, murder the prophets He sends to warn them, and sink down into the greatest wickedness. The head and front of their offence is the rejection of the sacred Torah. The word Torah-law or instruction-must here be taken in its widest sense to comprehend both the utterances of the prophets and the tradition of the priests, although it is represented to the contemporaries of Ezra by its crown and completion, the Pentateuch. In this second act of heightened energy on both sides, while the characters of the actors are developing with stronger features, we have a third scene-forgiveness and deliverance from God. Then the action moves more rapidly. It becomes almost confused. In general terms, with a few swift strokes, the author sketches a succession of similar movements-indeed he does little more than hint at them. We cannot see how often the threefold process was repeated, only we perceive that it always recurred in the same form. Yet the very monotony deepens the impression of the whole drama-so madly persistent was the backsliding habit of Israel, so grandly continuous was the patient long-suffering of God. We lose all count of the alternating scenes of light and darkness as we look at them down the long vista of the ages. And yet it is not necessary that we should assort them. The perspective may escape us; all the more must we feel the force of the process which is characterised by so powerful a unity of movement. Coming nearer to his own time, the author of the prayer expands into detail again. While the kingdom lasted God did not cease to plead with His people. They disregarded His voice, but His Spirit was in the prophets, and the long line of heavenly messengers was a living testimony to the Divine forbearance. Heedless of this greatest and best means of bringing them back to their forsaken allegiance, the Jews were at length given over to the heathen. Yet that tremendous calamity was not without its mitigations. They were not utterly consumed. Even now God did not forsake them. He followed them into their captivity. This was apparent in the continuous advent of prophets-such as the Second Isaiah and Ezekiel-who appeared and delivered their oracles in the land of exile; it was most gloriously manifest in the return under Cyrus. Such long-continued goodness, beyond the utmost excess of the nation’s sin, surpassed all that could have been hoped for. It went beyond the promises of God; it could not be wholly comprehended in His faithfulness. Therefore another Divine attribute is now revealed. At first the prayer made mention of God’s righteousness, which was seen in the gift of Canaan as a fulfilment of the promise to Abraham, so that the author remarked, in regard to the performance of the Divine word, "for Thou art righteous." But now he reflects on the greater kindness, the uncovenanted kindness of the Exile and the Return: "for Thou art a gracious and merciful God." { Nehemiah 9:31 } We can only account for such extended goodness by ascribing it to the infinite love of God. Having thus brought his review down to his own day, in the concluding passage of the prayer the author appeals to God with reference to the present troubles of His people. In doing so he first returns to his contemplation of the nature of God. Three Divine characteristics rise up before him, -first, majesty ("the great, the mighty, the terrible God"), second, fidelity (keeping "covenant"), third, compassion (keeping "mercy"). { Nehemiah 9:32 } On this threefold plea he beseeches God that all the national trouble which has been endured since the first Assyrian invasion may not "seem little" to Him. The greatness of God might appear to induce disregard of the troubles of His poor human children, and yet it would really lead to the opposite result. It is only the limited faculty that cannot stoop to small things because its attention is confined to large affairs. Infinity reaches to the infinitely little as readily as to the infinitely great. With the appeal for compassion goes a confession of sin, which is national rather than personal. All sections of the community on which the calamities have fallen-with the significant exception of the prophets who had possessed God’s Spirit, and who had been so grievously persecuted by their fellow countrymen-all are united in a common guilt. The solidarity of the Jewish race is here apparent. We saw in the earlier case of the sin-offering that the religion of Israel was national rather than personal. The punishment of the captivity was a national discipline; now the confession is for national sin. And yet the sin is confessed distributively, with regard to the several sections of society. We cannot feel our national sin in the bulk. It must be brought home to us in our several walks of life. After this confession the prayer deplores the present state of the Jews. No reference is now made to the temporary annoyance occasioned by the attacks of the Samaritans. The building of the walls has put an end to that nuisance. But the permanent evil is more deeply rooted. The Jews are mournfully conscious of their subject state beneath the Persian yoke. They have returned to their city, but they are no more free men than they were in Babylon. Like the fellaheen of Syria today, they have to pay heavy tribute, which takes the best of the produce of their labour. They are subject to the conscription, having to serve in the armies of the Great King-Herodotus tells us that there were "Syrians of Palestine" in the army of Xerxes. Their cattle are seized by the officers of the government, arbitrarily, "at their pleasure." Did Nehemiah know of this complaint? If so, might there not be some ground for the suspicion of the informers after all? Was that suspicion one reason for his recall to Susa? We cannot answer these questions. As to the prayer, this leaves the whole case with God. It would have been dangerous to have said more in the hearing of the spies who haunted the streets of Jerusalem. And it was needless. It is not the business of prayer to try to move the hand of God. It is enough that we lay bare our state before Him, trusting His wisdom as well as His grace-not dictating to God, but confiding in Him. The Expositor's Bible Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.