Holy Bible

And when the seventh month was come. Ezra 3 Rebuilding the temple Willard G. Sperry. : — I. THEY BEGAN BY RE-ESTABLISHING THE WORSHIP AND SERVICE OF THE HOLY PLACE. They set up an altar, and offered the daily sacrifice. A wise beginning. Their task was hard, and they did well to begin with God. They made the right use of fear. It stirred them up to religious duty. II. BEFORE SETTING THEMSELVES TO THEIR TASKS THEY KEPT THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES. The full repression of our religious joy, even though it be prolonged, will not delay the performance of life's severer tasks. It is a suitable preparation for them. III. THEY USED THEIR TREASURES IN SECURING THE BEST MATERIALS AND THE MOST SKILLED LABOUR. IV. THE FOUNDATIONS WERE LAID AMIDST ACCLAMATIONS OF JOY. Many of the psalms which fill the Psalter with joyous strains were doubtless sung or composed on this occasion. V. IT WAS, HOWEVER, A JOY MINGLED WITH SORROW. ( Willard G. Sperry. ) Rebuilding the temple D. J. Burrell, D. D. I. THE FIRST THING THEY DID WAS TO REBUILD THE ALTAR. This was a right beginning. The altar of sacrifice was the centre of the Jewish religion; just as its antitype, the Cross, is the centre of Christianity. The Cross is our altar; it stands at the centre of our religion. 1. The altar of burnt-offering in this instance was intended as a safeguard. There is no security like that which a timid soul finds under the shadow of the altar ( Psalm 84:3 ). A man is never so safe from adverse influences as when upon his knees. 2. This altar was "set upon its bases" — that is, it was restored upon its former foundations. There is virtue in observing old landmarks. Some things never grow obsolete. Air and water and sunlight are just what they always were, nor is human ingenuity likely to improve them in any way. There are some truths which bear to our spiritual constitution the same relation that light does to the eyes and water to the lungs. Nothing can amend or improve them. There may be new formulations, new modes of presentation; but the altar of the Christian religion will stand on its old bases as long as time endures. 3. The ceremonies of this restored altar were conducted after the prescribed form. II. THEY NEXT PREPARED FOR THE REBUILDING OF THEIR TEMPLE. 1. The altar meanwhile was kept in constant use. Its fires never went out. There was no lack of offerings upon it. The people had learned by sad experience their dependence upon God. 2. There was little difficulty in collecting the necessary funds. 3. The workmen were secured by generous outlay and paid promptly when the wages fell due. 4. The materials for the temple were collected from every quarter. Tyre and Sidon and the forests of Lebanon were put under contribution. Thus God ever utilises the nations. The Caesars built highways for the propagation of the gospel. Soulless corporations in our time are binding the far corners of the earth together with iron bands and cables, not knowing nor caring that God's kingdom is thus being ushered in. ( D. J. Burrell, D. D. ) Rebuilding the temple W. Clarkson, B. A. I. RELIGION IS; OR SHOULD BE, A UNITING FORCE. II. WE NEED NOT, AND SHOULD NOT, WALT BEFORE WE WORSHIP GOD. III. THERE SHOULD BE SOME REGULARITY IN OUR DEVOTION. IV. OUR OFFERING MUST COME FROM THE HEART AS WELL AS FROM THE HAND. V. THE CAUSE OF CHRIST MUST HAVE THE REST SERVICE WE CAN SECURE. VI. SOME TAKE A HIGHER, SOME A HUMBLER POST IN THE SERVICE OF GOD. VII. WE DO WELL TO REJOICE WHEN WE LAY THE FOUNDATION OF A USEFUL WORK. VIII. JOY IS SAFE AND WISE WHEN IT PASSES INTO PRAISE. IX. SORROW AND JOY BLEND STRANGELY IN THE EVENTS OF LIFE. ( W. Clarkson, B. A. ) The benefits of the captivity Monday Club Sermons. Notice — I. THE PEOPLE ARE AGAIN HEARTILY UNITED IN ACTION. They "gathered themselves together as one man to Jerusalem." These cheering words sound like a reminiscence of the best days of David, Hezekiah, and Josiah. A revival of union was sorely needed. The last three reigns before the captivity had been marked by unnatural discords. The providential cure of this evil was captivity. Two generations at least must pass away, and their feuds be buried with them; the worth of a temple and the blessing of a pure worship must be learned by their loss. This method of cementing nations was not new, and it has been exemplified since in almost countless instances. Every forward movement in society seems to be preceded by seasons of trial, whose hot fires are needed to fuse the heart and will of the people into one. II. THEY MADE A RIGHT BEGINNING OF THEIR WORK. They began with an altar. Can this be the same people whose closing record seventy years before had been that "they polluted the house of the Lord"? Reverence as well as union had been developed by captivity. They might have begun by clearing away the ruins, but that would have been a second step before the first; not even the rubbish of an unhallowed past may be touched without the blessing of God; they might have held a council to determine what they would do, but this would have been taking their own advice first and afterwards seeking the endorsement of Jehovah; they might have raised the walls around the spot before building the altar upon it, but that would have been asking God to own what He had been allowed no share in directing. On the contrary, with a reverence chastened by long exile they began with the altar itself. Where else would they have begun and not blundered? This order of building has always prospered. Ambitions, plans, hopes even, waited upon praise and supplication, and more than half the first year was devoted to continuous sacrifice and petition. What years of bitter deprival had taught them this dependence! But bitter sweetness let it be called, blessed bondage, to produce this wholesome fruit of reverence. III. IN THE FORM OF THEIR WORSHIP THEY RETURNED SCRUPULOUSLY TO THE PATTERN ON THE MOUNT. They not only offered burnt-offerings, but they offered them " as it is written." They kept feasts by name not only, but in the way prescribed by the law of Moses. Their new moons and free-will offerings were those only that the Lord had consecrated in days past. This exact respect for the letter of the law shows how truly they appreciated the real cause of the national calamities. Every disaster since the days of Josiah had come from departing from the way of the Lord. A careless liberalism in worship had begotten a wicked license in the court and home life. It is one sign, therefore, that Judah's captivity was not in vain, that the first inquiry of the people after setting up the new altar was this, "How is it written to worship?" and a better sign, that they conformed to the Divine pattern as scrupulously as if it had come but yesterday from the flaming Mount. Many are the evils suspected of a too rigid adherence to the Divine command. But where has a nation or an individual been ruined by a too scrupulous obedience? Not too much conscience, but too little; not strictness, but license is the national danger. Hence great reforms sweeping over the land always drive the people back to the simpler living, the holier thinking, and the minuter obedience of the fathers. The despised writing of the past is reopened, the neglected pattern of the Mount is clothed with a new authority, and so men returning unto God find God returned to them. IV. THE WORSHIP OF THE PEOPLE WAS ACCOMPANIED WITH THEIR GIFTS. "They gave money also unto the masons and to the carpenters," and their meat and drink and oil they exchanged for the sacred cedars of Lebanon. Surely, if any people might have found excuse for building on credit, they were these poor colonists, who had their burned cities to revive. They were building, too, for the future. Why should not the future share the cost? But these modern apologies for debt were then unknown. They remembered the story of the first tabernacle, the free-will offerings of their fathers and mothers. Something richer than cedar and brick must compose every true temple of worship. If the heart of the people, their love and devotion, are not built into the rising walls, they go up in vain; captivities are not in vain which thus revive the grace of self-sacrifice. V. THE HOLY JOY WITH WHICH THEY FINALLY LAY THE FIRST STONE. With that stone an undisciplined people would have gone months before, but not these children of the captivity. There are spiritual foundations lower than the cornerstone of any temple, and these we have seen the people had been seven months in laying and seventy years in learning to lay — unity, reverence, obedience, and self-sacrifice. With a just and well-earned joy, therefore, they might lay on these settled foundations their first visible stone. It was not the joy of pride, for to themselves they took no praise. It was a tuneful joy, for they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks to God. It was a hearty joy, for all the people shouted with a great shout. This holy jubilee marked the break of a new day in the history of Israel. Weeping had endured for a long night of seventy years. This was the joy of the morning, and the happy dawn was all the brighter for the shadows that lay behind it. The joy that follows discipline and is earned by repentance and obedience is perhaps the sweetest joy known to men in this world. VI. THE HEALTHFUL SORROW AND REGRETS THAT TEMPERED THESE OUTBURSTS OF JOY. Undisciplined joy is sure to be giddy, but the joy of these returning exiles has in its sweet a dash of bitter, which saves it from hurtful excess. Many of the old men of the nation had seen the first house. They could not forget its glory. They remembered also, it may be, the impiety of their own days, and possibly of their own hearts, which hastened the nation's shame. Something of self-reproach must mingle with that regret. The new house bids fair to stand, for it is founded for use. No foolish display taints the plan. A mighty hunger after Jehovah impels them to make Him a dwelling-place in their midst. A Church thus rooted in real spiritual want comes near indeed to the true ideal of a spiritual home. Every attitude of the builders also is a propitiation of Jehovah. He will certainly accept their work, for their union is perfect; their reverence is simple, sincere; their obedience unforced; their self-sacrifice ungrudging. Here are the materials of all acceptable sacrifice. An altar built in this spirit will never want fire. ( Monday Club Sermons. ) A working Church Willis S. Hinman. 1. All at work: "The people gathered themselves together." 2. All working in unison: "As one man." A massed force is a winning force. 3. All working obediently: "As it is written in the law." Christian activity not a sentiment but a duty. "To the law and the testimony." 4. All working unceasingly: "As the duty of every day required. The daily performance of Christian duty leaves no arrears. ( Willis S. Hinman. ) And they set the altar upon his bases The altar set up E. Day. I. IN A NEW HOME THE FIRST THING THEY SHOULD DO WHO FEAR GOD IS TO SET UP AN ALTAR THERE. II. THE SERVICE OF THOSE WHO ARE OF ONE HEART IS WHAT HE TAKES PLEASURE IN ( Acts 2:1 ; Acts 4:32 ). III. THE BEST OF DEFENCES IS THE FAVOUR OF GOD, AND SO AN ALTAR MAY BE A STRONGER BULWARK THAN A FORTRESS. ( E. Day. ) The rebuilding of the altar William Jones. I. UNANIMITY AND ZEAL IN DIVINE WORSHIP. II. SACRIFICE IN DIVINE WORSHIP. This suggests — 1. Man's need of atonement with God. 2. Man's duty of consecration to God. III. RESPECT FOR PRECEDENT IN DIVINE WORSHIP. There are memories and associations clinging around certain ancient forms and places hallowed by holy uses which greatly stimulate and enrich the devout heart. IV. CONFORMITY TO SCRIPTURE IN DIVINE WORSHIP. V. FEAR OF ENEMIES IN DIVINE WORSHIP. 1. The fear of enemies should not intimidate us from the worship of God. 2. The fear of enemies should impel us to worship God. VI. REGULARITY IN DIVINE WORSHIP. The offering of the daffy sacrifice suggests — 1. Our daily need of atonement with God. 2. Our daily need of renewed consecration. 3. Our daily need of renewed blessings. ( William Jones. ) Sacred to Jehovah Sunday School. When a British vessel comes to an uninhabited country, or one inhabited only by savages, the captain goes on shore with a boat's crew, and, after landing, he unfurls the Union Jack and takes possession of the whole country in the name of Queen Victoria and his native land. He plants the flagstaff, and no foreign nation dare come and knock it down, or pull down the ensign of the power of Britain. So the priest built first the altar of sacrifice to show that the place was sacred to Jehovah, and that they and all the people were His servants. ( Sunday School. ) They kept also the feast of tabernacles, as it is written Preparations for building E. Day. I. IT IS ONLY IGNORANT, SELF-SUFFICIENT PEOPLE WHO DESPISE THE EXPERIENCE OF THE PAST TREASURED UP IN HISTORY. II. IF WE CANNOT HAVE FOR GOD'S WORSHIP ALL THE EXTERNAL PROPRIETIES WE DESIRE, WE ARE NOT TO WAIT TILL WE CAN GET THEM. III. THE EXTERNALS OF WORSHIP ARE NOTHING TO GOD, EXCEPT SO FAR AS THEY INFLUENCE US OR ARE EXPRESSIVE OF SOMETHING IN US. ( E. Day. ) The celebration of the sacred festivals resumed William Jones. I. THE COMMEMORATION IN DIVINE. WORSHIP OF NATIONAL EXPERIENCES AND BLESSINGS. 1. It was a memorial of the emancipation of Israel from Egypt, teaching us that we should cherish the memory of former mercies ( Leviticus 23 . 43). 2. It was a memorial of their life in the wilderness, reminding us that our present condition is that of strangers and pilgrims ( Leviticus 23 . 40-43; Hebrews 13:14 ). 3. It was a thanksgiving for rest and a settled abode in the promised land, suggesting the certainty and blessedness of the rest which remains for the people of God ( Leviticus 23:40 ; Revelation 7:9 ). 4. It was a thanksgiving for the completed harvest, teaching us to receive the precious fruits of the earth as the kind gifts of a bountiful Providence ( Exodus 23:16 ; Leviticus 23:39 ; Deuteronomy 16:13-15 ). II. THE CELEBRATION IN RELIGIOUS WORSHIP OF THE NATURAL DIVISIONS OF TIME. "And of the new moons." What was the design of this religious celebration of "the beginning of their months"? 1. To impress them with the value of time. 2. To assist them to form a correct estimate of their life upon earth. 3. To arouse them to make a wise use of the time which remained to them. III. THE PRESENTATION IN DIVINE WORSHIP OF PERSONAL VOLUNTARY OFFERINGS. ( William Jones. ) As the duty of every day required. Ezra 3:4 The work of the day in the day W. Jay. Time in the hands of many — I use the words of Solomon — is "a price in the hand of fools." They know not its value. It is in the margin, "the matter of the day in his day." This has grown into a proverbial saying among those who love Scripture phraseology; and teaches us that we should do the work of the day in the day. I. We may apply this TO LIFE IN GENERAL. "To-day if ye will hear His voice harden not your heart." "Behold now is the day of salvation." "I must work the works of Him that sent Me while it is day; the night cometh wherein no man can work." II. It will apply TO PROSPERITY. This is called a day, and Solomon tells us the duty of it, "In the day of prosperity be joyful." He cannot, we may be assured, intend to countenance extravagance or excess. Those men are to be pitied who possess much and enjoy little; who have the blessings of life in abundance but no heart to use them. These generally promise themselves great enjoyment hereafter when they have obtained so much. We should never sacrifice present happiness to future imaginations. God, like a generous friend, is pleased to see His presents enjoyed — "to enjoy is to obey." Another thing that the duty of this day requires is gratitude. The more you have received from God, the greater is your obligation to Him. And surely the duty of this day requires liberality. He had others in view as well as yourselves in all that He has done for you. III. It will apply TO ADVERSITY. This also is called a day, and it is said, "In the day of adversity consider." You are to consider the alleviations of your suffering; how much worse it might have been; and to compare your resources with your difficulties. Another part of the duty of this day is submission. The duty of this day also requires prayer. "Call upon Me in the day of trouble." IV. We may apply it TO THE SABBATH. This is called "the Lord's day," because it is consecrated to the memory of His resurrection, and is employed in His service. But as to advantage it is our day. It "was made for man." Such a season has peculiar claims upon us, and we are commanded "to sanctify it, calling the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord honourable; not doing our own ways, nor finding our own pleasure, nor speaking our own words." Can this be doing all the duty of the day? When once a regard for the Sabbath is gone everything serious goes with it. Have we to learn this? V. It will apply TO EVERY DAY. No day comes without its appropriate duty. We are to be diligent in our respective callings. And not only so — but we are to do everything in its season; to do the work of the day in the day, and not leave it till to-morrow. 1. Because we may not live till to-morrow. "We know not what a day may bring forth." 2. Each day will have its own engagements; and it is wrong to surcharge one period with the additional work of another. 3. Because by this temporary negligence we have nothing to do, or too much; whereas by doing the work of the day in the day we are never unoccupied, never oppressed; we keep our affairs under easy management, and never suffer them to accumulate into a discouraging mass. 4. Because by this means the mind is kept cool, and tranquil, and cheerful; and we shall know nothing of the perplexities and ill-temper of those who are always in confusion and haste. To verify this important maxim let me lay down three rules. Rise early. Grasp not so much business as to "entangle yourselves in the affairs of this life." If you look abroad into the world you may be satisfied, at the first glance, that a vicious and infidel life is always a life of confusion. Thence it is natural to infer that order is friendly to religion. ( W. Jay. ) The day's duty N. L. Frothingham. That every day is enough for its own evil was a word of Jesus Christ. And there is another word that may be grafted on this. It is, that every day is enough for its own duty. It is suited to withdraw the thoughts from a vague futurity and collect them upon a space that can easily be surveyed, judged of, commanded. A day is one of the small circles of time. We can lay out its work though we cannot predict its fortunes. We can remember how it has been spent, whatever may have come to pass in it. It is capable of holding as much duty as our minds can well compass. He who fills each of them well as they pass and are recorded, is wanting in nothing. We hear it often said that life is but a day. It is said to express the shortness of our stay upon the earth. It is said, for the most part, sorrowfully. Let us reverse it and say, with more striking truth, that each day is a life. Every day is a life fresh with reinstated power, setting out on its allotted labour and limited path. Its morning resembles a whole youth. Its eventide its sobering into age. It is rounded at either end by a sleep, unconsciousness at the outset and oblivion at the close. We are born again every time that the sun rises, and lights up the world for man to do his part in it. A day is a complete whole then; a finished piece. It had its tasks and toils, and they have been more or less faithfully gone through with. Or if they have been neglected quite it is too late to fulfil them now, for the opportunity has passed away. You may say, however, that it is by no means so entire, so much a thing by itself, as has now been represented. A day falls in among the accounts of time not as one of its separated fragments, but as strongly connected with portions of it that went before and are to follow. It is bound to the past which it continues. It is full of unfinished performances and projects that have nothing to do with the going down of the sun or the hour for the night's rest. All this is true of it. But is it not true also of life itself? A day is a life. It has all the elements in it of an entire being. It may be fair or foul. It may find us sick or well. But the soul is there that must create its own atmosphere, and that is often the healthiest when the pulses beat languidly and the flesh is in pain. The faculties are there that are to be exercised, and the affections that are to be kept in play. There an inward action is going on with all its responsibility. Again, a day is a life. We do not consider how much is contained within its rapid round. In describing its importance moralists and divines are apt to dwell principally on the uncertainty whether it may not be our last. And yet it would grow into great consequence in our eyes if we supposed that it was absolutely the whole. Reflect for an instant upon these two assertions. The narrow space that intervenes between your rising and your lying down does in the first place present the total sum, the full result of all your preceding experience. It is just what time and you have made it. Whatever you have observed, felt, done, there goes to the making up of what you are. The habits that you have been contracting, there reveal their strength. The dispositions that you cherish, there spread their thicknesses of deepening colour. A long action of forgotten days has been busy in forming to what it is the single day that has been rolling over you. You are prepared, then, to make a right estimate of the moral length of a day when you see it reaching back to infancy, and gathering upon itself the influences of a thousand facts of your history and emotions of your hearts, and reflecting a universe of truth and glory. And then consider further that it not only deserves so much from what is gone, but it extends itself forward also. It contains the germ of what is to be unfolded into far distant consequences. While it shows what the man has gradually become, it indicates with a warning finger what it is likely that he will be. Whatever one day is permitted to do with him, will probably continue to be done; if for good, going up to better: if for bad, going down to worse. The principles it exemplifies, the temper it displays, the bent of mind that traverses it, are not confined to its compass, and do not pass off with its date. Read that little leaf which is turned over so soon, and you may perceive that it is the book of your fate. We are thus brought to the practical application of the sentiment to which your attention has been directed. If a day is a life, let its work be done as its hours are passing. Let it have something of completeness in it. Men err in "despising those little ones." They love to send their thoughts over years and ages. They defer their good intentions to further periods. But these little ones are the chief of all if we will look at them as they are, and if we will make them what they should be. Think of what you have gained or lost in the account that all must render in at the last day. Remember how you have comported yourself towards those who love you and towards those who love you not. Remember what the currents of your inclination have been. Reflect whether the will has gone right, and the heart has been a true one, whatever else may have proved adverse or unjust. ( N. L. Frothingham. ) A day E. T. Prust. As the circuits of the earth round the sun gives the year and the seasons, and the revolutions of the moon round the earth our months, so the revolving of our earth on its axis marks out as the condition of human life that it should be divided into days and nights, and these are constituted alternate seasons of labour and repose. So life as a time for work resolves itself into a thing of days ( Psalm 104:23 ). I. LIFE BEING MADE UP OF DAYS, THE CHARACTER AND COMPLEXION OF LIFE WILL DEPEND ON THE IMPROVE MENT OF DAYS AS THEY SUCCESSIVELY PASS BY. It is more easy to feel the importance of life as a whole, than to be duly impressed with the value of its smaller divisions. If the mind be set on improving life, its distribution into days offers to us many advantages for attaining this end. 1. A day is more easily brought within the grasp of the mind and planned for. 2. There is less difficulty in reviewing it and judging of its character. 3. Every day a new beginning is made and opportunity afforded for correcting to-day by the experience of yesterday. 4. Who can calculate the advantage of the freshness derived from sleep and the new vigour thus imported into life? (1) Physically. (2) Mentally. (3) Morally. The will is endued with new vigour as a manrises to a new day of life and activity. II. THE DUTY WHICH EVERY DAY REQUIRES. Every day has its appropriate duty. 1. Some duties daily should terminate directly upon God. Such are prayer and praise. Who can tell what our needs may be, what accidents may happen, what decisions we may be called to take and what moral risks may be encountered? Daily petitions should therefore be offered. And how meet it is to mingle with daily petitioning thanksgiving for daily mercies. "Blessed be the Lord who daily leadeth us with benefits." 2. There is all the life-work. (1) The culture of the mind. (2) The business of each one's station. (3) Some direct service for the kingdom of Christ. This serves to hallow the day and to connect time the more distinctly with eternity. 3. Then there is the bearing of the burdens of the day. III. THE WORK OF EACH DAY IS TO BE DONE, WITH ONLY A MODERATE THOUGHTFULNESS, YET WITHOUT PRESUMPTION AS TO THE MORROW AND DAYS TO COME. Christ discountenanced anxious forecasting as to the possibilities of the future. God is to be trusted to lay upon us burdens as He sees that we have strength, or as He will give strength to sustain them. Still less should there be presumption as to the future. Act as "in the living present," "as the matter of every day requires." "To-morrow," exclaimed a powerful French preacher once, "is the devil's word; God's word is to-day." "To-day, if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts." ( E. T. Prust. ) From the first day of the seventh month began they to offer burnt-offerings unto the Lord. Ezra 3:6-13 The full establishment of religious services precedes She building of the temple Walter F. Adeney, M. A. — A weighty truth is enshrined in this apparently incongruous fact. The worship itself is felt to be more important than the house in which it is to be celebrated ( John 4:21-24 ). How vain is it, then, to treat the erection of churches as though it were a revival of religion! As surely as the empty seashell can never secrete a living organism to inherit it, a mere building — whether it be the most gorgeous cathedral or the plainest village meeting-house — will never induce a living spirit of worship to dwell in its cold desolation. Every true revival of religion begins in the spiritual sphere. ( Walter F. Adeney, M. A. ) They gave money also unto the carpenters The preparations for rebuilding the temple William Jones. I. THE GREAT WORK YET TO BE ACCOMPLISHED. This illustrates — 1. The incompleteness of human joys. 2. The incompleteness of human works.The altar was built, but the temple was not begun. The work of the earnest man is never accomplished. Even when death approaches, most men have much which they desire to accomplish. This incompleteness of our human works is also ordered wisely and well. It tends to prevent stagnation; to rouse to earnest activities, etc. 3. The obligation of the Church of God. The Jews at Jerusalem felt themselves bound not to rest content with the joys and blessings of the altar, but to proceed to the more arduous task of rebuilding the temple. II. THE PROMPT PREPARATIONS FOR THE ACCOMPLISHMENT OF THIS WORK. Two points claim attention — 1. The variety of service and the unity of design. 2. The co-operation of Jews and Gentiles.Conclusion — 1. Are we "as living stones built up" in the spiritual temple of God? ( 1 Peter 2:4-6 ). 2. Are we also assisting to build this glorious temple? ( 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 ). ( William Jones. ) The building of the temple Rufus S. Green, D. D. I. THAT DIFFICULTIES OUGHT NOT TO DISCOURAGE US IN THE LORD'S WORK. Paucity of numbers and feebleness of resources. Enemies. II. THE READINESS OF THE PEOPLE TO GIVE OF THEIR MEANS UNTO THE LORD ( Ezra 2:68, 69 ). Their first care was the house of God. Without homes of their own, their cities in ruins, with a thousand demands pressing upon them, they nevertheless provided first of all for the worship of the temple. How needful the lesson! God's house before our own. God first and afterward self. This work first, and then our own. 1. They offered willingly. It was not the tithe which they were required by law to give. It was a free-will offering to God, and hence all the more acceptable ( 2 Corinthians 9:7 ). 2. They gave according to their ability. Proportionate giving as God has prospered us is one of the most pressing needs of the Church to-day. It is a duty as plainly enjoined as prayer and praise ( Deuteronomy 16:17 ; 1 Corinthians 16:2 ). III. THE PEOPLE WERE READY TO WORK AS WELL, AS GIVE. The Church needs willing workers even more than generous givers. Hearts and hands are always worth more than gold and silver. 1. They worked unitedly. The people laboured "as one" (margin). Their counsels were not divided. There were no jealousies, no personal ambitions to hinder the progress of the undertaking. 2. The work was systematically prosecuted. Zeal and energy were displayed, but without making them substitutes for intelligence and adaptation. One of the great needs of God's people is appreciation of the advantages of systematic work. IV. THANKFUL JOY IN THE LORD'S SERVICE. The ancient men wept with a loud voice as they saw the foundation of the new house laid. Yet, after all, their weeping may have had nothing in it of the spirit of murmuring. Tears are ofttimes expressive of the deepest joy. "There's not a string attuned to mirth But has its chord in melancholy."The joy that is touched with pain is the noblest of joys. The sweetest music is written in the minor key. Possibly the noise of their weeping was more grateful to God than the shouts of their younger companions. ( Rufus S. Green, D. D. ) The second temple Sermons by Monday Club. I. THE BUILDING OF THIS TEMPLE WAS A VISIBLE AND ABIDING TESTIMONY TO MAN'S FIRM FAITH IN THE EXISTENCE AND POWER OF THE GOD OF HEAVEN. "The mystery of holy shrines," says Kinglake, "lies deep in human nature. However the "more spiritual minds may be able to rise and soar, the common man, during his mortal career, is tethered to the globe that is his appointed dwelling-place; and the more his affections are pure and holy, the more they seem to blend with some sacred spot, that belongs to the outward and visible world?' Temples tell us of one who is invisible. As Jacob set up an altar in the place where God talked with him and called the name of the place Bethel, so always men have erected memorial stones to commemorate their faith in God. II. THE TEMPLES AND ALTARS WHICH MAN BUILDS DIGNIFY A DESIRE ON HIS PART FOR NEARER AND MORE CONSTANT COMMUNION WITH GOD. From the first God had revealed Himself as One who was ready to meet with His people, to draw aside the veil, at least in part, and commune with them from off the holy place. Outside the walls of Eden He appeared above the altar of Abel. Whenever, in later times, the patriarchs set up an altar and called on the name of the Lord, they expected that He would come and sanctify the spot by His presence. They were not disappointed. Enoch walked with Him; Noah built an ark under His direction; Abraham saw His day; to Jacob He appeared again and again; He talked with Moses and showed His glory to Isaiah; Elijah's altar was touched with fire; to the whole people He showed a pillar of cloud and flame, and commanded them, saying, "Let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them," and when it was finished, the shekinah appeared, God dwelt in the Holy of holies, and from off the fiery seat talked with His prophets and priests. Although under the Christian dispensation the idea of communion with God is ennobled, and the fellowship made more exalted and spiritual, so that Jesus Christ is now our true sanctuary and passover, still the old conception is not altogether abandoned. While the veil of the temple is rent in twa

Benson Commentary Ezra 3:1 And when the seventh month was come, and the children of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered themselves together as one man to Jerusalem. Ezra 3:1 . When the seventh month was come — We may suppose they left Babylon in the spring, and were four months on their journey; for so long Ezra and his company were in coming, Ezra 7:9 . The seventh month therefore commenced soon after their arrival in Judea, when, as many of the feasts of the Lord were then to be solemnized, the people gathered themselves together — By agreement among themselves, rather than by the command of authority; to Jerusalem — Though they were newly come to their cities, and had their hands full of business there, to provide necessaries for themselves and their families, which might have excused them from attending on God’s worship in public, till the hurry was a little over, as many with us foolishly put off their coming to the communion till they are settled in the world; yet, such was their zeal for religion, now they were newly come from under correction for their irreligion, that they left all their business in the country to attend God’s altar; and in this pious zeal they were all of a mind, they came as one man. Ezra 3:2 Then stood up Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and his brethren, and builded the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings thereon, as it is written in the law of Moses the man of God. Ezra 3:2 . Then stood up Jeshua the son of Jozadak — He was the high- priest, called Joshua, Haggai 1:1 . And Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel — That is, his grandson; for, properly speaking, he was the son of Pedaiah. And builded the altar of the God of Israel — Which was of more present necessity than the temple, both to make atonement to God for all their sins, and to obtain God’s assistance for the building of the temple, and to strengthen their own hearts and hands in that great work. Ezra 3:3 And they set the altar upon his bases; for fear was upon them because of the people of those countries: and they offered burnt offerings thereon unto the LORD, even burnt offerings morning and evening. Ezra 3:3 . They set the altar upon his bases — That is, in the place where it anciently stood; for fear was upon them, because of the people of those countries — And therefore they made the more haste, lest they should be hindered. Apprehension of dangers should quicken us in our duty. Have we many enemies? We have the more need to have God for our friend, and to keep up our correspondence with him. Some translate the clause, Although fear was upon them; that is, although they were in great fear of their evil neighbours, yet, notwithstanding, they would not desist from restoring the worship of God. Ezra 3:4 They kept also the feast of tabernacles, as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings by number, according to the custom, as the duty of every day required; Ezra 3:4 . They kept also the feast of tabernacles — This seems to be mentioned for all the solemnities of the month, whereof this was the most eminent; otherwise it is not probable that they would neglect the day of atonement, which was so solemnly enjoined, ( Leviticus 23:27-29 ,) and was so exceeding suitable to their present condition. Ezra 3:5 And afterward offered the continual burnt offering, both of the new moons, and of all the set feasts of the LORD that were consecrated, and of every one that willingly offered a freewill offering unto the LORD. Ezra 3:5 . And afterward offered the continual burnt-offering — The morning and evening sacrifice. The law required much, but they offered more; for though they had little wealth, they had much zeal. Happy they that bring with them out of the furnace of affliction such a holy heat as this! Ezra 3:6 From the first day of the seventh month began they to offer burnt offerings unto the LORD. But the foundation of the temple of the LORD was not yet laid. Ezra 3:6 . To offer burnt-offerings — And the other sacrifices which were to be offered with them upon that first day of the seventh month, which was the feast of trumpets. Burnt-offerings are often put for all sacrifices, and the meaning of these two verses is, that the holy rites of sacrificing were restored, and continued ever after, in their several seasons, on the new moons, and other festival solemnities. Ezra 3:7 They gave money also unto the masons, and to the carpenters; and meat, and drink, and oil, unto them of Zidon, and to them of Tyre, to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea of Joppa, according to the grant that they had of Cyrus king of Persia. Ezra 3:7 . Meat, and drink, and oil, unto them of Zidon and Tyre — The inhabitants of those towns wanted provisions more than money, as appears by the history of Solomon’s building, 1 Kings 5:10 . To bring cedar- trees from Lebanon — Tyre and Zidon now, as of old, furnished them with workmen, and Lebanon with timber, orders for both which they had from Cyrus. What God calls us to we may depend upon his providence to furnish us with. Ezra 3:8 Now in the second year of their coming unto the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, began Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the remnant of their brethren the priests and the Levites, and all they that were come out of the captivity unto Jerusalem; and appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to set forward the work of the house of the LORD. Ezra 3:8 . In the second month began Zerubbabel, &c. — The building of the temple was begun as soon as ever the season of the year would permit, and as soon as they had ended the solemnities of the passover. They took little more than half a year for preparing the ground and materials; so much were their hearts upon the work. And Jeshua, and their brethren the priests and Levites, &c. — Then the work of God is likely to go on well when magistrates, ministers, and people are zealously affected toward it, and agree in their places to promote it. It was God that gave them one heart for this service, and it promised a happy issue. Ezra 3:9 Then stood Jeshua with his sons and his brethren, Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah, together, to set forward the workmen in the house of God: the sons of Henadad, with their sons and their brethren the Levites. Ezra 3:9 . Then stood Jeshua with his sons — This person was not the high- priest, so called, but a Levite, of whom see Ezra 2:40 . To set forward the workmen — To encourage them to a cheerful and vigorous prosecution of the work. Ezra 3:10 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. Ezra 3:10 . To praise the Lord — The priests, with the trumpets appointed by Moses, and the Levites, with cymbals appointed by David, made up a concert of praise at the laying of the foundation of the temple, to assist the singing of that everlasting hymn which will never be out of date, and for which our tongues should never be out of tune, the burden of Psalms 136. Whatever our condition is, let it be owned that God is good; and whatever fails, that his mercy fails not. Ezra 3:11 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. Ezra 3:11-12 . And they sang together by course — That is, answered one another alternately. And all the people shouted with a great shout — The people were very differently affected upon this occasion. Those that had only known the misery of having no temple at all, praised the Lord with shouts of joy when they saw the foundation of this laid, for to them this was as life from the dead. But many that had seen the first house — Which divers of them had, because it had not been destroyed quite sixty years ago, and who remembered the glory of that temple, wept with a loud voice — “Not only because this temple was likely to prove far inferior to that of Solomon, as to its outward structure, but because it was to want those extraordinary marks of the divine favour wherewith the other temple was honoured. Both the temples, without all doubt, were of the same dimensions; but here was the sad difference which drew tears from the eyes of the elders, that in all appearance there were no hopes that the poor beginnings of the latter temple would ever be raised to the grandeur and magnificence of the former, since the one had been built by the wisest and richest king, and constantly adorned by some one or other of his posterity; the other now begun by a small company of exiles just returned from their captivity: the one in a time of profound peace and the greatest opulence; the other in a time of common calamity and distress: the one finished with the most costly stones and timber, wrought with exquisite art, and overlaid with vast quantities of gold; the other to be raised out of no better materials than what could be dug from the ruinous foundation of the old one. But the occasion of their grief was not only this, that the materials and ornaments of the second temple were even as nothing in comparison with the first, ( Haggai 2:3 ,) but that the ark of the covenant, and the mercy- seat which was upon it, the holy fire upon the altar, the Urim and Thummim, the spirit of prophecy, the Shechinah or divine presence, the five great things for which the former temple was so renowned, were lost and gone, and never to be recovered to this other. This was a just matter of lamentation to those who had seen these singular tokens of the divine favour in the former temple, and a discouragement of their proceeding with the building of the present; and therefore the Prophet Haggai was sent to inform them that all these wants and defects should be abundantly repaired by the coming of the Messiah, the true Shechinah of the Divine Majesty, in the time of the second temple: ( Ezra 2:7-9 :) I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come; and I will fill this house with glory: the glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the Lord of hosts.” — Dodd. Ezra 3:12 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: Ezra 3:13 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 3:13 . So that the people could not discern, &c. — The mixture of sorrow and joy here is a representation of this world. In heaven all are singing and none sighing; in hell all are wailing and none rejoicing: but here on earth we can scarce discern the shouts of joy from the noise of the weeping; let us learn to rejoice with them that rejoice, and weep with them that weep. Meantime, let us ourselves rejoice as though we rejoiced not, and weep as though we wept not. Benson Commentary on the Old and New Testaments Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.

Expositor's Bible Commentary Ezra 3:1 And when the seventh month was come, and the children of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered themselves together as one man to Jerusalem. 0 THE NEW TEMPLE Ezra 2:68-70 ; Ezra 3:1-13 UNLIKE the historian of the exodus from Egypt, our chronicler gives no account of adventures of the pilgrims on the road to Palestine, although much of their way led them through a wild and difficult country. So huge a caravan as that which accompanied Zerubbabel must have taken several months to cover the eight hundred miles between Babylon and Jerusalem; for even Ezra with his smaller company spent four months on their journey. { Ezra 7:8-9 } A dreary desert stretched over the vast space between the land of exile and the old home of the Jews among the mountains of the West; and here the commissariat would tax the resources of the ablest organisers. It is possible that the difficulties of the desert were circumvented in the most prosaic manner-by simply avoiding this barren, waterless region, and taking a long sweep round by the north of Syria. Passing over the pilgrimage, which afforded him no topics of interest, without a word of comment, the chronicler plants us at once in the midst of the busy scenes at Jerusalem, where we see the returned exiles, at length arrived at the end of their tedious journey, preparing to accomplish the one purpose of their expedition. The first step was to provide the means for building the temple, and contributions were made for this object by all classes of the community-as we gather from the more complete account in Nehemiah { Nehemiah 7:70-72 } -from the prince and the aristocracy to the general public, for it was to be a united work. And yet it is implied by the narrative that many had no share in it. These people may have been poor originally or impoverished by their journey, and not at all deficient in generosity or lacking in faith. Still we often meet with those who have enough enthusiasm to applaud a good work and yet not enough to make any sacrifice in promoting it. It is expressly stated that the gifts were offered freely. No tax was imposed by the authorities; but there was no backwardness on the part of the actual donors, who were impelled by a glowing devotion to open their purses without stint. Lastly, those who contributed did so "after their ability." This is the true "proportionate giving." For all to give an equal sum is impossible unless the poll-tax is to be fixed at a miserable minimum. Even for all to give the same proportion is unjust. There are poor men who ought not to sacrifice a tenth of what they receive; there are rich men who will be guilty of unfaithfulness to their stewardship if they do not devote far more than this fraction of their vast revenues to the service of God and their fellow-men. It would be reasonable for some of the latter only to reserve the tithe for their own use and to give away nine-tenths of their income, for even then they would not be giving "after their ability." After the preliminary step of collecting the contributions, the pilgrims proceed to the actual work they have in hand. In this they are heartily united; they gather themselves together "as one man" in a great assembly, which, if we may trust the account in Esdras, is held in an open space by the first gate towards the east, {RAPC 1Es 5:47 } and therefore close to the site of the old temple, almost among its very ruins. The unity of spirit and the harmony of action which characterise the commencement of the work are good auguries of its success. This is to be a popular undertaking. Sanctioned by Cyrus, promoted by the aristocracy, it is to be carried out with the full co-operation of the multitude. The first temple had been the work of a king; the second is to be the work of a people. The nation had been dazzled by the splendour of Solomon’s court, and had basked in its rays so that the after-glow of them lingered in the memories of ages even down to the time of our Lord. { Matthew 6:29 } But there was a healthier spirit in the humbler work of the returned exiles, when, forced to dispense with the king they would gladly have accepted, they undertook the task of building the new temple themselves. In the centre of the mosque known as the "Dome of the Rock" there is a crag with the well-worn remains of steps leading up to the top of it, and with channels cut in its surface. This has been identified by recent explorers as the site of the great Altar of Burnt-offerings. It is on the very crest of Mount Moriah. Formerly it was thought that it was the site of the inmost shrine of the temple, known as "The Holy of Holies," but the new view, which seems to be fairly established, gives an unexpected prominence to the altar. This rude square structure of unhewn stone was the most elevated and conspicuous object in the temple. The altar was to Judaism what the cross is to Christianity. Both for us and for the Jews what is most vital and precious in religion is the dark mystery of a sacrifice. The first work of the temple-builders was to set up the altar again on its old foundation. Before a stone of the temple was laid, the smoke of sacrificial fires might be seen ascending to heaven from the highest crag of Moriah. For fifty years all sacrifices had ceased. Now with haste, in fear of hindrance from jealous neighbours, means were provided to re-establish them before any attempt was made to rebuild the temple. It is not quite easy to see what the writer means when, after saying "And they set the altar upon his bases," he adds, "for fear was upon them because of the people of those countries." The suggestion that the phrase may be varied so as to mean that the awe which this religious work inspired in the heathen neighbours prevented them from molesting it is far-fetched and improbable. Nor is it likely that the writer intends to convey the idea that the Jews hastened the building of the altar as a sort of Palladium, trusting that its sacrifices would protect them in case of invasion, for this is to attribute too low and materialistic a character to their religion. More reasonable is the explanation that they hastened the work because they feared that their neighbours might either hinder it or wish to have a share in it-an equally objectionable thing, as subsequent events showed. The chronicler distinctly states that the sacrifices which were now offered, as well as the festivals which were established later, were all designed to meet the requirements of the law of Moses-that everything might be done "as it is written in the law of Moses the man of God." This statement does not throw much light on the history of the Pentateuch. We know that that work was not yet in the hands of the Jews at Jerusalem, because this was nearly eighty years before Ezra introduced it. The sentence suggests that according to the chronicler some law bearing the name of Moses was known to the first body of returned exiles. We need not regard that suggestion as a reflection from later years. Deuteronomy may have been the law referred to; or it may have been some rubric of traditional usages in the possession of the priests. Meanwhile two facts of importance come out here - first, that the method of worship adopted by the returned exiles was a revival of ancient customs, a return to the old ways, not an innovation of their own, and second, that this restoration was in careful obedience to the known will of God. Here we have the root idea of the Torah. It announces that God has revealed His will, and it implies that the service of God can only be acceptable when it is in harmony with the will of God. The prophets taught that obedience was better than sacrifice. The priests held that sacrifice itself was a part of obedience. With both the primary requisite was obedience-as it is the primary requisite in all religion. The particular kind of sacrifice offered on the great altar was the burnt-offering. Now we do occasionally meet with expiatory ideas in connection with this sacrifice; but unquestionably the principal conception attached to the burnt-offering in distinction from the sin-offering, was the idea of self-dedication on the part of the worshipper. Thus the Jews re-consecrated themselves to God by the solemn ceremony of sacrifice, and they kept up the thought of renewed consecration by the regular repetition of the burnt-offering. It is difficult for us to enter into the feelings of the people who practised so antique a cult, even to them archaic in its ceremonies, and dimly suggestive of primitive rites that had their origin in far-off barbaric times. But one thing is clear, shining as with letters of awful fire against the black clouds of smoke that hang over the altar. This sacrifice was always a "whole offering." As it was being completely consumed in the flames before their very eyes, the worshippers would see a vivid representation of the tremendous truth that the most perfect sacrifice is death-nay, that it is even more than death, that it is absolute self-effacement in total and unreserved surrender to God. Various rites follow the great central sacrifice of the burnt-offering, ushered in by the most joyous festival of the year, the Feast of Tabernacles, when the people scatter themselves over the hills round Jerusalem under the shade of extemporised bowers made out of the leafy boughs of trees, and celebrate the goodness of God in the final and richest harvest, the vintage. Then come New Moon and the other festivals that stud the calendar with sacred dates and make the Jewish year a round of glad festivities. Thus, we see, the full establishment of religious services precedes the building of the temple. A weighty truth is enshrined in this apparently incongruous fact. The worship itself is felt to be more important than the house in which it is to be celebrated. That truth should be even more apparent to us who have read the great words of Jesus uttered by Jacob’s well, "The hour cometh when neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, shall ye worship the Father when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth." { John 4:21 ; John 4:23 } How vain then is it to treat the erection of churches as though it were the promotion of a revival of religion! As surely as the empty sea-shell tossed up on the beach can never secrete a living organism to inhabit it, a mere building-whether it be the most gorgeous cathedral or the plainest village meeting-house-will never induce a living spirit of worship to dwell in its cold desolation. Every true religious revival begins in the spiritual sphere and finds its place of worship where it may-in the rustic barn or on the hillside-if no more seemly home can be provided for it, because its real temple is the humble and contrite heart. Still the design of building the temple at Jerusalem was kept constantly in view by the pilgrims. Accordingly it was necessary to purchase materials, and in particular the fragrant cedar wood from the distant forests of Lebanon. These famous forests were still in the possession of the Phoenicians, for Cyrus had allowed a local autonomy to the busy trading people on the northern seaboard. So, in spite of the king’s favour, it was requisite for the Jews to pay the full price for the costly timber. Now, in disbursing the original funds brought up from Babylon, it would seem that the whole of this money was expended in labour, in paying the wages of masons and carpenters. Therefore the Jews had to export agricultural products-such as corn, wine, and olive oil-in exchange for the imports of timber they received from the Phoenicians. The question at once arises, how did they come to be possessed of these fruits of the soil? The answer is supplied by a chronological remark in our narrative. It was in the second year of their residence in Jerusalem and its neighbourhood that the Jews commenced the actual building of their temple. They had first patiently cleared, ploughed, and sown the neglected fields, trimmed and trained the vines, and tended the olive gardens, so that they were able to reap a harvest, and to give the surplus products for the purchase of the timber required in building the temple. As the foundation was laid in the spring, the order for the cedar wood must have been sent before the harvest was reaped-pledging it in advance with faith in the God who gives the increase. The Phoenician woodmen fell their trees in the distant forests of Lebanon; and the massive trunks are dragged down to the coast, and floated along the Mediterranean to Joppa, and then carried on the backs of camels or slowly drawn up the heights of Judah in ox-wagons, while the crops that are to pay for them are still green in the fields. Here then is a further proof of devotion on the part of the Jews from Babylon-though it is scarcely hinted at in the narrative, though we can only discover it by a careful comparison of facts and dates. Labour is expended on the fields; long weary months of waiting are endured; when the fruits of toil are obtained, these hard-earned stores are not hoarded by their owners; they too, like the gold and silver of the wealthier Jews, are gladly surrendered for the one object which kindles the enthusiasm of every class of the community. At length all is ready. Jeshua the priest now precedes Zerubbabel, as well as the rest of the twelve leaders, in inaugurating the great work. On the Levites is laid the immediate responsibility of carrying it through. When the foundation is laid, the priests in their new white vestments sound their silver trumpets, and the choir of Levites, the sons of Asaph. clang their brazen cymbals. To the accompaniment of this inspiriting music they sing glad psalms in praise of God, giving thanks to Him, celebrating His goodness and His mercy that endureth forever toward Israel. This is not at all like the soft music and calm chanting of subdued cathedral services that we think of in connection with great national festivals. The instruments blare and clash, the choristers cry aloud, and the people join them with a mighty shout. When shrill discordant notes of bitter wailing, piped by a group of melancholy old men, threaten to break the harmony of the scene, they are drowned in the deluge of jubilation that rises up in protest and beats down all their opposition with its triumph of gladness. To a sober Western the scene would seem to be a sort of religious orgy, like a wild Bacchanalian festival, like the howling of hosts of dervishes. But although it is the Englishman’s habit to take his religion sombrely, if not sadly, it may be well for him to pause before pronouncing a condemnation of those men and women who are more exuberant in the expression of spiritual emotion. If he finds, even among his fellow-countrymen, some who permit themselves a more lively music and a more free method of public worship than he is accustomed to, is it not a mark of insular narrowness for him to visit these unconventional people with disapprobation? In abandoning the severe manners of their race, they are only approaching nearer to the time-old methods of ancient Israel. In this clangour and clamour at Jerusalem the predominant note was a burst of irrepressible gladness. When God turned the captivity of Israel, mourning was transformed into laughter. To understand the wild excitement of the Jews, their paean of joy, their very ecstasy, we must recollect what they had passed through, as well as what they were now anticipating. We must remember the cruel disaster of the overthrow of Jerusalem, the desolation of the exile, the sickness of weary waiting for deliverance, the harshness of the persecution that embittered the later years of the captivity under Nabonidas; we must think of the toilsome pilgrimage through the desert, with its dismal wastes, its dangers and its terrors, followed by the patient work on the land and gathering in of means for building the temple. And now all this was over. The bow had been terribly bent; the rebound was immense. People who cannot feel strong religious gladness have never known the heartache of deep religious grief. These Israelites had cried out of the depths; they were prepared to shout for joy from the heights. Perhaps we may go further, and detect a finer note in this great blast of jubilation, a note of higher and more solemn gladness. The chastisement of the exile was past, and the long-suffering mercy of God-enduring forever-was again smiling out on the chastened people. And yet the positive realisation of their hopes was for the future. The joy, therefore, was inspired by faith. With little accomplished as yet, the sanguine people already saw the temple in their mind’s eye, with its massive walls, its cedar chambers, and its adornment of gold and richly dyed hangings. In the very laying of the foundation their eager imaginations leaped forward to the crowning of the highest pinnacles. Perhaps they saw more; perhaps they perceived, though but dimly, something of the meaning of the spiritual blessedness that had been foretold by their prophets. All this gladness centred in the building of a temple, and therefore ultimately in the worship of God. We take but a one-sided view of Judaism if we judge it by the sour ideas of later Pharisaism. As it presented itself to St. Paul in opposition to the gospel, it was stern and loveless. But in its earlier days this religion was free and gladsome, though, as we shall soon see, even then a rigour of fanaticism soon crept in and turned its joy into grief. Here, however, at the founding of the temple, it wears its sunniest aspect. There is no reason why religion should wear any other aspect to the devout soul. It should be happy; for is it not the worship of a happy God? "Nevertheless, in the midst of the almost universal acclaim of joy and praise, there was the note of sadness wailed by the old men, who could recollect the venerable fane in which their fathers had worshipped before the ruthless soldiers of Nebuchadnezzar had reduced it to a heap of ashes. Possibly some of them had stood on this very spot half a century before, in an agony of despair, while they saw the cruel flames licking the ancient stones and blazing up among the cedar beams, and all the fine gold dimmed with black clouds of smoke. Was it likely that the feeble flock just returned from Babylon could ever produce such a wonder of the world as Solomon’s temple had been? The enthusiastic younger people might be glad in their ignorance; but their sober elders, who knew more, could only weep. We cannot but think that, after the too common habit of the aged, these mournful old men viewed the past in a glamour of memory, magnifying its splendours as they looked back on them through the mists of time. If so, they were old indeed; for this habit, and not years, makes real old age. He is aged who lives in bygone days, with his face ever set to the irreparable past, vainly regretting its retreating memories, uninterested in the present, despondent of the future. The true elixir of life, the secret of perpetual youth of soul, is interest in the present and the future, with the forward glance of faith and hope. Old men who cultivate this spirit have young hearts though the snow is on their heads. And such are wise. No doubt, from the standpoint of a narrow common sense, with its shrunken views confined to the material and the mundane, the old men who wept had more reason for their conduct than the inexperienced younger men who rejoiced. But there is a prudence that comes of blindness, and there is an imprudence that is sublime in its daring, because it springs from faith. The despair of old age makes one great mistake, because it ignores one great truth. In noting that many good things have passed away, it forgets to remember that God remains. God is not dead! Therefore the future is safe. In the end the young enthusiasts of Jerusalem were justified. A prophet arose who declared that a glory which the former temple had never known should adorn the new temple, in spite of its humble beginning; and history verified his word when the Lord took possession of His house in the person of His Son." The Expositor's Bible Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.