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diff --git a/old/12248-8.txt b/old/12248-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..0d80d3e --- /dev/null +++ b/old/12248-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,5670 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The King's Cup-Bearer, by Amy Catherine Walton + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The King's Cup-Bearer + +Author: Amy Catherine Walton + +Release Date: May 3, 2004 [EBook #12248] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE KING'S CUP-BEARER *** + + + + +Produced by Joel Erickson, Michael Ciesielski, Marit Henningsen and +the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + + + + + + +[Illustration: NEHEMIAH'S MIDNIGHT SURVEY.] + + + +THE + +KING'S CUP-BEARER + +By + +MRS. O.F. WALTON + +Author of 'Christie's Old Organ,' 'A Peep Behind the Scenes,' +'Elisha, the Man of Abd-Meholah' + + + + +CONTENTS. + + * * * * * + +CHAP. + + I. THE CITY OF LILIES + + II. THE KING'S TABLE + + III. THE GOOD HAND + + IV. TO EVERY MAN HIS WORK + + V. THE SWORD AND THE TROWEL + + VI. THE WORLD'S BIBLE + + VII. TRUE TO HIS POST + +VIII. THE PAIDAGOGOS + + IX. THE SECRET OF STRENGTH + + X. THE EIGHTY-FOUR SEALS + + XI. THE BRAVE VOLUNTEERS + + XII. THE HOLY CITY + +XIII. HAVING NO ROOT + + XIV. STRONG MEASURES + + XV. THE OLDEST SIN + + XVI. GOD'S REMEMBRANCE + + +[Illustration: PLAN OF THE PALACE AT PERSEPOLIS.] + + + + +THE KING'S CUP-BEARER + + * * * * * + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +The City of Lilies. + + +The great Rab-shakeh, magnificently attired in all the brilliancy of +Oriental costume, is walking towards the city gate. Above him stretches +the deep blue sky of the East, about and around him stream the warm rays +of the sun. It is the month of December, yet no cold biting wind meets +him, and he needs no warm wraps to shield him from the frost or snow. + +The city through which the Rab-shakeh walks is very beautiful; it is the +capital of the kingdom of Persia. Its name is Shushan, the City of +Lilies, and it is so called from the fields of sweet-scented iris +flowers which surround it. It is built on a sunny plain, through which +flow two rivers,--the Choaspes and the Ulai; he sees them both sparkling +in the sunshine, as they wind through the green plain, sometimes flowing +quite close to each other, at one time so near that only two and a half +miles lie between them, then wandering farther away only to return +again, as if drawn together by some subtle attraction. + +Then, in the distance, beyond the plain and beyond the rivers, the +great Rab-shakeh sees mountains, for a high mountain range, about +twenty-five miles from the city, bounds the eastern horizon. He has good +reason to love those high mountains, which rise many thousands of feet +above the plain, for even in the hottest weather, when the heat in +Shushan would otherwise be unbearable, he can always enjoy the cooling +breezes which come from the everlasting snow-fields on the top of that +mountain range, and which blow refreshingly over the sultry plain +beneath. + +The City of Lilies is a very ancient place. It was probably built +long before the time of Abraham. We read in Gen. xiv. of a certain +Chedorlaomer, King of Elam, who gathered together a number of +neighbouring kings, and by means of their assistance invaded Palestine, +and took Lot prisoner. This Chedorlaomer probably lived by these very +rivers, the Choaspes and the Ulai, and Shushan was the capital city of +the old kingdom of Elam over which he ruled. + +Later on the City of Lilies was taken by the Babylonians. They had their +own capital city, the mighty Babylon, on the Euphrates. But although it +was not the capital, still Shushan was a very important place in that +first great world-empire. We find Daniel, the prime minister, staying in +the palace of Shushan, to which he had been sent to transact business +for the King of Babylon, and it was during his visit to the City of +Lilies that God sent him one of his most famous visions. In his dream he +thought he was standing by the river Ulai, the very river he could see +from the palace window, and before that river stood the ram with the two +horns and the strong he-goat, by means of which God drew out before his +eyes a picture of the future history of the world. + +But the great Babylonian empire did not last long. Cyrus the Persian +took Babylon, Belshazzar was slain, the great Assyrian power passed +away, and the second great world-empire, the Persian empire, was built +upon its ruins. + +What city did the Persian kings make their capital? Not Babylon, with +its mighty walls and massive gates, but Shushan, the City of Lilies. +They chose it as their chief city for three reasons; it was nearer to +their old home, Persia, it was cooler than Babylon because of the +neighbouring mountains, and lastly, and above all, it had the best water +in the world. The water of the river Choaspes was so much esteemed for +its freshness, its clearness, and its salubrity, that the Persian kings +would drink no other; they had it carried with them wherever they went; +even when they undertook long warlike expeditions, the water of the +Choaspes was considered a necessary provision for the journey. + +The City of Lilies, in the days of the Rab-shakeh, was a perfect +fairy-land of beauty, surrounded as it was by fruit-gardens and +corn-fields; the white houses standing out from amongst dark palm trees, +and the high walls encircled by groves of citron and lemon trees. As the +Rab-shakeh walks along the air is scented with their blossoms, and with +the sweet fragrance of the countless Shushan lilies, growing beside the +margin of the sparkling rivers. + +Above him, in the midst of the city, stands his lordly home. It may well +be a magnificent place, for it is the palace of the greatest king in the +world, the mighty King of Persia. The palace in which the Rab-shakeh +lives is not the old palace in which Daniel stayed when he visited +Shushan; it is quite a new building, built only forty years before by +the great Ahasuerus, the husband of Queen Esther. It was to celebrate +the opening of this gigantic palace that the enormous and magnificent +feast of which we read in Esther i., was given by the Persian monarch, +who was its founder. + +This new palace was built on a high platform of stone and brick, and the +view from its windows of the green plain, of the shining rivers, of the +gardens filled with fruit trees and flowers, and of the snow-clad +mountains in the distance, was magnificent in the extreme. In the centre +of the palace was a large hall filled with pillars, one of the finest +buildings in the world, and round this hall were built the grand +reception rooms of the king. + +The ruins of Shushan, the City of Lilies, were discovered by Sir Fenwick +Williams in the year 1851, and the bases of the very pillars which +supported the roof of the great Rab-shakeh's splendid home may be seen +this very day on the plain between the two rivers. + +But who was this Rab-shakeh, and how came he to live in the most +glorious palace in the world? He was a Jew, a foreigner, a descendant of +those Jews whom Nebuchadnezzar took captive, and carried into Assyria. +Yet, although one of an alien race, we find him in one of the highest +offices of the Persian court, namely, the office of Rab-shakeh. + +This word Rab, so often found in the Bible, is a Chaldean word which +means Master. Thus, in the New Testament, we find the Jewish teachers +often addressed by the title Rabbi, Master. But the title Rab was also +used in speaking of the highest officials in an Eastern court. Three +such titles we find in the Bible: + + Jer. xxxix. 13. RAB-SARIS, Master of the Eunuchs. + + Jer. xxxix. 13. RAB-MAG, Master of the Magi. + + 2 Kings xviii. 17. RAB-SHAKEH, Master of the Cup-bearers. + +This last office, that of Rab-shakeh, was a very important and +responsible one. It was the duty of the man who held it to take charge +of the king's wine, to ensure that no poison was put into it, and to +present it in a jewelled cup to the king at the royal banquets. It was a +position of great trust and power; great trust, because the king's life +rested in the cup-bearer's keeping; great power, because whilst the +Persian monarchs, believing that familiarity breeds contempt, kept +themselves secluded from the public gaze, and admitted very few to their +august presence, the cup-bearer had access at all times to the king, and +had the opportunity of speaking to him which was denied to others. + +Strange that a Jew, one of a captive race, should be chosen to fill so +important a post. But King Artaxerxes knew his man. He felt he could +trust him fully, and he was not disappointed in his confidence, for the +great Rab-shakeh served a higher Master than the King of Persia, he was +a faithful servant of the God of Heaven. + +The Rab-shakeh's name was Nehemiah, a name chosen by his parents, not as +a fancy name or as a family name, but chosen for the same reason which +usually influenced Jewish parents in the selection of names for their +children, because of its beautiful meaning. Nehemiah meant _The Lord my +Comforter_. + +What a sweet thought for Hachaliah and his wife as they called their +boy in from play, or as they put him in his little bed and took leave +of him for the night, '_The Lord is my Comforter_.' Life in sunny +Shushan was surely no brighter than life in our more clouded land; they +had their times of sorrow as well as their times of joy, they had their +temptations, their cares, their anxieties, and their trials, just as we +have. How blessed for them in one and all of these to be reminded where +true comfort was to be found, so that they might turn to God in every +time of grief with the name of their little son on their lips, 'The Lord +is my Comforter.' + +What do _we_ know of Nehemiah? Can we say from our heart, 'The Lord +is _my_ Comforter?' I take Him my every sorrow, I tell Him my every +trouble. He understands it, and He understands me, and He comforts me as +no other can. The Lord is indeed my Comforter. + +So the little Nehemiah had grown up an ever-present reminder in his +parents' home of the comfort of God. + +How many children Hachaliah had we are not told, but Nehemiah had +certainly one brother, Hanani. There had been some years before this a +parting in Hachaliah's family. Hanani, Nehemiah's brother, had left +Shushan for a distant land. Twelve years had passed since all the Jews +in Shushan had been roused by the news that Ezra the scribe was going +from Babylon to Jerusalem, and that he was calling upon all who loved +the home of their forefathers to go with him, and to help him in the +work he had undertaken. Bad news had been brought to Babylon of the +state of matters in Palestine; those who had returned with Zerubbabel +were not prospering, either in their souls or their bodies, and Ezra, +shocked by what he had heard, determined to go to Jerusalem that he +might reform the abuses which had arisen there, and do all in his power +to rouse the people to a sense of their duty. A brave company had set +forth with him. Eight thousand Jews had been ready to leave comfort, +luxury, and affluence behind, that they might go to the desolate city, +and endeavour to stir up its people to energy and life. + +One of the 8,000 who went with Ezra was Nehemiah's brother, Hanani. It +is possible that Nehemiah himself was at that time too young to go; it +is also probable that Hachaliah, the father, having been born and +brought up in Shushan, was hard to move. So Hanani set forth alone, and +the brothers were parted. + +Twelve long years, and in all probability no news had reached the family +in Shushan of the absent Hanani. A journey of five months lay between +them and Jerusalem; and in those days, when all the conveniences we +enjoy were unknown, they would not only never expect to meet again, but +they would also never anticipate the pleasure of even hearing any news +of each other, or of holding the slightest communication. + +But as the Rab-shakeh walks to the gate of Shushan, on the day on which +the story opens, he spies a caravan of travellers coming along the +northern road. They have evidently come a long way, for they are tired, +exhausted, and travel-stained. The mules walk slowly and heavily under +their burdens, the skin of the travellers is burnt and cracked by the +hot sun of the desert, their clothes are faded and covered with dust, +their sandals are full of holes. + +Where can the caravan have come from? Nehemiah finds to his astonishment +that it has come from Jerusalem, the city of cities, as he had been +taught to believe it, and, to his still greater surprise, he finds +amongst the travellers his long-lost brother Hanani. What had brought +Hanani back from Jerusalem we are not told; he may have wished once more +to see his old father Hachaliah; but we can well imagine the joy with +which he would be welcomed by all, and not the least by his brother +Nehemiah. + +As they walk together through Shushan to the palace, the Rab-shakeh asks +anxiously after Jerusalem. Has Ezra's work been successful? How are +matters progressing? Are the people more in earnest? Is Jerusalem +thriving? + +But the travellers have a dismal tale to tell. Affairs in the Holy City +are about as bad as it was possible for them to be. + +Neh. i. 3: 'They said unto me, The remnant that are left of the +captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: +the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are +burned with fire.' + +In other words, things are just where they were twelve years ago; the +people are miserable and depressed, beset with countless troubles; the +city itself is still an utter ruin, just as Nebuchadnezzar left it. The +temple, it is true, is built at last, but nothing more is done; the +walls lie just as they were when the city was taken,--a mass of ruins; +the gates are nowhere to be seen, only a few blackened stones mark the +place where they used to stand. + +The Rab-shakeh's heart is very heavy as he goes to his rooms in the +royal palace. What terrible news he has heard! Jerusalem is still, +after all Ezra's efforts to restore it, a desolate ruined city. Nehemiah +is full of sorrow, sick at heart, overwhelmed with disappointment and +trouble. + +But he remembers his own name and its warning, Nehemiah, _The Lord is +my Comforter_. At once, without a moment's delay, he goes to his +Comforter. He weeps, he mourns, he fasts, and he pours out all his sorrow +to God. As a child runs to his mother, and pours into her ear his grief +or his disappointment, so Nehemiah hastens to his God. + +We walk through a splendid conservatory, the pride and glory of a +nobleman's garden; we admire the flowers of all shades of colour; rare +blossoms from all parts of the world, ferns of every variety, palms, and +grasses, and mosses, and all manner of natural beauties meet our eye at +every turn. What is that plant standing in a conspicuous place in the +conservatory? It is a beautiful azalea, covered with hundreds of pure +white blossoms. But there is so much else to see in that conservatory +that we scarcely notice it as we pass by. Nor are we at all surprised to +see it there; it is just the very place in which we should look for such +a plant. Nor are we astonished to find it so flourishing and so full of +bloom, for we know that everything in that conservatory is calculated to +improve its growth, the atmosphere is just what it should be, not too +dry or too damp, it has exactly the right soil, the proper amount of +light, the most carefully regulated heat; it has in fact everything +which it ought to have to make it a flourishing and beautiful plant. +Accordingly we are not surprised to find it full of bloom and beauty. + +But suppose, on the other hand, that walking through the slums of +London we see a similar sight. In one of the closest, most filthy courts +we see, in a garret window, a white azalea full of flowers, pure as the +untrodden snow. + +Now indeed we are surprised to see it, for it is in the most unlikely +place; there is nothing to favour its growth, the air is foul, the light +is dim, everything is against it, yet there it stands, a marvel of +beauty! And we look at it and say, 'Wonderful!' + +Surely we have even now seen the white azalea in the garret. For where +should we expect to find a man of God? Dwelling in the holy temple in +Jerusalem, surrounded by everything to remind him of God breathing in +the very atmosphere of religion, with godly people all around him, with +everything to help him to be holy and pure, no one would be astonished +to find a man of God in such a place as that. + +But here is Nehemiah the Rab-shakeh, living in a heathen palace, in the +midst of a wicked court, surrounded by drunkenness, sensuality, and all +that is vile and impure, breathing in the very atmosphere of sin, yet we +find him a plant of the Lord, pure as the azalea, a man of faith, a man +of prayer, a holy man of God. With everything against him, with nothing +to favour his growth in holiness, he is a flourishing plant in the +garden of the Lord. So it ever is. The plants of God's grace often +thrive in very unlikely places. There was a holy Joseph in the court of +Pharaoh, a faithful Obadiah in the house of wicked Jezebel, a righteous +Daniel in Babylon, and saints even in Caesar's household. + +Are we ever tempted to say, I cannot serve the Master faithfully? If I +were in another position, if my home life were favourable to my becoming +decided for Christ, if I had different companions, different occupation, +different surroundings, then indeed I would grow in grace, and bring +forth the fruit of a holy life. But as I am, and where I am, it is a +simple impossibility; I can never, under existing circumstances, live +near to God, or be what I often long to be, a true Christian. + +What does the Master say as He hears words like these? 'My grace is +sufficient for thee.' 'As thy day so shall thy strength be.' + +Even in most unlikely and unfruitful soil God can make His plants to +grow and flourish. Where I am, and as I am, and with exactly the same +surroundings as I now possess, God can bless me, and give me grace to +serve and to glorify Him. If I do not become a flourishing plant, it is +not my position that is to blame, it is because I will not seek that +grace which the Lord is ready to give me. 'Ye have not, because ye ask +not. Ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.' + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +The King's Table. + + +It was midnight in London, in the year 1665. The houses were closed and +barred, but strange lurid fires were lighted in every street, a stifling +odour of burning pitch and sulphur filled the air, and from time to time +came the heavy rumble of wheels, as a terrible cart, with its awful +load, passed by in the darkness of the night. With the cart came a cry; +so loud, so clear, so piercing, that it could be heard in all the closed +houses of the street. 'Bring out your dead, bring out your dead!' +Then, one door after another was hurriedly opened, and from the +plague-stricken houses one body after another was brought out, and was +thrown hastily into that awful dead cart. + +_Bring out your dead_! what a solemn, terribly solemn cry! How it +must have filled with awe and dread all who heard it! And if that call +were repeated, if the holy angels of God were to go through the length +and breadth of our land, and, stopping before each house, were to cry to +those within, 'Bring out your dead, bring out your dead,' not your dead +bodies, but your dead souls; bring out all in your house who are not +alive unto God, who are dead in trespasses and sins, how many would +have to be carried out of our houses? Should we ourselves be left +behind? Are we alive or dead? + +The angels have not yet come to sever the dead from the living, but the +time for that great separation is drawing daily nearer, when the Son of +man shall send forth His angels, and they shall gather out of His +kingdom all things that offend; all the loathsomeness of death, and +decay, and impurity shall be collected by angel hands, and, we read, +they shall cast them, not into a vast pit such as was dug in London in +the time of the plague, but into a furnace of fire, there shall be +wailing and gnashing of teeth. + +Surely, then, it is worth while to find out whether our soul is alive or +dead. What test then shall we use? How shall we settle the matter +clearly and definitely? + +There is one thing, and one thing only, which proves that a man has +life. A man apparently drowned is brought out of the water. He does not +speak, or see, or move, or feel. He is rubbed and warmed, but no sign of +life can be perceived. Can we therefore conclude that the man is dead? +Nay, we will put him to the test. Bring a feather, hold it before his +mouth, watch it carefully, does it move? A crowd of anxious bystanders +gather round to see. Soon a cry of joy is heard, the feather moves. +The man lives, for he _breathes_, and the breath in him is the +unmistakable sign of life. + +How then shall I know if my soul lives? Does it breathe? That is the +all-important question. But what is the breath of the soul? The breath +of the soul is prayer. As the old hymn says-- + + 'Prayer is the Christian's vital breath, + The Christian's native air.' + +Saul of Tarsus, with all his outward religion, was a dead soul, till the +Lord met him and gave him life. What then is the first thing we find +Saul doing? 'Behold he prayeth.' As soon as he is alive, he breathes, he +prays. + +Here then is the test for us to apply to our own souls. Do I know +anything of real prayer? Do I love to hold communion with my God? Am I +ever lifting up my heart to Him? If I live in the atmosphere of prayer, +then I am alive unto God; if, on the other hand, I feel prayer a +weariness, and know not what it is for my heart to hold unseen +intercourse with my Lord, then indeed I am dead in sin, having no +breath, and I have consequently no life. + +Nehemiah, the great Rab-shakeh, was a living soul, for he loved to pray. +No sooner had he heard the sad news about Jerusalem, than he went to his +private apartments in the palace, and began to plead with God. He feels +that all the trouble that has come upon his nation has been richly +deserved, so he begins with a humble confession of sin. + +'Let Thine ear now be attentive, and Thine eyes open, that Thou mayest +hear the prayer of Thy servant, which I pray before Thee now, day and +night, for the children of Israel Thy servants, and confess the sins of +the children of Israel, which we have sinned against Thee.' And then, +coming nearer home, he adds, 'both I and my father's house have sinned.' + +Was it some special sin which he confessed before God then? Can his sin, +and the sin of his father's house, have been the refusing twelve years +ago to leave home and comforts behind them, and to return with Ezra to +Jerusalem? + +Then Nehemiah pleads God's promises to His people in time past, and ends +by definitely stating his own special need and request (Neh. i. 8-11). + +By day and by night Nehemiah prays, and nearly four months go by before +he does anything further. + +The next step was not an easy one. He had determined to speak to the +great Persian monarch--to bring before him the desolate condition of +Jerusalem, and to ask for leave of absence from the court at Shushan, in +order that he might go to Jerusalem, and do all in his power to restore +it to something of its former grandeur. + +It is not surprising that Nehemiah dreaded this next step. The Persian +kings had a great objection to being asked a favour. Xerxes, the husband +of Queen Esther, when on his way to Greece with his enormous army, +passed through Lydia in Asia Minor. Here he was feasted and entertained +by a rich man named Pythius, who also gave him a large sum of money for +the expense of the war, and furnished five sons for the army. After this +Pythius thought he might venture to ask a favour of the Persian monarch, +so he requested that his eldest son might be allowed to leave his +regiment, in order that he might stay at home to be the comfort and +support of his aged father. But, instead of granting this very natural +request, Xerxes was so much enraged at having been asked a favour, that +he commanded the eldest son to be killed and cut in two, and then caused +his entire army to file between the pieces of the body. + +Artaxerxes, the king whom Nehemiah served, was considered one of the +gentlest of Persian monarchs, and yet even he was guilty of acts of +savage cruelty, of which we cannot read without a shudder. For example, +when he came to the throne, he found in the palace a certain eunuch +named Mithridates, who had been concerned in his father's murder. He +condemned this man to be put to death in the most horrible and cruel +way. He was laid on his back in a kind of horse-trough, and strongly +fastened to the four corners of it. Then another trough was put over +him, leaving only his head and hands and feet uncovered, for which +purpose holes were made in the upper trough. Then his face was smeared +with honey, and he was placed in the scorching rays of the sun. Hundreds +of flies settled on his face, and he lay there in agony for many long +days. Food was given him from time to time, but he was never moved or +uncovered, and it was more than a fortnight before death released him +from his sufferings. + +It was the very king who had put one of his subjects to this death of +awful torment before whom Nehemiah had to appear, and of whom he had to +make a request. No wonder, then, that he dreaded the interview, and that +he felt that he needed many months of prayer to make him ready for it. +It was in the month Chisleu (December) that Hanani had arrived, it was +not until Nisan (April) that he made up his mind to speak to the king. + +Before leaving his room that morning, he knelt down, and put himself and +his cause in the Lord's hands, Neh. i. 11. + +Then, attired in his official dress, the Rab-shakeh sets forth for the +state apartments of the palace. The central building of that magnificent +pile in which the king held court was very fine and imposing, as may be +seen to-day from the extensive ruins of Shushan. In the centre of it was +the Great Hall of Pillars, 200 feet square. In this hall were no less +than thirty-six pillars, arranged in six rows, and all sixty feet high. +Round this grand hall were the beautiful reception rooms of the king, +and these were carefully arranged, in order to ensure perpetual coolness +even in the hottest weather. There was no room on the hot south side of +the palace, but on the west was the morning room, in which all the +morning entertainments were held, whilst the evening banqueting hall was +on the eastern side. By this arrangement the direct rays of the sun were +never felt by those within the palace. Then, on the cool northern side +was the grand throne room, in which the king sat in state, and through +which a whole army of soldiers, or an immense body of courtiers, could +file without the slightest confusion, entering and leaving the room by +stone staircases placed opposite each other. The steps were only four +inches in depth and sixteen feet wide, and were so built that horsemen +could easily mount or descend them. + +Into one of the grand halls of the palace Nehemiah the cup-bearer +enters. The pavement is of coloured marble, red, white, and blue; +curtains of blue and white, the Persian royal colours, drape the windows +and are hanging in graceful festoons from the pillars; the fresh morning +breeze is blowing from the snow-clad mountains, and is laden with the +scent of lemons and oranges, and of the Shushan lilies and Persian roses +in the palace gardens. + +There is the royal table, covered with golden dishes and cups, and +spread with every dainty that the world could produce. + +There is the king, a tall, graceful man, but with one strange +deformity--with hands so long that when he stood upright they touched +his knees, from which he had received the nickname of Longimanus, the +long-handed. + +He is dressed in a long loose robe of purple silk, with wide sleeves, +and round his waist is a broad golden girdle. His tunic or under-garment +is purple and white, his trousers are bright crimson, his shoes are +yellow, and have long pointed toes. On his head is a curious high cap +with a band of blue spotted with white. He is moreover covered with +ornaments: he has gold earrings, a gold chain, gold bracelets, and a +long golden sceptre with a golden ball as its crown. + +The king is sitting on a throne, in shape like a high-backed chair with +a footstool before it. The chair stands on lion's feet, and the stool on +bull's feet, and both are made of gold. + +By the king's side sits the queen; her name was Damaspia, but we know +little more of her in history, except that she died on the same day as +her husband. Behind the king and queen are the fan-bearers, and +fly-flappers, and parasol-bearers, who are in constant attendance on +their royal majesties, and around are the great officers of the +household. + +Fifteen thousand people ate the king's food in that palace every day, +but the king always dined alone. It was very rarely that even the queen +or the royal children were allowed to sit at the king's table, which is +probably the reason why Nehemiah mentions the fact that the queen was +sitting by him. Perhaps he hailed the circumstance as a proof that the +king was in good humour that day, and would therefore be more likely to +listen to his petition. But no one who was not closely related to the +king was allowed to sit at the royal table, even the most privileged +courtiers sat on the floor and ate at his feet. + +The feast has begun, and it is time for the Rab-shakeh to present the +wine to the king. He takes the jewelled cup from the table in the king's +presence, he carefully washes it, then he fills it with a specially rare +wine, named the wine of Helbon, which was kept only for the king's use. +This wine was made from a very fine growth of grapes, at a place in the +Lebanon not far from Damascus, named Helbon. Then Nehemiah pours a +little wine into his left hand and drinks it, and then, lightly holding +the cup between the tips of his fingers and thumbs, he gracefully +presents it to the great monarch. + +Artaxerxes glances at his cup-bearer as he rises from his knees, and at +once notices something remarkable in his face. Nehemiah is pale and +anxious and troubled; his whole face tells of the struggle going on +within, and the king cannot fail to perceive it. Turning to the +Rab-shakeh he asks: 'Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not +sick? this is nothing else but sorrow of heart.' 'Then,' says Nehemiah, +'I was very sore afraid.' It is no wonder that he was alarmed, for it +was actually a crime, proscribed by law, for any one to look sad or +depressed in the presence of a Persian king. However heavy might be his +heart, however sorrowful his spirit, he must cross the threshold of the +palace with a smiling face, and show no signs in the king's presence of +the trouble within. But Nehemiah's face has betrayed him. What will the +king do? Will he dismiss him from office? Will he degrade him from his +high position? Will he punish him for his breach of court etiquette? Or +can it be that this is a heaven-sent opportunity in which he may make +his request? He answers at once: + +'Let the king live for ever: why should not my countenance be sad, when +the city, the place of my fathers' sepulchres, lieth waste, and the +gates thereof are consumed with fire?' + +And the king, quite understanding from Nehemiah's speech that he wants +something from him, asks immediately: + +'For what dost thou make request?' + +Oh, what a critical moment! How much depends on Nehemiah's answer to +this unexpected question! What shall he say? What dare he propose? The +whole future of Jerusalem may hang on his answer to the king's question. + +There is a moment's pause, but only a moment's, and then Nehemiah's +answer is given. Only a moment, and yet great things have been done in +that short time. 'I prayed,' says the Rab-shakeh, 'to the God of +Heaven.' + +Did he then rush away to his own apartment to pray? Did he kneel down in +the midst of the banqueting hall and call upon his God? No, he spoke no +word aloud, he did not even close his eyes. The king saw nothing, knew +nothing of what was going on; yet a mighty transaction took place in +that short time between the silent man, who still stood holding the cup +in his hands, and the King of Heaven. + +We are not told what the prayer was, perhaps it was only, 'Lord, help +me.' But quick as lightning the answer came. His fear fled, wisdom was +given him to answer, and his heart's desire was granted. + +How often we hear the complaint, 'I cannot pray long prayers, like the +good people I read of in books. I lead a busy active life, and when work +is done my body is weary and exhausted, and I find it impossible to pray +for any length of time, and sometimes I fear that because I cannot offer +long prayers I cannot therefore be the Lord's.' But surely it is not +long prayers that the Lord requires. Most of the Bible prayers are short +prayers, the Lord's pattern-prayer is one of the shortest. It is the +heathen who think they will be heard for their much speaking. Nehemiah's +was a true prayer, and an answered prayer, yet it was but a moment in +length. + +Nor are uttered words necessary to prayer. The followers of Baal cried +aloud, thinking their much shouting would reach the ear of their god, +but Nehemiah speaks not, does not even whisper, and his prayer is heard +in heaven. Surely now-a-days, when there are some who seem to think that +much noise, that loud shouting, that the uplifted voice must needs +pierce the sky, it is well for us to be reminded that God heeds no +language, hears no voice, but the language of the soul, the voice of the +innermost heart. + +Nor is posture a necessary part of prayer. Some choose to pray standing, +others prefer to kneel. It is not the posture of body God looks at, but +the posture of the heart. Reverence there must be, but such reverence as +comes from the inner sanctuary of the soul, and which only finds outward +expression in the body. Nehemiah stood with the jewelled cup in his +hands, yet Nehemiah's prayer was heard. + +So we see that heartfelt prayer--prayer which is prayer indeed--may be +short, silent, and offered in a strange place and at a strange time, and +yet be heard and answered by God. + +Let us try to grasp the full comfort of this thought, for we live in a +world of surprises. We rise in the morning, not knowing what the day may +bring forth. We are walking on a road with many turnings, and we never +know what may meet us at the next step! + +All of a sudden we find ourselves face to face with an unexpected +perplexity. What shall we do? What course shall we take? Here is the +little prayer made ready for our use-- + + Lord, guide me. + +Then, at the next turn, comes a sudden temptation. Unjust, cruel words +are spoken, and we feel we must give an angry reply. Let us stop one +moment before we answer, and in that moment put up the short prayer-- + + Lord, help me. + +Or a sudden danger, bodily or spiritual, stares us in the face. At once +we may lift up the heart and cry-- + + Lord, save me. + +There is no need to kneel down, no need to speak aloud, no need to move +from our place. In the office, the workshop, the schoolroom, the place +of business, the railway carriage, the street, wherever we may be and in +whatever company, the short silent prayer may be sent up to the God of +heaven. + +Thank God, no such prayer is ever unanswered! + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +The Good Hand. + + +The mighty universe, the great empire of the King of kings, who shall +give us even a faint idea of its size? + +It has been calculated that about 100,000,000 stars can be seen from our +world by means of a telescope. Yet who can grasp such a number as that? +Which of us can picture in his mind 100,000,000 objects? Let us suppose +that instead of 100,000,000 stars we have the same number of oranges; +let us arrange our oranges in imagination on a long string, which shall +pass through the centre of each of them. How long will our string have +to be if it is to hold the 100,000,000 oranges? It will have to be no +less than 6,000 miles long, and our 100,000,000 oranges will stretch in +a straight line from England to China. + +One hundred million stars, and of all these God is King. But these are +but as a speck compared with His vast universe. Each telescope that is +invented, which enables us to see a little further into space, discovers +more and more worlds unseen before. Who can even guess how many still +lie beyond, unseen, unnoticed, unheard of? The regions of space are +endless, as God their Maker is endless. + +And all these countless worlds are under the eye of the King of kings. +He rules all, watches all, guides all. Can I, then, believe that He will +have time to take notice of my tiny affairs? Can He care if I am sick, +worried, or poor, or depressed? Surely I must be ready to say with the +Psalmist-- + +'When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the +stars which Thou hast ordained, what is man, that Thou art mindful of +him? and the son of man, that Thou visitest him?' + +Yet that quaint old saying of John Flavel the Puritan is right, 'The man +who watches for Providence will never want a Providence to watch.' In +other words, he who trusts his concerns to a higher power, he who puts +his cause in the Lord's hands, will never be disappointed. The God who +rules the universe will not forget to attend to him, but will watch him, +and guide him, and help him, as tenderly as if he was the only being in +that universe. + +St. Augustine used to say, 'Lord, when I look upon mine own life, it +seems Thou hast led me so carefully and tenderly, Thou canst have +attended to none else; but when I see how wonderfully Thou hast led the +world and art leading it, I am amazed that Thou hast had time to attend +to such as I.' + +How much more must we wonder at God's loving care, when we look beyond +this tiny world to the countless millions of worlds in the universe! + +Nehemiah was watching for Providence. He had taken his case to God, he +had trusted all to Him, and Nehemiah did not want a Providence to watch; +the God in whom he had put his confidence did not disappoint him. + +'Let me go that I may rebuild Jerusalem,' says the cup-bearer; and the +great Persian king does not refuse his request, but (prompted, it may +be, by the queen who was sitting by him) he asks: 'For how long shall +thy journey be? and when wilt thou return?' + +'And I set him a time.' How long a time we are not told. Nehemiah did +not return to Persia for twelve years; but it is probable that he asked +for a shorter leave of absence, and that this was extended later on, in +order to enable him to finish his work. + +Cheered and encouraged by the king's manner, feeling sure that God is +with him and is prospering him, Nehemiah asks another favour of the +king. The Persian empire at that time was of such vast extent, that it +reached from the river Indus to the Mediterranean, and the Euphrates was +looked upon as naturally dividing it into two parts, east and west. +Nehemiah asks, ch. ii. 7, for letters to the governors of the western +division of the empire, that they may be instructed to help him and +forward him on his way. + +He asks, ver. 8, for something more. There is a certain man named Asaph, +who has charge of the king's forest or park (see margin of R.V.). The +real word which Nehemiah used was paradise--the king's paradise. The +derivation of the word is from the Persian words Pairi, round about, and +Deza, a wall. Up and down their empire, in various places, the Persian +kings had these paradises--parks or pleasure grounds--surrounded and +shut off from the neighbouring country by a high fence or wall. These +paradises were places of beauty and loveliness, where the king and his +friends might meet and walk together, and enjoy each other's society. + +Is not this the Lord's own picture of the place He went to prepare for +His people? Did He not say to the thief on the cross, 'To-day thou shalt +be with Me in Paradise?' It was a new name taken by our Lord from these +paradises of the Persian kings, and given by Him to that new place which +He went to prepare for His people, even the Garden of the Lord, the +pleasure ground of the King of kings, the place to which His people go +when they die. There they enjoy His company, and see His face, and walk +with Him and talk to Him, waiting for that glorious day when they shall +pass from the garden of the King into the palace itself. + +We are not told where this particular paradise was, of which Asaph was +the keeper, but probably it was the place which the kings of Judah had +always made their pleasure ground. This was at Etam, about seven miles +from Jerusalem, where Solomon had fine gardens, and had made large lakes +of water, fed by a hidden and sealed spring. + +Solomon himself twice used the word paradise of his gardens, and these +are the only places in which the word occurs in the Old Testament, +except in Neh. ii. 8. + +Solomon says, Eccles. ii. 5, 'I made me gardens and paradises.' In Cant. +iv. 13 he speaks of 'a paradise of pomegranates, with precious fruits.' + +For three purposes Nehemiah wanted wood from Asaph's paradise, and asked +the king to give him an order for it, that he might deliver to the +keeper. + +He wanted it (1) for the gates of the palace of the house. _The_ +house means the temple, and the palace should be translated the castle. +It was a tower which stood at the north-west corner of the temple +platform, and commanded and protected the temple courts. (2) He required +wood for the gates of the wall, and (3) for 'the house that I shall enter +into,' i.e. for my own dwelling-house. + +All is granted--the royal secretaries are called, and are bidden to +write the required instructions to the governors beyond the river, and +to Asaph, the bailiff of the forest. Nehemiah takes no credit to himself +that all has gone so prosperously, he does not praise his own courage, +or wisdom, or tact in making the request, he knows it is a direct answer +to a direct prayer, he recognises the fact that it is God's doing, and +not his. + +'The king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.' + +That was Ezra's motto, quoted by him again and again (Ezra vii. 6, 9, +28; viii. 18, 22, 31). In all his deliverances, in every one of his +mercies, he had seen the good hand of his God, and he had taken those +words, 'The good hand of my God upon me,' as the keynote of his praise, +and as the motto of his life. But Nehemiah had in all probability never +even seen Ezra, yet here we find him quoting Ezra's favourite saying. +Can it be that Hanani, his brother, who had been one of Ezra's +companions, had repeated it to him? Can it be that in order to cheer and +encourage his brother when he undertook the difficult task of speaking +to the king, he told him how Ezra was always repeating these words, and +how he found them a sure refuge in time of need? If so, how gladly would +Nehemiah hasten to his brother when his duties in the palace were +completed, to tell him that Ezra's motto has held good again, for 'the +king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.' + +'The good hand of my God.' What blessed words! Let trouble come, or +temptation come, or death itself come, I will not fear. The good hand of +my God is over me. None can pluck me from that hand. 'All my times are +in Thy hand, O Lord,' and are safe there from even the fear of danger. +Oh, how blessed to be one so sheltered, so shielded, underneath the good +hand of my God! But the same hand is against them that do evil. I must +either be in the hand, or have the hand raised against me! Which shall +it be? + +All is ready now, the preparations are ended, and Nehemiah, accompanied +by his brother Hanani, and by a royal escort of soldiers, sets forth on +his long journey. Jerusalem, the City of David--how often he had dreamt +of it, how earnestly he had longed to see it! Now, at last, his desire +is to be granted. The travellers could not sing, as they rode slowly +over the scorching desert, 'Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O +Jerusalem,' for the gates of the city were burned with fire, and only a +blackened space showed where each had stood, but they may have joined +together in that other psalm, which was probably written about this +time, Psalm cii. + +'Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favour her, +yea, the set time, is come. + +'For Thy servants take pleasure in her stones, and it pitieth them to +see her in the dust.' + +There is no misadventure on the journey, they travel safely under the +care of the king's guard; but surely Nehemiah saw a dark cloud on the +horizon as he handed in his letters to the governors beyond the river. +One of these was Sanballat, the satrap or governor of Samaria. His name +was an Assyro-Babylonian one, so that he was probably descended from +one of the Babylonian families settled in Samaria, and it signifies 'The +Moon God gives life.' His native place was Horonaim in Moab, and +Sanballat was by nation a descendant of Lot. + +With the Samaritan governor was his secretary Tobiah, the servant or the +feud slave, a man also descended from Lot, for he was an Ammonite, and +standing evidently very high in Sanballat's favour. + +It was probably Tobiah who read Artaxerxes' letter to his master, and +very black and gloomy were both their faces as they heard the news it +contained. + +At the court of Sanballat was a friend of his, Geshem the Arabian, the +head or chief of a tribe of Arabs, which we find, from the ancient +Assyrian monuments recently discovered, had been planted in Samaria by +Sargon, King of Assyria. This man Geshem was therefore a Bedouin, a +descendant of Esau. + +These three, Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem, cannot conceal their disgust +that anyone has been sent from Persia to look after the welfare of +Jerusalem. So far they have trampled the Jews under foot as much as +possible, and the Jews have been powerless to resist them. But now here +is a man come direct from the court at Shushan, with letters from their +royal master in his hand, and with orders to rebuild and fortify +Jerusalem. + +From that moment Sanballat and his friends became Nehemiah's bitter +enemies, determined to thwart and to oppose him to the utmost of their +power. + +At length the wearisome journey is over, and Nehemiah arrives in +Jerusalem. He tells no one why he has come; but, worn out with the +fatigue he has undergone, he goes quietly to the house of a friend, +probably to that of his brother Hanani, and for three days he rests +there. Then, on the third night after his arrival, when all Jerusalem is +asleep, he rises, mounts a mule or donkey, and, with a few faithful +followers, steals out to explore for himself the extent of the ruin, to +see how things really were, what was the state of the walls, and how +much had to be done to put them into good repair. + +Stealing out of the city on the south side, at the spot on which in +better days the Valley Gate had stood, a gate which was so called +because it opened into the Valley of Hinnom, he turned into the ravine, +and went eastward. No doubt there was a moon, and by its quiet light he +could see the heaps of rubbish, and the work of the fire which had +destroyed the gates 150 years ago. How sad and forsaken it all looked in +the moonlight, as he turned '_towards_ the Dragon's well' (see +Revised Version). The site of this Dragon's Well is very uncertain, but +it is generally identified with Upper Gihon. It is sometimes confounded +with the Virgin's Fount, called by the Arabs the Mother of Steps, because +there are twenty-seven steps leading down to it, and the descent is very +steep. This is the only spring near Jerusalem, and its water is carried +by an underground passage to the Pool of Siloam. It is an intermittent +spring, suddenly rising and as suddenly falling, at irregular intervals. +Two explorers, Dr. Robinson and Mr. Smith, were just about to measure +the water, when they found it suddenly rising; in less than five minutes +it had risen a foot, in ten minutes more it had ceased to flow, and had +sunk to its former level. + +The common people believed in olden time, and believe still, that a +dragon lies within the fountain, concealed from view; that when he is +awake he stops the water from flowing, but that he finds it impossible +to keep awake always, and when he falls asleep the water flows. + +How eagerly those with Nehemiah would point out each object to him! We +can picture Hanani walking by his side, showing him all the different +objects, to himself so familiar, to Nehemiah so well known by name, but +so strange by sight. + +Coming down the Valley of Hinnom they reach the Dung Gate, the gate +outside which lay piles of rubbish and offal, swept out of the city, and +all collected together by this gate and left to rot in the valley. + +Here he examines in the moonlight the masses of fallen stonework, the +small portions of wall still standing, and the gap where the gate used +to stand before it was burnt. + +Then on he went until he came to the Gate of the Fountain, opposite the +King's Pool, or Pool of Siloam, which watered the king's garden. But at +this south-east corner the rubbish was so great that the mule he was +riding on could not proceed. Pile upon pile of stone, heap upon heap of +broken fragments of what had once been so magnificent, lay so thickly +massed together that it was of no use attempting to ride further. So +Nehemiah dismounted, and probably leaving his mule with some of his +companions by the Gate of the Fountain, he went on foot a little +further. Going up the Kedron valley he examined the eastern wall, which +was in much better condition than the rest; and then, turning to the +west, he came back to the rest of the party and returned with them to +the Valley Gate. + +Now Nehemiah has seen the work before him, and has realised that it is +both vast and difficult. He is ready now to put his scheme before the +people of Jerusalem. He finds the city governed by no single man, but by +a kind of town council. He now summons a meeting of these rulers, and he +also invites the nobles and the working men to be present. Then he makes +his appeal: + +'Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the +gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall +of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach.' + +Then, to cheer them on to make the effort, he tells them how God has +helped him up to that point; he tells them what the good hand has done +for him already in opening the king's heart and the king's purse. + +What response does he meet with? As one man that large assembly rises +and joins in the cry, 'Let us rise up and build.' Happy Nehemiah to find +such ready help, to find those he speaks to willing at once to fall in +with his scheme, and to aid him in his work. + +It is to be feared that had he lived in our more cautious and +calculating days, Nehemiah would have had many a bucket of cold water +thrown on him and his plan. One would have risen and would have said, +'The work is too hard, the heaps of rubbish are too great, it is +impossible to undertake such a task. Look at the south-east corner, who +will ever be able to clear away the heaps that have accumulated there?' + +Another would have been sure to grumble at the expense, would have asked +how they, poor down-trodden Jews as they were, could ever afford to give +time or money to such a vast undertaking? + +A third would have risen with a long face, and would have asked, 'What +will Sanballat say if we rebuild the wall? What will Tobiah do? What +will Geshem whisper? Now indeed we have no open rupture with the +governors, but who can tell what the result of our taking action in this +matter will be? Surely it is better to let well alone.' + +A fourth would have given as his opinion, that what had served for 150 +years would surely last their time. True, Jerusalem was forlorn and +defenceless, but they had grown accustomed to it now. It struck +Nehemiah, of course, coming as he did fresh from the glories of Shushan, +but they had become used to it, and he would soon do the same. There was +no need surely to make a disturbance about it or to run into any risk +about it. + +A fifth would have suggested, with some warmth, that surely old +inhabitants of the city were better judges of its requirements than a +stranger, and that it was for the town council to propose such a scheme +if they saw the necessity for it, and not for a new-comer who had been +less than a week in Jerusalem. + +These, and countless other objections, might have been raised, had the +meeting been called in our lukewarm days. + +But the Jerusalem committee did not act thus, they did not fill +Nehemiah's way with difficulties and his soul with discouragement. A +plain bit of work lay before him and before them; he was ready to lead, +and they were ready to follow. 'Let us rise and build,' they cry. And +'they strengthened their hands for this good work.' + +Let us take heed that we, as servants of Christ, follow their example. +Let us never be seen with the bucket of cold water, ready to throw on +the efforts of others for good. As 'iron sharpeneth iron, so a man +sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.' Let us ever be ready with the +word of encouragement, with the helpful hand, with the cheering spirit +of hope. There is work for us amongst the ruins of God's fair world, and +the labourers are few. + +Let us then rise and build, each of us in earnest, each of us +encouraging his brother, each of us looking beyond the discouragements +of earth to the Master's 'Well done good and faithful servant.' + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +To Every Man his Work. + + +Once a year, in the University of Cambridge, there is a grand day called +Commemoration Day. On that day, in the middle of the service, in each +college chapel a list of honours is read out, a list containing the +names of all those who, in times gone by, gave money or help to that +college. The bodies of those whose names are read have many of them +crumbled to dust long centuries ago, but their names are remembered +still, remembered for what they have done; and that they may never be +forgotten, they are publicly read aloud, year by year, on the great +Commemoration Day. + +Let us now take up God's honour list, and see who are entered upon it. +We shall find it filled with the names of those who have been dead more +than 2000 years, but whose names are not forgotten; they stand out fair +and clear in the Book of God, all are entered on the great list of +honours, and are remembered for what they have done. + +Where shall we find God's great honour list? It is the list of all those +who responded to Nehemiah's appeal, and who rebuilt the walls of +Jerusalem. In Neh. iii. we have a list of their names, not one is +omitted. There those names have stood for 2000 years; there they will +stand to the end of time. Brave men, noble men were those Jews, who, as +soon as the scheme was laid before them, cried, 'Let us arise and +build;' and who not only responded by word of mouth, but who at once set +to work to do what they had promised. + +Let us take a walk round the walls of Jerusalem and watch the builders +at work. We will begin where they began, ver. 1, at the Sheep Gate on +the east side of the city. As we stand by the gate we see beneath us the +Kedron valley, and beyond it the slopes of the Mount of Olives. Close by +us, but inside the city, is the sheep-market, where the sheep and lambs +are sold to those who wish to sacrifice in the temple, and near this +market is the pool where the sheep are washed before being led up into +the temple courts. This is the pool mentioned in John v. 2, where in +later times lay the impotent man waiting to be healed. + +Who are these who are busily engaged repairing the Sheep Gate and the +wall beyond it; they are the priests, who have left their work in the +temple courts close by, and who, with their loins girded and their long +white tunics turned up, are leading, as it was right they should, the +van of Nehemiah's effort. + +Heading these priests, and superintending their work, is Eliashib the +high priest. The meaning of his name is _God restores_, a grand name +for the man who began the restoration of the Holy City. This Eliashib was +the grandson of the high priest Jeshua, who had returned with +Zerubbabel. He is honourably mentioned by Nehemiah as leading the way in +this work; but, sad to say, though he earnestly built the wall round +the city, Eliashib was afterward the one who let sin come within those +very walls. + +The priests are building from the Sheep Gate as far as the two towers, +Meah and Hananeel, which stood at the north-east corner of the city. + +We pass on, and next we see a number of men building; we notice at once, +by their dress, that they are not priests, so we ask them where they +come from. We find they are men of Jericho, the city of palm trees, +fourteen miles away in the Jordan valley. They are the descendants of +the 345 men of Jericho who returned with the first detachment of Jews in +the time of Cyrus. This piece of the wall has been allotted to them +because it faces their own city Jericho; they are building at the very +spot from which the road started that led from Jerusalem to Jericho. + +Passing the Jericho men we come to a bit of the wall where one solitary +man is working. His name is Zaccur. He can only have a small piece of +the wall allotted to him, for we are close now upon the Fish Gate, where +other builders are at work, the sons of Hassenaah. Possibly this Zaccur +was a man of no importance, for we never hear of him again; probably his +share of the work was only a small one, yet it was well and faithfully +done, and his name stands fast in God's honour list, and will stand +there while the world shall last. + +We have come now to the Fish Gate, on the north side of the city. Close +by us is the fish-market, for through that gate comes all the fish sold +in Jerusalem. Men of Tyre are there with baskets of fish from the +Mediterranean, and Galilean fishermen with fish from the great inland +sea, on which in later times the apostles toiled for their daily bread. + +Three men, who were probably well-known citizens, are repairing the +three next pieces of the wall, their names are Meremoth, Meshullam, and +Zadok. We will notice one of these three men, Meshullam, for we shall +hear more of him presently. If Meshullam's name is honourably mentioned +here as one of the builders of Jerusalem, we shall find it very +differently mentioned as we go on with Nehemiah's story. + +Passing these three men, we come to a part of the wall which is being +built by the inhabitants of Tekoa, a small village not far from +Jerusalem, whence came the wise woman whom Joab sent to King David. What +is the matter at this part of the wall? The work does not get on as it +should. They seem to have no leaders, these people of Tekoa, and to have +a long stretch of wall, and but few hands to build it. We ask how this +is, and we find that some in Tekoa have shirked the work (ver. 5): + +'Their nobles put not their necks to the work of their Lord.' + +They have been like oxen, too idle to draw the plough, which have pulled +their necks from under the yoke, and have stubbornly refused to go +forward. So have these nobles of Tekoa stood aloof, too proud to work +side by side with the common people of the village, or too idle to join +in anything which requires continuous effort; they have left their +poorer neighbours to bear the burden alone, and to do it or not as they +please. + +We are now passing the Old Gate, on the north of the city, the Damascus +Gate of modern days, from which goes the great northern road to Samaria +and Galilee. + +The men of Gibeon and Mizpah, whose villages lay near together, we find +next on the wall, working side by side as neighbours should, and +building the part of the wall which faced their own homes, two villages +standing on the hills about five miles from the northern gate. + +Coming round the city we find ourselves passing the Gate of Ephraim and +the Broad Wall. Here we see no workmen, for that part of the wall does +not need repairing. Uzziah, King of Judah, had built a strong piece of +wall here, about 200 yards long, and the Chaldeans had not been able to +destroy it with the rest of the city. This wall was twice the thickness +of the rest, and was always called the Broad Wall. + +Near this wall we find men of two different trades working, goldsmiths +and apothecaries. Trades in the East are almost always hereditary, +passing down from father to son for many generations. Thus these +goldsmiths and apothecaries were joined together in family guilds or +unions, and came forward together to the work. The apothecaries were the +spice makers, important persons in the East, where spices are so largely +used in cooking, and where so many sweet-smelling and aromatic spices +are employed in embalming the dead. + +Then, passing on, we see the tower which protected the furnaces or brick +kilns, in which the bricks were made which had been used in rebuilding +the houses of the city. So unsettled was the country, that it is +supposed it was found necessary to erect a tower for the defence of +these brick-makers, who were often at work by night as well as by day. +Close to the furnace tower we see a strange sight, and one which is well +worthy of our notice. This part of the wall deserves our earnest +attention, for here are actually young ladies engaged in the work, +standing, trowel in hand, toiling away side by side with the other +workmen. Who are these girls? They are the daughters of Shallum, the +ruler of the half part of Jerusalem (ver. 12) (or rather of the country +round Jerusalem). Shallum was evidently a wealthy and influential man, +but he did not withdraw from the work, like the nobles of Tekoa, and so +anxious are his daughters that the Lord's work should be done, that here +we find them toiling away by their father's side. God noticed the effort +made by these young ladies of Jerusalem, and did not forget to notice +them in His great honour list. + +Passing on, we come to the part of the wall which Nehemiah had examined +in his moonlight ride. We see the Valley Gate, the Dung Gate, and the +Gate of the Fountain, opposite the Pool of Siloam. This part of the city +has suffered much from Nebuchadnezzar's work of destruction, and the +work of rebuilding it is therefore very heavy. But close to the +south-east corner, at the place where Nehemiah's mule stumbled and was +unable to proceed, the builders have a stiff piece of work indeed. The +piles of rubbish are so many and so deep, there is so much to be cleared +away before they can commence building, that we find accordingly the +piece given to each man to repair is not great, and that many hands are +making the labour light. + +We notice, too, that most of those who are working in this part of the +city are repairing that bit of the wall which is immediately opposite +their own houses. No less than six times we are told that the builder's +own house was close to the part of the wall he built. + +One man we cannot help watching as we turn round towards the eastern +wall. His name is Baruch, and there is something about him which +attracts our attention at once. He works as if he were working for his +life, he does not lose a moment; whoever is absent, Baruch is always at +his post; whoever is idle, Baruch is ever hard at work, early in the +morning and late at night, when the hot sun is scorching the city and +when the night dews are falling, Baruch is always busy, toiling away on +the wall with all his might and main. Ver. 20 tells us he 'earnestly +repaired.' The word means to be hot, to be on fire with zeal and energy. +He 'earnestly repaired the _other_ piece,' or as it would be better +translated '_another_ piece.' Having finished his own portion, in +another part of the wall, Baruch has come to the rescue at the +south-east corner, where the rubbish is deepest and the work is hardest. +Baruch therefore receives the mark of distinction on God's list of +honour. Round the corner, on the eastern wall, one builder we cannot +pass without notice, for he is an old white-headed man. His name is +Shemaiah the son of Shechaniah. We find this man mentioned in 1 Chron. +iii. 22 as a descendant of King David. His son Hattush had returned with +Ezra, twelve years before; now here is the old man himself, determined +not to let his white hairs prevent him from helping on the good work +(ver 29). He builds by the gate which was his charge, the Golden Gate, +at the east of the temple court and facing the Mount of Olives. + +The last piece of the wall is being done by the goldsmiths and the +merchants; and now, as we pass them, we find ourselves again at the +Sheep Gate, at the very spot from which we started in our walk round the +city. + +Listen to the ring of the trowels, hearken to the shouts of the workmen, +as they call to one another and cheer each other on in the work. From +morning till night, day after day, the trowels are kept busy, and the +work goes on, and already, as we watch, we begin to see the gaps filled +up and the ruin of many years repaired. + +It was the work of the Lord, a grand work, a glorious work, which those +builders of Nehemiah were doing, and God noticed and marked, and put on +His list of honour every one who joined in it. + +Times have changed, manners have altered, kingdoms have passed away, +since the eastern sun streamed upon Nehemiah's workmen, but there is +still work to be done for the Lord. The Master's workshop is still open, +and the Master's eye is still fixed on the workers, and He still enters +the name of each in a register, His great list of honour, kept not in +earth, but in heaven. + +Is my name then on God's honour list? Am I working for Him? Am I to be +found at my post, faithfully carrying out the work He has given me to +do? + +Looking at the walls of Jerusalem, surely the Lord would have us learn +three great lessons. + + (1) _Who_ should work. + + (2) _Where_ they should work. + + (3) _How_ they should work. + +_Who should work_? What say the walls of Jerusalem? Everyone without +exception. Do we not see people of all classes at work--rich men and +poor men, people of all occupations, priests, goldsmiths and +apothecaries, and merchants? men of all ages, the young and strong, and +the old and white-headed? those from all parts of the country--men of +Jericho, and Gibeon, and Mizpah, side by side with inhabitants of +Jerusalem? people of both sexes, men and women? The goldsmith did not +say, 'I don't understand building, therefore I cannot help.' The +apothecary did not object that it was not his trade, so he must leave it +to the bricklayers and masons. Old Shemaiah did not say, 'Surely an old +white-headed man like myself cannot be expected to do anything.' The men +of Jericho did not complain that they were fourteen miles from their +home, and that therefore it would be inconvenient for them to help. The +daughters of Shallum did not say, 'We are women, and therefore there is +nothing for us to do.' + +But all came forward, heartily, willingly, cheerfully, to do the work of +their Lord. + +There is only one exception, only one blot on the page, only one dark +spot on the register. The nobles of Tekoa, for 2000 years their names +have stood, enrolled as the shirkers in God's grand work. + +Who then are to work for God? Every one of us, whoever we are, whatever +is our occupation, whatever our place of residence, whatever our age, +whatever our sex, the motto in God's great workshop remains the +same--'_To every one his work_,' his own particular work, to be done +by him, and by no one else. + +_Where then shall we work_? Imitate Nehemiah's builders; those living +in the city built each the piece of wall before his own door, those living +outside built the part of the wall facing their own village, whilst the +priests built the piece nearest to the temple. Let us then, as God's +workers, begin at home, working from a centre outwards; our own heart +first, surely there is plenty of work to do there; then our own family, +our own household, our own street, our own congregation, our own city, +our own country, letting the circle ever widen and widen, till it +reacheth to the furthest corner of God's great workshop, to the +uttermost parts of the earth. + +_How then shall we work_? Like Baruch, the son of Zabbai, hot with +zeal, on fire with earnestness and energy. Baruch did not saunter round +the walls to watch how the other builders were getting on; he stuck to his +post. Baruch did not work well one day and lie in bed the next, he +persevered steadily and patiently. Baruch did not work as if he were +trying to make the job last as long as possible, idly pretending to +work, but dreaming all the time, but he worked on bravely, earnestly, +unceasingly, till the work was done. So let us work while it is called +to-day, for the night cometh when no man can work. + +It was no easy work those Jerusalem builders had. Outdoor work in the +East is always hard and heavy; it is no light matter to stand for hours +in the scorching sun without a particle of shade, toiling on at heavy +and unaccustomed work. But the builders bravely endured, and were +stedfast in the work, and they have their reward. Their names stand on +God's honour list, not even the most insignificant amongst them is +omitted. + +Workers for God, does the work seem hard? Are the difficulties great? +Are you weary and faint as you keep at your post? Does the hot sun of +temptation often tempt you to throw up the work? Think of Nehemiah's +builders. Hold on, cheer up, work well and bravely, remembering that the +reward is sure. We read of certain people who lived at Philippi whose +names were written in heaven. Who were these? (Phil. iv. 3.) St. Paul +tells us; they were his fellow-labourers, the workers of God in that +city. + +No human hand, no hand of angel or archangel, enters the names on that +register, for it is the Lamb's book of life. None but the Lamb can open +it, none but He can write in it, none but He will read its contents in +the ears of the assembled universe. + +What an honour, what a wonderful joy, what a glorious reward it will be +to each faithful worker, as he hears his own name read from the list! +Surely it will well repay him for all he has undergone in the working +days of earth. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +The Sword and the Trowel. + + +The sea is calm and quiet, blue as the sky above it, not a wave, not a +ripple is to be seen; it is smooth as polished silver, shining like a +mirror, and peaceful as the still lake amongst the mountains. On the sea +is a boat, floating along as quietly and as gently as on a river. The +man in the boat is having an easy time, as he rows out to sea, almost +without an effort. + +But what is that in the far distance? It is a black cloud, rising from +the sea. In a little time the wind begins to moan and sigh, white lines +are seen on the distant water, a storm is coming, and coming both +swiftly and surely. The man in the boat at once rouses himself and +prepares for action; it was an easy thing to go forward when all was +still, he will find it a very different matter to meet the rising storm. + +So found Nehemiah the governor. Up to this time all had gone smoothly +and easily, the king had granted his request fully and freely, Asaph had +given him the wood from the royal paradise, the committee, composed of +the leading men in Jerusalem, had at once fallen in with his scheme, the +people, great and small, men and women, old and young, had responded to +his appeal, the walls were being rebuilt, the trowels were busy, the +rubbish was being cleared away, and all was bright, cheerful, and +encouraging. As Nehemiah walks round the city directing the builders, +dressed, as a Persian governor, in a flowing robe, a soft cap, and with +a gold chain round his neck, he feels his work both easy and pleasant. +It is always a light task to direct and superintend those who have a +mind to work, and Nehemiah for some time went peacefully on his way, as +the man in his boat rowed easily along in the still, untroubled water. + +But what is that dark cloud rising north of Jerusalem? What is that +moaning, muttering sound in the far distance? Can it be a storm coming, +a terrible storm of opposition and difficulty? Surely it is, for we see +Nehemiah rousing himself, and preparing to row his frail boat through +troubled waters. + +Signs of the approaching storm had indeed been seen by him, before the +first stone had been placed on the city wall. No sooner had he revealed +his plans to the people of Jerusalem, no sooner had they responded, 'We +will arise and build,' than something had occurred which might well make +Nehemiah feel uncomfortable. A messenger had appeared at the northern +gate, bearing in his hand a letter, written on parchment, and addressed +to the Tirshatha, or governor. Nehemiah opened the roll, and found it +contained an insulting message from Sanballat, the governor of Samaria, +a message which was evidently expressed in very scornful and unpleasant +words. The upshot of the letter was this (ii. 19): + +'What is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against the king?' + +Do you, Nehemiah, intend to fortify Jerusalem, and then set up the +standard of rebellion against Persia? Our master, the king, may be +deceived by you, but I, Sanballat, see through your hypocrisy and your +wicked designs. + +Nehemiah's answer was clear and to the point. Three things he would have +Sanballat know: + +(1) We have higher authority than that of man for what we do. + +'The God of heaven, He will prosper us.' + +(2) We intend to go on with our work in spite of anything you may say or +do. + +'We His servants will arise and build.' + +(3) It is no business or concern of yours. You, Sanballat, have nothing +whatever to do with it. + +'Ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.' + +Be content then, Sanballat, to manage your own province of Samaria, and +to leave Jerusalem and the Jews to me and to their God. + +No answer came back to Nehemiah's letter, and perhaps he and his +companions fondly dreamed that this was an end to the matter, that the +storm had blown over, and that Sanballat, when he saw that they were +determined, and that they did not heed his threats or his ridicule, +would in the future let them alone. + +But one day, quite suddenly, the clouds returned, and the storm rose. +The work is progressing splendidly. The priests and the merchants, and +the goldsmiths and the apothecaries, the daughters of Shallum, earnest +Baruch, and white-headed Shemaiah, are all at their post, when suddenly, +as they look up, they see an unexpected sight. A great crowd of +Samaritans is gathered together outside the northern wall, and is +standing still, staring at them, and watching their every movement as +they build the wall. + +Sanballat the governor is there, Tobiah the secretary stands by his +side, his chief counsellors have come with him, as have also the +officers of his army. Dark and thick the storm is gathering, and surely +the builders feel it, for the trowels cease their cheery ringing sound, +and all are listening, waiting and wondering what will come next. + +The silence is broken by a loud scornful voice, loud enough to be heard +down the line of workers, and by Nehemiah as he stands among them. He +knows that voice well; it is the voice of Sanballat the governor. In +scoffing disagreeable words he is speaking to his companions, but he is +talking about the builders, and is talking for their benefit too, that +they may feel the full sting of his sarcastic words. + +'What do these feeble Jews?' A poor weak, miserable down-trodden set of +men; what can _they_ do? + +'Will they fortify themselves?' Do they fondly dream they will ever +finish their work, and fortify their city? + +And how long will it take to build walls like these? Do they think it +will be done directly? 'Will they sacrifice? Will they make an end in a +day?' Do they expect to offer the sacrifice at the commencement of their +work, and then the very same day to finish it? + +Why, they have not even the necessary materials. Where will they get +their stone from? Are they going to do what is impossible, to make +good, solid building-stone out of the heaps of rubbish, the crumbling +burnt masses which are all that remain of the old walls? + +'Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are +burned?' + +Then when Sanballat had done speaking, there follows the loud coarse +sneer of Secretary Tobiah. Why if a fox (or jackal) tries to get over +their miserable wall, even his light foot will break it down. + +'Even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down +their stone wall.' + +We can picture to ourselves the burst of laughter with which this speech +would be hailed by the bystanders, the officers and courtiers of +Sanballat. + +What does Nehemiah answer? How does he reply to this cruel ridicule, +these sharp, cutting, insolent words, that provoking laughter? + +If we study Nehemiah's character, we shall find that he was a man of +quick feelings and of a sensitive nature. He was not one of those men +who are so thick-skinned that hard speeches are not felt by them. He was +moreover a man of great power and spirit. He must have felt much +inclined to give Tobiah the bitter retort he so richly deserved, or to +call upon his men to drive Sanballat and his party from the walls. + +But Nehemiah speaks not. He does not utter a single word to Sanballat or +to his friends. He remembers that this is God's work, not his; and he +therefore complains to God, not man: + +'Hear, O our God; for we are despised: and turn their reproach upon +their own head, and give them for a prey in the land of captivity.' + +Then, quietly and steadily, as if nothing had happened, he takes up his +work again, and the people follow his example; they take no notice of +the jeering company below, but they build on in silence, all the quicker +and the more carefully for the scoffs of their enemies. + +Sanballat and Tobiah soon tire of laughter and mockery, when they see it +is of no avail; they move off discomfited, and the work goes on as +before. + +Satan, the great enemy of souls, is the same to-day as he was in +Nehemiah's time. He never lets a good work alone; he never permits +Christ's servants to row in smooth water, but immediately he sees work +done for the Master, at once he stirs up the storm of opposition. + +The young man who is careless about eternity, who is living simply to +please self, has an easy time; he will not come across even a ripple of +opposition, his sea will be smooth as glass. But let that young man be +aroused, be awakened, be converted to God, let the good work of grace +be begun in his soul, and at once Satan will stir up the storm of +difficulty and opposition. Very often it begins, just as Nehemiah's +storm began, in laughter. It has been said that laughter hurts no one. +That statement might be true if we were all body, but inasmuch as we +have a spirit within us, it is not true that laughter cannot hurt. +Surely it stings, and cuts, and wounds the sensitive soul, just as heavy +blows sting, and cut, and wound the body. Satan knows this, and he makes +full use of the knowledge. + +The man who sets out for heaven will scarcely fail, before he has gone +many steps, to come across a Sanballat. He will have his taunt and jest +all ready. 'What is this I hear of you? Have you turned a saint? I +suppose you are too good for your old companions now; you are going to +set the whole world to rights.' Or, if the words are unspoken, Sanballat +has the shrug of the shoulders, and the scornful gesture, which are just +as hard to bear. Nor must the man who has his face heavenwards be +surprised if he hears Tobiah's sneer. 'Ah, wait a bit,' says Tobiah; +'let us see if it will last. Even a fox will throw down that wall; the +very first thing that comes to vex him, the very first temptation, +however small, will be sufficient to overturn the wall of good +resolutions, and his religious professions will lie low in the dust, and +will be shown to be nothing but rubbish.' + +It is well to be prepared for Sanballat and Tobiah, for any day we may +come across them. How shall we answer them? Let us follow in Nehemiah's +footsteps, let us turn from man to God. He hears the taunt, even as it +is spoken, and He says to each of His tried, tempted children: + + 'For My Name's sake, canst thou not bear that taunt, + That cruel word? + Is not the sorrow small, the burden light, + Borne for thy Lord? + + For My Name's sake, I see it, know it all, + 'Tis hard for thee, + But I have loved thee so, my child, canst thou + Bear this for Me?' + +Sanballat and Tobiah have moved away from the walls of Jerusalem, and +the work goes on prospering; the gaps are being filled up, and already +the wall is half its intended height (iv. 6), for the people had a mind +to work, and much can be done in a short time when that is the case. +Not a word more has, for some time, been heard of Sanballat, and perhaps +the builders fancied and hoped they had seen the last of their enemies, +when one day, suddenly, dreadful news is brought into the city. + +Sanballat and his friends, having failed to stop the work by laughter +and mockery, are going to take stronger measures, and have agreed to +resort to force. Dark secret plots are being formed to gather an army +together, and to come suddenly upon the defenceless builders and kill +them at their work. + +All the surrounding nations are invited to join Sanballat in his +enterprise. Not only the Samaritans in the north, but the men of Ashdod +from the west, the Arabians from the south, and the Ammonites from the +east, are gathering together against Jerusalem. Psalm lxxxiii. is +supposed by many to have been written at this time, and describes the +great storm as it arose, and threatened to destroy the defenceless city +(Psalm lxxxiii. 1-8). + +Poor Nehemiah! he sees the raging of the waters, and he feels that the +little boat needs a careful hand at the helm. He has a double receipt +against this new opposition--a receipt which may be summed up in the two +words which the Master has given us as our watch-word--Watch and pray. + +'Nevertheless we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against +them day and night.' + +But the billows rose higher. Three mighty waves came sweeping on, and +threatened to swamp Nehemiah's frail vessel. + +(1) The builders grew discouraged and tired. The cry was raised inside +the city, 'We had better give up attempting to work, the rubbish is too +deep, it will never be cleared away, the men who are carrying it away +are worn out, we cannot build the wall, it is of no use to try any +longer.' + +Ver. 10: 'And Judah said, The strength of the bearers of burdens is +decayed, and there is much rubbish; so that we are not able to build the +wall.' + +(2) News was brought in from all sides, that any day, any night, at any +moment, a sudden attack might be expected, for their enemies were +boasting loudly to all they met that they were confident of taking the +builders by surprise. + +Ver. 11: 'And our adversaries said, They shall not know, neither see, +till we come in the midst among them, and slay them, and cause the work +to cease.' + +And not only was there discouragement inside the city and threatened +danger without, but the number of hands was lessened upon the city wall, +for (3) men arrived from different parts of the country, saying that it +was absolutely necessary that their brethren who had come up to work on +the wall should at once return home. They were needed to guard their +families and their homes from the approaching foe. Ten times over +Nehemiah received deputations of this kind (ver. 12); and the spirits of +the builders sank lower and lower. + +But Nehemiah, like a true leader, rises to the occasion, and does not +allow himself to be cast down. He did not make light of the difficulties +he saw around him, but he manfully faced them, and in the hour of trial +his people did not desert him. + +One day, ver. 14, looking towards the north, Nehemiah suddenly saw the +enemy coming. But all was ready; the weapons were laid where they could +be taken up in a moment. No sooner is the alarm given than the work +ceases, and the whole company of builders is changed into an army of +soldiers, and swords, and spears, and bows are to be seen on the walls +instead of trowels and hammers. Nehemiah had carefully arranged the +position which each man was to occupy; he drew up his soldiers after +their families, probably giving to each family the part of the wall +nearest to their own house, that they might feel that they were fighting +for their homes, their wives, and their children. Then when all were put +in readiness Nehemiah called upon them to be brave in the defence of +their city, and not to fear the foe. + +'Be not ye afraid of them: remember the Lord, which is great and +terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, +your wives, and your houses.' + +The enemy approaches; but instead of taking Jerusalem by surprise, as +they had boasted they would, they find they are expected, and will meet +with a warm reception if they advance farther. They are afraid to make +the attempt; God guards the faithful city, and Sanballat and his allied +forces withdraw discomfited. No sooner has the enemy beaten a retreat +than the work begins again. + +'We returned all of us to the wall, every one unto his work.' + +But, from that time, the sword and the trowel must never be parted. Each +builder worked with a sword hanging by his side; each porter held a hod +in one hand, and a weapon in the other. They were always on the alert, +ever ready for action. + +Nehemiah had brought with him from Shushan a large following of +faithful servants or slaves; on these he could thoroughly rely. He +divided them into two parties, half worked at the building, filling up +the gaps left by those who had returned home; the rest stood behind +them, guarding the weapons, the shields, and the spears, and the bows, +and the swords which were laid ready for immediate use. By Nehemiah's +side stood a trumpeter, ready to blow an alarm at the first sight or +sound of the enemy. + +For, says Nehemiah, 'I said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to +the rest of the people, The work is great and large, and we are +separated upon the wall, one far from another. In what place therefore +ye hear the sound of the trumpet, resort ye thither unto us: our God +shall fight for us.' + +So the work and the watching went on all day long, and when the sun set +over the Mediterranean, and the stars came out in the quiet sky, and +darkness made the work impossible, still the watching went on as before. +Those who had laboured at the building all day lay down and slept, +whilst others kept guard on the wall. The workmen who lived outside the +walls were requested by Nehemiah to stay in the city all night, in order +to increase the strength of their force. As for the governor himself and +the little body of faithful servants, they gave themselves hardly any +rest, either by night or by day. They were almost always on duty, not +one of them even undressed all that long time of watching; if they laid +down to sleep, they laid in their clothes, ready at any moment for the +attack of the enemy (chap. iv. 28). + +Thus, day by day, the work grew and the walls rose higher, strong lines +of defence once more encircled the city, and the prayer of the captives +in Babylon, offered so earnestly and amongst many tears, was already +receiving an abundant answer. + +'Do good in Thy good pleasure to Zion, build Thou the walls of +Jerusalem.' + +The scene changes. Nehemiah and his workmen fade away; the walls of +Jerusalem become dim and obscure, and, in their place, we see coming +out, as in a dissolving view, other figures and another landscape. We +see the Master, Christ Jesus, standing in the midst of His countless +labourers and workmen, the great company of His faithful servants. We +notice that each one is working busily at the special work the Master +has given him to do, we see that this work is very varied, no two +labourers have exactly the same task. But in one respect we notice that +all the Master's servants are alike, they all carry a sword, for it is +not possible for any one to be a worker for Christ without also being at +the same time a soldier. + +Nor is it difficult to see the reason of this, for, if we serve Christ, +we are certain to meet with opposition. The mighty hosts of hell will +come against us, to hinder and to oppose us. + +Let us, then, be prepared for their attack. Let us set a watch against +them. Satan and his forces always watch for our weakest point. Let us +find out what that point is. What is the weak part of our defences? Is +it selfishness? Is it pride? Is it prayerlessness? Is it temper? Is it +an unkind spirit? Whatever it is by which we are most easily led astray, +that is our weak spot, and there we ought to set a double watch. David +had his weak spot, and he knew it: unguarded, hasty words were ever +coming out of his mouth, but he found out the weak point in his +defences, and there he set a strong and powerful guard. He called upon +God Himself to keep out the enemy at that weak place: + +'Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth. Keep the door of my lips.' + +Let us not only watch, but let us ever be ready to fight. Never let us +lay down the sword of the Spirit, or the shield of faith. Never for a +moment let us put off our armour, for we never know when the next attack +may come. The unguarded moment is the moment for which Satan always +watches, and which he knows only too well how to use. + +Above all, let us pray, for the watching and the fighting will be of no +avail unless we ask and obtain strength from on high. 'Our God shall +fight for us,' cried Nehemiah to his discouraged men. But they had +prayed day and night for the help which bore them safely through. 'Ye +have not, because ye ask not. Ask, and ye shall receive.' + + 'Christian, seek not here repose, + Cast thy dreams of ease away, + Thou art in the midst of foes, + Therefore, Watch and pray. + + Gird thy heavenly armour on, + Wear it ever night and day, + Near thee lurks the evil one, + Therefore, Watch and pray. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +The World's Bible. + + +A great cry, a piercing cry, raised by hundreds of voices, a cry which +resounds through the streets of the city, and which is echoed by the +surrounding hills. What can be the matter? What can be the cause of this +mournful wail? + +There was a great cry in Egypt on that awful night, when there was not a +house in which there was not one dead. That was the great cry of terror. + +Esau raised a great cry when he found that he had lost his father's +blessing, the great cry of disappointment. + +There arose a great cry in the council chamber of Jerusalem, when the +Apostle Paul stood before his judges,--the cry of conflicting opinion. + +But the great cry which is sounding in our ears now is no cry of terror +or of disappointment, and the men who join in it are all of one mind; +yet the cry is none the less bitter or heartrending. As we listen to it, +we can distinguish the shrill voices of women mingled with the deeper +ones of men, and we notice also, that, although the cry is one of sorrow +and distress, there is a deep undertone of anger and complaining. + +Who are crying, and what is the cause of their distress? Who are +crying? An excited mob of men and women, standing in the streets of +Jerusalem. Look at them well, surely we know some of their faces. Is it +possible, can it be, that we recognize some of those whom we saw working +so happily and cheerfully on the walls? What a change, what a terrible +change in their faces! + +What is the cause of their distress? What can have happened to move them +so deeply? Have the Samaritans returned to attack the city? Are the +walls on which they have spent so much labour overturned and laid low in +the dust? No, all without is peaceful, there is no sound of war in the +streets, and the hills around stand out brightly in the sunshine, and +are untrodden by the foot of any foe. The trouble is at home this time, +and as poor Nehemiah listens to the dismal noise, and as he tries to +still the shrill cries, that his voice may be heard, and as he watches +the people rocking to and fro, as Easterns do when moved by sorrow, he +may well feel downcast and disappointed, for a city divided against +itself cannot stand, and as Nehemiah listens to the cry, he clearly sees +that, at that moment, Jerusalem, the city he loves best on earth, is +indeed a divided city. + +Who then were these citizens of Jerusalem, these men and these women, +who raised the great cry? They were the poorer classes of the city; it +was a cry of the poor against the rich, a cry like that which was raised +all over France at the time of the French Revolution, a cry for bread. + +Nehemiah listens carefully to the cry and complaints of the people, and +as he does so he feels sure they are not raised without cause. There is +undoubtedly great and distressing poverty in the city, and he finds that +this may be traced to three principal causes. + +(1) The King of Persia had only allowed the returned captives a very +small tract of country to live in. The rest of the land was filled up by +the Samaritans, the Arabians, the Edomites and other nations who had +settled in Palestine whilst the rightful owners were in Babylon. +Consequently, as their families increased, the Jews found this narrow +strip of country was not sufficient to maintain them, and, as is always +the case, over-population and over-crowding was followed by great +poverty. + +(2) Then there had evidently been a severe famine, which had made +matters worse, for there had been numbers of mouths to feed and barely +anything to feed them on. No country is more subject to famine than +Palestine, for the harvest there is entirely dependent on the rainfall. +There are but few springs, there is no river but the Jordan, and that +runs in a deep ravine; the whole fertility of the country hangs on the +amount of rain that falls in autumn and winter. No rain means no corn, +no corn means starvation, and the people know it well. Nowhere on earth +are there such fervent prayers for rain, prayers which are offered by +Turk, Jew, and Christian alike, as there are in Palestine to this very +day, if the rainy season is passing away and a sufficient quantity of +rain has not fallen. + +(3) Then Nehemiah found there was a third cause of distress. Every year, +in addition to earning money to keep his wife and children alive, the +poor man had to be ready for a visitor, and this visitor never received +a very hearty welcome. Once a year there arrived at his door an official +sent by the King of Persia. He was the tax-collector, sent to collect +the tribute which had to be paid yearly to their master, the great +sovereign at Shushan. Whatever else went unpaid, that tribute must be +paid; whatever other debts they incurred, that sum must be paid in full, +and paid at once. + +Over-population, famine, tribute, it was no wonder that the people were +so poor. + +But the great cry in the streets of Jerusalem was not merely a cry of +suffering and distress; it was an angry complaining cry; it was the cry +of those who felt that others were to blame for their sorrows. + +As Nehemiah walks amongst the weeping crowds, and as he talks to the +people one by one, he finds that there are no less than three sets of +complainants. + +(1) There are the utterly poor people, those who have no private means +whatever, but who are entirely dependent on the work of their hands and +on the wages they get for that work. These come to Nehemiah and pour out +their sorrowful tale. 'We,' they say, 'have large families, for + +'We, our sons, and our daughters, are many.' + +But 'Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them,' so runs the +Psalm, and are not children a heritage and gift that cometh of the Lord? +Yet when the quiver is _more_ than full (for a quiver only held four +arrows), and when bread is scarce and work bad, it needs faith to trust +the children which the Lord has given to His care, and to feel sure that +He who sent them will send the bread to feed them. + +'Now,' say these overburdened parents to Nehemiah, 'we cannot let our +children starve. We have been building this wall and earning nothing, +but we have had to eat all these weeks; we have been obliged to take up +corn for our families lest they should die, and the consequence is we +have run very heavily into debt' (ver. 2). That was the first class of +complainants. + +(2) But amongst the weepers Nehemiah found a second class, those who had +once been somewhat better off, and had, in happier days, owned a little +property, and had some means of their own, but who, at the time of the +late famine, had got into difficulties. 'I,' said one, 'had a little +farm in a village near Jerusalem.' 'I,' said another, 'was the owner of +a nice little vineyard or oliveyard on the hill side,' 'I,' said a +third, 'built a house in the city on my return from captivity, and hoped +to leave it to my children.' 'But so terrible was our distress in the +famine,' say these men, 'that we were obliged to borrow money of our +neighbours the rich Jews in Jerusalem. They were willing to lend the +money, but they required security for it, and we were compelled to +pledge or mortgage our little property to these men, and now times are +still bad, and we see no hope whatever that we shall be able to buy our +little possessions back again' (ver. 3). + +(3) But the shrillest cries of all came from the third class of +complainants. These were men who, up to a certain point, resembled the +second class. They had once possessed a little property, but in the time +of famine they had parted with their lands, their houses, and their +vineyards like the rest. But the story of the third class did not end +here, these had since then got into still worse difficulties. The +tax-collector had come round to collect the tribute for Artaxerxes, and +he had demanded immediate payment. They had, however, nothing to give +him. What could they do? They were obliged once more to borrow money of +their rich neighbours, who lent it to them at the rate of 12 per cent, +(one eighth part of the money to be paid monthly). And what pledge, what +security did these nobles require for their money? The poor people had +already lost their houses and their vineyards, there was nothing left to +them but their children, and actually the son or the daughter was +pledged or mortgaged to the rich money-lender. If the heavy interest is +not paid, at any moment the child may be seized, and carried off to the +noble's house to be brought up as a slave. 'Nay,' cry some of the +mothers in the crowd, 'our case is worst of all; some of our daughters +have been taken as slaves already, and we have no power to redeem them. +Yet we love our children just as much as these rich people love theirs, +they are just as dear to us as theirs are to them' (ver. 5). + +'And then,' says Nehemiah,'when I had heard their cry and listened to +their tale, I was very angry.' But surely it was wrong of Nehemiah to be +angry. Is not anger a bad thing? Is it not one of the works of the +devil, which we are bidden to lay aside? + +Yet what says St. Paul? 'Be ye angry, and sin not.' So it is possible to +be angry, and yet to be sinless. And we read, Mark iii. 5, that, in the +synagogue at Capernaum, the Lord Jesus looked round on the hard-hearted +Pharisees with anger; and in Him was no sin. + +Nehemiah was very angry, yet Nehemiah sinned not in being so, for it +was anger at sin, anger at the wrongdoing which was bringing disgrace on +his nation, anger at the conduct which was offending God and doing harm +to God's cause. It was righteous anger against the cruelty and +selfishness of those who, in those hard times, had profited from the +poverty and distress of their poor fellow countrymen. + +For some time Nehemiah did nothing, but he carefully turned the matter +over in his mind. He says, 'I consulted with myself,' or as it is in the +margin, 'My heart consulted in me.' We can picture him pacing up and +down, saying again and again, What shall I do? What is the wisest course +to take? How can this great evil be stopped? Doubtless, too, he took +this trouble, as he had taken all his other anxieties and cares, and +laid it before the God of heaven. + +Then he sends for the nobles and all those who had oppressed the people, +and he gives them very plainly his mind on the matter: + +'I rebuked the nobles, and the rulers, and said unto them, Ye exact +usury, every one of his brother.' + +And thereby they had broken the law, for no Jew was allowed to take +interest, or increase, of another Jew, much less to exact usury: see +Exod. xxii. 25; Ezek. xviii. 8, 17. + +The Hebrew was to look upon every other Hebrew as his brother, and to +treat him as such. There was to be brotherly love in time of misfortune, +such love as would prevent the receiving of increase from the one who +was in trouble. With regard to the mortgaging of land, it does not seem +that these rich men had actually broken the law, such pledges were +allowed, provided that the property mortgaged was returned in the year +of jubilee. But, whilst they had not broken the letter of the law, these +Jews had certainly acted in a hard, self-seeking way, showing no +sympathy whatever for the sorrows of those around them. + +How different was this from the generous conduct of Nehemiah himself! +All the time of his government he drew no taxes or contributions from +the people over whom he ruled, as other governors did, and as his +predecessors in Jerusalem had done. Eastern governors in those days, +like Turkish governors now, were accustomed to farm their provinces. +That is to say, the king allowed them no salary, but he put the taxation +of the people in their hands. A certain fixed sum was to be sent to him +every year from the province; and whatever the governor could grind or +squeeze out of the people, over and above this stated amount, went into +his own pocket and formed his salary. Jerusalem now-a-days rings with +many a cry of distress caused by the unjust means used by the pacha to +increase his stipend by putting fresh burdens on the people. The former +Jewish governors had made as much as forty shekels a day, or £1,800 a +year out of the people in their province. But when Nehemiah came to +Jerusalem, he found the people so poverty-stricken and oppressed that he +would not take a single penny for himself. It is probable that his +salary as cup-bearer had been continued, and on this he lived and kept +his household going all the time of his government. Not only so; not +only did Nehemiah pay all his private expenses, but he kept open house +for the people of Jerusalem; every day 150 of the rulers and chief men +dined with him, besides all the visitors to Jerusalem, Jews from other +countries, strangers from foreign nations who were staying but a short +time in the city, all of whom were invited to the governor's house, and +sat down at the governor's table. + +Nehemiah himself gives us his daily bill of fare, ver. 18. + + 1 ox. + 6 fat sheep. + Fowls without number. + A fresh supply of wine of all kinds stored in every tenth day. + +It was no small expense to have above 150 men to dinner daily, yet for +all this Nehemiah took not a penny from his province, so touched was he +to the heart by the poverty of the people. Not only so, but all the time +the walls were being built he toiled away, and allowed all his household +servants to work both night and day, and yet looked for no payment or +compensation, ver. 16. Then besides all this, Nehemiah had been most +generous in the time of the famine; he had supplied the poor people with +money and with corn, and yet he had firmly refused to allow them to +pledge or mortgage their lands, much less their children, ver. 10. + +And Nehemiah tells us the secret of his consistent conduct; he tells us +why he differed so much from the governors who went before him. A strong +power held him back from sin. + +'So did not I, because of the fear of God.' + +Thus Nehemiah had a right to speak, for he practised what he preached. +But in spite of this, his private appeal to the nobles appears to have +been in vain. They seem to have given no answer, to have taken no +notice of his appeal, and to have given him no reason to think that +they intended to change their conduct. + +So he set a great assembly against them. He called a monster meeting of +all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, rich and poor, for he felt that if +their conduct was publicly exposed and condemned, they might possibly be +ashamed to continue it. + +Nehemiah's speech at the meeting was very much to the point. He first +tried to shame the nobles by reminding them that whilst he, ever since +his return, had been spending his money in buying back those Jews who +had been sold into slavery to the heathen round, they on the other hand +had actually been doing the very opposite, bringing their fellow +citizens into slavery to themselves. Was this right, or fair, or just? +The argument told, no one could answer it, there was dead silence, ver. +8. + +Now, says Nehemiah, consider: 'Ought ye not to walk in the fear of our +God?' Ought ye not to be careful in your conduct, kind, and just, and +generous in your dealing? And why? + +'Because of the reproach of the heathen our enemies.' + +Because you Jews are God's people, and all these heathen round will +judge your God by what you are. You make a profession of religion, you +claim to have high motives; but if they see you grasping, greedy, hard, +like themselves, what will they think of your religion? Surely they will +say, 'These Jews are no better than ourselves, their religion cannot be +worth much.' + +Now, says Nehemiah, remembering all this, bearing in mind the disgrace +you are bringing upon the name of Jew, I call upon you at once to give +up this practice of mortgaging and pledge-taking. Not only so, but I +bid you restore at once the vineyards and the oliveyards, the fields and +the houses, you have taken from these poor people. I bid you also return +the interest they have paid you (the eighth part of the money), and I +call upon you, in every way you can, to undo the evil you have done +already, and for the future to do unto others as you would they should +do to you, vers. 10, 11. + +Nehemiah's earnest words prevailed, + +'Then said they, We will restore them.' + +This promise was followed by a very curious act on the part of Nehemiah. + +'I shook my lap.' + +The lap is what the Latins called the _sinus_, a fold in the bosom of +the tunic, which was used as a pocket. Eastern-like, Nehemiah used a +sign to show what will happen to any man who shall break the promise he +had just made. God will cast him forth as a homeless wanderer, emptied +of all his possessions, all his ill-gotten wealth. He shall be void or +empty, just as Nehemiah's pocket was void or empty, ver. 13. + +'And all the congregation said, Amen.' + +Then, instead of the great cry of distress, was heard the great shout of +joy, for + +They 'praised the Lord.' + +And the promise was not one of those promises made to be broken, for + +'The people did according to this promise.' + +It has been well said that Christians are the only Bible that men of the +world read. In other words, those who will not read the Bible +themselves, judge the religion of Christ simply by the Christians they +happen to come across. This is not a fair way of judging; it surely +cannot be right to condemn Christianity itself, because some of those +who profess it are not what they ought to be. + +Let us picture to ourselves an island in the Pacific Ocean, where no +European has ever been seen. A large ship is wrecked not far from this +island, and three men are able to make their escape in a boat, and to +land upon its shore. The men belong to three different nations--one is a +Frenchman, another is a German, and the third is an Englishman. The +people of the island receive them most kindly, warm them, and feed them, +and shelter them, and do all they can for them till a ship shall come to +take them away. + +What return do the three men make for their kindness? The Frenchman is +grateful, and willing to make himself useful in any way he can: he +amuses the children and helps in the work of the house, and does all he +can to make return for the hospitality he is receiving. The German is +very clever with his fingers, and spends his time in teaching the +natives to make many things which they had not been able to do before; +he becomes indeed so helpful to them that they dread the day coming when +he will have to leave them. But the Englishman is a man of low tastes +and bad morals. He spends his time in drinking the spirit he finds on +the island, in quarrelling with the inhabitants, and in ill-treating +their children; there is not a soul on the island who does not rejoice +when the ship bears him away, never to return. + +Soon after this, news is brought that a small colony from Europe is +anxious to settle on that island, and to trade with the inhabitants. +The commercial advantages of this step are laid before the natives, and +leave is asked for the party of traders to land. One question, and one +question only, is asked by the inhabitants. Of what nation are these +colonists? The answer is brought back, They are English. At once the +whole island is up in arms. They shall not land, they cry, we will not +hear of it; we know what English people are, we have had plenty of the +English. Had they been French or Germans we would have given them a +hearty welcome, but we never wish to see an Englishman again. + +But surely that was not fair, it was not right to judge a whole nation +by one bad specimen. Nor is it right to judge the followers of Christ +in that way. I know a man, says one, who is hard and grasping and +self-seeking, and that man makes a religious profession, therefore I +will have nothing to do with religion. I know a Christian who is +bad-tempered; I know a Christian who is not particular about truth; I +know a Christian out of whose mouth come bitter, unkind words; I know a +Christian who is unpleasant in his manner; I know a Christian with whom +I should be sorry to do business; I know a Christian who is always +mournful and miserable. These are your Christians, are they? Then do not +ask me to be one; I have no opinion of any of them. + +Yet, after all, the man who speaks thus draws an unfair conclusion. +Because I find in my bag of gold one bad half-sovereign, or even two or +three bad ones, am I therefore to throw all the rest away? And because +one Christian, or several Christians, disgrace their Master, and act +inconsistently, am I therefore to condemn Christianity itself? Am I +therefore to cut off my own soul from all hope of safety? + +But, remembering this, bearing in mind that many eyes are on us, that +our conduct is being read, our ways watched, our actions weighed, our +motives sifted, Christian friends, let us walk carefully. Do not let us +bring disgrace on our Master, do not let us hinder others and be a +stumbling-block[1] in their way; do not let us give the world a wrong idea +of Christ. + +We are not half awake, we are not half careful enough; let us walk +circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise. Let us, whenever we have been +tempted to any inconsistency, be able to take up Nehemiah's brave noble +words, + +'So did not I, because of the fear of God.' + +I could not get into a temper, I could not be hard or grasping, I could +not do that piece of sharp practice, I could not stoop to that deceit, I +could not disgrace my Master, because in my heart was a principle +holding me back from sin, the fear of the Lord. I feared to grieve the +One who loved me, and that fear kept me safe. 'So did not I, because of +the fear of God.' + +[Transcribers note 1: stumbling-black corrected to stumbling-block.] + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +True to his Post. + + +Lot's wife was changed into a pillar of salt; and if that pillar still +remained, we should see her to-day standing in exactly the same attitude +in which she was standing when death suddenly came upon her. + +About a hundred years ago, a baker in the south of Italy sunk a well in +his garden; and whilst doing so he suddenly came upon a buried city, a +city which had been lost to the world for 1800 years. The underground +city was no empty place; it was peopled with the dead, and these were +found in the very attitude and position in which death had overtaken +them, standing, sitting, lying, just as they had been on that awful day +when Mount Vesuvius sent out terrible showers of ashes, destroying them +all. + +Very various were the positions of the dead in that buried city. Many +were in the streets, in the attitude of running, trying to make their +escape from the city gate; others were in deep vaults whither they had +gone for safety, crouching, in their fear of what might fall upon them; +others were on staircases and flights of stone steps leading to the +roof, in the attitude of climbing to a place where they hoped the lava +might not bury them. Two men were found by the garden gate of a large +and beautiful mansion. One was standing with the key in his hand, a +handsome ring on his finger, and a hundred gold and silver coins +scattered round him. The other, who was probably his slave, was +stretched on the ground, with his hands clutching some silver cups and +vases. These men had evidently been suffocated whilst trying to carry +off the money and treasure. + +But one man in that buried city deserves to be remembered to the end of +time. Who was he? One Roman soldier, the brave sentinel at the gate. +There he had been posted in the morning, and there he had been bidden to +remain. + +And how was he found? Standing at his post, with his hand still grasping +his sword, faithful unto death. There, by the city gate; whilst the +earth shook and rocked, whilst the sky was black with ashes, whilst +showers of stones were falling around him, and whilst hundreds of men, +women and children brushed past him as they fled in terror from the +city, there he stood, firm and unmoved. Should such a man as I flee? +thought the sentinel. And in that same spot, in that post of duty, he +was found 1800 years after, faithful to his trust, faithful unto death. + +Oh, that the Lord's soldiers were more like that brave man in Pompeii! +It is so easy to begin a thing, so hard to stick to it; so easy to start +on the Christian course, so difficult to persevere; so easy to enlist in +the army, so very hard to stand unmoved in the time of danger or trial. +Yet what says the Master? He that endureth to the end (and he alone) +shall be saved. What says the Captain? chat it is the soldier who is +faithful unto death (and no one else) who shall receive the crown of +life. + +Who then amongst us are faithful, true and unmoved? Who amongst us +can stand firm in spite of Satan's efforts to lead us aside? Who +can hold on, not for a week only, but still faithful as the weeks +change into months, and the months into years, faithful unto death? +About 100 years before the time of Nehemiah, there lived a wise old +Chinaman, the philosopher Confucius. Looking round upon his fellow-men, +Confucius said that he noticed that a large proportion of them were +'Copper-kettle-boiling-water men.' The water in a copper kettle, said +Confucius, boils very quickly, much more quickly than in an iron kettle; +but the worst of it is that it just as quickly cools down, and ceases to +boil. + +So, said Confucius, is it with numbers of my fellow-men: they are one +day hot and eager, boiling over with zeal in some particular cause; but +the next day they have cooled down, and they take no interest in it +whatever. Soon up, soon down, like the water in a copper kettle. + +Just so is it in the service of God. There are, sad to say, many +copper-kettle-boiling-water Christians, hot and earnest in the work of +God one moment, but in the next they have cooled down, and are ready to +leave the work to take care of itself. + +But Nehemiah was no copper-kettle-boiling-water man, he comes before us +as a man faithful to his post, standing firm to his duty, a man whom no +one could draw from his work, or cause to swerve from what he knew to be +right. + +The Samaritans have made a mighty effort to stop Nehemiah's great work, +the building of the walls of Jerusalem. They began with ridicule; but +the builders took no notice of the shouts of laughter, but built on as +before. Then they tried to stop the work by force; but they found the +whole company of builders changed, as by a magic wand, into an army of +soldiers, ready and waiting for their attack. Now the news reaches them, +chap. vi. 1., that the walls are progressing, that the gaps are filled +up, the different pieces are joined together, and that nothing now +remains but to put up the gates in the various gateways. + +They feel accordingly that no time is to be lost; they must, in some way +or other, put a stop to Nehemiah and his work at once. They determine, +therefore, to try a new plan, they will entrap Nehemiah by stratagem and +deceit. So they send an invitation to Jerusalem, begging him to meet +them in a certain place, that there they may settle their differences by +a friendly conference. + +Sanballat is to be there as the head of the Samaritans, Geshem as the +head of the Arabians, and Nehemiah as the head of the Jews; and surely, +meeting in a friendly way, and embued with a friendly spirit, nothing +will be easier than quietly and peacefully to confer together, and then +to arrange matters in a comfortable and satisfactory manner. + +The place appointed for the meeting is the Plain of Ono--the green, +beautiful plain between the Judean hills and the Mediterranean--called +elsewhere the Plain of Sharon. There in later days stood Lydda, the +place where St. Peter healed Aeneas; there stood Joppa, from which Jonah +embarked; there, at the present day, may be seen fields of melons and +cucumbers, groves of orange and lemon trees, and fields of waving corn. +Nehemiah would have a journey of about thirty miles before he reached +the appointed meeting-place. + +Sanballat's proposal sounded very fine and even very friendly, but it +was a trap. His real desire was to tempt Nehemiah from behind the walls +of Jerusalem, to entice him to a safe distance from his brave friends +and companions, and then to have him secretly assassinated. Who then +would ever hear again of the power of Jerusalem? Who then would ever see +the gates put in their places? + +Is Nehemiah moved from his post of duty by Sanballat's message? Does he +leave his work at once, and set off for the Plain of Ono? Look at his +decided answer. + +'I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the +work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?' + +God's work would be done better, and with more success, if all His +workmen were like Nehemiah. But, alas! many who call themselves workers +for God are ready to run off from the work at every call, every +invitation, every appeal from the world, the flesh, or the devil. I am +doing a great work, but there is that amusement I want to take part in, +the work must be left to-day. + +I am doing a great work; but I do not feel inclined for it just now, I +feel idle, or the weather is too cold to go out, or the sun shines so +brightly I should like a walk instead, I must leave my work to others +to-day. + +I am doing a great work; but I love my own ease, or pleasure, or +convenience, better than I love the work, these must come first and the +work must come second. + +So speak the actions of many so-called workers, and thus it is that so +much Christian work is a dead failure. + +But, says Nehemiah, 'I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come +down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to +you?' + +Let us remember his words, let us inwardly digest them, and the very +next time that we are tempted to give up work for God and to run off to +something else, let us take care to echo them. + +But Sanballat is determined not to be beaten, he will try again and yet +again. Four times over he sends Nehemiah a friendly invitation to a +friendly conference, four times over Nehemiah steadily refuses to come. +Then, when that plot completely fails, Sanballat loses his temper. + +One day a messenger arrives at the gate of Jerusalem with an insult in +his hand. The insult is in the form of a piece of parchment; it is a +letter from Sanballat, an 'open letter,' ver. 5. + +Letters in the East are not put into envelopes, but are rolled up like a +map, then the ends are flattened and pasted together. The Persians make +up their letters in a roll about six inches long, and then gum a piece +of paper round them, and put a seal on the outside. But in writing to +persons of distinction, not only is the letter gummed together, but it +is tied up in several places with coloured ribbon, and then enclosed in +a bag or purse. To send a letter to such a man as Nehemiah, not only +untied and unenclosed, but actually not even having the ends pasted +together, was a tremendous insult, and Nehemiah, who had been +accustomed to the strict etiquette of the Persian court, knew this well. + +But Sanballat probably sent this open letter not only with the intention +of insulting Nehemiah, but also in order that every one whom the +messenger came across might read it, and that the Jews in Jerusalem and +its neighbourhood might be frightened by its contents, and might +therefore be inclined to forward his plans. + +The letter contained a piece of gossip. + +'It is reported among the heathen, and Gashmu saith it.' + +So the letter began, and then there followed the scandal, the gossip +about Nehemiah. + +People's tongues were busy 2,000 years ago, just as people's tongues are +busy now, and the gossips of those days, like the gossips of to-day, +were not particular about truth. + +What was the gossip which Gashmu had started against Nehemiah? It was +this: Jerusalem is being built, we all see that, says Gashmu. But now, +what is at the bottom of this business? Hush! says Gashmu, do not tell +any one, and I will tell you a secret. You would never believe it, you +would never guess it; but what do you think? As soon as those walls are +built and those gates are finished, you will hear news. There is going +to be a king in Jerusalem, and his name is Nehemiah. As soon as ever he +has a strong city in which to defend himself, he is going to rebel +against Persia. Nay, he has already paid people inside Jerusalem to +pretend to be prophets, and to say to the people: + +'There is a king in Judah.' + +That is the gossip, says Sanballat, that is going the round of all the +gossips' tongues in the land. And now what will be the result? If the +King of Persia hears of it, and it is sure to reach his ears sooner or +later, it will go badly with you, Nehemiah. The best thing you can do is +to consent to meet me, and we will talk the matter over and see what can +be done to prevent this report reaching Persia. + +'Come now therefore, and let us take counsel together.' + +Nehemiah has stood firm under ridicule; he has been unmoved by force or +deceitful friendships; will he be frightened from his duty by gossip? +No, he cares not what they say, nor who says it. He simply sends +Sanballat word that there is not a vestige of truth in the report, nor +does he intend to take any notice of it. + +'There are no such things done as thou sayest, but thou feignest them +out of thine own heart.' + +Over the entrance to one of our old English castles these words are +carved in the stonework:-- + + THEY SAY. + WHAT DO THEY SAY? + LET THEM SAY. + +These words are well worth our remembering. It is not pleasant to be +talked about, especially if the words spoken about us are untrue, but it +will be a wonderful thing if any of us escape the gossip's tongue. + +_They say_, and they always will _say_, to the end of time; people +will talk, and their talk will chiefly be of their neighbours. + +_What do they say?_ Do you answer like the Psalmist, 'They lay to my +charge things I knew not?' They speak unkindly, untruly, unfairly. +Never mind, _Let them say._ You cannot stop their mouths, but you can +hinder yourself from taking notice of their words. Let them say, for +they will have their say out, but they will end it all the sooner if you +take no notice of it. + +Let us try for the future to be thick-skinned, and when Gashmu's tongue +is whispering, and whenever some busybody like Sanballat repeats +Gashmu's words to us, let us act as Nehemiah did. Let us take no notice +of the repeated tittle-tattle. + +Yet, although we may practically ignore the gossiping tongue, if we are +naturally sensitive and highly strung we cannot help feeling some sting +from the unkind or untrue speech. Poor Nehemiah, unmoved though he was +by the gossip, yet feels it necessary to remember the meaning of his +name, and to turn from Sanballat's letter to 'the Lord my Comforter.' + +'O God, strengthen my hands.' + +So he cries from the depths of his soul, and so he was comforted. + +Sanballat now feels that he is attempting an impossibility. It is of no +use trying himself to move Nehemiah, for Nehemiah is thoroughly on his +guard against him. If he reaches him at all, he must do so through +others, whom Nehemiah does not suspect. So, by means of his gold, +Sanballat tempts some of the Jerusalem Jews over to his side. + +There is a woman living in Jerusalem named Noadiah, and she (to her +shame be it spoken) is bribed by Sanballat to give herself out as a +prophetess, and to be the bearer of messages to Nehemiah, pretending +that those messages were sent to him by God. Nor is Noadiah the only +one who is bribed by the Samaritan governor to pretend the gift of +prophecy. + +One day, Nehemiah is sent for to the house of one of these people who +profess to be able to prophesy. He is a young man of the name of +Shemaiah, whose family had returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel, but +who had never been able to prove their Jewish descent (vii. 61, 62, 64). + +This young man professes to be very fond of Nehemiah, and begs him to +come to see him. Nehemiah does so, and finds him shut up, his doors +barred and bolted, his house barricaded like a fortress. He admits +Nehemiah, and seems, as he does so, to be in a great state of fear and +terror. + +Then he whispers a dreadful secret in his ear. He tells Nehemiah that +his life is in immediate danger, that there is a plot set on foot by +Sanballat to murder him that very night, and that this plot has been +revealed to him by God. He tells him that he feels his own life, as one +of Nehemiah's best friends, is also in danger, and therefore he proposes +that they shall go together after dark to the temple courts, and, +passing through these, enter into the sanctuary itself, the Holy Place, +in which stood the altar of incense, the golden candlestick, and the +table of showbread. There, having carefully closed the folding doors of +fir-wood, they may hide till daybreak, and those who were coming to +assassinate Nehemiah will seek him in vain. + +Shemaiah gives this advice as a direct message from God, but Nehemiah +saw through it. He felt sure God could not have sent that message, for +God cannot contradict His own Word. And what said the Word? It was +clearly laid down in the law of Moses that no man, unless he was a +priest, might enter the Holy Place; if he attempted to do so, death +would be the penalty. + +'The stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.' So Nehemiah +bravely answers: + +'Should such a man as I flee? and who is there, that, being as I am, +would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in.' + +Who is there, that, being as I am--that is, being a layman, not a +priest--as I am, could go into the temple and live? for that is the +better translation. In other words, if I, Nehemiah, who am not a priest, +should break the clear command of God, by crossing the threshold of the +temple, instead of saving my life I should lose it. I will not go in. + +So failed this dastardly plot to get Nehemiah to sin, in order that his +God might desert him. The sentinel stood unmoved at his post, Nehemiah +goes on steadily with his work. Should such a man as I flee? And in +fifty-two days after its commencement, in less than two months, the wall +was finished, vi. 15. + +With a huge army, with hundreds of horses, and with twenty elephants, +Pyrrhus, King of Epirus, crossed over from Greece to Italy to conquer +the Romans. No elephants had ever before been seen in Italy; and when +the two armies met, and the huge animals advanced with their dark trunks +curling and snorting, and their ponderous feet shaking the earth, the +horses in the Roman army were so terrified that they refused to move, +and Pyrrhus won an easy victory. After the battle was over Pyrrhus +walked amongst the dead, and looked at the bodies of his slain foes. As +he did so, one fact struck him very forcibly, and it was this, the +Romans did not know how to run away. Not one had turned and fled from +the field of battle. The wounds were all in front, not one was wounded +in the back. + +'Ah,' said Pyrrhus, 'with such soldiers as that the whole world would +belong to me.' + +Soldiers of Christ, let us be brave for the Master. Let the language of +the heart of each in the Lord's army be that of Nehemiah, 'Should such a +man as I flee?' Nay, I will not flee, I will not desert my post, I will +stand my ground, bravely, consistently, perseveringly, unto death. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +The Paidagogos. + + +The Tarpeian Rock was the place where Roman criminals who had been +guilty of the crime of treason were executed. They were thrown headlong +from this rock into the valley below, and perished at its base. The rock +took its name from a woman named Tarpeia, who has ever been a disgrace +to her sex, and whose name was hated in Rome, for she was a traitress to +her country. For a long time the war had raged between the Romans and +the Sabines. The Romans were at last compelled to shut themselves up in +their strong fortress, which the Sabines attempted to take, but in vain. +So steep were the rocks on which it stood, so strong were the walls, +that the Sabines must have given up their attempt in despair, had it not +been for the treachery of Tarpeia, the governor's daughter. She looked +down from the fortress into the Sabine host, and she noticed that, +whilst with their right arms the Sabines held their swords, on their +left arms were hung massive golden bracelets, such as Tarpeia had never +beheld before. One day, leaning over the precipice, she managed to +whisper into the ear of a Sabine soldier her treacherous plan. She was +willing in the dead of night to unlock the gate of the fortress, and to +admit the Sabines, provided that they promised on their part to give her +what they carried on their left arms. Tarpeia's proposition was agreed +to, and that night the governor's daughter stole the keys of the +fortress from her father's room, and admitted the enemy. + +But the Sabines had too much right feeling to let her treachery go +unpunished. She stood by the gate, hoping to receive the bracelets, but +each Sabine soldier, as he entered, threw at her head his massive iron +shield, which he also carried on his left arm, until she was crushed to +the ground, and buried beneath a mass of metal. They had fulfilled their +promise, but in a way the treacherous Tarpeia did not expect. When she +was quite dead, they took up her body, and threw it over the rock which +ever after bore her name, as a warning to traitors. + +Treachery within the camp, those in league with the enemy in the very +midst of the citadel, those who whilst pretending to be friends are +secretly conspiring to hinder and annoy. Surely such a state of things +is enough to move any man's heart. Who could help feeling it bitterly? + +David could not. Listen to his heartrending cry-- + +'For it is not an open enemy, that hath done me this dishonour; for then +I could have borne it. Neither was it mine adversary that did magnify +himself against me; for then I would have hid myself from him. But it +was even thou, my companion, my guide, and mine own familiar friend.' + +Nehemiah could not help feeling it. He had borne patiently ridicule, +force, deceit from without; whatever of harm or mischief Sanballat did, +he could not help, nor was he surprised at it. But when the trouble came +nearer home, when he found that in Jerusalem itself, amongst those whom +he had loved and for whom he had sacrificed so much, there were actually +to be found traitors, then indeed Nehemiah's soul was stirred to its +very depths. + +He discovered to his horror that letters, secret, treacherous letters, +were constantly passing from Tobiah the secretary to some of his +so-called friends in Jerusalem. Nay more, he discovered that these +letters were diligently answered, and that a quick correspondence was +being kept up by Tobiah on the one side and these treacherous Jews on +the other. + +Worse still, Nehemiah found that many of those round him were acting as +spies, watching all he did, taking note of every single thing that went +on in Jerusalem, and then writing it down for Tobiah's benefit. And in +spite of this, these Jews had the audacity and the bad taste when they +met Nehemiah in the street, or sat at his table, or came across him in +business, to harp constantly upon one string--the goodness, and +perfections, and excellences of dear Tobiah. + +'They reported his good deeds to me, and uttered my words to him.' + +Nor was this communication with the secretary at all easy to break off, +for he was connected by marriage with some of the first families in +Jerusalem. Tobiah himself had obtained a Jewish girl for his wife, the +daughter of one of Nehemiah's helpers--Shechaniah, the son of Arah. + +Not only so, but Meshullam, one of the wealthiest men in the city, one +of the most earnest builders on the wall, one who had worked so +diligently that he had actually repaired two portions (chap. iii. 4, +30), one who must have been either a priest or a Levite, for we read of +his having a chamber in the temple, this man, Meshullam, so well spoken +of, and so much esteemed in Jerusalem, had actually forgotten himself so +far as to let his daughter marry the son of the secretary, Tobiah. We +cannot excuse Meshullam by suggesting that his daughter may have been +spoilt or wilful, and may have married in spite of her father's +displeasure, for, in the East, marriages are entirely arranged by the +parents, and Meshullam's daughter probably had no choice in the matter. + +Seeing then that there are enemies without, and half-hearted friends +within, Nehemiah feels it necessary, so soon as the walls are finished +and the gates set up, to do all he can to make Jerusalem secure and +strong. Solomon had appointed 212 Levites to be porters or gate-keepers, +to guard the entrances to the temple. Ever since his time there had been +an armed body of Levites, kept always at hand, to guard the treasures of +the temple, and to keep watch at the gates. From these Nehemiah selects +the keepers for his new gates. Surely these Levites will be faithful, +and they have had some experience in watching, inasmuch as they have for +so long acted as temple police. + +Nehemiah's next step was to appoint two men to superintend these guards, +and to be responsible to him for the safety of the city. At any moment +he might be recalled to Persia, at any moment he might have to leave +his important work in Jerusalem, that he might stand again as cup-bearer +behind the king's chair. He felt that he must therefore appoint deputies +to guard the city for him, so that all might not hang upon the fact of +his presence in the city. + +Whom did Nehemiah choose for this post of enormous trust? One was his +brother Hanani, the very one who had come to see him in Persia. Why, he +would never have even thought of doing this great work, if it had not +been for Hanani; and he felt he could thoroughly trust him, and rely +upon him entirely. + +His other choice was Hananiah, the ruler of the palace or the fort, +which was a tower, standing in the temple courts on the spot on which, +in Roman days, stood the Tower of Antonia. Nehemiah tells us exactly why +he made choice of the man Hananiah. + +'He was a faithful man, and feared God above many.' + +He was a faithful man, thoroughly trustworthy and reliable. He feared +God above many, and therefore Nehemiah knew that he would be kept safe +and free from sin. 'So did not I,' he had said of himself, 'because of +the fear of God; that fear held me back from sin,' and he felt sure it +would be the same with Hananiah. He feared God, and therefore he could +be depended upon. + +These two rulers, Hanani and Hananiah, planned out the defence of the +city. They divided the wall amongst all the men in Jerusalem, holding +each man responsible for the safety of that part of the wall which lay +nearest to his own house. Then, by Nehemiah's orders, they saw that the +guards took care that the gates were not only carefully closed every +night, but that they were kept closed till the sun was hot, that is, +till some hours after sunrise. These orders were most necessary, seeing +that there were traitors inside the gates as well as enemies without. + +It was the sixth month of the Jewish year when the walls were finished. +Then came Tisri, the seventh month, the greatest and grandest of the +months. The Jews say that God made the world in the month Tisri, and in +it they have no less than two feasts and one great fast. + +On the first day of the month Tisri was held the Feast of Trumpets, or +the day of blowing. On that day trumpets or horns were blown all day +long in Jerusalem; on the house-tops, and from the courts and gardens, +as well as from the temple. + +Obedient to the voice of the trumpets, at early dawn the people all +gathered together, and stood by the water-gate, in a large open space +suitable for such a gathering. This gate is supposed to have been +somewhere at the south-east of the temple courts, and to have taken its +name from the fact that through it the temple servants, the Nethinims +and the Gibeonites, carried water from the dragon well into the city. + +Here a huge pulpit had been erected, not such a pulpit as we find in our +churches, but such an one as is to be seen in the synagogues of +Jerusalem, a pulpit as large as a small room, and capable of holding a +large number of persons. + +The pulpit by the water-gate was a raised platform, made for the +purpose. In it stood Ezra the scribe, and beside him stood thirteen of +the chief men of Jerusalem. Meshullam was there; but one man was +conspicuous by his absence. Eliashib, the high priest, who should +surely have been found taking a principal part in the solemn service of +the day, was nowhere to be seen. + +Before the great pulpit was gathered together an enormous crowd, men, +women, and children, all those who were old enough to understand +anything having been brought there, that they might listen to all that +went on. + +It was early in the morning, soon after sunrise, when the great company +met together. The blowing of the trumpets ceased, and there was brought +out by a Levite an old roll of parchment. What was it? It was the Book +of the Law, the Bible of Nehemiah's day, consisting of the five books of +Moses. + +Slowly and reverently Ezra unrolled the law in the sight of all the +people; and they, sitting below, watched him, and as soon as the book +was opened they stood up, to show their respect and their reverence for +the Word of God. + +Then the reading began, and the ears of all the people were attentive to +the book of the law. For no less than six hours Ezra read on, from early +morning until midday, yet still the people stood, still the people +listened attentively. There was no stir in the crowd, no one asked what +time it was, there was no shuffling of feet, no yawning, no fidgeting; +in earnest, fixed attention the people listened. + +As Ezra read, a body of Levites went about amongst the crowd, +translating what he said. So long had the people lived in captivity that +some of them had forgotten the old Hebrew, or had been brought up from +children to talk the Chaldean tongue. Thus many of Ezra's words and +phrases were quite unintelligible to them. So the Levites acted as +interpreters; and besides explaining the words, they also opened out +the meaning of what was read. + +'The Levites caused the people to understand the law: and the people +stood in their place. So they read in the book in the law of God +distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the +reading.' + +And at the end of six hours there came tears--there was not a dry eye in +the crowd--men and women alike wept like children. There was Ezra in his +pulpit, his voice faltering as he read, and there were the people below, +sobbing as they heard the words. + +What was the matter? What had filled them with grief? St. Paul tells us +the secret of their tears (Rom. iii. 20). + +'By the law is the knowledge of sin.' + +You draw a line. How shall you know if it be straight or not? Lay the +ruler beside it, and you will soon find out its crookedness. + +You build a wall. How shall you tell if it be perpendicular? Bring the +plumb-line, put it against it, and you will soon find out where the wall +bulges. + +You take up a drawing of wood, and hill, and tree; how shall you know if +it be correctly sketched? Put beside it the master's copy, look from one +to another, and you will soon discover the mistakes and imperfections of +the pupil. + +Take the perfect law of God, lay it beside your own life, as these +people did, you will find out exactly what they found. You will find +that you are a sinner, that you have left undone what ought to have been +done, that you have done what ought not to have been done, and that you +yourself are full of sin. + +'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy +mind, with all thy soul, and with all thy strength.' + +Have you done that? No! Then you are not like the copy. + +'Ye shall diligently keep the commandments of the Lord thy God.' + +Have you done that? No! Then you are not like the copy. + +So felt the company at the water-gate, as they listened to the word that +day. And with the knowledge came tears, bitter, sorrowful tears, as they +thought of the past. Each man, woman, and child amongst them was ready +to cry out + + 'Red like crimson, deep as scarlet, + Scarlet of the deepest dye, + Are the manifold transgressions, + That upon my conscience lie. + God alone can count their number, + God alone can look within, + O the sinfulness of sinning, + O the guilt of every sin!' + +Some years ago there lived in Jerusalem a Scripture reader. He was an +Austrian Jew, and he worked amongst the large Jewish population in +Jerusalem. That man had been brought up to a very curious occupation. +For years he had maintained himself in a very strange way. His business +was this--to take children to school every morning, and to bring them +home again in the evening. Each morning he called at the various houses, +he led the children out, he carried the little ones, some on his back +and some in his arms, he chastised with a stick those who were inclined +to play truant, and he landed them all safely at the school-door. + +St. Paul, when he went to the Rabbi's school in Tarsus, was taken there +by just such a man as that, a man who was paid by his parents to drive +him to school regularly, and to see that he arrived there in good time. +This man was called in his day a Paidagogos, or Boy-driver. + +Years afterwards, when the apostle was writing to the Galatians, he +remembered his old Paidagogos, and he used him as an illustration. He +said, in his epistle, that that boy-driver was like the law of God; just +what the Paidagogos had done for him, that also the Word of God had +done. That man had driven him to the school of the Rabbi, the law of God +had driven him to the school of Christ. 'The law was our schoolmaster to +bring us unto Christ.' + +The word schoolmaster does not mean the man who teaches, but it is this +very word Paidagogos or Boy-driver. + +How, then, does the law of God drive us to Christ? Because it makes us +feel that we need saving, that we are sinners and cannot help ourselves, +that if ever we are to see the inside of the golden gates of heaven, it +must be by learning in the school of Christ, by learning to know Him as +our Saviour, our atonement, our all in all. + +Lord, save me, or I perish, for I cannot save myself! All my +righteousness is as filthy rags, I myself am full of sin. There is no +hope for me except in Thee! + +So the Law is our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +The Secret of Strength. + + +Who was the strongest person who ever lived? Surely there is no +difficulty in answering that question, surely there has never been +anyone to compare with Samson in wonderful feats of strength! Did he not +alone and unaided rend a young lion in two, as easily as if it had been +a kid? Did he not lift the massive iron gates of Gaza from their hinges, +carry them on his back for forty miles, and climb with them to the top +of a high hill? Did he not overthrow an enormous building by simply +leaning on the huge stone pillars that held it up? We see trials of +strength and feats of strength nowadays, we may have seen a man who +could with one blow of the sword cut a sheep in two, we may have seen +another who, by the mere power of his fist, could snap an iron chain, +yet what modern Samson, strong and powerful and mighty above his fellows +though he may be, can equal or rival the old Samson of Bible story. + +Yet after all are we right in calling Samson the strongest man? It all +depends upon the kind of strength of which we are speaking. If we mean +bodily strength, mere physical force, then undoubtedly Samson was the +strongest man. + +But is bodily strength the only kind of force or power a man can +possess? Is it the chief kind of strength? + +What is one name that we give to physical power; do we not call it +_brute force_? Why do we call it this? Because it is force which we have +in common with the brutes, nay, it is strength in which the brutes can +surpass us. Take the strongest man who ever lived, give him the most +powerful limbs, the strongest back, the greatest strength of muscle, +what is that man compared with an elephant? The mighty elephant has more +power in one limb than the man has in his whole body. Bodily strength is +then, after all, a kind of strength that is worth comparatively little, +and of which we have small cause to boast, for even an animal can easily +surpass us in it. + +A stronger man than Samson, where shall we find him? Come to the Senate +House in Cambridge, look at that man hard at work on the examination +papers. Look at him well, for you will see that man's name at the head +of the list when it comes out. Look at his broad forehead, his quick +eager eye, his earnest face. That man is the strongest man in England: +strong, not in bodily strength, he would do but little on the football +field, nor could he win a single prize in athletic sports; he is a thin, +slight, fragile man, but he is strong in mind, powerful and mighty in +brain. That man's memory is simply perfect, his powers of reasoning are +faultless, his grasp of a subject is enormous, he is a giant in +intellect. + +Here then we have another kind of strength, mental strength; and +inasmuch as the mind is vastly superior to the body, and inasmuch as +power of mind is a power which the animals so far from rivalling man, +possess only in a very limited degree, we shall be ready to admit that +the student is stronger than Samson, because he is strong in a superior +kind of strength. + +But there is a stronger than he, and it is a woman. She is weak and +delicate, and has certainly no bodily strength; she knows very little, +for she is a poor, simple country girl; she has no mental strength, but +she is stronger than Samson, stronger than the Cambridge student, +because she is endued with a strength far superior to bodily or mental +strength--she is strong in soul. + +A great crowd of people was gathered on the shore that day in the county +of Wigton in Scotland. There lay the wooded hills and the heathery +moors, and the quiet sea dividing them like a peaceful lake. Two +prisoners, carefully guarded, were brought down to the shore, one was an +old woman with white hair, the other was a young and beautiful girl. Two +stakes were driven into the sand, one close to the approaching sea, the +other much nearer to the shore. The old woman was tied to the stake +nearest to the sea, and the young girl to the other. The tide was out +when they were taken there, but they were told that, unless they would +deny the Master whom they loved, unless they would renounce the truth of +God, there they must remain, until the high tide had covered them, and +life was extinct. + +The old woman was questioned by her murderers. Would she renounce her +Lord? Never; she could not deny the faith of Christ. So they left her to +her fate, and the sea rose. Silently, quietly, stealthily it crept on, +till her arms, her shoulders, her neck were covered, and then soon after +the wave came which carried her into the presence of her Lord. Then they +pleaded with the girl, they tried to make her change, they used every +argument likely to move her, but all in vain. She was strong in soul, +strong and mighty, so strong that death itself could not make her +flinch. Still the sea crept on, still the water rose, and still they +tried to make her deny her Lord. But, strong in spirit, the girl held +bravely on. Higher and higher came that ever-encroaching water, and soon +her head was covered, and she thought her sorrows were ended, but her +tormentors brought her out of the water, rubbed and warmed her, and +brought her to life again, only to put the question to her once more. +Would she deny her Master? No; again she refused to do so, and was +dragged back, wet and dripping as she was, once more to be chained to +the stake, and to lay down her life a second time. But the Lord was with +her, and she was faithful to the end. + +That girl was strong in soul, strong in the highest, noblest form of +strength; she could say No when tempted to do wrong, she was faithful +when sorely tried. But Samson was weak as water, he had no strength of +soul; a woman's pretty face, a woman's coaxing word, was quite +sufficient to overthrow all the strength of soul he possessed. He could +resist no temptation that came across his path; he was an easy prey to +the tempter. + +Oh! that we were all strong, strong in this highest, grandest form of +strength, mighty giants in spirit! + +But do you say, How can I obtain this strength, by what means can I +acquire it? I feel I need it. I am often led astray; I listen to the +voice of the tempter, I give way to my besetting sin. I want to break +off from it, but I cannot; I want to leave the companions who are +leading me wrong, but I have not the strength to do it. How can I become +strong? + +Here, in the story of Nehemiah, we find the answer. Let us come again to +the water-gate, at the south-east of the city. There is the huge pulpit +of wood, there is Ezra with the roll in his hand, there are the people, +sobbing as if their hearts would break. + +But 'blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted' It is for +sin that their hearts are broken, they feel they have left undone so +much that ought to have been done, they have done so much that they +ought not to have done, that they are crushed with sorrow, and the tears +will come. + +But hush, who are these passing amongst the weeping crowd? There is +Nehemiah the Tirshatha, or governor, there is Ezra the scribe, and they +are followed by a company of Levites. They call to the people to stop +crying, and to rejoice. Is not our God a God of mercy? Is there not +forgiveness with Him? If sin is confessed and forsaken, will He not +pardon it? Dry your tears then, and, instead of crying, rejoice. Be +merry and glad that God is willing to forgive, nay, that He has forgiven +you. + +Cheer up, for this day is holy unto the Lord; it is a feast day, the +joyous Feast of Trumpets. Mourn not, nor weep. Do not imagine that God +likes you to be miserable; He wants you to be happy. You have owned your +sin, you have repented of your sin; now let your hearts be filled with +the joy that come from a sense of sin forgiven. + +Go home now, and keep the feast. Eat and drink of the best you have, +eat the fat and drink the sweet, the new sweet wine made from this +year's grapes. Go home and enjoy yourselves to the full; but do not +forget those who are worse off than yourselves, remember those poor +people who have suffered so much from the late famine, who have paid +their last penny to the tax-collector, who have lost their all in these +hard times. Let them enjoy themselves too to-day. Eat the fat and drink +the sweet, but do not forget to send portions to them for whom nothing +is prepared. Remember the empty cupboards, and the bare tables, and the +houses where the fat and the sweet are nowhere to be seen. + +What a word for us at the time of our joyous Christmas feast! God loves +us to be happy. He likes us to rejoice; He does not want us to go about +with long faces and melancholy looks. A long-faced Christian is a +Christian who brings disgrace on his Master. + +Then as we meet, year by year, round the happy Christmas table, and sit +down to our Christmas dinner, let us remember that God loves us to be +happy; but let us also remember that in the midst of all our joy He +would have us unselfish. He would have us send portions to them for whom +nothing is prepared. Is there no one whom we can cheer? Is there no +desolate home into which we can bring a ray of light? Is there no +sorrowful heart to which we can bring comfort? And what about the +portions? Is there no poor relative, or neighbour, or friend, with whom +we can share the good things that have fallen to our lot? + +Our own Christmas dinner will taste all the better if we have helped +some one else to happiness or comfort, our own festal rejoicing will be +tenfold more full of merriment and real joy, if we have helped to spread +the festal joy into dark and gloomy places. + +'Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto +them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: +neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength.' + +Yes, there we have the secret of strength, of the highest kind of +strength, of strength of soul. The joy of the Lord, that joy which comes +from knowing our sin is pardoned. + +Can I say-- + + 'O happy day, O happy day + When Jesus washed my sins away?' + +Then I have spiritual strength, for the joy of the Lord is my strength. +He has forgiven me, He has washed me from my sins in His own blood; how +can I grieve Him? How can I pain Him by yielding to temptation? How can +I ever risk losing the joy of my heart by going contrary to His will? I +am joyful because I am forgiven, and I am strong because I am joyful. + +Here then is the highest kind of strength, and it is a strength within +the reach of all. Bodily strength some of us can never attain. We are +born with weakly bodies, we have grown up delicate and frail, we could +no more transform ourselves into strong, powerful men, than we could +make ourselves into elephants. + +There was a man who lived in Greece long before Hezekiah, who was +determined to make his nation the strongest nation on earth; he was +resolved that it should consist of mighty giants in strength, and that +not one delicate or weak man should be found amongst them. But what did +Lycurgus find himself obliged to do in order to secure his end? He was +compelled to have every infant carefully examined as soon as it was +born, and if a child had the least appearance of delicacy, he took it +from its mother, and sent it to some lonely cave on the hill-side, where +it was left to die of cold and hunger. He found that it was not possible +to turn a puny delicate child into a strong man. + +Bodily strength then is beyond the reach of many men; weak they were +born, weak they live, and weak they will die, nothing will alter or +improve them. + +Nor can strength of mind be attained by many. They were born with no +power of memory, no aptitude for learning, no gift for study; you may +teach them, and labour with them, and they may work hard themselves, but +no application can instil into them what was not born in them; they came +into the world with second-rate intellects, and they will die with the +same. + +But, thank God, the highest form of strength, strength of soul is, in +this respect, not like strength of body or strength of mind. No one is +born with it, we are all by nature weak as water, an easy prey for +Satan; but there is not one of us who may not acquire this spiritual +power. If we will take the lost sinner's place, and claim the lost +sinner's Saviour, we shall be filled by that Saviour with joy, joy +because sin is forgiven, and with the joy will come the strength of +soul. + +In Greece, in that city in which all the weakly babies were murdered, +those children who were spared and who were pronounced to be strong, +were looked upon from that time as belonging not to their parents but to +the state, and they were trained and brought up with this one object in +view, to make them strong and powerful men. They were taught to bear +cold, wearing the same clothing in winter as in summer; they were +trained to bear fatigue, being accustomed to walk barefoot for miles; +they were practised in wrestling, in racing, in throwing heavy weights, +in carrying burdens, in anything and everything which was calculated to +make the strength that was in them grow and increase. And it was +wonderful how, by means of practice, the strength did grow. + +We are told of one man, who in the public games carried a full grown ox +for a mile, and we are told that he accomplished this by gradually +accustoming himself to the weight. He began when the ox was a tiny calf +to carry it a mile every day, and the increase of weight was so gradual +that he did not feel it; his arms became used to the weight, and as the +ox grew bigger, he at the same time grew stronger. + +Strength of body then grows and increases in proportion to our use of +it. + +So, too, does strength of mind. Here is a boy, born with good abilities +and with an intelligent mind. Take that child, and shut him off from +every possibility of using his mind; never teach him anything, never +allow him to look at a book or a picture, keep him shut off from +everything that might tend to open his mind, tell him nothing, bring him +up as a mere animal, and soon he will lose all his powers of mind, and +become an imbecile. But, on the other hand, teach him, train him, +educate him, let his mind have full scope and exercise, and his mental +powers will grow and increase a hundred-fold, for strength of mind, +like strength of body, grows with the using. + +Just so is it with strength of soul. Every temptation you overcome makes +you stronger, every lust you subdue, every battle of soul you fight, +every inclination to evil you resist, makes you stronger. + +'From strength to strength' is the motto of the Christian. + +So let us press forward. + +'Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the +Son of God, unto _a perfect man_' (or as R.V. has it, a _full-grown +man_) 'unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.' + +Now we are but children in spiritual strength, then we shall be giants +in power, full-grown men, with full powers and energy and strength, +ready to work for the Master through eternity. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +The Eighty-four Seals. + + +Merrily the Christmas bells were chiming in the old city of York, on +Christmas morning in the year 1890, speaking gaily and joyfully of the +Christmas feast, when suddenly there came a change. The merry peal +ceased, and was followed by the quiet sorrowful sound which always +speaks of mourning and death, a muffled peal. News had reached the +ringers that the Archbishop of York, who had been known and respected in +the city for more than twenty-eight years, had gone home to God. + +And as we ate our Christmas dinner that day, as we gathered round the +table to eat the fat and drink the sweet, the solemn voice of Old Peter, +the great minster bell, was heard tolling for the departed soul. + +Truly in the midst of life we are in death, in the midst of joy there +comes sorrow, in the midst of festivity we are plunged into mourning. + + 'Shadow and shine is life, little Annie, + Flower and thorn.' + +So the poet makes the old grandmother sum up her life's story. + +And it is just the same in our religious life. One day the joy of the +Lord makes us strong, the next the sense of sin weighs us to the ground; +one moment we are ready to overflow with thanksgiving, the next we are +down in the dust mourning and weeping. + +Just such a change as this, a change from the gay to the solemn, from +joy to mourning, from feasting to fasting, comes before us in the Book +of Nehemiah. + +Look at Jerusalem, as we visit it in imagination to-day, and take a +bird's-eye view of the city. The whole place is mad with joy. They are +keeping the gayest, the merriest, the prettiest feast in the whole year, +the Feast of Tabernacles. It was a saying amongst the Jews, that unless +a man had been present at the Feast of Tabernacles he did not know what +joy was. And in Nehemiah's time this feast was kept more fully and with +more rejoicing than it had been kept for a thousand years; no one had +ever witnessed such a Feast of Tabernacles since the days of Joshua. + +The city was a mass of green booths, made with branches of olive, pine, +myrtle, and palm; and in these the people lived, and ate, and slept for +eight days; whilst the whole city was lighted up, and glad music was +constantly heard, and the people feasted, and laughed, and made merry. + +It was the 22nd day of the month Tisri when the Feast of Tabernacles was +ended, and only two days afterwards there came a remarkable change. + +Look at Jerusalem again, you would hardly know it to be the same place. +The green booths are all gone, they have been carefully cleared away. +There is not a branch, or a banner, or a bit of decoration to be seen. +The bright holiday dresses, the gay blue, and red, and yellow, and +lilac robes, the smart, many-coloured turbans have all been laid by; +there is not a sign of one of them. We see instead an extraordinary +company of men, women and children making their way to the open space by +the water gate. They are covered with rough coarse sackcloth, a material +made of black goats' hair and used for making sacks. Every one of the +company is dressed in this rough material; not only so, but the robe of +each is made like a sack in shape, so that they look like a crowd of +moving sacks, and on their heads are sprinkled earth and dust and ashes. + +The rejoicing has turned into mourning, the feast into a fast. A great +sense of sin has come over the people; they feel their need of +forgiveness, and they are come to seek it. + +The meeting seems to have assembled about nine o'clock, the time of the +morning sacrifice. For a quarter of the day, for three hours, they read +the law of God, for three hours more they fell prostrate on the ground, +and confessed their sin. Their prayers were led by Levites, standing on +high scaffoldings where everyone could see them, where all could hear +them as they cried with a loud voice to God. + +Then just at the time of the evening sacrifice, at three o'clock in the +afternoon, the Levites called to the kneeling multitude and bade them +rise, '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.' + +Then the Levites went through the history of God's wonderful goodness to +His people, to Abraham in Egypt, in the wilderness, in the land of +Canaan; everywhere, and at all times He had been good to them, again +and again He had delivered them. But they--what had they done? + +'Thou hast done right, but we have done wickedly. Neither have our +kings, our princes, our priests, nor our fathers kept Thy law, nor +hearkened unto Thy commandments.... For they have not served Thee.' +Therefore, as a natural consequence and result, 'Behold, we are servants +this day.' + +They would not serve God, they would not be His servants, so they had +been made to serve someone else; they had, as a punishment for their +sin, been made servants to the King of Persia. And what was the result? + +'The land that Thou gavest unto our fathers to eat the fruit thereof and +the good thereof, behold, we are servants in it. And it yieldeth much +increase unto the kings whom Thou hast set over us because of our sins.' + +The amount of tribute paid by Judea to Persia is not known; but the +province of Syria, in which Judea was included, paid £90,000 a year. + +'Also they have dominion over our bodies.' + +They can force us against our will to be either soldiers or sailors, and +can make us fight their battles for them. + +They have dominion 'over our cattle.' + +They can seize our cattle at their pleasure, for their own use or the +use of their armies. + +'And we are in great distress.' + +Yes, our sin has indeed brought its punishment; and feeling this, +realizing this very deeply, we have gathered together to do what we +intend to do this day, to make a solemn agreement, a covenant with God. +We intend to promise to have done with sin, and for the future to serve +and glorify God. + +Then a long roll of parchment was brought out, on which the covenant was +written, and one by one all the leading men in Jerusalem came forward +and put their seals to it, as a sign that they intended to keep it. + +In the East it is always the seal that authenticates a document. In +Babylon the documents were often sealed with half-a-dozen seals or more. +These were impressed on moist clay, and then the clay was baked, and the +seals were each fastened to the parchment by a separate string. In this +way any number of seals could be attached. + +We are given in Neh. x. the names of those who sealed, honoured names, +for they made a brave and noble stand. First of all comes the name of +Nehemiah, the governor, setting a good example to the rest. He is +followed by Zidkijah, or Zadok, the secretary. Then come the names of +eighty-two others, heads of families, all well-known men in Jerusalem. +Each one fastened his seal to the roll of parchment containing the +solemn covenant. No less than eighty-four seals were attached to it. + +What then were the articles of the covenant? + +What did those who sealed promise? + +First of all, they bound themselves (x. 29) to walk in God's law, and to +observe and do all the commandments. What need after that to enter a +single other article in the covenant? If a man walks in God's law he +cannot go wrong; if he keeps all God's commandments, what more can be +required? + +But they were wise men who drew up that solemn covenant. They knew and +understood the human heart. Is it not a fact, that whilst we are all +ready to own that we are sinners in a general sense, we are slow to own +that we are guilty of any particular sin? We do not mind confessing that +we are miserable sinners, but we should indignantly deny being selfish +or idle, or unforgiving, or proud, or bad-tempered. + +So those who wrote the parchment felt it best to go more into detail, +and to put down certain things in which they felt they had done wrong in +the past, but in which they meant to do better in the time to come. + +(1) They promised that they would not in future marry heathen people, +that they would not give their daughters to heathen men, or let their +sons choose heathen wives. + +(2) They engaged to keep the Sabbath, and not to buy and sell on the +holy day; and they promised that if the heathen people round came to the +city gates with baskets of fruit, or vegetables, or fish on the Sabbath, +they would refuse to buy. + +(3) They stated that for the future they would keep every seventh year +as a year of Sabbath. The Sabbath year had in times past been a great +blessing to the land. The one work and occupation of the Jews was +agriculture, farming of all kinds. Every seventh year God commanded that +all work was to stop; there was to be a year's universal holiday, that +the nation might have rest and leisure to think of higher things. Yet +they did not starve in the Sabbath year, for God gave them double crops +in the sixth year, enough to cover all their wants until the crops of +the eighth year were ripe. All that grew of itself during the seventh +year, all the self-sown grain that sprang up, all the fruit that came +on the olives, and the vines, and the fig-trees, was left for the poor +people to gather; they went out and helped themselves, and comfort was +brought to many a sad home, and cupboards which were often empty during +the six ordinary years were kept well filled in the Sabbath year. But +this command of God had been neglected by the Jews; it needed more faith +and trust than they had possessed, and they had let it slip. Now, +however, they promise once more to observe the Sabbath year. + +The rest of the covenant concerned the amount to be contributed for the +service of God. They agreed to pay one-third of a shekel each year +towards the temple service, and to bring by turn the wood required for +the sacrifices, beside giving God, regularly and conscientiously, the +first-fruits of all they had. + +This was the solemn covenant to which were fastened so many seals, this +was the agreement by which they bound themselves to the service of God. +As they went home, and shook the dust off their heads, and took off +their sacks, they went home pledged to obey and to love their God. + +Which of us will follow their example? Who will bind himself to God? Who +will put his seal to the document, and promise to serve and obey the +Master who died for him? Will you? + +Is it not right, is it not wise to pull up at times and to look at our +life, at what it has been, and at what it might have been? What about +prayer? Has it been always earnest, heartfelt, true? What about our +Bible reading? Has it been as regular, as profitable as it might have +been? Do we not feel we have come short in the past, and that we should +like to do better in the time to come? + +What about sin, that besetting sin of ours, so often indulged in, so +little fought against? Are we going on like this for ever, beaten by +sin, overcome and defeated? Should we not like to leave the old careless +days behind, and for the future to fight manfully against the world, the +flesh, and the devil? + +What about work for God? Have we done all that we could for His service? +Have we given Him the tenth of our money? Have we consecrated to Him our +time and our talents? Do we not feel we should like to do more for the +Master in time to come? + +It is a good plan to get alone and quiet for a time, and taking a piece +of paper, to write down all we feel has been wrong in the past, all we +mean to do in the future. Then let us sign our name to it, put the date +at the bottom, fold it carefully up, put it away, let no one see it but +God, it is a covenant between us and Him. He will give us grace to keep +it if we only ask Him. + +Will you try this plan this very night? Then you will open your eyes +to-morrow morning with the recollection, 'I am the Lord's; I have given +myself to Him; I am His now by my own agreement; I am pledged to His +service.' + +Lord, make me faithful, keep me humble, keep me prayerful, give me grace +and courage and strength! + +For 'better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest +vow and not pay.' + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +The Brave Volunteers. + + +'Jerusalem, my happy home, Name ever dear to me.' + +So we sing, and it is the echo of the song that went up from the heart +of many a Jew in olden time. + +We all love our native land, our dear old England, yet none of us love +it as the Jews loved Jerusalem. We have only to open the Book of Psalms +to see how dear the city of their fathers was to the heart of the Jews. + +'Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in +the mountain of His holiness. Beautiful for situation, the joy of the +whole earth, is Mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the +great King,' Psalm xlviii. 1, 2. + +'Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem. Jerusalem is +builded as a city that is compact together. Whither the tribes go up, +the tribes of the Lord. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem; they shall +prosper that love thee. Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within +thy palaces,' Psalm cxxii. 2-4, 6, 7. + +These are just samples of countless expressions of love and devotion +for Jerusalem, their happy home. And all the time of the captivity in +Babylon the Jews were longing to be once more in Jerusalem! Oh, to see +the city of cities again; oh, to tread once more the streets of the holy +Jerusalem! They could not even think of their far-off home without +tears. + +'By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we +remembered Zion. If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget +her cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof +of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy,' Psalm +cxxxvii. 1, 5, 6. + +Yet, strange to say, although the Jews were longing for the Holy City +all the time they were in captivity, when they did return to their +native land, and it was possible once more to live in Jerusalem, they +seem to have preferred any other place before it. It was the most +difficult thing to get any of them to consent to take up their abode in +the capital. + +Nehemiah found himself face to face with this difficulty when he had +finished the repairs of the city. The rubbish was cleared away, the +walls were built, the gates were set up, the fortresses were +strengthened, but the city itself was nowhere. Here and there houses +were scattered about, here and there was a group of buildings, but +inside the walls were many great empty spaces, large pieces of +unoccupied ground. + +The walls had been set up on the old sites, and were about four miles in +circumference. It was a large space to fill, and, as Nehemiah looked +round, he saw that whilst the city was imposing from without, it was a +bare, miserable place inside. + +'The city was large and great; but the people were few therein, and the +houses were not builded.' + +Not only so, not only was the city unsightly, but there were not enough +inhabitants to protect the walls. In case of an attack, what would be +done? Four miles of wall was a long space to guard and defend, how could +more hands be secured? It was absolutely necessary that Jerusalem should +have a larger population. + +Yet Nehemiah found that no one wished to move from the country places +round, and to come into Jerusalem. Every town, every village in Judea +was more popular than the capital. They had rather live in sultry +Jericho than on the mountain heights of Jerusalem; they preferred stony +Bethel to the vine-clad hills of the City of God; they had rather live +in the tiny insignificant village of Anathoth than in the capital +itself. + +Why was this? Why had the Jews of Nehemiah's day such an objection to +living in Jerusalem? Why, after longing for Jerusalem all the time of +the captivity, did they shrink from it on their return? + +The reason was this. Jerusalem had become the point of danger. All round +the returned captives were enemies. The Samaritans, the Moabites, the +Ammonites, the Edomites, and a host of others were ready at any moment +to pounce down upon the Jews. In case of an attack from their united +forces, what would be the mark at which all these enemies would aim? +What place would have to bear the whole force of the attack? Jerusalem +itself. They would pass by Jericho, Bethel, and Anathoth, as places +beneath their notice, but they would all make for Jerusalem. To live in +the capital was consequently to live in constant danger and in constant +fear. So it is not to be wondered at that they avoided it, and that they +settled down in the villages and left the capital to take care of +itself. + +Nehemiah sees that steps must be taken to put a stop to this state of +things. In order to bring about the end he had in view, he first took a +census of the whole nation, and then he required each town and district +to send a tenth of its people to live in Jerusalem. + +But of whom was the tenth to consist? How should the number of those who +were to migrate to the capital be chosen? It was done by lot; they drew +lots who were to go and who were to stay. This was probably done in the +usual Jewish way, by means of pebbles. The people of a village would be +divided into tens, then a bag would be brought out containing nine +dark-coloured pebbles and one white one. The ten men would all draw from +the bag, and the man who drew the white pebble would be the one who was +to remove to Jerusalem. By this means the capital would be provided with +about 20,000 inhabitants, and would be in a condition to defend itself +from attack. + +No doubt there was much grumbling, and there were many groans and +complaints when the lots were drawn, and those who drew the white stone +found they must give up their little farms, their pretty country houses, +the homes they had learnt to love so well and which they had built for +themselves and their children, the vineyards which their own hands had +planted, the olive yards and fig groves of which they had been so proud, +and which had been so profitable to them, that they must give up all +these which had been so dear to them and move at once into the city in +which they would be in constant danger. + +But there were certain brave volunteers. Besides those on whom the lot +fell, a certain number came forward and offered to go of their own free +will and choice to live in the capital. They would break up their +country homes, and for love of their country and love of Jerusalem would +move into the Holy City. The post of danger was the post which most +needed them, and they were not afraid to go to it. Brave, noble men and +women, no wonder that we read that blessings were called down upon them +by the rest of their countrymen. 'And the people blessed all the men +that willingly offered themselves to dwell at Jerusalem,' Neh. xi. 2. + +But those brave Jews, who are mentioned here with so much honour, are +not the only ones who of their own free will and choice have gone with +open eyes to the point of danger. + +Fourteen thousand pounds arrived in the course of a few days at a +certain house in London, the office of the Church Missionary Society. +One person sent £5,000 with no name, only a day or two afterwards +another sent a second £5,000, whilst £4,000 was contributed in smaller +sums. + +For what purpose was this immense sum of money sent? It was forwarded to +the Society in consequence of a very famous letter which appeared in the +_Daily Telegraph_ of November 15, 1876. This letter was written by Dr. +Stanley, the great African traveller. It told of a new country he had +discovered in the heart of Africa, a country inhabited by a nation +clothed and living in houses, and reigned over by a king of some +intelligence named Mtesa. Dr. Stanley had talked to this man, he had +shown him his Bible, and told him something of Christianity, and in this +letter in the _Daily Telegraph_ Dr. Stanley stated that King Mtesa was +ready and willing to receive Christian teachers, if any were prepared to +go out to his kingdom of Uganda. + +The result of that letter was, that in a few days no less than £14,000 +was sent to the Church Missionary Society, in order that they might have +the means to establish a mission by the shores of the Victoria Nyanza. A +committee meeting was accordingly held, and the Society declared +themselves ready to take up the work. + +The money was forthcoming, but a great difficulty stared them in the +face. Where were the men? Who would be found willing to go to such a +place as the heart of Africa? The climate was most trying and dangerous +for Europeans, the food was bad and scanty, and, worst of all, the +country was so unsafe that all who went must go with their life in their +hands, feeling that at any moment they might be attacked and murdered by +the natives. + +Would any offer for such a post of danger? Would any be found willing to +volunteer for the work, would any be ready to leave their safe, +comfortable homes in England to take up their abode in Uganda? + +Yes, men were found who willingly offered themselves for the work. Eight +noble men at once came forward. A young naval officer, Lieutenant Smith; +a clergyman from Manchester, Mr. Wilson; an Irish architect, Mr. +O'Neill; a Scotch engineer, Mr. Mackay; a doctor from Edinburgh, Dr. +Smith; a railway contractor's engineer, Mr. Clark, and two working men, +a blacksmith and a builder. + +'And the people blessed all the men that willingly offered themselves to +dwell' in Uganda. + +A meeting was held in the Church Missionary Society's house, to bid them +farewell and to pray for a blessing on their work. Then each of the +eight volunteers was asked to say a few words to the friends who were +taking leave of them. Mr. Mackay, the young engineer, was the last to +speak. Looking round on those who were sending him out, he said: + +'There is one thing which my brethren have not said, and which I want to +say. I want to remind the Committee that within six months they will +probably hear that one of us is dead.' + +There was a great silence in the room as he spoke these startling words. + +'Yes,' he went on, 'is it at all likely that eight Englishmen should +start for Central Africa and all be alive six months after? One of us at +least--it may be I--will surely fall before that. But what I want to say +is this, when the news comes do not be cast down, but send some one else +immediately to take the vacant place.' + +Mr. Mackay was not wrong. One of the eight, the builder, died as soon as +he landed in Africa. The seven others set off for the interior to find +the country of King Mtesa. Two of these, Mackay the engineer, and +Robertson the blacksmith, were taken so ill with fever that they were +compelled to go back to the coast. + +It was a long wearisome journey, of from four to five months, from the +coast to Victoria Nyanza; for a little way they were able to go in a +boat which they had brought with them from England, but after a short +distance they were obliged to leave the river, and, taking their boat to +pieces, to carry it with them through the tangled forest. When they +arrived at a place named Mpwapwa, it seemed such a good field for +missionary labour that one of their number, Mr. Clark, was left to begin +missionary work there, whilst the rest pressed forward to Uganda. + +The great lake at last came in sight, and they were cheered by the sight +of its blue waters. But, when they arrived on its shores, the naval +officer and the doctor were both very ill; for thirty-one days they had +been carried by the porters, being quite unable to walk, and only a few +months after their arrival at the south end of the lake the young doctor +died. He was worn to a skeleton, and suffered terribly. The three who +remained buried him by the side of the lake, and put a heap of stones +over his grave. On a slab of limestone they carved-- + + 'JOHN SMITH, + M.B. EDN., C.M.S. + DIED MAY 11, 1877, + AGED 25 YEARS.' + +Now, only the clergyman, the architect, and the naval officer were left +to carry on the work. But that very same year, in December, a quarrel +broke out between two tribes living at the south of the lake. A man +named Songoro, who had been friendly to the missionaries, fled to them +for protection. They were at once surrounded by a party of the natives, +and, on refusing to give up Songoro to his enemies, Lieutenant Smith and +Mr. O'Neill, together with all the men who were with them, were +murdered on December 7. + +Only two days before, Lieutenant Smith had written a letter to a friend +in England, in which were these words: + +'One feels very near to heaven here, for who knows what a day may bring +forth?' + +Only one of the five who had arrived at the lake was now left, Mr. +Wilson, the clergyman. But, thank God, man after man has offered himself +to fill up the vacant places. Some have fallen, some still remain, +labouring on. + +The people blessed the men who willingly offered themselves for the post +of danger. Should we not bless them too? Should we not day by day call +down blessings on the brave noble missionaries? Should we not pray for +them, that strength and courage may be given them? Should we not help +them all we can? Let our daily prayer be: + + 'Lord, bless them all! + Thy workers in the field, + Where'er they be; + Prosper them, Lord, and bless + Their work for Thee-- + Lord, bless them all. + + Lord, bless them all! + Give them Thy smile to-day, + Cheer each faint heart, + More of Thy grace, more strength, + Saviour, impart; + Lord, bless them all!' + +The post of danger is the post of honour, and at that post of honour Mr. +Mackay, the engineer, died, February 8, 1890. For thirteen years he had +bravely held on to his work. He had never had a holiday, he had never +come home to see his friends. The Secretary of the Church Missionary +Society wrote at last, urging him to come to England for rest and +change. His answer to this letter arrived ten days after the sorrowful +telegram which told of his death. He said, 'But what is this you write; +come home? Surely now, in our terrible dearth of workers, it is not the +time for any one to desert his post. Send us only our first twenty men, +and I may be tempted to come to help you to find the second twenty.' + +So he was faithful unto death. + +The _people_ blessed the men who willingly offered themselves, and +surely _God_ blessed them too, for 'God loveth a cheerful giver.' He who +gives to God grudgingly, or because he feels obliged to do so, had +better never give at all, for God will not receive the offering. The +money must be willingly given, the service must be cheerfully rendered, +the post of danger must be readily occupied, or God will have nothing to +do with it. + +The only giver whose gifts He can receive is the cheerful giver, the one +who willingly offers himself. + +To be comfortable is the great aim of our lives and our hearts by +nature. But sometimes God calls us to be uncomfortable, to leave the +cosy home, the bright fireside, the comparative luxury, and to go forth +to the post of danger, or difficulty, or trial. + +God grant that we may be amongst the number of those who go forth with a +smiling face amongst the people who willingly offer themselves! + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +The Holy City. + + +In the time of the terrible siege of Jerusalem, when the Roman armies +surrounded the city, when famine was killing the Jews by hundreds, and +when every day the enemy seemed more likely to take the city, a strange +thing happened. Some priests were watching, as was their custom, in the +temple courts at dead of night. They had passed through the Beautiful +Gate, crossed the Court of the Women, and had ascended the steps leading +into the inner court, which was close to the Temple itself. Suddenly +they stopped, for the earth shook beneath them, whilst overhead came a +noise as of the rushing of many wings, and a multitude of voices was +heard saying, again and again, the solemn words, 'Let us depart, let us +depart.' + +The angels of God were leaving the doomed city to its fate. + +For centuries Jerusalem had been known as the Holy City. Why was it so +called? Not because of its inhabitants, for, instead of being holy, many +of them were sunk in wickedness and impurity. Jerusalem was called the +Holy City simply because of one inhabitant; it was the dwelling-place +of God, and His presence there made it what no other city of the earth +was, the Holy City. + +'In Salem also is His tabernacle, and His dwelling, place in Zion,' +Psalm lxxvi. 2. + +'Blessed be the Lord out of Zion, which dwelleth at Jerusalem,' Psalm +cxxxv. 21. + +So wrote the Psalmist, and he was right. God had chosen Jerusalem as His +home on earth, His abiding-place, His dwelling; and so long as _He_ +remained there, Jerusalem and all its surroundings was holy. The +mountain on which it stood was the Holy Mountain; the city itself was +the Holy City; the courts of the temple were the Holy Place, the temple +itself was the Most Holy Place, whilst the inner sanctuary, in which +God's glory appeared, was the Holy of Holies. + +But at the time of the siege of Jerusalem, God was leaving the city, it +was no longer to be His dwelling-place, and consequently it was no +longer to be called the Holy City. And therefore it was that the holy +angels cried aloud to one another, Let us depart, for it is a holy city +no longer, God has deserted it; it is His no more. + +But in Nehemiah's day, Jerusalem, in spite of her sins, was still the +Holy City. We find her twice called so in his book, Neh. xi. 1, 18, and +inasmuch as it was the Holy City, God's home on earth, His special +property, His constant dwelling-place, Nehemiah felt it was only right +that, as soon as the city was finished, as soon as all within its walls +was set in order, the city and all it contained should be dedicated to +the service of that God to whom it belonged. + +Accordingly, as we visit Jerusalem in thought, we find the people busily +preparing for a great and glorious day; they are going, by means of a +grand and imposing ceremonial, to dedicate the city to God. + +It is nearly thirteen years since the walls were finished and the gates +set up. Why then did not Nehemiah hold the service of dedication before? +Why did he allow so long a time to elapse before he summoned the people +to put the finishing touch to their work by laying it at the feet of +their King? + +The Tirshatha had probably two good reasons for the delay. In the first +place, there was much to do inside the city after the walls and gates +were finished; the city itself had to be rebuilt, strengthened, and put +into order. Then he probably dare not attempt such a grand celebration +without special leave from Persia. If he made a great demonstration of +any kind, it would be easy for the Samaritans to put their own +construction upon it, and to write off at once to Persia to accuse him +of setting up the standard of rebellion. It was, therefore, advisable to +obtain direct permission for such a step from Artaxerxes himself. Now +the city is in order, the necessary precautions have been taken, and +Nehemiah feels that there is nothing to hinder the holding of the solemn +ceremonial of the dedication of the Holy City to God. + +Who are these men who are arriving by companies at all the different +gates of Jerusalem? They are the Levites, coming up from all parts of +the country to the service of dedication. They are carrying with them +various musical instruments--cymbals, trumpets, psalteries and +harps--old instruments used by King David, and some of them evidently +invented by him and bearing his name, for we find them called, in xii. +36: + +'The musical instruments of David, the man of God.' + +These are to be used in the grand service which is about to take place. +Many new musical instruments had been invented since the time of David, +and the Jews of the captivity had seen and used these in Babylon and +Shushan. We read, in the Book of Daniel, of the cornet, the flute, the +sackbut, the dulcimer; all these instruments were familiar to the Jews +of Nehemiah's day. But we do not find one of these newly invented +instruments in use at this grand service. They cling to the old +instruments, used in the first temple, dear to their hearts as being +connected with King David, and as having been used by their fathers +before them, ver. 27. + +Not only the musicians, but the singers are called together from the +valleys round Jerusalem, in which the temple choir had chosen to live, +in order that they might go up by turn to lead the temple singing, xii. +29. + +When all who were to take part in the service had assembled, there was a +great sprinkling. The priests and the Levites purified themselves, and +purified the people, and the gates, and the wall. + +A red heifer (see Num. xix.) was led by one of the priests outside the +city. There she was killed, her blood was caught in a basin, and was +sprinkled seven times before the temple. Then her flesh was burnt +outside the city, and the ashes were carefully collected and mixed with +water. This water was put into a number of basins, and the priests and +Levites went with it up and down the city, sprinkling it first on +themselves, then on the men, women and children in the city, and +afterwards on the wall, and the gates, and all that was to be dedicated +to God. + +All were to be made pure before they could be used in God's service. The +Great Master cannot use dirty vessels; they are not fit for His use, +they cannot do His work. + +If you want God to use you in His service, you must first be sprinkled, +made pure from all defilement of sin. Until this has been done you +cannot do one single thing to please God; until you have been cleansed, +it is impossible for you to work for God. + +How, then, can we be cleansed? How can we be made vessels meet for the +Master's use, fit for the service of God? Thank God, we have a better +way of cleansing than by washing in the ashes of a heifer. + +'For if the ashes of an heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to +the purifying of the flesh: how much more shall the blood of Christ, +who, through the Eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, +purge your conscience from dead works _to serve the living God?_' Heb. +ix. 13, 14. + +The blood must be sprinkled, the conscience must be purged, then begins +the service of the living God; all works before that are dead, works of +no avail, utterly worthless and good for nothing, in the Master's +estimation. + +When all was ready and the purification was complete, the great company +of the musicians met in the temple courts. The blast of the priests' +trumpets was heard on one side, and on the other the sweet melodious +songs of the white-robed minstrels. + +When all were in order they marched to the Valley Gate, on the western +side of the city. Here Nehemiah divided them into two companies, in +order that they might make the circuit of the city, walking in gay +procession on the top of the new walls. One company was to go north and +the other south, walking round the city until they met on the other +side; whilst all the people stood below, watching the progress of the +two processions, each of which was formed of singers, nobles and +priests, who were dressed in white and flowing robes. + +It must have been a grand and imposing sight, as the bright Eastern sun +streamed on the dazzling white of their fine linen, and made their +instruments glitter and shine. Then there was the sound of glorious +music, which seemed to encircle the city in a wave of rejoicing and +song. Everyone made merry that day, and no wonder; it was a day to be +remembered. + +The order of each procession was as follows. First and foremost went a +band of musicians with their various instruments. Then followed a small +company of princes, the finest men in the nation, arrayed in all the +brilliance of Eastern costume, and bringing up the rear were seven +priests, bearing trumpets. Each procession had a leader, Nehemiah +conducted one, and Ezra the scribe the other. + +Ezra's procession proceeded southward, and then eastward. They passed +the Dung Gate, whence was swept out the refuse of the city. Then they +came to the Fountain Gate, opposite to the Pool of Siloam, and here they +descended by steps in the Tower of Siloam. They probably came down in +order that they might dedicate the buildings over the Pool of Siloam and +the Dragon Well, and then they climbed to the top of the wall again, by +the steps that went up to that part of Jerusalem called the City of +David. From thence Ezra's procession moved on to the eastern wall, where +they were to meet the other party. + +Nehemiah's company, on leaving the Valley Gate, turned northward, passed +the Tower of the Furnaces, went across the Broad Wall, which was almost +the only piece of the old wall still standing, passed the Gate of +Ephraim, the Old Gate, the Tower of Hananeel, the Tower of Meah, the +Sheep Gate, and so down to the temple, and the gate named the Prison +Gate, because it opened upon a street leading to the court of the +prison. + +Then, somewhere near the Water Gate, the two processions met, and +marched together into the court of the temple, the two bands now joining +together in a united glorious strain, whilst the two companies of +singers formed again one enormous united choir, and filled the temple +courts with their harmonious song. + +'So stood the two companies of them that gave thanks in the house of +God,' xii. 40. + +Not a voice was silent, there was no idle person in the choir. Headed by +their choir-master they did their utmost to praise the Lord. + +'The singers sang loud, with Jezrahiah their overseer.' + +Nor were the musical people the only ones who showed their joy that +happy day. For, as the priests offered great sacrifices, the rejoicing +was both universal and tremendous. 'For God had made them rejoice with +great joy.' Not the men alone, but the wives and the children, so that + +'The joy of Jerusalem was heard even afar off.' + +Women's tears, how often we read of them in the Bible! Rachel weeps +over her children and will not be comforted, Hagar lifts up her voice +and weeps over her son, Naomi weeps as she comes back to her desolate +home, Hannah weeps as she kneels in the tabernacle court, the widow +weeps as she follows her only son to the grave, and the company of women +weep as Jesus of Nazareth is led out to the cross. + +So many women's tears, so very few women's smiles; so much mourning and +lamentation, so very little happiness and rejoicing. But, on this day of +dedication, the wives were as merry and glad as the husbands, and even +the children took part in the general joy. + +It is interesting to notice that the Book of Psalms was the national +song-book of the Jewish nation, a large number of the Psalms having been +composed for special occasions, in order to commemorate certain +memorable days in the history of the nation. + +One Psalm, namely Psalm cxlvii., was probably composed in the time of +Nehemiah, in order that it might be sung at the dedication of the walls. + +Ver. 1: 'Praise ye the Lord: for it is good to sing praises unto our +God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely. + +Ver. 2: 'The Lord doth build up Jerusalem: He gathereth together the +outcasts of Israel.' + +Ver. 12: 'Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem; praise thy God, O Zion. + +Ver. 13: 'For He hath strengthened the bars of thy gates; He hath +blessed thy children within thee.' + +There follows in the Psalm a curious mention of snow and ice. The +dedication of the city took place late in the year, and probably +Jerusalem was white with snow as the singers in their white robes went +round the walls, the snow being a glorious emblem of the purification +which had just taken place. White as snow,--white in the blood. + +Vers. 16-18: 'He giveth snow like wool: He scattereth the hoar frost +like ashes. He casteth forth His ice like morsels: who can stand before +His cold? He sendeth out His word, and melteth them. He causeth His wind +to blow, and the waters flow.' + +Surely as the people rejoiced on the day that the city was finished, +they must have remembered the words of old Daniel the prophet, written +whilst they were in captivity, a hundred years before this time. + +For what had Daniel declared? He had foretold that his nation should +return from captivity, and that Jerusalem should be restored. + +'The street shalt be built again, and the wall, even in troublous +times.' + +Nehemiah's work was evidently revealed to Daniel, and he was also told +something about Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the other troublers of the +Jews. + +Then, says Daniel, as soon as the command goes forth to build Jerusalem, +then can you begin to reckon the time to the coming of the Messiah, only +a limited and stated time must then elapse before the Christ, the +Saviour of Israel, shall appear (Dan. ix. 25). + +No wonder then that the joy of Jerusalem was heard afar off that day, as +they thought of the good days that were coming. The word of the living +God had come true, the street was built, the wall was built, now they +had only to wait for the fulfilment of the rest of the prophecy, for +the coming of their own Messiah and King. + +We should all like to have stood in Jerusalem on that joyous dedication +day, and watched the glorious procession entering the temple on Mount +Zion. But we shall see one day a far grander procession than that. + +The leader of that procession will ride on a white horse. His eyes will +be as a flame of fire, on His head will be many crowns, His name will be +King of kings and Lord of lords. He will be followed in the procession +by the armies of heaven, on white horses, clothed in fine linen, clean +and white (Rev. xix.) + +Coming down to earth, His feet shall stand in that day on the Mount of +Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and then passing through +the Golden Gate, the King and His followers will enter Jerusalem. + +Then again Jerusalem will become the Holy City, for from that day the +name of the city shall be 'The Lord is there,' Ezek. xlviii. 35. + +So soon as the Lord, who deserted Jerusalem, returns to her, she must +become once more the Holy City. Even upon the bells of the horses and +the vessels of the temple shall then be inscribed, Holiness to the Lord; +all dedicated to Him and to His service. + +Then indeed shall the glad cry go up: + +'Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion, put on thy beautiful +garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more +come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean.' + +Then again, in that glad day, the joy of Jerusalem shall be heard afar +off, for God Himself will call upon all to rejoice with her. + +'Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all ye that love her: +rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn for her,' Isa. lxvi. 10. + +And the King Himself will lead the rejoicing: + +'And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in My people: and the voice of +weeping shall no more be heard in her, nor the voice of crying,' Isa. +lxv. 19. + +Shall we indeed take part in that grand procession? Shall we stand with +the King of Glory on Olivet? Shall we pass within the gate into the +city? It all depends upon whether we are sprinkled, made pure, washed +white in the blood of the Lamb. Only those who were purified could take +part in Nehemiah's procession; only sprinkled ones, cleansed by Christ, +will be allowed to join in the song of rejoicing, when the Lord comes to +reign in Jerusalem gloriously. + +If we are indeed His redeemed ones, let us keep the blessed hope of that +day ever before us. Let it cheer us as we are tossed to and fro on the +waves of this troublesome world. + + 'Courage! oh, have courage, + For soon His feet shall stand + Upon the Mount of Olives, + In the glorious Promised Land; + For the Prince of Peace is coming, + With pomp and royal state, + To pass, with all His followers, + Within the Golden Gate. + + Courage! oh, have courage! + For the time it is not long, + E'en now across the mountains + Comes a distant sound of song; + The dreary night is closing, + 'Tis near the break of day, + And thy King, the King of Glory, + Will soon be on His way.' + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +Having no Root. + + +The sky is brilliant and cloudless, the snow-clad mountains stand out +clear in the distance, the air is laden with the scent of orange and +lemon groves, and the sweet fragrance of thousands of lilies. Nehemiah +the Tirshatha is once more in Shushan; his feet are treading again, as +in days gone by, the streets of the capital of Persia. + +It is thirteen years since he left the City of Lilies with his brother +Hanani, in order that he might go to Jerusalem, and do his utmost to +improve the ruined and desolate city. He has returned with his work +accomplished. The walls are built, the gates are set up, the bare spaces +in the city have been built over, the whole place has been strongly +fortified, the people have been brought back to their allegiance to God, +and, as the topstone of his work, he has seen, just before his departure +for Persia, the city and all it contained dedicated to the service of +the Great King. + +Very glad, very thankful is Nehemiah, as he enters once more the +glorious palace on the top of the hill, and stands before his master +Artaxerxes, the long-handed, to give in his report of all he has done +since the king gave him leave to return to his native land. + +Nehemiah finds himself once more surrounded by luxury and refinement and +beauty. What is Jerusalem compared with Shushan? Surely, now his work is +accomplished, he will settle down to a life of ease in Persia, where he +may dwell free from fear or anxiety or care, eating the dainties from +the king's table, and partaking of all the pleasures of an Eastern +court. After the rough life he has led during the last thirteen years, +after the perils he has undergone, and the difficulties he has +surmounted, he may surely retire, now that his work has been so happily +accomplished, and spend the remainder of his life in peace and comfort. + +But no; Nehemiah's heart was in Jerusalem, he preferred Jerusalem above +his chief joy. All the time he had been absent he had been hungering for +news, and receiving none; there were no posts across the vast deserts, +nor did he live in these luxurious days when the heartache of anxiety +may be relieved and set at rest by a telegram. What had been going on in +his absence? Were the Samaritans quiet, or had Sanballat and Tobiah +taken the opportunity afforded by his absence, and invaded Jerusalem? +And the people; how were they? Were they keeping the solemn covenant +which had been sealed in his presence? Were they continuing to serve and +obey the Heavenly King? All this, and much more, Nehemiah longed to +hear. + +He is therefore only too thankful when, after spending a year in Persia, +Artaxerxes gives him leave to return as governor of Jerusalem. + +'In the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes, King of Babylon, came I +unto the king, and after certain days obtained I leave of the king. + +'After certain days.' This is a common expression in the Bible for a +year. The same Hebrew word is translated a whole year in many other +passages, _e.g._ Lev. xxv. 29, Num. ix. 22. Thus we may safely conclude +that a year was the length of time that Nehemiah was absent from +Jerusalem. + +As soon as he had received the king's permission, Nehemiah left the +lovely City of Lilies behind, and set out once more across the desert +for Jerusalem. Probably no one there knew when he was coming, or whether +he was coming at all. When Nehemiah left the city he possibly had no +idea that he would be allowed to return, but expected that his royal +master would again require his services as Rab-shakeh in the palace of +Shushan; nor was it likely that any news had reached the city of the +permission given him to return. Suddenly, one day, a small cavalcade of +camels, mules, and donkeys arrived at the northern gate, and the news +spread through the city that Nehemiah the governor had returned. Was +this intelligence received with unmixed joy and thankfulness, or were +there some in the city to whom it came as anything but pleasant tidings? + +No sooner has the governor arrived than he begins to look round the +city, to see and to inquire how all has been going on in his absence. He +goes up to the temple, and no sooner has he entered the gate leading +into the outer court, than he notices that the whole appearance of the +place is changed. The temple enclosure looks empty and deserted; a few +priests in their white robes are moving about, but where is the company +of Levites who used to wait upon them, and help them in their work? + +Nehemiah had left no less than 284 Levites in the temple, now he cannot +see one of them. And, not only does he miss those Levites, whose duty it +was to attend upon the priests, but he misses also the temple singers; +the sons of Asaph and their companions are nowhere to be seen. The +temple choir has entirely disappeared, and the services have accordingly +languished. As Nehemiah looks round the whole place appears to him +quiet, empty, and dismal. Nothing seems to be going on, all is +apparently at a standstill. + +Nehemiah feels sure that something is wrong, and the further he goes +into the temple area the more convinced he is that he is not mistaken. +Passing through the Beautiful Gate, he crosses the Court of the Women, +and ascends the steps into the Court of Israel, where stands the temple +itself. + +Into the temple Nehemiah cannot pass, for none but the priests may enter +the Holy Place and Holy of Holies. But round the temple building there +had been erected an out-building or lean-to which surrounded the temple +on three sides, and which was made up of three stories, each containing +a number of rooms, some smaller, some larger. Just such an out-building +as this had been made by Solomon in the first temple (1 Kings vi. 5-10), +and the builders of the new temple had copied the idea, and had put up a +similar lean-to against the outer walls. + +In these rooms or chambers were kept all the stores belonging to the +temple. The corn, and wine, and oil belonging to the priests and +Levites; the first-fruits and free-will offerings brought by the people +for the temple service; and the meat-offerings, which were cakes made +of fine flour, salt, and oil. One of these cakes was offered twice a +day, at the morning and evening sacrifice, besides on many other +occasions, and with several other sacrifices; so that it was necessary +to have a number of them always ready for use. In these chambers was +also stored the frankincense, of which a large quantity was used every +day, for a handful of it was burnt on the altar of incense both morning +and night. This frankincense was very costly; it was brought on camels' +backs from Arabia, where it was obtained by making incisions in the bark +of a tree which grew in no other country. Out of these incisions oozed +the gummy juice of the tree, and from this was made the frankincense. It +was very rare, and could only be obtained occasionally, and therefore it +was important to store it carefully in the temple. + +Nehemiah wonders if the stores of the temple are in good condition, and +he throws open the door of one of the chambers, to see if its contents +are plentiful and well-stored. As he does so, he starts back in dismay. +The whole place is altered, utterly and completely transformed. The +small rooms have all been thrown into one vast chamber, the partition +walls have been removed, the corn, the wine, the oil, the frankincense, +and all the other stores are nowhere to be seen, they have all been +cleared away; the vessels in use in the temple, the knives for cutting +up the sacrifices, the censers for incense, the priests' robes and other +garments have all disappeared. There is not one single thing to be found +which ought to have been found there, and this chamber of the temple, +instead of being a useful and necessary store-house, has become more +like one of the grand reception rooms of the King of Persia, a +luxurious drawing-room, fit for the palace of a king. Gay curtains cover +the walls, costly furniture is set in order round the large room, the +softest of divans, the most comfortable of cushions, the most elaborate +ornaments and decorations surround Nehemiah on all sides, as he stands +amazed and disconsolate in their midst. + +Nehemiah calls one of the priests, and inquires the meaning of this +extraordinary change in the building. He is told, to his horror, that +this grand reception room has actually been made for the use and +convenience of Tobiah the secretary. Tobiah the heathen, Tobiah, who had +mocked them as they built the walls, and who had done all that was in +his power ever since to annoy and to hinder Nehemiah and his helpers. +This splendid apartment has actually been made and fitted up, in order +that Tobiah may have a grand place in which to dwell, and in which to +entertain his friends whenever he chooses to pay a visit to Jerusalem. + +What an abominable thing is this, which the poor governor has +discovered! For was not this Tobiah an Ammonite, a Gentile? and as such +Nehemiah knew perfectly well he had no right to set his foot in the +Court of the Women, or the Court of Israel; much less then had he the +right to enter the temple building. + +Where is Eliashib the high priest? How is it that he has not put a stop +to this proceeding? Nehemiah finds, to his dismay, that Eliashib has +actually been the very one who has had this chamber prepared. The very +man who was responsible for the temple, and who had, by his office, the +right and the power to shut out from the holy building all that was +evil, had been the man to introduce Tobiah the heathen, with marked +honour, into the temple itself. + +Eliashib had begun well. Earnestly and heartily he had helped in +building the walls; he had actually led the band of workers, and had +been the very first to begin to build, chap. iii. 1. + +But Eliashib had a grandson named Manasseh, and this young man had made +what he thought a very good match. Priest though he was, he had married +the daughter of Sanballat, the governor of Samaria, a heathen girl, who +was rich and possibly good-looking, and whose father was the most +powerful man in the country, but who did not fear or own the God of +Israel. And the grandfather, so far from forbidding the marriage, seems +to have connived at it and sanctioned it. + +Nay, he seems not only to have allowed himself to be allied with +Sanballat the governor, but also with Tobiah the secretary, chap. xiii. +4. In what way he was connected by marriage we are not told, but +inasmuch as both Tobiah and his son had married Jewish wives, one or +both of these may have been closely related to the high priest, chap. +vi. 17, 18. So the friendship with the Samaritans had grown; Eliashib +had probably visited Samaria, and had been made much of and royally +entertained by Sanballat and his secretary; and in proportion as his +friendship with the heathen had grown warm, his love and earnestness in +the Lord's service had grown cold. + +In the latter part of the Book of Nehemiah we never find Eliashib coming +forward as a helper in any good work. Ezra stands in the huge pulpit to +read the law of God, thirteen of the chief men in Jerusalem stand by +him to help him, but Eliashib the high priest, who surely should have +been well to the front in that pulpit, is conspicuous by his absence. +How could he stand up and read the law to the people, when he knew, and +they knew, that he was not keeping it himself? + +Nehemiah draws up a covenant between the people and their God, in which +they promise to obey God and keep His commandments. No less than +eighty-four seals are fastened to that document, but not one of those +seals bears the name of Eliashib. + +How could he engage to keep that covenant, one article of which was a +promise to have nothing to do with the heathen, when at the very time he +was living on the most friendly terms with both Sanballat and Tobiah? + +Then comes the grand service of dedication, when the city and all it +contained was devoted to God. Not a single mention is made of Eliashib +in the account of the services of the day. Many priests are mentioned by +name, but the high priest, who, we should have expected, would have +taken a prominent part in the proceedings, is never heard of throughout. + +Eliashib's connection with the heathen had made him cold and remiss in +the service of God. It is no wonder then that so soon as Nehemiah went +away, and the restraint of his presence was removed, Eliashib did worse +than ever, and at length actually entertained Tobiah in the temple +itself. + +But poor Nehemiah had not come to the end of his painful discoveries. He +inquired next what had become of all the stores of corn and wine +belonging to the Levites, all the tithes which the people were +accustomed to bring to the temple for their support, and which, in that +solemn covenant, they had so faithfully promised to supply. Since these +stores have been removed from the place which was built on purpose to +receive them, Nehemiah wishes to know what new store-house has been +prepared for them. But the governor finds, to his sorrow and dismay, +that no sooner was his back turned upon Jerusalem, than the people had +ceased to bring their tithes and their contributions for the house of +God. + +It was not surprising then that Nehemiah found the temple so deserted. +How could the Levites serve, how could the choir sing unless they were +fed? They could not live on air, no food was provided for them; what +could they do but take care of themselves? In order to save themselves +from utter starvation, they had been driven to leave the temple, and to +go to their fields and small farms in the country, which they had been +accustomed to cultivate only at such times as they were not engaged in +the work of the temple (Num. xxxv. 2). Now they were compelled to resort +to these fields, as a means of keeping themselves and their families +from beggary. No wonder then that few were found ready to help in the +temple services. + +The first Sabbath after Nehemiah's arrival, he sets out, with an anxious +heart, to see how it is kept by his fellow-countrymen. In the solemn +covenant the people had promised carefully to observe the day of rest. +They have broken their word in the matter of the tithes; have they kept +their promise with regard to the Sabbath? + +Nehemiah, as he walks through the city on the Sabbath day, finds a +regular market going on in the streets. He is horrified to find that all +manner of fruit and all kinds of food are being bought and sold, as on +any other day of the week. Wine, and oil, and merchandise of all kinds +is being bargained for, and the streets are filled with the noisy cries +and shouts of the sellers and purchasers. + +Going on to the Fish Gate, Nehemiah finds that a colony of heathen +Tyrians have come to live there, in order that they may hold a +fish-market close to the gate. The fish was caught by their +fellow-countrymen in Tyre and Sidon, and was sent down to Jerusalem +slightly salted, in order to preserve it from corruption. Nehemiah finds +that these Tyrians are doing a grand traffic in salted fish, especially +on the Sabbath day. The Jews loved fish, and always have loved it. How +they enjoyed it in Egypt, how they longed for it in the wilderness! + +'We remember the fish which we did eat in Egypt freely.' + +So they sighed, and murmured, as they thought of their lost luxuries. + +There was nothing a Jew liked so well for his Sabbath dinner as a piece +of fish; and, therefore, on the Sabbath, the Tyrians found they did more +business than on any other day. + +As Nehemiah leaves the city by the Fish Gate, he meets donkeys and mules +bringing in sheaves of corn, or laden with paniers containing figs, and +grapes, and melons; he meets men laden with all kinds of burdens, and +women bringing in the country produce that they may sell it in the +streets of Jerusalem. + +Then, passing on into the fields, he notices that work is going on as +usual. They are tilling the ground, gathering in the corn, pruning the +vines, and standing bare-footed in the winepresses to tread out the +juice of the grapes. + +So the promise about the Sabbath has been kept no better than the other +promise; the covenant has been totally disregarded. + +Turning homewards, Nehemiah discovers that the remaining article of the +agreement has also been broken. For, as he passes through the streets, +and listens to the children at play, he finds that some of the little +ones are talking a language he cannot understand. Here and there he +catches a Jewish word, but most of their talk is entirely unintelligible +to him. On inquiring into the reason of this, he is told that these +children have Jewish fathers but Philistine mothers, and that they are +being brought up to talk the language and learn the religion of their +heathen parent. They are making for themselves a strange dialect, a +mixture of the two languages they have spoken; it is half Jewish, half +Philistine. + +'Their children spake half in the speech of Ashdod, and could not speak +in the Jews' language, but according to the language of each people,' +xiii. 24. + +Poor Nehemiah must have been filled with sorrow and bitter +disappointment, as he found Jerusalem and its people in such a +disgraceful condition. He had left the holy city like the garden of the +Lord, he comes back to find the trail of the serpent all over his +paradise. They did so well whilst he was there, they wandered to the +right hand and the left so soon as he was parted from them. + +Nor is Nehemiah the only one who has had this bitter disappointment; +many a parent, many a teacher, many a friend can enter into his +feelings, for they have gone through the same. + +The young King Joash 'did that which was right in the sight of the Lord +all the days of Jehoiada the priest.' But as soon as the old man was in +his grave all was changed, and he did instead that which was evil. + +And Joash has many followers, those who do well so long as they are +under good and holy influence, and who do so badly when that influence +is removed. + +The young man, with the anxious, careful mother, who does so well as +long as she lives, and who wanders from the right path as soon as she is +taken from him; the young woman, who, whilst living under her parents' +roof, sheltered and guarded by wise restrictions from all that would +harm her, seems not far from the Kingdom of God, but, who, leaving home +and becoming her own mistress, drifts into frivolity and carelessness; +the man or woman who, when removed from good and holy influence, falls +away from God and goes backwards; all these are followers of Joash, all +these cause pain and distress to those who watch over their souls. + +What is the reason of this sad change? Why is it that some only stand +firm so long as they are under the care and influence of others? The +Master has answered the question. He tells us the reason. + +'These have no root.' + +Last Christmas we had in our house a large green fir-tree. It reached +from the floor to the ceiling, and spread its branches abroad in all +directions. It stood well and firmly; it had all the appearance of +growing; it held its head erect, and seemed as likely to stand as any of +the trees outside in the garden. + +But our tree only stood for a time. So long as the heavy weights and +props which held it up remained, so long as the strings, which were +tightly tied to nails in the wall, were uncut; just so long the tree +remained upright and unmoved. But the very instant that the props and +supports were taken away our tree came down with a crash. + +What was the reason of its downfall? Why did the trees in the garden +stand unsupported, and yet this tree fell so soon as its props were +removed? + +The answer is clear and simple. The trees in the garden had each of them +a root, our Christmas tree had no root. Having no root, it was +impossible for it to stand alone. + +There is, alas, plenty of no-root religion now-a-days. We see around us +too many whose godliness is dependent on their surroundings and their +circumstances. They mean well, they try to do right, but there it ends. +They have no root; the heart is unchanged, unconverted, unrenewed. Their +religion is merely a surface religion. + +So they for a time believe, for a time do well, for a time appear to be +true Christians, but in time of temptation they fall away. Their +'goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goeth away.' + +If we would stand firm, we must see to it that our religion goes deep +enough. I myself must be made new if I am to grow in grace; my heart +must be Christ's if I am to stand firm in the faith. + +'As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him. +Rooted and built up in Him, and established in the faith.' + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +Strong Measures. + + +What an objection some people have to strong measures! They see around +them, amongst those under their influence, a great deal going on which +is downright evil. You call upon them to put a stop to it, and to do all +in their power to prevent it. + +But what do they say? They tell you they will go gently and quietly to +work; but they do not like to hurt other people's feelings, or to tread +upon their prejudices. They have no objection to try gradually, quietly, +and gently, to turn the tide of evil into a good and holy channel, but +they hate and abominate anything in the shape of strong measures. + +And yet there are cases where nothing short of strong measures will be +of any avail. Here is a man who has a diseased hand. For some time the +doctor has been trying gentle remedies: the poultice, the plaster, the +fomentation, have all been tried. But now the doctor sees a change in +the appearance of the hand. He sees very clearly that mortification is +setting in. No poultice, no plaster, no fomentation will be of any avail +now, nothing but the knife, nothing but cutting off the limb will save +the man's life. What a foolish doctor he would be, who should refuse in +such a case to take strong measures! + +The great reformer, Martin Luther, looked around him, and what did he +see? The whole civilized world a slave at the feet of one man, the Pope +of Rome, obeying that man as if he were God; believing every word that +came from his mouth, following carefully in his footsteps as he led them +astray. + +Luther feels nothing will do but strong measures. He will not go gently +and quietly to work in his reform, for he feels that would be of no use; +the case is so serious that nothing but a strong and decided step will +answer the purpose. His strong step consisted in the making of a +bonfire. On December 10, 1520, as the students of the great University +at Wittenburg came to the college, they found fastened to the walls a +notice inviting them and the professors, and all who liked to come, to +meet Martin Luther at the east gate of the college at nine o'clock the +following morning. + +Full of curiosity, they assembled in great numbers to find a bonfire, +and Luther standing by it with a paper in his hand. That paper was a +letter from the Pope to Luther, telling him that if he did not recant +from all he was teaching in less than sixty days, the Pope would give +him over to Satan. After reading the letter to the assembled crowd, +Luther solemnly threw it into the flames and watched it burn to ashes, +that all might see how little he cared for the Pope or his threats. From +that time there could be no more peace between Luther and Rome. + +It was certainly a strong measure, and Luther owns that he had to make a +great effort to force himself to take it. He says: 'When I burnt the +bull, it was with inward fear and trembling, but I look upon that act +with more pleasure than upon any passage of my life.' For Luther felt, +and felt rightly, that the glorious Reformation would never have been +brought about unless he had used strong measures. + +Nehemiah was the Martin Luther of his age, the great reformer of his +nation, and never did he feel the need of strong measure to be so great, +as when he came back to Jerusalem after his absence in Persia. + +Four glaring evils were staring him in the face. + +(1) In the temple itself a grand reception room had been prepared for +Tobiah the Ammonite. + +(2) The people had refused to pay tithes or contributions to the temple +service, and the Levites had consequently all left the sanctuary. + +(3) The Sabbath day was desecrated and profaned; trade went on as usual +both within and without the city. + +(4) So common had marriage with heathen people become, that even the +very children in the street were chattering in foreign languages. + +Four evils, all of them very serious and deep-rooted, all calling for +instant reformation at his hand. + +How does Nehemiah go to work? Does he shrink from giving offence, or +hurting people's feelings, or calling things by their right names? No, +he feels his nation have sinned; the disease of sin is spreading, +mortification is setting in, nothing will do but strong measures. The +offending members must be cut off, that the whole body may be saved. + +He begins first with the temple. Going into the inner court, and taking +with him a band of his faithful servants, he throws open the door of the +great store-chamber and begins his work. Indignantly he bids his +servants to clear out all Tobiah's goods, nay, he himself gives a +helping hand, and leads them in the work. The grand divans, the elegant +cushions, the elaborate mats, the bright-coloured curtains are all +dragged out and cast forth outside. And then, when the great chamber is +empty he has it thoroughly cleaned and purified and put in order, to +receive again the temple vessels and stores. + +A strong measure certainly, but a very necessary one. If Nehemiah had +stopped to think what Tobiah might happen to say the next time he came +to Jerusalem, or if he had held back because he was afraid of hurting +the feelings of Eliashib the high priest, the sin would never have been +stopped, the temple would never have been cleansed. + +St. Paul tells all those who are Christ's, that they themselves are +God's temple. + +'Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God +dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God +destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.' + +Ye are the temple of God, you yourself God's dwelling-place. Examine +then the secret chambers of your heart. Are any of Tobiah's goods there? +Is there any secret sin hidden away in your heart? + +If so, be your own Nehemiah; cleanse the chamber of your heart, or +rather cry unto God to do it for you. + +'Cleanse Thou me from secret faults.' + +This is an all-important matter, for, unless the hidden sin is removed, +you will receive no answer to your prayers, and therefore to attempt to +pray is useless. + +'If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.' + +Then, too, the Holy Spirit will be grieved and will cease to move you, +and without His help you can do nothing; He cannot inhabit that temple +in the secret chambers of which is to be found cherished sin. + +In such a case nothing but strong measures will avail. That sin must be +given up, or your soul will be darkened; that chamber must be cleansed, +or the holy presence of the Lord cannot remain. + +Do you say, It is hard to give it up, to clear it out; it has become a +second nature to me, and I know not how to rid myself of it? + +Surely it is worth making the effort, however much pain and suffering it +may cause. Amputation, however much agony it may entail, is necessary if +mortification has set in. + +'If thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for +it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not +that thy whole body should be cast into hell. And if thy right hand +offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for +thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body +should be cast into hell.' + +The first evil has been dealt with and cleared away, Tobiah and his +goods have been cast out of the temple. Nehemiah now passes on to the +next thing which had so greatly shocked him on his arrival in Jerusalem, +namely, the neglect on the part of the people with regard to the payment +of what was due from them for the temple service. + +Again Nehemiah takes strong measures. He calls together the rulers, as +the leaders and representatives of the rest, and he gives them very +strongly his mind on the subject. No smooth words or gentle hints will +do. He tells us, 'I contended some time with them' (that is, I reproved +them and argued with them), 'and I said, Why is the house of our God +forsaken?' + +Then, without waiting for a response to his appeal, he sends round to +all the Levites and singers, bidding them with all haste to come up to +the temple and to take up their work again. And the people, seeing he +was determined, and that there was no possibility of his allowing the +matter to drop, came also, bringing with them the corn, and the wine, +and the oil, with which once more to fill the empty chamber. + +'Then brought all Judah the tithe of the corn and the new wine and the +oil unto the treasuries.' + +And, in order to prevent such a thing ever happening again, Nehemiah +appointed treasurers to look after the temple stores. Eliashib the high +priest had been the store-keeper before, xiii. 4, but he had shown +himself unworthy of his office. Four men are accordingly chosen to +collect the stores, and afterwards to deal them out to the priests and +Levites. One is a priest, one a Levite, one a layman of rank, and the +fourth a scribe, ver. 13. Nehemiah tells us why he selected these four +men. 'They were counted faithful,' and as faithful men they could be +thoroughly depended upon. + +Now, having set the temple in order, Nehemiah proceeds to fight the +battle with regard to the observance of the Sabbath. + +Again he uses strong measures. He once more speaks strongly and hotly +to the nobles, for they had led the van in Sabbath desecration. They +liked the freshest fruit and the daintiest dishes for their Sabbath +feast, and they had, therefore, encouraged the market-people to go on +with their Sabbath trade. Then, as now, there were plenty of people who, +for their own self-pleasing, were ready to argue in favour of the loose +observance of the fourth commandment. + +Nehemiah reminds the nobles that the destruction of Jerusalem, the +overthrow of that very city which they were taking so much trouble to +rebuild, had all been brought about through desecration of the Sabbath +day. + +For what message had Jeremiah brought their fathers? + +'If ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the Sabbath day, and not to +bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath +day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour +the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.' + +God's word had come true. Their fathers, despising the warning, had +continued to break the Sabbath, and Nebuchadnezzar had burnt and +destroyed the very gates through which the Sabbath burdens had been +carried. What safety, then, could they hope for now, how could they +expect to keep their new gates from destruction, if they followed in the +footsteps of their fathers, and did the very thing that God, by the +mouth of Jeremiah, condemned? + +'Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said unto them, What +evil thing is this that ye do, and profane the Sabbath day? Did not your +fathers thus, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us, and upon +this city? yet ye bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the +Sabbath.' + +But though Nehemiah began by rebuking the nobles, he did not stop here. +He took up the matter with a high hand. He commanded the gate-keepers to +shut the gates on Friday evening, about half-an-hour earlier than usual. +On other nights they were shut as soon as the sun had set, but now +Nehemiah orders them to close the gates on Friday evenings, so soon as +the shadows began to lengthen and the day was drawing to a close. They +were also, in future, to be kept shut the whole of the Sabbath, so that +no mules, or donkeys, or camels, or other beasts of burden, might be +able to enter the city on the holy day. + +The little gate, inside the large gate, by means of which +foot-passengers might enter and leave the city, was left open, in order +that people living in the country villages round might be able to come +into the city to attend the temple services. But at this smaller gate +Nehemiah took care to place some of his own trusty servants, and gave +them strict instructions to admit no burdens, no parcel, no goods of any +kind into the city on the Sabbath day, xiii. 19. + +Very naturally, the merchants and the salespeople did not like this. +They did a good stroke of business on the Sabbath day, and would not +lose their large profits without a struggle. Accordingly, what do we +find them doing? They were refused admittance into the city, so they set +up their stalls outside the walls. If the Jerusalem people could not buy +of them, because of that strait-laced, narrow-minded Nehemiah, still +the country people who came in to attend the temple services could +purchase at their stalls on their way home. They might thus maintain a +certain amount of their Sabbath business, and secure at least a portion +of their Sabbath gains. Not only so, but surely many Jews from the city +itself, as they strolled through the gates on the day of rest, might +pass by their stalls, and, in the conveniently loose folds of their +robes, many, even of these inhabitants of Jerusalem, might conceal a +pomegranate, or a melon, a piece of fish, or a bunch of grapes, a +handful of figs, or a freshly-cut cucumber, and might easily escape +detection by Nehemiah's servants, standing at the gate. + +Nehemiah, seeing this state of things, feels that once again strong +measures are required. He must make a clean sweep of these traders at +once. So, going out to them, he gives them warning that they will be +arrested and imprisoned the very next time that they come within sight +of the city on the Sabbath day. + +'So the merchants and sellers of all kind of ware lodged without +Jerusalem once or twice. Then I testified unto them: Why lodge ye about +the wall? If ye do so again I will lay hands on you.' + +That put a stop to it. + +'From that time forth came they no more on the Sabbath.' + +Then, from that day, Nehemiah held the Levites responsible for the +strict observance of this rule. His own servants had guarded the gates +in the first emergency, now he bids the Levites to take their place, and +to do all in their power to enforce and to maintain the sanctity of the +holy day. + +Surely we need a Nehemiah now-a-days, we need some of his strong +measures to stop the growing disregard of the Sabbath, which is creeping +slowly but surely like a dark shadow over this country of ours. We need +a man who will not be afraid of being called strait-laced, or +narrow-minded, or peculiar, or Jewish, or Puritanical, but who will +speak his mind clearly and decidedly on such an all-important point, +and who will not hesitate to use strong measures to put down the +Sabbath-breaking and the utter disregard of God's law, which is +threatening the ruin of our beloved country. + +Let each of us ask himself or herself, What am I doing in this matter? +How do I keep the Sabbath myself? God asks for the whole day; do I give +it to Him, or do I spend the best of its hours in bed? Am I careful not +to please myself on the Lord's Day, or do I think it no shame to amuse +myself on that day as I choose, by travelling, by light reading, or by +any other means that I have within my disposal? Am I anxious to dedicate +the day wholly and entirely to God, setting it apart entirely for His +service, and looking upon it as a foretaste of the great and eternal +Sabbath that is coming? + +And, if I myself keep and reverence God's Sabbath, do I see that those +over whom I have influence are doing the same? Am I anxious that my +children, my servants, the visitors who come to see me, all who are in +my home on the Lord's Day should do the same? Do I help them by every +means in my power? Do I strive that in my home at least God shall have +His due? + +And if in my home the Sabbath is observed, what am I doing with regard +to it outside, in my own town, or village, amongst my acquaintances, +companions, and friends? Am I doing all I can, using all the influence +God has given me, to lead others to reverence and observe the holy day? + +And my country, dear old England; am I praying day by day that her glory +may not depart, that her sun may not go down because of desecration of +the Sabbath day? The old promise holds good still; it is true of +individuals, of families, and of nations. + +'If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on +My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, +honourable; and shalt honour Him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding +thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own word: then shalt thou delight +thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places +of the earth.' + +'FOR THE MOUTH OF THE LORD HATH SPOKEN IT.' + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +The Oldest Sin. + + +We have all read the adventures of Robinson Crusoe, and we have all +pitied the man, alone on a desert island, alone without a friend, +without a single companion, never hearing any voice but his own, being +able to exchange thoughts with no one, alone, solitary, desolate. + +Yet after all, in one respect, Robinson Crusoe was to be envied, for he +was shut off from one of the greatest temptations which besets us in +this world, a temptation which comes across the path of each of us, and +from which it is by no means easy to escape. Of that temptation, +Robinson Crusoe on his desert island knew nothing. He did not find +himself ever tempted to one of the most common of sins. Robinson Crusoe +was never tempted to keep bad company, for the simple reason that there +was no bad company for him to keep. + +What curious beings hermits are! they are to be found in China, India, +Africa, in various parts of Europe, in fact, all over the world. And in +olden time there was many a lonely cave, many a shady retreat on the +hill-side, which was inhabited by one of these hermits. + +Who then were these hermits? They were men who were so much afraid of +falling into the snare of keeping bad company, that they refused to keep +any company at all, men who so dreaded being led astray by their fellow +men, that they shut themselves off from all intercourse with the human +race. + +It was not a right nor a wise thing to do, and these hermits found that +sin followed them even to their quiet lonely caves; yet it is scarcely +surprising that they dreaded evil companionship, and did all they could +to avoid it, seeing as they did how much misery it had brought into the +world. + +For what was the oldest sin? What was the very first sin that entered +into this fair earth of ours? Some say it was pride, or selfishness, or +hard thoughts of God. But surely it was no other sin than this, the +keeping of bad company. + +There was Eve in the garden. God had provided her with company; He had +given her Adam, the holy angels came in and out of that fair paradise; +nay more, God Himself was her friend, in the cool of the day He walked +with Eve under the trees of the garden, walked and talked with her as a +companion and friend. + +But, in spite of this, Eve got into bad company. She stands, she talks, +she entertains Satan, the great enemy of God, against whom she must +often have been warned by God and the holy angels. And the consequence +was that Eve lost paradise, became a sinner, and brought sin and all its +attendant miseries into the world. We should never have had our weary +battle with sin if Eve had not kept bad company. + +Nor was Eve the last of those who have brought trouble on themselves and +others by the same sin. + +If the descendants of Seth had not kept bad company and made friends of +Cain's wicked race, the flood would never have swept them away. If +Samson had not gone into bad company he would never have lost his +strength, and have had to grind blindly and miserably at the mill. If +Solomon had not kept bad company idolatry would never have ruined +Jerusalem. If Rehoboam had not kept bad company the kingdom of Israel +would never have been divided; and again, and again, both in the history +of the past and in the story of the present, we see men and women led +astray by keeping bad company. + +We have already seen Nehemiah taking strong measures to put down three +of the great glaring evils which he found in Jerusalem on his return. We +have now to see him battling with this dreadful curse and snare--bad +company. If the other three evils needed strong measures, Nehemiah feels +there is a tenfold need to take decided steps in this fourth and +all-important matter. + +For what does he find as he walks through the streets of Jerusalem? He +discovers that the inhabitants of the holy city are fast becoming +foreigners and heathen. He hears the very children in the street talking +a language he cannot understand. + +So common has marriage with heathen foreigners become, that Nehemiah +sees clearly that unless something is done to put a stop to it the next +generation will grow up utterly un-Jewish in language, appearance, and +dross, and worse still, heathen in their religion, kneeling down to +idols of wood and stone, and carrying on in Jerusalem itself all the +vile customs and abominations of the heathen. + +'If the girls are pretty and nice, and if the men like them, why should +not they please themselves?' So the Jerusalem folk had talked in +Nehemiah's absence. They quite forgot to what it was all leading. They +shut their eyes to the danger of keeping bad company, they thought only +of what was pleasant and of what they liked, they quite forgot to ask +what was right, and what was the will of God. + +Nehemiah, as governor of Jerusalem, summons into his presence, and +commands to appear before him in his judicial court, every man in +Jerusalem who had married a foreign heathen wife. + +When all were assembled: + +(1) He contended with them, _i.e._ he rebuked and argued with them, as +he had done with the rulers on the question of Sabbath observance. + +(2) He cursed them, or as it is in the margin 'he reviled them.' +Probably he pronounced, as governor of Jerusalem, speaking in the name +of God, the judgments of God on those who broke his law. + +(3) He smote certain of them. That is, he had some of them publicly +beaten. Nehemiah called upon the officers of the court to make an +example of some of the principal offenders by inflicting corporal +punishment upon them. + +(4) He plucked off their hair, _lit_., He made them bald. The Hebrew +word, _marat_, which is used here, means to make smooth, to polish, to +peel. The word hair is not expressed in the original. + +We are surely not to suppose that Nehemiah, with his own hands, either +struck these men or made them bald. What he did was simply this. He, as +the head magistrate, inflicted a judicial punishment upon them, a +double punishment. + +(1) They were beaten. + +(2) They were made bald. + +We read (Matt, xxvii. 26) that Pontius Pilate took our Lord and scourged +him; but we surely do not imagine that the Roman governor with his own +hands inflicted the scourging, but we understand it to mean that he gave +the order for the punishment to the Roman soldiers. Just so, Nehemiah +the governor commanded these offending Jews to be beaten and made bald +by the officers of the court. + +One of the most flourishing trades in an Eastern city is the trade of +the barber. This may easily be seen by walking through the streets of an +Eastern town, and noting the numerous barbers at work, some in their +shops, which are open to the street, and others outside on the +doorsteps, or in some shady corner. Especially in the evening are these +numerous barbers busy; when the work of the rest of the city is drawing +to a close the barber's work is at its height. Yet, strange to say, +although the barber is so busy, everyone in the East wears a beard; a +man in the East would think it a terrible disgrace if he was obliged to +be shorn of his beard. + +The beard is considered a very sacred thing; it is thought a great +insult even to touch a man's beard, and if you want to make any man an +object of scorn and ridicule, you cannot do so better than by shaving +off his beard. This was the way in which the Ammonites insulted David's +ambassadors (2 Sam. x. 4, 5). And we read that they stopped at Jericho +till their beards were grown, for 'the men were greatly ashamed.' + +What then is the barber's work? If men in the East wear beards, what is +it that keeps him so busy? The barber in the Eastern city shaves not the +man's chin, but his head. It is a very natural custom in hot, dusty +climates, where the head is always kept covered, both indoors and out of +doors. It is also a very ancient custom, for even in the old Egyptian +hieroglyphics we find pictures of barbers shaving the head. And we find +that in these modern days, Egyptians, Copts, Turks, Arabs, Hindoos, and +Chinese, all shave the head. But there is one great exception to this +rule. A barber would find no work in a purely Jewish city, for not only +do the Jews wear beards, but they also never shave their heads as their +Eastern neighbours do. The only ones amongst the Jews who were allowed +to have shaven heads were the poor outcast lepers. Hence the shaven head +was to them a sign or symbol of uncleanness and of excommunication. They +looked upon a man with a bald head very much as we look upon one whose +hair is cropped very suspiciously close, and whom we therefore imagine +must have been in gaol. + +Thus it came to pass that 'Bald-head' became a common term of reproach +and insult. Elisha, the holy prophet, goes up the hill, wearing a thick +turban to protect his head from the sun. Out come a troop of wicked, +mocking children. Elisha is not bald, for he is a Jew, nor, even if he +had been bald, could these children have seen it, since his head is +covered; but they wish to annoy and to insult the holy man, so they cry +after him, + +'Go up, thou bald head, go up.' + +They simply use a common term of reproach. To have a bald head was +amongst the Jews a sign that a man was cut off from his nation, that he +was counted as a Gentile and an outsider, and therefore to call a man 'a +bald head' was equivalent to calling him a Gentile dog and an outcast. + +Now Nehemiah inflicts this very punishment on these Jews who have +married heathen wives. He commands them to be made bald, as a sign of +shame and disgrace. It was a very significant and appropriate +punishment. They had thrown in their lot with the heathen Gentiles, let +them then become Gentiles, let them be branded with their mark, let +them, by being made bald, be stamped as those who are no longer citizens +of Jerusalem, but who have become outcasts and foreigners. + +Then, when this was done, Nehemiah calls them to him, and makes them +take a solemn oath before God, that from that time forth they will never +fall into the same sin again: + +'I made them swear by God, saying, Ye shall not give your daughters unto +their sons, nor take their daughters unto your sons, or for yourselves.' + +Then he reminds them how dreadful the consequences of the same sin had +been to no less a person than their great and glorious King Solomon, the +wisest of men, the beloved of his God. Even Solomon had been drawn aside +into sin by his love of heathen foreigners, or outlandish women, as +Nehemiah calls them, women living outside his own land. If he fell, if +he the wisest of men, if he the beloved of his God, was led astray, was +it likely that they could walk into the very same trap, and escape being +caught and ensnared by it? + +'Did not Solomon King of Israel sin by these things? Yet among many +nations was there no king like him, who was beloved of his God, and God +made him king over all Israel: nevertheless _even him_ did outlandish +women cause to sin. Shall we then hearken unto you to do all this great +evil, to transgress against our God in marrying strange wives?' + +Did Nehemiah then break up the marriages which had already taken place, +and send the wives away? We are not told that he did. Probably he only +insisted, and insisted very strongly, that no more such marriages should +take place. For he knew that if the custom was continued it would lead +to ruin, shame, and disgrace, and he was therefore perfectly right to +take strong measures to put a stop to it. + +One man he saw fit to make an example of in a still more decided +way--one offending member he felt must be cut off. This was Manasseh, +the grandson of the high priest, the very one who had been the cause of +Tobiah's entrance into the temple, and of the friendly feeling that +existed between Eliashib and the Samaritans. + +Here was Manasseh, a priest, living in the temple itself, dressed in the +white robe, and taking part in the service of God, yet all the time +having a heathen wife, and allowing heathen ways in his household. +Manasseh's wife was actually Sanballat's daughter; and so long as he and +she remained in the temple precincts, Nehemiah felt they would never be +free from Sanballat's influence. + +Accordingly we read: + +'I chased him from me.' + +Nehemiah banished him from the temple and from Jerusalem, and Manasseh +went away with his wife to her father's grand home in Samaria. + +No doubt Nehemiah was far from popular in Jerusalem that night. There +were many who thought he had been too severe, too narrow, too +particular. And doubtless there were many who, if they had dared, would +have rebelled against his decision. But Nehemiah had done everything; he +had taken all these strong measures, not to please men, but to please +God. If the Master praised him, he cared not what others might say of +him. 'Lord, what wilt _Thou_ have me to do?' was the constant prayer of +Nehemiah's heart; and though the work was oftentimes unpopular and +disagreeable, Nehemiah did it both boldly and fearlessly. + +The wheel of time goes round, and history, which works ever in a circle, +constantly repeats itself, and so also does sin. The sin of Nehemiah's +days is still to be seen; the same temptation which beset those +Jerusalem Jews, besets us even in these more enlightened days. + +We all love company. There is in us a natural shrinking from being alone +and desolate. That feeling is born in us; we inherit it from our first +father Adam. 'It is not good for the man to be alone,' said the Lord in +His tenderness and His pity. + +But a choice lies before us, a choice of friends. Our relatives are +given us by God, no man can choose who shall be his father, or mother, +or brother, or sister. But our friends are of our own choosing, and we +do not sufficiently consider that upon that choice may hang our +eternity. Heaven with all its brightness, hell with all its darkness +and misery, which shall be for me? The answer may hang, it often does +hang, on the choice of a friend. + +For there are only two divisions in this world of ours, only two +companies, only two flocks. The kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of +light, the Lord's people and those who are none of His, the sheep and +the goats. From which division, from which company, from which flock +shall I choose my friends? + +'Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers, for what +fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion +hath light with darkness?' + +Especially careful should we be in that nearest and dearest of +friendships, in the choice of the one who is to be to us our other self. +Would we be made one, would we link ourselves by that firm and sacred +tie, whilst knowing all the time that the one who is to be dearer to us +than life itself is outside the fold? No blessing can surely rest on +such a marriage. Jesus cannot be an invited guest at that marriage +feast. For clear and unmistakable is the trumpet call of the great +Captain of our salvation: + +'Come out from among them, and be ye separate, said the Lord, and touch +not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto +you, and ye shall be My sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.' + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +God's Remembrance. + + +How fond people are of collecting old books, and what a large price old +books will fetch! Those who are so fortunate as to obtain possession of +a book which is four or five hundred years old may put their own price +upon it, for some antiquarian will be sure to purchase it. + +But how modern, how very far from being ancient, the oldest of our +English books, printed in the most primitive black letter, appears, when +it is laid side by side with that curious old book which travellers, +visiting the little village of Nablus, are shown this very day. Well may +the old white-headed man who has charge of that book bring it out with +pride, for it is one of the oldest books in the world. + +The book is in the form of a roll of parchment. It is made of goat +skins, twenty-five inches broad, and about fifteen feet long. The skins +are neatly joined together, but in many places they have been torn and +rather clumsily mended. The roll is kept in a grand silver-gilt case in +the form of a cylinder, embossed and engraved. On this case are carved +representations of the Tabernacle, of the ark, of the two altars, of +the trumpets, and of the various instruments used in sacrifice. A +crimson satin cover, on which inscriptions are worked in gold thread, is +thrown over this precious book. + +This old manuscript is written in Hebrew, and is said by the Jews to be +the work of a man whose name has already come before us in Nehemiah's +story. We saw that Eliashib, the high priest, had a grandson named +Manasseh, that Manasseh married the daughter of Sanballat, the Samaritan +governor, and that Nehemiah felt very strongly that the temple would +never be cleansed, nor God's blessing rest upon them as a nation, so +long as one of their own priests had a heathen wife, and was in constant +communication with Sanballat. Accordingly he chased Manasseh from him, +he made him at once leave the temple and his high position there; and +Manasseh, in disgust and indignation, went off to Samaria to his +father-in-law, Sanballat, taking his heathen wife and family with him. + +Now it is that very Manasseh who was, according to the Jews, the writer +of the Samaritan Pentateuch, that old copy of the Books of Moses. The +Samaritans themselves declare that it is far more ancient; that it was +written soon after the Israelites entered the land of Canaan, by the +great-grandson of Aaron; whilst some scholars think it is far more +modern than some other copies of the Pentateuch which have been +discovered; but the Jews pronounce it to have been the work of Manasseh, +the grandson of Eliashib, the high priest of Nehemiah's day. + +Manasseh arrived in Samaria, indignant with Nehemiah, and determined to +have his revenge. He and his father-in-law were resolved not to be +outdone by the Jews. They in Samaria would build a grand temple, just as +the Jews had done in Jerusalem. One hill was as good as another, so they +thought; their own Gerizim, with its lovely trees and its sunny slopes, +was as fair or fairer than Mount Moriah. + +So they set to work with all their energy, to build the rival temple on +the very hill where 1000 years before, in the time of Joshua, the +blessings of the law had been read, whilst the curses were pronounced +from the hill on the opposite side of the valley, Mount Ebal. + +Here then, on Gerizim, the mount of blessing, rose the new temple, which +was built with one object in view, that it might outvie in splendour the +one in Jerusalem. When it was finished, Manasseh was made the rival high +priest, and was able to do what he liked, and to exercise his authority +in any way he pleased in his father-in-law's province. + +Nor was Manasseh the only priest in the Gerizim temple; many other +runaway priests joined him, all who were angry with Nehemiah, all who +were offended or touchy, all who thought themselves injured in any way, +all who had been found fault with for Sabbath-breaking or for any other +sin, left Jerusalem for Samaria--chose the temple of Mount Gerizim +instead of the holy temple on Mount Moriah. + +Yet of the Samaritans it is said: + +'They feared the Lord, and served their own gods.' + +It was a half-and-half religion, Judaism and heathenism mixed up +together, the worship of God and the worship of idols side by side. + +Satan, now-a-days, has his modern temple of Gerizim. He does not try to +lead nominal Christians to throw up religion altogether, for he sees +that it would be of no use to do so. He knows we have a conscience, he +knows that conscience is often busy, he knows that we fully believe that +some day we must die, and that after death will come the judgment, and +he sees therefore that we shall not be satisfied without some kind of +religion. So Satan tries to tempt us to the Gerizim temple. Serve God by +all means, he cries, but serve the world too. Go to church, say your +prayers, have a fair polish of Sunday religion; it is decent, it is +respectable, it is what is expected of you. But yet, at the very same +time, serve the world, please yourself. Take part in any pleasure that +attracts you, live as you please, enjoy yourself to the full. Let the +lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life have +their share in your allegiance. Be half for God, and half for the world. +Live partly for the world to come, and partly for this present world. By +no means throw overboard religion altogether, but let it have its proper +place, let it stand side by side with self-pleasing and worldliness. + +But what says the Master? + +'No man can serve two masters. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.' + +Let us then choose this day whom we will serve. Shall it be Christ or +Satan, Jerusalem or Gerizim, God or the world? + +For centuries after the time of Nehemiah, these Samaritans continued a +source of annoyance to the Jews, tempting all who were disaffected and +lawless to come to Gerizim, and vexing and troubling the Jews in every +possible way. No one who was travelling up to the rival temple was ever +made welcome in Samaria, or treated as he passed through with the +slightest show of hospitality. As our Lord and His disciples journeyed +up to the feast, we read that they came to a village of the Samaritans, +and our Lord sent messengers before Him to engage a lodging, where they +might find refreshment and shelter on their way. But we read, + +'They did not receive Him, because His face was as though He would go to +Jerusalem.' + +Sometimes they carried this antagonism to such a degree that they would +even waylay and murder the temple pilgrims who were on their way through +their country, and the poor travellers were compelled to take a much +longer route to Jerusalem, crossing the Jordan, and journeying on the +eastern side until they came opposite Jericho, and then ascending by the +long, winding, difficult road from Jericho to Jerusalem. + +Once, in order to mortify the Jews, the Samaritans were guilty of a very +dreadful insult. The Passover was being kept in Jerusalem, and it was +customary in Passover week for the priest to open the temple gates just +after midnight. Through these opened gates, in the darkness of the +night, stole in some Samaritans, carrying under their robes dead men's +bones and bits of dead men's bodies, and these they strewed up and down +the cloisters of the temple, to make them defiled and unclean. + +But perhaps the most trying thing which the Samaritans did was to put a +stop to a very old and very favourite custom of the Jews. For a long +time those Jews who lived in Jerusalem had been accustomed to let their +brethren in Babylon know the very time that the Passover moon rose in +Jerusalem, so that they and their absent friends might keep the feast +together at the very same time. They did this in a very curious and +interesting way. As soon as the watchers on the Mount of Olives saw the +moon rising, they lighted a beacon fire, other fires were already +prepared on a succession of hilltops, reaching all the way from +Jerusalem to Babylon. As soon as the light was seen on Olivet the next +fire was lighted, and then the next, and the next, till in a very short +time those Jews who sat by the waters of Babylon saw the signal, and +joined in the Passover rejoicing with their friends hundreds of miles +away in Jerusalem. It showed them that they were not forgotten, and it +helped them to join in the prayer and the praise of those who were in +their father-land. + +But the Samaritans annoyed the Jews and spoilt this beautiful old +custom, by lighting false fires on other mountains, on wrong days, and +at wrong hours, and thus confusing those who were watching by the +beacon-fires. After a time, so many mistakes were made by means of these +false signals, that the Jews were compelled to give up the system of +beacon-fires altogether, and to depend on the slower course of sending +messengers. + +We have now come to the end of Nehemiah's story, and we have, at the +very same time, come to the end of the history of the Old Testament. For +if all the historical books were arranged chronologically, Nehemiah's +book would come the very last in the series. Nothing more is told us in +the Book of God of this world's history, until St. Matthew takes up the +pen and writes an account of the birth of the expected Messiah. Yet +between the Book of Nehemiah and the Gospel of St. Matthew there is an +interval of 400 years, years which were full of interest in Jewish +history, but of which we are told nothing in the Bible story. + +There was one prophet who lived in the time of Nehemiah, and whose book +is a commentary on the book of Nehemiah. The prophet Malachi was living +in Jerusalem at this very time, and if we look at his book we shall see +that mention is made of many things of which we are told in the Book of +Nehemiah. For instance, if we turn to Mai. iii. 8, 9, 10, we shall find +the very words which the prophet spoke to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, +at the time when the temple store-house was empty, and when the people +had ceased to bring their tithes and offerings, and to give God the due +proportion of their possessions. + +'Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed Me. But ye say, Wherein have we +robbed Thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse; for ye +have robbed Me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the +storehouse, that there may be meat in Mine house.' + +Thus, if we read the Book of Malachi carefully, we shall find much that +throws light on Nehemiah's history; and we can easily imagine how much +the prophet's sympathy and help must have cheered and strengthened the +great reformer in his trying and difficult work. + +What became of Nehemiah, the great cup-bearer, the faithful governor of +Jerusalem, we do not know. Whether he returned to Persia and took up his +old work in the palace, standing behind the king's chair in his office +of Rab-shakeh, or whether he remained in Jerusalem, guarding his +beloved city from enemies without and from false friends within, we are +not told. Whether he died in the prime of life, or whether he lived to a +good old age, neither the Bible nor profane history informs us. + +But although we know nothing of Nehemiah's death, we know much of his +life. We have watched him carefully and closely, and there is one thing +which we cannot fail to have noticed, and that is that Nehemiah was +emphatically a man of prayer. In every trouble, in each anxiety, in all +times of danger, he turned to God. Standing behind the king's chair, +Nehemiah prayed; in his private room in the Shushan palace, he pleaded +for Jerusalem; and all through his rough anxious life as a reformer and +a governor, we find him constantly lifting up his heart to God in short +earnest prayers. When Tobiah mocked his work, when the Samaritans +threatened to attack the city, when the people were inclined to be angry +with him for his reforms, when he discovered that there were traitors +and hired agents of Sanballat inside the very walls of Jerusalem, when +he brought upon himself enmity and hatred because of his faithful +dealing in the matter of the temple store-house, when he had to +encounter difficulty and opposition in his determination with regard to +the observance of the Sabbath, and when he still further incensed the +half-hearted Jews by his prompt punishment of those who had taken +heathen wives, and by his summary dismissal of Manasseh; in all these +times of danger, difficulty, and trial, we find Nehemiah turning to the +Lord in prayer. + +There was one prayer of which he seems to have been especially fond, +three times over does Nehemiah ask God to remember him. + +'Think upon me, my God, for good,' v. 19. + +'Remember me, O my God,' xiii. 14. + +'Remember me, O my God, for good,' xiii. 31. + +Can it be that this prayer was suggested to him by the words of his +friend, the prophet Malachi? Can it be, that as he and Nehemiah took +sweet counsel together, and spoke together of the Lord they loved, +Malachi may have spoken those beautiful words which we find in chap. in. +16, 17, of his prophecy, in order to cheer and encourage his +disheartened and unappreciated friend:-- + +'They that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord +hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before +Him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon His name. And +they shall be Mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up +My jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that +serveth him.' + +Can we wonder that Nehemiah longed to know that his name was in that +book of remembrance of which his friend Malachi spoke, and that he often +turned the desire into a prayer, pleading with God, 'Remember _me_, O my +God?' + +It is a very touching prayer. Nehemiah evidently felt that others did +not value his work, nay, that Borne even condemned him for it. The +people, instead of being grateful to him for his reforms, found fault +with him, misunderstood him, and reproached him. + +But God knew, the Master did not blame him. He saw that all Nehemiah +did had been done for His glory and for the good of his nation. And to +the Master whom he served Nehemiah appealed. Away from the fault-finding +people, he turned to the merciful God. + +Remember Thou me, O God, for good; others blame me, but it is Thy praise +alone that I crave, wipe not _Thou_ out my good deeds, spare _Thou_ me +in the greatness of Thy mercy. + +There is no pride or boasting in this prayer. Is it not the very prayer +of the penitent thief, 'Lord, remember me?' Look carefully at the +wording of it, and you will notice, as Bishop Wordsworth so beautifully +points out, that it is humble in its every detail. Nehemiah does not +say, publish to the world my good deeds, but wipe them not out. He does +not say, reward me, but remember me. He does not say, remember me for my +merit, but according to the greatest of Thy mercies. + +So Nehemiah passes away from our sight with that prayer on his lips, +'Remember me, O my God, for good.' + +And was the prayer heard? Was Nehemiah remembered? Did God, has God +forgotten His faithful servant? Surely not, for 'The righteous shall be +had in everlasting remembrance.' + +Remembered by God, and remembered for ever, entered in the great book of +God's remembrance, of which he had so often thought, and of which +Malachi had written. + +The day is coming when we shall see Nehemiah the cup-bearer. In God's +great day of reward, when one after another of His faithful servants +shall appear before Him, we shall hear the response to Nehemiah's +prayer. + +'Remember me, O my God,' said Nehemiah, long years ago, as he toiled on, +unthanked and unblessed by man. + +And we shall hear the Lord answer, 'Well done, good and faithful +servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.' + + +THE END. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The King's Cup-Bearer, by Amy Catherine Walton + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE KING'S CUP-BEARER *** + +***** This file should be named 12248-8.txt or 12248-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/2/2/4/12248/ + +Produced by Joel Erickson, Michael Ciesielski, Marit Henningsen and +the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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WALTON (Amy Catherine). + </title> + <style type="text/css"> + + P { margin-top: .75em; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .75em; + } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5 { + text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ + } + HR { width: 33%; + margin-top: 1em; + margin-bottom: 1em; + } + BODY{margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; + } + .blkquot {margin-left: 4em; margin-right: 4em;} /* block indent */ + + .poem {margin-left:10%; margin-right:10%; text-align: left;} + .poem .stanza {margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em;} + .poem p {margin: 0; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + .poem p.i2 {margin-left: 2em;} + .poem p.i4 {margin-left: 4em;} + .poem p.i1 {margin-left: 1em;} + .poem p.i3 {margin-left: 3em;} + .poem p.i6 {margin-left: 6em;} + .poem p.i7 {margin-left: 7em;} + + </style> + </head> +<body> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The King's Cup-Bearer, by Amy Catherine Walton + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The King's Cup-Bearer + +Author: Amy Catherine Walton + +Release Date: May 3, 2004 [EBook #12248] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE KING'S CUP-BEARER *** + + + + +Produced by Joel Erickson, Michael Ciesielski, Marit Henningsen and +the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;"> + +<h1>THE KING'S CUP-BEARER</h1> + +<h2>By MRS. O.F. WALTON</h2> + +<h3><i>Author of 'Christie's Old Organ,' 'A Peep Behind the Scenes,' 'Elisha, +the Man of Abd-Meholah'</i></h3> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;"> + +<h4><img src="images/midnight_survey.jpg" width="278" height="450" align="middle" alt="NEHEMIAH'S MIDNIGHT SURVEY--Nehemiah ii. 12-15." title="NEHEMIAH'S MIDNIGHT SURVEY--Nehemiah ii. 12-15."></h4> +<h5>NEHEMIAH'S MIDNIGHT SURVEY.<br> + Nehemiah ii. 12-15.</h5> + +<hr style="width: 65%;"> + +<a name="CONTENTS"></a><h2>CONTENTS.</h2> + + + <b>CHAP.</b><br> + <a href="#CHAPTER_I"><b>I. THE CITY OF LILIES</b></a><br> + <a href="#CHAPTER_II"><b>II. THE KING'S TABLE</b></a><br> + <a href="#CHAPTER_III"><b>III. THE GOOD HAND</b></a><br> + <a href="#CHAPTER_IV"><b>IV. TO EVERY MAN HIS WORK</b></a><br> + <a href="#CHAPTER_V"><b>V. THE SWORD AND THE TROWEL</b></a><br> + <a href="#CHAPTER_VI"><b>VI. THE WORLD'S BIBLE</b></a><br> + <a href="#CHAPTER_VII"><b>VII. TRUE TO HIS POST</b></a><br> + <a href="#CHAPTER_VIII"><b>VIII. THE PAIDAGOGOS</b></a><br> + <a href="#CHAPTER_IX"><b>IX. THE SECRET OF STRENGTH</b></a><br> + <a href="#CHAPTER_X"><b>X. THE EIGHTY-FOUR SEALS</b></a><br> + <a href="#CHAPTER_XI"><b>XI. THE BRAVE VOLUNTEERS</b></a><br> + <a href="#CHAPTER_XII"><b>XII. THE HOLY CITY</b></a><br> + <a href="#CHAPTER_XIII"><b>XIII. HAVING NO ROOT</b></a><br> + <a href="#CHAPTER_XIV"><b>XIV. STRONG MEASURES</b></a><br> + <a href="#CHAPTER_XV"><b>XV. THE OLDEST SIN</b></a><br> + <a href="#CHAPTER_XVI"><b>XVI. GOD'S REMEMBRANCE</b></a><br> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;"> + +<h4><img src="images/palace.jpg" width="450" height="421" align="middle" alt="PLAN OF THE PALACE OF PERSEPOLIS" title="PLAN OF THE PALACE OF PERSEPOLIS"></h4> +<h5>PLAN OF THE PALACE AT PERSEPOLIS.</h5> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;"> +<a name="THE_KINGS_CUP-BEARER"></a><h2>THE KING'S CUP-BEARER</h2> + +<hr style="width: 65%;"> +<a name="CHAPTER_I"></a><h2>CHAPTER I.</h2> + +<h2>The City of Lilies.</h2> + +<p>The great Rab-shakeh, magnificently attired in all the brilliancy of +Oriental costume, is walking towards the city gate. Above him stretches +the deep blue sky of the East, about and around him stream the warm rays +of the sun. It is the month of December, yet no cold biting wind meets +him, and he needs no warm wraps to shield him from the frost or snow.</p> + +<p>The city through which the Rab-shakeh walks is very beautiful; it is the +capital of the kingdom of Persia. Its name is Shushan, the City of +Lilies, and it is so called from the fields of sweet-scented iris +flowers which surround it. It is built on a sunny plain, through which +flow two rivers,—the Choaspes and the Ulai; he sees them both sparkling +in the sunshine, as they wind through the green plain, sometimes flowing +quite close to each other, at one time so near that only two and a half +miles lie between them, then wandering farther away only to return +again, as if drawn together by some subtle attraction.</p> + +<p>Then, in the distance, beyond the plain and beyond the rivers, the +great Rab-shakeh sees mountains, for a high mountain range, about +twenty-five miles from the city, bounds the eastern horizon. He has good +reason to love those high mountains, which rise many thousands of feet +above the plain, for even in the hottest weather, when the heat in +Shushan would otherwise be unbearable, he can always enjoy the cooling +breezes which come from the everlasting snow-fields on the top of that +mountain range, and which blow refreshingly over the sultry plain +beneath.</p> + +<p>The City of Lilies is a very ancient place. It was probably built long +before the time of Abraham. We read in Gen. xiv. of a certain +Chedorlaomer, King of Elam, who gathered together a number of +neighbouring kings, and by means of their assistance invaded Palestine, +and took Lot prisoner. This Chedorlaomer probably lived by these very +rivers, the Choaspes and the Ulai, and Shushan was the capital city of +the old kingdom of Elam over which he ruled.</p> + +<p>Later on the City of Lilies was taken by the Babylonians. They had their +own capital city, the mighty Babylon, on the Euphrates. But although it +was not the capital, still Shushan was a very important place in that +first great world-empire. We find Daniel, the prime minister, staying in +the palace of Shushan, to which he had been sent to transact business +for the King of Babylon, and it was during his visit to the City of +Lilies that God sent him one of his most famous visions. In his dream he +thought he was standing by the river Ulai, the very river he could see +from the palace window, and before that river stood the ram with the two +horns and the strong he-goat, by means of which God drew out before his +eyes a picture of the future history of the world.</p> + +<p>But the great Babylonian empire did not last long. Cyrus the Persian +took Babylon, Belshazzar was slain, the great Assyrian power passed +away, and the second great world-empire, the Persian empire, was built +upon its ruins.</p> + +<p>What city did the Persian kings make their capital? Not Babylon, with +its mighty walls and massive gates, but Shushan, the City of Lilies. +They chose it as their chief city for three reasons; it was nearer to +their old home, Persia, it was cooler than Babylon because of the +neighbouring mountains, and lastly, and above all, it had the best water +in the world. The water of the river Choaspes was so much esteemed for +its freshness, its clearness, and its salubrity, that the Persian kings +would drink no other; they had it carried with them wherever they went; +even when they undertook long warlike expeditions, the water of the +Choaspes was considered a necessary provision for the journey.</p> + +<p>The City of Lilies, in the days of the Rab-shakeh, was a perfect +fairy-land of beauty, surrounded as it was by fruit-gardens and +corn-fields; the white houses standing out from amongst dark palm trees, +and the high walls encircled by groves of citron and lemon trees. As the +Rab-shakeh walks along the air is scented with their blossoms, and with +the sweet fragrance of the countless Shushan lilies, growing beside the +margin of the sparkling rivers.</p> + +<p>Above him, in the midst of the city, stands his lordly home. It may well +be a magnificent place, for it is the palace of the greatest king in the +world, the mighty King of Persia. The palace in which the Rab-shakeh +lives is not the old palace in which Daniel stayed when he visited +Shushan; it is quite a new building, built only forty years before by +the great Ahasuerus, the husband of Queen Esther. It was to celebrate +the opening of this gigantic palace that the enormous and magnificent +feast of which we read in Esther i., was given by the Persian monarch, +who was its founder.</p> + +<p>This new palace was built on a high platform of stone and brick, and the +view from its windows of the green plain, of the shining rivers, of the +gardens filled with fruit trees and flowers, and of the snow-clad +mountains in the distance, was magnificent in the extreme. In the centre +of the palace was a large hall filled with pillars, one of the finest +buildings in the world, and round this hall were built the grand +reception rooms of the king.</p> + +<p>The ruins of Shushan, the City of Lilies, were discovered by Sir Fenwick +Williams in the year 1851, and the bases of the very pillars which +supported the roof of the great Rab-shakeh's splendid home may be seen +this very day on the plain between the two rivers.</p> + +<p>But who was this Rab-shakeh, and how came he to live in the most +glorious palace in the world? He was a Jew, a foreigner, a descendant of +those Jews whom Nebuchadnezzar took captive, and carried into Assyria. +Yet, although one of an alien race, we find him in one of the highest +offices of the Persian court, namely, the office of Rab-shakeh.</p> + +<p>This word Rab, so often found in the Bible, is a Chaldean word which +means Master. Thus, in the New Testament, we find the Jewish teachers +often addressed by the title Rabbi, Master. But the title Rab was also +used in speaking of the highest officials in an Eastern court. Three +such titles we find in the Bible:</p> + +<div class="blkquot"><p>Jer. xxxix. 13. RAB-SARIS, Master of the Eunuchs.<br> + + Jer. xxxix. 13. RAB-MAG, Master of the Magi.<br> + + 2 Kings xviii. 17. RAB-SHAKEH, Master of the Cup-bearers.</p></div> + +<p>This last office, that of Rab-shakeh, was a very important and +responsible one. It was the duty of the man who held it to take charge +of the king's wine, to ensure that no poison was put into it, and to +present it in a jewelled cup to the king at the royal banquets. It was a +position of great trust and power; great trust, because the king's life +rested in the cup-bearer's keeping; great power, because whilst the +Persian monarchs, believing that familiarity breeds contempt, kept +themselves secluded from the public gaze, and admitted very few to their +august presence, the cup-bearer had access at all times to the king, and +had the opportunity of speaking to him which was denied to others.</p> + +<p>Strange that a Jew, one of a captive race, should be chosen to fill so +important a post. But King Artaxerxes knew his man. He felt he could +trust him fully, and he was not disappointed in his confidence, for the +great Rab-shakeh served a higher Master than the King of Persia, he was +a faithful servant of the God of Heaven.</p> + +<p>The Rab-shakeh's name was Nehemiah, a name chosen by his parents, not as +a fancy name or as a family name, but chosen for the same reason which +usually influenced Jewish parents in the selection of names for their +children, because of its beautiful meaning. Nehemiah meant <i>The Lord my +Comforter</i>.</p> + +<p>What a sweet thought for Hachaliah and his wife as they called their +boy in from play, or as they put him in his little bed and took leave of +him for the night, '<i>The Lord is my Comforter</i>.' Life in sunny +Shushan was surely no brighter than life in our more clouded land; they +had their times of sorrow as well as their times of joy, they had their +temptations, their cares, their anxieties, and their trials, just as we +have. How blessed for them in one and all of these to be reminded where +true comfort was to be found, so that they might turn to God in every +time of grief with the name of their little son on their lips, 'The Lord +is my Comforter.'</p> + +<p>What do <i>we</i> know of Nehemiah? Can we say from our heart, 'The Lord +is <i>my</i> Comforter?' I take Him my every sorrow, I tell Him my every +trouble. He understands it, and He understands me, and He comforts me as +no other can. The Lord is indeed my Comforter.</p> + +<p>So the little Nehemiah had grown up an ever-present reminder in his +parents' home of the comfort of God.</p> + +<p>How many children Hachaliah had we are not told, but Nehemiah had +certainly one brother, Hanani. There had been some years before this a +parting in Hachaliah's family. Hanani, Nehemiah's brother, had left +Shushan for a distant land. Twelve years had passed since all the Jews +in Shushan had been roused by the news that Ezra the scribe was going +from Babylon to Jerusalem, and that he was calling upon all who loved +the home of their forefathers to go with him, and to help him in the +work he had undertaken. Bad news had been brought to Babylon of the +state of matters in Palestine; those who had returned with Zerubbabel +were not prospering, either in their souls or their bodies, and Ezra, +shocked by what he had heard, determined to go to Jerusalem that he +might reform the abuses which had arisen there, and do all in his power +to rouse the people to a sense of their duty. A brave company had set +forth with him. Eight thousand Jews had been ready to leave comfort, +luxury, and affluence behind, that they might go to the desolate city, +and endeavour to stir up its people to energy and life.</p> + +<p>One of the 8,000 who went with Ezra was Nehemiah's brother, Hanani. It +is possible that Nehemiah himself was at that time too young to go; it +is also probable that Hachaliah, the father, having been born and +brought up in Shushan, was hard to move. So Hanani set forth alone, and +the brothers were parted.</p> + +<p>Twelve long years, and in all probability no news had reached the family +in Shushan of the absent Hanani. A journey of five months lay between +them and Jerusalem; and in those days, when all the conveniences we +enjoy were unknown, they would not only never expect to meet again, but +they would also never anticipate the pleasure of even hearing any news +of each other, or of holding the slightest communication.</p> + +<p>But as the Rab-shakeh walks to the gate of Shushan, on the day on which +the story opens, he spies a caravan of travellers coming along the +northern road. They have evidently come a long way, for they are tired, +exhausted, and travel-stained. The mules walk slowly and heavily under +their burdens, the skin of the travellers is burnt and cracked by the +hot sun of the desert, their clothes are faded and covered with dust, +their sandals are full of holes.</p> + +<p>Where can the caravan have come from? Nehemiah finds to his astonishment +that it has come from Jerusalem, the city of cities, as he had been +taught to believe it, and, to his still greater surprise, he finds +amongst the travellers his long-lost brother Hanani. What had brought +Hanani back from Jerusalem we are not told; he may have wished once more +to see his old father Hachaliah; but we can well imagine the joy with +which he would be welcomed by all, and not the least by his brother +Nehemiah.</p> + +<p>As they walk together through Shushan to the palace, the Rab-shakeh asks +anxiously after Jerusalem. Has Ezra's work been successful? How are +matters progressing? Are the people more in earnest? Is Jerusalem +thriving?</p> + +<p>But the travellers have a dismal tale to tell. Affairs in the Holy City +are about as bad as it was possible for them to be.</p> + +<p>Neh. i. 3: 'They said unto me, The remnant that are left of the +captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: +the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are +burned with fire.'</p> + +<p>In other words, things are just where they were twelve years ago; the +people are miserable and depressed, beset with countless troubles; the +city itself is still an utter ruin, just as Nebuchadnezzar left it. The +temple, it is true, is built at last, but nothing more is done; the +walls lie just as they were when the city was taken,—a mass of ruins; +the gates are nowhere to be seen, only a few blackened stones mark the +place where they used to stand.</p> + +<p>The Rab-shakeh's heart is very heavy as he goes to his rooms in the +royal palace. What terrible news he has heard! Jerusalem is still, +after all Ezra's efforts to restore it, a desolate ruined city. Nehemiah +is full of sorrow, sick at heart, overwhelmed with disappointment and +trouble.</p> + +<p>But he remembers his own name and its warning, Nehemiah, <i>The Lord is my +Comforter</i>. At once, without a moment's delay, he goes to his +Comforter. He weeps, he mourns, he fasts, and he pours out all his sorrow +to God. As a child runs to his mother, and pours into her ear his grief +or his disappointment, so Nehemiah hastens to his God.</p> + +<p>We walk through a splendid conservatory, the pride and glory of a +nobleman's garden; we admire the flowers of all shades of colour; rare +blossoms from all parts of the world, ferns of every variety, palms, and +grasses, and mosses, and all manner of natural beauties meet our eye at +every turn. What is that plant standing in a conspicuous place in the +conservatory? It is a beautiful azalea, covered with hundreds of pure +white blossoms. But there is so much else to see in that conservatory +that we scarcely notice it as we pass by. Nor are we at all surprised to +see it there; it is just the very place in which we should look for such +a plant. Nor are we astonished to find it so flourishing and so full of +bloom, for we know that everything in that conservatory is calculated to +improve its growth, the atmosphere is just what it should be, not too +dry or too damp, it has exactly the right soil, the proper amount of +light, the most carefully regulated heat; it has in fact everything +which it ought to have to make it a flourishing and beautiful plant. +Accordingly we are not surprised to find it full of bloom and beauty.</p> + +<p>But suppose, on the other hand, that walking through the slums of +London we see a similar sight. In one of the closest, most filthy courts +we see, in a garret window, a white azalea full of flowers, pure as the +untrodden snow.</p> + +<p>Now indeed we are surprised to see it, for it is in the most unlikely +place; there is nothing to favour its growth, the air is foul, the light +is dim, everything is against it, yet there it stands, a marvel of +beauty! And we look at it and say, 'Wonderful!'</p> + +<p>Surely we have even now seen the white azalea in the garret. For where +should we expect to find a man of God? Dwelling in the holy temple in +Jerusalem, surrounded by everything to remind him of God breathing in +the very atmosphere of religion, with godly people all around him, with +everything to help him to be holy and pure, no one would be astonished +to find a man of God in such a place as that.</p> + +<p>But here is Nehemiah the Rab-shakeh, living in a heathen palace, in the +midst of a wicked court, surrounded by drunkenness, sensuality, and all +that is vile and impure, breathing in the very atmosphere of sin, yet we +find him a plant of the Lord, pure as the azalea, a man of faith, a man +of prayer, a holy man of God. With everything against him, with nothing +to favour his growth in holiness, he is a flourishing plant in the +garden of the Lord. So it ever is. The plants of God's grace often +thrive in very unlikely places. There was a holy Joseph in the court of +Pharaoh, a faithful Obadiah in the house of wicked Jezebel, a righteous +Daniel in Babylon, and saints even in Caesar's household.</p> + +<p>Are we ever tempted to say, I cannot serve the Master faithfully? If I +were in another position, if my home life were favourable to my becoming +decided for Christ, if I had different companions, different occupation, +different surroundings, then indeed I would grow in grace, and bring +forth the fruit of a holy life. But as I am, and where I am, it is a +simple impossibility; I can never, under existing circumstances, live +near to God, or be what I often long to be, a true Christian.</p> + +<p>What does the Master say as He hears words like these? 'My grace is +sufficient for thee.' 'As thy day so shall thy strength be.'</p> + +<p>Even in most unlikely and unfruitful soil God can make His plants to +grow and flourish. Where I am, and as I am, and with exactly the same +surroundings as I now possess, God can bless me, and give me grace to +serve and to glorify Him. If I do not become a flourishing plant, it is +not my position that is to blame, it is because I will not seek that +grace which the Lord is ready to give me. 'Ye have not, because ye ask +not. Ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.'</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;"> +<a name="CHAPTER_II"></a><h2>CHAPTER II.</h2> + +<h2>The King's Table.</h2> + +<p>It was midnight in London, in the year 1665. The houses were closed and +barred, but strange lurid fires were lighted in every street, a stifling +odour of burning pitch and sulphur filled the air, and from time to time +came the heavy rumble of wheels, as a terrible cart, with its awful +load, passed by in the darkness of the night. With the cart came a cry; +so loud, so clear, so piercing, that it could be heard in all the closed +houses of the street. 'Bring out your dead, bring out your dead!' Then, +one door after another was hurriedly opened, and from the +plague-stricken houses one body after another was brought out, and was +thrown hastily into that awful dead cart.</p> + +<p><i>Bring out your dead</i>! what a solemn, terribly solemn cry! How it +must have filled with awe and dread all who heard it! And if that call +were repeated, if the holy angels of God were to go through the length +and breadth of our land, and, stopping before each house, were to cry to +those within, 'Bring out your dead, bring out your dead,' not your dead +bodies, but your dead souls; bring out all in your house who are not +alive unto God, who are dead in trespasses and sins, how many would +have to be carried out of our houses? Should we ourselves be left +behind? Are we alive or dead?</p> + +<p>The angels have not yet come to sever the dead from the living, but the +time for that great separation is drawing daily nearer, when the Son of +man shall send forth His angels, and they shall gather out of His +kingdom all things that offend; all the loathsomeness of death, and +decay, and impurity shall be collected by angel hands, and, we read, +they shall cast them, not into a vast pit such as was dug in London in +the time of the plague, but into a furnace of fire, there shall be +wailing and gnashing of teeth.</p> + +<p>Surely, then, it is worth while to find out whether our soul is alive or +dead. What test then shall we use? How shall we settle the matter +clearly and definitely?</p> + +<p>There is one thing, and one thing only, which proves that a man has +life. A man apparently drowned is brought out of the water. He does not +speak, or see, or move, or feel. He is rubbed and warmed, but no sign of +life can be perceived. Can we therefore conclude that the man is dead? +Nay, we will put him to the test. Bring a feather, hold it before his +mouth, watch it carefully, does it move? A crowd of anxious bystanders +gather round to see. Soon a cry of joy is heard, the feather moves. The +man lives, for he <i>breathes</i>, and the breath in him is the +unmistakable sign of life.</p> + +<p>How then shall I know if my soul lives? Does it breathe? That is the +all-important question. But what is the breath of the soul? The breath +of the soul is prayer. As the old hymn says—</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<p>'Prayer is the Christian's vital breath,</p> +<p>The Christian's native air.'</p> +</div></div> + +<p>Saul of Tarsus, with all his outward religion, was a dead soul, till the +Lord met him and gave him life. What then is the first thing we find +Saul doing? 'Behold he prayeth.' As soon as he is alive, he breathes, he +prays.</p> + +<p>Here then is the test for us to apply to our own souls. Do I know +anything of real prayer? Do I love to hold communion with my God? Am I +ever lifting up my heart to Him? If I live in the atmosphere of prayer, +then I am alive unto God; if, on the other hand, I feel prayer a +weariness, and know not what it is for my heart to hold unseen +intercourse with my Lord, then indeed I am dead in sin, having no +breath, and I have consequently no life.</p> + +<p>Nehemiah, the great Rab-shakeh, was a living soul, for he loved to pray. +No sooner had he heard the sad news about Jerusalem, than he went to his +private apartments in the palace, and began to plead with God. He feels +that all the trouble that has come upon his nation has been richly +deserved, so he begins with a humble confession of sin.</p> + +<p>'Let Thine ear now be attentive, and Thine eyes open, that Thou mayest +hear the prayer of Thy servant, which I pray before Thee now, day and +night, for the children of Israel Thy servants, and confess the sins of +the children of Israel, which we have sinned against Thee.' And then, +coming nearer home, he adds, 'both I and my father's house have sinned.'</p> + +<p>Was it some special sin which he confessed before God then? Can his sin, +and the sin of his father's house, have been the refusing twelve years +ago to leave home and comforts behind them, and to return with Ezra to +Jerusalem?</p> + +<p>Then Nehemiah pleads God's promises to His people in time past, and ends +by definitely stating his own special need and request (Neh. i. 8-11).</p> + +<p>By day and by night Nehemiah prays, and nearly four months go by before +he does anything further.</p> + +<p>The next step was not an easy one. He had determined to speak to the +great Persian monarch—to bring before him the desolate condition of +Jerusalem, and to ask for leave of absence from the court at Shushan, in +order that he might go to Jerusalem, and do all in his power to restore +it to something of its former grandeur.</p> + +<p>It is not surprising that Nehemiah dreaded this next step. The Persian +kings had a great objection to being asked a favour. Xerxes, the husband +of Queen Esther, when on his way to Greece with his enormous army, +passed through Lydia in Asia Minor. Here he was feasted and entertained +by a rich man named Pythius, who also gave him a large sum of money for +the expense of the war, and furnished five sons for the army. After this +Pythius thought he might venture to ask a favour of the Persian monarch, +so he requested that his eldest son might be allowed to leave his +regiment, in order that he might stay at home to be the comfort and +support of his aged father. But, instead of granting this very natural +request, Xerxes was so much enraged at having been asked a favour, that +he commanded the eldest son to be killed and cut in two, and then caused +his entire army to file between the pieces of the body.</p> + +<p>Artaxerxes, the king whom Nehemiah served, was considered one of the +gentlest of Persian monarchs, and yet even he was guilty of acts of +savage cruelty, of which we cannot read without a shudder. For example, +when he came to the throne, he found in the palace a certain eunuch +named Mithridates, who had been concerned in his father's murder. He +condemned this man to be put to death in the most horrible and cruel +way. He was laid on his back in a kind of horse-trough, and strongly +fastened to the four corners of it. Then another trough was put over +him, leaving only his head and hands and feet uncovered, for which +purpose holes were made in the upper trough. Then his face was smeared +with honey, and he was placed in the scorching rays of the sun. Hundreds +of flies settled on his face, and he lay there in agony for many long +days. Food was given him from time to time, but he was never moved or +uncovered, and it was more than a fortnight before death released him +from his sufferings.</p> + +<p>It was the very king who had put one of his subjects to this death of +awful torment before whom Nehemiah had to appear, and of whom he had to +make a request. No wonder, then, that he dreaded the interview, and that +he felt that he needed many months of prayer to make him ready for it. +It was in the month Chisleu (December) that Hanani had arrived, it was +not until Nisan (April) that he made up his mind to speak to the king.</p> + +<p>Before leaving his room that morning, he knelt down, and put himself and +his cause in the Lord's hands, Neh. i. 11.</p> + +<p>Then, attired in his official dress, the Rab-shakeh sets forth for the +state apartments of the palace. The central building of that magnificent +pile in which the king held court was very fine and imposing, as may be +seen to-day from the extensive ruins of Shushan. In the centre of it was +the Great Hall of Pillars, 200 feet square. In this hall were no less +than thirty-six pillars, arranged in six rows, and all sixty feet high. +Round this grand hall were the beautiful reception rooms of the king, +and these were carefully arranged, in order to ensure perpetual coolness +even in the hottest weather. There was no room on the hot south side of +the palace, but on the west was the morning room, in which all the +morning entertainments were held, whilst the evening banqueting hall was +on the eastern side. By this arrangement the direct rays of the sun were +never felt by those within the palace. Then, on the cool northern side +was the grand throne room, in which the king sat in state, and through +which a whole army of soldiers, or an immense body of courtiers, could +file without the slightest confusion, entering and leaving the room by +stone staircases placed opposite each other. The steps were only four +inches in depth and sixteen feet wide, and were so built that horsemen +could easily mount or descend them.</p> + +<p>Into one of the grand halls of the palace Nehemiah the cup-bearer +enters. The pavement is of coloured marble, red, white, and blue; +curtains of blue and white, the Persian royal colours, drape the windows +and are hanging in graceful festoons from the pillars; the fresh morning +breeze is blowing from the snow-clad mountains, and is laden with the +scent of lemons and oranges, and of the Shushan lilies and Persian roses +in the palace gardens.</p> + +<p>There is the royal table, covered with golden dishes and cups, and +spread with every dainty that the world could produce.</p> + +<p>There is the king, a tall, graceful man, but with one strange +deformity—with hands so long that when he stood upright they touched +his knees, from which he had received the nickname of Longimanus, the +long-handed.</p> + +<p>He is dressed in a long loose robe of purple silk, with wide sleeves, +and round his waist is a broad golden girdle. His tunic or under-garment +is purple and white, his trousers are bright crimson, his shoes are +yellow, and have long pointed toes. On his head is a curious high cap +with a band of blue spotted with white. He is moreover covered with +ornaments: he has gold earrings, a gold chain, gold bracelets, and a +long golden sceptre with a golden ball as its crown.</p> + +<p>The king is sitting on a throne, in shape like a high-backed chair with +a footstool before it. The chair stands on lion's feet, and the stool on +bull's feet, and both are made of gold.</p> + +<p>By the king's side sits the queen; her name was Damaspia, but we know +little more of her in history, except that she died on the same day as +her husband. Behind the king and queen are the fan-bearers, and +fly-flappers, and parasol-bearers, who are in constant attendance on +their royal majesties, and around are the great officers of the +household.</p> + +<p>Fifteen thousand people ate the king's food in that palace every day, +but the king always dined alone. It was very rarely that even the queen +or the royal children were allowed to sit at the king's table, which is +probably the reason why Nehemiah mentions the fact that the queen was +sitting by him. Perhaps he hailed the circumstance as a proof that the +king was in good humour that day, and would therefore be more likely to +listen to his petition. But no one who was not closely related to the +king was allowed to sit at the royal table, even the most privileged +courtiers sat on the floor and ate at his feet.</p> + +<p>The feast has begun, and it is time for the Rab-shakeh to present the +wine to the king. He takes the jewelled cup from the table in the king's +presence, he carefully washes it, then he fills it with a specially rare +wine, named the wine of Helbon, which was kept only for the king's use. +This wine was made from a very fine growth of grapes, at a place in the +Lebanon not far from Damascus, named Helbon. Then Nehemiah pours a +little wine into his left hand and drinks it, and then, lightly holding +the cup between the tips of his fingers and thumbs, he gracefully +presents it to the great monarch.</p> + +<p>Artaxerxes glances at his cup-bearer as he rises from his knees, and at +once notices something remarkable in his face. Nehemiah is pale and +anxious and troubled; his whole face tells of the struggle going on +within, and the king cannot fail to perceive it. Turning to the +Rab-shakeh he asks: 'Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not +sick? this is nothing else but sorrow of heart.' 'Then,' says Nehemiah, +'I was very sore afraid.' It is no wonder that he was alarmed, for it +was actually a crime, proscribed by law, for any one to look sad or +depressed in the presence of a Persian king. However heavy might be his +heart, however sorrowful his spirit, he must cross the threshold of the +palace with a smiling face, and show no signs in the king's presence of +the trouble within. But Nehemiah's face has betrayed him. What will the +king do? Will he dismiss him from office? Will he degrade him from his +high position? Will he punish him for his breach of court etiquette? Or +can it be that this is a heaven-sent opportunity in which he may make +his request? He answers at once:</p> + +<p>'Let the king live for ever: why should not my countenance be sad, when +the city, the place of my fathers' sepulchres, lieth waste, and the +gates thereof are consumed with fire?'</p> + +<p>And the king, quite understanding from Nehemiah's speech that he wants +something from him, asks immediately:</p> + +<p>'For what dost thou make request?'</p> + +<p>Oh, what a critical moment! How much depends on Nehemiah's answer to +this unexpected question! What shall he say? What dare he propose? The +whole future of Jerusalem may hang on his answer to the king's question.</p> + +<p>There is a moment's pause, but only a moment's, and then Nehemiah's +answer is given. Only a moment, and yet great things have been done in +that short time. 'I prayed,' says the Rab-shakeh, 'to the God of +Heaven.'</p> + +<p>Did he then rush away to his own apartment to pray? Did he kneel down in +the midst of the banqueting hall and call upon his God? No, he spoke no +word aloud, he did not even close his eyes. The king saw nothing, knew +nothing of what was going on; yet a mighty transaction took place in +that short time between the silent man, who still stood holding the cup +in his hands, and the King of Heaven.</p> + +<p>We are not told what the prayer was, perhaps it was only, 'Lord, help +me.' But quick as lightning the answer came. His fear fled, wisdom was +given him to answer, and his heart's desire was granted.</p> + +<p>How often we hear the complaint, 'I cannot pray long prayers, like the +good people I read of in books. I lead a busy active life, and when work +is done my body is weary and exhausted, and I find it impossible to pray +for any length of time, and sometimes I fear that because I cannot offer +long prayers I cannot therefore be the Lord's.' But surely it is not +long prayers that the Lord requires. Most of the Bible prayers are short +prayers, the Lord's pattern-prayer is one of the shortest. It is the +heathen who think they will be heard for their much speaking. Nehemiah's +was a true prayer, and an answered prayer, yet it was but a moment in +length.</p> + +<p>Nor are uttered words necessary to prayer. The followers of Baal cried +aloud, thinking their much shouting would reach the ear of their god, +but Nehemiah speaks not, does not even whisper, and his prayer is heard +in heaven. Surely now-a-days, when there are some who seem to think that +much noise, that loud shouting, that the uplifted voice must needs +pierce the sky, it is well for us to be reminded that God heeds no +language, hears no voice, but the language of the soul, the voice of the +innermost heart.</p> + +<p>Nor is posture a necessary part of prayer. Some choose to pray standing, +others prefer to kneel. It is not the posture of body God looks at, but +the posture of the heart. Reverence there must be, but such reverence as +comes from the inner sanctuary of the soul, and which only finds outward +expression in the body. Nehemiah stood with the jewelled cup in his +hands, yet Nehemiah's prayer was heard.</p> + +<p>So we see that heartfelt prayer—prayer which is prayer indeed—may be +short, silent, and offered in a strange place and at a strange time, and +yet be heard and answered by God.</p> + +<p>Let us try to grasp the full comfort of this thought, for we live in a +world of surprises. We rise in the morning, not knowing what the day may +bring forth. We are walking on a road with many turnings, and we never +know what may meet us at the next step!</p> + +<p>All of a sudden we find ourselves face to face with an unexpected +perplexity. What shall we do? What course shall we take? Here is the +little prayer made ready for our use—</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<p>Lord, guide me.</p> +</div></div> + +<p>Then, at the next turn, comes a sudden temptation. Unjust, cruel words +are spoken, and we feel we must give an angry reply. Let us stop one +moment before we answer, and in that moment put up the short prayer—</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<p>Lord, help me.</p> +</div></div> + +<p>Or a sudden danger, bodily or spiritual, stares us in the face. At once +we may lift up the heart and cry—</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<p>Lord, save me.</p> +</div></div> + +<p>There is no need to kneel down, no need to speak aloud, no need to move +from our place. In the office, the workshop, the schoolroom, the place +of business, the railway carriage, the street, wherever we may be and in +whatever company, the short silent prayer may be sent up to the God of +heaven.</p> + +<p>Thank God, no such prayer is ever unanswered!</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;"> +<a name="CHAPTER_III"></a><h2>CHAPTER III.</h2> + +<h2>The Good Hand.</h2> + +<p>The mighty universe, the great empire of the King of kings, who shall +give us even a faint idea of its size?</p> + +<p>It has been calculated that about 100,000,000 stars can be seen from our +world by means of a telescope. Yet who can grasp such a number as that? +Which of us can picture in his mind 100,000,000 objects? Let us suppose +that instead of 100,000,000 stars we have the same number of oranges; +let us arrange our oranges in imagination on a long string, which shall +pass through the centre of each of them. How long will our string have +to be if it is to hold the 100,000,000 oranges? It will have to be no +less than 6,000 miles long, and our 100,000,000 oranges will stretch in +a straight line from England to China.</p> + +<p>One hundred million stars, and of all these God is King. But these are +but as a speck compared with His vast universe. Each telescope that is +invented, which enables us to see a little further into space, discovers +more and more worlds unseen before. Who can even guess how many still +lie beyond, unseen, unnoticed, unheard of? The regions of space are +endless, as God their Maker is endless.</p> + +<p>And all these countless worlds are under the eye of the King of kings. +He rules all, watches all, guides all. Can I, then, believe that He will +have time to take notice of my tiny affairs? Can He care if I am sick, +worried, or poor, or depressed? Surely I must be ready to say with the +Psalmist—</p> + +<p>'When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the +stars which Thou hast ordained, what is man, that Thou art mindful of +him? and the son of man, that Thou visitest him?'</p> + +<p>Yet that quaint old saying of John Flavel the Puritan is right, 'The man +who watches for Providence will never want a Providence to watch.' In +other words, he who trusts his concerns to a higher power, he who puts +his cause in the Lord's hands, will never be disappointed. The God who +rules the universe will not forget to attend to him, but will watch him, +and guide him, and help him, as tenderly as if he was the only being in +that universe.</p> + +<p>St. Augustine used to say, 'Lord, when I look upon mine own life, it +seems Thou hast led me so carefully and tenderly, Thou canst have +attended to none else; but when I see how wonderfully Thou hast led the +world and art leading it, I am amazed that Thou hast had time to attend +to such as I.'</p> + +<p>How much more must we wonder at God's loving care, when we look beyond +this tiny world to the countless millions of worlds in the universe!</p> + +<p>Nehemiah was watching for Providence. He had taken his case to God, he +had trusted all to Him, and Nehemiah did not want a Providence to watch; +the God in whom he had put his confidence did not disappoint him.</p> + +<p>'Let me go that I may rebuild Jerusalem,' says the cup-bearer; and the +great Persian king does not refuse his request, but (prompted, it may +be, by the queen who was sitting by him) he asks: 'For how long shall +thy journey be? and when wilt thou return?'</p> + +<p>'And I set him a time.' How long a time we are not told. Nehemiah did +not return to Persia for twelve years; but it is probable that he asked +for a shorter leave of absence, and that this was extended later on, in +order to enable him to finish his work.</p> + +<p>Cheered and encouraged by the king's manner, feeling sure that God is +with him and is prospering him, Nehemiah asks another favour of the +king. The Persian empire at that time was of such vast extent, that it +reached from the river Indus to the Mediterranean, and the Euphrates was +looked upon as naturally dividing it into two parts, east and west. +Nehemiah asks, ch. ii. 7, for letters to the governors of the western +division of the empire, that they may be instructed to help him and +forward him on his way.</p> + +<p>He asks, ver. 8, for something more. There is a certain man named Asaph, +who has charge of the king's forest or park (see margin of R.V.). The +real word which Nehemiah used was paradise—the king's paradise. The +derivation of the word is from the Persian words Pairi, round about, and +Deza, a wall. Up and down their empire, in various places, the Persian +kings had these paradises—parks or pleasure grounds—surrounded and +shut off from the neighbouring country by a high fence or wall. These +paradises were places of beauty and loveliness, where the king and his +friends might meet and walk together, and enjoy each other's society.</p> + +<p>Is not this the Lord's own picture of the place He went to prepare for +His people? Did He not say to the thief on the cross, 'To-day thou shalt +be with Me in Paradise?' It was a new name taken by our Lord from these +paradises of the Persian kings, and given by Him to that new place which +He went to prepare for His people, even the Garden of the Lord, the +pleasure ground of the King of kings, the place to which His people go +when they die. There they enjoy His company, and see His face, and walk +with Him and talk to Him, waiting for that glorious day when they shall +pass from the garden of the King into the palace itself.</p> + +<p>We are not told where this particular paradise was, of which Asaph was +the keeper, but probably it was the place which the kings of Judah had +always made their pleasure ground. This was at Etam, about seven miles +from Jerusalem, where Solomon had fine gardens, and had made large lakes +of water, fed by a hidden and sealed spring.</p> + +<p>Solomon himself twice used the word paradise of his gardens, and these +are the only places in which the word occurs in the Old Testament, +except in Neh. ii. 8.</p> + +<p>Solomon says, Eccles. ii. 5, 'I made me gardens and paradises.' In Cant. +iv. 13 he speaks of 'a paradise of pomegranates, with precious fruits.'</p> + +<p>For three purposes Nehemiah wanted wood from Asaph's paradise, and asked +the king to give him an order for it, that he might deliver to the +keeper.</p> + +<p>He wanted it (1) for the gates of the palace of the house. <i>The</i> +house means the temple, and the palace should be translated the castle. +It was a tower which stood at the north-west corner of the temple +platform, and commanded and protected the temple courts. (2) He required +wood for the gates of the wall, and (3) for 'the house that I shall enter +into,' <i>i.e.</i> for my own dwelling-house.</p> + +<p>All is granted—the royal secretaries are called, and are bidden to +write the required instructions to the governors beyond the river, and +to Asaph, the bailiff of the forest. Nehemiah takes no credit to himself +that all has gone so prosperously, he does not praise his own courage, +or wisdom, or tact in making the request, he knows it is a direct answer +to a direct prayer, he recognises the fact that it is God's doing, and +not his.</p> + +<p>'The king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.'</p> + +<p>That was Ezra's motto, quoted by him again and again (Ezra vii. 6, 9, +28; viii. 18, 22, 31). In all his deliverances, in every one of his +mercies, he had seen the good hand of his God, and he had taken those +words, 'The good hand of my God upon me,' as the keynote of his praise, +and as the motto of his life. But Nehemiah had in all probability never +even seen Ezra, yet here we find him quoting Ezra's favourite saying. +Can it be that Hanani, his brother, who had been one of Ezra's +companions, had repeated it to him? Can it be that in order to cheer and +encourage his brother when he undertook the difficult task of speaking +to the king, he told him how Ezra was always repeating these words, and +how he found them a sure refuge in time of need? If so, how gladly would +Nehemiah hasten to his brother when his duties in the palace were +completed, to tell him that Ezra's motto has held good again, for 'the +king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.'</p> + +<p>'The good hand of my God.' What blessed words! Let trouble come, or +temptation come, or death itself come, I will not fear. The good hand of +my God is over me. None can pluck me from that hand. 'All my times are +in Thy hand, O Lord,' and are safe there from even the fear of danger. +Oh, how blessed to be one so sheltered, so shielded, underneath the good +hand of my God! But the same hand is against them that do evil. I must +either be in the hand, or have the hand raised against me! Which shall +it be?</p> + +<p>All is ready now, the preparations are ended, and Nehemiah, accompanied +by his brother Hanani, and by a royal escort of soldiers, sets forth on +his long journey. Jerusalem, the City of David—how often he had dreamt +of it, how earnestly he had longed to see it! Now, at last, his desire +is to be granted. The travellers could not sing, as they rode slowly +over the scorching desert, 'Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O +Jerusalem,' for the gates of the city were burned with fire, and only a +blackened space showed where each had stood, but they may have joined +together in that other psalm, which was probably written about this +time, Psalm cii.</p> + +<p>'Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favour her, +yea, the set time, is come.</p> + +<p>'For Thy servants take pleasure in her stones, and it pitieth them to +see her in the dust.'</p> + +<p>There is no misadventure on the journey, they travel safely under the +care of the king's guard; but surely Nehemiah saw a dark cloud on the +horizon as he handed in his letters to the governors beyond the river. +One of these was Sanballat, the satrap or governor of Samaria. His name +was an Assyro-Babylonian one, so that he was probably descended from +one of the Babylonian families settled in Samaria, and it signifies 'The +Moon God gives life.' His native place was Horonaim in Moab, and +Sanballat was by nation a descendant of Lot.</p> + +<p>With the Samaritan governor was his secretary Tobiah, the servant or the +feud slave, a man also descended from Lot, for he was an Ammonite, and +standing evidently very high in Sanballat's favour.</p> + +<p>It was probably Tobiah who read Artaxerxes' letter to his master, and +very black and gloomy were both their faces as they heard the news it +contained.</p> + +<p>At the court of Sanballat was a friend of his, Geshem the Arabian, the +head or chief of a tribe of Arabs, which we find, from the ancient +Assyrian monuments recently discovered, had been planted in Samaria by +Sargon, King of Assyria. This man Geshem was therefore a Bedouin, a +descendant of Esau.</p> + +<p>These three, Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem, cannot conceal their disgust +that anyone has been sent from Persia to look after the welfare of +Jerusalem. So far they have trampled the Jews under foot as much as +possible, and the Jews have been powerless to resist them. But now here +is a man come direct from the court at Shushan, with letters from their +royal master in his hand, and with orders to rebuild and fortify +Jerusalem.</p> + +<p>From that moment Sanballat and his friends became Nehemiah's bitter +enemies, determined to thwart and to oppose him to the utmost of their +power.</p> + +<p>At length the wearisome journey is over, and Nehemiah arrives in +Jerusalem. He tells no one why he has come; but, worn out with the +fatigue he has undergone, he goes quietly to the house of a friend, +probably to that of his brother Hanani, and for three days he rests +there. Then, on the third night after his arrival, when all Jerusalem is +asleep, he rises, mounts a mule or donkey, and, with a few faithful +followers, steals out to explore for himself the extent of the ruin, to +see how things really were, what was the state of the walls, and how +much had to be done to put them into good repair.</p> + +<p>Stealing out of the city on the south side, at the spot on which in +better days the Valley Gate had stood, a gate which was so called +because it opened into the Valley of Hinnom, he turned into the ravine, +and went eastward. No doubt there was a moon, and by its quiet light he +could see the heaps of rubbish, and the work of the fire which had +destroyed the gates 150 years ago. How sad and forsaken it all looked in +the moonlight, as he turned '<i>towards</i> the Dragon's well' (see +Revised Version). The site of this Dragon's Well is very uncertain, but +it is generally identified with Upper Gihon. It is sometimes confounded +with the Virgin's Fount, called by the Arabs the Mother of Steps, because +there are twenty-seven steps leading down to it, and the descent is very +steep. This is the only spring near Jerusalem, and its water is carried +by an underground passage to the Pool of Siloam. It is an intermittent +spring, suddenly rising and as suddenly falling, at irregular intervals. +Two explorers, Dr. Robinson and Mr. Smith, were just about to measure +the water, when they found it suddenly rising; in less than five minutes +it had risen a foot, in ten minutes more it had ceased to flow, and had +sunk to its former level.</p> + +<p>The common people believed in olden time, and believe still, that a +dragon lies within the fountain, concealed from view; that when he is +awake he stops the water from flowing, but that he finds it impossible +to keep awake always, and when he falls asleep the water flows.</p> + +<p>How eagerly those with Nehemiah would point out each object to him! We +can picture Hanani walking by his side, showing him all the different +objects, to himself so familiar, to Nehemiah so well known by name, but +so strange by sight.</p> + +<p>Coming down the Valley of Hinnom they reach the Dung Gate, the gate +outside which lay piles of rubbish and offal, swept out of the city, and +all collected together by this gate and left to rot in the valley.</p> + +<p>Here he examines in the moonlight the masses of fallen stonework, the +small portions of wall still standing, and the gap where the gate used +to stand before it was burnt.</p> + +<p>Then on he went until he came to the Gate of the Fountain, opposite the +King's Pool, or Pool of Siloam, which watered the king's garden. But at +this south-east corner the rubbish was so great that the mule he was +riding on could not proceed. Pile upon pile of stone, heap upon heap of +broken fragments of what had once been so magnificent, lay so thickly +massed together that it was of no use attempting to ride further. So +Nehemiah dismounted, and probably leaving his mule with some of his +companions by the Gate of the Fountain, he went on foot a little +further. Going up the Kedron valley he examined the eastern wall, which +was in much better condition than the rest; and then, turning to the +west, he came back to the rest of the party and returned with them to +the Valley Gate.</p> + +<p>Now Nehemiah has seen the work before him, and has realised that it is +both vast and difficult. He is ready now to put his scheme before the +people of Jerusalem. He finds the city governed by no single man, but by +a kind of town council. He now summons a meeting of these rulers, and he +also invites the nobles and the working men to be present. Then he makes +his appeal:</p> + +<p>'Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the +gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall +of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach.'</p> + +<p>Then, to cheer them on to make the effort, he tells them how God has +helped him up to that point; he tells them what the good hand has done +for him already in opening the king's heart and the king's purse.</p> + +<p>What response does he meet with? As one man that large assembly rises +and joins in the cry, 'Let us rise up and build.' Happy Nehemiah to find +such ready help, to find those he speaks to willing at once to fall in +with his scheme, and to aid him in his work.</p> + +<p>It is to be feared that had he lived in our more cautious and +calculating days, Nehemiah would have had many a bucket of cold water +thrown on him and his plan. One would have risen and would have said, +'The work is too hard, the heaps of rubbish are too great, it is +impossible to undertake such a task. Look at the south-east corner, who +will ever be able to clear away the heaps that have accumulated there?'</p> + +<p>Another would have been sure to grumble at the expense, would have asked +how they, poor down-trodden Jews as they were, could ever afford to give +time or money to such a vast undertaking?</p> + +<p>A third would have risen with a long face, and would have asked, 'What +will Sanballat say if we rebuild the wall? What will Tobiah do? What +will Geshem whisper? Now indeed we have no open rupture with the +governors, but who can tell what the result of our taking action in this +matter will be? Surely it is better to let well alone.'</p> + +<p>A fourth would have given as his opinion, that what had served for 150 +years would surely last their time. True, Jerusalem was forlorn and +defenceless, but they had grown accustomed to it now. It struck +Nehemiah, of course, coming as he did fresh from the glories of Shushan, +but they had become used to it, and he would soon do the same. There was +no need surely to make a disturbance about it or to run into any risk +about it.</p> + +<p>A fifth would have suggested, with some warmth, that surely old +inhabitants of the city were better judges of its requirements than a +stranger, and that it was for the town council to propose such a scheme +if they saw the necessity for it, and not for a new-comer who had been +less than a week in Jerusalem.</p> + +<p>These, and countless other objections, might have been raised, had the +meeting been called in our lukewarm days.</p> + +<p>But the Jerusalem committee did not act thus, they did not fill +Nehemiah's way with difficulties and his soul with discouragement. A +plain bit of work lay before him and before them; he was ready to lead, +and they were ready to follow. 'Let us rise and build,' they cry. And +'they strengthened their hands for this good work.'</p> + +<p>Let us take heed that we, as servants of Christ, follow their example. +Let us never be seen with the bucket of cold water, ready to throw on +the efforts of others for good. As 'iron sharpeneth iron, so a man +sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.' Let us ever be ready with the +word of encouragement, with the helpful hand, with the cheering spirit +of hope. There is work for us amongst the ruins of God's fair world, and +the labourers are few.</p> + +<p>Let us then rise and build, each of us in earnest, each of us +encouraging his brother, each of us looking beyond the discouragements +of earth to the Master's 'Well done good and faithful servant.'</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;"> +<a name="CHAPTER_IV"></a><h2>CHAPTER IV.</h2> + +<h2>To Every Man his Work.</h2> + +<p>Once a year, in the University of Cambridge, there is a grand day called +Commemoration Day. On that day, in the middle of the service, in each +college chapel a list of honours is read out, a list containing the +names of all those who, in times gone by, gave money or help to that +college. The bodies of those whose names are read have many of them +crumbled to dust long centuries ago, but their names are remembered +still, remembered for what they have done; and that they may never be +forgotten, they are publicly read aloud, year by year, on the great +Commemoration Day.</p> + +<p>Let us now take up God's honour list, and see who are entered upon it. +We shall find it filled with the names of those who have been dead more +than 2000 years, but whose names are not forgotten; they stand out fair +and clear in the Book of God, all are entered on the great list of +honours, and are remembered for what they have done.</p> + +<p>Where shall we find God's great honour list? It is the list of all those +who responded to Nehemiah's appeal, and who rebuilt the walls of +Jerusalem. In Neh. iii. we have a list of their names, not one is +omitted. There those names have stood for 2000 years; there they will +stand to the end of time. Brave men, noble men were those Jews, who, as +soon as the scheme was laid before them, cried, 'Let us arise and +build;' and who not only responded by word of mouth, but who at once set +to work to do what they had promised.</p> + +<p>Let us take a walk round the walls of Jerusalem and watch the builders +at work. We will begin where they began, ver. 1, at the Sheep Gate on +the east side of the city. As we stand by the gate we see beneath us the +Kedron valley, and beyond it the slopes of the Mount of Olives. Close by +us, but inside the city, is the sheep-market, where the sheep and lambs +are sold to those who wish to sacrifice in the temple, and near this +market is the pool where the sheep are washed before being led up into +the temple courts. This is the pool mentioned in John v. 2, where in +later times lay the impotent man waiting to be healed.</p> + +<p>Who are these who are busily engaged repairing the Sheep Gate and the +wall beyond it; they are the priests, who have left their work in the +temple courts close by, and who, with their loins girded and their long +white tunics turned up, are leading, as it was right they should, the +van of Nehemiah's effort.</p> + +<p>Heading these priests, and superintending their work, is Eliashib the +high priest. The meaning of his name is <i>God restores</i>, a grand name +for the man who began the restoration of the Holy City. This Eliashib was +the grandson of the high priest Jeshua, who had returned with +Zerubbabel. He is honourably mentioned by Nehemiah as leading the way in +this work; but, sad to say, though he earnestly built the wall round +the city, Eliashib was afterward the one who let sin come within those +very walls.</p> + +<p>The priests are building from the Sheep Gate as far as the two towers, +Meah and Hananeel, which stood at the north-east corner of the city.</p> + +<p>We pass on, and next we see a number of men building; we notice at once, +by their dress, that they are not priests, so we ask them where they +come from. We find they are men of Jericho, the city of palm trees, +fourteen miles away in the Jordan valley. They are the descendants of +the 345 men of Jericho who returned with the first detachment of Jews in +the time of Cyrus. This piece of the wall has been allotted to them +because it faces their own city Jericho; they are building at the very +spot from which the road started that led from Jerusalem to Jericho.</p> + +<p>Passing the Jericho men we come to a bit of the wall where one solitary +man is working. His name is Zaccur. He can only have a small piece of +the wall allotted to him, for we are close now upon the Fish Gate, where +other builders are at work, the sons of Hassenaah. Possibly this Zaccur +was a man of no importance, for we never hear of him again; probably his +share of the work was only a small one, yet it was well and faithfully +done, and his name stands fast in God's honour list, and will stand +there while the world shall last.</p> + +<p>We have come now to the Fish Gate, on the north side of the city. Close +by us is the fish-market, for through that gate comes all the fish sold +in Jerusalem. Men of Tyre are there with baskets of fish from the +Mediterranean, and Galilean fishermen with fish from the great inland +sea, on which in later times the apostles toiled for their daily bread.</p> + +<p>Three men, who were probably well-known citizens, are repairing the +three next pieces of the wall, their names are Meremoth, Meshullam, and +Zadok. We will notice one of these three men, Meshullam, for we shall +hear more of him presently. If Meshullam's name is honourably mentioned +here as one of the builders of Jerusalem, we shall find it very +differently mentioned as we go on with Nehemiah's story.</p> + +<p>Passing these three men, we come to a part of the wall which is being +built by the inhabitants of Tekoa, a small village not far from +Jerusalem, whence came the wise woman whom Joab sent to King David. What +is the matter at this part of the wall? The work does not get on as it +should. They seem to have no leaders, these people of Tekoa, and to have +a long stretch of wall, and but few hands to build it. We ask how this +is, and we find that some in Tekoa have shirked the work (ver. 5):</p> + +<p>'Their nobles put not their necks to the work of their Lord.'</p> + +<p>They have been like oxen, too idle to draw the plough, which have pulled +their necks from under the yoke, and have stubbornly refused to go +forward. So have these nobles of Tekoa stood aloof, too proud to work +side by side with the common people of the village, or too idle to join +in anything which requires continuous effort; they have left their +poorer neighbours to bear the burden alone, and to do it or not as they +please.</p> + +<p>We are now passing the Old Gate, on the north of the city, the Damascus +Gate of modern days, from which goes the great northern road to Samaria +and Galilee.</p> + +<p>The men of Gibeon and Mizpah, whose villages lay near together, we find +next on the wall, working side by side as neighbours should, and +building the part of the wall which faced their own homes, two villages +standing on the hills about five miles from the northern gate.</p> + +<p>Coming round the city we find ourselves passing the Gate of Ephraim and +the Broad Wall. Here we see no workmen, for that part of the wall does +not need repairing. Uzziah, King of Judah, had built a strong piece of +wall here, about 200 yards long, and the Chaldeans had not been able to +destroy it with the rest of the city. This wall was twice the thickness +of the rest, and was always called the Broad Wall.</p> + +<p>Near this wall we find men of two different trades working, goldsmiths +and apothecaries. Trades in the East are almost always hereditary, +passing down from father to son for many generations. Thus these +goldsmiths and apothecaries were joined together in family guilds or +unions, and came forward together to the work. The apothecaries were the +spice makers, important persons in the East, where spices are so largely +used in cooking, and where so many sweet-smelling and aromatic spices +are employed in embalming the dead.</p> + +<p>Then, passing on, we see the tower which protected the furnaces or brick +kilns, in which the bricks were made which had been used in rebuilding +the houses of the city. So unsettled was the country, that it is +supposed it was found necessary to erect a tower for the defence of +these brick-makers, who were often at work by night as well as by day. +Close to the furnace tower we see a strange sight, and one which is well +worthy of our notice. This part of the wall deserves our earnest +attention, for here are actually young ladies engaged in the work, +standing, trowel in hand, toiling away side by side with the other +workmen. Who are these girls? They are the daughters of Shallum, the +ruler of the half part of Jerusalem (ver. 12) (or rather of the country +round Jerusalem). Shallum was evidently a wealthy and influential man, +but he did not withdraw from the work, like the nobles of Tekoa, and so +anxious are his daughters that the Lord's work should be done, that here +we find them toiling away by their father's side. God noticed the effort +made by these young ladies of Jerusalem, and did not forget to notice +them in His great honour list.</p> + +<p>Passing on, we come to the part of the wall which Nehemiah had examined +in his moonlight ride. We see the Valley Gate, the Dung Gate, and the +Gate of the Fountain, opposite the Pool of Siloam. This part of the city +has suffered much from Nebuchadnezzar's work of destruction, and the +work of rebuilding it is therefore very heavy. But close to the +south-east corner, at the place where Nehemiah's mule stumbled and was +unable to proceed, the builders have a stiff piece of work indeed. The +piles of rubbish are so many and so deep, there is so much to be cleared +away before they can commence building, that we find accordingly the +piece given to each man to repair is not great, and that many hands are +making the labour light.</p> + +<p>We notice, too, that most of those who are working in this part of the +city are repairing that bit of the wall which is immediately opposite +their own houses. No less than six times we are told that the builder's +own house was close to the part of the wall he built.</p> + +<p>One man we cannot help watching as we turn round towards the eastern +wall. His name is Baruch, and there is something about him which +attracts our attention at once. He works as if he were working for his +life, he does not lose a moment; whoever is absent, Baruch is always at +his post; whoever is idle, Baruch is ever hard at work, early in the +morning and late at night, when the hot sun is scorching the city and +when the night dews are falling, Baruch is always busy, toiling away on +the wall with all his might and main. Ver. 20 tells us he 'earnestly +repaired.' The word means to be hot, to be on fire with zeal and energy. +He 'earnestly repaired the <i>other</i> piece,' or as it would be better +translated '<i>another</i> piece.' Having finished his own portion, in +another part of the wall, Baruch has come to the rescue at the +south-east corner, where the rubbish is deepest and the work is hardest. +Baruch therefore receives the mark of distinction on God's list of +honour. Round the corner, on the eastern wall, one builder we cannot +pass without notice, for he is an old white-headed man. His name is +Shemaiah the son of Shechaniah. We find this man mentioned in 1 Chron. +iii. 22 as a descendant of King David. His son Hattush had returned with +Ezra, twelve years before; now here is the old man himself, determined +not to let his white hairs prevent him from helping on the good work +(ver 29). He builds by the gate which was his charge, the Golden Gate, +at the east of the temple court and facing the Mount of Olives.</p> + +<p>The last piece of the wall is being done by the goldsmiths and the +merchants; and now, as we pass them, we find ourselves again at the +Sheep Gate, at the very spot from which we started in our walk round the +city.</p> + +<p>Listen to the ring of the trowels, hearken to the shouts of the workmen, +as they call to one another and cheer each other on in the work. From +morning till night, day after day, the trowels are kept busy, and the +work goes on, and already, as we watch, we begin to see the gaps filled +up and the ruin of many years repaired.</p> + +<p>It was the work of the Lord, a grand work, a glorious work, which those +builders of Nehemiah were doing, and God noticed and marked, and put on +His list of honour every one who joined in it.</p> + +<p>Times have changed, manners have altered, kingdoms have passed away, +since the eastern sun streamed upon Nehemiah's workmen, but there is +still work to be done for the Lord. The Master's workshop is still open, +and the Master's eye is still fixed on the workers, and He still enters +the name of each in a register, His great list of honour, kept not in +earth, but in heaven.</p> + +<p>Is my name then on God's honour list? Am I working for Him? Am I to be +found at my post, faithfully carrying out the work He has given me to +do?</p> + +<p>Looking at the walls of Jerusalem, surely the Lord would have us learn +three great lessons.</p> + +<div class="blkquot"><p>(1) <i>Who</i> should work. + +<p> (2) <i>Where</i> they should work.</p> + +<p> (3) <i>How</i> they should work.</p></div> + +<p><i>Who should work</i>? What say the walls of Jerusalem? Everyone without +exception. Do we not see people of all classes at work—rich men and +poor men, people of all occupations, priests, goldsmiths and +apothecaries, and merchants? men of all ages, the young and strong, and +the old and white-headed? those from all parts of the country—men of +Jericho, and Gibeon, and Mizpah, side by side with inhabitants of +Jerusalem? people of both sexes, men and women? The goldsmith did not +say, 'I don't understand building, therefore I cannot help.' The +apothecary did not object that it was not his trade, so he must leave it +to the bricklayers and masons. Old Shemaiah did not say, 'Surely an old +white-headed man like myself cannot be expected to do anything.' The men +of Jericho did not complain that they were fourteen miles from their +home, and that therefore it would be inconvenient for them to help. The +daughters of Shallum did not say, 'We are women, and therefore there is +nothing for us to do.'</p> + +<p>But all came forward, heartily, willingly, cheerfully, to do the work of +their Lord.</p> + +<p>There is only one exception, only one blot on the page, only one dark +spot on the register. The nobles of Tekoa, for 2000 years their names +have stood, enrolled as the shirkers in God's grand work.</p> + +<p>Who then are to work for God? Every one of us, whoever we are, whatever +is our occupation, whatever our place of residence, whatever our age, +whatever our sex, the motto in God's great workshop remains the +same—'<i>To every one his work</i>,' his own particular work, to be done +by him, and by no one else.</p> + +<p><i>Where then shall we work</i>? Imitate Nehemiah's builders; those living +in the city built each the piece of wall before his own door, those living +outside built the part of the wall facing their own village, whilst the +priests built the piece nearest to the temple. Let us then, as God's +workers, begin at home, working from a centre outwards; our own heart +first, surely there is plenty of work to do there; then our own family, +our own household, our own street, our own congregation, our own city, +our own country, letting the circle ever widen and widen, till it +reacheth to the furthest corner of God's great workshop, to the +uttermost parts of the earth.</p> + +<p><i>How then shall we work</i>? Like Baruch, the son of Zabbai, hot with +zeal, on fire with earnestness and energy. Baruch did not saunter round +the walls to watch how the other builders were getting on; he stuck to his +post. Baruch did not work well one day and lie in bed the next, he +persevered steadily and patiently. Baruch did not work as if he were +trying to make the job last as long as possible, idly pretending to +work, but dreaming all the time, but he worked on bravely, earnestly, +unceasingly, till the work was done. So let us work while it is called +to-day, for the night cometh when no man can work.</p> + +<p>It was no easy work those Jerusalem builders had. Outdoor work in the +East is always hard and heavy; it is no light matter to stand for hours +in the scorching sun without a particle of shade, toiling on at heavy +and unaccustomed work. But the builders bravely endured, and were +stedfast in the work, and they have their reward. Their names stand on +God's honour list, not even the most insignificant amongst them is +omitted.</p> + +<p>Workers for God, does the work seem hard? Are the difficulties great? +Are you weary and faint as you keep at your post? Does the hot sun of +temptation often tempt you to throw up the work? Think of Nehemiah's +builders. Hold on, cheer up, work well and bravely, remembering that the +reward is sure. We read of certain people who lived at Philippi whose +names were written in heaven. Who were these? (Phil. iv. 3.) St. Paul +tells us; they were his fellow-labourers, the workers of God in that +city.</p> + +<p>No human hand, no hand of angel or archangel, enters the names on that +register, for it is the Lamb's book of life. None but the Lamb can open +it, none but He can write in it, none but He will read its contents in +the ears of the assembled universe.</p> + +<p>What an honour, what a wonderful joy, what a glorious reward it will be +to each faithful worker, as he hears his own name read from the list! +Surely it will well repay him for all he has undergone in the working +days of earth.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;"> +<a name="CHAPTER_V"></a><h2>CHAPTER V.</h2> + +<h2>The Sword and the Trowel.</h2> + +<p>The sea is calm and quiet, blue as the sky above it, not a wave, not a +ripple is to be seen; it is smooth as polished silver, shining like a +mirror, and peaceful as the still lake amongst the mountains. On the sea +is a boat, floating along as quietly and as gently as on a river. The +man in the boat is having an easy time, as he rows out to sea, almost +without an effort.</p> + +<p>But what is that in the far distance? It is a black cloud, rising from +the sea. In a little time the wind begins to moan and sigh, white lines +are seen on the distant water, a storm is coming, and coming both +swiftly and surely. The man in the boat at once rouses himself and +prepares for action; it was an easy thing to go forward when all was +still, he will find it a very different matter to meet the rising storm.</p> + +<p>So found Nehemiah the governor. Up to this time all had gone smoothly +and easily, the king had granted his request fully and freely, Asaph had +given him the wood from the royal paradise, the committee, composed of +the leading men in Jerusalem, had at once fallen in with his scheme, the +people, great and small, men and women, old and young, had responded to +his appeal, the walls were being rebuilt, the trowels were busy, the +rubbish was being cleared away, and all was bright, cheerful, and +encouraging. As Nehemiah walks round the city directing the builders, +dressed, as a Persian governor, in a flowing robe, a soft cap, and with +a gold chain round his neck, he feels his work both easy and pleasant. +It is always a light task to direct and superintend those who have a +mind to work, and Nehemiah for some time went peacefully on his way, as +the man in his boat rowed easily along in the still, untroubled water.</p> + +<p>But what is that dark cloud rising north of Jerusalem? What is that +moaning, muttering sound in the far distance? Can it be a storm coming, +a terrible storm of opposition and difficulty? Surely it is, for we see +Nehemiah rousing himself, and preparing to row his frail boat through +troubled waters.</p> + +<p>Signs of the approaching storm had indeed been seen by him, before the +first stone had been placed on the city wall. No sooner had he revealed +his plans to the people of Jerusalem, no sooner had they responded, 'We +will arise and build,' than something had occurred which might well make +Nehemiah feel uncomfortable. A messenger had appeared at the northern +gate, bearing in his hand a letter, written on parchment, and addressed +to the Tirshatha, or governor. Nehemiah opened the roll, and found it +contained an insulting message from Sanballat, the governor of Samaria, +a message which was evidently expressed in very scornful and unpleasant +words. The upshot of the letter was this (ii. 19):</p> + +<p>'What is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against the king?'</p> + +<p>Do you, Nehemiah, intend to fortify Jerusalem, and then set up the +standard of rebellion against Persia? Our master, the king, may be +deceived by you, but I, Sanballat, see through your hypocrisy and your +wicked designs.</p> + +<p>Nehemiah's answer was clear and to the point. Three things he would have +Sanballat know:</p> + +<p>(1) We have higher authority than that of man for what we do.</p> + +<p>'The God of heaven, He will prosper us.'</p> + +<p>(2) We intend to go on with our work in spite of anything you may say or +do.</p> + +<p>'We His servants will arise and build.'</p> + +<p>(3) It is no business or concern of yours. You, Sanballat, have nothing +whatever to do with it.</p> + +<p>'Ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.'</p> + +<p>Be content then, Sanballat, to manage your own province of Samaria, and +to leave Jerusalem and the Jews to me and to their God.</p> + +<p>No answer came back to Nehemiah's letter, and perhaps he and his +companions fondly dreamed that this was an end to the matter, that the +storm had blown over, and that Sanballat, when he saw that they were +determined, and that they did not heed his threats or his ridicule, +would in the future let them alone.</p> + +<p>But one day, quite suddenly, the clouds returned, and the storm rose. +The work is progressing splendidly. The priests and the merchants, and +the goldsmiths and the apothecaries, the daughters of Shallum, earnest +Baruch, and white-headed Shemaiah, are all at their post, when suddenly, +as they look up, they see an unexpected sight. A great crowd of +Samaritans is gathered together outside the northern wall, and is +standing still, staring at them, and watching their every movement as +they build the wall.</p> + +<p>Sanballat the governor is there, Tobiah the secretary stands by his +side, his chief counsellors have come with him, as have also the +officers of his army. Dark and thick the storm is gathering, and surely +the builders feel it, for the trowels cease their cheery ringing sound, +and all are listening, waiting and wondering what will come next.</p> + +<p>The silence is broken by a loud scornful voice, loud enough to be heard +down the line of workers, and by Nehemiah as he stands among them. He +knows that voice well; it is the voice of Sanballat the governor. In +scoffing disagreeable words he is speaking to his companions, but he is +talking about the builders, and is talking for their benefit too, that +they may feel the full sting of his sarcastic words.</p> + +<p>'What do these feeble Jews?' A poor weak, miserable down-trodden set of +men; what can <i>they</i> do?</p> + +<p>'Will they fortify themselves?' Do they fondly dream they will ever +finish their work, and fortify their city?</p> + +<p>And how long will it take to build walls like these? Do they think it +will be done directly? 'Will they sacrifice? Will they make an end in a +day?' Do they expect to offer the sacrifice at the commencement of their +work, and then the very same day to finish it?</p> + +<p>Why, they have not even the necessary materials. Where will they get +their stone from? Are they going to do what is impossible, to make +good, solid building-stone out of the heaps of rubbish, the crumbling +burnt masses which are all that remain of the old walls?</p> + +<p>'Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are +burned?'</p> + +<p>Then when Sanballat had done speaking, there follows the loud coarse +sneer of Secretary Tobiah. Why if a fox (or jackal) tries to get over +their miserable wall, even his light foot will break it down.</p> + +<p>'Even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down +their stone wall.'</p> + +<p>We can picture to ourselves the burst of laughter with which this speech +would be hailed by the bystanders, the officers and courtiers of +Sanballat.</p> + +<p>What does Nehemiah answer? How does he reply to this cruel ridicule, +these sharp, cutting, insolent words, that provoking laughter?</p> + +<p>If we study Nehemiah's character, we shall find that he was a man of +quick feelings and of a sensitive nature. He was not one of those men +who are so thick-skinned that hard speeches are not felt by them. He was +moreover a man of great power and spirit. He must have felt much +inclined to give Tobiah the bitter retort he so richly deserved, or to +call upon his men to drive Sanballat and his party from the walls.</p> + +<p>But Nehemiah speaks not. He does not utter a single word to Sanballat or +to his friends. He remembers that this is God's work, not his; and he +therefore complains to God, not man:</p> + +<p>'Hear, O our God; for we are despised: and turn their reproach upon +their own head, and give them for a prey in the land of captivity.'</p> + +<p>Then, quietly and steadily, as if nothing had happened, he takes up his +work again, and the people follow his example; they take no notice of +the jeering company below, but they build on in silence, all the quicker +and the more carefully for the scoffs of their enemies.</p> + +<p>Sanballat and Tobiah soon tire of laughter and mockery, when they see it +is of no avail; they move off discomfited, and the work goes on as +before.</p> + +<p>Satan, the great enemy of souls, is the same to-day as he was in +Nehemiah's time. He never lets a good work alone; he never permits +Christ's servants to row in smooth water, but immediately he sees work +done for the Master, at once he stirs up the storm of opposition.</p> + +<p>The young man who is careless about eternity, who is living simply to +please self, has an easy time; he will not come across even a ripple of +opposition, his sea will be smooth as glass. But let that young man be +aroused, be awakened, be converted to God, let the good work of grace be +begun in his soul, and at once Satan will stir up the storm of +difficulty and opposition. Very often it begins, just as Nehemiah's +storm began, in laughter. It has been said that laughter hurts no one. +That statement might be true if we were all body, but inasmuch as we +have a spirit within us, it is not true that laughter cannot hurt. +Surely it stings, and cuts, and wounds the sensitive soul, just as heavy +blows sting, and cut, and wound the body. Satan knows this, and he makes +full use of the knowledge.</p> + +<p>The man who sets out for heaven will scarcely fail, before he has gone +many steps, to come across a Sanballat. He will have his taunt and jest +all ready. 'What is this I hear of you? Have you turned a saint? I +suppose you are too good for your old companions now; you are going to +set the whole world to rights.' Or, if the words are unspoken, Sanballat +has the shrug of the shoulders, and the scornful gesture, which are just +as hard to bear. Nor must the man who has his face heavenwards be +surprised if he hears Tobiah's sneer. 'Ah, wait a bit,' says Tobiah; +'let us see if it will last. Even a fox will throw down that wall; the +very first thing that comes to vex him, the very first temptation, +however small, will be sufficient to overturn the wall of good +resolutions, and his religious professions will lie low in the dust, and +will be shown to be nothing but rubbish.'</p> + +<p>It is well to be prepared for Sanballat and Tobiah, for any day we may +come across them. How shall we answer them? Let us follow in Nehemiah's +footsteps, let us turn from man to God. He hears the taunt, even as it +is spoken, and He says to each of His tried, tempted children:</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<p>'For My Name's sake, canst thou not bear that taunt,</p> +<p class="i2">That cruel word?</p> +<p>Is not the sorrow small, the burden light,</p> +<p class="i2">Borne for thy Lord?</p> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<p>For My Name's sake, I see it, know it all,</p> +<p class="i2">'Tis hard for thee,</p> +<p>But I have loved thee so, my child, canst thou</p> +<p class="i2">Bear this for Me?'</p> +</div></div> + +<p>Sanballat and Tobiah have moved away from the walls of Jerusalem, and +the work goes on prospering; the gaps are being filled up, and already +the wall is half its intended height (iv. 6), for the people had a mind +to work, and much can be done in a short time when that is the case. +Not a word more has, for some time, been heard of Sanballat, and perhaps +the builders fancied and hoped they had seen the last of their enemies, +when one day, suddenly, dreadful news is brought into the city.</p> + +<p>Sanballat and his friends, having failed to stop the work by laughter +and mockery, are going to take stronger measures, and have agreed to +resort to force. Dark secret plots are being formed to gather an army +together, and to come suddenly upon the defenceless builders and kill +them at their work.</p> + +<p>All the surrounding nations are invited to join Sanballat in his +enterprise. Not only the Samaritans in the north, but the men of Ashdod +from the west, the Arabians from the south, and the Ammonites from the +east, are gathering together against Jerusalem. Psalm lxxxiii. is +supposed by many to have been written at this time, and describes the +great storm as it arose, and threatened to destroy the defenceless city +(Psalm lxxxiii. 1-8).</p> + +<p>Poor Nehemiah! he sees the raging of the waters, and he feels that the +little boat needs a careful hand at the helm. He has a double receipt +against this new opposition—a receipt which may be summed up in the two +words which the Master has given us as our watch-word—Watch and pray.</p> + +<p>'Nevertheless we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against +them day and night.'</p> + +<p>But the billows rose higher. Three mighty waves came sweeping on, and +threatened to swamp Nehemiah's frail vessel.</p> + +<p>(1) The builders grew discouraged and tired. The cry was raised inside +the city, 'We had better give up attempting to work, the rubbish is too +deep, it will never be cleared away, the men who are carrying it away +are worn out, we cannot build the wall, it is of no use to try any +longer.'</p> + +<p>Ver. 10: 'And Judah said, The strength of the bearers of burdens is +decayed, and there is much rubbish; so that we are not able to build the +wall.'</p> + +<p>(2) News was brought in from all sides, that any day, any night, at any +moment, a sudden attack might be expected, for their enemies were +boasting loudly to all they met that they were confident of taking the +builders by surprise.</p> + +<p>Ver. 11: 'And our adversaries said, They shall not know, neither see, +till we come in the midst among them, and slay them, and cause the work +to cease.'</p> + +<p>And not only was there discouragement inside the city and threatened +danger without, but the number of hands was lessened upon the city wall, +for (3) men arrived from different parts of the country, saying that it +was absolutely necessary that their brethren who had come up to work on +the wall should at once return home. They were needed to guard their +families and their homes from the approaching foe. Ten times over +Nehemiah received deputations of this kind (ver. 12); and the spirits of +the builders sank lower and lower.</p> + +<p>But Nehemiah, like a true leader, rises to the occasion, and does not +allow himself to be cast down. He did not make light of the difficulties +he saw around him, but he manfully faced them, and in the hour of trial +his people did not desert him.</p> + +<p>One day, ver. 14, looking towards the north, Nehemiah suddenly saw the +enemy coming. But all was ready; the weapons were laid where they could +be taken up in a moment. No sooner is the alarm given than the work +ceases, and the whole company of builders is changed into an army of +soldiers, and swords, and spears, and bows are to be seen on the walls +instead of trowels and hammers. Nehemiah had carefully arranged the +position which each man was to occupy; he drew up his soldiers after +their families, probably giving to each family the part of the wall +nearest to their own house, that they might feel that they were fighting +for their homes, their wives, and their children. Then when all were put +in readiness Nehemiah called upon them to be brave in the defence of +their city, and not to fear the foe.</p> + +<p>'Be not ye afraid of them: remember the Lord, which is great and +terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, +your wives, and your houses.'</p> + +<p>The enemy approaches; but instead of taking Jerusalem by surprise, as +they had boasted they would, they find they are expected, and will meet +with a warm reception if they advance farther. They are afraid to make +the attempt; God guards the faithful city, and Sanballat and his allied +forces withdraw discomfited. No sooner has the enemy beaten a retreat +than the work begins again.</p> + +<p>'We returned all of us to the wall, every one unto his work.'</p> + +<p>But, from that time, the sword and the trowel must never be parted. Each +builder worked with a sword hanging by his side; each porter held a hod +in one hand, and a weapon in the other. They were always on the alert, +ever ready for action.</p> + +<p>Nehemiah had brought with him from Shushan a large following of +faithful servants or slaves; on these he could thoroughly rely. He +divided them into two parties, half worked at the building, filling up +the gaps left by those who had returned home; the rest stood behind +them, guarding the weapons, the shields, and the spears, and the bows, +and the swords which were laid ready for immediate use. By Nehemiah's +side stood a trumpeter, ready to blow an alarm at the first sight or +sound of the enemy.</p> + +<p>For, says Nehemiah, 'I said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to +the rest of the people, The work is great and large, and we are +separated upon the wall, one far from another. In what place therefore +ye hear the sound of the trumpet, resort ye thither unto us: our God +shall fight for us.'</p> + +<p>So the work and the watching went on all day long, and when the sun set +over the Mediterranean, and the stars came out in the quiet sky, and +darkness made the work impossible, still the watching went on as before. +Those who had laboured at the building all day lay down and slept, +whilst others kept guard on the wall. The workmen who lived outside the +walls were requested by Nehemiah to stay in the city all night, in order +to increase the strength of their force. As for the governor himself and +the little body of faithful servants, they gave themselves hardly any +rest, either by night or by day. They were almost always on duty, not +one of them even undressed all that long time of watching; if they laid +down to sleep, they laid in their clothes, ready at any moment for the +attack of the enemy (chap. iv. 28).</p> + +<p>Thus, day by day, the work grew and the walls rose higher, strong lines +of defence once more encircled the city, and the prayer of the captives +in Babylon, offered so earnestly and amongst many tears, was already +receiving an abundant answer.</p> + +<p>'Do good in Thy good pleasure to Zion, build Thou the walls of +Jerusalem.'</p> + +<p>The scene changes. Nehemiah and his workmen fade away; the walls of +Jerusalem become dim and obscure, and, in their place, we see coming +out, as in a dissolving view, other figures and another landscape. We +see the Master, Christ Jesus, standing in the midst of His countless +labourers and workmen, the great company of His faithful servants. We +notice that each one is working busily at the special work the Master +has given him to do, we see that this work is very varied, no two +labourers have exactly the same task. But in one respect we notice that +all the Master's servants are alike, they all carry a sword, for it is +not possible for any one to be a worker for Christ without also being at +the same time a soldier.</p> + +<p>Nor is it difficult to see the reason of this, for, if we serve Christ, +we are certain to meet with opposition. The mighty hosts of hell will +come against us, to hinder and to oppose us.</p> + +<p>Let us, then, be prepared for their attack. Let us set a watch against +them. Satan and his forces always watch for our weakest point. Let us +find out what that point is. What is the weak part of our defences? Is +it selfishness? Is it pride? Is it prayerlessness? Is it temper? Is it +an unkind spirit? Whatever it is by which we are most easily led astray, +that is our weak spot, and there we ought to set a double watch. David +had his weak spot, and he knew it: unguarded, hasty words were ever +coming out of his mouth, but he found out the weak point in his +defences, and there he set a strong and powerful guard. He called upon +God Himself to keep out the enemy at that weak place:</p> + +<p>'Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth. Keep the door of my lips.'</p> + +<p>Let us not only watch, but let us ever be ready to fight. Never let us +lay down the sword of the Spirit, or the shield of faith. Never for a +moment let us put off our armour, for we never know when the next attack +may come. The unguarded moment is the moment for which Satan always +watches, and which he knows only too well how to use.</p> + +<p>Above all, let us pray, for the watching and the fighting will be of no +avail unless we ask and obtain strength from on high. 'Our God shall +fight for us,' cried Nehemiah to his discouraged men. But they had +prayed day and night for the help which bore them safely through. 'Ye +have not, because ye ask not. Ask, and ye shall receive.'</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<p class="i1">'Christian, seek not here repose,</p> +<p class="i1">Cast thy dreams of ease away,</p> +<p class="i1">Thou art in the midst of foes,</p> +<p class="i6">Therefore, Watch and pray.</p> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<p class="i1">Gird thy heavenly armour on,</p> +<p class="i1">Wear it ever night and day,</p> +<p class="i1">Near thee lurks the evil one,</p> +<p class="i6">Therefore, Watch and pray.</p> +</div></div> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;"> +<a name="CHAPTER_VI"></a><h2>CHAPTER VI.</h2> + +<h2>The World's Bible.</h2> + +<p>A great cry, a piercing cry, raised by hundreds of voices, a cry which +resounds through the streets of the city, and which is echoed by the +surrounding hills. What can be the matter? What can be the cause of this +mournful wail?</p> + +<p>There was a great cry in Egypt on that awful night, when there was not a +house in which there was not one dead. That was the great cry of terror.</p> + +<p>Esau raised a great cry when he found that he had lost his father's +blessing, the great cry of disappointment.</p> + +<p>There arose a great cry in the council chamber of Jerusalem, when the +Apostle Paul stood before his judges,—the cry of conflicting opinion.</p> + +<p>But the great cry which is sounding in our ears now is no cry of terror +or of disappointment, and the men who join in it are all of one mind; +yet the cry is none the less bitter or heartrending. As we listen to it, +we can distinguish the shrill voices of women mingled with the deeper +ones of men, and we notice also, that, although the cry is one of sorrow +and distress, there is a deep undertone of anger and complaining.</p> + +<p>Who are crying, and what is the cause of their distress? Who are +crying? An excited mob of men and women, standing in the streets of +Jerusalem. Look at them well, surely we know some of their faces. Is it +possible, can it be, that we recognize some of those whom we saw working +so happily and cheerfully on the walls? What a change, what a terrible +change in their faces!</p> + +<p>What is the cause of their distress? What can have happened to move them +so deeply? Have the Samaritans returned to attack the city? Are the +walls on which they have spent so much labour overturned and laid low in +the dust? No, all without is peaceful, there is no sound of war in the +streets, and the hills around stand out brightly in the sunshine, and +are untrodden by the foot of any foe. The trouble is at home this time, +and as poor Nehemiah listens to the dismal noise, and as he tries to +still the shrill cries, that his voice may be heard, and as he watches +the people rocking to and fro, as Easterns do when moved by sorrow, he +may well feel downcast and disappointed, for a city divided against +itself cannot stand, and as Nehemiah listens to the cry, he clearly sees +that, at that moment, Jerusalem, the city he loves best on earth, is +indeed a divided city.</p> + +<p>Who then were these citizens of Jerusalem, these men and these women, +who raised the great cry? They were the poorer classes of the city; it +was a cry of the poor against the rich, a cry like that which was raised +all over France at the time of the French Revolution, a cry for bread.</p> + +<p>Nehemiah listens carefully to the cry and complaints of the people, and +as he does so he feels sure they are not raised without cause. There is +undoubtedly great and distressing poverty in the city, and he finds that +this may be traced to three principal causes.</p> + +<p>(1) The King of Persia had only allowed the returned captives a very +small tract of country to live in. The rest of the land was filled up by +the Samaritans, the Arabians, the Edomites and other nations who had +settled in Palestine whilst the rightful owners were in Babylon. +Consequently, as their families increased, the Jews found this narrow +strip of country was not sufficient to maintain them, and, as is always +the case, over-population and over-crowding was followed by great +poverty.</p> + +<p>(2) Then there had evidently been a severe famine, which had made +matters worse, for there had been numbers of mouths to feed and barely +anything to feed them on. No country is more subject to famine than +Palestine, for the harvest there is entirely dependent on the rainfall. +There are but few springs, there is no river but the Jordan, and that +runs in a deep ravine; the whole fertility of the country hangs on the +amount of rain that falls in autumn and winter. No rain means no corn, +no corn means starvation, and the people know it well. Nowhere on earth +are there such fervent prayers for rain, prayers which are offered by +Turk, Jew, and Christian alike, as there are in Palestine to this very +day, if the rainy season is passing away and a sufficient quantity of +rain has not fallen.</p> + +<p>(3) Then Nehemiah found there was a third cause of distress. Every year, +in addition to earning money to keep his wife and children alive, the +poor man had to be ready for a visitor, and this visitor never received +a very hearty welcome. Once a year there arrived at his door an official +sent by the King of Persia. He was the tax-collector, sent to collect +the tribute which had to be paid yearly to their master, the great +sovereign at Shushan. Whatever else went unpaid, that tribute must be +paid; whatever other debts they incurred, that sum must be paid in full, +and paid at once.</p> + +<p>Over-population, famine, tribute, it was no wonder that the people were +so poor.</p> + +<p>But the great cry in the streets of Jerusalem was not merely a cry of +suffering and distress; it was an angry complaining cry; it was the cry +of those who felt that others were to blame for their sorrows.</p> + +<p>As Nehemiah walks amongst the weeping crowds, and as he talks to the +people one by one, he finds that there are no less than three sets of +complainants.</p> + +<p>(1) There are the utterly poor people, those who have no private means +whatever, but who are entirely dependent on the work of their hands and +on the wages they get for that work. These come to Nehemiah and pour out +their sorrowful tale. 'We,' they say, 'have large families, for</p> + +<p>'We, our sons, and our daughters, are many.'</p> + +<p>But 'Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them,' so runs the +Psalm, and are not children a heritage and gift that cometh of the Lord? +Yet when the quiver is <i>more</i> than full (for a quiver only held four +arrows), and when bread is scarce and work bad, it needs faith to trust +the children which the Lord has given to His care, and to feel sure that +He who sent them will send the bread to feed them.</p> + +<p>'Now,' say these overburdened parents to Nehemiah, 'we cannot let our +children starve. We have been building this wall and earning nothing, +but we have had to eat all these weeks; we have been obliged to take up +corn for our families lest they should die, and the consequence is we +have run very heavily into debt' (ver. 2). That was the first class of +complainants.</p> + +<p>(2) But amongst the weepers Nehemiah found a second class, those who had +once been somewhat better off, and had, in happier days, owned a little +property, and had some means of their own, but who, at the time of the +late famine, had got into difficulties. 'I,' said one, 'had a little +farm in a village near Jerusalem.' 'I,' said another, 'was the owner of +a nice little vineyard or oliveyard on the hill side,' 'I,' said a +third, 'built a house in the city on my return from captivity, and hoped +to leave it to my children.' 'But so terrible was our distress in the +famine,' say these men, 'that we were obliged to borrow money of our +neighbours the rich Jews in Jerusalem. They were willing to lend the +money, but they required security for it, and we were compelled to +pledge or mortgage our little property to these men, and now times are +still bad, and we see no hope whatever that we shall be able to buy our +little possessions back again' (ver. 3).</p> + +<p>(3) But the shrillest cries of all came from the third class of +complainants. These were men who, up to a certain point, resembled the +second class. They had once possessed a little property, but in the time +of famine they had parted with their lands, their houses, and their +vineyards like the rest. But the story of the third class did not end +here, these had since then got into still worse difficulties. The +tax-collector had come round to collect the tribute for Artaxerxes, and +he had demanded immediate payment. They had, however, nothing to give +him. What could they do? They were obliged once more to borrow money of +their rich neighbours, who lent it to them at the rate of 12 per cent, +(one eighth part of the money to be paid monthly). And what pledge, what +security did these nobles require for their money? The poor people had +already lost their houses and their vineyards, there was nothing left to +them but their children, and actually the son or the daughter was +pledged or mortgaged to the rich money-lender. If the heavy interest is +not paid, at any moment the child may be seized, and carried off to the +noble's house to be brought up as a slave. 'Nay,' cry some of the +mothers in the crowd, 'our case is worst of all; some of our daughters +have been taken as slaves already, and we have no power to redeem them. +Yet we love our children just as much as these rich people love theirs, +they are just as dear to us as theirs are to them' (ver. 5).</p> + +<p>'And then,' says Nehemiah,'when I had heard their cry and listened to +their tale, I was very angry.' But surely it was wrong of Nehemiah to be +angry. Is not anger a bad thing? Is it not one of the works of the +devil, which we are bidden to lay aside?</p> + +<p>Yet what says St. Paul? 'Be ye angry, and sin not.' So it is possible to +be angry, and yet to be sinless. And we read, Mark iii. 5, that, in the +synagogue at Capernaum, the Lord Jesus looked round on the hard-hearted +Pharisees with anger; and in Him was no sin.</p> + +<p>Nehemiah was very angry, yet Nehemiah sinned not in being so, for it +was anger at sin, anger at the wrongdoing which was bringing disgrace on +his nation, anger at the conduct which was offending God and doing harm +to God's cause. It was righteous anger against the cruelty and +selfishness of those who, in those hard times, had profited from the +poverty and distress of their poor fellow countrymen.</p> + +<p>For some time Nehemiah did nothing, but he carefully turned the matter +over in his mind. He says, 'I consulted with myself,' or as it is in the +margin, 'My heart consulted in me.' We can picture him pacing up and +down, saying again and again, What shall I do? What is the wisest course +to take? How can this great evil be stopped? Doubtless, too, he took +this trouble, as he had taken all his other anxieties and cares, and +laid it before the God of heaven.</p> + +<p>Then he sends for the nobles and all those who had oppressed the people, +and he gives them very plainly his mind on the matter:</p> + +<p>'I rebuked the nobles, and the rulers, and said unto them, Ye exact +usury, every one of his brother.'</p> + +<p>And thereby they had broken the law, for no Jew was allowed to take +interest, or increase, of another Jew, much less to exact usury: see +Exod. xxii. 25; Ezek. xviii. 8, 17.</p> + +<p>The Hebrew was to look upon every other Hebrew as his brother, and to +treat him as such. There was to be brotherly love in time of misfortune, +such love as would prevent the receiving of increase from the one who +was in trouble. With regard to the mortgaging of land, it does not seem +that these rich men had actually broken the law, such pledges were +allowed, provided that the property mortgaged was returned in the year +of jubilee. But, whilst they had not broken the letter of the law, these +Jews had certainly acted in a hard, self-seeking way, showing no +sympathy whatever for the sorrows of those around them.</p> + +<p>How different was this from the generous conduct of Nehemiah himself! +All the time of his government he drew no taxes or contributions from +the people over whom he ruled, as other governors did, and as his +predecessors in Jerusalem had done. Eastern governors in those days, +like Turkish governors now, were accustomed to farm their provinces. +That is to say, the king allowed them no salary, but he put the taxation +of the people in their hands. A certain fixed sum was to be sent to him +every year from the province; and whatever the governor could grind or +squeeze out of the people, over and above this stated amount, went into +his own pocket and formed his salary. Jerusalem now-a-days rings with +many a cry of distress caused by the unjust means used by the pacha to +increase his stipend by putting fresh burdens on the people. The former +Jewish governors had made as much as forty shekels a day, or £1,800 a +year out of the people in their province. But when Nehemiah came to +Jerusalem, he found the people so poverty-stricken and oppressed that he +would not take a single penny for himself. It is probable that his +salary as cup-bearer had been continued, and on this he lived and kept +his household going all the time of his government. Not only so; not +only did Nehemiah pay all his private expenses, but he kept open house +for the people of Jerusalem; every day 150 of the rulers and chief men +dined with him, besides all the visitors to Jerusalem, Jews from other +countries, strangers from foreign nations who were staying but a short +time in the city, all of whom were invited to the governor's house, and +sat down at the governor's table.</p> + +<p>Nehemiah himself gives us his daily bill of fare, ver. 18.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<p>1 ox.</p> +<p>6 fat sheep.</p> +<p>Fowls without number.</p> +<p>A fresh supply of wine of all kinds stored in every tenth day.</p> +</div></div> + +<p>It was no small expense to have above 150 men to dinner daily, yet for +all this Nehemiah took not a penny from his province, so touched was he +to the heart by the poverty of the people. Not only so, but all the time +the walls were being built he toiled away, and allowed all his household +servants to work both night and day, and yet looked for no payment or +compensation, ver. 16. Then besides all this, Nehemiah had been most +generous in the time of the famine; he had supplied the poor people with +money and with corn, and yet he had firmly refused to allow them to +pledge or mortgage their lands, much less their children, ver. 10.</p> + +<p>And Nehemiah tells us the secret of his consistent conduct; he tells us +why he differed so much from the governors who went before him. A strong +power held him back from sin.</p> + +<p>'So did not I, because of the fear of God.'</p> + +<p>Thus Nehemiah had a right to speak, for he practised what he preached. +But in spite of this, his private appeal to the nobles appears to have +been in vain. They seem to have given no answer, to have taken no +notice of his appeal, and to have given him no reason to think that +they intended to change their conduct.</p> + +<p>So he set a great assembly against them. He called a monster meeting of +all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, rich and poor, for he felt that if +their conduct was publicly exposed and condemned, they might possibly be +ashamed to continue it.</p> + +<p>Nehemiah's speech at the meeting was very much to the point. He first +tried to shame the nobles by reminding them that whilst he, ever since +his return, had been spending his money in buying back those Jews who +had been sold into slavery to the heathen round, they on the other hand +had actually been doing the very opposite, bringing their fellow +citizens into slavery to themselves. Was this right, or fair, or just? +The argument told, no one could answer it, there was dead silence, ver. +8.</p> + +<p>Now, says Nehemiah, consider: 'Ought ye not to walk in the fear of our +God?' Ought ye not to be careful in your conduct, kind, and just, and +generous in your dealing? And why?</p> + +<p>'Because of the reproach of the heathen our enemies.'</p> + +<p>Because you Jews are God's people, and all these heathen round will +judge your God by what you are. You make a profession of religion, you +claim to have high motives; but if they see you grasping, greedy, hard, +like themselves, what will they think of your religion? Surely they will +say, 'These Jews are no better than ourselves, their religion cannot be +worth much.'</p> + +<p>Now, says Nehemiah, remembering all this, bearing in mind the disgrace +you are bringing upon the name of Jew, I call upon you at once to give +up this practice of mortgaging and pledge-taking. Not only so, but I +bid you restore at once the vineyards and the oliveyards, the fields and +the houses, you have taken from these poor people. I bid you also return +the interest they have paid you (the eighth part of the money), and I +call upon you, in every way you can, to undo the evil you have done +already, and for the future to do unto others as you would they should +do to you, vers. 10, 11.</p> + +<p>Nehemiah's earnest words prevailed,</p> + +<p>'Then said they, We will restore them.'</p> + +<p>This promise was followed by a very curious act on the part of Nehemiah.</p> + +<p>'I shook my lap.'</p> + +<p>The lap is what the Latins called the <i>sinus</i>, a fold in the bosom of +the tunic, which was used as a pocket. Eastern-like, Nehemiah used a +sign to show what will happen to any man who shall break the promise he +had just made. God will cast him forth as a homeless wanderer, emptied +of all his possessions, all his ill-gotten wealth. He shall be void or +empty, just as Nehemiah's pocket was void or empty, ver. 13.</p> + +<p>'And all the congregation said, Amen.'</p> + +<p>Then, instead of the great cry of distress, was heard the great shout of +joy, for</p> + +<p>They 'praised the Lord.'</p> + +<p>And the promise was not one of those promises made to be broken, for</p> + +<p>'The people did according to this promise.'</p> + +<p>It has been well said that Christians are the only Bible that men of the +world read. In other words, those who will not read the Bible +themselves, judge the religion of Christ simply by the Christians they +happen to come across. This is not a fair way of judging; it surely +cannot be right to condemn Christianity itself, because some of those +who profess it are not what they ought to be.</p> + +<p>Let us picture to ourselves an island in the Pacific Ocean, where no +European has ever been seen. A large ship is wrecked not far from this +island, and three men are able to make their escape in a boat, and to +land upon its shore. The men belong to three different nations—one is a +Frenchman, another is a German, and the third is an Englishman. The +people of the island receive them most kindly, warm them, and feed them, +and shelter them, and do all they can for them till a ship shall come to +take them away.</p> + +<p>What return do the three men make for their kindness? The Frenchman is +grateful, and willing to make himself useful in any way he can: he +amuses the children and helps in the work of the house, and does all he +can to make return for the hospitality he is receiving. The German is +very clever with his fingers, and spends his time in teaching the +natives to make many things which they had not been able to do before; +he becomes indeed so helpful to them that they dread the day coming when +he will have to leave them. But the Englishman is a man of low tastes +and bad morals. He spends his time in drinking the spirit he finds on +the island, in quarrelling with the inhabitants, and in ill-treating +their children; there is not a soul on the island who does not rejoice +when the ship bears him away, never to return.</p> + +<p>Soon after this, news is brought that a small colony from Europe is +anxious to settle on that island, and to trade with the inhabitants. +The commercial advantages of this step are laid before the natives, and +leave is asked for the party of traders to land. One question, and one +question only, is asked by the inhabitants. Of what nation are these +colonists? The answer is brought back, They are English. At once the +whole island is up in arms. They shall not land, they cry, we will not +hear of it; we know what English people are, we have had plenty of the +English. Had they been French or Germans we would have given them a +hearty welcome, but we never wish to see an Englishman again.</p> + +<p>But surely that was not fair, it was not right to judge a whole nation +by one bad specimen. Nor is it right to judge the followers of Christ in +that way. I know a man, says one, who is hard and grasping and +self-seeking, and that man makes a religious profession, therefore I +will have nothing to do with religion. I know a Christian who is +bad-tempered; I know a Christian who is not particular about truth; I +know a Christian out of whose mouth come bitter, unkind words; I know a +Christian who is unpleasant in his manner; I know a Christian with whom +I should be sorry to do business; I know a Christian who is always +mournful and miserable. These are your Christians, are they? Then do not +ask me to be one; I have no opinion of any of them.</p> + +<p>Yet, after all, the man who speaks thus draws an unfair conclusion. +Because I find in my bag of gold one bad half-sovereign, or even two or +three bad ones, am I therefore to throw all the rest away? And because +one Christian, or several Christians, disgrace their Master, and act +inconsistently, am I therefore to condemn Christianity itself? Am I +therefore to cut off my own soul from all hope of safety?</p> +<a name="1"></a> +<p>But, remembering this, bearing in mind that many eyes are on us, that +our conduct is being read, our ways watched, our actions weighed, our +motives sifted, Christian friends, let us walk carefully. Do not let us +bring disgrace on our Master, do not let us hinder others and be a +stumbling-block[<a href="#footnote1">1</a>] in their way; do not let us give the world a wrong idea +of Christ.</p> + +<p>We are not half awake, we are not half careful enough; let us walk +circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise. Let us, whenever we have been +tempted to any inconsistency, be able to take up Nehemiah's brave noble +words,</p> + +<p>'So did not I, because of the fear of God.'</p> + +<p>I could not get into a temper, I could not be hard or grasping, I could +not do that piece of sharp practice, I could not stoop to that deceit, I +could not disgrace my Master, because in my heart was a principle +holding me back from sin, the fear of the Lord. I feared to grieve the +One who loved me, and that fear kept me safe. 'So did not I, because of +the fear of God.'</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;"> +<a name="CHAPTER_VII"></a><h2>CHAPTER VII.</h2> + +<h2>True to his Post.</h2> + +<p>Lot's wife was changed into a pillar of salt; and if that pillar still +remained, we should see her to-day standing in exactly the same attitude +in which she was standing when death suddenly came upon her.</p> + +<p>About a hundred years ago, a baker in the south of Italy sunk a well in +his garden; and whilst doing so he suddenly came upon a buried city, a +city which had been lost to the world for 1800 years. The underground +city was no empty place; it was peopled with the dead, and these were +found in the very attitude and position in which death had overtaken +them, standing, sitting, lying, just as they had been on that awful day +when Mount Vesuvius sent out terrible showers of ashes, destroying them +all.</p> + +<p>Very various were the positions of the dead in that buried city. Many +were in the streets, in the attitude of running, trying to make their +escape from the city gate; others were in deep vaults whither they had +gone for safety, crouching, in their fear of what might fall upon them; +others were on staircases and flights of stone steps leading to the +roof, in the attitude of climbing to a place where they hoped the lava +might not bury them. Two men were found by the garden gate of a large +and beautiful mansion. One was standing with the key in his hand, a +handsome ring on his finger, and a hundred gold and silver coins +scattered round him. The other, who was probably his slave, was +stretched on the ground, with his hands clutching some silver cups and +vases. These men had evidently been suffocated whilst trying to carry +off the money and treasure.</p> + +<p>But one man in that buried city deserves to be remembered to the end of +time. Who was he? One Roman soldier, the brave sentinel at the gate. +There he had been posted in the morning, and there he had been bidden to +remain.</p> + +<p>And how was he found? Standing at his post, with his hand still grasping +his sword, faithful unto death. There, by the city gate; whilst the +earth shook and rocked, whilst the sky was black with ashes, whilst +showers of stones were falling around him, and whilst hundreds of men, +women and children brushed past him as they fled in terror from the +city, there he stood, firm and unmoved. Should such a man as I flee? +thought the sentinel. And in that same spot, in that post of duty, he +was found 1800 years after, faithful to his trust, faithful unto death.</p> + +<p>Oh, that the Lord's soldiers were more like that brave man in Pompeii! +It is so easy to begin a thing, so hard to stick to it; so easy to start +on the Christian course, so difficult to persevere; so easy to enlist in +the army, so very hard to stand unmoved in the time of danger or trial. +Yet what says the Master? He that endureth to the end (and he alone) +shall be saved. What says the Captain? chat it is the soldier who is +faithful unto death (and no one else) who shall receive the crown of +life.</p> + +<p>Who then amongst us are faithful, true and unmoved? Who amongst us can +stand firm in spite of Satan's efforts to lead us aside? Who can hold +on, not for a week only, but still faithful as the weeks change into +months, and the months into years, faithful unto death? About 100 years +before the time of Nehemiah, there lived a wise old Chinaman, the +philosopher Confucius. Looking round upon his fellow-men, Confucius said +that he noticed that a large proportion of them were +'Copper-kettle-boiling-water men.' The water in a copper kettle, said +Confucius, boils very quickly, much more quickly than in an iron kettle; +but the worst of it is that it just as quickly cools down, and ceases to +boil.</p> + +<p>So, said Confucius, is it with numbers of my fellow-men: they are one +day hot and eager, boiling over with zeal in some particular cause; but +the next day they have cooled down, and they take no interest in it +whatever. Soon up, soon down, like the water in a copper kettle.</p> + +<p>Just so is it in the service of God. There are, sad to say, many +copper-kettle-boiling-water Christians, hot and earnest in the work of +God one moment, but in the next they have cooled down, and are ready to +leave the work to take care of itself.</p> + +<p>But Nehemiah was no copper-kettle-boiling-water man, he comes before us +as a man faithful to his post, standing firm to his duty, a man whom no +one could draw from his work, or cause to swerve from what he knew to be +right.</p> + +<p>The Samaritans have made a mighty effort to stop Nehemiah's great work, +the building of the walls of Jerusalem. They began with ridicule; but +the builders took no notice of the shouts of laughter, but built on as +before. Then they tried to stop the work by force; but they found the +whole company of builders changed, as by a magic wand, into an army of +soldiers, ready and waiting for their attack. Now the news reaches them, +chap. vi. 1., that the walls are progressing, that the gaps are filled +up, the different pieces are joined together, and that nothing now +remains but to put up the gates in the various gateways.</p> + +<p>They feel accordingly that no time is to be lost; they must, in some way +or other, put a stop to Nehemiah and his work at once. They determine, +therefore, to try a new plan, they will entrap Nehemiah by stratagem and +deceit. So they send an invitation to Jerusalem, begging him to meet +them in a certain place, that there they may settle their differences by +a friendly conference.</p> + +<p>Sanballat is to be there as the head of the Samaritans, Geshem as the +head of the Arabians, and Nehemiah as the head of the Jews; and surely, +meeting in a friendly way, and embued with a friendly spirit, nothing +will be easier than quietly and peacefully to confer together, and then +to arrange matters in a comfortable and satisfactory manner.</p> + +<p>The place appointed for the meeting is the Plain of Ono—the green, +beautiful plain between the Judean hills and the Mediterranean—called +elsewhere the Plain of Sharon. There in later days stood Lydda, the +place where St. Peter healed Aeneas; there stood Joppa, from which Jonah +embarked; there, at the present day, may be seen fields of melons and +cucumbers, groves of orange and lemon trees, and fields of waving corn. +Nehemiah would have a journey of about thirty miles before he reached +the appointed meeting-place.</p> + +<p>Sanballat's proposal sounded very fine and even very friendly, but it +was a trap. His real desire was to tempt Nehemiah from behind the walls +of Jerusalem, to entice him to a safe distance from his brave friends +and companions, and then to have him secretly assassinated. Who then +would ever hear again of the power of Jerusalem? Who then would ever see +the gates put in their places?</p> + +<p>Is Nehemiah moved from his post of duty by Sanballat's message? Does he +leave his work at once, and set off for the Plain of Ono? Look at his +decided answer.</p> + +<p>'I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the +work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?'</p> + +<p>God's work would be done better, and with more success, if all His +workmen were like Nehemiah. But, alas! many who call themselves workers +for God are ready to run off from the work at every call, every +invitation, every appeal from the world, the flesh, or the devil. I am +doing a great work, but there is that amusement I want to take part in, +the work must be left to-day.</p> + +<p>I am doing a great work; but I do not feel inclined for it just now, I +feel idle, or the weather is too cold to go out, or the sun shines so +brightly I should like a walk instead, I must leave my work to others +to-day.</p> + +<p>I am doing a great work; but I love my own ease, or pleasure, or +convenience, better than I love the work, these must come first and the +work must come second.</p> + +<p>So speak the actions of many so-called workers, and thus it is that so +much Christian work is a dead failure.</p> + +<p>But, says Nehemiah, 'I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come +down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to +you?'</p> + +<p>Let us remember his words, let us inwardly digest them, and the very +next time that we are tempted to give up work for God and to run off to +something else, let us take care to echo them.</p> + +<p>But Sanballat is determined not to be beaten, he will try again and yet +again. Four times over he sends Nehemiah a friendly invitation to a +friendly conference, four times over Nehemiah steadily refuses to come. +Then, when that plot completely fails, Sanballat loses his temper.</p> + +<p>One day a messenger arrives at the gate of Jerusalem with an insult in +his hand. The insult is in the form of a piece of parchment; it is a +letter from Sanballat, an 'open letter,' ver. 5.</p> + +<p>Letters in the East are not put into envelopes, but are rolled up like a +map, then the ends are flattened and pasted together. The Persians make +up their letters in a roll about six inches long, and then gum a piece +of paper round them, and put a seal on the outside. But in writing to +persons of distinction, not only is the letter gummed together, but it +is tied up in several places with coloured ribbon, and then enclosed in +a bag or purse. To send a letter to such a man as Nehemiah, not only +untied and unenclosed, but actually not even having the ends pasted +together, was a tremendous insult, and Nehemiah, who had been +accustomed to the strict etiquette of the Persian court, knew this well.</p> + +<p>But Sanballat probably sent this open letter not only with the intention +of insulting Nehemiah, but also in order that every one whom the +messenger came across might read it, and that the Jews in Jerusalem and +its neighbourhood might be frightened by its contents, and might +therefore be inclined to forward his plans.</p> + +<p>The letter contained a piece of gossip.</p> + +<p>'It is reported among the heathen, and Gashmu saith it.'</p> + +<p>So the letter began, and then there followed the scandal, the gossip +about Nehemiah.</p> + +<p>People's tongues were busy 2,000 years ago, just as people's tongues are +busy now, and the gossips of those days, like the gossips of to-day, +were not particular about truth.</p> + +<p>What was the gossip which Gashmu had started against Nehemiah? It was +this: Jerusalem is being built, we all see that, says Gashmu. But now, +what is at the bottom of this business? Hush! says Gashmu, do not tell +any one, and I will tell you a secret. You would never believe it, you +would never guess it; but what do you think? As soon as those walls are +built and those gates are finished, you will hear news. There is going +to be a king in Jerusalem, and his name is Nehemiah. As soon as ever he +has a strong city in which to defend himself, he is going to rebel +against Persia. Nay, he has already paid people inside Jerusalem to +pretend to be prophets, and to say to the people:</p> + +<p>'There is a king in Judah.'</p> + +<p>That is the gossip, says Sanballat, that is going the round of all the +gossips' tongues in the land. And now what will be the result? If the +King of Persia hears of it, and it is sure to reach his ears sooner or +later, it will go badly with you, Nehemiah. The best thing you can do is +to consent to meet me, and we will talk the matter over and see what can +be done to prevent this report reaching Persia.</p> + +<p>'Come now therefore, and let us take counsel together.'</p> + +<p>Nehemiah has stood firm under ridicule; he has been unmoved by force or +deceitful friendships; will he be frightened from his duty by gossip? +No, he cares not what they say, nor who says it. He simply sends +Sanballat word that there is not a vestige of truth in the report, nor +does he intend to take any notice of it.</p> + +<p>'There are no such things done as thou sayest, but thou feignest them +out of thine own heart.'</p> + +<p>Over the entrance to one of our old English castles these words are +carved in the stonework:—</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<p>THEY SAY.</p> +<p>WHAT DO THEY SAY?</p> +<p>LET THEM SAY.</p> +</div></div> + +<p>These words are well worth our remembering. It is not pleasant to be +talked about, especially if the words spoken about us are untrue, but it +will be a wonderful thing if any of us escape the gossip's tongue.</p> + +<p><i>They say</i>, and they always will <i>say</i>, to the end of time; people +will talk, and their talk will chiefly be of their neighbours.</p> + +<p><i>What do they say?</i> Do you answer like the Psalmist, 'They lay to my +charge things I knew not?' They speak unkindly, untruly, unfairly. +Never mind, <i>Let them say.</i> You cannot stop their mouths, but you can +hinder yourself from taking notice of their words. Let them say, for +they will have their say out, but they will end it all the sooner if you +take no notice of it.</p> + +<p>Let us try for the future to be thick-skinned, and when Gashmu's tongue +is whispering, and whenever some busybody like Sanballat repeats +Gashmu's words to us, let us act as Nehemiah did. Let us take no notice +of the repeated tittle-tattle.</p> + +<p>Yet, although we may practically ignore the gossiping tongue, if we are +naturally sensitive and highly strung we cannot help feeling some sting +from the unkind or untrue speech. Poor Nehemiah, unmoved though he was +by the gossip, yet feels it necessary to remember the meaning of his +name, and to turn from Sanballat's letter to 'the Lord my Comforter.'</p> + +<p>'O God, strengthen my hands.'</p> + +<p>So he cries from the depths of his soul, and so he was comforted.</p> + +<p>Sanballat now feels that he is attempting an impossibility. It is of no +use trying himself to move Nehemiah, for Nehemiah is thoroughly on his +guard against him. If he reaches him at all, he must do so through +others, whom Nehemiah does not suspect. So, by means of his gold, +Sanballat tempts some of the Jerusalem Jews over to his side.</p> + +<p>There is a woman living in Jerusalem named Noadiah, and she (to her +shame be it spoken) is bribed by Sanballat to give herself out as a +prophetess, and to be the bearer of messages to Nehemiah, pretending +that those messages were sent to him by God. Nor is Noadiah the only +one who is bribed by the Samaritan governor to pretend the gift of +prophecy.</p> + +<p>One day, Nehemiah is sent for to the house of one of these people who +profess to be able to prophesy. He is a young man of the name of +Shemaiah, whose family had returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel, but +who had never been able to prove their Jewish descent (vii. 61, 62, 64).</p> + +<p>This young man professes to be very fond of Nehemiah, and begs him to +come to see him. Nehemiah does so, and finds him shut up, his doors +barred and bolted, his house barricaded like a fortress. He admits +Nehemiah, and seems, as he does so, to be in a great state of fear and +terror.</p> + +<p>Then he whispers a dreadful secret in his ear. He tells Nehemiah that +his life is in immediate danger, that there is a plot set on foot by +Sanballat to murder him that very night, and that this plot has been +revealed to him by God. He tells him that he feels his own life, as one +of Nehemiah's best friends, is also in danger, and therefore he proposes +that they shall go together after dark to the temple courts, and, +passing through these, enter into the sanctuary itself, the Holy Place, +in which stood the altar of incense, the golden candlestick, and the +table of showbread. There, having carefully closed the folding doors of +fir-wood, they may hide till daybreak, and those who were coming to +assassinate Nehemiah will seek him in vain.</p> + +<p>Shemaiah gives this advice as a direct message from God, but Nehemiah +saw through it. He felt sure God could not have sent that message, for +God cannot contradict His own Word. And what said the Word? It was +clearly laid down in the law of Moses that no man, unless he was a +priest, might enter the Holy Place; if he attempted to do so, death +would be the penalty.</p> + +<p>'The stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.' So Nehemiah +bravely answers:</p> + +<p>'Should such a man as I flee? and who is there, that, being as I am, +would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in.'</p> + +<p>Who is there, that, being as I am—that is, being a layman, not a +priest—as I am, could go into the temple and live? for that is the +better translation. In other words, if I, Nehemiah, who am not a priest, +should break the clear command of God, by crossing the threshold of the +temple, instead of saving my life I should lose it. I will not go in.</p> + +<p>So failed this dastardly plot to get Nehemiah to sin, in order that his +God might desert him. The sentinel stood unmoved at his post, Nehemiah +goes on steadily with his work. Should such a man as I flee? And in +fifty-two days after its commencement, in less than two months, the wall +was finished, vi. 15.</p> + +<p>With a huge army, with hundreds of horses, and with twenty elephants, +Pyrrhus, King of Epirus, crossed over from Greece to Italy to conquer +the Romans. No elephants had ever before been seen in Italy; and when +the two armies met, and the huge animals advanced with their dark trunks +curling and snorting, and their ponderous feet shaking the earth, the +horses in the Roman army were so terrified that they refused to move, +and Pyrrhus won an easy victory. After the battle was over Pyrrhus +walked amongst the dead, and looked at the bodies of his slain foes. As +he did so, one fact struck him very forcibly, and it was this, the +Romans did not know how to run away. Not one had turned and fled from +the field of battle. The wounds were all in front, not one was wounded +in the back.</p> + +<p>'Ah,' said Pyrrhus, 'with such soldiers as that the whole world would +belong to me.'</p> + +<p>Soldiers of Christ, let us be brave for the Master. Let the language of +the heart of each in the Lord's army be that of Nehemiah, 'Should such a +man as I flee?' Nay, I will not flee, I will not desert my post, I will +stand my ground, bravely, consistently, perseveringly, unto death.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;"> +<a name="CHAPTER_VIII"></a><h2>CHAPTER VIII.</h2> + +<h2>The Paidagogos.</h2> + +<p>The Tarpeian Rock was the place where Roman criminals who had been +guilty of the crime of treason were executed. They were thrown headlong +from this rock into the valley below, and perished at its base. The rock +took its name from a woman named Tarpeia, who has ever been a disgrace +to her sex, and whose name was hated in Rome, for she was a traitress to +her country. For a long time the war had raged between the Romans and +the Sabines. The Romans were at last compelled to shut themselves up in +their strong fortress, which the Sabines attempted to take, but in vain. +So steep were the rocks on which it stood, so strong were the walls, +that the Sabines must have given up their attempt in despair, had it not +been for the treachery of Tarpeia, the governor's daughter. She looked +down from the fortress into the Sabine host, and she noticed that, +whilst with their right arms the Sabines held their swords, on their +left arms were hung massive golden bracelets, such as Tarpeia had never +beheld before. One day, leaning over the precipice, she managed to +whisper into the ear of a Sabine soldier her treacherous plan. She was +willing in the dead of night to unlock the gate of the fortress, and to +admit the Sabines, provided that they promised on their part to give her +what they carried on their left arms. Tarpeia's proposition was agreed +to, and that night the governor's daughter stole the keys of the +fortress from her father's room, and admitted the enemy.</p> + +<p>But the Sabines had too much right feeling to let her treachery go +unpunished. She stood by the gate, hoping to receive the bracelets, but +each Sabine soldier, as he entered, threw at her head his massive iron +shield, which he also carried on his left arm, until she was crushed to +the ground, and buried beneath a mass of metal. They had fulfilled their +promise, but in a way the treacherous Tarpeia did not expect. When she +was quite dead, they took up her body, and threw it over the rock which +ever after bore her name, as a warning to traitors.</p> + +<p>Treachery within the camp, those in league with the enemy in the very +midst of the citadel, those who whilst pretending to be friends are +secretly conspiring to hinder and annoy. Surely such a state of things +is enough to move any man's heart. Who could help feeling it bitterly?</p> + +<p>David could not. Listen to his heartrending cry—</p> + +<p>'For it is not an open enemy, that hath done me this dishonour; for then +I could have borne it. Neither was it mine adversary that did magnify +himself against me; for then I would have hid myself from him. But it +was even thou, my companion, my guide, and mine own familiar friend.'</p> + +<p>Nehemiah could not help feeling it. He had borne patiently ridicule, +force, deceit from without; whatever of harm or mischief Sanballat did, +he could not help, nor was he surprised at it. But when the trouble came +nearer home, when he found that in Jerusalem itself, amongst those whom +he had loved and for whom he had sacrificed so much, there were actually +to be found traitors, then indeed Nehemiah's soul was stirred to its +very depths.</p> + +<p>He discovered to his horror that letters, secret, treacherous letters, +were constantly passing from Tobiah the secretary to some of his +so-called friends in Jerusalem. Nay more, he discovered that these +letters were diligently answered, and that a quick correspondence was +being kept up by Tobiah on the one side and these treacherous Jews on +the other.</p> + +<p>Worse still, Nehemiah found that many of those round him were acting as +spies, watching all he did, taking note of every single thing that went +on in Jerusalem, and then writing it down for Tobiah's benefit. And in +spite of this, these Jews had the audacity and the bad taste when they +met Nehemiah in the street, or sat at his table, or came across him in +business, to harp constantly upon one string—the goodness, and +perfections, and excellences of dear Tobiah.</p> + +<p>'They reported his good deeds to me, and uttered my words to him.'</p> + +<p>Nor was this communication with the secretary at all easy to break off, +for he was connected by marriage with some of the first families in +Jerusalem. Tobiah himself had obtained a Jewish girl for his wife, the +daughter of one of Nehemiah's helpers—Shechaniah, the son of Arah.</p> + +<p>Not only so, but Meshullam, one of the wealthiest men in the city, one +of the most earnest builders on the wall, one who had worked so +diligently that he had actually repaired two portions (chap. iii. 4, +30), one who must have been either a priest or a Levite, for we read of +his having a chamber in the temple, this man, Meshullam, so well spoken +of, and so much esteemed in Jerusalem, had actually forgotten himself so +far as to let his daughter marry the son of the secretary, Tobiah. We +cannot excuse Meshullam by suggesting that his daughter may have been +spoilt or wilful, and may have married in spite of her father's +displeasure, for, in the East, marriages are entirely arranged by the +parents, and Meshullam's daughter probably had no choice in the matter.</p> + +<p>Seeing then that there are enemies without, and half-hearted friends +within, Nehemiah feels it necessary, so soon as the walls are finished +and the gates set up, to do all he can to make Jerusalem secure and +strong. Solomon had appointed 212 Levites to be porters or gate-keepers, +to guard the entrances to the temple. Ever since his time there had been +an armed body of Levites, kept always at hand, to guard the treasures of +the temple, and to keep watch at the gates. From these Nehemiah selects +the keepers for his new gates. Surely these Levites will be faithful, +and they have had some experience in watching, inasmuch as they have for +so long acted as temple police.</p> + +<p>Nehemiah's next step was to appoint two men to superintend these guards, +and to be responsible to him for the safety of the city. At any moment +he might be recalled to Persia, at any moment he might have to leave +his important work in Jerusalem, that he might stand again as cup-bearer +behind the king's chair. He felt that he must therefore appoint deputies +to guard the city for him, so that all might not hang upon the fact of +his presence in the city.</p> + +<p>Whom did Nehemiah choose for this post of enormous trust? One was his +brother Hanani, the very one who had come to see him in Persia. Why, he +would never have even thought of doing this great work, if it had not +been for Hanani; and he felt he could thoroughly trust him, and rely +upon him entirely.</p> + +<p>His other choice was Hananiah, the ruler of the palace or the fort, +which was a tower, standing in the temple courts on the spot on which, +in Roman days, stood the Tower of Antonia. Nehemiah tells us exactly why +he made choice of the man Hananiah.</p> + +<p>'He was a faithful man, and feared God above many.'</p> + +<p>He was a faithful man, thoroughly trustworthy and reliable. He feared +God above many, and therefore Nehemiah knew that he would be kept safe +and free from sin. 'So did not I,' he had said of himself, 'because of +the fear of God; that fear held me back from sin,' and he felt sure it +would be the same with Hananiah. He feared God, and therefore he could +be depended upon.</p> + +<p>These two rulers, Hanani and Hananiah, planned out the defence of the +city. They divided the wall amongst all the men in Jerusalem, holding +each man responsible for the safety of that part of the wall which lay +nearest to his own house. Then, by Nehemiah's orders, they saw that the +guards took care that the gates were not only carefully closed every +night, but that they were kept closed till the sun was hot, that is, +till some hours after sunrise. These orders were most necessary, seeing +that there were traitors inside the gates as well as enemies without.</p> + +<p>It was the sixth month of the Jewish year when the walls were finished. +Then came Tisri, the seventh month, the greatest and grandest of the +months. The Jews say that God made the world in the month Tisri, and in +it they have no less than two feasts and one great fast.</p> + +<p>On the first day of the month Tisri was held the Feast of Trumpets, or +the day of blowing. On that day trumpets or horns were blown all day +long in Jerusalem; on the house-tops, and from the courts and gardens, +as well as from the temple.</p> + +<p>Obedient to the voice of the trumpets, at early dawn the people all +gathered together, and stood by the water-gate, in a large open space +suitable for such a gathering. This gate is supposed to have been +somewhere at the south-east of the temple courts, and to have taken its +name from the fact that through it the temple servants, the Nethinims +and the Gibeonites, carried water from the dragon well into the city.</p> + +<p>Here a huge pulpit had been erected, not such a pulpit as we find in our +churches, but such an one as is to be seen in the synagogues of +Jerusalem, a pulpit as large as a small room, and capable of holding a +large number of persons.</p> + +<p>The pulpit by the water-gate was a raised platform, made for the +purpose. In it stood Ezra the scribe, and beside him stood thirteen of +the chief men of Jerusalem. Meshullam was there; but one man was +conspicuous by his absence. Eliashib, the high priest, who should +surely have been found taking a principal part in the solemn service of +the day, was nowhere to be seen.</p> + +<p>Before the great pulpit was gathered together an enormous crowd, men, +women, and children, all those who were old enough to understand +anything having been brought there, that they might listen to all that +went on.</p> + +<p>It was early in the morning, soon after sunrise, when the great company +met together. The blowing of the trumpets ceased, and there was brought +out by a Levite an old roll of parchment. What was it? It was the Book +of the Law, the Bible of Nehemiah's day, consisting of the five books of +Moses.</p> + +<p>Slowly and reverently Ezra unrolled the law in the sight of all the +people; and they, sitting below, watched him, and as soon as the book +was opened they stood up, to show their respect and their reverence for +the Word of God.</p> + +<p>Then the reading began, and the ears of all the people were attentive to +the book of the law. For no less than six hours Ezra read on, from early +morning until midday, yet still the people stood, still the people +listened attentively. There was no stir in the crowd, no one asked what +time it was, there was no shuffling of feet, no yawning, no fidgeting; +in earnest, fixed attention the people listened.</p> + +<p>As Ezra read, a body of Levites went about amongst the crowd, +translating what he said. So long had the people lived in captivity that +some of them had forgotten the old Hebrew, or had been brought up from +children to talk the Chaldean tongue. Thus many of Ezra's words and +phrases were quite unintelligible to them. So the Levites acted as +interpreters; and besides explaining the words, they also opened out +the meaning of what was read.</p> + +<p>'The Levites caused the people to understand the law: and the people +stood in their place. So they read in the book in the law of God +distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the +reading.'</p> + +<p>And at the end of six hours there came tears—there was not a dry eye in +the crowd—men and women alike wept like children. There was Ezra in his +pulpit, his voice faltering as he read, and there were the people below, +sobbing as they heard the words.</p> + +<p>What was the matter? What had filled them with grief? St. Paul tells us +the secret of their tears (Rom. iii. 20).</p> + +<p>'By the law is the knowledge of sin.'</p> + +<p>You draw a line. How shall you know if it be straight or not? Lay the +ruler beside it, and you will soon find out its crookedness.</p> + +<p>You build a wall. How shall you tell if it be perpendicular? Bring the +plumb-line, put it against it, and you will soon find out where the wall +bulges.</p> + +<p>You take up a drawing of wood, and hill, and tree; how shall you know if +it be correctly sketched? Put beside it the master's copy, look from one +to another, and you will soon discover the mistakes and imperfections of +the pupil.</p> + +<p>Take the perfect law of God, lay it beside your own life, as these +people did, you will find out exactly what they found. You will find +that you are a sinner, that you have left undone what ought to have been +done, that you have done what ought not to have been done, and that you +yourself are full of sin.</p> + +<p>'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy +mind, with all thy soul, and with all thy strength.'</p> + +<p>Have you done that? No! Then you are not like the copy.</p> + +<p>'Ye shall diligently keep the commandments of the Lord thy God.'</p> + +<p>Have you done that? No! Then you are not like the copy.</p> + +<p>So felt the company at the water-gate, as they listened to the word that +day. And with the knowledge came tears, bitter, sorrowful tears, as they +thought of the past. Each man, woman, and child amongst them was ready +to cry out</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<p>'Red like crimson, deep as scarlet,</p> +<p> Scarlet of the deepest dye,</p> +<p> Are the manifold transgressions,</p> +<p> That upon my conscience lie.</p> +<p> God alone can count their number,</p> +<p> God alone can look within,</p> +<p> O the sinfulness of sinning,</p> +<p> O the guilt of every sin!'</p> +</div></div> + +<p>Some years ago there lived in Jerusalem a Scripture reader. He was an +Austrian Jew, and he worked amongst the large Jewish population in +Jerusalem. That man had been brought up to a very curious occupation. +For years he had maintained himself in a very strange way. His business +was this—to take children to school every morning, and to bring them +home again in the evening. Each morning he called at the various houses, +he led the children out, he carried the little ones, some on his back +and some in his arms, he chastised with a stick those who were inclined +to play truant, and he landed them all safely at the school-door.</p> + +<p>St. Paul, when he went to the Rabbi's school in Tarsus, was taken there +by just such a man as that, a man who was paid by his parents to drive +him to school regularly, and to see that he arrived there in good time. +This man was called in his day a Paidagogos, or Boy-driver.</p> + +<p>Years afterwards, when the apostle was writing to the Galatians, he +remembered his old Paidagogos, and he used him as an illustration. He +said, in his epistle, that that boy-driver was like the law of God; just +what the Paidagogos had done for him, that also the Word of God had +done. That man had driven him to the school of the Rabbi, the law of God +had driven him to the school of Christ. 'The law was our schoolmaster to +bring us unto Christ.'</p> + +<p>The word schoolmaster does not mean the man who teaches, but it is this +very word Paidagogos or Boy-driver.</p> + +<p>How, then, does the law of God drive us to Christ? Because it makes us +feel that we need saving, that we are sinners and cannot help ourselves, +that if ever we are to see the inside of the golden gates of heaven, it +must be by learning in the school of Christ, by learning to know Him as +our Saviour, our atonement, our all in all.</p> + +<p>Lord, save me, or I perish, for I cannot save myself! All my +righteousness is as filthy rags, I myself am full of sin. There is no +hope for me except in Thee!</p> + +<p>So the Law is our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;"> +<a name="CHAPTER_IX"></a><h2>CHAPTER IX.</h2> + +<h2>The Secret of Strength.</h2> + +<p>Who was the strongest person who ever lived? Surely there is no +difficulty in answering that question, surely there has never been +anyone to compare with Samson in wonderful feats of strength! Did he not +alone and unaided rend a young lion in two, as easily as if it had been +a kid? Did he not lift the massive iron gates of Gaza from their hinges, +carry them on his back for forty miles, and climb with them to the top +of a high hill? Did he not overthrow an enormous building by simply +leaning on the huge stone pillars that held it up? We see trials of +strength and feats of strength nowadays, we may have seen a man who +could with one blow of the sword cut a sheep in two, we may have seen +another who, by the mere power of his fist, could snap an iron chain, +yet what modern Samson, strong and powerful and mighty above his fellows +though he may be, can equal or rival the old Samson of Bible story.</p> + +<p>Yet after all are we right in calling Samson the strongest man? It all +depends upon the kind of strength of which we are speaking. If we mean +bodily strength, mere physical force, then undoubtedly Samson was the +strongest man.</p> + +<p>But is bodily strength the only kind of force or power a man can +possess? Is it the chief kind of strength?</p> + +<p>What is one name that we give to physical power; do we not call it +<i>brute force</i>? Why do we call it this? Because it is force which we have +in common with the brutes, nay, it is strength in which the brutes can +surpass us. Take the strongest man who ever lived, give him the most +powerful limbs, the strongest back, the greatest strength of muscle, +what is that man compared with an elephant? The mighty elephant has more +power in one limb than the man has in his whole body. Bodily strength is +then, after all, a kind of strength that is worth comparatively little, +and of which we have small cause to boast, for even an animal can easily +surpass us in it.</p> + +<p>A stronger man than Samson, where shall we find him? Come to the Senate +House in Cambridge, look at that man hard at work on the examination +papers. Look at him well, for you will see that man's name at the head +of the list when it comes out. Look at his broad forehead, his quick +eager eye, his earnest face. That man is the strongest man in England: +strong, not in bodily strength, he would do but little on the football +field, nor could he win a single prize in athletic sports; he is a thin, +slight, fragile man, but he is strong in mind, powerful and mighty in +brain. That man's memory is simply perfect, his powers of reasoning are +faultless, his grasp of a subject is enormous, he is a giant in +intellect.</p> + +<p>Here then we have another kind of strength, mental strength; and +inasmuch as the mind is vastly superior to the body, and inasmuch as +power of mind is a power which the animals so far from rivalling man, +possess only in a very limited degree, we shall be ready to admit that +the student is stronger than Samson, because he is strong in a superior +kind of strength.</p> + +<p>But there is a stronger than he, and it is a woman. She is weak and +delicate, and has certainly no bodily strength; she knows very little, +for she is a poor, simple country girl; she has no mental strength, but +she is stronger than Samson, stronger than the Cambridge student, +because she is endued with a strength far superior to bodily or mental +strength—she is strong in soul.</p> + +<p>A great crowd of people was gathered on the shore that day in the county +of Wigton in Scotland. There lay the wooded hills and the heathery +moors, and the quiet sea dividing them like a peaceful lake. Two +prisoners, carefully guarded, were brought down to the shore, one was an +old woman with white hair, the other was a young and beautiful girl. Two +stakes were driven into the sand, one close to the approaching sea, the +other much nearer to the shore. The old woman was tied to the stake +nearest to the sea, and the young girl to the other. The tide was out +when they were taken there, but they were told that, unless they would +deny the Master whom they loved, unless they would renounce the truth of +God, there they must remain, until the high tide had covered them, and +life was extinct.</p> + +<p>The old woman was questioned by her murderers. Would she renounce her +Lord? Never; she could not deny the faith of Christ. So they left her to +her fate, and the sea rose. Silently, quietly, stealthily it crept on, +till her arms, her shoulders, her neck were covered, and then soon after +the wave came which carried her into the presence of her Lord. Then they +pleaded with the girl, they tried to make her change, they used every +argument likely to move her, but all in vain. She was strong in soul, +strong and mighty, so strong that death itself could not make her +flinch. Still the sea crept on, still the water rose, and still they +tried to make her deny her Lord. But, strong in spirit, the girl held +bravely on. Higher and higher came that ever-encroaching water, and soon +her head was covered, and she thought her sorrows were ended, but her +tormentors brought her out of the water, rubbed and warmed her, and +brought her to life again, only to put the question to her once more. +Would she deny her Master? No; again she refused to do so, and was +dragged back, wet and dripping as she was, once more to be chained to +the stake, and to lay down her life a second time. But the Lord was with +her, and she was faithful to the end.</p> + +<p>That girl was strong in soul, strong in the highest, noblest form of +strength; she could say No when tempted to do wrong, she was faithful +when sorely tried. But Samson was weak as water, he had no strength of +soul; a woman's pretty face, a woman's coaxing word, was quite +sufficient to overthrow all the strength of soul he possessed. He could +resist no temptation that came across his path; he was an easy prey to +the tempter.</p> + +<p>Oh! that we were all strong, strong in this highest, grandest form of +strength, mighty giants in spirit!</p> + +<p>But do you say, How can I obtain this strength, by what means can I +acquire it? I feel I need it. I am often led astray; I listen to the +voice of the tempter, I give way to my besetting sin. I want to break +off from it, but I cannot; I want to leave the companions who are +leading me wrong, but I have not the strength to do it. How can I become +strong?</p> + +<p>Here, in the story of Nehemiah, we find the answer. Let us come again to +the water-gate, at the south-east of the city. There is the huge pulpit +of wood, there is Ezra with the roll in his hand, there are the people, +sobbing as if their hearts would break.</p> + +<p>But 'blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted' It is for +sin that their hearts are broken, they feel they have left undone so +much that ought to have been done, they have done so much that they +ought not to have done, that they are crushed with sorrow, and the tears +will come.</p> + +<p>But hush, who are these passing amongst the weeping crowd? There is +Nehemiah the Tirshatha, or governor, there is Ezra the scribe, and they +are followed by a company of Levites. They call to the people to stop +crying, and to rejoice. Is not our God a God of mercy? Is there not +forgiveness with Him? If sin is confessed and forsaken, will He not +pardon it? Dry your tears then, and, instead of crying, rejoice. Be +merry and glad that God is willing to forgive, nay, that He has forgiven +you.</p> + +<p>Cheer up, for this day is holy unto the Lord; it is a feast day, the +joyous Feast of Trumpets. Mourn not, nor weep. Do not imagine that God +likes you to be miserable; He wants you to be happy. You have owned your +sin, you have repented of your sin; now let your hearts be filled with +the joy that come from a sense of sin forgiven.</p> + +<p>Go home now, and keep the feast. Eat and drink of the best you have, +eat the fat and drink the sweet, the new sweet wine made from this +year's grapes. Go home and enjoy yourselves to the full; but do not +forget those who are worse off than yourselves, remember those poor +people who have suffered so much from the late famine, who have paid +their last penny to the tax-collector, who have lost their all in these +hard times. Let them enjoy themselves too to-day. Eat the fat and drink +the sweet, but do not forget to send portions to them for whom nothing +is prepared. Remember the empty cupboards, and the bare tables, and the +houses where the fat and the sweet are nowhere to be seen.</p> + +<p>What a word for us at the time of our joyous Christmas feast! God loves +us to be happy. He likes us to rejoice; He does not want us to go about +with long faces and melancholy looks. A long-faced Christian is a +Christian who brings disgrace on his Master.</p> + +<p>Then as we meet, year by year, round the happy Christmas table, and sit +down to our Christmas dinner, let us remember that God loves us to be +happy; but let us also remember that in the midst of all our joy He +would have us unselfish. He would have us send portions to them for whom +nothing is prepared. Is there no one whom we can cheer? Is there no +desolate home into which we can bring a ray of light? Is there no +sorrowful heart to which we can bring comfort? And what about the +portions? Is there no poor relative, or neighbour, or friend, with whom +we can share the good things that have fallen to our lot?</p> + +<p>Our own Christmas dinner will taste all the better if we have helped +some one else to happiness or comfort, our own festal rejoicing will be +tenfold more full of merriment and real joy, if we have helped to spread +the festal joy into dark and gloomy places.</p> + +<p>'Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto +them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: +neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength.'</p> + +<p>Yes, there we have the secret of strength, of the highest kind of +strength, of strength of soul. The joy of the Lord, that joy which comes +from knowing our sin is pardoned.</p> + +<p>Can I say—</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<p>'O happy day, O happy day</p> +<p>When Jesus washed my sins away?'</p> +</div></div> + +<p>Then I have spiritual strength, for the joy of the Lord is my strength. +He has forgiven me, He has washed me from my sins in His own blood; how +can I grieve Him? How can I pain Him by yielding to temptation? How can +I ever risk losing the joy of my heart by going contrary to His will? I +am joyful because I am forgiven, and I am strong because I am joyful.</p> + +<p>Here then is the highest kind of strength, and it is a strength within +the reach of all. Bodily strength some of us can never attain. We are +born with weakly bodies, we have grown up delicate and frail, we could +no more transform ourselves into strong, powerful men, than we could +make ourselves into elephants.</p> + +<p>There was a man who lived in Greece long before Hezekiah, who was +determined to make his nation the strongest nation on earth; he was +resolved that it should consist of mighty giants in strength, and that +not one delicate or weak man should be found amongst them. But what did +Lycurgus find himself obliged to do in order to secure his end? He was +compelled to have every infant carefully examined as soon as it was +born, and if a child had the least appearance of delicacy, he took it +from its mother, and sent it to some lonely cave on the hill-side, where +it was left to die of cold and hunger. He found that it was not possible +to turn a puny delicate child into a strong man.</p> + +<p>Bodily strength then is beyond the reach of many men; weak they were +born, weak they live, and weak they will die, nothing will alter or +improve them.</p> + +<p>Nor can strength of mind be attained by many. They were born with no +power of memory, no aptitude for learning, no gift for study; you may +teach them, and labour with them, and they may work hard themselves, but +no application can instil into them what was not born in them; they came +into the world with second-rate intellects, and they will die with the +same.</p> + +<p>But, thank God, the highest form of strength, strength of soul is, in +this respect, not like strength of body or strength of mind. No one is +born with it, we are all by nature weak as water, an easy prey for +Satan; but there is not one of us who may not acquire this spiritual +power. If we will take the lost sinner's place, and claim the lost +sinner's Saviour, we shall be filled by that Saviour with joy, joy +because sin is forgiven, and with the joy will come the strength of +soul.</p> + +<p>In Greece, in that city in which all the weakly babies were murdered, +those children who were spared and who were pronounced to be strong, +were looked upon from that time as belonging not to their parents but to +the state, and they were trained and brought up with this one object in +view, to make them strong and powerful men. They were taught to bear +cold, wearing the same clothing in winter as in summer; they were +trained to bear fatigue, being accustomed to walk barefoot for miles; +they were practised in wrestling, in racing, in throwing heavy weights, +in carrying burdens, in anything and everything which was calculated to +make the strength that was in them grow and increase. And it was +wonderful how, by means of practice, the strength did grow.</p> + +<p>We are told of one man, who in the public games carried a full grown ox +for a mile, and we are told that he accomplished this by gradually +accustoming himself to the weight. He began when the ox was a tiny calf +to carry it a mile every day, and the increase of weight was so gradual +that he did not feel it; his arms became used to the weight, and as the +ox grew bigger, he at the same time grew stronger.</p> + +<p>Strength of body then grows and increases in proportion to our use of +it.</p> + +<p>So, too, does strength of mind. Here is a boy, born with good abilities +and with an intelligent mind. Take that child, and shut him off from +every possibility of using his mind; never teach him anything, never +allow him to look at a book or a picture, keep him shut off from +everything that might tend to open his mind, tell him nothing, bring him +up as a mere animal, and soon he will lose all his powers of mind, and +become an imbecile. But, on the other hand, teach him, train him, +educate him, let his mind have full scope and exercise, and his mental +powers will grow and increase a hundred-fold, for strength of mind, +like strength of body, grows with the using.</p> + +<p>Just so is it with strength of soul. Every temptation you overcome makes +you stronger, every lust you subdue, every battle of soul you fight, +every inclination to evil you resist, makes you stronger.</p> + +<p>'From strength to strength' is the motto of the Christian.</p> + +<p>So let us press forward.</p> + +<p>'Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the +Son of God, unto <i>a perfect man</i>' (or as R.V. has it, a <i>full-grown +man</i>) 'unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.'</p> + +<p>Now we are but children in spiritual strength, then we shall be giants +in power, full-grown men, with full powers and energy and strength, +ready to work for the Master through eternity.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;"> +<a name="CHAPTER_X"></a><h2>CHAPTER X.</h2> + +<h2>The Eighty-four Seals.</h2> + +<p>Merrily the Christmas bells were chiming in the old city of York, on +Christmas morning in the year 1890, speaking gaily and joyfully of the +Christmas feast, when suddenly there came a change. The merry peal +ceased, and was followed by the quiet sorrowful sound which always +speaks of mourning and death, a muffled peal. News had reached the +ringers that the Archbishop of York, who had been known and respected in +the city for more than twenty-eight years, had gone home to God.</p> + +<p>And as we ate our Christmas dinner that day, as we gathered round the +table to eat the fat and drink the sweet, the solemn voice of Old Peter, +the great minster bell, was heard tolling for the departed soul.</p> + +<p>Truly in the midst of life we are in death, in the midst of joy there +comes sorrow, in the midst of festivity we are plunged into mourning.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<p>'Shadow and shine is life, little Annie,</p> +<p>Flower and thorn.'</p> +</div></div> + +<p>So the poet makes the old grandmother sum up her life's story.</p> + +<p>And it is just the same in our religious life. One day the joy of the +Lord makes us strong, the next the sense of sin weighs us to the ground; +one moment we are ready to overflow with thanksgiving, the next we are +down in the dust mourning and weeping.</p> + +<p>Just such a change as this, a change from the gay to the solemn, from +joy to mourning, from feasting to fasting, comes before us in the Book +of Nehemiah.</p> + +<p>Look at Jerusalem, as we visit it in imagination to-day, and take a +bird's-eye view of the city. The whole place is mad with joy. They are +keeping the gayest, the merriest, the prettiest feast in the whole year, +the Feast of Tabernacles. It was a saying amongst the Jews, that unless +a man had been present at the Feast of Tabernacles he did not know what +joy was. And in Nehemiah's time this feast was kept more fully and with +more rejoicing than it had been kept for a thousand years; no one had +ever witnessed such a Feast of Tabernacles since the days of Joshua.</p> + +<p>The city was a mass of green booths, made with branches of olive, pine, +myrtle, and palm; and in these the people lived, and ate, and slept for +eight days; whilst the whole city was lighted up, and glad music was +constantly heard, and the people feasted, and laughed, and made merry.</p> + +<p>It was the 22nd day of the month Tisri when the Feast of Tabernacles was +ended, and only two days afterwards there came a remarkable change.</p> + +<p>Look at Jerusalem again, you would hardly know it to be the same place. +The green booths are all gone, they have been carefully cleared away. +There is not a branch, or a banner, or a bit of decoration to be seen. +The bright holiday dresses, the gay blue, and red, and yellow, and +lilac robes, the smart, many-coloured turbans have all been laid by; +there is not a sign of one of them. We see instead an extraordinary +company of men, women and children making their way to the open space by +the water gate. They are covered with rough coarse sackcloth, a material +made of black goats' hair and used for making sacks. Every one of the +company is dressed in this rough material; not only so, but the robe of +each is made like a sack in shape, so that they look like a crowd of +moving sacks, and on their heads are sprinkled earth and dust and ashes.</p> + +<p>The rejoicing has turned into mourning, the feast into a fast. A great +sense of sin has come over the people; they feel their need of +forgiveness, and they are come to seek it.</p> + +<p>The meeting seems to have assembled about nine o'clock, the time of the +morning sacrifice. For a quarter of the day, for three hours, they read +the law of God, for three hours more they fell prostrate on the ground, +and confessed their sin. Their prayers were led by Levites, standing on +high scaffoldings where everyone could see them, where all could hear +them as they cried with a loud voice to God.</p> + +<p>Then just at the time of the evening sacrifice, at three o'clock in the +afternoon, the Levites called to the kneeling multitude and bade them +rise, '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.'</p> + +<p>Then the Levites went through the history of God's wonderful goodness to +His people, to Abraham in Egypt, in the wilderness, in the land of +Canaan; everywhere, and at all times He had been good to them, again +and again He had delivered them. But they—what had they done?</p> + +<p>'Thou hast done right, but we have done wickedly. Neither have our +kings, our princes, our priests, nor our fathers kept Thy law, nor +hearkened unto Thy commandments.... For they have not served Thee.' +Therefore, as a natural consequence and result, 'Behold, we are servants +this day.'</p> + +<p>They would not serve God, they would not be His servants, so they had +been made to serve someone else; they had, as a punishment for their +sin, been made servants to the King of Persia. And what was the result?</p> + +<p>'The land that Thou gavest unto our fathers to eat the fruit thereof and +the good thereof, behold, we are servants in it. And it yieldeth much +increase unto the kings whom Thou hast set over us because of our sins.'</p> + +<p>The amount of tribute paid by Judea to Persia is not known; but the +province of Syria, in which Judea was included, paid £90,000 a year.</p> + +<p>'Also they have dominion over our bodies.'</p> + +<p>They can force us against our will to be either soldiers or sailors, and +can make us fight their battles for them.</p> + +<p>They have dominion 'over our cattle.'</p> + +<p>They can seize our cattle at their pleasure, for their own use or the +use of their armies.</p> + +<p>'And we are in great distress.'</p> + +<p>Yes, our sin has indeed brought its punishment; and feeling this, +realizing this very deeply, we have gathered together to do what we +intend to do this day, to make a solemn agreement, a covenant with God. +We intend to promise to have done with sin, and for the future to serve +and glorify God.</p> + +<p>Then a long roll of parchment was brought out, on which the covenant was +written, and one by one all the leading men in Jerusalem came forward +and put their seals to it, as a sign that they intended to keep it.</p> + +<p>In the East it is always the seal that authenticates a document. In +Babylon the documents were often sealed with half-a-dozen seals or more. +These were impressed on moist clay, and then the clay was baked, and the +seals were each fastened to the parchment by a separate string. In this +way any number of seals could be attached.</p> + +<p>We are given in Neh. x. the names of those who sealed, honoured names, +for they made a brave and noble stand. First of all comes the name of +Nehemiah, the governor, setting a good example to the rest. He is +followed by Zidkijah, or Zadok, the secretary. Then come the names of +eighty-two others, heads of families, all well-known men in Jerusalem. +Each one fastened his seal to the roll of parchment containing the +solemn covenant. No less than eighty-four seals were attached to it.</p> + +<p>What then were the articles of the covenant?</p> + +<p>What did those who sealed promise?</p> + +<p>First of all, they bound themselves (x. 29) to walk in God's law, and to +observe and do all the commandments. What need after that to enter a +single other article in the covenant? If a man walks in God's law he +cannot go wrong; if he keeps all God's commandments, what more can be +required?</p> + +<p>But they were wise men who drew up that solemn covenant. They knew and +understood the human heart. Is it not a fact, that whilst we are all +ready to own that we are sinners in a general sense, we are slow to own +that we are guilty of any particular sin? We do not mind confessing that +we are miserable sinners, but we should indignantly deny being selfish +or idle, or unforgiving, or proud, or bad-tempered.</p> + +<p>So those who wrote the parchment felt it best to go more into detail, +and to put down certain things in which they felt they had done wrong in +the past, but in which they meant to do better in the time to come.</p> + +<p>(1) They promised that they would not in future marry heathen people, +that they would not give their daughters to heathen men, or let their +sons choose heathen wives.</p> + +<p>(2) They engaged to keep the Sabbath, and not to buy and sell on the +holy day; and they promised that if the heathen people round came to the +city gates with baskets of fruit, or vegetables, or fish on the Sabbath, +they would refuse to buy.</p> + +<p>(3) They stated that for the future they would keep every seventh year +as a year of Sabbath. The Sabbath year had in times past been a great +blessing to the land. The one work and occupation of the Jews was +agriculture, farming of all kinds. Every seventh year God commanded that +all work was to stop; there was to be a year's universal holiday, that +the nation might have rest and leisure to think of higher things. Yet +they did not starve in the Sabbath year, for God gave them double crops +in the sixth year, enough to cover all their wants until the crops of +the eighth year were ripe. All that grew of itself during the seventh +year, all the self-sown grain that sprang up, all the fruit that came +on the olives, and the vines, and the fig-trees, was left for the poor +people to gather; they went out and helped themselves, and comfort was +brought to many a sad home, and cupboards which were often empty during +the six ordinary years were kept well filled in the Sabbath year. But +this command of God had been neglected by the Jews; it needed more faith +and trust than they had possessed, and they had let it slip. Now, +however, they promise once more to observe the Sabbath year.</p> + +<p>The rest of the covenant concerned the amount to be contributed for the +service of God. They agreed to pay one-third of a shekel each year +towards the temple service, and to bring by turn the wood required for +the sacrifices, beside giving God, regularly and conscientiously, the +first-fruits of all they had.</p> + +<p>This was the solemn covenant to which were fastened so many seals, this +was the agreement by which they bound themselves to the service of God. +As they went home, and shook the dust off their heads, and took off +their sacks, they went home pledged to obey and to love their God.</p> + +<p>Which of us will follow their example? Who will bind himself to God? Who +will put his seal to the document, and promise to serve and obey the +Master who died for him? Will you?</p> + +<p>Is it not right, is it not wise to pull up at times and to look at our +life, at what it has been, and at what it might have been? What about +prayer? Has it been always earnest, heartfelt, true? What about our +Bible reading? Has it been as regular, as profitable as it might have +been? Do we not feel we have come short in the past, and that we should +like to do better in the time to come?</p> + +<p>What about sin, that besetting sin of ours, so often indulged in, so +little fought against? Are we going on like this for ever, beaten by +sin, overcome and defeated? Should we not like to leave the old careless +days behind, and for the future to fight manfully against the world, the +flesh, and the devil?</p> + +<p>What about work for God? Have we done all that we could for His service? +Have we given Him the tenth of our money? Have we consecrated to Him our +time and our talents? Do we not feel we should like to do more for the +Master in time to come?</p> + +<p>It is a good plan to get alone and quiet for a time, and taking a piece +of paper, to write down all we feel has been wrong in the past, all we +mean to do in the future. Then let us sign our name to it, put the date +at the bottom, fold it carefully up, put it away, let no one see it but +God, it is a covenant between us and Him. He will give us grace to keep +it if we only ask Him.</p> + +<p>Will you try this plan this very night? Then you will open your eyes +to-morrow morning with the recollection, 'I am the Lord's; I have given +myself to Him; I am His now by my own agreement; I am pledged to His +service.'</p> + +<p>Lord, make me faithful, keep me humble, keep me prayerful, give me grace +and courage and strength!</p> + +<p>For 'better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest +vow and not pay.'</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;"> +<a name="CHAPTER_XI"></a><h2>CHAPTER XI.</h2> + +<h2>The Brave Volunteers.</h2> + +<p>'Jerusalem, my happy home, Name ever dear to me.'</p> + +<p>So we sing, and it is the echo of the song that went up from the heart +of many a Jew in olden time.</p> + +<p>We all love our native land, our dear old England, yet none of us love +it as the Jews loved Jerusalem. We have only to open the Book of Psalms +to see how dear the city of their fathers was to the heart of the Jews.</p> + +<p>'Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in +the mountain of His holiness. Beautiful for situation, the joy of the +whole earth, is Mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the +great King,' Psalm xlviii. 1, 2.</p> + +<p>'Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem. Jerusalem is +builded as a city that is compact together. Whither the tribes go up, +the tribes of the Lord. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem; they shall +prosper that love thee. Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within +thy palaces,' Psalm cxxii. 2-4, 6, 7.</p> + +<p>These are just samples of countless expressions of love and devotion +for Jerusalem, their happy home. And all the time of the captivity in +Babylon the Jews were longing to be once more in Jerusalem! Oh, to see +the city of cities again; oh, to tread once more the streets of the holy +Jerusalem! They could not even think of their far-off home without +tears.</p> + +<p>'By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we +remembered Zion. If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget +her cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof +of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy,' Psalm +cxxxvii. 1, 5, 6.</p> + +<p>Yet, strange to say, although the Jews were longing for the Holy City +all the time they were in captivity, when they did return to their +native land, and it was possible once more to live in Jerusalem, they +seem to have preferred any other place before it. It was the most +difficult thing to get any of them to consent to take up their abode in +the capital.</p> + +<p>Nehemiah found himself face to face with this difficulty when he had +finished the repairs of the city. The rubbish was cleared away, the +walls were built, the gates were set up, the fortresses were +strengthened, but the city itself was nowhere. Here and there houses +were scattered about, here and there was a group of buildings, but +inside the walls were many great empty spaces, large pieces of +unoccupied ground.</p> + +<p>The walls had been set up on the old sites, and were about four miles in +circumference. It was a large space to fill, and, as Nehemiah looked +round, he saw that whilst the city was imposing from without, it was a +bare, miserable place inside.</p> + +<p>'The city was large and great; but the people were few therein, and the +houses were not builded.'</p> + +<p>Not only so, not only was the city unsightly, but there were not enough +inhabitants to protect the walls. In case of an attack, what would be +done? Four miles of wall was a long space to guard and defend, how could +more hands be secured? It was absolutely necessary that Jerusalem should +have a larger population.</p> + +<p>Yet Nehemiah found that no one wished to move from the country places +round, and to come into Jerusalem. Every town, every village in Judea +was more popular than the capital. They had rather live in sultry +Jericho than on the mountain heights of Jerusalem; they preferred stony +Bethel to the vine-clad hills of the City of God; they had rather live +in the tiny insignificant village of Anathoth than in the capital +itself.</p> + +<p>Why was this? Why had the Jews of Nehemiah's day such an objection to +living in Jerusalem? Why, after longing for Jerusalem all the time of +the captivity, did they shrink from it on their return?</p> + +<p>The reason was this. Jerusalem had become the point of danger. All round +the returned captives were enemies. The Samaritans, the Moabites, the +Ammonites, the Edomites, and a host of others were ready at any moment +to pounce down upon the Jews. In case of an attack from their united +forces, what would be the mark at which all these enemies would aim? +What place would have to bear the whole force of the attack? Jerusalem +itself. They would pass by Jericho, Bethel, and Anathoth, as places +beneath their notice, but they would all make for Jerusalem. To live in +the capital was consequently to live in constant danger and in constant +fear. So it is not to be wondered at that they avoided it, and that they +settled down in the villages and left the capital to take care of +itself.</p> + +<p>Nehemiah sees that steps must be taken to put a stop to this state of +things. In order to bring about the end he had in view, he first took a +census of the whole nation, and then he required each town and district +to send a tenth of its people to live in Jerusalem.</p> + +<p>But of whom was the tenth to consist? How should the number of those who +were to migrate to the capital be chosen? It was done by lot; they drew +lots who were to go and who were to stay. This was probably done in the +usual Jewish way, by means of pebbles. The people of a village would be +divided into tens, then a bag would be brought out containing nine +dark-coloured pebbles and one white one. The ten men would all draw from +the bag, and the man who drew the white pebble would be the one who was +to remove to Jerusalem. By this means the capital would be provided with +about 20,000 inhabitants, and would be in a condition to defend itself +from attack.</p> + +<p>No doubt there was much grumbling, and there were many groans and +complaints when the lots were drawn, and those who drew the white stone +found they must give up their little farms, their pretty country houses, +the homes they had learnt to love so well and which they had built for +themselves and their children, the vineyards which their own hands had +planted, the olive yards and fig groves of which they had been so proud, +and which had been so profitable to them, that they must give up all +these which had been so dear to them and move at once into the city in +which they would be in constant danger.</p> + +<p>But there were certain brave volunteers. Besides those on whom the lot +fell, a certain number came forward and offered to go of their own free +will and choice to live in the capital. They would break up their +country homes, and for love of their country and love of Jerusalem would +move into the Holy City. The post of danger was the post which most +needed them, and they were not afraid to go to it. Brave, noble men and +women, no wonder that we read that blessings were called down upon them +by the rest of their countrymen. 'And the people blessed all the men +that willingly offered themselves to dwell at Jerusalem,' Neh. xi. 2.</p> + +<p>But those brave Jews, who are mentioned here with so much honour, are +not the only ones who of their own free will and choice have gone with +open eyes to the point of danger.</p> + +<p>Fourteen thousand pounds arrived in the course of a few days at a +certain house in London, the office of the Church Missionary Society. +One person sent £5,000 with no name, only a day or two afterwards +another sent a second £5,000, whilst £4,000 was contributed in smaller +sums.</p> + +<p>For what purpose was this immense sum of money sent? It was forwarded to +the Society in consequence of a very famous letter which appeared in the +<i>Daily Telegraph</i> of November 15, 1876. This letter was written by Dr. +Stanley, the great African traveller. It told of a new country he had +discovered in the heart of Africa, a country inhabited by a nation +clothed and living in houses, and reigned over by a king of some +intelligence named Mtesa. Dr. Stanley had talked to this man, he had +shown him his Bible, and told him something of Christianity, and in this +letter in the <i>Daily Telegraph</i> Dr. Stanley stated that King Mtesa was +ready and willing to receive Christian teachers, if any were prepared to +go out to his kingdom of Uganda.</p> + +<p>The result of that letter was, that in a few days no less than £14,000 +was sent to the Church Missionary Society, in order that they might have +the means to establish a mission by the shores of the Victoria Nyanza. A +committee meeting was accordingly held, and the Society declared +themselves ready to take up the work.</p> + +<p>The money was forthcoming, but a great difficulty stared them in the +face. Where were the men? Who would be found willing to go to such a +place as the heart of Africa? The climate was most trying and dangerous +for Europeans, the food was bad and scanty, and, worst of all, the +country was so unsafe that all who went must go with their life in their +hands, feeling that at any moment they might be attacked and murdered by +the natives.</p> + +<p>Would any offer for such a post of danger? Would any be found willing to +volunteer for the work, would any be ready to leave their safe, +comfortable homes in England to take up their abode in Uganda?</p> + +<p>Yes, men were found who willingly offered themselves for the work. Eight +noble men at once came forward. A young naval officer, Lieutenant Smith; +a clergyman from Manchester, Mr. Wilson; an Irish architect, Mr. +O'Neill; a Scotch engineer, Mr. Mackay; a doctor from Edinburgh, Dr. +Smith; a railway contractor's engineer, Mr. Clark, and two working men, +a blacksmith and a builder.</p> + +<p>'And the people blessed all the men that willingly offered themselves to +dwell' in Uganda.</p> + +<p>A meeting was held in the Church Missionary Society's house, to bid them +farewell and to pray for a blessing on their work. Then each of the +eight volunteers was asked to say a few words to the friends who were +taking leave of them. Mr. Mackay, the young engineer, was the last to +speak. Looking round on those who were sending him out, he said:</p> + +<p>'There is one thing which my brethren have not said, and which I want to +say. I want to remind the Committee that within six months they will +probably hear that one of us is dead.'</p> + +<p>There was a great silence in the room as he spoke these startling words.</p> + +<p>'Yes,' he went on, 'is it at all likely that eight Englishmen should +start for Central Africa and all be alive six months after? One of us at +least—it may be I—will surely fall before that. But what I want to say +is this, when the news comes do not be cast down, but send some one else +immediately to take the vacant place.'</p> + +<p>Mr. Mackay was not wrong. One of the eight, the builder, died as soon as +he landed in Africa. The seven others set off for the interior to find +the country of King Mtesa. Two of these, Mackay the engineer, and +Robertson the blacksmith, were taken so ill with fever that they were +compelled to go back to the coast.</p> + +<p>It was a long wearisome journey, of from four to five months, from the +coast to Victoria Nyanza; for a little way they were able to go in a +boat which they had brought with them from England, but after a short +distance they were obliged to leave the river, and, taking their boat to +pieces, to carry it with them through the tangled forest. When they +arrived at a place named Mpwapwa, it seemed such a good field for +missionary labour that one of their number, Mr. Clark, was left to begin +missionary work there, whilst the rest pressed forward to Uganda.</p> + +<p>The great lake at last came in sight, and they were cheered by the sight +of its blue waters. But, when they arrived on its shores, the naval +officer and the doctor were both very ill; for thirty-one days they had +been carried by the porters, being quite unable to walk, and only a few +months after their arrival at the south end of the lake the young doctor +died. He was worn to a skeleton, and suffered terribly. The three who +remained buried him by the side of the lake, and put a heap of stones +over his grave. On a slab of limestone they carved—</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<p>'JOHN SMITH,</p> +<p>M.B. EDN., C.M.S.</p> +<p>DIED MAY 11, 1877,</p> +<p>AGED 25 YEARS.'</p> +</div></div> + +<p>Now, only the clergyman, the architect, and the naval officer were left +to carry on the work. But that very same year, in December, a quarrel +broke out between two tribes living at the south of the lake. A man +named Songoro, who had been friendly to the missionaries, fled to them +for protection. They were at once surrounded by a party of the natives, +and, on refusing to give up Songoro to his enemies, Lieutenant Smith and +Mr. O'Neill, together with all the men who were with them, were +murdered on December 7.</p> + +<p>Only two days before, Lieutenant Smith had written a letter to a friend +in England, in which were these words:</p> + +<p>'One feels very near to heaven here, for who knows what a day may bring +forth?'</p> + +<p>Only one of the five who had arrived at the lake was now left, Mr. +Wilson, the clergyman. But, thank God, man after man has offered himself +to fill up the vacant places. Some have fallen, some still remain, +labouring on.</p> + +<p>The people blessed the men who willingly offered themselves for the post +of danger. Should we not bless them too? Should we not day by day call +down blessings on the brave noble missionaries? Should we not pray for +them, that strength and courage may be given them? Should we not help +them all we can? Let our daily prayer be:</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<p>'Lord, bless them all!</p> +<p>Thy workers in the field,</p> +<p>Where'er they be;</p> +<p>Prosper them, Lord, and bless</p> +<p>Their work for Thee—</p> +<p>Lord, bless them all.</p> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<p>Lord, bless them all!</p> +<p>Give them Thy smile to-day,</p> +<p>Cheer each faint heart,</p> +<p>More of Thy grace, more strength,</p> +<p>Saviour, impart;</p> +<p>Lord, bless them all!'</p> +</div></div> + +<p>The post of danger is the post of honour, and at that post of honour Mr. +Mackay, the engineer, died, February 8, 1890. For thirteen years he had +bravely held on to his work. He had never had a holiday, he had never +come home to see his friends. The Secretary of the Church Missionary +Society wrote at last, urging him to come to England for rest and +change. His answer to this letter arrived ten days after the sorrowful +telegram which told of his death. He said, 'But what is this you write; +come home? Surely now, in our terrible dearth of workers, it is not the +time for any one to desert his post. Send us only our first twenty men, +and I may be tempted to come to help you to find the second twenty.'</p> + +<p>So he was faithful unto death.</p> + +<p>The <i>people</i> blessed the men who willingly offered themselves, and +surely <i>God</i> blessed them too, for 'God loveth a cheerful giver.' He who +gives to God grudgingly, or because he feels obliged to do so, had +better never give at all, for God will not receive the offering. The +money must be willingly given, the service must be cheerfully rendered, +the post of danger must be readily occupied, or God will have nothing to +do with it.</p> + +<p>The only giver whose gifts He can receive is the cheerful giver, the one +who willingly offers himself.</p> + +<p>To be comfortable is the great aim of our lives and our hearts by +nature. But sometimes God calls us to be uncomfortable, to leave the +cosy home, the bright fireside, the comparative luxury, and to go forth +to the post of danger, or difficulty, or trial.</p> + +<p>God grant that we may be amongst the number of those who go forth with a +smiling face amongst the people who willingly offer themselves!</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;"> +<a name="CHAPTER_XII"></a><h2>CHAPTER XII.</h2> + +<h2>The Holy City.</h2> + +<p>In the time of the terrible siege of Jerusalem, when the Roman armies +surrounded the city, when famine was killing the Jews by hundreds, and +when every day the enemy seemed more likely to take the city, a strange +thing happened. Some priests were watching, as was their custom, in the +temple courts at dead of night. They had passed through the Beautiful +Gate, crossed the Court of the Women, and had ascended the steps leading +into the inner court, which was close to the Temple itself. Suddenly +they stopped, for the earth shook beneath them, whilst overhead came a +noise as of the rushing of many wings, and a multitude of voices was +heard saying, again and again, the solemn words, 'Let us depart, let us +depart.'</p> + +<p>The angels of God were leaving the doomed city to its fate.</p> + +<p>For centuries Jerusalem had been known as the Holy City. Why was it so +called? Not because of its inhabitants, for, instead of being holy, many +of them were sunk in wickedness and impurity. Jerusalem was called the +Holy City simply because of one inhabitant; it was the dwelling-place +of God, and His presence there made it what no other city of the earth +was, the Holy City.</p> + +<p>'In Salem also is His tabernacle, and His dwelling, place in Zion,' +Psalm lxxvi. 2.</p> + +<p>'Blessed be the Lord out of Zion, which dwelleth at Jerusalem,' Psalm +cxxxv. 21.</p> + +<p>So wrote the Psalmist, and he was right. God had chosen Jerusalem as His +home on earth, His abiding-place, His dwelling; and so long as <i>He</i> +remained there, Jerusalem and all its surroundings was holy. The +mountain on which it stood was the Holy Mountain; the city itself was +the Holy City; the courts of the temple were the Holy Place, the temple +itself was the Most Holy Place, whilst the inner sanctuary, in which +God's glory appeared, was the Holy of Holies.</p> + +<p>But at the time of the siege of Jerusalem, God was leaving the city, it +was no longer to be His dwelling-place, and consequently it was no +longer to be called the Holy City. And therefore it was that the holy +angels cried aloud to one another, Let us depart, for it is a holy city +no longer, God has deserted it; it is His no more.</p> + +<p>But in Nehemiah's day, Jerusalem, in spite of her sins, was still the +Holy City. We find her twice called so in his book, Neh. xi. 1, 18, and +inasmuch as it was the Holy City, God's home on earth, His special +property, His constant dwelling-place, Nehemiah felt it was only right +that, as soon as the city was finished, as soon as all within its walls +was set in order, the city and all it contained should be dedicated to +the service of that God to whom it belonged.</p> + +<p>Accordingly, as we visit Jerusalem in thought, we find the people busily +preparing for a great and glorious day; they are going, by means of a +grand and imposing ceremonial, to dedicate the city to God.</p> + +<p>It is nearly thirteen years since the walls were finished and the gates +set up. Why then did not Nehemiah hold the service of dedication before? +Why did he allow so long a time to elapse before he summoned the people +to put the finishing touch to their work by laying it at the feet of +their King?</p> + +<p>The Tirshatha had probably two good reasons for the delay. In the first +place, there was much to do inside the city after the walls and gates +were finished; the city itself had to be rebuilt, strengthened, and put +into order. Then he probably dare not attempt such a grand celebration +without special leave from Persia. If he made a great demonstration of +any kind, it would be easy for the Samaritans to put their own +construction upon it, and to write off at once to Persia to accuse him +of setting up the standard of rebellion. It was, therefore, advisable to +obtain direct permission for such a step from Artaxerxes himself. Now +the city is in order, the necessary precautions have been taken, and +Nehemiah feels that there is nothing to hinder the holding of the solemn +ceremonial of the dedication of the Holy City to God.</p> + +<p>Who are these men who are arriving by companies at all the different +gates of Jerusalem? They are the Levites, coming up from all parts of +the country to the service of dedication. They are carrying with them +various musical instruments—cymbals, trumpets, psalteries and +harps—old instruments used by King David, and some of them evidently +invented by him and bearing his name, for we find them called, in xii. +36:</p> + +<p>'The musical instruments of David, the man of God.'</p> + +<p>These are to be used in the grand service which is about to take place. +Many new musical instruments had been invented since the time of David, +and the Jews of the captivity had seen and used these in Babylon and +Shushan. We read, in the Book of Daniel, of the cornet, the flute, the +sackbut, the dulcimer; all these instruments were familiar to the Jews +of Nehemiah's day. But we do not find one of these newly invented +instruments in use at this grand service. They cling to the old +instruments, used in the first temple, dear to their hearts as being +connected with King David, and as having been used by their fathers +before them, ver. 27.</p> + +<p>Not only the musicians, but the singers are called together from the +valleys round Jerusalem, in which the temple choir had chosen to live, +in order that they might go up by turn to lead the temple singing, xii. +29.</p> + +<p>When all who were to take part in the service had assembled, there was a +great sprinkling. The priests and the Levites purified themselves, and +purified the people, and the gates, and the wall.</p> + +<p>A red heifer (see Num. xix.) was led by one of the priests outside the +city. There she was killed, her blood was caught in a basin, and was +sprinkled seven times before the temple. Then her flesh was burnt +outside the city, and the ashes were carefully collected and mixed with +water. This water was put into a number of basins, and the priests and +Levites went with it up and down the city, sprinkling it first on +themselves, then on the men, women and children in the city, and +afterwards on the wall, and the gates, and all that was to be dedicated +to God.</p> + +<p>All were to be made pure before they could be used in God's service. The +Great Master cannot use dirty vessels; they are not fit for His use, +they cannot do His work.</p> + +<p>If you want God to use you in His service, you must first be sprinkled, +made pure from all defilement of sin. Until this has been done you +cannot do one single thing to please God; until you have been cleansed, +it is impossible for you to work for God.</p> + +<p>How, then, can we be cleansed? How can we be made vessels meet for the +Master's use, fit for the service of God? Thank God, we have a better +way of cleansing than by washing in the ashes of a heifer.</p> + +<p>'For if the ashes of an heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to +the purifying of the flesh: how much more shall the blood of Christ, +who, through the Eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, +purge your conscience from dead works <i>to serve the living God?</i>' Heb. +ix. 13, 14.</p> + +<p>The blood must be sprinkled, the conscience must be purged, then begins +the service of the living God; all works before that are dead, works of +no avail, utterly worthless and good for nothing, in the Master's +estimation.</p> + +<p>When all was ready and the purification was complete, the great company +of the musicians met in the temple courts. The blast of the priests' +trumpets was heard on one side, and on the other the sweet melodious +songs of the white-robed minstrels.</p> + +<p>When all were in order they marched to the Valley Gate, on the western +side of the city. Here Nehemiah divided them into two companies, in +order that they might make the circuit of the city, walking in gay +procession on the top of the new walls. One company was to go north and +the other south, walking round the city until they met on the other +side; whilst all the people stood below, watching the progress of the +two processions, each of which was formed of singers, nobles and +priests, who were dressed in white and flowing robes.</p> + +<p>It must have been a grand and imposing sight, as the bright Eastern sun +streamed on the dazzling white of their fine linen, and made their +instruments glitter and shine. Then there was the sound of glorious +music, which seemed to encircle the city in a wave of rejoicing and +song. Everyone made merry that day, and no wonder; it was a day to be +remembered.</p> + +<p>The order of each procession was as follows. First and foremost went a +band of musicians with their various instruments. Then followed a small +company of princes, the finest men in the nation, arrayed in all the +brilliance of Eastern costume, and bringing up the rear were seven +priests, bearing trumpets. Each procession had a leader, Nehemiah +conducted one, and Ezra the scribe the other.</p> + +<p>Ezra's procession proceeded southward, and then eastward. They passed +the Dung Gate, whence was swept out the refuse of the city. Then they +came to the Fountain Gate, opposite to the Pool of Siloam, and here they +descended by steps in the Tower of Siloam. They probably came down in +order that they might dedicate the buildings over the Pool of Siloam and +the Dragon Well, and then they climbed to the top of the wall again, by +the steps that went up to that part of Jerusalem called the City of +David. From thence Ezra's procession moved on to the eastern wall, where +they were to meet the other party.</p> + +<p>Nehemiah's company, on leaving the Valley Gate, turned northward, passed +the Tower of the Furnaces, went across the Broad Wall, which was almost +the only piece of the old wall still standing, passed the Gate of +Ephraim, the Old Gate, the Tower of Hananeel, the Tower of Meah, the +Sheep Gate, and so down to the temple, and the gate named the Prison +Gate, because it opened upon a street leading to the court of the +prison.</p> + +<p>Then, somewhere near the Water Gate, the two processions met, and +marched together into the court of the temple, the two bands now joining +together in a united glorious strain, whilst the two companies of +singers formed again one enormous united choir, and filled the temple +courts with their harmonious song.</p> + +<p>'So stood the two companies of them that gave thanks in the house of +God,' xii. 40.</p> + +<p>Not a voice was silent, there was no idle person in the choir. Headed by +their choir-master they did their utmost to praise the Lord.</p> + +<p>'The singers sang loud, with Jezrahiah their overseer.'</p> + +<p>Nor were the musical people the only ones who showed their joy that +happy day. For, as the priests offered great sacrifices, the rejoicing +was both universal and tremendous. 'For God had made them rejoice with +great joy.' Not the men alone, but the wives and the children, so that</p> + +<p>'The joy of Jerusalem was heard even afar off.'</p> + +<p>Women's tears, how often we read of them in the Bible! Rachel weeps +over her children and will not be comforted, Hagar lifts up her voice +and weeps over her son, Naomi weeps as she comes back to her desolate +home, Hannah weeps as she kneels in the tabernacle court, the widow +weeps as she follows her only son to the grave, and the company of women +weep as Jesus of Nazareth is led out to the cross.</p> + +<p>So many women's tears, so very few women's smiles; so much mourning and +lamentation, so very little happiness and rejoicing. But, on this day of +dedication, the wives were as merry and glad as the husbands, and even +the children took part in the general joy.</p> + +<p>It is interesting to notice that the Book of Psalms was the national +song-book of the Jewish nation, a large number of the Psalms having been +composed for special occasions, in order to commemorate certain +memorable days in the history of the nation.</p> + +<p>One Psalm, namely Psalm cxlvii., was probably composed in the time of +Nehemiah, in order that it might be sung at the dedication of the walls.</p> + +<p>Ver. 1: 'Praise ye the Lord: for it is good to sing praises unto our +God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely.</p> + +<p>Ver. 2: 'The Lord doth build up Jerusalem: He gathereth together the +outcasts of Israel.'</p> + +<p>Ver. 12: 'Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem; praise thy God, O Zion.</p> + +<p>Ver. 13: 'For He hath strengthened the bars of thy gates; He hath +blessed thy children within thee.'</p> + +<p>There follows in the Psalm a curious mention of snow and ice. The +dedication of the city took place late in the year, and probably +Jerusalem was white with snow as the singers in their white robes went +round the walls, the snow being a glorious emblem of the purification +which had just taken place. White as snow,—white in the blood.</p> + +<p>Vers. 16-18: 'He giveth snow like wool: He scattereth the hoar frost +like ashes. He casteth forth His ice like morsels: who can stand before +His cold? He sendeth out His word, and melteth them. He causeth His wind +to blow, and the waters flow.'</p> + +<p>Surely as the people rejoiced on the day that the city was finished, +they must have remembered the words of old Daniel the prophet, written +whilst they were in captivity, a hundred years before this time.</p> + +<p>For what had Daniel declared? He had foretold that his nation should +return from captivity, and that Jerusalem should be restored.</p> + +<p>'The street shalt be built again, and the wall, even in troublous +times.'</p> + +<p>Nehemiah's work was evidently revealed to Daniel, and he was also told +something about Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the other troublers of the +Jews.</p> + +<p>Then, says Daniel, as soon as the command goes forth to build Jerusalem, +then can you begin to reckon the time to the coming of the Messiah, only +a limited and stated time must then elapse before the Christ, the +Saviour of Israel, shall appear (Dan. ix. 25).</p> + +<p>No wonder then that the joy of Jerusalem was heard afar off that day, as +they thought of the good days that were coming. The word of the living +God had come true, the street was built, the wall was built, now they +had only to wait for the fulfilment of the rest of the prophecy, for +the coming of their own Messiah and King.</p> + +<p>We should all like to have stood in Jerusalem on that joyous dedication +day, and watched the glorious procession entering the temple on Mount +Zion. But we shall see one day a far grander procession than that.</p> + +<p>The leader of that procession will ride on a white horse. His eyes will +be as a flame of fire, on His head will be many crowns, His name will be +King of kings and Lord of lords. He will be followed in the procession +by the armies of heaven, on white horses, clothed in fine linen, clean +and white (Rev. xix.)</p> + +<p>Coming down to earth, His feet shall stand in that day on the Mount of +Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and then passing through +the Golden Gate, the King and His followers will enter Jerusalem.</p> + +<p>Then again Jerusalem will become the Holy City, for from that day the +name of the city shall be 'The Lord is there,' Ezek. xlviii. 35.</p> + +<p>So soon as the Lord, who deserted Jerusalem, returns to her, she must +become once more the Holy City. Even upon the bells of the horses and +the vessels of the temple shall then be inscribed, Holiness to the Lord; +all dedicated to Him and to His service.</p> + +<p>Then indeed shall the glad cry go up:</p> + +<p>'Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion, put on thy beautiful +garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more +come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean.'</p> + +<p>Then again, in that glad day, the joy of Jerusalem shall be heard afar +off, for God Himself will call upon all to rejoice with her.</p> + +<p>'Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all ye that love her: +rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn for her,' Isa. lxvi. 10.</p> + +<p>And the King Himself will lead the rejoicing:</p> + +<p>'And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in My people: and the voice of +weeping shall no more be heard in her, nor the voice of crying,' Isa. +lxv. 19.</p> + +<p>Shall we indeed take part in that grand procession? Shall we stand with +the King of Glory on Olivet? Shall we pass within the gate into the +city? It all depends upon whether we are sprinkled, made pure, washed +white in the blood of the Lamb. Only those who were purified could take +part in Nehemiah's procession; only sprinkled ones, cleansed by Christ, +will be allowed to join in the song of rejoicing, when the Lord comes to +reign in Jerusalem gloriously.</p> + +<p>If we are indeed His redeemed ones, let us keep the blessed hope of that +day ever before us. Let it cheer us as we are tossed to and fro on the +waves of this troublesome world.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<p>'Courage! oh, have courage,</p> +<p class="i3">For soon His feet shall stand</p> +<p>Upon the Mount of Olives,</p> +<p class="i3">In the glorious Promised Land;</p> +<p>For the Prince of Peace is coming,</p> +<p class="i3">With pomp and royal state,</p> +<p>To pass, with all His followers,</p> +<p class="i3">Within the Golden Gate.</p> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<p>Courage! oh, have courage!</p> +<p class="i3">For the time it is not long,</p> +<p>E'en now across the mountains</p> +<p class="i3">Comes a distant sound of song;</p> +<p>The dreary night is closing,</p> +<p class="i3">'Tis near the break of day,</p> +<p>And thy King, the King of Glory,</p> +<p class="i3">Will soon be on His way.'</p> +</div></div> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;"> +<a name="CHAPTER_XIII"></a><h2>CHAPTER XIII.</h2> + +<h2>Having no Root.</h2> + +<p>The sky is brilliant and cloudless, the snow-clad mountains stand out +clear in the distance, the air is laden with the scent of orange and +lemon groves, and the sweet fragrance of thousands of lilies. Nehemiah +the Tirshatha is once more in Shushan; his feet are treading again, as +in days gone by, the streets of the capital of Persia.</p> + +<p>It is thirteen years since he left the City of Lilies with his brother +Hanani, in order that he might go to Jerusalem, and do his utmost to +improve the ruined and desolate city. He has returned with his work +accomplished. The walls are built, the gates are set up, the bare spaces +in the city have been built over, the whole place has been strongly +fortified, the people have been brought back to their allegiance to God, +and, as the topstone of his work, he has seen, just before his departure +for Persia, the city and all it contained dedicated to the service of +the Great King.</p> + +<p>Very glad, very thankful is Nehemiah, as he enters once more the +glorious palace on the top of the hill, and stands before his master +Artaxerxes, the long-handed, to give in his report of all he has done +since the king gave him leave to return to his native land.</p> + +<p>Nehemiah finds himself once more surrounded by luxury and refinement and +beauty. What is Jerusalem compared with Shushan? Surely, now his work is +accomplished, he will settle down to a life of ease in Persia, where he +may dwell free from fear or anxiety or care, eating the dainties from +the king's table, and partaking of all the pleasures of an Eastern +court. After the rough life he has led during the last thirteen years, +after the perils he has undergone, and the difficulties he has +surmounted, he may surely retire, now that his work has been so happily +accomplished, and spend the remainder of his life in peace and comfort.</p> + +<p>But no; Nehemiah's heart was in Jerusalem, he preferred Jerusalem above +his chief joy. All the time he had been absent he had been hungering for +news, and receiving none; there were no posts across the vast deserts, +nor did he live in these luxurious days when the heartache of anxiety +may be relieved and set at rest by a telegram. What had been going on in +his absence? Were the Samaritans quiet, or had Sanballat and Tobiah +taken the opportunity afforded by his absence, and invaded Jerusalem? +And the people; how were they? Were they keeping the solemn covenant +which had been sealed in his presence? Were they continuing to serve and +obey the Heavenly King? All this, and much more, Nehemiah longed to +hear.</p> + +<p>He is therefore only too thankful when, after spending a year in Persia, +Artaxerxes gives him leave to return as governor of Jerusalem.</p> + +<p>'In the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes, King of Babylon, came I +unto the king, and after certain days obtained I leave of the king.</p> + +<p>'After certain days.' This is a common expression in the Bible for a +year. The same Hebrew word is translated a whole year in many other +passages, <i>e.g.</i> Lev. xxv. 29, Num. ix. 22. Thus we may safely conclude +that a year was the length of time that Nehemiah was absent from +Jerusalem.</p> + +<p>As soon as he had received the king's permission, Nehemiah left the +lovely City of Lilies behind, and set out once more across the desert +for Jerusalem. Probably no one there knew when he was coming, or whether +he was coming at all. When Nehemiah left the city he possibly had no +idea that he would be allowed to return, but expected that his royal +master would again require his services as Rab-shakeh in the palace of +Shushan; nor was it likely that any news had reached the city of the +permission given him to return. Suddenly, one day, a small cavalcade of +camels, mules, and donkeys arrived at the northern gate, and the news +spread through the city that Nehemiah the governor had returned. Was +this intelligence received with unmixed joy and thankfulness, or were +there some in the city to whom it came as anything but pleasant tidings?</p> + +<p>No sooner has the governor arrived than he begins to look round the +city, to see and to inquire how all has been going on in his absence. He +goes up to the temple, and no sooner has he entered the gate leading +into the outer court, than he notices that the whole appearance of the +place is changed. The temple enclosure looks empty and deserted; a few +priests in their white robes are moving about, but where is the company +of Levites who used to wait upon them, and help them in their work?</p> + +<p>Nehemiah had left no less than 284 Levites in the temple, now he cannot +see one of them. And, not only does he miss those Levites, whose duty it +was to attend upon the priests, but he misses also the temple singers; +the sons of Asaph and their companions are nowhere to be seen. The +temple choir has entirely disappeared, and the services have accordingly +languished. As Nehemiah looks round the whole place appears to him +quiet, empty, and dismal. Nothing seems to be going on, all is +apparently at a standstill.</p> + +<p>Nehemiah feels sure that something is wrong, and the further he goes +into the temple area the more convinced he is that he is not mistaken. +Passing through the Beautiful Gate, he crosses the Court of the Women, +and ascends the steps into the Court of Israel, where stands the temple +itself.</p> + +<p>Into the temple Nehemiah cannot pass, for none but the priests may enter +the Holy Place and Holy of Holies. But round the temple building there +had been erected an out-building or lean-to which surrounded the temple +on three sides, and which was made up of three stories, each containing +a number of rooms, some smaller, some larger. Just such an out-building +as this had been made by Solomon in the first temple (1 Kings vi. 5-10), +and the builders of the new temple had copied the idea, and had put up a +similar lean-to against the outer walls.</p> + +<p>In these rooms or chambers were kept all the stores belonging to the +temple. The corn, and wine, and oil belonging to the priests and +Levites; the first-fruits and free-will offerings brought by the people +for the temple service; and the meat-offerings, which were cakes made +of fine flour, salt, and oil. One of these cakes was offered twice a +day, at the morning and evening sacrifice, besides on many other +occasions, and with several other sacrifices; so that it was necessary +to have a number of them always ready for use. In these chambers was +also stored the frankincense, of which a large quantity was used every +day, for a handful of it was burnt on the altar of incense both morning +and night. This frankincense was very costly; it was brought on camels' +backs from Arabia, where it was obtained by making incisions in the bark +of a tree which grew in no other country. Out of these incisions oozed +the gummy juice of the tree, and from this was made the frankincense. It +was very rare, and could only be obtained occasionally, and therefore it +was important to store it carefully in the temple.</p> + +<p>Nehemiah wonders if the stores of the temple are in good condition, and +he throws open the door of one of the chambers, to see if its contents +are plentiful and well-stored. As he does so, he starts back in dismay. +The whole place is altered, utterly and completely transformed. The +small rooms have all been thrown into one vast chamber, the partition +walls have been removed, the corn, the wine, the oil, the frankincense, +and all the other stores are nowhere to be seen, they have all been +cleared away; the vessels in use in the temple, the knives for cutting +up the sacrifices, the censers for incense, the priests' robes and other +garments have all disappeared. There is not one single thing to be found +which ought to have been found there, and this chamber of the temple, +instead of being a useful and necessary store-house, has become more +like one of the grand reception rooms of the King of Persia, a +luxurious drawing-room, fit for the palace of a king. Gay curtains cover +the walls, costly furniture is set in order round the large room, the +softest of divans, the most comfortable of cushions, the most elaborate +ornaments and decorations surround Nehemiah on all sides, as he stands +amazed and disconsolate in their midst.</p> + +<p>Nehemiah calls one of the priests, and inquires the meaning of this +extraordinary change in the building. He is told, to his horror, that +this grand reception room has actually been made for the use and +convenience of Tobiah the secretary. Tobiah the heathen, Tobiah, who had +mocked them as they built the walls, and who had done all that was in +his power ever since to annoy and to hinder Nehemiah and his helpers. +This splendid apartment has actually been made and fitted up, in order +that Tobiah may have a grand place in which to dwell, and in which to +entertain his friends whenever he chooses to pay a visit to Jerusalem.</p> + +<p>What an abominable thing is this, which the poor governor has +discovered! For was not this Tobiah an Ammonite, a Gentile? and as such +Nehemiah knew perfectly well he had no right to set his foot in the +Court of the Women, or the Court of Israel; much less then had he the +right to enter the temple building.</p> + +<p>Where is Eliashib the high priest? How is it that he has not put a stop +to this proceeding? Nehemiah finds, to his dismay, that Eliashib has +actually been the very one who has had this chamber prepared. The very +man who was responsible for the temple, and who had, by his office, the +right and the power to shut out from the holy building all that was +evil, had been the man to introduce Tobiah the heathen, with marked +honour, into the temple itself.</p> + +<p>Eliashib had begun well. Earnestly and heartily he had helped in +building the walls; he had actually led the band of workers, and had +been the very first to begin to build, chap. iii. 1.</p> + +<p>But Eliashib had a grandson named Manasseh, and this young man had made +what he thought a very good match. Priest though he was, he had married +the daughter of Sanballat, the governor of Samaria, a heathen girl, who +was rich and possibly good-looking, and whose father was the most +powerful man in the country, but who did not fear or own the God of +Israel. And the grandfather, so far from forbidding the marriage, seems +to have connived at it and sanctioned it.</p> + +<p>Nay, he seems not only to have allowed himself to be allied with +Sanballat the governor, but also with Tobiah the secretary, chap. xiii. +4. In what way he was connected by marriage we are not told, but +inasmuch as both Tobiah and his son had married Jewish wives, one or +both of these may have been closely related to the high priest, chap. +vi. 17, 18. So the friendship with the Samaritans had grown; Eliashib +had probably visited Samaria, and had been made much of and royally +entertained by Sanballat and his secretary; and in proportion as his +friendship with the heathen had grown warm, his love and earnestness in +the Lord's service had grown cold.</p> + +<p>In the latter part of the Book of Nehemiah we never find Eliashib coming +forward as a helper in any good work. Ezra stands in the huge pulpit to +read the law of God, thirteen of the chief men in Jerusalem stand by +him to help him, but Eliashib the high priest, who surely should have +been well to the front in that pulpit, is conspicuous by his absence. +How could he stand up and read the law to the people, when he knew, and +they knew, that he was not keeping it himself?</p> + +<p>Nehemiah draws up a covenant between the people and their God, in which +they promise to obey God and keep His commandments. No less than +eighty-four seals are fastened to that document, but not one of those +seals bears the name of Eliashib.</p> + +<p>How could he engage to keep that covenant, one article of which was a +promise to have nothing to do with the heathen, when at the very time he +was living on the most friendly terms with both Sanballat and Tobiah?</p> + +<p>Then comes the grand service of dedication, when the city and all it +contained was devoted to God. Not a single mention is made of Eliashib +in the account of the services of the day. Many priests are mentioned by +name, but the high priest, who, we should have expected, would have +taken a prominent part in the proceedings, is never heard of throughout.</p> + +<p>Eliashib's connection with the heathen had made him cold and remiss in +the service of God. It is no wonder then that so soon as Nehemiah went +away, and the restraint of his presence was removed, Eliashib did worse +than ever, and at length actually entertained Tobiah in the temple +itself.</p> + +<p>But poor Nehemiah had not come to the end of his painful discoveries. He +inquired next what had become of all the stores of corn and wine +belonging to the Levites, all the tithes which the people were +accustomed to bring to the temple for their support, and which, in that +solemn covenant, they had so faithfully promised to supply. Since these +stores have been removed from the place which was built on purpose to +receive them, Nehemiah wishes to know what new store-house has been +prepared for them. But the governor finds, to his sorrow and dismay, +that no sooner was his back turned upon Jerusalem, than the people had +ceased to bring their tithes and their contributions for the house of +God.</p> + +<p>It was not surprising then that Nehemiah found the temple so deserted. +How could the Levites serve, how could the choir sing unless they were +fed? They could not live on air, no food was provided for them; what +could they do but take care of themselves? In order to save themselves +from utter starvation, they had been driven to leave the temple, and to +go to their fields and small farms in the country, which they had been +accustomed to cultivate only at such times as they were not engaged in +the work of the temple (Num. xxxv. 2). Now they were compelled to resort +to these fields, as a means of keeping themselves and their families +from beggary. No wonder then that few were found ready to help in the +temple services.</p> + +<p>The first Sabbath after Nehemiah's arrival, he sets out, with an anxious +heart, to see how it is kept by his fellow-countrymen. In the solemn +covenant the people had promised carefully to observe the day of rest. +They have broken their word in the matter of the tithes; have they kept +their promise with regard to the Sabbath?</p> + +<p>Nehemiah, as he walks through the city on the Sabbath day, finds a +regular market going on in the streets. He is horrified to find that all +manner of fruit and all kinds of food are being bought and sold, as on +any other day of the week. Wine, and oil, and merchandise of all kinds +is being bargained for, and the streets are filled with the noisy cries +and shouts of the sellers and purchasers.</p> + +<p>Going on to the Fish Gate, Nehemiah finds that a colony of heathen +Tyrians have come to live there, in order that they may hold a +fish-market close to the gate. The fish was caught by their +fellow-countrymen in Tyre and Sidon, and was sent down to Jerusalem +slightly salted, in order to preserve it from corruption. Nehemiah finds +that these Tyrians are doing a grand traffic in salted fish, especially +on the Sabbath day. The Jews loved fish, and always have loved it. How +they enjoyed it in Egypt, how they longed for it in the wilderness!</p> + +<p>'We remember the fish which we did eat in Egypt freely.'</p> + +<p>So they sighed, and murmured, as they thought of their lost luxuries.</p> + +<p>There was nothing a Jew liked so well for his Sabbath dinner as a piece +of fish; and, therefore, on the Sabbath, the Tyrians found they did more +business than on any other day.</p> + +<p>As Nehemiah leaves the city by the Fish Gate, he meets donkeys and mules +bringing in sheaves of corn, or laden with paniers containing figs, and +grapes, and melons; he meets men laden with all kinds of burdens, and +women bringing in the country produce that they may sell it in the +streets of Jerusalem.</p> + +<p>Then, passing on into the fields, he notices that work is going on as +usual. They are tilling the ground, gathering in the corn, pruning the +vines, and standing bare-footed in the winepresses to tread out the +juice of the grapes.</p> + +<p>So the promise about the Sabbath has been kept no better than the other +promise; the covenant has been totally disregarded.</p> + +<p>Turning homewards, Nehemiah discovers that the remaining article of the +agreement has also been broken. For, as he passes through the streets, +and listens to the children at play, he finds that some of the little +ones are talking a language he cannot understand. Here and there he +catches a Jewish word, but most of their talk is entirely unintelligible +to him. On inquiring into the reason of this, he is told that these +children have Jewish fathers but Philistine mothers, and that they are +being brought up to talk the language and learn the religion of their +heathen parent. They are making for themselves a strange dialect, a +mixture of the two languages they have spoken; it is half Jewish, half +Philistine.</p> + +<p>'Their children spake half in the speech of Ashdod, and could not speak +in the Jews' language, but according to the language of each people,' +xiii. 24.</p> + +<p>Poor Nehemiah must have been filled with sorrow and bitter +disappointment, as he found Jerusalem and its people in such a +disgraceful condition. He had left the holy city like the garden of the +Lord, he comes back to find the trail of the serpent all over his +paradise. They did so well whilst he was there, they wandered to the +right hand and the left so soon as he was parted from them.</p> + +<p>Nor is Nehemiah the only one who has had this bitter disappointment; +many a parent, many a teacher, many a friend can enter into his +feelings, for they have gone through the same.</p> + +<p>The young King Joash 'did that which was right in the sight of the Lord +all the days of Jehoiada the priest.' But as soon as the old man was in +his grave all was changed, and he did instead that which was evil.</p> + +<p>And Joash has many followers, those who do well so long as they are +under good and holy influence, and who do so badly when that influence +is removed.</p> + +<p>The young man, with the anxious, careful mother, who does so well as +long as she lives, and who wanders from the right path as soon as she is +taken from him; the young woman, who, whilst living under her parents' +roof, sheltered and guarded by wise restrictions from all that would +harm her, seems not far from the Kingdom of God, but, who, leaving home +and becoming her own mistress, drifts into frivolity and carelessness; +the man or woman who, when removed from good and holy influence, falls +away from God and goes backwards; all these are followers of Joash, all +these cause pain and distress to those who watch over their souls.</p> + +<p>What is the reason of this sad change? Why is it that some only stand +firm so long as they are under the care and influence of others? The +Master has answered the question. He tells us the reason.</p> + +<p>'These have no root.'</p> + +<p>Last Christmas we had in our house a large green fir-tree. It reached +from the floor to the ceiling, and spread its branches abroad in all +directions. It stood well and firmly; it had all the appearance of +growing; it held its head erect, and seemed as likely to stand as any of +the trees outside in the garden.</p> + +<p>But our tree only stood for a time. So long as the heavy weights and +props which held it up remained, so long as the strings, which were +tightly tied to nails in the wall, were uncut; just so long the tree +remained upright and unmoved. But the very instant that the props and +supports were taken away our tree came down with a crash.</p> + +<p>What was the reason of its downfall? Why did the trees in the garden +stand unsupported, and yet this tree fell so soon as its props were +removed?</p> + +<p>The answer is clear and simple. The trees in the garden had each of them +a root, our Christmas tree had no root. Having no root, it was +impossible for it to stand alone.</p> + +<p>There is, alas, plenty of no-root religion now-a-days. We see around us +too many whose godliness is dependent on their surroundings and their +circumstances. They mean well, they try to do right, but there it ends. +They have no root; the heart is unchanged, unconverted, unrenewed. Their +religion is merely a surface religion.</p> + +<p>So they for a time believe, for a time do well, for a time appear to be +true Christians, but in time of temptation they fall away. Their +'goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goeth away.'</p> + +<p>If we would stand firm, we must see to it that our religion goes deep +enough. I myself must be made new if I am to grow in grace; my heart +must be Christ's if I am to stand firm in the faith.</p> + +<p>'As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him. +Rooted and built up in Him, and established in the faith.'</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;"> +<a name="CHAPTER_XIV"></a><h2>CHAPTER XIV.</h2> + +<h2>Strong Measures.</h2> + +<p>What an objection some people have to strong measures! They see around +them, amongst those under their influence, a great deal going on which +is downright evil. You call upon them to put a stop to it, and to do all +in their power to prevent it.</p> + +<p>But what do they say? They tell you they will go gently and quietly to +work; but they do not like to hurt other people's feelings, or to tread +upon their prejudices. They have no objection to try gradually, quietly, +and gently, to turn the tide of evil into a good and holy channel, but +they hate and abominate anything in the shape of strong measures.</p> + +<p>And yet there are cases where nothing short of strong measures will be +of any avail. Here is a man who has a diseased hand. For some time the +doctor has been trying gentle remedies: the poultice, the plaster, the +fomentation, have all been tried. But now the doctor sees a change in +the appearance of the hand. He sees very clearly that mortification is +setting in. No poultice, no plaster, no fomentation will be of any avail +now, nothing but the knife, nothing but cutting off the limb will save +the man's life. What a foolish doctor he would be, who should refuse in +such a case to take strong measures!</p> + +<p>The great reformer, Martin Luther, looked around him, and what did he +see? The whole civilized world a slave at the feet of one man, the Pope +of Rome, obeying that man as if he were God; believing every word that +came from his mouth, following carefully in his footsteps as he led them +astray.</p> + +<p>Luther feels nothing will do but strong measures. He will not go gently +and quietly to work in his reform, for he feels that would be of no use; +the case is so serious that nothing but a strong and decided step will +answer the purpose. His strong step consisted in the making of a +bonfire. On December 10, 1520, as the students of the great University +at Wittenburg came to the college, they found fastened to the walls a +notice inviting them and the professors, and all who liked to come, to +meet Martin Luther at the east gate of the college at nine o'clock the +following morning.</p> + +<p>Full of curiosity, they assembled in great numbers to find a bonfire, +and Luther standing by it with a paper in his hand. That paper was a +letter from the Pope to Luther, telling him that if he did not recant +from all he was teaching in less than sixty days, the Pope would give +him over to Satan. After reading the letter to the assembled crowd, +Luther solemnly threw it into the flames and watched it burn to ashes, +that all might see how little he cared for the Pope or his threats. From +that time there could be no more peace between Luther and Rome.</p> + +<p>It was certainly a strong measure, and Luther owns that he had to make a +great effort to force himself to take it. He says: 'When I burnt the +bull, it was with inward fear and trembling, but I look upon that act +with more pleasure than upon any passage of my life.' For Luther felt, +and felt rightly, that the glorious Reformation would never have been +brought about unless he had used strong measures.</p> + +<p>Nehemiah was the Martin Luther of his age, the great reformer of his +nation, and never did he feel the need of strong measure to be so great, +as when he came back to Jerusalem after his absence in Persia.</p> + +<p>Four glaring evils were staring him in the face.</p> + +<p>(1) In the temple itself a grand reception room had been prepared for +Tobiah the Ammonite.</p> + +<p>(2) The people had refused to pay tithes or contributions to the temple +service, and the Levites had consequently all left the sanctuary.</p> + +<p>(3) The Sabbath day was desecrated and profaned; trade went on as usual +both within and without the city.</p> + +<p>(4) So common had marriage with heathen people become, that even the +very children in the street were chattering in foreign languages.</p> + +<p>Four evils, all of them very serious and deep-rooted, all calling for +instant reformation at his hand.</p> + +<p>How does Nehemiah go to work? Does he shrink from giving offence, or +hurting people's feelings, or calling things by their right names? No, +he feels his nation have sinned; the disease of sin is spreading, +mortification is setting in, nothing will do but strong measures. The +offending members must be cut off, that the whole body may be saved.</p> + +<p>He begins first with the temple. Going into the inner court, and taking +with him a band of his faithful servants, he throws open the door of the +great store-chamber and begins his work. Indignantly he bids his +servants to clear out all Tobiah's goods, nay, he himself gives a +helping hand, and leads them in the work. The grand divans, the elegant +cushions, the elaborate mats, the bright-coloured curtains are all +dragged out and cast forth outside. And then, when the great chamber is +empty he has it thoroughly cleaned and purified and put in order, to +receive again the temple vessels and stores.</p> + +<p>A strong measure certainly, but a very necessary one. If Nehemiah had +stopped to think what Tobiah might happen to say the next time he came +to Jerusalem, or if he had held back because he was afraid of hurting +the feelings of Eliashib the high priest, the sin would never have been +stopped, the temple would never have been cleansed.</p> + +<p>St. Paul tells all those who are Christ's, that they themselves are +God's temple.</p> + +<p>'Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God +dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God +destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.'</p> + +<p>Ye are the temple of God, you yourself God's dwelling-place. Examine +then the secret chambers of your heart. Are any of Tobiah's goods there? +Is there any secret sin hidden away in your heart?</p> + +<p>If so, be your own Nehemiah; cleanse the chamber of your heart, or +rather cry unto God to do it for you.</p> + +<p>'Cleanse Thou me from secret faults.'</p> + +<p>This is an all-important matter, for, unless the hidden sin is removed, +you will receive no answer to your prayers, and therefore to attempt to +pray is useless.</p> + +<p>'If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.'</p> + +<p>Then, too, the Holy Spirit will be grieved and will cease to move you, +and without His help you can do nothing; He cannot inhabit that temple +in the secret chambers of which is to be found cherished sin.</p> + +<p>In such a case nothing but strong measures will avail. That sin must be +given up, or your soul will be darkened; that chamber must be cleansed, +or the holy presence of the Lord cannot remain.</p> + +<p>Do you say, It is hard to give it up, to clear it out; it has become a +second nature to me, and I know not how to rid myself of it?</p> + +<p>Surely it is worth making the effort, however much pain and suffering it +may cause. Amputation, however much agony it may entail, is necessary if +mortification has set in.</p> + +<p>'If thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for +it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not +that thy whole body should be cast into hell. And if thy right hand +offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for +thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body +should be cast into hell.'</p> + +<p>The first evil has been dealt with and cleared away, Tobiah and his +goods have been cast out of the temple. Nehemiah now passes on to the +next thing which had so greatly shocked him on his arrival in Jerusalem, +namely, the neglect on the part of the people with regard to the payment +of what was due from them for the temple service.</p> + +<p>Again Nehemiah takes strong measures. He calls together the rulers, as +the leaders and representatives of the rest, and he gives them very +strongly his mind on the subject. No smooth words or gentle hints will +do. He tells us, 'I contended some time with them' (that is, I reproved +them and argued with them), 'and I said, Why is the house of our God +forsaken?'</p> + +<p>Then, without waiting for a response to his appeal, he sends round to +all the Levites and singers, bidding them with all haste to come up to +the temple and to take up their work again. And the people, seeing he +was determined, and that there was no possibility of his allowing the +matter to drop, came also, bringing with them the corn, and the wine, +and the oil, with which once more to fill the empty chamber.</p> + +<p>'Then brought all Judah the tithe of the corn and the new wine and the +oil unto the treasuries.'</p> + +<p>And, in order to prevent such a thing ever happening again, Nehemiah +appointed treasurers to look after the temple stores. Eliashib the high +priest had been the store-keeper before, xiii. 4, but he had shown +himself unworthy of his office. Four men are accordingly chosen to +collect the stores, and afterwards to deal them out to the priests and +Levites. One is a priest, one a Levite, one a layman of rank, and the +fourth a scribe, ver. 13. Nehemiah tells us why he selected these four +men. 'They were counted faithful,' and as faithful men they could be +thoroughly depended upon.</p> + +<p>Now, having set the temple in order, Nehemiah proceeds to fight the +battle with regard to the observance of the Sabbath.</p> + +<p>Again he uses strong measures. He once more speaks strongly and hotly +to the nobles, for they had led the van in Sabbath desecration. They +liked the freshest fruit and the daintiest dishes for their Sabbath +feast, and they had, therefore, encouraged the market-people to go on +with their Sabbath trade. Then, as now, there were plenty of people who, +for their own self-pleasing, were ready to argue in favour of the loose +observance of the fourth commandment.</p> + +<p>Nehemiah reminds the nobles that the destruction of Jerusalem, the +overthrow of that very city which they were taking so much trouble to +rebuild, had all been brought about through desecration of the Sabbath +day.</p> + +<p>For what message had Jeremiah brought their fathers?</p> + +<p>'If ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the Sabbath day, and not to +bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath +day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour +the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.'</p> + +<p>God's word had come true. Their fathers, despising the warning, had +continued to break the Sabbath, and Nebuchadnezzar had burnt and +destroyed the very gates through which the Sabbath burdens had been +carried. What safety, then, could they hope for now, how could they +expect to keep their new gates from destruction, if they followed in the +footsteps of their fathers, and did the very thing that God, by the +mouth of Jeremiah, condemned?</p> + +<p>'Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said unto them, What +evil thing is this that ye do, and profane the Sabbath day? Did not your +fathers thus, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us, and upon +this city? yet ye bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the +Sabbath.'</p> + +<p>But though Nehemiah began by rebuking the nobles, he did not stop here. +He took up the matter with a high hand. He commanded the gate-keepers to +shut the gates on Friday evening, about half-an-hour earlier than usual. +On other nights they were shut as soon as the sun had set, but now +Nehemiah orders them to close the gates on Friday evenings, so soon as +the shadows began to lengthen and the day was drawing to a close. They +were also, in future, to be kept shut the whole of the Sabbath, so that +no mules, or donkeys, or camels, or other beasts of burden, might be +able to enter the city on the holy day.</p> + +<p>The little gate, inside the large gate, by means of which +foot-passengers might enter and leave the city, was left open, in order +that people living in the country villages round might be able to come +into the city to attend the temple services. But at this smaller gate +Nehemiah took care to place some of his own trusty servants, and gave +them strict instructions to admit no burdens, no parcel, no goods of any +kind into the city on the Sabbath day, xiii. 19.</p> + +<p>Very naturally, the merchants and the salespeople did not like this. +They did a good stroke of business on the Sabbath day, and would not +lose their large profits without a struggle. Accordingly, what do we +find them doing? They were refused admittance into the city, so they set +up their stalls outside the walls. If the Jerusalem people could not buy +of them, because of that strait-laced, narrow-minded Nehemiah, still +the country people who came in to attend the temple services could +purchase at their stalls on their way home. They might thus maintain a +certain amount of their Sabbath business, and secure at least a portion +of their Sabbath gains. Not only so, but surely many Jews from the city +itself, as they strolled through the gates on the day of rest, might +pass by their stalls, and, in the conveniently loose folds of their +robes, many, even of these inhabitants of Jerusalem, might conceal a +pomegranate, or a melon, a piece of fish, or a bunch of grapes, a +handful of figs, or a freshly-cut cucumber, and might easily escape +detection by Nehemiah's servants, standing at the gate.</p> + +<p>Nehemiah, seeing this state of things, feels that once again strong +measures are required. He must make a clean sweep of these traders at +once. So, going out to them, he gives them warning that they will be +arrested and imprisoned the very next time that they come within sight +of the city on the Sabbath day.</p> + +<p>'So the merchants and sellers of all kind of ware lodged without +Jerusalem once or twice. Then I testified unto them: Why lodge ye about +the wall? If ye do so again I will lay hands on you.'</p> + +<p>That put a stop to it.</p> + +<p>'From that time forth came they no more on the Sabbath.'</p> + +<p>Then, from that day, Nehemiah held the Levites responsible for the +strict observance of this rule. His own servants had guarded the gates +in the first emergency, now he bids the Levites to take their place, and +to do all in their power to enforce and to maintain the sanctity of the +holy day.</p> + +<p>Surely we need a Nehemiah now-a-days, we need some of his strong +measures to stop the growing disregard of the Sabbath, which is creeping +slowly but surely like a dark shadow over this country of ours. We need +a man who will not be afraid of being called strait-laced, or +narrow-minded, or peculiar, or Jewish, or Puritanical, but who will +speak his mind clearly and decidedly on such an all-important point, and +who will not hesitate to use strong measures to put down the +Sabbath-breaking and the utter disregard of God's law, which is +threatening the ruin of our beloved country.</p> + +<p>Let each of us ask himself or herself, What am I doing in this matter? +How do I keep the Sabbath myself? God asks for the whole day; do I give +it to Him, or do I spend the best of its hours in bed? Am I careful not +to please myself on the Lord's Day, or do I think it no shame to amuse +myself on that day as I choose, by travelling, by light reading, or by +any other means that I have within my disposal? Am I anxious to dedicate +the day wholly and entirely to God, setting it apart entirely for His +service, and looking upon it as a foretaste of the great and eternal +Sabbath that is coming?</p> + +<p>And, if I myself keep and reverence God's Sabbath, do I see that those +over whom I have influence are doing the same? Am I anxious that my +children, my servants, the visitors who come to see me, all who are in +my home on the Lord's Day should do the same? Do I help them by every +means in my power? Do I strive that in my home at least God shall have +His due?</p> + +<p>And if in my home the Sabbath is observed, what am I doing with regard +to it outside, in my own town, or village, amongst my acquaintances, +companions, and friends? Am I doing all I can, using all the influence +God has given me, to lead others to reverence and observe the holy day?</p> + +<p>And my country, dear old England; am I praying day by day that her glory +may not depart, that her sun may not go down because of desecration of +the Sabbath day? The old promise holds good still; it is true of +individuals, of families, and of nations.</p> + +<p>'If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on +My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, +honourable; and shalt honour Him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding +thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own word: then shalt thou delight +thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places +of the earth.'</p> + +<p>'FOR THE MOUTH OF THE LORD HATH SPOKEN IT.'</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;"> +<a name="CHAPTER_XV"></a><h2>CHAPTER XV.</h2> + +<h2>The Oldest Sin.</h2> + +<p>We have all read the adventures of Robinson Crusoe, and we have all +pitied the man, alone on a desert island, alone without a friend, +without a single companion, never hearing any voice but his own, being +able to exchange thoughts with no one, alone, solitary, desolate.</p> + +<p>Yet after all, in one respect, Robinson Crusoe was to be envied, for he +was shut off from one of the greatest temptations which besets us in +this world, a temptation which comes across the path of each of us, and +from which it is by no means easy to escape. Of that temptation, +Robinson Crusoe on his desert island knew nothing. He did not find +himself ever tempted to one of the most common of sins. Robinson Crusoe +was never tempted to keep bad company, for the simple reason that there +was no bad company for him to keep.</p> + +<p>What curious beings hermits are! they are to be found in China, India, +Africa, in various parts of Europe, in fact, all over the world. And in +olden time there was many a lonely cave, many a shady retreat on the +hill-side, which was inhabited by one of these hermits.</p> + +<p>Who then were these hermits? They were men who were so much afraid of +falling into the snare of keeping bad company, that they refused to keep +any company at all, men who so dreaded being led astray by their fellow +men, that they shut themselves off from all intercourse with the human +race.</p> + +<p>It was not a right nor a wise thing to do, and these hermits found that +sin followed them even to their quiet lonely caves; yet it is scarcely +surprising that they dreaded evil companionship, and did all they could +to avoid it, seeing as they did how much misery it had brought into the +world.</p> + +<p>For what was the oldest sin? What was the very first sin that entered +into this fair earth of ours? Some say it was pride, or selfishness, or +hard thoughts of God. But surely it was no other sin than this, the +keeping of bad company.</p> + +<p>There was Eve in the garden. God had provided her with company; He had +given her Adam, the holy angels came in and out of that fair paradise; +nay more, God Himself was her friend, in the cool of the day He walked +with Eve under the trees of the garden, walked and talked with her as a +companion and friend.</p> + +<p>But, in spite of this, Eve got into bad company. She stands, she talks, +she entertains Satan, the great enemy of God, against whom she must +often have been warned by God and the holy angels. And the consequence +was that Eve lost paradise, became a sinner, and brought sin and all its +attendant miseries into the world. We should never have had our weary +battle with sin if Eve had not kept bad company.</p> + +<p>Nor was Eve the last of those who have brought trouble on themselves and +others by the same sin.</p> + +<p>If the descendants of Seth had not kept bad company and made friends of +Cain's wicked race, the flood would never have swept them away. If +Samson had not gone into bad company he would never have lost his +strength, and have had to grind blindly and miserably at the mill. If +Solomon had not kept bad company idolatry would never have ruined +Jerusalem. If Rehoboam had not kept bad company the kingdom of Israel +would never have been divided; and again, and again, both in the history +of the past and in the story of the present, we see men and women led +astray by keeping bad company.</p> + +<p>We have already seen Nehemiah taking strong measures to put down three +of the great glaring evils which he found in Jerusalem on his return. We +have now to see him battling with this dreadful curse and snare—bad +company. If the other three evils needed strong measures, Nehemiah feels +there is a tenfold need to take decided steps in this fourth and +all-important matter.</p> + +<p>For what does he find as he walks through the streets of Jerusalem? He +discovers that the inhabitants of the holy city are fast becoming +foreigners and heathen. He hears the very children in the street talking +a language he cannot understand.</p> + +<p>So common has marriage with heathen foreigners become, that Nehemiah +sees clearly that unless something is done to put a stop to it the next +generation will grow up utterly un-Jewish in language, appearance, and +dross, and worse still, heathen in their religion, kneeling down to +idols of wood and stone, and carrying on in Jerusalem itself all the +vile customs and abominations of the heathen.</p> + +<p>'If the girls are pretty and nice, and if the men like them, why should +not they please themselves?' So the Jerusalem folk had talked in +Nehemiah's absence. They quite forgot to what it was all leading. They +shut their eyes to the danger of keeping bad company, they thought only +of what was pleasant and of what they liked, they quite forgot to ask +what was right, and what was the will of God.</p> + +<p>Nehemiah, as governor of Jerusalem, summons into his presence, and +commands to appear before him in his judicial court, every man in +Jerusalem who had married a foreign heathen wife.</p> + +<p>When all were assembled:</p> + +<p>(1) He contended with them, <i>i.e.</i> he rebuked and argued with them, as +he had done with the rulers on the question of Sabbath observance.</p> + +<p>(2) He cursed them, or as it is in the margin 'he reviled them.' +Probably he pronounced, as governor of Jerusalem, speaking in the name +of God, the judgments of God on those who broke his law.</p> + +<p>(3) He smote certain of them. That is, he had some of them publicly +beaten. Nehemiah called upon the officers of the court to make an +example of some of the principal offenders by inflicting corporal +punishment upon them.</p> + +<p>(4) He plucked off their hair, <i>lit</i>., He made them bald. The Hebrew +word, <i>marat</i>, which is used here, means to make smooth, to polish, to +peel. The word hair is not expressed in the original.</p> + +<p>We are surely not to suppose that Nehemiah, with his own hands, either +struck these men or made them bald. What he did was simply this. He, as +the head magistrate, inflicted a judicial punishment upon them, a +double punishment.</p> + +<p>(1) They were beaten.</p> + +<p>(2) They were made bald.</p> + +<p>We read (Matt, xxvii. 26) that Pontius Pilate took our Lord and scourged +him; but we surely do not imagine that the Roman governor with his own +hands inflicted the scourging, but we understand it to mean that he gave +the order for the punishment to the Roman soldiers. Just so, Nehemiah +the governor commanded these offending Jews to be beaten and made bald +by the officers of the court.</p> + +<p>One of the most flourishing trades in an Eastern city is the trade of +the barber. This may easily be seen by walking through the streets of an +Eastern town, and noting the numerous barbers at work, some in their +shops, which are open to the street, and others outside on the +doorsteps, or in some shady corner. Especially in the evening are these +numerous barbers busy; when the work of the rest of the city is drawing +to a close the barber's work is at its height. Yet, strange to say, +although the barber is so busy, everyone in the East wears a beard; a +man in the East would think it a terrible disgrace if he was obliged to +be shorn of his beard.</p> + +<p>The beard is considered a very sacred thing; it is thought a great +insult even to touch a man's beard, and if you want to make any man an +object of scorn and ridicule, you cannot do so better than by shaving +off his beard. This was the way in which the Ammonites insulted David's +ambassadors (2 Sam. x. 4, 5). And we read that they stopped at Jericho +till their beards were grown, for 'the men were greatly ashamed.'</p> + +<p>What then is the barber's work? If men in the East wear beards, what is +it that keeps him so busy? The barber in the Eastern city shaves not the +man's chin, but his head. It is a very natural custom in hot, dusty +climates, where the head is always kept covered, both indoors and out of +doors. It is also a very ancient custom, for even in the old Egyptian +hieroglyphics we find pictures of barbers shaving the head. And we find +that in these modern days, Egyptians, Copts, Turks, Arabs, Hindoos, and +Chinese, all shave the head. But there is one great exception to this +rule. A barber would find no work in a purely Jewish city, for not only +do the Jews wear beards, but they also never shave their heads as their +Eastern neighbours do. The only ones amongst the Jews who were allowed +to have shaven heads were the poor outcast lepers. Hence the shaven head +was to them a sign or symbol of uncleanness and of excommunication. They +looked upon a man with a bald head very much as we look upon one whose +hair is cropped very suspiciously close, and whom we therefore imagine +must have been in gaol.</p> + +<p>Thus it came to pass that 'Bald-head' became a common term of reproach +and insult. Elisha, the holy prophet, goes up the hill, wearing a thick +turban to protect his head from the sun. Out come a troop of wicked, +mocking children. Elisha is not bald, for he is a Jew, nor, even if he +had been bald, could these children have seen it, since his head is +covered; but they wish to annoy and to insult the holy man, so they cry +after him,</p> + +<p>'Go up, thou bald head, go up.'</p> + +<p>They simply use a common term of reproach. To have a bald head was +amongst the Jews a sign that a man was cut off from his nation, that he +was counted as a Gentile and an outsider, and therefore to call a man 'a +bald head' was equivalent to calling him a Gentile dog and an outcast.</p> + +<p>Now Nehemiah inflicts this very punishment on these Jews who have +married heathen wives. He commands them to be made bald, as a sign of +shame and disgrace. It was a very significant and appropriate +punishment. They had thrown in their lot with the heathen Gentiles, let +them then become Gentiles, let them be branded with their mark, let +them, by being made bald, be stamped as those who are no longer citizens +of Jerusalem, but who have become outcasts and foreigners.</p> + +<p>Then, when this was done, Nehemiah calls them to him, and makes them +take a solemn oath before God, that from that time forth they will never +fall into the same sin again:</p> + +<p>'I made them swear by God, saying, Ye shall not give your daughters unto +their sons, nor take their daughters unto your sons, or for yourselves.'</p> + +<p>Then he reminds them how dreadful the consequences of the same sin had +been to no less a person than their great and glorious King Solomon, the +wisest of men, the beloved of his God. Even Solomon had been drawn aside +into sin by his love of heathen foreigners, or outlandish women, as +Nehemiah calls them, women living outside his own land. If he fell, if +he the wisest of men, if he the beloved of his God, was led astray, was +it likely that they could walk into the very same trap, and escape being +caught and ensnared by it?</p> + +<p>'Did not Solomon King of Israel sin by these things? Yet among many +nations was there no king like him, who was beloved of his God, and God +made him king over all Israel: nevertheless <i>even him</i> did outlandish +women cause to sin. Shall we then hearken unto you to do all this great +evil, to transgress against our God in marrying strange wives?'</p> + +<p>Did Nehemiah then break up the marriages which had already taken place, +and send the wives away? We are not told that he did. Probably he only +insisted, and insisted very strongly, that no more such marriages should +take place. For he knew that if the custom was continued it would lead +to ruin, shame, and disgrace, and he was therefore perfectly right to +take strong measures to put a stop to it.</p> + +<p>One man he saw fit to make an example of in a still more decided +way—one offending member he felt must be cut off. This was Manasseh, +the grandson of the high priest, the very one who had been the cause of +Tobiah's entrance into the temple, and of the friendly feeling that +existed between Eliashib and the Samaritans.</p> + +<p>Here was Manasseh, a priest, living in the temple itself, dressed in the +white robe, and taking part in the service of God, yet all the time +having a heathen wife, and allowing heathen ways in his household. +Manasseh's wife was actually Sanballat's daughter; and so long as he and +she remained in the temple precincts, Nehemiah felt they would never be +free from Sanballat's influence.</p> + +<p>Accordingly we read:</p> + +<p>'I chased him from me.'</p> + +<p>Nehemiah banished him from the temple and from Jerusalem, and Manasseh +went away with his wife to her father's grand home in Samaria.</p> + +<p>No doubt Nehemiah was far from popular in Jerusalem that night. There +were many who thought he had been too severe, too narrow, too +particular. And doubtless there were many who, if they had dared, would +have rebelled against his decision. But Nehemiah had done everything; he +had taken all these strong measures, not to please men, but to please +God. If the Master praised him, he cared not what others might say of +him. 'Lord, what wilt <i>Thou</i> have me to do?' was the constant prayer of +Nehemiah's heart; and though the work was oftentimes unpopular and +disagreeable, Nehemiah did it both boldly and fearlessly.</p> + +<p>The wheel of time goes round, and history, which works ever in a circle, +constantly repeats itself, and so also does sin. The sin of Nehemiah's +days is still to be seen; the same temptation which beset those +Jerusalem Jews, besets us even in these more enlightened days.</p> + +<p>We all love company. There is in us a natural shrinking from being alone +and desolate. That feeling is born in us; we inherit it from our first +father Adam. 'It is not good for the man to be alone,' said the Lord in +His tenderness and His pity.</p> + +<p>But a choice lies before us, a choice of friends. Our relatives are +given us by God, no man can choose who shall be his father, or mother, +or brother, or sister. But our friends are of our own choosing, and we +do not sufficiently consider that upon that choice may hang our +eternity. Heaven with all its brightness, hell with all its darkness +and misery, which shall be for me? The answer may hang, it often does +hang, on the choice of a friend.</p> + +<p>For there are only two divisions in this world of ours, only two +companies, only two flocks. The kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of +light, the Lord's people and those who are none of His, the sheep and +the goats. From which division, from which company, from which flock +shall I choose my friends?</p> + +<p>'Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers, for what +fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion +hath light with darkness?'</p> + +<p>Especially careful should we be in that nearest and dearest of +friendships, in the choice of the one who is to be to us our other self. +Would we be made one, would we link ourselves by that firm and sacred +tie, whilst knowing all the time that the one who is to be dearer to us +than life itself is outside the fold? No blessing can surely rest on +such a marriage. Jesus cannot be an invited guest at that marriage +feast. For clear and unmistakable is the trumpet call of the great +Captain of our salvation:</p> + +<p>'Come out from among them, and be ye separate, said the Lord, and touch +not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto +you, and ye shall be My sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.'</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;"> +<a name="CHAPTER_XVI"></a><h2>CHAPTER XVI.</h2> + +<h2>God's Remembrance.</h2> + +<p>How fond people are of collecting old books, and what a large price old +books will fetch! Those who are so fortunate as to obtain possession of +a book which is four or five hundred years old may put their own price +upon it, for some antiquarian will be sure to purchase it.</p> + +<p>But how modern, how very far from being ancient, the oldest of our +English books, printed in the most primitive black letter, appears, when +it is laid side by side with that curious old book which travellers, +visiting the little village of Nablus, are shown this very day. Well may +the old white-headed man who has charge of that book bring it out with +pride, for it is one of the oldest books in the world.</p> + +<p>The book is in the form of a roll of parchment. It is made of goat +skins, twenty-five inches broad, and about fifteen feet long. The skins +are neatly joined together, but in many places they have been torn and +rather clumsily mended. The roll is kept in a grand silver-gilt case in +the form of a cylinder, embossed and engraved. On this case are carved +representations of the Tabernacle, of the ark, of the two altars, of +the trumpets, and of the various instruments used in sacrifice. A +crimson satin cover, on which inscriptions are worked in gold thread, is +thrown over this precious book.</p> + +<p>This old manuscript is written in Hebrew, and is said by the Jews to be +the work of a man whose name has already come before us in Nehemiah's +story. We saw that Eliashib, the high priest, had a grandson named +Manasseh, that Manasseh married the daughter of Sanballat, the Samaritan +governor, and that Nehemiah felt very strongly that the temple would +never be cleansed, nor God's blessing rest upon them as a nation, so +long as one of their own priests had a heathen wife, and was in constant +communication with Sanballat. Accordingly he chased Manasseh from him, +he made him at once leave the temple and his high position there; and +Manasseh, in disgust and indignation, went off to Samaria to his +father-in-law, Sanballat, taking his heathen wife and family with him.</p> + +<p>Now it is that very Manasseh who was, according to the Jews, the writer +of the Samaritan Pentateuch, that old copy of the Books of Moses. The +Samaritans themselves declare that it is far more ancient; that it was +written soon after the Israelites entered the land of Canaan, by the +great-grandson of Aaron; whilst some scholars think it is far more +modern than some other copies of the Pentateuch which have been +discovered; but the Jews pronounce it to have been the work of Manasseh, +the grandson of Eliashib, the high priest of Nehemiah's day.</p> + +<p>Manasseh arrived in Samaria, indignant with Nehemiah, and determined to +have his revenge. He and his father-in-law were resolved not to be +outdone by the Jews. They in Samaria would build a grand temple, just as +the Jews had done in Jerusalem. One hill was as good as another, so they +thought; their own Gerizim, with its lovely trees and its sunny slopes, +was as fair or fairer than Mount Moriah.</p> + +<p>So they set to work with all their energy, to build the rival temple on +the very hill where 1000 years before, in the time of Joshua, the +blessings of the law had been read, whilst the curses were pronounced +from the hill on the opposite side of the valley, Mount Ebal.</p> + +<p>Here then, on Gerizim, the mount of blessing, rose the new temple, which +was built with one object in view, that it might outvie in splendour the +one in Jerusalem. When it was finished, Manasseh was made the rival high +priest, and was able to do what he liked, and to exercise his authority +in any way he pleased in his father-in-law's province.</p> + +<p>Nor was Manasseh the only priest in the Gerizim temple; many other +runaway priests joined him, all who were angry with Nehemiah, all who +were offended or touchy, all who thought themselves injured in any way, +all who had been found fault with for Sabbath-breaking or for any other +sin, left Jerusalem for Samaria—chose the temple of Mount Gerizim +instead of the holy temple on Mount Moriah.</p> + +<p>Yet of the Samaritans it is said:</p> + +<p>'They feared the Lord, and served their own gods.'</p> + +<p>It was a half-and-half religion, Judaism and heathenism mixed up +together, the worship of God and the worship of idols side by side.</p> + +<p>Satan, now-a-days, has his modern temple of Gerizim. He does not try to +lead nominal Christians to throw up religion altogether, for he sees +that it would be of no use to do so. He knows we have a conscience, he +knows that conscience is often busy, he knows that we fully believe that +some day we must die, and that after death will come the judgment, and +he sees therefore that we shall not be satisfied without some kind of +religion. So Satan tries to tempt us to the Gerizim temple. Serve God by +all means, he cries, but serve the world too. Go to church, say your +prayers, have a fair polish of Sunday religion; it is decent, it is +respectable, it is what is expected of you. But yet, at the very same +time, serve the world, please yourself. Take part in any pleasure that +attracts you, live as you please, enjoy yourself to the full. Let the +lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life have +their share in your allegiance. Be half for God, and half for the world. +Live partly for the world to come, and partly for this present world. By +no means throw overboard religion altogether, but let it have its proper +place, let it stand side by side with self-pleasing and worldliness.</p> + +<p>But what says the Master?</p> + +<p>'No man can serve two masters. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.'</p> + +<p>Let us then choose this day whom we will serve. Shall it be Christ or +Satan, Jerusalem or Gerizim, God or the world?</p> + +<p>For centuries after the time of Nehemiah, these Samaritans continued a +source of annoyance to the Jews, tempting all who were disaffected and +lawless to come to Gerizim, and vexing and troubling the Jews in every +possible way. No one who was travelling up to the rival temple was ever +made welcome in Samaria, or treated as he passed through with the +slightest show of hospitality. As our Lord and His disciples journeyed +up to the feast, we read that they came to a village of the Samaritans, +and our Lord sent messengers before Him to engage a lodging, where they +might find refreshment and shelter on their way. But we read,</p> + +<p>'They did not receive Him, because His face was as though He would go to +Jerusalem.'</p> + +<p>Sometimes they carried this antagonism to such a degree that they would +even waylay and murder the temple pilgrims who were on their way through +their country, and the poor travellers were compelled to take a much +longer route to Jerusalem, crossing the Jordan, and journeying on the +eastern side until they came opposite Jericho, and then ascending by the +long, winding, difficult road from Jericho to Jerusalem.</p> + +<p>Once, in order to mortify the Jews, the Samaritans were guilty of a very +dreadful insult. The Passover was being kept in Jerusalem, and it was +customary in Passover week for the priest to open the temple gates just +after midnight. Through these opened gates, in the darkness of the +night, stole in some Samaritans, carrying under their robes dead men's +bones and bits of dead men's bodies, and these they strewed up and down +the cloisters of the temple, to make them defiled and unclean.</p> + +<p>But perhaps the most trying thing which the Samaritans did was to put a +stop to a very old and very favourite custom of the Jews. For a long +time those Jews who lived in Jerusalem had been accustomed to let their +brethren in Babylon know the very time that the Passover moon rose in +Jerusalem, so that they and their absent friends might keep the feast +together at the very same time. They did this in a very curious and +interesting way. As soon as the watchers on the Mount of Olives saw the +moon rising, they lighted a beacon fire, other fires were already +prepared on a succession of hilltops, reaching all the way from +Jerusalem to Babylon. As soon as the light was seen on Olivet the next +fire was lighted, and then the next, and the next, till in a very short +time those Jews who sat by the waters of Babylon saw the signal, and +joined in the Passover rejoicing with their friends hundreds of miles +away in Jerusalem. It showed them that they were not forgotten, and it +helped them to join in the prayer and the praise of those who were in +their father-land.</p> + +<p>But the Samaritans annoyed the Jews and spoilt this beautiful old +custom, by lighting false fires on other mountains, on wrong days, and +at wrong hours, and thus confusing those who were watching by the +beacon-fires. After a time, so many mistakes were made by means of these +false signals, that the Jews were compelled to give up the system of +beacon-fires altogether, and to depend on the slower course of sending +messengers.</p> + +<p>We have now come to the end of Nehemiah's story, and we have, at the +very same time, come to the end of the history of the Old Testament. For +if all the historical books were arranged chronologically, Nehemiah's +book would come the very last in the series. Nothing more is told us in +the Book of God of this world's history, until St. Matthew takes up the +pen and writes an account of the birth of the expected Messiah. Yet +between the Book of Nehemiah and the Gospel of St. Matthew there is an +interval of 400 years, years which were full of interest in Jewish +history, but of which we are told nothing in the Bible story.</p> + +<p>There was one prophet who lived in the time of Nehemiah, and whose book +is a commentary on the book of Nehemiah. The prophet Malachi was living +in Jerusalem at this very time, and if we look at his book we shall see +that mention is made of many things of which we are told in the Book of +Nehemiah. For instance, if we turn to Mai. iii. 8, 9, 10, we shall find +the very words which the prophet spoke to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, +at the time when the temple store-house was empty, and when the people +had ceased to bring their tithes and offerings, and to give God the due +proportion of their possessions.</p> + +<p>'Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed Me. But ye say, Wherein have we +robbed Thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse; for ye +have robbed Me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the +storehouse, that there may be meat in Mine house.'</p> + +<p>Thus, if we read the Book of Malachi carefully, we shall find much that +throws light on Nehemiah's history; and we can easily imagine how much +the prophet's sympathy and help must have cheered and strengthened the +great reformer in his trying and difficult work.</p> + +<p>What became of Nehemiah, the great cup-bearer, the faithful governor of +Jerusalem, we do not know. Whether he returned to Persia and took up his +old work in the palace, standing behind the king's chair in his office +of Rab-shakeh, or whether he remained in Jerusalem, guarding his +beloved city from enemies without and from false friends within, we are +not told. Whether he died in the prime of life, or whether he lived to a +good old age, neither the Bible nor profane history informs us.</p> + +<p>But although we know nothing of Nehemiah's death, we know much of his +life. We have watched him carefully and closely, and there is one thing +which we cannot fail to have noticed, and that is that Nehemiah was +emphatically a man of prayer. In every trouble, in each anxiety, in all +times of danger, he turned to God. Standing behind the king's chair, +Nehemiah prayed; in his private room in the Shushan palace, he pleaded +for Jerusalem; and all through his rough anxious life as a reformer and +a governor, we find him constantly lifting up his heart to God in short +earnest prayers. When Tobiah mocked his work, when the Samaritans +threatened to attack the city, when the people were inclined to be angry +with him for his reforms, when he discovered that there were traitors +and hired agents of Sanballat inside the very walls of Jerusalem, when +he brought upon himself enmity and hatred because of his faithful +dealing in the matter of the temple store-house, when he had to +encounter difficulty and opposition in his determination with regard to +the observance of the Sabbath, and when he still further incensed the +half-hearted Jews by his prompt punishment of those who had taken +heathen wives, and by his summary dismissal of Manasseh; in all these +times of danger, difficulty, and trial, we find Nehemiah turning to the +Lord in prayer.</p> + +<p>There was one prayer of which he seems to have been especially fond, +three times over does Nehemiah ask God to remember him.</p> + +<p>'Think upon me, my God, for good,' v. 19.</p> + +<p>'Remember me, O my God,' xiii. 14.</p> + +<p>'Remember me, O my God, for good,' xiii. 31.</p> + +<p>Can it be that this prayer was suggested to him by the words of his +friend, the prophet Malachi? Can it be, that as he and Nehemiah took +sweet counsel together, and spoke together of the Lord they loved, +Malachi may have spoken those beautiful words which we find in chap. in. +16, 17, of his prophecy, in order to cheer and encourage his +disheartened and unappreciated friend:—</p> + +<p>'They that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord +hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before +Him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon His name. And +they shall be Mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up +My jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that +serveth him.'</p> + +<p>Can we wonder that Nehemiah longed to know that his name was in that +book of remembrance of which his friend Malachi spoke, and that he often +turned the desire into a prayer, pleading with God, 'Remember <i>me</i>, O my +God?'</p> + +<p>It is a very touching prayer. Nehemiah evidently felt that others did +not value his work, nay, that Borne even condemned him for it. The +people, instead of being grateful to him for his reforms, found fault +with him, misunderstood him, and reproached him.</p> + +<p>But God knew, the Master did not blame him. He saw that all Nehemiah +did had been done for His glory and for the good of his nation. And to +the Master whom he served Nehemiah appealed. Away from the fault-finding +people, he turned to the merciful God.</p> + +<p>Remember Thou me, O God, for good; others blame me, but it is Thy praise +alone that I crave, wipe not <i>Thou</i> out my good deeds, spare <i>Thou</i> me +in the greatness of Thy mercy.</p> + +<p>There is no pride or boasting in this prayer. Is it not the very prayer +of the penitent thief, 'Lord, remember me?' Look carefully at the +wording of it, and you will notice, as Bishop Wordsworth so beautifully +points out, that it is humble in its every detail. Nehemiah does not +say, publish to the world my good deeds, but wipe them not out. He does +not say, reward me, but remember me. He does not say, remember me for my +merit, but according to the greatest of Thy mercies.</p> + +<p>So Nehemiah passes away from our sight with that prayer on his lips, +'Remember me, O my God, for good.'</p> + +<p>And was the prayer heard? Was Nehemiah remembered? Did God, has God +forgotten His faithful servant? Surely not, for 'The righteous shall be +had in everlasting remembrance.'</p> + +<p>Remembered by God, and remembered for ever, entered in the great book of +God's remembrance, of which he had so often thought, and of which +Malachi had written.</p> + +<p>The day is coming when we shall see Nehemiah the cup-bearer. In God's +great day of reward, when one after another of His faithful servants +shall appear before Him, we shall hear the response to Nehemiah's +prayer.</p> + +<p>'Remember me, O my God,' said Nehemiah, long years ago, as he toiled on, +unthanked and unblessed by man.</p> + +<p>And we shall hear the Lord answer, 'Well done, good and faithful +servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.'</p> +<br> +<blockquote><a name="footnote1"></a> +Transcribers note:<br> +1: stumbling-black corrected to stumbling-block [<a href="#1">return</a>]</blockquote> + +<h2>THE END.</h2> + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The King's Cup-Bearer, by Amy Catherine Walton + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE KING'S CUP-BEARER *** + +***** This file should be named 12248-h.htm or 12248-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/2/2/4/12248/ + +Produced by Joel Erickson, Michael Ciesielski, Marit Henningsen and +the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The King's Cup-Bearer + +Author: Amy Catherine Walton + +Release Date: May 3, 2004 [EBook #12248] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE KING'S CUP-BEARER *** + + + + +Produced by Joel Erickson, Michael Ciesielski, Marit Henningsen and +the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + + + + + + +[Illustration: NEHEMIAH'S MIDNIGHT SURVEY.] + + + +THE + +KING'S CUP-BEARER + +By + +MRS. O.F. WALTON + +Author of 'Christie's Old Organ,' 'A Peep Behind the Scenes,' +'Elisha, the Man of Abd-Meholah' + + + + +CONTENTS. + + * * * * * + +CHAP. + + I. THE CITY OF LILIES + + II. THE KING'S TABLE + + III. THE GOOD HAND + + IV. TO EVERY MAN HIS WORK + + V. THE SWORD AND THE TROWEL + + VI. THE WORLD'S BIBLE + + VII. TRUE TO HIS POST + +VIII. THE PAIDAGOGOS + + IX. THE SECRET OF STRENGTH + + X. THE EIGHTY-FOUR SEALS + + XI. THE BRAVE VOLUNTEERS + + XII. THE HOLY CITY + +XIII. HAVING NO ROOT + + XIV. STRONG MEASURES + + XV. THE OLDEST SIN + + XVI. GOD'S REMEMBRANCE + + +[Illustration: PLAN OF THE PALACE AT PERSEPOLIS.] + + + + +THE KING'S CUP-BEARER + + * * * * * + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +The City of Lilies. + + +The great Rab-shakeh, magnificently attired in all the brilliancy of +Oriental costume, is walking towards the city gate. Above him stretches +the deep blue sky of the East, about and around him stream the warm rays +of the sun. It is the month of December, yet no cold biting wind meets +him, and he needs no warm wraps to shield him from the frost or snow. + +The city through which the Rab-shakeh walks is very beautiful; it is the +capital of the kingdom of Persia. Its name is Shushan, the City of +Lilies, and it is so called from the fields of sweet-scented iris +flowers which surround it. It is built on a sunny plain, through which +flow two rivers,--the Choaspes and the Ulai; he sees them both sparkling +in the sunshine, as they wind through the green plain, sometimes flowing +quite close to each other, at one time so near that only two and a half +miles lie between them, then wandering farther away only to return +again, as if drawn together by some subtle attraction. + +Then, in the distance, beyond the plain and beyond the rivers, the +great Rab-shakeh sees mountains, for a high mountain range, about +twenty-five miles from the city, bounds the eastern horizon. He has good +reason to love those high mountains, which rise many thousands of feet +above the plain, for even in the hottest weather, when the heat in +Shushan would otherwise be unbearable, he can always enjoy the cooling +breezes which come from the everlasting snow-fields on the top of that +mountain range, and which blow refreshingly over the sultry plain +beneath. + +The City of Lilies is a very ancient place. It was probably built +long before the time of Abraham. We read in Gen. xiv. of a certain +Chedorlaomer, King of Elam, who gathered together a number of +neighbouring kings, and by means of their assistance invaded Palestine, +and took Lot prisoner. This Chedorlaomer probably lived by these very +rivers, the Choaspes and the Ulai, and Shushan was the capital city of +the old kingdom of Elam over which he ruled. + +Later on the City of Lilies was taken by the Babylonians. They had their +own capital city, the mighty Babylon, on the Euphrates. But although it +was not the capital, still Shushan was a very important place in that +first great world-empire. We find Daniel, the prime minister, staying in +the palace of Shushan, to which he had been sent to transact business +for the King of Babylon, and it was during his visit to the City of +Lilies that God sent him one of his most famous visions. In his dream he +thought he was standing by the river Ulai, the very river he could see +from the palace window, and before that river stood the ram with the two +horns and the strong he-goat, by means of which God drew out before his +eyes a picture of the future history of the world. + +But the great Babylonian empire did not last long. Cyrus the Persian +took Babylon, Belshazzar was slain, the great Assyrian power passed +away, and the second great world-empire, the Persian empire, was built +upon its ruins. + +What city did the Persian kings make their capital? Not Babylon, with +its mighty walls and massive gates, but Shushan, the City of Lilies. +They chose it as their chief city for three reasons; it was nearer to +their old home, Persia, it was cooler than Babylon because of the +neighbouring mountains, and lastly, and above all, it had the best water +in the world. The water of the river Choaspes was so much esteemed for +its freshness, its clearness, and its salubrity, that the Persian kings +would drink no other; they had it carried with them wherever they went; +even when they undertook long warlike expeditions, the water of the +Choaspes was considered a necessary provision for the journey. + +The City of Lilies, in the days of the Rab-shakeh, was a perfect +fairy-land of beauty, surrounded as it was by fruit-gardens and +corn-fields; the white houses standing out from amongst dark palm trees, +and the high walls encircled by groves of citron and lemon trees. As the +Rab-shakeh walks along the air is scented with their blossoms, and with +the sweet fragrance of the countless Shushan lilies, growing beside the +margin of the sparkling rivers. + +Above him, in the midst of the city, stands his lordly home. It may well +be a magnificent place, for it is the palace of the greatest king in the +world, the mighty King of Persia. The palace in which the Rab-shakeh +lives is not the old palace in which Daniel stayed when he visited +Shushan; it is quite a new building, built only forty years before by +the great Ahasuerus, the husband of Queen Esther. It was to celebrate +the opening of this gigantic palace that the enormous and magnificent +feast of which we read in Esther i., was given by the Persian monarch, +who was its founder. + +This new palace was built on a high platform of stone and brick, and the +view from its windows of the green plain, of the shining rivers, of the +gardens filled with fruit trees and flowers, and of the snow-clad +mountains in the distance, was magnificent in the extreme. In the centre +of the palace was a large hall filled with pillars, one of the finest +buildings in the world, and round this hall were built the grand +reception rooms of the king. + +The ruins of Shushan, the City of Lilies, were discovered by Sir Fenwick +Williams in the year 1851, and the bases of the very pillars which +supported the roof of the great Rab-shakeh's splendid home may be seen +this very day on the plain between the two rivers. + +But who was this Rab-shakeh, and how came he to live in the most +glorious palace in the world? He was a Jew, a foreigner, a descendant of +those Jews whom Nebuchadnezzar took captive, and carried into Assyria. +Yet, although one of an alien race, we find him in one of the highest +offices of the Persian court, namely, the office of Rab-shakeh. + +This word Rab, so often found in the Bible, is a Chaldean word which +means Master. Thus, in the New Testament, we find the Jewish teachers +often addressed by the title Rabbi, Master. But the title Rab was also +used in speaking of the highest officials in an Eastern court. Three +such titles we find in the Bible: + + Jer. xxxix. 13. RAB-SARIS, Master of the Eunuchs. + + Jer. xxxix. 13. RAB-MAG, Master of the Magi. + + 2 Kings xviii. 17. RAB-SHAKEH, Master of the Cup-bearers. + +This last office, that of Rab-shakeh, was a very important and +responsible one. It was the duty of the man who held it to take charge +of the king's wine, to ensure that no poison was put into it, and to +present it in a jewelled cup to the king at the royal banquets. It was a +position of great trust and power; great trust, because the king's life +rested in the cup-bearer's keeping; great power, because whilst the +Persian monarchs, believing that familiarity breeds contempt, kept +themselves secluded from the public gaze, and admitted very few to their +august presence, the cup-bearer had access at all times to the king, and +had the opportunity of speaking to him which was denied to others. + +Strange that a Jew, one of a captive race, should be chosen to fill so +important a post. But King Artaxerxes knew his man. He felt he could +trust him fully, and he was not disappointed in his confidence, for the +great Rab-shakeh served a higher Master than the King of Persia, he was +a faithful servant of the God of Heaven. + +The Rab-shakeh's name was Nehemiah, a name chosen by his parents, not as +a fancy name or as a family name, but chosen for the same reason which +usually influenced Jewish parents in the selection of names for their +children, because of its beautiful meaning. Nehemiah meant _The Lord my +Comforter_. + +What a sweet thought for Hachaliah and his wife as they called their +boy in from play, or as they put him in his little bed and took leave +of him for the night, '_The Lord is my Comforter_.' Life in sunny +Shushan was surely no brighter than life in our more clouded land; they +had their times of sorrow as well as their times of joy, they had their +temptations, their cares, their anxieties, and their trials, just as we +have. How blessed for them in one and all of these to be reminded where +true comfort was to be found, so that they might turn to God in every +time of grief with the name of their little son on their lips, 'The Lord +is my Comforter.' + +What do _we_ know of Nehemiah? Can we say from our heart, 'The Lord +is _my_ Comforter?' I take Him my every sorrow, I tell Him my every +trouble. He understands it, and He understands me, and He comforts me as +no other can. The Lord is indeed my Comforter. + +So the little Nehemiah had grown up an ever-present reminder in his +parents' home of the comfort of God. + +How many children Hachaliah had we are not told, but Nehemiah had +certainly one brother, Hanani. There had been some years before this a +parting in Hachaliah's family. Hanani, Nehemiah's brother, had left +Shushan for a distant land. Twelve years had passed since all the Jews +in Shushan had been roused by the news that Ezra the scribe was going +from Babylon to Jerusalem, and that he was calling upon all who loved +the home of their forefathers to go with him, and to help him in the +work he had undertaken. Bad news had been brought to Babylon of the +state of matters in Palestine; those who had returned with Zerubbabel +were not prospering, either in their souls or their bodies, and Ezra, +shocked by what he had heard, determined to go to Jerusalem that he +might reform the abuses which had arisen there, and do all in his power +to rouse the people to a sense of their duty. A brave company had set +forth with him. Eight thousand Jews had been ready to leave comfort, +luxury, and affluence behind, that they might go to the desolate city, +and endeavour to stir up its people to energy and life. + +One of the 8,000 who went with Ezra was Nehemiah's brother, Hanani. It +is possible that Nehemiah himself was at that time too young to go; it +is also probable that Hachaliah, the father, having been born and +brought up in Shushan, was hard to move. So Hanani set forth alone, and +the brothers were parted. + +Twelve long years, and in all probability no news had reached the family +in Shushan of the absent Hanani. A journey of five months lay between +them and Jerusalem; and in those days, when all the conveniences we +enjoy were unknown, they would not only never expect to meet again, but +they would also never anticipate the pleasure of even hearing any news +of each other, or of holding the slightest communication. + +But as the Rab-shakeh walks to the gate of Shushan, on the day on which +the story opens, he spies a caravan of travellers coming along the +northern road. They have evidently come a long way, for they are tired, +exhausted, and travel-stained. The mules walk slowly and heavily under +their burdens, the skin of the travellers is burnt and cracked by the +hot sun of the desert, their clothes are faded and covered with dust, +their sandals are full of holes. + +Where can the caravan have come from? Nehemiah finds to his astonishment +that it has come from Jerusalem, the city of cities, as he had been +taught to believe it, and, to his still greater surprise, he finds +amongst the travellers his long-lost brother Hanani. What had brought +Hanani back from Jerusalem we are not told; he may have wished once more +to see his old father Hachaliah; but we can well imagine the joy with +which he would be welcomed by all, and not the least by his brother +Nehemiah. + +As they walk together through Shushan to the palace, the Rab-shakeh asks +anxiously after Jerusalem. Has Ezra's work been successful? How are +matters progressing? Are the people more in earnest? Is Jerusalem +thriving? + +But the travellers have a dismal tale to tell. Affairs in the Holy City +are about as bad as it was possible for them to be. + +Neh. i. 3: 'They said unto me, The remnant that are left of the +captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: +the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are +burned with fire.' + +In other words, things are just where they were twelve years ago; the +people are miserable and depressed, beset with countless troubles; the +city itself is still an utter ruin, just as Nebuchadnezzar left it. The +temple, it is true, is built at last, but nothing more is done; the +walls lie just as they were when the city was taken,--a mass of ruins; +the gates are nowhere to be seen, only a few blackened stones mark the +place where they used to stand. + +The Rab-shakeh's heart is very heavy as he goes to his rooms in the +royal palace. What terrible news he has heard! Jerusalem is still, +after all Ezra's efforts to restore it, a desolate ruined city. Nehemiah +is full of sorrow, sick at heart, overwhelmed with disappointment and +trouble. + +But he remembers his own name and its warning, Nehemiah, _The Lord is +my Comforter_. At once, without a moment's delay, he goes to his +Comforter. He weeps, he mourns, he fasts, and he pours out all his sorrow +to God. As a child runs to his mother, and pours into her ear his grief +or his disappointment, so Nehemiah hastens to his God. + +We walk through a splendid conservatory, the pride and glory of a +nobleman's garden; we admire the flowers of all shades of colour; rare +blossoms from all parts of the world, ferns of every variety, palms, and +grasses, and mosses, and all manner of natural beauties meet our eye at +every turn. What is that plant standing in a conspicuous place in the +conservatory? It is a beautiful azalea, covered with hundreds of pure +white blossoms. But there is so much else to see in that conservatory +that we scarcely notice it as we pass by. Nor are we at all surprised to +see it there; it is just the very place in which we should look for such +a plant. Nor are we astonished to find it so flourishing and so full of +bloom, for we know that everything in that conservatory is calculated to +improve its growth, the atmosphere is just what it should be, not too +dry or too damp, it has exactly the right soil, the proper amount of +light, the most carefully regulated heat; it has in fact everything +which it ought to have to make it a flourishing and beautiful plant. +Accordingly we are not surprised to find it full of bloom and beauty. + +But suppose, on the other hand, that walking through the slums of +London we see a similar sight. In one of the closest, most filthy courts +we see, in a garret window, a white azalea full of flowers, pure as the +untrodden snow. + +Now indeed we are surprised to see it, for it is in the most unlikely +place; there is nothing to favour its growth, the air is foul, the light +is dim, everything is against it, yet there it stands, a marvel of +beauty! And we look at it and say, 'Wonderful!' + +Surely we have even now seen the white azalea in the garret. For where +should we expect to find a man of God? Dwelling in the holy temple in +Jerusalem, surrounded by everything to remind him of God breathing in +the very atmosphere of religion, with godly people all around him, with +everything to help him to be holy and pure, no one would be astonished +to find a man of God in such a place as that. + +But here is Nehemiah the Rab-shakeh, living in a heathen palace, in the +midst of a wicked court, surrounded by drunkenness, sensuality, and all +that is vile and impure, breathing in the very atmosphere of sin, yet we +find him a plant of the Lord, pure as the azalea, a man of faith, a man +of prayer, a holy man of God. With everything against him, with nothing +to favour his growth in holiness, he is a flourishing plant in the +garden of the Lord. So it ever is. The plants of God's grace often +thrive in very unlikely places. There was a holy Joseph in the court of +Pharaoh, a faithful Obadiah in the house of wicked Jezebel, a righteous +Daniel in Babylon, and saints even in Caesar's household. + +Are we ever tempted to say, I cannot serve the Master faithfully? If I +were in another position, if my home life were favourable to my becoming +decided for Christ, if I had different companions, different occupation, +different surroundings, then indeed I would grow in grace, and bring +forth the fruit of a holy life. But as I am, and where I am, it is a +simple impossibility; I can never, under existing circumstances, live +near to God, or be what I often long to be, a true Christian. + +What does the Master say as He hears words like these? 'My grace is +sufficient for thee.' 'As thy day so shall thy strength be.' + +Even in most unlikely and unfruitful soil God can make His plants to +grow and flourish. Where I am, and as I am, and with exactly the same +surroundings as I now possess, God can bless me, and give me grace to +serve and to glorify Him. If I do not become a flourishing plant, it is +not my position that is to blame, it is because I will not seek that +grace which the Lord is ready to give me. 'Ye have not, because ye ask +not. Ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.' + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +The King's Table. + + +It was midnight in London, in the year 1665. The houses were closed and +barred, but strange lurid fires were lighted in every street, a stifling +odour of burning pitch and sulphur filled the air, and from time to time +came the heavy rumble of wheels, as a terrible cart, with its awful +load, passed by in the darkness of the night. With the cart came a cry; +so loud, so clear, so piercing, that it could be heard in all the closed +houses of the street. 'Bring out your dead, bring out your dead!' +Then, one door after another was hurriedly opened, and from the +plague-stricken houses one body after another was brought out, and was +thrown hastily into that awful dead cart. + +_Bring out your dead_! what a solemn, terribly solemn cry! How it +must have filled with awe and dread all who heard it! And if that call +were repeated, if the holy angels of God were to go through the length +and breadth of our land, and, stopping before each house, were to cry to +those within, 'Bring out your dead, bring out your dead,' not your dead +bodies, but your dead souls; bring out all in your house who are not +alive unto God, who are dead in trespasses and sins, how many would +have to be carried out of our houses? Should we ourselves be left +behind? Are we alive or dead? + +The angels have not yet come to sever the dead from the living, but the +time for that great separation is drawing daily nearer, when the Son of +man shall send forth His angels, and they shall gather out of His +kingdom all things that offend; all the loathsomeness of death, and +decay, and impurity shall be collected by angel hands, and, we read, +they shall cast them, not into a vast pit such as was dug in London in +the time of the plague, but into a furnace of fire, there shall be +wailing and gnashing of teeth. + +Surely, then, it is worth while to find out whether our soul is alive or +dead. What test then shall we use? How shall we settle the matter +clearly and definitely? + +There is one thing, and one thing only, which proves that a man has +life. A man apparently drowned is brought out of the water. He does not +speak, or see, or move, or feel. He is rubbed and warmed, but no sign of +life can be perceived. Can we therefore conclude that the man is dead? +Nay, we will put him to the test. Bring a feather, hold it before his +mouth, watch it carefully, does it move? A crowd of anxious bystanders +gather round to see. Soon a cry of joy is heard, the feather moves. +The man lives, for he _breathes_, and the breath in him is the +unmistakable sign of life. + +How then shall I know if my soul lives? Does it breathe? That is the +all-important question. But what is the breath of the soul? The breath +of the soul is prayer. As the old hymn says-- + + 'Prayer is the Christian's vital breath, + The Christian's native air.' + +Saul of Tarsus, with all his outward religion, was a dead soul, till the +Lord met him and gave him life. What then is the first thing we find +Saul doing? 'Behold he prayeth.' As soon as he is alive, he breathes, he +prays. + +Here then is the test for us to apply to our own souls. Do I know +anything of real prayer? Do I love to hold communion with my God? Am I +ever lifting up my heart to Him? If I live in the atmosphere of prayer, +then I am alive unto God; if, on the other hand, I feel prayer a +weariness, and know not what it is for my heart to hold unseen +intercourse with my Lord, then indeed I am dead in sin, having no +breath, and I have consequently no life. + +Nehemiah, the great Rab-shakeh, was a living soul, for he loved to pray. +No sooner had he heard the sad news about Jerusalem, than he went to his +private apartments in the palace, and began to plead with God. He feels +that all the trouble that has come upon his nation has been richly +deserved, so he begins with a humble confession of sin. + +'Let Thine ear now be attentive, and Thine eyes open, that Thou mayest +hear the prayer of Thy servant, which I pray before Thee now, day and +night, for the children of Israel Thy servants, and confess the sins of +the children of Israel, which we have sinned against Thee.' And then, +coming nearer home, he adds, 'both I and my father's house have sinned.' + +Was it some special sin which he confessed before God then? Can his sin, +and the sin of his father's house, have been the refusing twelve years +ago to leave home and comforts behind them, and to return with Ezra to +Jerusalem? + +Then Nehemiah pleads God's promises to His people in time past, and ends +by definitely stating his own special need and request (Neh. i. 8-11). + +By day and by night Nehemiah prays, and nearly four months go by before +he does anything further. + +The next step was not an easy one. He had determined to speak to the +great Persian monarch--to bring before him the desolate condition of +Jerusalem, and to ask for leave of absence from the court at Shushan, in +order that he might go to Jerusalem, and do all in his power to restore +it to something of its former grandeur. + +It is not surprising that Nehemiah dreaded this next step. The Persian +kings had a great objection to being asked a favour. Xerxes, the husband +of Queen Esther, when on his way to Greece with his enormous army, +passed through Lydia in Asia Minor. Here he was feasted and entertained +by a rich man named Pythius, who also gave him a large sum of money for +the expense of the war, and furnished five sons for the army. After this +Pythius thought he might venture to ask a favour of the Persian monarch, +so he requested that his eldest son might be allowed to leave his +regiment, in order that he might stay at home to be the comfort and +support of his aged father. But, instead of granting this very natural +request, Xerxes was so much enraged at having been asked a favour, that +he commanded the eldest son to be killed and cut in two, and then caused +his entire army to file between the pieces of the body. + +Artaxerxes, the king whom Nehemiah served, was considered one of the +gentlest of Persian monarchs, and yet even he was guilty of acts of +savage cruelty, of which we cannot read without a shudder. For example, +when he came to the throne, he found in the palace a certain eunuch +named Mithridates, who had been concerned in his father's murder. He +condemned this man to be put to death in the most horrible and cruel +way. He was laid on his back in a kind of horse-trough, and strongly +fastened to the four corners of it. Then another trough was put over +him, leaving only his head and hands and feet uncovered, for which +purpose holes were made in the upper trough. Then his face was smeared +with honey, and he was placed in the scorching rays of the sun. Hundreds +of flies settled on his face, and he lay there in agony for many long +days. Food was given him from time to time, but he was never moved or +uncovered, and it was more than a fortnight before death released him +from his sufferings. + +It was the very king who had put one of his subjects to this death of +awful torment before whom Nehemiah had to appear, and of whom he had to +make a request. No wonder, then, that he dreaded the interview, and that +he felt that he needed many months of prayer to make him ready for it. +It was in the month Chisleu (December) that Hanani had arrived, it was +not until Nisan (April) that he made up his mind to speak to the king. + +Before leaving his room that morning, he knelt down, and put himself and +his cause in the Lord's hands, Neh. i. 11. + +Then, attired in his official dress, the Rab-shakeh sets forth for the +state apartments of the palace. The central building of that magnificent +pile in which the king held court was very fine and imposing, as may be +seen to-day from the extensive ruins of Shushan. In the centre of it was +the Great Hall of Pillars, 200 feet square. In this hall were no less +than thirty-six pillars, arranged in six rows, and all sixty feet high. +Round this grand hall were the beautiful reception rooms of the king, +and these were carefully arranged, in order to ensure perpetual coolness +even in the hottest weather. There was no room on the hot south side of +the palace, but on the west was the morning room, in which all the +morning entertainments were held, whilst the evening banqueting hall was +on the eastern side. By this arrangement the direct rays of the sun were +never felt by those within the palace. Then, on the cool northern side +was the grand throne room, in which the king sat in state, and through +which a whole army of soldiers, or an immense body of courtiers, could +file without the slightest confusion, entering and leaving the room by +stone staircases placed opposite each other. The steps were only four +inches in depth and sixteen feet wide, and were so built that horsemen +could easily mount or descend them. + +Into one of the grand halls of the palace Nehemiah the cup-bearer +enters. The pavement is of coloured marble, red, white, and blue; +curtains of blue and white, the Persian royal colours, drape the windows +and are hanging in graceful festoons from the pillars; the fresh morning +breeze is blowing from the snow-clad mountains, and is laden with the +scent of lemons and oranges, and of the Shushan lilies and Persian roses +in the palace gardens. + +There is the royal table, covered with golden dishes and cups, and +spread with every dainty that the world could produce. + +There is the king, a tall, graceful man, but with one strange +deformity--with hands so long that when he stood upright they touched +his knees, from which he had received the nickname of Longimanus, the +long-handed. + +He is dressed in a long loose robe of purple silk, with wide sleeves, +and round his waist is a broad golden girdle. His tunic or under-garment +is purple and white, his trousers are bright crimson, his shoes are +yellow, and have long pointed toes. On his head is a curious high cap +with a band of blue spotted with white. He is moreover covered with +ornaments: he has gold earrings, a gold chain, gold bracelets, and a +long golden sceptre with a golden ball as its crown. + +The king is sitting on a throne, in shape like a high-backed chair with +a footstool before it. The chair stands on lion's feet, and the stool on +bull's feet, and both are made of gold. + +By the king's side sits the queen; her name was Damaspia, but we know +little more of her in history, except that she died on the same day as +her husband. Behind the king and queen are the fan-bearers, and +fly-flappers, and parasol-bearers, who are in constant attendance on +their royal majesties, and around are the great officers of the +household. + +Fifteen thousand people ate the king's food in that palace every day, +but the king always dined alone. It was very rarely that even the queen +or the royal children were allowed to sit at the king's table, which is +probably the reason why Nehemiah mentions the fact that the queen was +sitting by him. Perhaps he hailed the circumstance as a proof that the +king was in good humour that day, and would therefore be more likely to +listen to his petition. But no one who was not closely related to the +king was allowed to sit at the royal table, even the most privileged +courtiers sat on the floor and ate at his feet. + +The feast has begun, and it is time for the Rab-shakeh to present the +wine to the king. He takes the jewelled cup from the table in the king's +presence, he carefully washes it, then he fills it with a specially rare +wine, named the wine of Helbon, which was kept only for the king's use. +This wine was made from a very fine growth of grapes, at a place in the +Lebanon not far from Damascus, named Helbon. Then Nehemiah pours a +little wine into his left hand and drinks it, and then, lightly holding +the cup between the tips of his fingers and thumbs, he gracefully +presents it to the great monarch. + +Artaxerxes glances at his cup-bearer as he rises from his knees, and at +once notices something remarkable in his face. Nehemiah is pale and +anxious and troubled; his whole face tells of the struggle going on +within, and the king cannot fail to perceive it. Turning to the +Rab-shakeh he asks: 'Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not +sick? this is nothing else but sorrow of heart.' 'Then,' says Nehemiah, +'I was very sore afraid.' It is no wonder that he was alarmed, for it +was actually a crime, proscribed by law, for any one to look sad or +depressed in the presence of a Persian king. However heavy might be his +heart, however sorrowful his spirit, he must cross the threshold of the +palace with a smiling face, and show no signs in the king's presence of +the trouble within. But Nehemiah's face has betrayed him. What will the +king do? Will he dismiss him from office? Will he degrade him from his +high position? Will he punish him for his breach of court etiquette? Or +can it be that this is a heaven-sent opportunity in which he may make +his request? He answers at once: + +'Let the king live for ever: why should not my countenance be sad, when +the city, the place of my fathers' sepulchres, lieth waste, and the +gates thereof are consumed with fire?' + +And the king, quite understanding from Nehemiah's speech that he wants +something from him, asks immediately: + +'For what dost thou make request?' + +Oh, what a critical moment! How much depends on Nehemiah's answer to +this unexpected question! What shall he say? What dare he propose? The +whole future of Jerusalem may hang on his answer to the king's question. + +There is a moment's pause, but only a moment's, and then Nehemiah's +answer is given. Only a moment, and yet great things have been done in +that short time. 'I prayed,' says the Rab-shakeh, 'to the God of +Heaven.' + +Did he then rush away to his own apartment to pray? Did he kneel down in +the midst of the banqueting hall and call upon his God? No, he spoke no +word aloud, he did not even close his eyes. The king saw nothing, knew +nothing of what was going on; yet a mighty transaction took place in +that short time between the silent man, who still stood holding the cup +in his hands, and the King of Heaven. + +We are not told what the prayer was, perhaps it was only, 'Lord, help +me.' But quick as lightning the answer came. His fear fled, wisdom was +given him to answer, and his heart's desire was granted. + +How often we hear the complaint, 'I cannot pray long prayers, like the +good people I read of in books. I lead a busy active life, and when work +is done my body is weary and exhausted, and I find it impossible to pray +for any length of time, and sometimes I fear that because I cannot offer +long prayers I cannot therefore be the Lord's.' But surely it is not +long prayers that the Lord requires. Most of the Bible prayers are short +prayers, the Lord's pattern-prayer is one of the shortest. It is the +heathen who think they will be heard for their much speaking. Nehemiah's +was a true prayer, and an answered prayer, yet it was but a moment in +length. + +Nor are uttered words necessary to prayer. The followers of Baal cried +aloud, thinking their much shouting would reach the ear of their god, +but Nehemiah speaks not, does not even whisper, and his prayer is heard +in heaven. Surely now-a-days, when there are some who seem to think that +much noise, that loud shouting, that the uplifted voice must needs +pierce the sky, it is well for us to be reminded that God heeds no +language, hears no voice, but the language of the soul, the voice of the +innermost heart. + +Nor is posture a necessary part of prayer. Some choose to pray standing, +others prefer to kneel. It is not the posture of body God looks at, but +the posture of the heart. Reverence there must be, but such reverence as +comes from the inner sanctuary of the soul, and which only finds outward +expression in the body. Nehemiah stood with the jewelled cup in his +hands, yet Nehemiah's prayer was heard. + +So we see that heartfelt prayer--prayer which is prayer indeed--may be +short, silent, and offered in a strange place and at a strange time, and +yet be heard and answered by God. + +Let us try to grasp the full comfort of this thought, for we live in a +world of surprises. We rise in the morning, not knowing what the day may +bring forth. We are walking on a road with many turnings, and we never +know what may meet us at the next step! + +All of a sudden we find ourselves face to face with an unexpected +perplexity. What shall we do? What course shall we take? Here is the +little prayer made ready for our use-- + + Lord, guide me. + +Then, at the next turn, comes a sudden temptation. Unjust, cruel words +are spoken, and we feel we must give an angry reply. Let us stop one +moment before we answer, and in that moment put up the short prayer-- + + Lord, help me. + +Or a sudden danger, bodily or spiritual, stares us in the face. At once +we may lift up the heart and cry-- + + Lord, save me. + +There is no need to kneel down, no need to speak aloud, no need to move +from our place. In the office, the workshop, the schoolroom, the place +of business, the railway carriage, the street, wherever we may be and in +whatever company, the short silent prayer may be sent up to the God of +heaven. + +Thank God, no such prayer is ever unanswered! + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +The Good Hand. + + +The mighty universe, the great empire of the King of kings, who shall +give us even a faint idea of its size? + +It has been calculated that about 100,000,000 stars can be seen from our +world by means of a telescope. Yet who can grasp such a number as that? +Which of us can picture in his mind 100,000,000 objects? Let us suppose +that instead of 100,000,000 stars we have the same number of oranges; +let us arrange our oranges in imagination on a long string, which shall +pass through the centre of each of them. How long will our string have +to be if it is to hold the 100,000,000 oranges? It will have to be no +less than 6,000 miles long, and our 100,000,000 oranges will stretch in +a straight line from England to China. + +One hundred million stars, and of all these God is King. But these are +but as a speck compared with His vast universe. Each telescope that is +invented, which enables us to see a little further into space, discovers +more and more worlds unseen before. Who can even guess how many still +lie beyond, unseen, unnoticed, unheard of? The regions of space are +endless, as God their Maker is endless. + +And all these countless worlds are under the eye of the King of kings. +He rules all, watches all, guides all. Can I, then, believe that He will +have time to take notice of my tiny affairs? Can He care if I am sick, +worried, or poor, or depressed? Surely I must be ready to say with the +Psalmist-- + +'When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the +stars which Thou hast ordained, what is man, that Thou art mindful of +him? and the son of man, that Thou visitest him?' + +Yet that quaint old saying of John Flavel the Puritan is right, 'The man +who watches for Providence will never want a Providence to watch.' In +other words, he who trusts his concerns to a higher power, he who puts +his cause in the Lord's hands, will never be disappointed. The God who +rules the universe will not forget to attend to him, but will watch him, +and guide him, and help him, as tenderly as if he was the only being in +that universe. + +St. Augustine used to say, 'Lord, when I look upon mine own life, it +seems Thou hast led me so carefully and tenderly, Thou canst have +attended to none else; but when I see how wonderfully Thou hast led the +world and art leading it, I am amazed that Thou hast had time to attend +to such as I.' + +How much more must we wonder at God's loving care, when we look beyond +this tiny world to the countless millions of worlds in the universe! + +Nehemiah was watching for Providence. He had taken his case to God, he +had trusted all to Him, and Nehemiah did not want a Providence to watch; +the God in whom he had put his confidence did not disappoint him. + +'Let me go that I may rebuild Jerusalem,' says the cup-bearer; and the +great Persian king does not refuse his request, but (prompted, it may +be, by the queen who was sitting by him) he asks: 'For how long shall +thy journey be? and when wilt thou return?' + +'And I set him a time.' How long a time we are not told. Nehemiah did +not return to Persia for twelve years; but it is probable that he asked +for a shorter leave of absence, and that this was extended later on, in +order to enable him to finish his work. + +Cheered and encouraged by the king's manner, feeling sure that God is +with him and is prospering him, Nehemiah asks another favour of the +king. The Persian empire at that time was of such vast extent, that it +reached from the river Indus to the Mediterranean, and the Euphrates was +looked upon as naturally dividing it into two parts, east and west. +Nehemiah asks, ch. ii. 7, for letters to the governors of the western +division of the empire, that they may be instructed to help him and +forward him on his way. + +He asks, ver. 8, for something more. There is a certain man named Asaph, +who has charge of the king's forest or park (see margin of R.V.). The +real word which Nehemiah used was paradise--the king's paradise. The +derivation of the word is from the Persian words Pairi, round about, and +Deza, a wall. Up and down their empire, in various places, the Persian +kings had these paradises--parks or pleasure grounds--surrounded and +shut off from the neighbouring country by a high fence or wall. These +paradises were places of beauty and loveliness, where the king and his +friends might meet and walk together, and enjoy each other's society. + +Is not this the Lord's own picture of the place He went to prepare for +His people? Did He not say to the thief on the cross, 'To-day thou shalt +be with Me in Paradise?' It was a new name taken by our Lord from these +paradises of the Persian kings, and given by Him to that new place which +He went to prepare for His people, even the Garden of the Lord, the +pleasure ground of the King of kings, the place to which His people go +when they die. There they enjoy His company, and see His face, and walk +with Him and talk to Him, waiting for that glorious day when they shall +pass from the garden of the King into the palace itself. + +We are not told where this particular paradise was, of which Asaph was +the keeper, but probably it was the place which the kings of Judah had +always made their pleasure ground. This was at Etam, about seven miles +from Jerusalem, where Solomon had fine gardens, and had made large lakes +of water, fed by a hidden and sealed spring. + +Solomon himself twice used the word paradise of his gardens, and these +are the only places in which the word occurs in the Old Testament, +except in Neh. ii. 8. + +Solomon says, Eccles. ii. 5, 'I made me gardens and paradises.' In Cant. +iv. 13 he speaks of 'a paradise of pomegranates, with precious fruits.' + +For three purposes Nehemiah wanted wood from Asaph's paradise, and asked +the king to give him an order for it, that he might deliver to the +keeper. + +He wanted it (1) for the gates of the palace of the house. _The_ +house means the temple, and the palace should be translated the castle. +It was a tower which stood at the north-west corner of the temple +platform, and commanded and protected the temple courts. (2) He required +wood for the gates of the wall, and (3) for 'the house that I shall enter +into,' i.e. for my own dwelling-house. + +All is granted--the royal secretaries are called, and are bidden to +write the required instructions to the governors beyond the river, and +to Asaph, the bailiff of the forest. Nehemiah takes no credit to himself +that all has gone so prosperously, he does not praise his own courage, +or wisdom, or tact in making the request, he knows it is a direct answer +to a direct prayer, he recognises the fact that it is God's doing, and +not his. + +'The king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.' + +That was Ezra's motto, quoted by him again and again (Ezra vii. 6, 9, +28; viii. 18, 22, 31). In all his deliverances, in every one of his +mercies, he had seen the good hand of his God, and he had taken those +words, 'The good hand of my God upon me,' as the keynote of his praise, +and as the motto of his life. But Nehemiah had in all probability never +even seen Ezra, yet here we find him quoting Ezra's favourite saying. +Can it be that Hanani, his brother, who had been one of Ezra's +companions, had repeated it to him? Can it be that in order to cheer and +encourage his brother when he undertook the difficult task of speaking +to the king, he told him how Ezra was always repeating these words, and +how he found them a sure refuge in time of need? If so, how gladly would +Nehemiah hasten to his brother when his duties in the palace were +completed, to tell him that Ezra's motto has held good again, for 'the +king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.' + +'The good hand of my God.' What blessed words! Let trouble come, or +temptation come, or death itself come, I will not fear. The good hand of +my God is over me. None can pluck me from that hand. 'All my times are +in Thy hand, O Lord,' and are safe there from even the fear of danger. +Oh, how blessed to be one so sheltered, so shielded, underneath the good +hand of my God! But the same hand is against them that do evil. I must +either be in the hand, or have the hand raised against me! Which shall +it be? + +All is ready now, the preparations are ended, and Nehemiah, accompanied +by his brother Hanani, and by a royal escort of soldiers, sets forth on +his long journey. Jerusalem, the City of David--how often he had dreamt +of it, how earnestly he had longed to see it! Now, at last, his desire +is to be granted. The travellers could not sing, as they rode slowly +over the scorching desert, 'Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O +Jerusalem,' for the gates of the city were burned with fire, and only a +blackened space showed where each had stood, but they may have joined +together in that other psalm, which was probably written about this +time, Psalm cii. + +'Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favour her, +yea, the set time, is come. + +'For Thy servants take pleasure in her stones, and it pitieth them to +see her in the dust.' + +There is no misadventure on the journey, they travel safely under the +care of the king's guard; but surely Nehemiah saw a dark cloud on the +horizon as he handed in his letters to the governors beyond the river. +One of these was Sanballat, the satrap or governor of Samaria. His name +was an Assyro-Babylonian one, so that he was probably descended from +one of the Babylonian families settled in Samaria, and it signifies 'The +Moon God gives life.' His native place was Horonaim in Moab, and +Sanballat was by nation a descendant of Lot. + +With the Samaritan governor was his secretary Tobiah, the servant or the +feud slave, a man also descended from Lot, for he was an Ammonite, and +standing evidently very high in Sanballat's favour. + +It was probably Tobiah who read Artaxerxes' letter to his master, and +very black and gloomy were both their faces as they heard the news it +contained. + +At the court of Sanballat was a friend of his, Geshem the Arabian, the +head or chief of a tribe of Arabs, which we find, from the ancient +Assyrian monuments recently discovered, had been planted in Samaria by +Sargon, King of Assyria. This man Geshem was therefore a Bedouin, a +descendant of Esau. + +These three, Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem, cannot conceal their disgust +that anyone has been sent from Persia to look after the welfare of +Jerusalem. So far they have trampled the Jews under foot as much as +possible, and the Jews have been powerless to resist them. But now here +is a man come direct from the court at Shushan, with letters from their +royal master in his hand, and with orders to rebuild and fortify +Jerusalem. + +From that moment Sanballat and his friends became Nehemiah's bitter +enemies, determined to thwart and to oppose him to the utmost of their +power. + +At length the wearisome journey is over, and Nehemiah arrives in +Jerusalem. He tells no one why he has come; but, worn out with the +fatigue he has undergone, he goes quietly to the house of a friend, +probably to that of his brother Hanani, and for three days he rests +there. Then, on the third night after his arrival, when all Jerusalem is +asleep, he rises, mounts a mule or donkey, and, with a few faithful +followers, steals out to explore for himself the extent of the ruin, to +see how things really were, what was the state of the walls, and how +much had to be done to put them into good repair. + +Stealing out of the city on the south side, at the spot on which in +better days the Valley Gate had stood, a gate which was so called +because it opened into the Valley of Hinnom, he turned into the ravine, +and went eastward. No doubt there was a moon, and by its quiet light he +could see the heaps of rubbish, and the work of the fire which had +destroyed the gates 150 years ago. How sad and forsaken it all looked in +the moonlight, as he turned '_towards_ the Dragon's well' (see +Revised Version). The site of this Dragon's Well is very uncertain, but +it is generally identified with Upper Gihon. It is sometimes confounded +with the Virgin's Fount, called by the Arabs the Mother of Steps, because +there are twenty-seven steps leading down to it, and the descent is very +steep. This is the only spring near Jerusalem, and its water is carried +by an underground passage to the Pool of Siloam. It is an intermittent +spring, suddenly rising and as suddenly falling, at irregular intervals. +Two explorers, Dr. Robinson and Mr. Smith, were just about to measure +the water, when they found it suddenly rising; in less than five minutes +it had risen a foot, in ten minutes more it had ceased to flow, and had +sunk to its former level. + +The common people believed in olden time, and believe still, that a +dragon lies within the fountain, concealed from view; that when he is +awake he stops the water from flowing, but that he finds it impossible +to keep awake always, and when he falls asleep the water flows. + +How eagerly those with Nehemiah would point out each object to him! We +can picture Hanani walking by his side, showing him all the different +objects, to himself so familiar, to Nehemiah so well known by name, but +so strange by sight. + +Coming down the Valley of Hinnom they reach the Dung Gate, the gate +outside which lay piles of rubbish and offal, swept out of the city, and +all collected together by this gate and left to rot in the valley. + +Here he examines in the moonlight the masses of fallen stonework, the +small portions of wall still standing, and the gap where the gate used +to stand before it was burnt. + +Then on he went until he came to the Gate of the Fountain, opposite the +King's Pool, or Pool of Siloam, which watered the king's garden. But at +this south-east corner the rubbish was so great that the mule he was +riding on could not proceed. Pile upon pile of stone, heap upon heap of +broken fragments of what had once been so magnificent, lay so thickly +massed together that it was of no use attempting to ride further. So +Nehemiah dismounted, and probably leaving his mule with some of his +companions by the Gate of the Fountain, he went on foot a little +further. Going up the Kedron valley he examined the eastern wall, which +was in much better condition than the rest; and then, turning to the +west, he came back to the rest of the party and returned with them to +the Valley Gate. + +Now Nehemiah has seen the work before him, and has realised that it is +both vast and difficult. He is ready now to put his scheme before the +people of Jerusalem. He finds the city governed by no single man, but by +a kind of town council. He now summons a meeting of these rulers, and he +also invites the nobles and the working men to be present. Then he makes +his appeal: + +'Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the +gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall +of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach.' + +Then, to cheer them on to make the effort, he tells them how God has +helped him up to that point; he tells them what the good hand has done +for him already in opening the king's heart and the king's purse. + +What response does he meet with? As one man that large assembly rises +and joins in the cry, 'Let us rise up and build.' Happy Nehemiah to find +such ready help, to find those he speaks to willing at once to fall in +with his scheme, and to aid him in his work. + +It is to be feared that had he lived in our more cautious and +calculating days, Nehemiah would have had many a bucket of cold water +thrown on him and his plan. One would have risen and would have said, +'The work is too hard, the heaps of rubbish are too great, it is +impossible to undertake such a task. Look at the south-east corner, who +will ever be able to clear away the heaps that have accumulated there?' + +Another would have been sure to grumble at the expense, would have asked +how they, poor down-trodden Jews as they were, could ever afford to give +time or money to such a vast undertaking? + +A third would have risen with a long face, and would have asked, 'What +will Sanballat say if we rebuild the wall? What will Tobiah do? What +will Geshem whisper? Now indeed we have no open rupture with the +governors, but who can tell what the result of our taking action in this +matter will be? Surely it is better to let well alone.' + +A fourth would have given as his opinion, that what had served for 150 +years would surely last their time. True, Jerusalem was forlorn and +defenceless, but they had grown accustomed to it now. It struck +Nehemiah, of course, coming as he did fresh from the glories of Shushan, +but they had become used to it, and he would soon do the same. There was +no need surely to make a disturbance about it or to run into any risk +about it. + +A fifth would have suggested, with some warmth, that surely old +inhabitants of the city were better judges of its requirements than a +stranger, and that it was for the town council to propose such a scheme +if they saw the necessity for it, and not for a new-comer who had been +less than a week in Jerusalem. + +These, and countless other objections, might have been raised, had the +meeting been called in our lukewarm days. + +But the Jerusalem committee did not act thus, they did not fill +Nehemiah's way with difficulties and his soul with discouragement. A +plain bit of work lay before him and before them; he was ready to lead, +and they were ready to follow. 'Let us rise and build,' they cry. And +'they strengthened their hands for this good work.' + +Let us take heed that we, as servants of Christ, follow their example. +Let us never be seen with the bucket of cold water, ready to throw on +the efforts of others for good. As 'iron sharpeneth iron, so a man +sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.' Let us ever be ready with the +word of encouragement, with the helpful hand, with the cheering spirit +of hope. There is work for us amongst the ruins of God's fair world, and +the labourers are few. + +Let us then rise and build, each of us in earnest, each of us +encouraging his brother, each of us looking beyond the discouragements +of earth to the Master's 'Well done good and faithful servant.' + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +To Every Man his Work. + + +Once a year, in the University of Cambridge, there is a grand day called +Commemoration Day. On that day, in the middle of the service, in each +college chapel a list of honours is read out, a list containing the +names of all those who, in times gone by, gave money or help to that +college. The bodies of those whose names are read have many of them +crumbled to dust long centuries ago, but their names are remembered +still, remembered for what they have done; and that they may never be +forgotten, they are publicly read aloud, year by year, on the great +Commemoration Day. + +Let us now take up God's honour list, and see who are entered upon it. +We shall find it filled with the names of those who have been dead more +than 2000 years, but whose names are not forgotten; they stand out fair +and clear in the Book of God, all are entered on the great list of +honours, and are remembered for what they have done. + +Where shall we find God's great honour list? It is the list of all those +who responded to Nehemiah's appeal, and who rebuilt the walls of +Jerusalem. In Neh. iii. we have a list of their names, not one is +omitted. There those names have stood for 2000 years; there they will +stand to the end of time. Brave men, noble men were those Jews, who, as +soon as the scheme was laid before them, cried, 'Let us arise and +build;' and who not only responded by word of mouth, but who at once set +to work to do what they had promised. + +Let us take a walk round the walls of Jerusalem and watch the builders +at work. We will begin where they began, ver. 1, at the Sheep Gate on +the east side of the city. As we stand by the gate we see beneath us the +Kedron valley, and beyond it the slopes of the Mount of Olives. Close by +us, but inside the city, is the sheep-market, where the sheep and lambs +are sold to those who wish to sacrifice in the temple, and near this +market is the pool where the sheep are washed before being led up into +the temple courts. This is the pool mentioned in John v. 2, where in +later times lay the impotent man waiting to be healed. + +Who are these who are busily engaged repairing the Sheep Gate and the +wall beyond it; they are the priests, who have left their work in the +temple courts close by, and who, with their loins girded and their long +white tunics turned up, are leading, as it was right they should, the +van of Nehemiah's effort. + +Heading these priests, and superintending their work, is Eliashib the +high priest. The meaning of his name is _God restores_, a grand name +for the man who began the restoration of the Holy City. This Eliashib was +the grandson of the high priest Jeshua, who had returned with +Zerubbabel. He is honourably mentioned by Nehemiah as leading the way in +this work; but, sad to say, though he earnestly built the wall round +the city, Eliashib was afterward the one who let sin come within those +very walls. + +The priests are building from the Sheep Gate as far as the two towers, +Meah and Hananeel, which stood at the north-east corner of the city. + +We pass on, and next we see a number of men building; we notice at once, +by their dress, that they are not priests, so we ask them where they +come from. We find they are men of Jericho, the city of palm trees, +fourteen miles away in the Jordan valley. They are the descendants of +the 345 men of Jericho who returned with the first detachment of Jews in +the time of Cyrus. This piece of the wall has been allotted to them +because it faces their own city Jericho; they are building at the very +spot from which the road started that led from Jerusalem to Jericho. + +Passing the Jericho men we come to a bit of the wall where one solitary +man is working. His name is Zaccur. He can only have a small piece of +the wall allotted to him, for we are close now upon the Fish Gate, where +other builders are at work, the sons of Hassenaah. Possibly this Zaccur +was a man of no importance, for we never hear of him again; probably his +share of the work was only a small one, yet it was well and faithfully +done, and his name stands fast in God's honour list, and will stand +there while the world shall last. + +We have come now to the Fish Gate, on the north side of the city. Close +by us is the fish-market, for through that gate comes all the fish sold +in Jerusalem. Men of Tyre are there with baskets of fish from the +Mediterranean, and Galilean fishermen with fish from the great inland +sea, on which in later times the apostles toiled for their daily bread. + +Three men, who were probably well-known citizens, are repairing the +three next pieces of the wall, their names are Meremoth, Meshullam, and +Zadok. We will notice one of these three men, Meshullam, for we shall +hear more of him presently. If Meshullam's name is honourably mentioned +here as one of the builders of Jerusalem, we shall find it very +differently mentioned as we go on with Nehemiah's story. + +Passing these three men, we come to a part of the wall which is being +built by the inhabitants of Tekoa, a small village not far from +Jerusalem, whence came the wise woman whom Joab sent to King David. What +is the matter at this part of the wall? The work does not get on as it +should. They seem to have no leaders, these people of Tekoa, and to have +a long stretch of wall, and but few hands to build it. We ask how this +is, and we find that some in Tekoa have shirked the work (ver. 5): + +'Their nobles put not their necks to the work of their Lord.' + +They have been like oxen, too idle to draw the plough, which have pulled +their necks from under the yoke, and have stubbornly refused to go +forward. So have these nobles of Tekoa stood aloof, too proud to work +side by side with the common people of the village, or too idle to join +in anything which requires continuous effort; they have left their +poorer neighbours to bear the burden alone, and to do it or not as they +please. + +We are now passing the Old Gate, on the north of the city, the Damascus +Gate of modern days, from which goes the great northern road to Samaria +and Galilee. + +The men of Gibeon and Mizpah, whose villages lay near together, we find +next on the wall, working side by side as neighbours should, and +building the part of the wall which faced their own homes, two villages +standing on the hills about five miles from the northern gate. + +Coming round the city we find ourselves passing the Gate of Ephraim and +the Broad Wall. Here we see no workmen, for that part of the wall does +not need repairing. Uzziah, King of Judah, had built a strong piece of +wall here, about 200 yards long, and the Chaldeans had not been able to +destroy it with the rest of the city. This wall was twice the thickness +of the rest, and was always called the Broad Wall. + +Near this wall we find men of two different trades working, goldsmiths +and apothecaries. Trades in the East are almost always hereditary, +passing down from father to son for many generations. Thus these +goldsmiths and apothecaries were joined together in family guilds or +unions, and came forward together to the work. The apothecaries were the +spice makers, important persons in the East, where spices are so largely +used in cooking, and where so many sweet-smelling and aromatic spices +are employed in embalming the dead. + +Then, passing on, we see the tower which protected the furnaces or brick +kilns, in which the bricks were made which had been used in rebuilding +the houses of the city. So unsettled was the country, that it is +supposed it was found necessary to erect a tower for the defence of +these brick-makers, who were often at work by night as well as by day. +Close to the furnace tower we see a strange sight, and one which is well +worthy of our notice. This part of the wall deserves our earnest +attention, for here are actually young ladies engaged in the work, +standing, trowel in hand, toiling away side by side with the other +workmen. Who are these girls? They are the daughters of Shallum, the +ruler of the half part of Jerusalem (ver. 12) (or rather of the country +round Jerusalem). Shallum was evidently a wealthy and influential man, +but he did not withdraw from the work, like the nobles of Tekoa, and so +anxious are his daughters that the Lord's work should be done, that here +we find them toiling away by their father's side. God noticed the effort +made by these young ladies of Jerusalem, and did not forget to notice +them in His great honour list. + +Passing on, we come to the part of the wall which Nehemiah had examined +in his moonlight ride. We see the Valley Gate, the Dung Gate, and the +Gate of the Fountain, opposite the Pool of Siloam. This part of the city +has suffered much from Nebuchadnezzar's work of destruction, and the +work of rebuilding it is therefore very heavy. But close to the +south-east corner, at the place where Nehemiah's mule stumbled and was +unable to proceed, the builders have a stiff piece of work indeed. The +piles of rubbish are so many and so deep, there is so much to be cleared +away before they can commence building, that we find accordingly the +piece given to each man to repair is not great, and that many hands are +making the labour light. + +We notice, too, that most of those who are working in this part of the +city are repairing that bit of the wall which is immediately opposite +their own houses. No less than six times we are told that the builder's +own house was close to the part of the wall he built. + +One man we cannot help watching as we turn round towards the eastern +wall. His name is Baruch, and there is something about him which +attracts our attention at once. He works as if he were working for his +life, he does not lose a moment; whoever is absent, Baruch is always at +his post; whoever is idle, Baruch is ever hard at work, early in the +morning and late at night, when the hot sun is scorching the city and +when the night dews are falling, Baruch is always busy, toiling away on +the wall with all his might and main. Ver. 20 tells us he 'earnestly +repaired.' The word means to be hot, to be on fire with zeal and energy. +He 'earnestly repaired the _other_ piece,' or as it would be better +translated '_another_ piece.' Having finished his own portion, in +another part of the wall, Baruch has come to the rescue at the +south-east corner, where the rubbish is deepest and the work is hardest. +Baruch therefore receives the mark of distinction on God's list of +honour. Round the corner, on the eastern wall, one builder we cannot +pass without notice, for he is an old white-headed man. His name is +Shemaiah the son of Shechaniah. We find this man mentioned in 1 Chron. +iii. 22 as a descendant of King David. His son Hattush had returned with +Ezra, twelve years before; now here is the old man himself, determined +not to let his white hairs prevent him from helping on the good work +(ver 29). He builds by the gate which was his charge, the Golden Gate, +at the east of the temple court and facing the Mount of Olives. + +The last piece of the wall is being done by the goldsmiths and the +merchants; and now, as we pass them, we find ourselves again at the +Sheep Gate, at the very spot from which we started in our walk round the +city. + +Listen to the ring of the trowels, hearken to the shouts of the workmen, +as they call to one another and cheer each other on in the work. From +morning till night, day after day, the trowels are kept busy, and the +work goes on, and already, as we watch, we begin to see the gaps filled +up and the ruin of many years repaired. + +It was the work of the Lord, a grand work, a glorious work, which those +builders of Nehemiah were doing, and God noticed and marked, and put on +His list of honour every one who joined in it. + +Times have changed, manners have altered, kingdoms have passed away, +since the eastern sun streamed upon Nehemiah's workmen, but there is +still work to be done for the Lord. The Master's workshop is still open, +and the Master's eye is still fixed on the workers, and He still enters +the name of each in a register, His great list of honour, kept not in +earth, but in heaven. + +Is my name then on God's honour list? Am I working for Him? Am I to be +found at my post, faithfully carrying out the work He has given me to +do? + +Looking at the walls of Jerusalem, surely the Lord would have us learn +three great lessons. + + (1) _Who_ should work. + + (2) _Where_ they should work. + + (3) _How_ they should work. + +_Who should work_? What say the walls of Jerusalem? Everyone without +exception. Do we not see people of all classes at work--rich men and +poor men, people of all occupations, priests, goldsmiths and +apothecaries, and merchants? men of all ages, the young and strong, and +the old and white-headed? those from all parts of the country--men of +Jericho, and Gibeon, and Mizpah, side by side with inhabitants of +Jerusalem? people of both sexes, men and women? The goldsmith did not +say, 'I don't understand building, therefore I cannot help.' The +apothecary did not object that it was not his trade, so he must leave it +to the bricklayers and masons. Old Shemaiah did not say, 'Surely an old +white-headed man like myself cannot be expected to do anything.' The men +of Jericho did not complain that they were fourteen miles from their +home, and that therefore it would be inconvenient for them to help. The +daughters of Shallum did not say, 'We are women, and therefore there is +nothing for us to do.' + +But all came forward, heartily, willingly, cheerfully, to do the work of +their Lord. + +There is only one exception, only one blot on the page, only one dark +spot on the register. The nobles of Tekoa, for 2000 years their names +have stood, enrolled as the shirkers in God's grand work. + +Who then are to work for God? Every one of us, whoever we are, whatever +is our occupation, whatever our place of residence, whatever our age, +whatever our sex, the motto in God's great workshop remains the +same--'_To every one his work_,' his own particular work, to be done +by him, and by no one else. + +_Where then shall we work_? Imitate Nehemiah's builders; those living +in the city built each the piece of wall before his own door, those living +outside built the part of the wall facing their own village, whilst the +priests built the piece nearest to the temple. Let us then, as God's +workers, begin at home, working from a centre outwards; our own heart +first, surely there is plenty of work to do there; then our own family, +our own household, our own street, our own congregation, our own city, +our own country, letting the circle ever widen and widen, till it +reacheth to the furthest corner of God's great workshop, to the +uttermost parts of the earth. + +_How then shall we work_? Like Baruch, the son of Zabbai, hot with +zeal, on fire with earnestness and energy. Baruch did not saunter round +the walls to watch how the other builders were getting on; he stuck to his +post. Baruch did not work well one day and lie in bed the next, he +persevered steadily and patiently. Baruch did not work as if he were +trying to make the job last as long as possible, idly pretending to +work, but dreaming all the time, but he worked on bravely, earnestly, +unceasingly, till the work was done. So let us work while it is called +to-day, for the night cometh when no man can work. + +It was no easy work those Jerusalem builders had. Outdoor work in the +East is always hard and heavy; it is no light matter to stand for hours +in the scorching sun without a particle of shade, toiling on at heavy +and unaccustomed work. But the builders bravely endured, and were +stedfast in the work, and they have their reward. Their names stand on +God's honour list, not even the most insignificant amongst them is +omitted. + +Workers for God, does the work seem hard? Are the difficulties great? +Are you weary and faint as you keep at your post? Does the hot sun of +temptation often tempt you to throw up the work? Think of Nehemiah's +builders. Hold on, cheer up, work well and bravely, remembering that the +reward is sure. We read of certain people who lived at Philippi whose +names were written in heaven. Who were these? (Phil. iv. 3.) St. Paul +tells us; they were his fellow-labourers, the workers of God in that +city. + +No human hand, no hand of angel or archangel, enters the names on that +register, for it is the Lamb's book of life. None but the Lamb can open +it, none but He can write in it, none but He will read its contents in +the ears of the assembled universe. + +What an honour, what a wonderful joy, what a glorious reward it will be +to each faithful worker, as he hears his own name read from the list! +Surely it will well repay him for all he has undergone in the working +days of earth. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +The Sword and the Trowel. + + +The sea is calm and quiet, blue as the sky above it, not a wave, not a +ripple is to be seen; it is smooth as polished silver, shining like a +mirror, and peaceful as the still lake amongst the mountains. On the sea +is a boat, floating along as quietly and as gently as on a river. The +man in the boat is having an easy time, as he rows out to sea, almost +without an effort. + +But what is that in the far distance? It is a black cloud, rising from +the sea. In a little time the wind begins to moan and sigh, white lines +are seen on the distant water, a storm is coming, and coming both +swiftly and surely. The man in the boat at once rouses himself and +prepares for action; it was an easy thing to go forward when all was +still, he will find it a very different matter to meet the rising storm. + +So found Nehemiah the governor. Up to this time all had gone smoothly +and easily, the king had granted his request fully and freely, Asaph had +given him the wood from the royal paradise, the committee, composed of +the leading men in Jerusalem, had at once fallen in with his scheme, the +people, great and small, men and women, old and young, had responded to +his appeal, the walls were being rebuilt, the trowels were busy, the +rubbish was being cleared away, and all was bright, cheerful, and +encouraging. As Nehemiah walks round the city directing the builders, +dressed, as a Persian governor, in a flowing robe, a soft cap, and with +a gold chain round his neck, he feels his work both easy and pleasant. +It is always a light task to direct and superintend those who have a +mind to work, and Nehemiah for some time went peacefully on his way, as +the man in his boat rowed easily along in the still, untroubled water. + +But what is that dark cloud rising north of Jerusalem? What is that +moaning, muttering sound in the far distance? Can it be a storm coming, +a terrible storm of opposition and difficulty? Surely it is, for we see +Nehemiah rousing himself, and preparing to row his frail boat through +troubled waters. + +Signs of the approaching storm had indeed been seen by him, before the +first stone had been placed on the city wall. No sooner had he revealed +his plans to the people of Jerusalem, no sooner had they responded, 'We +will arise and build,' than something had occurred which might well make +Nehemiah feel uncomfortable. A messenger had appeared at the northern +gate, bearing in his hand a letter, written on parchment, and addressed +to the Tirshatha, or governor. Nehemiah opened the roll, and found it +contained an insulting message from Sanballat, the governor of Samaria, +a message which was evidently expressed in very scornful and unpleasant +words. The upshot of the letter was this (ii. 19): + +'What is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against the king?' + +Do you, Nehemiah, intend to fortify Jerusalem, and then set up the +standard of rebellion against Persia? Our master, the king, may be +deceived by you, but I, Sanballat, see through your hypocrisy and your +wicked designs. + +Nehemiah's answer was clear and to the point. Three things he would have +Sanballat know: + +(1) We have higher authority than that of man for what we do. + +'The God of heaven, He will prosper us.' + +(2) We intend to go on with our work in spite of anything you may say or +do. + +'We His servants will arise and build.' + +(3) It is no business or concern of yours. You, Sanballat, have nothing +whatever to do with it. + +'Ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.' + +Be content then, Sanballat, to manage your own province of Samaria, and +to leave Jerusalem and the Jews to me and to their God. + +No answer came back to Nehemiah's letter, and perhaps he and his +companions fondly dreamed that this was an end to the matter, that the +storm had blown over, and that Sanballat, when he saw that they were +determined, and that they did not heed his threats or his ridicule, +would in the future let them alone. + +But one day, quite suddenly, the clouds returned, and the storm rose. +The work is progressing splendidly. The priests and the merchants, and +the goldsmiths and the apothecaries, the daughters of Shallum, earnest +Baruch, and white-headed Shemaiah, are all at their post, when suddenly, +as they look up, they see an unexpected sight. A great crowd of +Samaritans is gathered together outside the northern wall, and is +standing still, staring at them, and watching their every movement as +they build the wall. + +Sanballat the governor is there, Tobiah the secretary stands by his +side, his chief counsellors have come with him, as have also the +officers of his army. Dark and thick the storm is gathering, and surely +the builders feel it, for the trowels cease their cheery ringing sound, +and all are listening, waiting and wondering what will come next. + +The silence is broken by a loud scornful voice, loud enough to be heard +down the line of workers, and by Nehemiah as he stands among them. He +knows that voice well; it is the voice of Sanballat the governor. In +scoffing disagreeable words he is speaking to his companions, but he is +talking about the builders, and is talking for their benefit too, that +they may feel the full sting of his sarcastic words. + +'What do these feeble Jews?' A poor weak, miserable down-trodden set of +men; what can _they_ do? + +'Will they fortify themselves?' Do they fondly dream they will ever +finish their work, and fortify their city? + +And how long will it take to build walls like these? Do they think it +will be done directly? 'Will they sacrifice? Will they make an end in a +day?' Do they expect to offer the sacrifice at the commencement of their +work, and then the very same day to finish it? + +Why, they have not even the necessary materials. Where will they get +their stone from? Are they going to do what is impossible, to make +good, solid building-stone out of the heaps of rubbish, the crumbling +burnt masses which are all that remain of the old walls? + +'Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are +burned?' + +Then when Sanballat had done speaking, there follows the loud coarse +sneer of Secretary Tobiah. Why if a fox (or jackal) tries to get over +their miserable wall, even his light foot will break it down. + +'Even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down +their stone wall.' + +We can picture to ourselves the burst of laughter with which this speech +would be hailed by the bystanders, the officers and courtiers of +Sanballat. + +What does Nehemiah answer? How does he reply to this cruel ridicule, +these sharp, cutting, insolent words, that provoking laughter? + +If we study Nehemiah's character, we shall find that he was a man of +quick feelings and of a sensitive nature. He was not one of those men +who are so thick-skinned that hard speeches are not felt by them. He was +moreover a man of great power and spirit. He must have felt much +inclined to give Tobiah the bitter retort he so richly deserved, or to +call upon his men to drive Sanballat and his party from the walls. + +But Nehemiah speaks not. He does not utter a single word to Sanballat or +to his friends. He remembers that this is God's work, not his; and he +therefore complains to God, not man: + +'Hear, O our God; for we are despised: and turn their reproach upon +their own head, and give them for a prey in the land of captivity.' + +Then, quietly and steadily, as if nothing had happened, he takes up his +work again, and the people follow his example; they take no notice of +the jeering company below, but they build on in silence, all the quicker +and the more carefully for the scoffs of their enemies. + +Sanballat and Tobiah soon tire of laughter and mockery, when they see it +is of no avail; they move off discomfited, and the work goes on as +before. + +Satan, the great enemy of souls, is the same to-day as he was in +Nehemiah's time. He never lets a good work alone; he never permits +Christ's servants to row in smooth water, but immediately he sees work +done for the Master, at once he stirs up the storm of opposition. + +The young man who is careless about eternity, who is living simply to +please self, has an easy time; he will not come across even a ripple of +opposition, his sea will be smooth as glass. But let that young man be +aroused, be awakened, be converted to God, let the good work of grace +be begun in his soul, and at once Satan will stir up the storm of +difficulty and opposition. Very often it begins, just as Nehemiah's +storm began, in laughter. It has been said that laughter hurts no one. +That statement might be true if we were all body, but inasmuch as we +have a spirit within us, it is not true that laughter cannot hurt. +Surely it stings, and cuts, and wounds the sensitive soul, just as heavy +blows sting, and cut, and wound the body. Satan knows this, and he makes +full use of the knowledge. + +The man who sets out for heaven will scarcely fail, before he has gone +many steps, to come across a Sanballat. He will have his taunt and jest +all ready. 'What is this I hear of you? Have you turned a saint? I +suppose you are too good for your old companions now; you are going to +set the whole world to rights.' Or, if the words are unspoken, Sanballat +has the shrug of the shoulders, and the scornful gesture, which are just +as hard to bear. Nor must the man who has his face heavenwards be +surprised if he hears Tobiah's sneer. 'Ah, wait a bit,' says Tobiah; +'let us see if it will last. Even a fox will throw down that wall; the +very first thing that comes to vex him, the very first temptation, +however small, will be sufficient to overturn the wall of good +resolutions, and his religious professions will lie low in the dust, and +will be shown to be nothing but rubbish.' + +It is well to be prepared for Sanballat and Tobiah, for any day we may +come across them. How shall we answer them? Let us follow in Nehemiah's +footsteps, let us turn from man to God. He hears the taunt, even as it +is spoken, and He says to each of His tried, tempted children: + + 'For My Name's sake, canst thou not bear that taunt, + That cruel word? + Is not the sorrow small, the burden light, + Borne for thy Lord? + + For My Name's sake, I see it, know it all, + 'Tis hard for thee, + But I have loved thee so, my child, canst thou + Bear this for Me?' + +Sanballat and Tobiah have moved away from the walls of Jerusalem, and +the work goes on prospering; the gaps are being filled up, and already +the wall is half its intended height (iv. 6), for the people had a mind +to work, and much can be done in a short time when that is the case. +Not a word more has, for some time, been heard of Sanballat, and perhaps +the builders fancied and hoped they had seen the last of their enemies, +when one day, suddenly, dreadful news is brought into the city. + +Sanballat and his friends, having failed to stop the work by laughter +and mockery, are going to take stronger measures, and have agreed to +resort to force. Dark secret plots are being formed to gather an army +together, and to come suddenly upon the defenceless builders and kill +them at their work. + +All the surrounding nations are invited to join Sanballat in his +enterprise. Not only the Samaritans in the north, but the men of Ashdod +from the west, the Arabians from the south, and the Ammonites from the +east, are gathering together against Jerusalem. Psalm lxxxiii. is +supposed by many to have been written at this time, and describes the +great storm as it arose, and threatened to destroy the defenceless city +(Psalm lxxxiii. 1-8). + +Poor Nehemiah! he sees the raging of the waters, and he feels that the +little boat needs a careful hand at the helm. He has a double receipt +against this new opposition--a receipt which may be summed up in the two +words which the Master has given us as our watch-word--Watch and pray. + +'Nevertheless we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against +them day and night.' + +But the billows rose higher. Three mighty waves came sweeping on, and +threatened to swamp Nehemiah's frail vessel. + +(1) The builders grew discouraged and tired. The cry was raised inside +the city, 'We had better give up attempting to work, the rubbish is too +deep, it will never be cleared away, the men who are carrying it away +are worn out, we cannot build the wall, it is of no use to try any +longer.' + +Ver. 10: 'And Judah said, The strength of the bearers of burdens is +decayed, and there is much rubbish; so that we are not able to build the +wall.' + +(2) News was brought in from all sides, that any day, any night, at any +moment, a sudden attack might be expected, for their enemies were +boasting loudly to all they met that they were confident of taking the +builders by surprise. + +Ver. 11: 'And our adversaries said, They shall not know, neither see, +till we come in the midst among them, and slay them, and cause the work +to cease.' + +And not only was there discouragement inside the city and threatened +danger without, but the number of hands was lessened upon the city wall, +for (3) men arrived from different parts of the country, saying that it +was absolutely necessary that their brethren who had come up to work on +the wall should at once return home. They were needed to guard their +families and their homes from the approaching foe. Ten times over +Nehemiah received deputations of this kind (ver. 12); and the spirits of +the builders sank lower and lower. + +But Nehemiah, like a true leader, rises to the occasion, and does not +allow himself to be cast down. He did not make light of the difficulties +he saw around him, but he manfully faced them, and in the hour of trial +his people did not desert him. + +One day, ver. 14, looking towards the north, Nehemiah suddenly saw the +enemy coming. But all was ready; the weapons were laid where they could +be taken up in a moment. No sooner is the alarm given than the work +ceases, and the whole company of builders is changed into an army of +soldiers, and swords, and spears, and bows are to be seen on the walls +instead of trowels and hammers. Nehemiah had carefully arranged the +position which each man was to occupy; he drew up his soldiers after +their families, probably giving to each family the part of the wall +nearest to their own house, that they might feel that they were fighting +for their homes, their wives, and their children. Then when all were put +in readiness Nehemiah called upon them to be brave in the defence of +their city, and not to fear the foe. + +'Be not ye afraid of them: remember the Lord, which is great and +terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, +your wives, and your houses.' + +The enemy approaches; but instead of taking Jerusalem by surprise, as +they had boasted they would, they find they are expected, and will meet +with a warm reception if they advance farther. They are afraid to make +the attempt; God guards the faithful city, and Sanballat and his allied +forces withdraw discomfited. No sooner has the enemy beaten a retreat +than the work begins again. + +'We returned all of us to the wall, every one unto his work.' + +But, from that time, the sword and the trowel must never be parted. Each +builder worked with a sword hanging by his side; each porter held a hod +in one hand, and a weapon in the other. They were always on the alert, +ever ready for action. + +Nehemiah had brought with him from Shushan a large following of +faithful servants or slaves; on these he could thoroughly rely. He +divided them into two parties, half worked at the building, filling up +the gaps left by those who had returned home; the rest stood behind +them, guarding the weapons, the shields, and the spears, and the bows, +and the swords which were laid ready for immediate use. By Nehemiah's +side stood a trumpeter, ready to blow an alarm at the first sight or +sound of the enemy. + +For, says Nehemiah, 'I said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to +the rest of the people, The work is great and large, and we are +separated upon the wall, one far from another. In what place therefore +ye hear the sound of the trumpet, resort ye thither unto us: our God +shall fight for us.' + +So the work and the watching went on all day long, and when the sun set +over the Mediterranean, and the stars came out in the quiet sky, and +darkness made the work impossible, still the watching went on as before. +Those who had laboured at the building all day lay down and slept, +whilst others kept guard on the wall. The workmen who lived outside the +walls were requested by Nehemiah to stay in the city all night, in order +to increase the strength of their force. As for the governor himself and +the little body of faithful servants, they gave themselves hardly any +rest, either by night or by day. They were almost always on duty, not +one of them even undressed all that long time of watching; if they laid +down to sleep, they laid in their clothes, ready at any moment for the +attack of the enemy (chap. iv. 28). + +Thus, day by day, the work grew and the walls rose higher, strong lines +of defence once more encircled the city, and the prayer of the captives +in Babylon, offered so earnestly and amongst many tears, was already +receiving an abundant answer. + +'Do good in Thy good pleasure to Zion, build Thou the walls of +Jerusalem.' + +The scene changes. Nehemiah and his workmen fade away; the walls of +Jerusalem become dim and obscure, and, in their place, we see coming +out, as in a dissolving view, other figures and another landscape. We +see the Master, Christ Jesus, standing in the midst of His countless +labourers and workmen, the great company of His faithful servants. We +notice that each one is working busily at the special work the Master +has given him to do, we see that this work is very varied, no two +labourers have exactly the same task. But in one respect we notice that +all the Master's servants are alike, they all carry a sword, for it is +not possible for any one to be a worker for Christ without also being at +the same time a soldier. + +Nor is it difficult to see the reason of this, for, if we serve Christ, +we are certain to meet with opposition. The mighty hosts of hell will +come against us, to hinder and to oppose us. + +Let us, then, be prepared for their attack. Let us set a watch against +them. Satan and his forces always watch for our weakest point. Let us +find out what that point is. What is the weak part of our defences? Is +it selfishness? Is it pride? Is it prayerlessness? Is it temper? Is it +an unkind spirit? Whatever it is by which we are most easily led astray, +that is our weak spot, and there we ought to set a double watch. David +had his weak spot, and he knew it: unguarded, hasty words were ever +coming out of his mouth, but he found out the weak point in his +defences, and there he set a strong and powerful guard. He called upon +God Himself to keep out the enemy at that weak place: + +'Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth. Keep the door of my lips.' + +Let us not only watch, but let us ever be ready to fight. Never let us +lay down the sword of the Spirit, or the shield of faith. Never for a +moment let us put off our armour, for we never know when the next attack +may come. The unguarded moment is the moment for which Satan always +watches, and which he knows only too well how to use. + +Above all, let us pray, for the watching and the fighting will be of no +avail unless we ask and obtain strength from on high. 'Our God shall +fight for us,' cried Nehemiah to his discouraged men. But they had +prayed day and night for the help which bore them safely through. 'Ye +have not, because ye ask not. Ask, and ye shall receive.' + + 'Christian, seek not here repose, + Cast thy dreams of ease away, + Thou art in the midst of foes, + Therefore, Watch and pray. + + Gird thy heavenly armour on, + Wear it ever night and day, + Near thee lurks the evil one, + Therefore, Watch and pray. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +The World's Bible. + + +A great cry, a piercing cry, raised by hundreds of voices, a cry which +resounds through the streets of the city, and which is echoed by the +surrounding hills. What can be the matter? What can be the cause of this +mournful wail? + +There was a great cry in Egypt on that awful night, when there was not a +house in which there was not one dead. That was the great cry of terror. + +Esau raised a great cry when he found that he had lost his father's +blessing, the great cry of disappointment. + +There arose a great cry in the council chamber of Jerusalem, when the +Apostle Paul stood before his judges,--the cry of conflicting opinion. + +But the great cry which is sounding in our ears now is no cry of terror +or of disappointment, and the men who join in it are all of one mind; +yet the cry is none the less bitter or heartrending. As we listen to it, +we can distinguish the shrill voices of women mingled with the deeper +ones of men, and we notice also, that, although the cry is one of sorrow +and distress, there is a deep undertone of anger and complaining. + +Who are crying, and what is the cause of their distress? Who are +crying? An excited mob of men and women, standing in the streets of +Jerusalem. Look at them well, surely we know some of their faces. Is it +possible, can it be, that we recognize some of those whom we saw working +so happily and cheerfully on the walls? What a change, what a terrible +change in their faces! + +What is the cause of their distress? What can have happened to move them +so deeply? Have the Samaritans returned to attack the city? Are the +walls on which they have spent so much labour overturned and laid low in +the dust? No, all without is peaceful, there is no sound of war in the +streets, and the hills around stand out brightly in the sunshine, and +are untrodden by the foot of any foe. The trouble is at home this time, +and as poor Nehemiah listens to the dismal noise, and as he tries to +still the shrill cries, that his voice may be heard, and as he watches +the people rocking to and fro, as Easterns do when moved by sorrow, he +may well feel downcast and disappointed, for a city divided against +itself cannot stand, and as Nehemiah listens to the cry, he clearly sees +that, at that moment, Jerusalem, the city he loves best on earth, is +indeed a divided city. + +Who then were these citizens of Jerusalem, these men and these women, +who raised the great cry? They were the poorer classes of the city; it +was a cry of the poor against the rich, a cry like that which was raised +all over France at the time of the French Revolution, a cry for bread. + +Nehemiah listens carefully to the cry and complaints of the people, and +as he does so he feels sure they are not raised without cause. There is +undoubtedly great and distressing poverty in the city, and he finds that +this may be traced to three principal causes. + +(1) The King of Persia had only allowed the returned captives a very +small tract of country to live in. The rest of the land was filled up by +the Samaritans, the Arabians, the Edomites and other nations who had +settled in Palestine whilst the rightful owners were in Babylon. +Consequently, as their families increased, the Jews found this narrow +strip of country was not sufficient to maintain them, and, as is always +the case, over-population and over-crowding was followed by great +poverty. + +(2) Then there had evidently been a severe famine, which had made +matters worse, for there had been numbers of mouths to feed and barely +anything to feed them on. No country is more subject to famine than +Palestine, for the harvest there is entirely dependent on the rainfall. +There are but few springs, there is no river but the Jordan, and that +runs in a deep ravine; the whole fertility of the country hangs on the +amount of rain that falls in autumn and winter. No rain means no corn, +no corn means starvation, and the people know it well. Nowhere on earth +are there such fervent prayers for rain, prayers which are offered by +Turk, Jew, and Christian alike, as there are in Palestine to this very +day, if the rainy season is passing away and a sufficient quantity of +rain has not fallen. + +(3) Then Nehemiah found there was a third cause of distress. Every year, +in addition to earning money to keep his wife and children alive, the +poor man had to be ready for a visitor, and this visitor never received +a very hearty welcome. Once a year there arrived at his door an official +sent by the King of Persia. He was the tax-collector, sent to collect +the tribute which had to be paid yearly to their master, the great +sovereign at Shushan. Whatever else went unpaid, that tribute must be +paid; whatever other debts they incurred, that sum must be paid in full, +and paid at once. + +Over-population, famine, tribute, it was no wonder that the people were +so poor. + +But the great cry in the streets of Jerusalem was not merely a cry of +suffering and distress; it was an angry complaining cry; it was the cry +of those who felt that others were to blame for their sorrows. + +As Nehemiah walks amongst the weeping crowds, and as he talks to the +people one by one, he finds that there are no less than three sets of +complainants. + +(1) There are the utterly poor people, those who have no private means +whatever, but who are entirely dependent on the work of their hands and +on the wages they get for that work. These come to Nehemiah and pour out +their sorrowful tale. 'We,' they say, 'have large families, for + +'We, our sons, and our daughters, are many.' + +But 'Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them,' so runs the +Psalm, and are not children a heritage and gift that cometh of the Lord? +Yet when the quiver is _more_ than full (for a quiver only held four +arrows), and when bread is scarce and work bad, it needs faith to trust +the children which the Lord has given to His care, and to feel sure that +He who sent them will send the bread to feed them. + +'Now,' say these overburdened parents to Nehemiah, 'we cannot let our +children starve. We have been building this wall and earning nothing, +but we have had to eat all these weeks; we have been obliged to take up +corn for our families lest they should die, and the consequence is we +have run very heavily into debt' (ver. 2). That was the first class of +complainants. + +(2) But amongst the weepers Nehemiah found a second class, those who had +once been somewhat better off, and had, in happier days, owned a little +property, and had some means of their own, but who, at the time of the +late famine, had got into difficulties. 'I,' said one, 'had a little +farm in a village near Jerusalem.' 'I,' said another, 'was the owner of +a nice little vineyard or oliveyard on the hill side,' 'I,' said a +third, 'built a house in the city on my return from captivity, and hoped +to leave it to my children.' 'But so terrible was our distress in the +famine,' say these men, 'that we were obliged to borrow money of our +neighbours the rich Jews in Jerusalem. They were willing to lend the +money, but they required security for it, and we were compelled to +pledge or mortgage our little property to these men, and now times are +still bad, and we see no hope whatever that we shall be able to buy our +little possessions back again' (ver. 3). + +(3) But the shrillest cries of all came from the third class of +complainants. These were men who, up to a certain point, resembled the +second class. They had once possessed a little property, but in the time +of famine they had parted with their lands, their houses, and their +vineyards like the rest. But the story of the third class did not end +here, these had since then got into still worse difficulties. The +tax-collector had come round to collect the tribute for Artaxerxes, and +he had demanded immediate payment. They had, however, nothing to give +him. What could they do? They were obliged once more to borrow money of +their rich neighbours, who lent it to them at the rate of 12 per cent, +(one eighth part of the money to be paid monthly). And what pledge, what +security did these nobles require for their money? The poor people had +already lost their houses and their vineyards, there was nothing left to +them but their children, and actually the son or the daughter was +pledged or mortgaged to the rich money-lender. If the heavy interest is +not paid, at any moment the child may be seized, and carried off to the +noble's house to be brought up as a slave. 'Nay,' cry some of the +mothers in the crowd, 'our case is worst of all; some of our daughters +have been taken as slaves already, and we have no power to redeem them. +Yet we love our children just as much as these rich people love theirs, +they are just as dear to us as theirs are to them' (ver. 5). + +'And then,' says Nehemiah,'when I had heard their cry and listened to +their tale, I was very angry.' But surely it was wrong of Nehemiah to be +angry. Is not anger a bad thing? Is it not one of the works of the +devil, which we are bidden to lay aside? + +Yet what says St. Paul? 'Be ye angry, and sin not.' So it is possible to +be angry, and yet to be sinless. And we read, Mark iii. 5, that, in the +synagogue at Capernaum, the Lord Jesus looked round on the hard-hearted +Pharisees with anger; and in Him was no sin. + +Nehemiah was very angry, yet Nehemiah sinned not in being so, for it +was anger at sin, anger at the wrongdoing which was bringing disgrace on +his nation, anger at the conduct which was offending God and doing harm +to God's cause. It was righteous anger against the cruelty and +selfishness of those who, in those hard times, had profited from the +poverty and distress of their poor fellow countrymen. + +For some time Nehemiah did nothing, but he carefully turned the matter +over in his mind. He says, 'I consulted with myself,' or as it is in the +margin, 'My heart consulted in me.' We can picture him pacing up and +down, saying again and again, What shall I do? What is the wisest course +to take? How can this great evil be stopped? Doubtless, too, he took +this trouble, as he had taken all his other anxieties and cares, and +laid it before the God of heaven. + +Then he sends for the nobles and all those who had oppressed the people, +and he gives them very plainly his mind on the matter: + +'I rebuked the nobles, and the rulers, and said unto them, Ye exact +usury, every one of his brother.' + +And thereby they had broken the law, for no Jew was allowed to take +interest, or increase, of another Jew, much less to exact usury: see +Exod. xxii. 25; Ezek. xviii. 8, 17. + +The Hebrew was to look upon every other Hebrew as his brother, and to +treat him as such. There was to be brotherly love in time of misfortune, +such love as would prevent the receiving of increase from the one who +was in trouble. With regard to the mortgaging of land, it does not seem +that these rich men had actually broken the law, such pledges were +allowed, provided that the property mortgaged was returned in the year +of jubilee. But, whilst they had not broken the letter of the law, these +Jews had certainly acted in a hard, self-seeking way, showing no +sympathy whatever for the sorrows of those around them. + +How different was this from the generous conduct of Nehemiah himself! +All the time of his government he drew no taxes or contributions from +the people over whom he ruled, as other governors did, and as his +predecessors in Jerusalem had done. Eastern governors in those days, +like Turkish governors now, were accustomed to farm their provinces. +That is to say, the king allowed them no salary, but he put the taxation +of the people in their hands. A certain fixed sum was to be sent to him +every year from the province; and whatever the governor could grind or +squeeze out of the people, over and above this stated amount, went into +his own pocket and formed his salary. Jerusalem now-a-days rings with +many a cry of distress caused by the unjust means used by the pacha to +increase his stipend by putting fresh burdens on the people. The former +Jewish governors had made as much as forty shekels a day, or L1,800 a +year out of the people in their province. But when Nehemiah came to +Jerusalem, he found the people so poverty-stricken and oppressed that he +would not take a single penny for himself. It is probable that his +salary as cup-bearer had been continued, and on this he lived and kept +his household going all the time of his government. Not only so; not +only did Nehemiah pay all his private expenses, but he kept open house +for the people of Jerusalem; every day 150 of the rulers and chief men +dined with him, besides all the visitors to Jerusalem, Jews from other +countries, strangers from foreign nations who were staying but a short +time in the city, all of whom were invited to the governor's house, and +sat down at the governor's table. + +Nehemiah himself gives us his daily bill of fare, ver. 18. + + 1 ox. + 6 fat sheep. + Fowls without number. + A fresh supply of wine of all kinds stored in every tenth day. + +It was no small expense to have above 150 men to dinner daily, yet for +all this Nehemiah took not a penny from his province, so touched was he +to the heart by the poverty of the people. Not only so, but all the time +the walls were being built he toiled away, and allowed all his household +servants to work both night and day, and yet looked for no payment or +compensation, ver. 16. Then besides all this, Nehemiah had been most +generous in the time of the famine; he had supplied the poor people with +money and with corn, and yet he had firmly refused to allow them to +pledge or mortgage their lands, much less their children, ver. 10. + +And Nehemiah tells us the secret of his consistent conduct; he tells us +why he differed so much from the governors who went before him. A strong +power held him back from sin. + +'So did not I, because of the fear of God.' + +Thus Nehemiah had a right to speak, for he practised what he preached. +But in spite of this, his private appeal to the nobles appears to have +been in vain. They seem to have given no answer, to have taken no +notice of his appeal, and to have given him no reason to think that +they intended to change their conduct. + +So he set a great assembly against them. He called a monster meeting of +all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, rich and poor, for he felt that if +their conduct was publicly exposed and condemned, they might possibly be +ashamed to continue it. + +Nehemiah's speech at the meeting was very much to the point. He first +tried to shame the nobles by reminding them that whilst he, ever since +his return, had been spending his money in buying back those Jews who +had been sold into slavery to the heathen round, they on the other hand +had actually been doing the very opposite, bringing their fellow +citizens into slavery to themselves. Was this right, or fair, or just? +The argument told, no one could answer it, there was dead silence, ver. +8. + +Now, says Nehemiah, consider: 'Ought ye not to walk in the fear of our +God?' Ought ye not to be careful in your conduct, kind, and just, and +generous in your dealing? And why? + +'Because of the reproach of the heathen our enemies.' + +Because you Jews are God's people, and all these heathen round will +judge your God by what you are. You make a profession of religion, you +claim to have high motives; but if they see you grasping, greedy, hard, +like themselves, what will they think of your religion? Surely they will +say, 'These Jews are no better than ourselves, their religion cannot be +worth much.' + +Now, says Nehemiah, remembering all this, bearing in mind the disgrace +you are bringing upon the name of Jew, I call upon you at once to give +up this practice of mortgaging and pledge-taking. Not only so, but I +bid you restore at once the vineyards and the oliveyards, the fields and +the houses, you have taken from these poor people. I bid you also return +the interest they have paid you (the eighth part of the money), and I +call upon you, in every way you can, to undo the evil you have done +already, and for the future to do unto others as you would they should +do to you, vers. 10, 11. + +Nehemiah's earnest words prevailed, + +'Then said they, We will restore them.' + +This promise was followed by a very curious act on the part of Nehemiah. + +'I shook my lap.' + +The lap is what the Latins called the _sinus_, a fold in the bosom of +the tunic, which was used as a pocket. Eastern-like, Nehemiah used a +sign to show what will happen to any man who shall break the promise he +had just made. God will cast him forth as a homeless wanderer, emptied +of all his possessions, all his ill-gotten wealth. He shall be void or +empty, just as Nehemiah's pocket was void or empty, ver. 13. + +'And all the congregation said, Amen.' + +Then, instead of the great cry of distress, was heard the great shout of +joy, for + +They 'praised the Lord.' + +And the promise was not one of those promises made to be broken, for + +'The people did according to this promise.' + +It has been well said that Christians are the only Bible that men of the +world read. In other words, those who will not read the Bible +themselves, judge the religion of Christ simply by the Christians they +happen to come across. This is not a fair way of judging; it surely +cannot be right to condemn Christianity itself, because some of those +who profess it are not what they ought to be. + +Let us picture to ourselves an island in the Pacific Ocean, where no +European has ever been seen. A large ship is wrecked not far from this +island, and three men are able to make their escape in a boat, and to +land upon its shore. The men belong to three different nations--one is a +Frenchman, another is a German, and the third is an Englishman. The +people of the island receive them most kindly, warm them, and feed them, +and shelter them, and do all they can for them till a ship shall come to +take them away. + +What return do the three men make for their kindness? The Frenchman is +grateful, and willing to make himself useful in any way he can: he +amuses the children and helps in the work of the house, and does all he +can to make return for the hospitality he is receiving. The German is +very clever with his fingers, and spends his time in teaching the +natives to make many things which they had not been able to do before; +he becomes indeed so helpful to them that they dread the day coming when +he will have to leave them. But the Englishman is a man of low tastes +and bad morals. He spends his time in drinking the spirit he finds on +the island, in quarrelling with the inhabitants, and in ill-treating +their children; there is not a soul on the island who does not rejoice +when the ship bears him away, never to return. + +Soon after this, news is brought that a small colony from Europe is +anxious to settle on that island, and to trade with the inhabitants. +The commercial advantages of this step are laid before the natives, and +leave is asked for the party of traders to land. One question, and one +question only, is asked by the inhabitants. Of what nation are these +colonists? The answer is brought back, They are English. At once the +whole island is up in arms. They shall not land, they cry, we will not +hear of it; we know what English people are, we have had plenty of the +English. Had they been French or Germans we would have given them a +hearty welcome, but we never wish to see an Englishman again. + +But surely that was not fair, it was not right to judge a whole nation +by one bad specimen. Nor is it right to judge the followers of Christ +in that way. I know a man, says one, who is hard and grasping and +self-seeking, and that man makes a religious profession, therefore I +will have nothing to do with religion. I know a Christian who is +bad-tempered; I know a Christian who is not particular about truth; I +know a Christian out of whose mouth come bitter, unkind words; I know a +Christian who is unpleasant in his manner; I know a Christian with whom +I should be sorry to do business; I know a Christian who is always +mournful and miserable. These are your Christians, are they? Then do not +ask me to be one; I have no opinion of any of them. + +Yet, after all, the man who speaks thus draws an unfair conclusion. +Because I find in my bag of gold one bad half-sovereign, or even two or +three bad ones, am I therefore to throw all the rest away? And because +one Christian, or several Christians, disgrace their Master, and act +inconsistently, am I therefore to condemn Christianity itself? Am I +therefore to cut off my own soul from all hope of safety? + +But, remembering this, bearing in mind that many eyes are on us, that +our conduct is being read, our ways watched, our actions weighed, our +motives sifted, Christian friends, let us walk carefully. Do not let us +bring disgrace on our Master, do not let us hinder others and be a +stumbling-block[1] in their way; do not let us give the world a wrong idea +of Christ. + +We are not half awake, we are not half careful enough; let us walk +circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise. Let us, whenever we have been +tempted to any inconsistency, be able to take up Nehemiah's brave noble +words, + +'So did not I, because of the fear of God.' + +I could not get into a temper, I could not be hard or grasping, I could +not do that piece of sharp practice, I could not stoop to that deceit, I +could not disgrace my Master, because in my heart was a principle +holding me back from sin, the fear of the Lord. I feared to grieve the +One who loved me, and that fear kept me safe. 'So did not I, because of +the fear of God.' + +[Transcribers note 1: stumbling-black corrected to stumbling-block.] + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +True to his Post. + + +Lot's wife was changed into a pillar of salt; and if that pillar still +remained, we should see her to-day standing in exactly the same attitude +in which she was standing when death suddenly came upon her. + +About a hundred years ago, a baker in the south of Italy sunk a well in +his garden; and whilst doing so he suddenly came upon a buried city, a +city which had been lost to the world for 1800 years. The underground +city was no empty place; it was peopled with the dead, and these were +found in the very attitude and position in which death had overtaken +them, standing, sitting, lying, just as they had been on that awful day +when Mount Vesuvius sent out terrible showers of ashes, destroying them +all. + +Very various were the positions of the dead in that buried city. Many +were in the streets, in the attitude of running, trying to make their +escape from the city gate; others were in deep vaults whither they had +gone for safety, crouching, in their fear of what might fall upon them; +others were on staircases and flights of stone steps leading to the +roof, in the attitude of climbing to a place where they hoped the lava +might not bury them. Two men were found by the garden gate of a large +and beautiful mansion. One was standing with the key in his hand, a +handsome ring on his finger, and a hundred gold and silver coins +scattered round him. The other, who was probably his slave, was +stretched on the ground, with his hands clutching some silver cups and +vases. These men had evidently been suffocated whilst trying to carry +off the money and treasure. + +But one man in that buried city deserves to be remembered to the end of +time. Who was he? One Roman soldier, the brave sentinel at the gate. +There he had been posted in the morning, and there he had been bidden to +remain. + +And how was he found? Standing at his post, with his hand still grasping +his sword, faithful unto death. There, by the city gate; whilst the +earth shook and rocked, whilst the sky was black with ashes, whilst +showers of stones were falling around him, and whilst hundreds of men, +women and children brushed past him as they fled in terror from the +city, there he stood, firm and unmoved. Should such a man as I flee? +thought the sentinel. And in that same spot, in that post of duty, he +was found 1800 years after, faithful to his trust, faithful unto death. + +Oh, that the Lord's soldiers were more like that brave man in Pompeii! +It is so easy to begin a thing, so hard to stick to it; so easy to start +on the Christian course, so difficult to persevere; so easy to enlist in +the army, so very hard to stand unmoved in the time of danger or trial. +Yet what says the Master? He that endureth to the end (and he alone) +shall be saved. What says the Captain? chat it is the soldier who is +faithful unto death (and no one else) who shall receive the crown of +life. + +Who then amongst us are faithful, true and unmoved? Who amongst us +can stand firm in spite of Satan's efforts to lead us aside? Who +can hold on, not for a week only, but still faithful as the weeks +change into months, and the months into years, faithful unto death? +About 100 years before the time of Nehemiah, there lived a wise old +Chinaman, the philosopher Confucius. Looking round upon his fellow-men, +Confucius said that he noticed that a large proportion of them were +'Copper-kettle-boiling-water men.' The water in a copper kettle, said +Confucius, boils very quickly, much more quickly than in an iron kettle; +but the worst of it is that it just as quickly cools down, and ceases to +boil. + +So, said Confucius, is it with numbers of my fellow-men: they are one +day hot and eager, boiling over with zeal in some particular cause; but +the next day they have cooled down, and they take no interest in it +whatever. Soon up, soon down, like the water in a copper kettle. + +Just so is it in the service of God. There are, sad to say, many +copper-kettle-boiling-water Christians, hot and earnest in the work of +God one moment, but in the next they have cooled down, and are ready to +leave the work to take care of itself. + +But Nehemiah was no copper-kettle-boiling-water man, he comes before us +as a man faithful to his post, standing firm to his duty, a man whom no +one could draw from his work, or cause to swerve from what he knew to be +right. + +The Samaritans have made a mighty effort to stop Nehemiah's great work, +the building of the walls of Jerusalem. They began with ridicule; but +the builders took no notice of the shouts of laughter, but built on as +before. Then they tried to stop the work by force; but they found the +whole company of builders changed, as by a magic wand, into an army of +soldiers, ready and waiting for their attack. Now the news reaches them, +chap. vi. 1., that the walls are progressing, that the gaps are filled +up, the different pieces are joined together, and that nothing now +remains but to put up the gates in the various gateways. + +They feel accordingly that no time is to be lost; they must, in some way +or other, put a stop to Nehemiah and his work at once. They determine, +therefore, to try a new plan, they will entrap Nehemiah by stratagem and +deceit. So they send an invitation to Jerusalem, begging him to meet +them in a certain place, that there they may settle their differences by +a friendly conference. + +Sanballat is to be there as the head of the Samaritans, Geshem as the +head of the Arabians, and Nehemiah as the head of the Jews; and surely, +meeting in a friendly way, and embued with a friendly spirit, nothing +will be easier than quietly and peacefully to confer together, and then +to arrange matters in a comfortable and satisfactory manner. + +The place appointed for the meeting is the Plain of Ono--the green, +beautiful plain between the Judean hills and the Mediterranean--called +elsewhere the Plain of Sharon. There in later days stood Lydda, the +place where St. Peter healed Aeneas; there stood Joppa, from which Jonah +embarked; there, at the present day, may be seen fields of melons and +cucumbers, groves of orange and lemon trees, and fields of waving corn. +Nehemiah would have a journey of about thirty miles before he reached +the appointed meeting-place. + +Sanballat's proposal sounded very fine and even very friendly, but it +was a trap. His real desire was to tempt Nehemiah from behind the walls +of Jerusalem, to entice him to a safe distance from his brave friends +and companions, and then to have him secretly assassinated. Who then +would ever hear again of the power of Jerusalem? Who then would ever see +the gates put in their places? + +Is Nehemiah moved from his post of duty by Sanballat's message? Does he +leave his work at once, and set off for the Plain of Ono? Look at his +decided answer. + +'I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the +work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?' + +God's work would be done better, and with more success, if all His +workmen were like Nehemiah. But, alas! many who call themselves workers +for God are ready to run off from the work at every call, every +invitation, every appeal from the world, the flesh, or the devil. I am +doing a great work, but there is that amusement I want to take part in, +the work must be left to-day. + +I am doing a great work; but I do not feel inclined for it just now, I +feel idle, or the weather is too cold to go out, or the sun shines so +brightly I should like a walk instead, I must leave my work to others +to-day. + +I am doing a great work; but I love my own ease, or pleasure, or +convenience, better than I love the work, these must come first and the +work must come second. + +So speak the actions of many so-called workers, and thus it is that so +much Christian work is a dead failure. + +But, says Nehemiah, 'I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come +down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to +you?' + +Let us remember his words, let us inwardly digest them, and the very +next time that we are tempted to give up work for God and to run off to +something else, let us take care to echo them. + +But Sanballat is determined not to be beaten, he will try again and yet +again. Four times over he sends Nehemiah a friendly invitation to a +friendly conference, four times over Nehemiah steadily refuses to come. +Then, when that plot completely fails, Sanballat loses his temper. + +One day a messenger arrives at the gate of Jerusalem with an insult in +his hand. The insult is in the form of a piece of parchment; it is a +letter from Sanballat, an 'open letter,' ver. 5. + +Letters in the East are not put into envelopes, but are rolled up like a +map, then the ends are flattened and pasted together. The Persians make +up their letters in a roll about six inches long, and then gum a piece +of paper round them, and put a seal on the outside. But in writing to +persons of distinction, not only is the letter gummed together, but it +is tied up in several places with coloured ribbon, and then enclosed in +a bag or purse. To send a letter to such a man as Nehemiah, not only +untied and unenclosed, but actually not even having the ends pasted +together, was a tremendous insult, and Nehemiah, who had been +accustomed to the strict etiquette of the Persian court, knew this well. + +But Sanballat probably sent this open letter not only with the intention +of insulting Nehemiah, but also in order that every one whom the +messenger came across might read it, and that the Jews in Jerusalem and +its neighbourhood might be frightened by its contents, and might +therefore be inclined to forward his plans. + +The letter contained a piece of gossip. + +'It is reported among the heathen, and Gashmu saith it.' + +So the letter began, and then there followed the scandal, the gossip +about Nehemiah. + +People's tongues were busy 2,000 years ago, just as people's tongues are +busy now, and the gossips of those days, like the gossips of to-day, +were not particular about truth. + +What was the gossip which Gashmu had started against Nehemiah? It was +this: Jerusalem is being built, we all see that, says Gashmu. But now, +what is at the bottom of this business? Hush! says Gashmu, do not tell +any one, and I will tell you a secret. You would never believe it, you +would never guess it; but what do you think? As soon as those walls are +built and those gates are finished, you will hear news. There is going +to be a king in Jerusalem, and his name is Nehemiah. As soon as ever he +has a strong city in which to defend himself, he is going to rebel +against Persia. Nay, he has already paid people inside Jerusalem to +pretend to be prophets, and to say to the people: + +'There is a king in Judah.' + +That is the gossip, says Sanballat, that is going the round of all the +gossips' tongues in the land. And now what will be the result? If the +King of Persia hears of it, and it is sure to reach his ears sooner or +later, it will go badly with you, Nehemiah. The best thing you can do is +to consent to meet me, and we will talk the matter over and see what can +be done to prevent this report reaching Persia. + +'Come now therefore, and let us take counsel together.' + +Nehemiah has stood firm under ridicule; he has been unmoved by force or +deceitful friendships; will he be frightened from his duty by gossip? +No, he cares not what they say, nor who says it. He simply sends +Sanballat word that there is not a vestige of truth in the report, nor +does he intend to take any notice of it. + +'There are no such things done as thou sayest, but thou feignest them +out of thine own heart.' + +Over the entrance to one of our old English castles these words are +carved in the stonework:-- + + THEY SAY. + WHAT DO THEY SAY? + LET THEM SAY. + +These words are well worth our remembering. It is not pleasant to be +talked about, especially if the words spoken about us are untrue, but it +will be a wonderful thing if any of us escape the gossip's tongue. + +_They say_, and they always will _say_, to the end of time; people +will talk, and their talk will chiefly be of their neighbours. + +_What do they say?_ Do you answer like the Psalmist, 'They lay to my +charge things I knew not?' They speak unkindly, untruly, unfairly. +Never mind, _Let them say._ You cannot stop their mouths, but you can +hinder yourself from taking notice of their words. Let them say, for +they will have their say out, but they will end it all the sooner if you +take no notice of it. + +Let us try for the future to be thick-skinned, and when Gashmu's tongue +is whispering, and whenever some busybody like Sanballat repeats +Gashmu's words to us, let us act as Nehemiah did. Let us take no notice +of the repeated tittle-tattle. + +Yet, although we may practically ignore the gossiping tongue, if we are +naturally sensitive and highly strung we cannot help feeling some sting +from the unkind or untrue speech. Poor Nehemiah, unmoved though he was +by the gossip, yet feels it necessary to remember the meaning of his +name, and to turn from Sanballat's letter to 'the Lord my Comforter.' + +'O God, strengthen my hands.' + +So he cries from the depths of his soul, and so he was comforted. + +Sanballat now feels that he is attempting an impossibility. It is of no +use trying himself to move Nehemiah, for Nehemiah is thoroughly on his +guard against him. If he reaches him at all, he must do so through +others, whom Nehemiah does not suspect. So, by means of his gold, +Sanballat tempts some of the Jerusalem Jews over to his side. + +There is a woman living in Jerusalem named Noadiah, and she (to her +shame be it spoken) is bribed by Sanballat to give herself out as a +prophetess, and to be the bearer of messages to Nehemiah, pretending +that those messages were sent to him by God. Nor is Noadiah the only +one who is bribed by the Samaritan governor to pretend the gift of +prophecy. + +One day, Nehemiah is sent for to the house of one of these people who +profess to be able to prophesy. He is a young man of the name of +Shemaiah, whose family had returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel, but +who had never been able to prove their Jewish descent (vii. 61, 62, 64). + +This young man professes to be very fond of Nehemiah, and begs him to +come to see him. Nehemiah does so, and finds him shut up, his doors +barred and bolted, his house barricaded like a fortress. He admits +Nehemiah, and seems, as he does so, to be in a great state of fear and +terror. + +Then he whispers a dreadful secret in his ear. He tells Nehemiah that +his life is in immediate danger, that there is a plot set on foot by +Sanballat to murder him that very night, and that this plot has been +revealed to him by God. He tells him that he feels his own life, as one +of Nehemiah's best friends, is also in danger, and therefore he proposes +that they shall go together after dark to the temple courts, and, +passing through these, enter into the sanctuary itself, the Holy Place, +in which stood the altar of incense, the golden candlestick, and the +table of showbread. There, having carefully closed the folding doors of +fir-wood, they may hide till daybreak, and those who were coming to +assassinate Nehemiah will seek him in vain. + +Shemaiah gives this advice as a direct message from God, but Nehemiah +saw through it. He felt sure God could not have sent that message, for +God cannot contradict His own Word. And what said the Word? It was +clearly laid down in the law of Moses that no man, unless he was a +priest, might enter the Holy Place; if he attempted to do so, death +would be the penalty. + +'The stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.' So Nehemiah +bravely answers: + +'Should such a man as I flee? and who is there, that, being as I am, +would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in.' + +Who is there, that, being as I am--that is, being a layman, not a +priest--as I am, could go into the temple and live? for that is the +better translation. In other words, if I, Nehemiah, who am not a priest, +should break the clear command of God, by crossing the threshold of the +temple, instead of saving my life I should lose it. I will not go in. + +So failed this dastardly plot to get Nehemiah to sin, in order that his +God might desert him. The sentinel stood unmoved at his post, Nehemiah +goes on steadily with his work. Should such a man as I flee? And in +fifty-two days after its commencement, in less than two months, the wall +was finished, vi. 15. + +With a huge army, with hundreds of horses, and with twenty elephants, +Pyrrhus, King of Epirus, crossed over from Greece to Italy to conquer +the Romans. No elephants had ever before been seen in Italy; and when +the two armies met, and the huge animals advanced with their dark trunks +curling and snorting, and their ponderous feet shaking the earth, the +horses in the Roman army were so terrified that they refused to move, +and Pyrrhus won an easy victory. After the battle was over Pyrrhus +walked amongst the dead, and looked at the bodies of his slain foes. As +he did so, one fact struck him very forcibly, and it was this, the +Romans did not know how to run away. Not one had turned and fled from +the field of battle. The wounds were all in front, not one was wounded +in the back. + +'Ah,' said Pyrrhus, 'with such soldiers as that the whole world would +belong to me.' + +Soldiers of Christ, let us be brave for the Master. Let the language of +the heart of each in the Lord's army be that of Nehemiah, 'Should such a +man as I flee?' Nay, I will not flee, I will not desert my post, I will +stand my ground, bravely, consistently, perseveringly, unto death. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +The Paidagogos. + + +The Tarpeian Rock was the place where Roman criminals who had been +guilty of the crime of treason were executed. They were thrown headlong +from this rock into the valley below, and perished at its base. The rock +took its name from a woman named Tarpeia, who has ever been a disgrace +to her sex, and whose name was hated in Rome, for she was a traitress to +her country. For a long time the war had raged between the Romans and +the Sabines. The Romans were at last compelled to shut themselves up in +their strong fortress, which the Sabines attempted to take, but in vain. +So steep were the rocks on which it stood, so strong were the walls, +that the Sabines must have given up their attempt in despair, had it not +been for the treachery of Tarpeia, the governor's daughter. She looked +down from the fortress into the Sabine host, and she noticed that, +whilst with their right arms the Sabines held their swords, on their +left arms were hung massive golden bracelets, such as Tarpeia had never +beheld before. One day, leaning over the precipice, she managed to +whisper into the ear of a Sabine soldier her treacherous plan. She was +willing in the dead of night to unlock the gate of the fortress, and to +admit the Sabines, provided that they promised on their part to give her +what they carried on their left arms. Tarpeia's proposition was agreed +to, and that night the governor's daughter stole the keys of the +fortress from her father's room, and admitted the enemy. + +But the Sabines had too much right feeling to let her treachery go +unpunished. She stood by the gate, hoping to receive the bracelets, but +each Sabine soldier, as he entered, threw at her head his massive iron +shield, which he also carried on his left arm, until she was crushed to +the ground, and buried beneath a mass of metal. They had fulfilled their +promise, but in a way the treacherous Tarpeia did not expect. When she +was quite dead, they took up her body, and threw it over the rock which +ever after bore her name, as a warning to traitors. + +Treachery within the camp, those in league with the enemy in the very +midst of the citadel, those who whilst pretending to be friends are +secretly conspiring to hinder and annoy. Surely such a state of things +is enough to move any man's heart. Who could help feeling it bitterly? + +David could not. Listen to his heartrending cry-- + +'For it is not an open enemy, that hath done me this dishonour; for then +I could have borne it. Neither was it mine adversary that did magnify +himself against me; for then I would have hid myself from him. But it +was even thou, my companion, my guide, and mine own familiar friend.' + +Nehemiah could not help feeling it. He had borne patiently ridicule, +force, deceit from without; whatever of harm or mischief Sanballat did, +he could not help, nor was he surprised at it. But when the trouble came +nearer home, when he found that in Jerusalem itself, amongst those whom +he had loved and for whom he had sacrificed so much, there were actually +to be found traitors, then indeed Nehemiah's soul was stirred to its +very depths. + +He discovered to his horror that letters, secret, treacherous letters, +were constantly passing from Tobiah the secretary to some of his +so-called friends in Jerusalem. Nay more, he discovered that these +letters were diligently answered, and that a quick correspondence was +being kept up by Tobiah on the one side and these treacherous Jews on +the other. + +Worse still, Nehemiah found that many of those round him were acting as +spies, watching all he did, taking note of every single thing that went +on in Jerusalem, and then writing it down for Tobiah's benefit. And in +spite of this, these Jews had the audacity and the bad taste when they +met Nehemiah in the street, or sat at his table, or came across him in +business, to harp constantly upon one string--the goodness, and +perfections, and excellences of dear Tobiah. + +'They reported his good deeds to me, and uttered my words to him.' + +Nor was this communication with the secretary at all easy to break off, +for he was connected by marriage with some of the first families in +Jerusalem. Tobiah himself had obtained a Jewish girl for his wife, the +daughter of one of Nehemiah's helpers--Shechaniah, the son of Arah. + +Not only so, but Meshullam, one of the wealthiest men in the city, one +of the most earnest builders on the wall, one who had worked so +diligently that he had actually repaired two portions (chap. iii. 4, +30), one who must have been either a priest or a Levite, for we read of +his having a chamber in the temple, this man, Meshullam, so well spoken +of, and so much esteemed in Jerusalem, had actually forgotten himself so +far as to let his daughter marry the son of the secretary, Tobiah. We +cannot excuse Meshullam by suggesting that his daughter may have been +spoilt or wilful, and may have married in spite of her father's +displeasure, for, in the East, marriages are entirely arranged by the +parents, and Meshullam's daughter probably had no choice in the matter. + +Seeing then that there are enemies without, and half-hearted friends +within, Nehemiah feels it necessary, so soon as the walls are finished +and the gates set up, to do all he can to make Jerusalem secure and +strong. Solomon had appointed 212 Levites to be porters or gate-keepers, +to guard the entrances to the temple. Ever since his time there had been +an armed body of Levites, kept always at hand, to guard the treasures of +the temple, and to keep watch at the gates. From these Nehemiah selects +the keepers for his new gates. Surely these Levites will be faithful, +and they have had some experience in watching, inasmuch as they have for +so long acted as temple police. + +Nehemiah's next step was to appoint two men to superintend these guards, +and to be responsible to him for the safety of the city. At any moment +he might be recalled to Persia, at any moment he might have to leave +his important work in Jerusalem, that he might stand again as cup-bearer +behind the king's chair. He felt that he must therefore appoint deputies +to guard the city for him, so that all might not hang upon the fact of +his presence in the city. + +Whom did Nehemiah choose for this post of enormous trust? One was his +brother Hanani, the very one who had come to see him in Persia. Why, he +would never have even thought of doing this great work, if it had not +been for Hanani; and he felt he could thoroughly trust him, and rely +upon him entirely. + +His other choice was Hananiah, the ruler of the palace or the fort, +which was a tower, standing in the temple courts on the spot on which, +in Roman days, stood the Tower of Antonia. Nehemiah tells us exactly why +he made choice of the man Hananiah. + +'He was a faithful man, and feared God above many.' + +He was a faithful man, thoroughly trustworthy and reliable. He feared +God above many, and therefore Nehemiah knew that he would be kept safe +and free from sin. 'So did not I,' he had said of himself, 'because of +the fear of God; that fear held me back from sin,' and he felt sure it +would be the same with Hananiah. He feared God, and therefore he could +be depended upon. + +These two rulers, Hanani and Hananiah, planned out the defence of the +city. They divided the wall amongst all the men in Jerusalem, holding +each man responsible for the safety of that part of the wall which lay +nearest to his own house. Then, by Nehemiah's orders, they saw that the +guards took care that the gates were not only carefully closed every +night, but that they were kept closed till the sun was hot, that is, +till some hours after sunrise. These orders were most necessary, seeing +that there were traitors inside the gates as well as enemies without. + +It was the sixth month of the Jewish year when the walls were finished. +Then came Tisri, the seventh month, the greatest and grandest of the +months. The Jews say that God made the world in the month Tisri, and in +it they have no less than two feasts and one great fast. + +On the first day of the month Tisri was held the Feast of Trumpets, or +the day of blowing. On that day trumpets or horns were blown all day +long in Jerusalem; on the house-tops, and from the courts and gardens, +as well as from the temple. + +Obedient to the voice of the trumpets, at early dawn the people all +gathered together, and stood by the water-gate, in a large open space +suitable for such a gathering. This gate is supposed to have been +somewhere at the south-east of the temple courts, and to have taken its +name from the fact that through it the temple servants, the Nethinims +and the Gibeonites, carried water from the dragon well into the city. + +Here a huge pulpit had been erected, not such a pulpit as we find in our +churches, but such an one as is to be seen in the synagogues of +Jerusalem, a pulpit as large as a small room, and capable of holding a +large number of persons. + +The pulpit by the water-gate was a raised platform, made for the +purpose. In it stood Ezra the scribe, and beside him stood thirteen of +the chief men of Jerusalem. Meshullam was there; but one man was +conspicuous by his absence. Eliashib, the high priest, who should +surely have been found taking a principal part in the solemn service of +the day, was nowhere to be seen. + +Before the great pulpit was gathered together an enormous crowd, men, +women, and children, all those who were old enough to understand +anything having been brought there, that they might listen to all that +went on. + +It was early in the morning, soon after sunrise, when the great company +met together. The blowing of the trumpets ceased, and there was brought +out by a Levite an old roll of parchment. What was it? It was the Book +of the Law, the Bible of Nehemiah's day, consisting of the five books of +Moses. + +Slowly and reverently Ezra unrolled the law in the sight of all the +people; and they, sitting below, watched him, and as soon as the book +was opened they stood up, to show their respect and their reverence for +the Word of God. + +Then the reading began, and the ears of all the people were attentive to +the book of the law. For no less than six hours Ezra read on, from early +morning until midday, yet still the people stood, still the people +listened attentively. There was no stir in the crowd, no one asked what +time it was, there was no shuffling of feet, no yawning, no fidgeting; +in earnest, fixed attention the people listened. + +As Ezra read, a body of Levites went about amongst the crowd, +translating what he said. So long had the people lived in captivity that +some of them had forgotten the old Hebrew, or had been brought up from +children to talk the Chaldean tongue. Thus many of Ezra's words and +phrases were quite unintelligible to them. So the Levites acted as +interpreters; and besides explaining the words, they also opened out +the meaning of what was read. + +'The Levites caused the people to understand the law: and the people +stood in their place. So they read in the book in the law of God +distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the +reading.' + +And at the end of six hours there came tears--there was not a dry eye in +the crowd--men and women alike wept like children. There was Ezra in his +pulpit, his voice faltering as he read, and there were the people below, +sobbing as they heard the words. + +What was the matter? What had filled them with grief? St. Paul tells us +the secret of their tears (Rom. iii. 20). + +'By the law is the knowledge of sin.' + +You draw a line. How shall you know if it be straight or not? Lay the +ruler beside it, and you will soon find out its crookedness. + +You build a wall. How shall you tell if it be perpendicular? Bring the +plumb-line, put it against it, and you will soon find out where the wall +bulges. + +You take up a drawing of wood, and hill, and tree; how shall you know if +it be correctly sketched? Put beside it the master's copy, look from one +to another, and you will soon discover the mistakes and imperfections of +the pupil. + +Take the perfect law of God, lay it beside your own life, as these +people did, you will find out exactly what they found. You will find +that you are a sinner, that you have left undone what ought to have been +done, that you have done what ought not to have been done, and that you +yourself are full of sin. + +'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy +mind, with all thy soul, and with all thy strength.' + +Have you done that? No! Then you are not like the copy. + +'Ye shall diligently keep the commandments of the Lord thy God.' + +Have you done that? No! Then you are not like the copy. + +So felt the company at the water-gate, as they listened to the word that +day. And with the knowledge came tears, bitter, sorrowful tears, as they +thought of the past. Each man, woman, and child amongst them was ready +to cry out + + 'Red like crimson, deep as scarlet, + Scarlet of the deepest dye, + Are the manifold transgressions, + That upon my conscience lie. + God alone can count their number, + God alone can look within, + O the sinfulness of sinning, + O the guilt of every sin!' + +Some years ago there lived in Jerusalem a Scripture reader. He was an +Austrian Jew, and he worked amongst the large Jewish population in +Jerusalem. That man had been brought up to a very curious occupation. +For years he had maintained himself in a very strange way. His business +was this--to take children to school every morning, and to bring them +home again in the evening. Each morning he called at the various houses, +he led the children out, he carried the little ones, some on his back +and some in his arms, he chastised with a stick those who were inclined +to play truant, and he landed them all safely at the school-door. + +St. Paul, when he went to the Rabbi's school in Tarsus, was taken there +by just such a man as that, a man who was paid by his parents to drive +him to school regularly, and to see that he arrived there in good time. +This man was called in his day a Paidagogos, or Boy-driver. + +Years afterwards, when the apostle was writing to the Galatians, he +remembered his old Paidagogos, and he used him as an illustration. He +said, in his epistle, that that boy-driver was like the law of God; just +what the Paidagogos had done for him, that also the Word of God had +done. That man had driven him to the school of the Rabbi, the law of God +had driven him to the school of Christ. 'The law was our schoolmaster to +bring us unto Christ.' + +The word schoolmaster does not mean the man who teaches, but it is this +very word Paidagogos or Boy-driver. + +How, then, does the law of God drive us to Christ? Because it makes us +feel that we need saving, that we are sinners and cannot help ourselves, +that if ever we are to see the inside of the golden gates of heaven, it +must be by learning in the school of Christ, by learning to know Him as +our Saviour, our atonement, our all in all. + +Lord, save me, or I perish, for I cannot save myself! All my +righteousness is as filthy rags, I myself am full of sin. There is no +hope for me except in Thee! + +So the Law is our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +The Secret of Strength. + + +Who was the strongest person who ever lived? Surely there is no +difficulty in answering that question, surely there has never been +anyone to compare with Samson in wonderful feats of strength! Did he not +alone and unaided rend a young lion in two, as easily as if it had been +a kid? Did he not lift the massive iron gates of Gaza from their hinges, +carry them on his back for forty miles, and climb with them to the top +of a high hill? Did he not overthrow an enormous building by simply +leaning on the huge stone pillars that held it up? We see trials of +strength and feats of strength nowadays, we may have seen a man who +could with one blow of the sword cut a sheep in two, we may have seen +another who, by the mere power of his fist, could snap an iron chain, +yet what modern Samson, strong and powerful and mighty above his fellows +though he may be, can equal or rival the old Samson of Bible story. + +Yet after all are we right in calling Samson the strongest man? It all +depends upon the kind of strength of which we are speaking. If we mean +bodily strength, mere physical force, then undoubtedly Samson was the +strongest man. + +But is bodily strength the only kind of force or power a man can +possess? Is it the chief kind of strength? + +What is one name that we give to physical power; do we not call it +_brute force_? Why do we call it this? Because it is force which we have +in common with the brutes, nay, it is strength in which the brutes can +surpass us. Take the strongest man who ever lived, give him the most +powerful limbs, the strongest back, the greatest strength of muscle, +what is that man compared with an elephant? The mighty elephant has more +power in one limb than the man has in his whole body. Bodily strength is +then, after all, a kind of strength that is worth comparatively little, +and of which we have small cause to boast, for even an animal can easily +surpass us in it. + +A stronger man than Samson, where shall we find him? Come to the Senate +House in Cambridge, look at that man hard at work on the examination +papers. Look at him well, for you will see that man's name at the head +of the list when it comes out. Look at his broad forehead, his quick +eager eye, his earnest face. That man is the strongest man in England: +strong, not in bodily strength, he would do but little on the football +field, nor could he win a single prize in athletic sports; he is a thin, +slight, fragile man, but he is strong in mind, powerful and mighty in +brain. That man's memory is simply perfect, his powers of reasoning are +faultless, his grasp of a subject is enormous, he is a giant in +intellect. + +Here then we have another kind of strength, mental strength; and +inasmuch as the mind is vastly superior to the body, and inasmuch as +power of mind is a power which the animals so far from rivalling man, +possess only in a very limited degree, we shall be ready to admit that +the student is stronger than Samson, because he is strong in a superior +kind of strength. + +But there is a stronger than he, and it is a woman. She is weak and +delicate, and has certainly no bodily strength; she knows very little, +for she is a poor, simple country girl; she has no mental strength, but +she is stronger than Samson, stronger than the Cambridge student, +because she is endued with a strength far superior to bodily or mental +strength--she is strong in soul. + +A great crowd of people was gathered on the shore that day in the county +of Wigton in Scotland. There lay the wooded hills and the heathery +moors, and the quiet sea dividing them like a peaceful lake. Two +prisoners, carefully guarded, were brought down to the shore, one was an +old woman with white hair, the other was a young and beautiful girl. Two +stakes were driven into the sand, one close to the approaching sea, the +other much nearer to the shore. The old woman was tied to the stake +nearest to the sea, and the young girl to the other. The tide was out +when they were taken there, but they were told that, unless they would +deny the Master whom they loved, unless they would renounce the truth of +God, there they must remain, until the high tide had covered them, and +life was extinct. + +The old woman was questioned by her murderers. Would she renounce her +Lord? Never; she could not deny the faith of Christ. So they left her to +her fate, and the sea rose. Silently, quietly, stealthily it crept on, +till her arms, her shoulders, her neck were covered, and then soon after +the wave came which carried her into the presence of her Lord. Then they +pleaded with the girl, they tried to make her change, they used every +argument likely to move her, but all in vain. She was strong in soul, +strong and mighty, so strong that death itself could not make her +flinch. Still the sea crept on, still the water rose, and still they +tried to make her deny her Lord. But, strong in spirit, the girl held +bravely on. Higher and higher came that ever-encroaching water, and soon +her head was covered, and she thought her sorrows were ended, but her +tormentors brought her out of the water, rubbed and warmed her, and +brought her to life again, only to put the question to her once more. +Would she deny her Master? No; again she refused to do so, and was +dragged back, wet and dripping as she was, once more to be chained to +the stake, and to lay down her life a second time. But the Lord was with +her, and she was faithful to the end. + +That girl was strong in soul, strong in the highest, noblest form of +strength; she could say No when tempted to do wrong, she was faithful +when sorely tried. But Samson was weak as water, he had no strength of +soul; a woman's pretty face, a woman's coaxing word, was quite +sufficient to overthrow all the strength of soul he possessed. He could +resist no temptation that came across his path; he was an easy prey to +the tempter. + +Oh! that we were all strong, strong in this highest, grandest form of +strength, mighty giants in spirit! + +But do you say, How can I obtain this strength, by what means can I +acquire it? I feel I need it. I am often led astray; I listen to the +voice of the tempter, I give way to my besetting sin. I want to break +off from it, but I cannot; I want to leave the companions who are +leading me wrong, but I have not the strength to do it. How can I become +strong? + +Here, in the story of Nehemiah, we find the answer. Let us come again to +the water-gate, at the south-east of the city. There is the huge pulpit +of wood, there is Ezra with the roll in his hand, there are the people, +sobbing as if their hearts would break. + +But 'blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted' It is for +sin that their hearts are broken, they feel they have left undone so +much that ought to have been done, they have done so much that they +ought not to have done, that they are crushed with sorrow, and the tears +will come. + +But hush, who are these passing amongst the weeping crowd? There is +Nehemiah the Tirshatha, or governor, there is Ezra the scribe, and they +are followed by a company of Levites. They call to the people to stop +crying, and to rejoice. Is not our God a God of mercy? Is there not +forgiveness with Him? If sin is confessed and forsaken, will He not +pardon it? Dry your tears then, and, instead of crying, rejoice. Be +merry and glad that God is willing to forgive, nay, that He has forgiven +you. + +Cheer up, for this day is holy unto the Lord; it is a feast day, the +joyous Feast of Trumpets. Mourn not, nor weep. Do not imagine that God +likes you to be miserable; He wants you to be happy. You have owned your +sin, you have repented of your sin; now let your hearts be filled with +the joy that come from a sense of sin forgiven. + +Go home now, and keep the feast. Eat and drink of the best you have, +eat the fat and drink the sweet, the new sweet wine made from this +year's grapes. Go home and enjoy yourselves to the full; but do not +forget those who are worse off than yourselves, remember those poor +people who have suffered so much from the late famine, who have paid +their last penny to the tax-collector, who have lost their all in these +hard times. Let them enjoy themselves too to-day. Eat the fat and drink +the sweet, but do not forget to send portions to them for whom nothing +is prepared. Remember the empty cupboards, and the bare tables, and the +houses where the fat and the sweet are nowhere to be seen. + +What a word for us at the time of our joyous Christmas feast! God loves +us to be happy. He likes us to rejoice; He does not want us to go about +with long faces and melancholy looks. A long-faced Christian is a +Christian who brings disgrace on his Master. + +Then as we meet, year by year, round the happy Christmas table, and sit +down to our Christmas dinner, let us remember that God loves us to be +happy; but let us also remember that in the midst of all our joy He +would have us unselfish. He would have us send portions to them for whom +nothing is prepared. Is there no one whom we can cheer? Is there no +desolate home into which we can bring a ray of light? Is there no +sorrowful heart to which we can bring comfort? And what about the +portions? Is there no poor relative, or neighbour, or friend, with whom +we can share the good things that have fallen to our lot? + +Our own Christmas dinner will taste all the better if we have helped +some one else to happiness or comfort, our own festal rejoicing will be +tenfold more full of merriment and real joy, if we have helped to spread +the festal joy into dark and gloomy places. + +'Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto +them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: +neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength.' + +Yes, there we have the secret of strength, of the highest kind of +strength, of strength of soul. The joy of the Lord, that joy which comes +from knowing our sin is pardoned. + +Can I say-- + + 'O happy day, O happy day + When Jesus washed my sins away?' + +Then I have spiritual strength, for the joy of the Lord is my strength. +He has forgiven me, He has washed me from my sins in His own blood; how +can I grieve Him? How can I pain Him by yielding to temptation? How can +I ever risk losing the joy of my heart by going contrary to His will? I +am joyful because I am forgiven, and I am strong because I am joyful. + +Here then is the highest kind of strength, and it is a strength within +the reach of all. Bodily strength some of us can never attain. We are +born with weakly bodies, we have grown up delicate and frail, we could +no more transform ourselves into strong, powerful men, than we could +make ourselves into elephants. + +There was a man who lived in Greece long before Hezekiah, who was +determined to make his nation the strongest nation on earth; he was +resolved that it should consist of mighty giants in strength, and that +not one delicate or weak man should be found amongst them. But what did +Lycurgus find himself obliged to do in order to secure his end? He was +compelled to have every infant carefully examined as soon as it was +born, and if a child had the least appearance of delicacy, he took it +from its mother, and sent it to some lonely cave on the hill-side, where +it was left to die of cold and hunger. He found that it was not possible +to turn a puny delicate child into a strong man. + +Bodily strength then is beyond the reach of many men; weak they were +born, weak they live, and weak they will die, nothing will alter or +improve them. + +Nor can strength of mind be attained by many. They were born with no +power of memory, no aptitude for learning, no gift for study; you may +teach them, and labour with them, and they may work hard themselves, but +no application can instil into them what was not born in them; they came +into the world with second-rate intellects, and they will die with the +same. + +But, thank God, the highest form of strength, strength of soul is, in +this respect, not like strength of body or strength of mind. No one is +born with it, we are all by nature weak as water, an easy prey for +Satan; but there is not one of us who may not acquire this spiritual +power. If we will take the lost sinner's place, and claim the lost +sinner's Saviour, we shall be filled by that Saviour with joy, joy +because sin is forgiven, and with the joy will come the strength of +soul. + +In Greece, in that city in which all the weakly babies were murdered, +those children who were spared and who were pronounced to be strong, +were looked upon from that time as belonging not to their parents but to +the state, and they were trained and brought up with this one object in +view, to make them strong and powerful men. They were taught to bear +cold, wearing the same clothing in winter as in summer; they were +trained to bear fatigue, being accustomed to walk barefoot for miles; +they were practised in wrestling, in racing, in throwing heavy weights, +in carrying burdens, in anything and everything which was calculated to +make the strength that was in them grow and increase. And it was +wonderful how, by means of practice, the strength did grow. + +We are told of one man, who in the public games carried a full grown ox +for a mile, and we are told that he accomplished this by gradually +accustoming himself to the weight. He began when the ox was a tiny calf +to carry it a mile every day, and the increase of weight was so gradual +that he did not feel it; his arms became used to the weight, and as the +ox grew bigger, he at the same time grew stronger. + +Strength of body then grows and increases in proportion to our use of +it. + +So, too, does strength of mind. Here is a boy, born with good abilities +and with an intelligent mind. Take that child, and shut him off from +every possibility of using his mind; never teach him anything, never +allow him to look at a book or a picture, keep him shut off from +everything that might tend to open his mind, tell him nothing, bring him +up as a mere animal, and soon he will lose all his powers of mind, and +become an imbecile. But, on the other hand, teach him, train him, +educate him, let his mind have full scope and exercise, and his mental +powers will grow and increase a hundred-fold, for strength of mind, +like strength of body, grows with the using. + +Just so is it with strength of soul. Every temptation you overcome makes +you stronger, every lust you subdue, every battle of soul you fight, +every inclination to evil you resist, makes you stronger. + +'From strength to strength' is the motto of the Christian. + +So let us press forward. + +'Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the +Son of God, unto _a perfect man_' (or as R.V. has it, a _full-grown +man_) 'unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.' + +Now we are but children in spiritual strength, then we shall be giants +in power, full-grown men, with full powers and energy and strength, +ready to work for the Master through eternity. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +The Eighty-four Seals. + + +Merrily the Christmas bells were chiming in the old city of York, on +Christmas morning in the year 1890, speaking gaily and joyfully of the +Christmas feast, when suddenly there came a change. The merry peal +ceased, and was followed by the quiet sorrowful sound which always +speaks of mourning and death, a muffled peal. News had reached the +ringers that the Archbishop of York, who had been known and respected in +the city for more than twenty-eight years, had gone home to God. + +And as we ate our Christmas dinner that day, as we gathered round the +table to eat the fat and drink the sweet, the solemn voice of Old Peter, +the great minster bell, was heard tolling for the departed soul. + +Truly in the midst of life we are in death, in the midst of joy there +comes sorrow, in the midst of festivity we are plunged into mourning. + + 'Shadow and shine is life, little Annie, + Flower and thorn.' + +So the poet makes the old grandmother sum up her life's story. + +And it is just the same in our religious life. One day the joy of the +Lord makes us strong, the next the sense of sin weighs us to the ground; +one moment we are ready to overflow with thanksgiving, the next we are +down in the dust mourning and weeping. + +Just such a change as this, a change from the gay to the solemn, from +joy to mourning, from feasting to fasting, comes before us in the Book +of Nehemiah. + +Look at Jerusalem, as we visit it in imagination to-day, and take a +bird's-eye view of the city. The whole place is mad with joy. They are +keeping the gayest, the merriest, the prettiest feast in the whole year, +the Feast of Tabernacles. It was a saying amongst the Jews, that unless +a man had been present at the Feast of Tabernacles he did not know what +joy was. And in Nehemiah's time this feast was kept more fully and with +more rejoicing than it had been kept for a thousand years; no one had +ever witnessed such a Feast of Tabernacles since the days of Joshua. + +The city was a mass of green booths, made with branches of olive, pine, +myrtle, and palm; and in these the people lived, and ate, and slept for +eight days; whilst the whole city was lighted up, and glad music was +constantly heard, and the people feasted, and laughed, and made merry. + +It was the 22nd day of the month Tisri when the Feast of Tabernacles was +ended, and only two days afterwards there came a remarkable change. + +Look at Jerusalem again, you would hardly know it to be the same place. +The green booths are all gone, they have been carefully cleared away. +There is not a branch, or a banner, or a bit of decoration to be seen. +The bright holiday dresses, the gay blue, and red, and yellow, and +lilac robes, the smart, many-coloured turbans have all been laid by; +there is not a sign of one of them. We see instead an extraordinary +company of men, women and children making their way to the open space by +the water gate. They are covered with rough coarse sackcloth, a material +made of black goats' hair and used for making sacks. Every one of the +company is dressed in this rough material; not only so, but the robe of +each is made like a sack in shape, so that they look like a crowd of +moving sacks, and on their heads are sprinkled earth and dust and ashes. + +The rejoicing has turned into mourning, the feast into a fast. A great +sense of sin has come over the people; they feel their need of +forgiveness, and they are come to seek it. + +The meeting seems to have assembled about nine o'clock, the time of the +morning sacrifice. For a quarter of the day, for three hours, they read +the law of God, for three hours more they fell prostrate on the ground, +and confessed their sin. Their prayers were led by Levites, standing on +high scaffoldings where everyone could see them, where all could hear +them as they cried with a loud voice to God. + +Then just at the time of the evening sacrifice, at three o'clock in the +afternoon, the Levites called to the kneeling multitude and bade them +rise, '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.' + +Then the Levites went through the history of God's wonderful goodness to +His people, to Abraham in Egypt, in the wilderness, in the land of +Canaan; everywhere, and at all times He had been good to them, again +and again He had delivered them. But they--what had they done? + +'Thou hast done right, but we have done wickedly. Neither have our +kings, our princes, our priests, nor our fathers kept Thy law, nor +hearkened unto Thy commandments.... For they have not served Thee.' +Therefore, as a natural consequence and result, 'Behold, we are servants +this day.' + +They would not serve God, they would not be His servants, so they had +been made to serve someone else; they had, as a punishment for their +sin, been made servants to the King of Persia. And what was the result? + +'The land that Thou gavest unto our fathers to eat the fruit thereof and +the good thereof, behold, we are servants in it. And it yieldeth much +increase unto the kings whom Thou hast set over us because of our sins.' + +The amount of tribute paid by Judea to Persia is not known; but the +province of Syria, in which Judea was included, paid L90,000 a year. + +'Also they have dominion over our bodies.' + +They can force us against our will to be either soldiers or sailors, and +can make us fight their battles for them. + +They have dominion 'over our cattle.' + +They can seize our cattle at their pleasure, for their own use or the +use of their armies. + +'And we are in great distress.' + +Yes, our sin has indeed brought its punishment; and feeling this, +realizing this very deeply, we have gathered together to do what we +intend to do this day, to make a solemn agreement, a covenant with God. +We intend to promise to have done with sin, and for the future to serve +and glorify God. + +Then a long roll of parchment was brought out, on which the covenant was +written, and one by one all the leading men in Jerusalem came forward +and put their seals to it, as a sign that they intended to keep it. + +In the East it is always the seal that authenticates a document. In +Babylon the documents were often sealed with half-a-dozen seals or more. +These were impressed on moist clay, and then the clay was baked, and the +seals were each fastened to the parchment by a separate string. In this +way any number of seals could be attached. + +We are given in Neh. x. the names of those who sealed, honoured names, +for they made a brave and noble stand. First of all comes the name of +Nehemiah, the governor, setting a good example to the rest. He is +followed by Zidkijah, or Zadok, the secretary. Then come the names of +eighty-two others, heads of families, all well-known men in Jerusalem. +Each one fastened his seal to the roll of parchment containing the +solemn covenant. No less than eighty-four seals were attached to it. + +What then were the articles of the covenant? + +What did those who sealed promise? + +First of all, they bound themselves (x. 29) to walk in God's law, and to +observe and do all the commandments. What need after that to enter a +single other article in the covenant? If a man walks in God's law he +cannot go wrong; if he keeps all God's commandments, what more can be +required? + +But they were wise men who drew up that solemn covenant. They knew and +understood the human heart. Is it not a fact, that whilst we are all +ready to own that we are sinners in a general sense, we are slow to own +that we are guilty of any particular sin? We do not mind confessing that +we are miserable sinners, but we should indignantly deny being selfish +or idle, or unforgiving, or proud, or bad-tempered. + +So those who wrote the parchment felt it best to go more into detail, +and to put down certain things in which they felt they had done wrong in +the past, but in which they meant to do better in the time to come. + +(1) They promised that they would not in future marry heathen people, +that they would not give their daughters to heathen men, or let their +sons choose heathen wives. + +(2) They engaged to keep the Sabbath, and not to buy and sell on the +holy day; and they promised that if the heathen people round came to the +city gates with baskets of fruit, or vegetables, or fish on the Sabbath, +they would refuse to buy. + +(3) They stated that for the future they would keep every seventh year +as a year of Sabbath. The Sabbath year had in times past been a great +blessing to the land. The one work and occupation of the Jews was +agriculture, farming of all kinds. Every seventh year God commanded that +all work was to stop; there was to be a year's universal holiday, that +the nation might have rest and leisure to think of higher things. Yet +they did not starve in the Sabbath year, for God gave them double crops +in the sixth year, enough to cover all their wants until the crops of +the eighth year were ripe. All that grew of itself during the seventh +year, all the self-sown grain that sprang up, all the fruit that came +on the olives, and the vines, and the fig-trees, was left for the poor +people to gather; they went out and helped themselves, and comfort was +brought to many a sad home, and cupboards which were often empty during +the six ordinary years were kept well filled in the Sabbath year. But +this command of God had been neglected by the Jews; it needed more faith +and trust than they had possessed, and they had let it slip. Now, +however, they promise once more to observe the Sabbath year. + +The rest of the covenant concerned the amount to be contributed for the +service of God. They agreed to pay one-third of a shekel each year +towards the temple service, and to bring by turn the wood required for +the sacrifices, beside giving God, regularly and conscientiously, the +first-fruits of all they had. + +This was the solemn covenant to which were fastened so many seals, this +was the agreement by which they bound themselves to the service of God. +As they went home, and shook the dust off their heads, and took off +their sacks, they went home pledged to obey and to love their God. + +Which of us will follow their example? Who will bind himself to God? Who +will put his seal to the document, and promise to serve and obey the +Master who died for him? Will you? + +Is it not right, is it not wise to pull up at times and to look at our +life, at what it has been, and at what it might have been? What about +prayer? Has it been always earnest, heartfelt, true? What about our +Bible reading? Has it been as regular, as profitable as it might have +been? Do we not feel we have come short in the past, and that we should +like to do better in the time to come? + +What about sin, that besetting sin of ours, so often indulged in, so +little fought against? Are we going on like this for ever, beaten by +sin, overcome and defeated? Should we not like to leave the old careless +days behind, and for the future to fight manfully against the world, the +flesh, and the devil? + +What about work for God? Have we done all that we could for His service? +Have we given Him the tenth of our money? Have we consecrated to Him our +time and our talents? Do we not feel we should like to do more for the +Master in time to come? + +It is a good plan to get alone and quiet for a time, and taking a piece +of paper, to write down all we feel has been wrong in the past, all we +mean to do in the future. Then let us sign our name to it, put the date +at the bottom, fold it carefully up, put it away, let no one see it but +God, it is a covenant between us and Him. He will give us grace to keep +it if we only ask Him. + +Will you try this plan this very night? Then you will open your eyes +to-morrow morning with the recollection, 'I am the Lord's; I have given +myself to Him; I am His now by my own agreement; I am pledged to His +service.' + +Lord, make me faithful, keep me humble, keep me prayerful, give me grace +and courage and strength! + +For 'better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest +vow and not pay.' + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +The Brave Volunteers. + + +'Jerusalem, my happy home, Name ever dear to me.' + +So we sing, and it is the echo of the song that went up from the heart +of many a Jew in olden time. + +We all love our native land, our dear old England, yet none of us love +it as the Jews loved Jerusalem. We have only to open the Book of Psalms +to see how dear the city of their fathers was to the heart of the Jews. + +'Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in +the mountain of His holiness. Beautiful for situation, the joy of the +whole earth, is Mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the +great King,' Psalm xlviii. 1, 2. + +'Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem. Jerusalem is +builded as a city that is compact together. Whither the tribes go up, +the tribes of the Lord. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem; they shall +prosper that love thee. Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within +thy palaces,' Psalm cxxii. 2-4, 6, 7. + +These are just samples of countless expressions of love and devotion +for Jerusalem, their happy home. And all the time of the captivity in +Babylon the Jews were longing to be once more in Jerusalem! Oh, to see +the city of cities again; oh, to tread once more the streets of the holy +Jerusalem! They could not even think of their far-off home without +tears. + +'By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we +remembered Zion. If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget +her cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof +of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy,' Psalm +cxxxvii. 1, 5, 6. + +Yet, strange to say, although the Jews were longing for the Holy City +all the time they were in captivity, when they did return to their +native land, and it was possible once more to live in Jerusalem, they +seem to have preferred any other place before it. It was the most +difficult thing to get any of them to consent to take up their abode in +the capital. + +Nehemiah found himself face to face with this difficulty when he had +finished the repairs of the city. The rubbish was cleared away, the +walls were built, the gates were set up, the fortresses were +strengthened, but the city itself was nowhere. Here and there houses +were scattered about, here and there was a group of buildings, but +inside the walls were many great empty spaces, large pieces of +unoccupied ground. + +The walls had been set up on the old sites, and were about four miles in +circumference. It was a large space to fill, and, as Nehemiah looked +round, he saw that whilst the city was imposing from without, it was a +bare, miserable place inside. + +'The city was large and great; but the people were few therein, and the +houses were not builded.' + +Not only so, not only was the city unsightly, but there were not enough +inhabitants to protect the walls. In case of an attack, what would be +done? Four miles of wall was a long space to guard and defend, how could +more hands be secured? It was absolutely necessary that Jerusalem should +have a larger population. + +Yet Nehemiah found that no one wished to move from the country places +round, and to come into Jerusalem. Every town, every village in Judea +was more popular than the capital. They had rather live in sultry +Jericho than on the mountain heights of Jerusalem; they preferred stony +Bethel to the vine-clad hills of the City of God; they had rather live +in the tiny insignificant village of Anathoth than in the capital +itself. + +Why was this? Why had the Jews of Nehemiah's day such an objection to +living in Jerusalem? Why, after longing for Jerusalem all the time of +the captivity, did they shrink from it on their return? + +The reason was this. Jerusalem had become the point of danger. All round +the returned captives were enemies. The Samaritans, the Moabites, the +Ammonites, the Edomites, and a host of others were ready at any moment +to pounce down upon the Jews. In case of an attack from their united +forces, what would be the mark at which all these enemies would aim? +What place would have to bear the whole force of the attack? Jerusalem +itself. They would pass by Jericho, Bethel, and Anathoth, as places +beneath their notice, but they would all make for Jerusalem. To live in +the capital was consequently to live in constant danger and in constant +fear. So it is not to be wondered at that they avoided it, and that they +settled down in the villages and left the capital to take care of +itself. + +Nehemiah sees that steps must be taken to put a stop to this state of +things. In order to bring about the end he had in view, he first took a +census of the whole nation, and then he required each town and district +to send a tenth of its people to live in Jerusalem. + +But of whom was the tenth to consist? How should the number of those who +were to migrate to the capital be chosen? It was done by lot; they drew +lots who were to go and who were to stay. This was probably done in the +usual Jewish way, by means of pebbles. The people of a village would be +divided into tens, then a bag would be brought out containing nine +dark-coloured pebbles and one white one. The ten men would all draw from +the bag, and the man who drew the white pebble would be the one who was +to remove to Jerusalem. By this means the capital would be provided with +about 20,000 inhabitants, and would be in a condition to defend itself +from attack. + +No doubt there was much grumbling, and there were many groans and +complaints when the lots were drawn, and those who drew the white stone +found they must give up their little farms, their pretty country houses, +the homes they had learnt to love so well and which they had built for +themselves and their children, the vineyards which their own hands had +planted, the olive yards and fig groves of which they had been so proud, +and which had been so profitable to them, that they must give up all +these which had been so dear to them and move at once into the city in +which they would be in constant danger. + +But there were certain brave volunteers. Besides those on whom the lot +fell, a certain number came forward and offered to go of their own free +will and choice to live in the capital. They would break up their +country homes, and for love of their country and love of Jerusalem would +move into the Holy City. The post of danger was the post which most +needed them, and they were not afraid to go to it. Brave, noble men and +women, no wonder that we read that blessings were called down upon them +by the rest of their countrymen. 'And the people blessed all the men +that willingly offered themselves to dwell at Jerusalem,' Neh. xi. 2. + +But those brave Jews, who are mentioned here with so much honour, are +not the only ones who of their own free will and choice have gone with +open eyes to the point of danger. + +Fourteen thousand pounds arrived in the course of a few days at a +certain house in London, the office of the Church Missionary Society. +One person sent L5,000 with no name, only a day or two afterwards +another sent a second L5,000, whilst L4,000 was contributed in smaller +sums. + +For what purpose was this immense sum of money sent? It was forwarded to +the Society in consequence of a very famous letter which appeared in the +_Daily Telegraph_ of November 15, 1876. This letter was written by Dr. +Stanley, the great African traveller. It told of a new country he had +discovered in the heart of Africa, a country inhabited by a nation +clothed and living in houses, and reigned over by a king of some +intelligence named Mtesa. Dr. Stanley had talked to this man, he had +shown him his Bible, and told him something of Christianity, and in this +letter in the _Daily Telegraph_ Dr. Stanley stated that King Mtesa was +ready and willing to receive Christian teachers, if any were prepared to +go out to his kingdom of Uganda. + +The result of that letter was, that in a few days no less than L14,000 +was sent to the Church Missionary Society, in order that they might have +the means to establish a mission by the shores of the Victoria Nyanza. A +committee meeting was accordingly held, and the Society declared +themselves ready to take up the work. + +The money was forthcoming, but a great difficulty stared them in the +face. Where were the men? Who would be found willing to go to such a +place as the heart of Africa? The climate was most trying and dangerous +for Europeans, the food was bad and scanty, and, worst of all, the +country was so unsafe that all who went must go with their life in their +hands, feeling that at any moment they might be attacked and murdered by +the natives. + +Would any offer for such a post of danger? Would any be found willing to +volunteer for the work, would any be ready to leave their safe, +comfortable homes in England to take up their abode in Uganda? + +Yes, men were found who willingly offered themselves for the work. Eight +noble men at once came forward. A young naval officer, Lieutenant Smith; +a clergyman from Manchester, Mr. Wilson; an Irish architect, Mr. +O'Neill; a Scotch engineer, Mr. Mackay; a doctor from Edinburgh, Dr. +Smith; a railway contractor's engineer, Mr. Clark, and two working men, +a blacksmith and a builder. + +'And the people blessed all the men that willingly offered themselves to +dwell' in Uganda. + +A meeting was held in the Church Missionary Society's house, to bid them +farewell and to pray for a blessing on their work. Then each of the +eight volunteers was asked to say a few words to the friends who were +taking leave of them. Mr. Mackay, the young engineer, was the last to +speak. Looking round on those who were sending him out, he said: + +'There is one thing which my brethren have not said, and which I want to +say. I want to remind the Committee that within six months they will +probably hear that one of us is dead.' + +There was a great silence in the room as he spoke these startling words. + +'Yes,' he went on, 'is it at all likely that eight Englishmen should +start for Central Africa and all be alive six months after? One of us at +least--it may be I--will surely fall before that. But what I want to say +is this, when the news comes do not be cast down, but send some one else +immediately to take the vacant place.' + +Mr. Mackay was not wrong. One of the eight, the builder, died as soon as +he landed in Africa. The seven others set off for the interior to find +the country of King Mtesa. Two of these, Mackay the engineer, and +Robertson the blacksmith, were taken so ill with fever that they were +compelled to go back to the coast. + +It was a long wearisome journey, of from four to five months, from the +coast to Victoria Nyanza; for a little way they were able to go in a +boat which they had brought with them from England, but after a short +distance they were obliged to leave the river, and, taking their boat to +pieces, to carry it with them through the tangled forest. When they +arrived at a place named Mpwapwa, it seemed such a good field for +missionary labour that one of their number, Mr. Clark, was left to begin +missionary work there, whilst the rest pressed forward to Uganda. + +The great lake at last came in sight, and they were cheered by the sight +of its blue waters. But, when they arrived on its shores, the naval +officer and the doctor were both very ill; for thirty-one days they had +been carried by the porters, being quite unable to walk, and only a few +months after their arrival at the south end of the lake the young doctor +died. He was worn to a skeleton, and suffered terribly. The three who +remained buried him by the side of the lake, and put a heap of stones +over his grave. On a slab of limestone they carved-- + + 'JOHN SMITH, + M.B. EDN., C.M.S. + DIED MAY 11, 1877, + AGED 25 YEARS.' + +Now, only the clergyman, the architect, and the naval officer were left +to carry on the work. But that very same year, in December, a quarrel +broke out between two tribes living at the south of the lake. A man +named Songoro, who had been friendly to the missionaries, fled to them +for protection. They were at once surrounded by a party of the natives, +and, on refusing to give up Songoro to his enemies, Lieutenant Smith and +Mr. O'Neill, together with all the men who were with them, were +murdered on December 7. + +Only two days before, Lieutenant Smith had written a letter to a friend +in England, in which were these words: + +'One feels very near to heaven here, for who knows what a day may bring +forth?' + +Only one of the five who had arrived at the lake was now left, Mr. +Wilson, the clergyman. But, thank God, man after man has offered himself +to fill up the vacant places. Some have fallen, some still remain, +labouring on. + +The people blessed the men who willingly offered themselves for the post +of danger. Should we not bless them too? Should we not day by day call +down blessings on the brave noble missionaries? Should we not pray for +them, that strength and courage may be given them? Should we not help +them all we can? Let our daily prayer be: + + 'Lord, bless them all! + Thy workers in the field, + Where'er they be; + Prosper them, Lord, and bless + Their work for Thee-- + Lord, bless them all. + + Lord, bless them all! + Give them Thy smile to-day, + Cheer each faint heart, + More of Thy grace, more strength, + Saviour, impart; + Lord, bless them all!' + +The post of danger is the post of honour, and at that post of honour Mr. +Mackay, the engineer, died, February 8, 1890. For thirteen years he had +bravely held on to his work. He had never had a holiday, he had never +come home to see his friends. The Secretary of the Church Missionary +Society wrote at last, urging him to come to England for rest and +change. His answer to this letter arrived ten days after the sorrowful +telegram which told of his death. He said, 'But what is this you write; +come home? Surely now, in our terrible dearth of workers, it is not the +time for any one to desert his post. Send us only our first twenty men, +and I may be tempted to come to help you to find the second twenty.' + +So he was faithful unto death. + +The _people_ blessed the men who willingly offered themselves, and +surely _God_ blessed them too, for 'God loveth a cheerful giver.' He who +gives to God grudgingly, or because he feels obliged to do so, had +better never give at all, for God will not receive the offering. The +money must be willingly given, the service must be cheerfully rendered, +the post of danger must be readily occupied, or God will have nothing to +do with it. + +The only giver whose gifts He can receive is the cheerful giver, the one +who willingly offers himself. + +To be comfortable is the great aim of our lives and our hearts by +nature. But sometimes God calls us to be uncomfortable, to leave the +cosy home, the bright fireside, the comparative luxury, and to go forth +to the post of danger, or difficulty, or trial. + +God grant that we may be amongst the number of those who go forth with a +smiling face amongst the people who willingly offer themselves! + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +The Holy City. + + +In the time of the terrible siege of Jerusalem, when the Roman armies +surrounded the city, when famine was killing the Jews by hundreds, and +when every day the enemy seemed more likely to take the city, a strange +thing happened. Some priests were watching, as was their custom, in the +temple courts at dead of night. They had passed through the Beautiful +Gate, crossed the Court of the Women, and had ascended the steps leading +into the inner court, which was close to the Temple itself. Suddenly +they stopped, for the earth shook beneath them, whilst overhead came a +noise as of the rushing of many wings, and a multitude of voices was +heard saying, again and again, the solemn words, 'Let us depart, let us +depart.' + +The angels of God were leaving the doomed city to its fate. + +For centuries Jerusalem had been known as the Holy City. Why was it so +called? Not because of its inhabitants, for, instead of being holy, many +of them were sunk in wickedness and impurity. Jerusalem was called the +Holy City simply because of one inhabitant; it was the dwelling-place +of God, and His presence there made it what no other city of the earth +was, the Holy City. + +'In Salem also is His tabernacle, and His dwelling, place in Zion,' +Psalm lxxvi. 2. + +'Blessed be the Lord out of Zion, which dwelleth at Jerusalem,' Psalm +cxxxv. 21. + +So wrote the Psalmist, and he was right. God had chosen Jerusalem as His +home on earth, His abiding-place, His dwelling; and so long as _He_ +remained there, Jerusalem and all its surroundings was holy. The +mountain on which it stood was the Holy Mountain; the city itself was +the Holy City; the courts of the temple were the Holy Place, the temple +itself was the Most Holy Place, whilst the inner sanctuary, in which +God's glory appeared, was the Holy of Holies. + +But at the time of the siege of Jerusalem, God was leaving the city, it +was no longer to be His dwelling-place, and consequently it was no +longer to be called the Holy City. And therefore it was that the holy +angels cried aloud to one another, Let us depart, for it is a holy city +no longer, God has deserted it; it is His no more. + +But in Nehemiah's day, Jerusalem, in spite of her sins, was still the +Holy City. We find her twice called so in his book, Neh. xi. 1, 18, and +inasmuch as it was the Holy City, God's home on earth, His special +property, His constant dwelling-place, Nehemiah felt it was only right +that, as soon as the city was finished, as soon as all within its walls +was set in order, the city and all it contained should be dedicated to +the service of that God to whom it belonged. + +Accordingly, as we visit Jerusalem in thought, we find the people busily +preparing for a great and glorious day; they are going, by means of a +grand and imposing ceremonial, to dedicate the city to God. + +It is nearly thirteen years since the walls were finished and the gates +set up. Why then did not Nehemiah hold the service of dedication before? +Why did he allow so long a time to elapse before he summoned the people +to put the finishing touch to their work by laying it at the feet of +their King? + +The Tirshatha had probably two good reasons for the delay. In the first +place, there was much to do inside the city after the walls and gates +were finished; the city itself had to be rebuilt, strengthened, and put +into order. Then he probably dare not attempt such a grand celebration +without special leave from Persia. If he made a great demonstration of +any kind, it would be easy for the Samaritans to put their own +construction upon it, and to write off at once to Persia to accuse him +of setting up the standard of rebellion. It was, therefore, advisable to +obtain direct permission for such a step from Artaxerxes himself. Now +the city is in order, the necessary precautions have been taken, and +Nehemiah feels that there is nothing to hinder the holding of the solemn +ceremonial of the dedication of the Holy City to God. + +Who are these men who are arriving by companies at all the different +gates of Jerusalem? They are the Levites, coming up from all parts of +the country to the service of dedication. They are carrying with them +various musical instruments--cymbals, trumpets, psalteries and +harps--old instruments used by King David, and some of them evidently +invented by him and bearing his name, for we find them called, in xii. +36: + +'The musical instruments of David, the man of God.' + +These are to be used in the grand service which is about to take place. +Many new musical instruments had been invented since the time of David, +and the Jews of the captivity had seen and used these in Babylon and +Shushan. We read, in the Book of Daniel, of the cornet, the flute, the +sackbut, the dulcimer; all these instruments were familiar to the Jews +of Nehemiah's day. But we do not find one of these newly invented +instruments in use at this grand service. They cling to the old +instruments, used in the first temple, dear to their hearts as being +connected with King David, and as having been used by their fathers +before them, ver. 27. + +Not only the musicians, but the singers are called together from the +valleys round Jerusalem, in which the temple choir had chosen to live, +in order that they might go up by turn to lead the temple singing, xii. +29. + +When all who were to take part in the service had assembled, there was a +great sprinkling. The priests and the Levites purified themselves, and +purified the people, and the gates, and the wall. + +A red heifer (see Num. xix.) was led by one of the priests outside the +city. There she was killed, her blood was caught in a basin, and was +sprinkled seven times before the temple. Then her flesh was burnt +outside the city, and the ashes were carefully collected and mixed with +water. This water was put into a number of basins, and the priests and +Levites went with it up and down the city, sprinkling it first on +themselves, then on the men, women and children in the city, and +afterwards on the wall, and the gates, and all that was to be dedicated +to God. + +All were to be made pure before they could be used in God's service. The +Great Master cannot use dirty vessels; they are not fit for His use, +they cannot do His work. + +If you want God to use you in His service, you must first be sprinkled, +made pure from all defilement of sin. Until this has been done you +cannot do one single thing to please God; until you have been cleansed, +it is impossible for you to work for God. + +How, then, can we be cleansed? How can we be made vessels meet for the +Master's use, fit for the service of God? Thank God, we have a better +way of cleansing than by washing in the ashes of a heifer. + +'For if the ashes of an heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to +the purifying of the flesh: how much more shall the blood of Christ, +who, through the Eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, +purge your conscience from dead works _to serve the living God?_' Heb. +ix. 13, 14. + +The blood must be sprinkled, the conscience must be purged, then begins +the service of the living God; all works before that are dead, works of +no avail, utterly worthless and good for nothing, in the Master's +estimation. + +When all was ready and the purification was complete, the great company +of the musicians met in the temple courts. The blast of the priests' +trumpets was heard on one side, and on the other the sweet melodious +songs of the white-robed minstrels. + +When all were in order they marched to the Valley Gate, on the western +side of the city. Here Nehemiah divided them into two companies, in +order that they might make the circuit of the city, walking in gay +procession on the top of the new walls. One company was to go north and +the other south, walking round the city until they met on the other +side; whilst all the people stood below, watching the progress of the +two processions, each of which was formed of singers, nobles and +priests, who were dressed in white and flowing robes. + +It must have been a grand and imposing sight, as the bright Eastern sun +streamed on the dazzling white of their fine linen, and made their +instruments glitter and shine. Then there was the sound of glorious +music, which seemed to encircle the city in a wave of rejoicing and +song. Everyone made merry that day, and no wonder; it was a day to be +remembered. + +The order of each procession was as follows. First and foremost went a +band of musicians with their various instruments. Then followed a small +company of princes, the finest men in the nation, arrayed in all the +brilliance of Eastern costume, and bringing up the rear were seven +priests, bearing trumpets. Each procession had a leader, Nehemiah +conducted one, and Ezra the scribe the other. + +Ezra's procession proceeded southward, and then eastward. They passed +the Dung Gate, whence was swept out the refuse of the city. Then they +came to the Fountain Gate, opposite to the Pool of Siloam, and here they +descended by steps in the Tower of Siloam. They probably came down in +order that they might dedicate the buildings over the Pool of Siloam and +the Dragon Well, and then they climbed to the top of the wall again, by +the steps that went up to that part of Jerusalem called the City of +David. From thence Ezra's procession moved on to the eastern wall, where +they were to meet the other party. + +Nehemiah's company, on leaving the Valley Gate, turned northward, passed +the Tower of the Furnaces, went across the Broad Wall, which was almost +the only piece of the old wall still standing, passed the Gate of +Ephraim, the Old Gate, the Tower of Hananeel, the Tower of Meah, the +Sheep Gate, and so down to the temple, and the gate named the Prison +Gate, because it opened upon a street leading to the court of the +prison. + +Then, somewhere near the Water Gate, the two processions met, and +marched together into the court of the temple, the two bands now joining +together in a united glorious strain, whilst the two companies of +singers formed again one enormous united choir, and filled the temple +courts with their harmonious song. + +'So stood the two companies of them that gave thanks in the house of +God,' xii. 40. + +Not a voice was silent, there was no idle person in the choir. Headed by +their choir-master they did their utmost to praise the Lord. + +'The singers sang loud, with Jezrahiah their overseer.' + +Nor were the musical people the only ones who showed their joy that +happy day. For, as the priests offered great sacrifices, the rejoicing +was both universal and tremendous. 'For God had made them rejoice with +great joy.' Not the men alone, but the wives and the children, so that + +'The joy of Jerusalem was heard even afar off.' + +Women's tears, how often we read of them in the Bible! Rachel weeps +over her children and will not be comforted, Hagar lifts up her voice +and weeps over her son, Naomi weeps as she comes back to her desolate +home, Hannah weeps as she kneels in the tabernacle court, the widow +weeps as she follows her only son to the grave, and the company of women +weep as Jesus of Nazareth is led out to the cross. + +So many women's tears, so very few women's smiles; so much mourning and +lamentation, so very little happiness and rejoicing. But, on this day of +dedication, the wives were as merry and glad as the husbands, and even +the children took part in the general joy. + +It is interesting to notice that the Book of Psalms was the national +song-book of the Jewish nation, a large number of the Psalms having been +composed for special occasions, in order to commemorate certain +memorable days in the history of the nation. + +One Psalm, namely Psalm cxlvii., was probably composed in the time of +Nehemiah, in order that it might be sung at the dedication of the walls. + +Ver. 1: 'Praise ye the Lord: for it is good to sing praises unto our +God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely. + +Ver. 2: 'The Lord doth build up Jerusalem: He gathereth together the +outcasts of Israel.' + +Ver. 12: 'Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem; praise thy God, O Zion. + +Ver. 13: 'For He hath strengthened the bars of thy gates; He hath +blessed thy children within thee.' + +There follows in the Psalm a curious mention of snow and ice. The +dedication of the city took place late in the year, and probably +Jerusalem was white with snow as the singers in their white robes went +round the walls, the snow being a glorious emblem of the purification +which had just taken place. White as snow,--white in the blood. + +Vers. 16-18: 'He giveth snow like wool: He scattereth the hoar frost +like ashes. He casteth forth His ice like morsels: who can stand before +His cold? He sendeth out His word, and melteth them. He causeth His wind +to blow, and the waters flow.' + +Surely as the people rejoiced on the day that the city was finished, +they must have remembered the words of old Daniel the prophet, written +whilst they were in captivity, a hundred years before this time. + +For what had Daniel declared? He had foretold that his nation should +return from captivity, and that Jerusalem should be restored. + +'The street shalt be built again, and the wall, even in troublous +times.' + +Nehemiah's work was evidently revealed to Daniel, and he was also told +something about Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the other troublers of the +Jews. + +Then, says Daniel, as soon as the command goes forth to build Jerusalem, +then can you begin to reckon the time to the coming of the Messiah, only +a limited and stated time must then elapse before the Christ, the +Saviour of Israel, shall appear (Dan. ix. 25). + +No wonder then that the joy of Jerusalem was heard afar off that day, as +they thought of the good days that were coming. The word of the living +God had come true, the street was built, the wall was built, now they +had only to wait for the fulfilment of the rest of the prophecy, for +the coming of their own Messiah and King. + +We should all like to have stood in Jerusalem on that joyous dedication +day, and watched the glorious procession entering the temple on Mount +Zion. But we shall see one day a far grander procession than that. + +The leader of that procession will ride on a white horse. His eyes will +be as a flame of fire, on His head will be many crowns, His name will be +King of kings and Lord of lords. He will be followed in the procession +by the armies of heaven, on white horses, clothed in fine linen, clean +and white (Rev. xix.) + +Coming down to earth, His feet shall stand in that day on the Mount of +Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and then passing through +the Golden Gate, the King and His followers will enter Jerusalem. + +Then again Jerusalem will become the Holy City, for from that day the +name of the city shall be 'The Lord is there,' Ezek. xlviii. 35. + +So soon as the Lord, who deserted Jerusalem, returns to her, she must +become once more the Holy City. Even upon the bells of the horses and +the vessels of the temple shall then be inscribed, Holiness to the Lord; +all dedicated to Him and to His service. + +Then indeed shall the glad cry go up: + +'Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion, put on thy beautiful +garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more +come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean.' + +Then again, in that glad day, the joy of Jerusalem shall be heard afar +off, for God Himself will call upon all to rejoice with her. + +'Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all ye that love her: +rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn for her,' Isa. lxvi. 10. + +And the King Himself will lead the rejoicing: + +'And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in My people: and the voice of +weeping shall no more be heard in her, nor the voice of crying,' Isa. +lxv. 19. + +Shall we indeed take part in that grand procession? Shall we stand with +the King of Glory on Olivet? Shall we pass within the gate into the +city? It all depends upon whether we are sprinkled, made pure, washed +white in the blood of the Lamb. Only those who were purified could take +part in Nehemiah's procession; only sprinkled ones, cleansed by Christ, +will be allowed to join in the song of rejoicing, when the Lord comes to +reign in Jerusalem gloriously. + +If we are indeed His redeemed ones, let us keep the blessed hope of that +day ever before us. Let it cheer us as we are tossed to and fro on the +waves of this troublesome world. + + 'Courage! oh, have courage, + For soon His feet shall stand + Upon the Mount of Olives, + In the glorious Promised Land; + For the Prince of Peace is coming, + With pomp and royal state, + To pass, with all His followers, + Within the Golden Gate. + + Courage! oh, have courage! + For the time it is not long, + E'en now across the mountains + Comes a distant sound of song; + The dreary night is closing, + 'Tis near the break of day, + And thy King, the King of Glory, + Will soon be on His way.' + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +Having no Root. + + +The sky is brilliant and cloudless, the snow-clad mountains stand out +clear in the distance, the air is laden with the scent of orange and +lemon groves, and the sweet fragrance of thousands of lilies. Nehemiah +the Tirshatha is once more in Shushan; his feet are treading again, as +in days gone by, the streets of the capital of Persia. + +It is thirteen years since he left the City of Lilies with his brother +Hanani, in order that he might go to Jerusalem, and do his utmost to +improve the ruined and desolate city. He has returned with his work +accomplished. The walls are built, the gates are set up, the bare spaces +in the city have been built over, the whole place has been strongly +fortified, the people have been brought back to their allegiance to God, +and, as the topstone of his work, he has seen, just before his departure +for Persia, the city and all it contained dedicated to the service of +the Great King. + +Very glad, very thankful is Nehemiah, as he enters once more the +glorious palace on the top of the hill, and stands before his master +Artaxerxes, the long-handed, to give in his report of all he has done +since the king gave him leave to return to his native land. + +Nehemiah finds himself once more surrounded by luxury and refinement and +beauty. What is Jerusalem compared with Shushan? Surely, now his work is +accomplished, he will settle down to a life of ease in Persia, where he +may dwell free from fear or anxiety or care, eating the dainties from +the king's table, and partaking of all the pleasures of an Eastern +court. After the rough life he has led during the last thirteen years, +after the perils he has undergone, and the difficulties he has +surmounted, he may surely retire, now that his work has been so happily +accomplished, and spend the remainder of his life in peace and comfort. + +But no; Nehemiah's heart was in Jerusalem, he preferred Jerusalem above +his chief joy. All the time he had been absent he had been hungering for +news, and receiving none; there were no posts across the vast deserts, +nor did he live in these luxurious days when the heartache of anxiety +may be relieved and set at rest by a telegram. What had been going on in +his absence? Were the Samaritans quiet, or had Sanballat and Tobiah +taken the opportunity afforded by his absence, and invaded Jerusalem? +And the people; how were they? Were they keeping the solemn covenant +which had been sealed in his presence? Were they continuing to serve and +obey the Heavenly King? All this, and much more, Nehemiah longed to +hear. + +He is therefore only too thankful when, after spending a year in Persia, +Artaxerxes gives him leave to return as governor of Jerusalem. + +'In the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes, King of Babylon, came I +unto the king, and after certain days obtained I leave of the king. + +'After certain days.' This is a common expression in the Bible for a +year. The same Hebrew word is translated a whole year in many other +passages, _e.g._ Lev. xxv. 29, Num. ix. 22. Thus we may safely conclude +that a year was the length of time that Nehemiah was absent from +Jerusalem. + +As soon as he had received the king's permission, Nehemiah left the +lovely City of Lilies behind, and set out once more across the desert +for Jerusalem. Probably no one there knew when he was coming, or whether +he was coming at all. When Nehemiah left the city he possibly had no +idea that he would be allowed to return, but expected that his royal +master would again require his services as Rab-shakeh in the palace of +Shushan; nor was it likely that any news had reached the city of the +permission given him to return. Suddenly, one day, a small cavalcade of +camels, mules, and donkeys arrived at the northern gate, and the news +spread through the city that Nehemiah the governor had returned. Was +this intelligence received with unmixed joy and thankfulness, or were +there some in the city to whom it came as anything but pleasant tidings? + +No sooner has the governor arrived than he begins to look round the +city, to see and to inquire how all has been going on in his absence. He +goes up to the temple, and no sooner has he entered the gate leading +into the outer court, than he notices that the whole appearance of the +place is changed. The temple enclosure looks empty and deserted; a few +priests in their white robes are moving about, but where is the company +of Levites who used to wait upon them, and help them in their work? + +Nehemiah had left no less than 284 Levites in the temple, now he cannot +see one of them. And, not only does he miss those Levites, whose duty it +was to attend upon the priests, but he misses also the temple singers; +the sons of Asaph and their companions are nowhere to be seen. The +temple choir has entirely disappeared, and the services have accordingly +languished. As Nehemiah looks round the whole place appears to him +quiet, empty, and dismal. Nothing seems to be going on, all is +apparently at a standstill. + +Nehemiah feels sure that something is wrong, and the further he goes +into the temple area the more convinced he is that he is not mistaken. +Passing through the Beautiful Gate, he crosses the Court of the Women, +and ascends the steps into the Court of Israel, where stands the temple +itself. + +Into the temple Nehemiah cannot pass, for none but the priests may enter +the Holy Place and Holy of Holies. But round the temple building there +had been erected an out-building or lean-to which surrounded the temple +on three sides, and which was made up of three stories, each containing +a number of rooms, some smaller, some larger. Just such an out-building +as this had been made by Solomon in the first temple (1 Kings vi. 5-10), +and the builders of the new temple had copied the idea, and had put up a +similar lean-to against the outer walls. + +In these rooms or chambers were kept all the stores belonging to the +temple. The corn, and wine, and oil belonging to the priests and +Levites; the first-fruits and free-will offerings brought by the people +for the temple service; and the meat-offerings, which were cakes made +of fine flour, salt, and oil. One of these cakes was offered twice a +day, at the morning and evening sacrifice, besides on many other +occasions, and with several other sacrifices; so that it was necessary +to have a number of them always ready for use. In these chambers was +also stored the frankincense, of which a large quantity was used every +day, for a handful of it was burnt on the altar of incense both morning +and night. This frankincense was very costly; it was brought on camels' +backs from Arabia, where it was obtained by making incisions in the bark +of a tree which grew in no other country. Out of these incisions oozed +the gummy juice of the tree, and from this was made the frankincense. It +was very rare, and could only be obtained occasionally, and therefore it +was important to store it carefully in the temple. + +Nehemiah wonders if the stores of the temple are in good condition, and +he throws open the door of one of the chambers, to see if its contents +are plentiful and well-stored. As he does so, he starts back in dismay. +The whole place is altered, utterly and completely transformed. The +small rooms have all been thrown into one vast chamber, the partition +walls have been removed, the corn, the wine, the oil, the frankincense, +and all the other stores are nowhere to be seen, they have all been +cleared away; the vessels in use in the temple, the knives for cutting +up the sacrifices, the censers for incense, the priests' robes and other +garments have all disappeared. There is not one single thing to be found +which ought to have been found there, and this chamber of the temple, +instead of being a useful and necessary store-house, has become more +like one of the grand reception rooms of the King of Persia, a +luxurious drawing-room, fit for the palace of a king. Gay curtains cover +the walls, costly furniture is set in order round the large room, the +softest of divans, the most comfortable of cushions, the most elaborate +ornaments and decorations surround Nehemiah on all sides, as he stands +amazed and disconsolate in their midst. + +Nehemiah calls one of the priests, and inquires the meaning of this +extraordinary change in the building. He is told, to his horror, that +this grand reception room has actually been made for the use and +convenience of Tobiah the secretary. Tobiah the heathen, Tobiah, who had +mocked them as they built the walls, and who had done all that was in +his power ever since to annoy and to hinder Nehemiah and his helpers. +This splendid apartment has actually been made and fitted up, in order +that Tobiah may have a grand place in which to dwell, and in which to +entertain his friends whenever he chooses to pay a visit to Jerusalem. + +What an abominable thing is this, which the poor governor has +discovered! For was not this Tobiah an Ammonite, a Gentile? and as such +Nehemiah knew perfectly well he had no right to set his foot in the +Court of the Women, or the Court of Israel; much less then had he the +right to enter the temple building. + +Where is Eliashib the high priest? How is it that he has not put a stop +to this proceeding? Nehemiah finds, to his dismay, that Eliashib has +actually been the very one who has had this chamber prepared. The very +man who was responsible for the temple, and who had, by his office, the +right and the power to shut out from the holy building all that was +evil, had been the man to introduce Tobiah the heathen, with marked +honour, into the temple itself. + +Eliashib had begun well. Earnestly and heartily he had helped in +building the walls; he had actually led the band of workers, and had +been the very first to begin to build, chap. iii. 1. + +But Eliashib had a grandson named Manasseh, and this young man had made +what he thought a very good match. Priest though he was, he had married +the daughter of Sanballat, the governor of Samaria, a heathen girl, who +was rich and possibly good-looking, and whose father was the most +powerful man in the country, but who did not fear or own the God of +Israel. And the grandfather, so far from forbidding the marriage, seems +to have connived at it and sanctioned it. + +Nay, he seems not only to have allowed himself to be allied with +Sanballat the governor, but also with Tobiah the secretary, chap. xiii. +4. In what way he was connected by marriage we are not told, but +inasmuch as both Tobiah and his son had married Jewish wives, one or +both of these may have been closely related to the high priest, chap. +vi. 17, 18. So the friendship with the Samaritans had grown; Eliashib +had probably visited Samaria, and had been made much of and royally +entertained by Sanballat and his secretary; and in proportion as his +friendship with the heathen had grown warm, his love and earnestness in +the Lord's service had grown cold. + +In the latter part of the Book of Nehemiah we never find Eliashib coming +forward as a helper in any good work. Ezra stands in the huge pulpit to +read the law of God, thirteen of the chief men in Jerusalem stand by +him to help him, but Eliashib the high priest, who surely should have +been well to the front in that pulpit, is conspicuous by his absence. +How could he stand up and read the law to the people, when he knew, and +they knew, that he was not keeping it himself? + +Nehemiah draws up a covenant between the people and their God, in which +they promise to obey God and keep His commandments. No less than +eighty-four seals are fastened to that document, but not one of those +seals bears the name of Eliashib. + +How could he engage to keep that covenant, one article of which was a +promise to have nothing to do with the heathen, when at the very time he +was living on the most friendly terms with both Sanballat and Tobiah? + +Then comes the grand service of dedication, when the city and all it +contained was devoted to God. Not a single mention is made of Eliashib +in the account of the services of the day. Many priests are mentioned by +name, but the high priest, who, we should have expected, would have +taken a prominent part in the proceedings, is never heard of throughout. + +Eliashib's connection with the heathen had made him cold and remiss in +the service of God. It is no wonder then that so soon as Nehemiah went +away, and the restraint of his presence was removed, Eliashib did worse +than ever, and at length actually entertained Tobiah in the temple +itself. + +But poor Nehemiah had not come to the end of his painful discoveries. He +inquired next what had become of all the stores of corn and wine +belonging to the Levites, all the tithes which the people were +accustomed to bring to the temple for their support, and which, in that +solemn covenant, they had so faithfully promised to supply. Since these +stores have been removed from the place which was built on purpose to +receive them, Nehemiah wishes to know what new store-house has been +prepared for them. But the governor finds, to his sorrow and dismay, +that no sooner was his back turned upon Jerusalem, than the people had +ceased to bring their tithes and their contributions for the house of +God. + +It was not surprising then that Nehemiah found the temple so deserted. +How could the Levites serve, how could the choir sing unless they were +fed? They could not live on air, no food was provided for them; what +could they do but take care of themselves? In order to save themselves +from utter starvation, they had been driven to leave the temple, and to +go to their fields and small farms in the country, which they had been +accustomed to cultivate only at such times as they were not engaged in +the work of the temple (Num. xxxv. 2). Now they were compelled to resort +to these fields, as a means of keeping themselves and their families +from beggary. No wonder then that few were found ready to help in the +temple services. + +The first Sabbath after Nehemiah's arrival, he sets out, with an anxious +heart, to see how it is kept by his fellow-countrymen. In the solemn +covenant the people had promised carefully to observe the day of rest. +They have broken their word in the matter of the tithes; have they kept +their promise with regard to the Sabbath? + +Nehemiah, as he walks through the city on the Sabbath day, finds a +regular market going on in the streets. He is horrified to find that all +manner of fruit and all kinds of food are being bought and sold, as on +any other day of the week. Wine, and oil, and merchandise of all kinds +is being bargained for, and the streets are filled with the noisy cries +and shouts of the sellers and purchasers. + +Going on to the Fish Gate, Nehemiah finds that a colony of heathen +Tyrians have come to live there, in order that they may hold a +fish-market close to the gate. The fish was caught by their +fellow-countrymen in Tyre and Sidon, and was sent down to Jerusalem +slightly salted, in order to preserve it from corruption. Nehemiah finds +that these Tyrians are doing a grand traffic in salted fish, especially +on the Sabbath day. The Jews loved fish, and always have loved it. How +they enjoyed it in Egypt, how they longed for it in the wilderness! + +'We remember the fish which we did eat in Egypt freely.' + +So they sighed, and murmured, as they thought of their lost luxuries. + +There was nothing a Jew liked so well for his Sabbath dinner as a piece +of fish; and, therefore, on the Sabbath, the Tyrians found they did more +business than on any other day. + +As Nehemiah leaves the city by the Fish Gate, he meets donkeys and mules +bringing in sheaves of corn, or laden with paniers containing figs, and +grapes, and melons; he meets men laden with all kinds of burdens, and +women bringing in the country produce that they may sell it in the +streets of Jerusalem. + +Then, passing on into the fields, he notices that work is going on as +usual. They are tilling the ground, gathering in the corn, pruning the +vines, and standing bare-footed in the winepresses to tread out the +juice of the grapes. + +So the promise about the Sabbath has been kept no better than the other +promise; the covenant has been totally disregarded. + +Turning homewards, Nehemiah discovers that the remaining article of the +agreement has also been broken. For, as he passes through the streets, +and listens to the children at play, he finds that some of the little +ones are talking a language he cannot understand. Here and there he +catches a Jewish word, but most of their talk is entirely unintelligible +to him. On inquiring into the reason of this, he is told that these +children have Jewish fathers but Philistine mothers, and that they are +being brought up to talk the language and learn the religion of their +heathen parent. They are making for themselves a strange dialect, a +mixture of the two languages they have spoken; it is half Jewish, half +Philistine. + +'Their children spake half in the speech of Ashdod, and could not speak +in the Jews' language, but according to the language of each people,' +xiii. 24. + +Poor Nehemiah must have been filled with sorrow and bitter +disappointment, as he found Jerusalem and its people in such a +disgraceful condition. He had left the holy city like the garden of the +Lord, he comes back to find the trail of the serpent all over his +paradise. They did so well whilst he was there, they wandered to the +right hand and the left so soon as he was parted from them. + +Nor is Nehemiah the only one who has had this bitter disappointment; +many a parent, many a teacher, many a friend can enter into his +feelings, for they have gone through the same. + +The young King Joash 'did that which was right in the sight of the Lord +all the days of Jehoiada the priest.' But as soon as the old man was in +his grave all was changed, and he did instead that which was evil. + +And Joash has many followers, those who do well so long as they are +under good and holy influence, and who do so badly when that influence +is removed. + +The young man, with the anxious, careful mother, who does so well as +long as she lives, and who wanders from the right path as soon as she is +taken from him; the young woman, who, whilst living under her parents' +roof, sheltered and guarded by wise restrictions from all that would +harm her, seems not far from the Kingdom of God, but, who, leaving home +and becoming her own mistress, drifts into frivolity and carelessness; +the man or woman who, when removed from good and holy influence, falls +away from God and goes backwards; all these are followers of Joash, all +these cause pain and distress to those who watch over their souls. + +What is the reason of this sad change? Why is it that some only stand +firm so long as they are under the care and influence of others? The +Master has answered the question. He tells us the reason. + +'These have no root.' + +Last Christmas we had in our house a large green fir-tree. It reached +from the floor to the ceiling, and spread its branches abroad in all +directions. It stood well and firmly; it had all the appearance of +growing; it held its head erect, and seemed as likely to stand as any of +the trees outside in the garden. + +But our tree only stood for a time. So long as the heavy weights and +props which held it up remained, so long as the strings, which were +tightly tied to nails in the wall, were uncut; just so long the tree +remained upright and unmoved. But the very instant that the props and +supports were taken away our tree came down with a crash. + +What was the reason of its downfall? Why did the trees in the garden +stand unsupported, and yet this tree fell so soon as its props were +removed? + +The answer is clear and simple. The trees in the garden had each of them +a root, our Christmas tree had no root. Having no root, it was +impossible for it to stand alone. + +There is, alas, plenty of no-root religion now-a-days. We see around us +too many whose godliness is dependent on their surroundings and their +circumstances. They mean well, they try to do right, but there it ends. +They have no root; the heart is unchanged, unconverted, unrenewed. Their +religion is merely a surface religion. + +So they for a time believe, for a time do well, for a time appear to be +true Christians, but in time of temptation they fall away. Their +'goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goeth away.' + +If we would stand firm, we must see to it that our religion goes deep +enough. I myself must be made new if I am to grow in grace; my heart +must be Christ's if I am to stand firm in the faith. + +'As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him. +Rooted and built up in Him, and established in the faith.' + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +Strong Measures. + + +What an objection some people have to strong measures! They see around +them, amongst those under their influence, a great deal going on which +is downright evil. You call upon them to put a stop to it, and to do all +in their power to prevent it. + +But what do they say? They tell you they will go gently and quietly to +work; but they do not like to hurt other people's feelings, or to tread +upon their prejudices. They have no objection to try gradually, quietly, +and gently, to turn the tide of evil into a good and holy channel, but +they hate and abominate anything in the shape of strong measures. + +And yet there are cases where nothing short of strong measures will be +of any avail. Here is a man who has a diseased hand. For some time the +doctor has been trying gentle remedies: the poultice, the plaster, the +fomentation, have all been tried. But now the doctor sees a change in +the appearance of the hand. He sees very clearly that mortification is +setting in. No poultice, no plaster, no fomentation will be of any avail +now, nothing but the knife, nothing but cutting off the limb will save +the man's life. What a foolish doctor he would be, who should refuse in +such a case to take strong measures! + +The great reformer, Martin Luther, looked around him, and what did he +see? The whole civilized world a slave at the feet of one man, the Pope +of Rome, obeying that man as if he were God; believing every word that +came from his mouth, following carefully in his footsteps as he led them +astray. + +Luther feels nothing will do but strong measures. He will not go gently +and quietly to work in his reform, for he feels that would be of no use; +the case is so serious that nothing but a strong and decided step will +answer the purpose. His strong step consisted in the making of a +bonfire. On December 10, 1520, as the students of the great University +at Wittenburg came to the college, they found fastened to the walls a +notice inviting them and the professors, and all who liked to come, to +meet Martin Luther at the east gate of the college at nine o'clock the +following morning. + +Full of curiosity, they assembled in great numbers to find a bonfire, +and Luther standing by it with a paper in his hand. That paper was a +letter from the Pope to Luther, telling him that if he did not recant +from all he was teaching in less than sixty days, the Pope would give +him over to Satan. After reading the letter to the assembled crowd, +Luther solemnly threw it into the flames and watched it burn to ashes, +that all might see how little he cared for the Pope or his threats. From +that time there could be no more peace between Luther and Rome. + +It was certainly a strong measure, and Luther owns that he had to make a +great effort to force himself to take it. He says: 'When I burnt the +bull, it was with inward fear and trembling, but I look upon that act +with more pleasure than upon any passage of my life.' For Luther felt, +and felt rightly, that the glorious Reformation would never have been +brought about unless he had used strong measures. + +Nehemiah was the Martin Luther of his age, the great reformer of his +nation, and never did he feel the need of strong measure to be so great, +as when he came back to Jerusalem after his absence in Persia. + +Four glaring evils were staring him in the face. + +(1) In the temple itself a grand reception room had been prepared for +Tobiah the Ammonite. + +(2) The people had refused to pay tithes or contributions to the temple +service, and the Levites had consequently all left the sanctuary. + +(3) The Sabbath day was desecrated and profaned; trade went on as usual +both within and without the city. + +(4) So common had marriage with heathen people become, that even the +very children in the street were chattering in foreign languages. + +Four evils, all of them very serious and deep-rooted, all calling for +instant reformation at his hand. + +How does Nehemiah go to work? Does he shrink from giving offence, or +hurting people's feelings, or calling things by their right names? No, +he feels his nation have sinned; the disease of sin is spreading, +mortification is setting in, nothing will do but strong measures. The +offending members must be cut off, that the whole body may be saved. + +He begins first with the temple. Going into the inner court, and taking +with him a band of his faithful servants, he throws open the door of the +great store-chamber and begins his work. Indignantly he bids his +servants to clear out all Tobiah's goods, nay, he himself gives a +helping hand, and leads them in the work. The grand divans, the elegant +cushions, the elaborate mats, the bright-coloured curtains are all +dragged out and cast forth outside. And then, when the great chamber is +empty he has it thoroughly cleaned and purified and put in order, to +receive again the temple vessels and stores. + +A strong measure certainly, but a very necessary one. If Nehemiah had +stopped to think what Tobiah might happen to say the next time he came +to Jerusalem, or if he had held back because he was afraid of hurting +the feelings of Eliashib the high priest, the sin would never have been +stopped, the temple would never have been cleansed. + +St. Paul tells all those who are Christ's, that they themselves are +God's temple. + +'Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God +dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God +destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.' + +Ye are the temple of God, you yourself God's dwelling-place. Examine +then the secret chambers of your heart. Are any of Tobiah's goods there? +Is there any secret sin hidden away in your heart? + +If so, be your own Nehemiah; cleanse the chamber of your heart, or +rather cry unto God to do it for you. + +'Cleanse Thou me from secret faults.' + +This is an all-important matter, for, unless the hidden sin is removed, +you will receive no answer to your prayers, and therefore to attempt to +pray is useless. + +'If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.' + +Then, too, the Holy Spirit will be grieved and will cease to move you, +and without His help you can do nothing; He cannot inhabit that temple +in the secret chambers of which is to be found cherished sin. + +In such a case nothing but strong measures will avail. That sin must be +given up, or your soul will be darkened; that chamber must be cleansed, +or the holy presence of the Lord cannot remain. + +Do you say, It is hard to give it up, to clear it out; it has become a +second nature to me, and I know not how to rid myself of it? + +Surely it is worth making the effort, however much pain and suffering it +may cause. Amputation, however much agony it may entail, is necessary if +mortification has set in. + +'If thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for +it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not +that thy whole body should be cast into hell. And if thy right hand +offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for +thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body +should be cast into hell.' + +The first evil has been dealt with and cleared away, Tobiah and his +goods have been cast out of the temple. Nehemiah now passes on to the +next thing which had so greatly shocked him on his arrival in Jerusalem, +namely, the neglect on the part of the people with regard to the payment +of what was due from them for the temple service. + +Again Nehemiah takes strong measures. He calls together the rulers, as +the leaders and representatives of the rest, and he gives them very +strongly his mind on the subject. No smooth words or gentle hints will +do. He tells us, 'I contended some time with them' (that is, I reproved +them and argued with them), 'and I said, Why is the house of our God +forsaken?' + +Then, without waiting for a response to his appeal, he sends round to +all the Levites and singers, bidding them with all haste to come up to +the temple and to take up their work again. And the people, seeing he +was determined, and that there was no possibility of his allowing the +matter to drop, came also, bringing with them the corn, and the wine, +and the oil, with which once more to fill the empty chamber. + +'Then brought all Judah the tithe of the corn and the new wine and the +oil unto the treasuries.' + +And, in order to prevent such a thing ever happening again, Nehemiah +appointed treasurers to look after the temple stores. Eliashib the high +priest had been the store-keeper before, xiii. 4, but he had shown +himself unworthy of his office. Four men are accordingly chosen to +collect the stores, and afterwards to deal them out to the priests and +Levites. One is a priest, one a Levite, one a layman of rank, and the +fourth a scribe, ver. 13. Nehemiah tells us why he selected these four +men. 'They were counted faithful,' and as faithful men they could be +thoroughly depended upon. + +Now, having set the temple in order, Nehemiah proceeds to fight the +battle with regard to the observance of the Sabbath. + +Again he uses strong measures. He once more speaks strongly and hotly +to the nobles, for they had led the van in Sabbath desecration. They +liked the freshest fruit and the daintiest dishes for their Sabbath +feast, and they had, therefore, encouraged the market-people to go on +with their Sabbath trade. Then, as now, there were plenty of people who, +for their own self-pleasing, were ready to argue in favour of the loose +observance of the fourth commandment. + +Nehemiah reminds the nobles that the destruction of Jerusalem, the +overthrow of that very city which they were taking so much trouble to +rebuild, had all been brought about through desecration of the Sabbath +day. + +For what message had Jeremiah brought their fathers? + +'If ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the Sabbath day, and not to +bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath +day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour +the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.' + +God's word had come true. Their fathers, despising the warning, had +continued to break the Sabbath, and Nebuchadnezzar had burnt and +destroyed the very gates through which the Sabbath burdens had been +carried. What safety, then, could they hope for now, how could they +expect to keep their new gates from destruction, if they followed in the +footsteps of their fathers, and did the very thing that God, by the +mouth of Jeremiah, condemned? + +'Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said unto them, What +evil thing is this that ye do, and profane the Sabbath day? Did not your +fathers thus, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us, and upon +this city? yet ye bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the +Sabbath.' + +But though Nehemiah began by rebuking the nobles, he did not stop here. +He took up the matter with a high hand. He commanded the gate-keepers to +shut the gates on Friday evening, about half-an-hour earlier than usual. +On other nights they were shut as soon as the sun had set, but now +Nehemiah orders them to close the gates on Friday evenings, so soon as +the shadows began to lengthen and the day was drawing to a close. They +were also, in future, to be kept shut the whole of the Sabbath, so that +no mules, or donkeys, or camels, or other beasts of burden, might be +able to enter the city on the holy day. + +The little gate, inside the large gate, by means of which +foot-passengers might enter and leave the city, was left open, in order +that people living in the country villages round might be able to come +into the city to attend the temple services. But at this smaller gate +Nehemiah took care to place some of his own trusty servants, and gave +them strict instructions to admit no burdens, no parcel, no goods of any +kind into the city on the Sabbath day, xiii. 19. + +Very naturally, the merchants and the salespeople did not like this. +They did a good stroke of business on the Sabbath day, and would not +lose their large profits without a struggle. Accordingly, what do we +find them doing? They were refused admittance into the city, so they set +up their stalls outside the walls. If the Jerusalem people could not buy +of them, because of that strait-laced, narrow-minded Nehemiah, still +the country people who came in to attend the temple services could +purchase at their stalls on their way home. They might thus maintain a +certain amount of their Sabbath business, and secure at least a portion +of their Sabbath gains. Not only so, but surely many Jews from the city +itself, as they strolled through the gates on the day of rest, might +pass by their stalls, and, in the conveniently loose folds of their +robes, many, even of these inhabitants of Jerusalem, might conceal a +pomegranate, or a melon, a piece of fish, or a bunch of grapes, a +handful of figs, or a freshly-cut cucumber, and might easily escape +detection by Nehemiah's servants, standing at the gate. + +Nehemiah, seeing this state of things, feels that once again strong +measures are required. He must make a clean sweep of these traders at +once. So, going out to them, he gives them warning that they will be +arrested and imprisoned the very next time that they come within sight +of the city on the Sabbath day. + +'So the merchants and sellers of all kind of ware lodged without +Jerusalem once or twice. Then I testified unto them: Why lodge ye about +the wall? If ye do so again I will lay hands on you.' + +That put a stop to it. + +'From that time forth came they no more on the Sabbath.' + +Then, from that day, Nehemiah held the Levites responsible for the +strict observance of this rule. His own servants had guarded the gates +in the first emergency, now he bids the Levites to take their place, and +to do all in their power to enforce and to maintain the sanctity of the +holy day. + +Surely we need a Nehemiah now-a-days, we need some of his strong +measures to stop the growing disregard of the Sabbath, which is creeping +slowly but surely like a dark shadow over this country of ours. We need +a man who will not be afraid of being called strait-laced, or +narrow-minded, or peculiar, or Jewish, or Puritanical, but who will +speak his mind clearly and decidedly on such an all-important point, +and who will not hesitate to use strong measures to put down the +Sabbath-breaking and the utter disregard of God's law, which is +threatening the ruin of our beloved country. + +Let each of us ask himself or herself, What am I doing in this matter? +How do I keep the Sabbath myself? God asks for the whole day; do I give +it to Him, or do I spend the best of its hours in bed? Am I careful not +to please myself on the Lord's Day, or do I think it no shame to amuse +myself on that day as I choose, by travelling, by light reading, or by +any other means that I have within my disposal? Am I anxious to dedicate +the day wholly and entirely to God, setting it apart entirely for His +service, and looking upon it as a foretaste of the great and eternal +Sabbath that is coming? + +And, if I myself keep and reverence God's Sabbath, do I see that those +over whom I have influence are doing the same? Am I anxious that my +children, my servants, the visitors who come to see me, all who are in +my home on the Lord's Day should do the same? Do I help them by every +means in my power? Do I strive that in my home at least God shall have +His due? + +And if in my home the Sabbath is observed, what am I doing with regard +to it outside, in my own town, or village, amongst my acquaintances, +companions, and friends? Am I doing all I can, using all the influence +God has given me, to lead others to reverence and observe the holy day? + +And my country, dear old England; am I praying day by day that her glory +may not depart, that her sun may not go down because of desecration of +the Sabbath day? The old promise holds good still; it is true of +individuals, of families, and of nations. + +'If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on +My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, +honourable; and shalt honour Him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding +thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own word: then shalt thou delight +thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places +of the earth.' + +'FOR THE MOUTH OF THE LORD HATH SPOKEN IT.' + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +The Oldest Sin. + + +We have all read the adventures of Robinson Crusoe, and we have all +pitied the man, alone on a desert island, alone without a friend, +without a single companion, never hearing any voice but his own, being +able to exchange thoughts with no one, alone, solitary, desolate. + +Yet after all, in one respect, Robinson Crusoe was to be envied, for he +was shut off from one of the greatest temptations which besets us in +this world, a temptation which comes across the path of each of us, and +from which it is by no means easy to escape. Of that temptation, +Robinson Crusoe on his desert island knew nothing. He did not find +himself ever tempted to one of the most common of sins. Robinson Crusoe +was never tempted to keep bad company, for the simple reason that there +was no bad company for him to keep. + +What curious beings hermits are! they are to be found in China, India, +Africa, in various parts of Europe, in fact, all over the world. And in +olden time there was many a lonely cave, many a shady retreat on the +hill-side, which was inhabited by one of these hermits. + +Who then were these hermits? They were men who were so much afraid of +falling into the snare of keeping bad company, that they refused to keep +any company at all, men who so dreaded being led astray by their fellow +men, that they shut themselves off from all intercourse with the human +race. + +It was not a right nor a wise thing to do, and these hermits found that +sin followed them even to their quiet lonely caves; yet it is scarcely +surprising that they dreaded evil companionship, and did all they could +to avoid it, seeing as they did how much misery it had brought into the +world. + +For what was the oldest sin? What was the very first sin that entered +into this fair earth of ours? Some say it was pride, or selfishness, or +hard thoughts of God. But surely it was no other sin than this, the +keeping of bad company. + +There was Eve in the garden. God had provided her with company; He had +given her Adam, the holy angels came in and out of that fair paradise; +nay more, God Himself was her friend, in the cool of the day He walked +with Eve under the trees of the garden, walked and talked with her as a +companion and friend. + +But, in spite of this, Eve got into bad company. She stands, she talks, +she entertains Satan, the great enemy of God, against whom she must +often have been warned by God and the holy angels. And the consequence +was that Eve lost paradise, became a sinner, and brought sin and all its +attendant miseries into the world. We should never have had our weary +battle with sin if Eve had not kept bad company. + +Nor was Eve the last of those who have brought trouble on themselves and +others by the same sin. + +If the descendants of Seth had not kept bad company and made friends of +Cain's wicked race, the flood would never have swept them away. If +Samson had not gone into bad company he would never have lost his +strength, and have had to grind blindly and miserably at the mill. If +Solomon had not kept bad company idolatry would never have ruined +Jerusalem. If Rehoboam had not kept bad company the kingdom of Israel +would never have been divided; and again, and again, both in the history +of the past and in the story of the present, we see men and women led +astray by keeping bad company. + +We have already seen Nehemiah taking strong measures to put down three +of the great glaring evils which he found in Jerusalem on his return. We +have now to see him battling with this dreadful curse and snare--bad +company. If the other three evils needed strong measures, Nehemiah feels +there is a tenfold need to take decided steps in this fourth and +all-important matter. + +For what does he find as he walks through the streets of Jerusalem? He +discovers that the inhabitants of the holy city are fast becoming +foreigners and heathen. He hears the very children in the street talking +a language he cannot understand. + +So common has marriage with heathen foreigners become, that Nehemiah +sees clearly that unless something is done to put a stop to it the next +generation will grow up utterly un-Jewish in language, appearance, and +dross, and worse still, heathen in their religion, kneeling down to +idols of wood and stone, and carrying on in Jerusalem itself all the +vile customs and abominations of the heathen. + +'If the girls are pretty and nice, and if the men like them, why should +not they please themselves?' So the Jerusalem folk had talked in +Nehemiah's absence. They quite forgot to what it was all leading. They +shut their eyes to the danger of keeping bad company, they thought only +of what was pleasant and of what they liked, they quite forgot to ask +what was right, and what was the will of God. + +Nehemiah, as governor of Jerusalem, summons into his presence, and +commands to appear before him in his judicial court, every man in +Jerusalem who had married a foreign heathen wife. + +When all were assembled: + +(1) He contended with them, _i.e._ he rebuked and argued with them, as +he had done with the rulers on the question of Sabbath observance. + +(2) He cursed them, or as it is in the margin 'he reviled them.' +Probably he pronounced, as governor of Jerusalem, speaking in the name +of God, the judgments of God on those who broke his law. + +(3) He smote certain of them. That is, he had some of them publicly +beaten. Nehemiah called upon the officers of the court to make an +example of some of the principal offenders by inflicting corporal +punishment upon them. + +(4) He plucked off their hair, _lit_., He made them bald. The Hebrew +word, _marat_, which is used here, means to make smooth, to polish, to +peel. The word hair is not expressed in the original. + +We are surely not to suppose that Nehemiah, with his own hands, either +struck these men or made them bald. What he did was simply this. He, as +the head magistrate, inflicted a judicial punishment upon them, a +double punishment. + +(1) They were beaten. + +(2) They were made bald. + +We read (Matt, xxvii. 26) that Pontius Pilate took our Lord and scourged +him; but we surely do not imagine that the Roman governor with his own +hands inflicted the scourging, but we understand it to mean that he gave +the order for the punishment to the Roman soldiers. Just so, Nehemiah +the governor commanded these offending Jews to be beaten and made bald +by the officers of the court. + +One of the most flourishing trades in an Eastern city is the trade of +the barber. This may easily be seen by walking through the streets of an +Eastern town, and noting the numerous barbers at work, some in their +shops, which are open to the street, and others outside on the +doorsteps, or in some shady corner. Especially in the evening are these +numerous barbers busy; when the work of the rest of the city is drawing +to a close the barber's work is at its height. Yet, strange to say, +although the barber is so busy, everyone in the East wears a beard; a +man in the East would think it a terrible disgrace if he was obliged to +be shorn of his beard. + +The beard is considered a very sacred thing; it is thought a great +insult even to touch a man's beard, and if you want to make any man an +object of scorn and ridicule, you cannot do so better than by shaving +off his beard. This was the way in which the Ammonites insulted David's +ambassadors (2 Sam. x. 4, 5). And we read that they stopped at Jericho +till their beards were grown, for 'the men were greatly ashamed.' + +What then is the barber's work? If men in the East wear beards, what is +it that keeps him so busy? The barber in the Eastern city shaves not the +man's chin, but his head. It is a very natural custom in hot, dusty +climates, where the head is always kept covered, both indoors and out of +doors. It is also a very ancient custom, for even in the old Egyptian +hieroglyphics we find pictures of barbers shaving the head. And we find +that in these modern days, Egyptians, Copts, Turks, Arabs, Hindoos, and +Chinese, all shave the head. But there is one great exception to this +rule. A barber would find no work in a purely Jewish city, for not only +do the Jews wear beards, but they also never shave their heads as their +Eastern neighbours do. The only ones amongst the Jews who were allowed +to have shaven heads were the poor outcast lepers. Hence the shaven head +was to them a sign or symbol of uncleanness and of excommunication. They +looked upon a man with a bald head very much as we look upon one whose +hair is cropped very suspiciously close, and whom we therefore imagine +must have been in gaol. + +Thus it came to pass that 'Bald-head' became a common term of reproach +and insult. Elisha, the holy prophet, goes up the hill, wearing a thick +turban to protect his head from the sun. Out come a troop of wicked, +mocking children. Elisha is not bald, for he is a Jew, nor, even if he +had been bald, could these children have seen it, since his head is +covered; but they wish to annoy and to insult the holy man, so they cry +after him, + +'Go up, thou bald head, go up.' + +They simply use a common term of reproach. To have a bald head was +amongst the Jews a sign that a man was cut off from his nation, that he +was counted as a Gentile and an outsider, and therefore to call a man 'a +bald head' was equivalent to calling him a Gentile dog and an outcast. + +Now Nehemiah inflicts this very punishment on these Jews who have +married heathen wives. He commands them to be made bald, as a sign of +shame and disgrace. It was a very significant and appropriate +punishment. They had thrown in their lot with the heathen Gentiles, let +them then become Gentiles, let them be branded with their mark, let +them, by being made bald, be stamped as those who are no longer citizens +of Jerusalem, but who have become outcasts and foreigners. + +Then, when this was done, Nehemiah calls them to him, and makes them +take a solemn oath before God, that from that time forth they will never +fall into the same sin again: + +'I made them swear by God, saying, Ye shall not give your daughters unto +their sons, nor take their daughters unto your sons, or for yourselves.' + +Then he reminds them how dreadful the consequences of the same sin had +been to no less a person than their great and glorious King Solomon, the +wisest of men, the beloved of his God. Even Solomon had been drawn aside +into sin by his love of heathen foreigners, or outlandish women, as +Nehemiah calls them, women living outside his own land. If he fell, if +he the wisest of men, if he the beloved of his God, was led astray, was +it likely that they could walk into the very same trap, and escape being +caught and ensnared by it? + +'Did not Solomon King of Israel sin by these things? Yet among many +nations was there no king like him, who was beloved of his God, and God +made him king over all Israel: nevertheless _even him_ did outlandish +women cause to sin. Shall we then hearken unto you to do all this great +evil, to transgress against our God in marrying strange wives?' + +Did Nehemiah then break up the marriages which had already taken place, +and send the wives away? We are not told that he did. Probably he only +insisted, and insisted very strongly, that no more such marriages should +take place. For he knew that if the custom was continued it would lead +to ruin, shame, and disgrace, and he was therefore perfectly right to +take strong measures to put a stop to it. + +One man he saw fit to make an example of in a still more decided +way--one offending member he felt must be cut off. This was Manasseh, +the grandson of the high priest, the very one who had been the cause of +Tobiah's entrance into the temple, and of the friendly feeling that +existed between Eliashib and the Samaritans. + +Here was Manasseh, a priest, living in the temple itself, dressed in the +white robe, and taking part in the service of God, yet all the time +having a heathen wife, and allowing heathen ways in his household. +Manasseh's wife was actually Sanballat's daughter; and so long as he and +she remained in the temple precincts, Nehemiah felt they would never be +free from Sanballat's influence. + +Accordingly we read: + +'I chased him from me.' + +Nehemiah banished him from the temple and from Jerusalem, and Manasseh +went away with his wife to her father's grand home in Samaria. + +No doubt Nehemiah was far from popular in Jerusalem that night. There +were many who thought he had been too severe, too narrow, too +particular. And doubtless there were many who, if they had dared, would +have rebelled against his decision. But Nehemiah had done everything; he +had taken all these strong measures, not to please men, but to please +God. If the Master praised him, he cared not what others might say of +him. 'Lord, what wilt _Thou_ have me to do?' was the constant prayer of +Nehemiah's heart; and though the work was oftentimes unpopular and +disagreeable, Nehemiah did it both boldly and fearlessly. + +The wheel of time goes round, and history, which works ever in a circle, +constantly repeats itself, and so also does sin. The sin of Nehemiah's +days is still to be seen; the same temptation which beset those +Jerusalem Jews, besets us even in these more enlightened days. + +We all love company. There is in us a natural shrinking from being alone +and desolate. That feeling is born in us; we inherit it from our first +father Adam. 'It is not good for the man to be alone,' said the Lord in +His tenderness and His pity. + +But a choice lies before us, a choice of friends. Our relatives are +given us by God, no man can choose who shall be his father, or mother, +or brother, or sister. But our friends are of our own choosing, and we +do not sufficiently consider that upon that choice may hang our +eternity. Heaven with all its brightness, hell with all its darkness +and misery, which shall be for me? The answer may hang, it often does +hang, on the choice of a friend. + +For there are only two divisions in this world of ours, only two +companies, only two flocks. The kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of +light, the Lord's people and those who are none of His, the sheep and +the goats. From which division, from which company, from which flock +shall I choose my friends? + +'Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers, for what +fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion +hath light with darkness?' + +Especially careful should we be in that nearest and dearest of +friendships, in the choice of the one who is to be to us our other self. +Would we be made one, would we link ourselves by that firm and sacred +tie, whilst knowing all the time that the one who is to be dearer to us +than life itself is outside the fold? No blessing can surely rest on +such a marriage. Jesus cannot be an invited guest at that marriage +feast. For clear and unmistakable is the trumpet call of the great +Captain of our salvation: + +'Come out from among them, and be ye separate, said the Lord, and touch +not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto +you, and ye shall be My sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.' + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +God's Remembrance. + + +How fond people are of collecting old books, and what a large price old +books will fetch! Those who are so fortunate as to obtain possession of +a book which is four or five hundred years old may put their own price +upon it, for some antiquarian will be sure to purchase it. + +But how modern, how very far from being ancient, the oldest of our +English books, printed in the most primitive black letter, appears, when +it is laid side by side with that curious old book which travellers, +visiting the little village of Nablus, are shown this very day. Well may +the old white-headed man who has charge of that book bring it out with +pride, for it is one of the oldest books in the world. + +The book is in the form of a roll of parchment. It is made of goat +skins, twenty-five inches broad, and about fifteen feet long. The skins +are neatly joined together, but in many places they have been torn and +rather clumsily mended. The roll is kept in a grand silver-gilt case in +the form of a cylinder, embossed and engraved. On this case are carved +representations of the Tabernacle, of the ark, of the two altars, of +the trumpets, and of the various instruments used in sacrifice. A +crimson satin cover, on which inscriptions are worked in gold thread, is +thrown over this precious book. + +This old manuscript is written in Hebrew, and is said by the Jews to be +the work of a man whose name has already come before us in Nehemiah's +story. We saw that Eliashib, the high priest, had a grandson named +Manasseh, that Manasseh married the daughter of Sanballat, the Samaritan +governor, and that Nehemiah felt very strongly that the temple would +never be cleansed, nor God's blessing rest upon them as a nation, so +long as one of their own priests had a heathen wife, and was in constant +communication with Sanballat. Accordingly he chased Manasseh from him, +he made him at once leave the temple and his high position there; and +Manasseh, in disgust and indignation, went off to Samaria to his +father-in-law, Sanballat, taking his heathen wife and family with him. + +Now it is that very Manasseh who was, according to the Jews, the writer +of the Samaritan Pentateuch, that old copy of the Books of Moses. The +Samaritans themselves declare that it is far more ancient; that it was +written soon after the Israelites entered the land of Canaan, by the +great-grandson of Aaron; whilst some scholars think it is far more +modern than some other copies of the Pentateuch which have been +discovered; but the Jews pronounce it to have been the work of Manasseh, +the grandson of Eliashib, the high priest of Nehemiah's day. + +Manasseh arrived in Samaria, indignant with Nehemiah, and determined to +have his revenge. He and his father-in-law were resolved not to be +outdone by the Jews. They in Samaria would build a grand temple, just as +the Jews had done in Jerusalem. One hill was as good as another, so they +thought; their own Gerizim, with its lovely trees and its sunny slopes, +was as fair or fairer than Mount Moriah. + +So they set to work with all their energy, to build the rival temple on +the very hill where 1000 years before, in the time of Joshua, the +blessings of the law had been read, whilst the curses were pronounced +from the hill on the opposite side of the valley, Mount Ebal. + +Here then, on Gerizim, the mount of blessing, rose the new temple, which +was built with one object in view, that it might outvie in splendour the +one in Jerusalem. When it was finished, Manasseh was made the rival high +priest, and was able to do what he liked, and to exercise his authority +in any way he pleased in his father-in-law's province. + +Nor was Manasseh the only priest in the Gerizim temple; many other +runaway priests joined him, all who were angry with Nehemiah, all who +were offended or touchy, all who thought themselves injured in any way, +all who had been found fault with for Sabbath-breaking or for any other +sin, left Jerusalem for Samaria--chose the temple of Mount Gerizim +instead of the holy temple on Mount Moriah. + +Yet of the Samaritans it is said: + +'They feared the Lord, and served their own gods.' + +It was a half-and-half religion, Judaism and heathenism mixed up +together, the worship of God and the worship of idols side by side. + +Satan, now-a-days, has his modern temple of Gerizim. He does not try to +lead nominal Christians to throw up religion altogether, for he sees +that it would be of no use to do so. He knows we have a conscience, he +knows that conscience is often busy, he knows that we fully believe that +some day we must die, and that after death will come the judgment, and +he sees therefore that we shall not be satisfied without some kind of +religion. So Satan tries to tempt us to the Gerizim temple. Serve God by +all means, he cries, but serve the world too. Go to church, say your +prayers, have a fair polish of Sunday religion; it is decent, it is +respectable, it is what is expected of you. But yet, at the very same +time, serve the world, please yourself. Take part in any pleasure that +attracts you, live as you please, enjoy yourself to the full. Let the +lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life have +their share in your allegiance. Be half for God, and half for the world. +Live partly for the world to come, and partly for this present world. By +no means throw overboard religion altogether, but let it have its proper +place, let it stand side by side with self-pleasing and worldliness. + +But what says the Master? + +'No man can serve two masters. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.' + +Let us then choose this day whom we will serve. Shall it be Christ or +Satan, Jerusalem or Gerizim, God or the world? + +For centuries after the time of Nehemiah, these Samaritans continued a +source of annoyance to the Jews, tempting all who were disaffected and +lawless to come to Gerizim, and vexing and troubling the Jews in every +possible way. No one who was travelling up to the rival temple was ever +made welcome in Samaria, or treated as he passed through with the +slightest show of hospitality. As our Lord and His disciples journeyed +up to the feast, we read that they came to a village of the Samaritans, +and our Lord sent messengers before Him to engage a lodging, where they +might find refreshment and shelter on their way. But we read, + +'They did not receive Him, because His face was as though He would go to +Jerusalem.' + +Sometimes they carried this antagonism to such a degree that they would +even waylay and murder the temple pilgrims who were on their way through +their country, and the poor travellers were compelled to take a much +longer route to Jerusalem, crossing the Jordan, and journeying on the +eastern side until they came opposite Jericho, and then ascending by the +long, winding, difficult road from Jericho to Jerusalem. + +Once, in order to mortify the Jews, the Samaritans were guilty of a very +dreadful insult. The Passover was being kept in Jerusalem, and it was +customary in Passover week for the priest to open the temple gates just +after midnight. Through these opened gates, in the darkness of the +night, stole in some Samaritans, carrying under their robes dead men's +bones and bits of dead men's bodies, and these they strewed up and down +the cloisters of the temple, to make them defiled and unclean. + +But perhaps the most trying thing which the Samaritans did was to put a +stop to a very old and very favourite custom of the Jews. For a long +time those Jews who lived in Jerusalem had been accustomed to let their +brethren in Babylon know the very time that the Passover moon rose in +Jerusalem, so that they and their absent friends might keep the feast +together at the very same time. They did this in a very curious and +interesting way. As soon as the watchers on the Mount of Olives saw the +moon rising, they lighted a beacon fire, other fires were already +prepared on a succession of hilltops, reaching all the way from +Jerusalem to Babylon. As soon as the light was seen on Olivet the next +fire was lighted, and then the next, and the next, till in a very short +time those Jews who sat by the waters of Babylon saw the signal, and +joined in the Passover rejoicing with their friends hundreds of miles +away in Jerusalem. It showed them that they were not forgotten, and it +helped them to join in the prayer and the praise of those who were in +their father-land. + +But the Samaritans annoyed the Jews and spoilt this beautiful old +custom, by lighting false fires on other mountains, on wrong days, and +at wrong hours, and thus confusing those who were watching by the +beacon-fires. After a time, so many mistakes were made by means of these +false signals, that the Jews were compelled to give up the system of +beacon-fires altogether, and to depend on the slower course of sending +messengers. + +We have now come to the end of Nehemiah's story, and we have, at the +very same time, come to the end of the history of the Old Testament. For +if all the historical books were arranged chronologically, Nehemiah's +book would come the very last in the series. Nothing more is told us in +the Book of God of this world's history, until St. Matthew takes up the +pen and writes an account of the birth of the expected Messiah. Yet +between the Book of Nehemiah and the Gospel of St. Matthew there is an +interval of 400 years, years which were full of interest in Jewish +history, but of which we are told nothing in the Bible story. + +There was one prophet who lived in the time of Nehemiah, and whose book +is a commentary on the book of Nehemiah. The prophet Malachi was living +in Jerusalem at this very time, and if we look at his book we shall see +that mention is made of many things of which we are told in the Book of +Nehemiah. For instance, if we turn to Mai. iii. 8, 9, 10, we shall find +the very words which the prophet spoke to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, +at the time when the temple store-house was empty, and when the people +had ceased to bring their tithes and offerings, and to give God the due +proportion of their possessions. + +'Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed Me. But ye say, Wherein have we +robbed Thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse; for ye +have robbed Me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the +storehouse, that there may be meat in Mine house.' + +Thus, if we read the Book of Malachi carefully, we shall find much that +throws light on Nehemiah's history; and we can easily imagine how much +the prophet's sympathy and help must have cheered and strengthened the +great reformer in his trying and difficult work. + +What became of Nehemiah, the great cup-bearer, the faithful governor of +Jerusalem, we do not know. Whether he returned to Persia and took up his +old work in the palace, standing behind the king's chair in his office +of Rab-shakeh, or whether he remained in Jerusalem, guarding his +beloved city from enemies without and from false friends within, we are +not told. Whether he died in the prime of life, or whether he lived to a +good old age, neither the Bible nor profane history informs us. + +But although we know nothing of Nehemiah's death, we know much of his +life. We have watched him carefully and closely, and there is one thing +which we cannot fail to have noticed, and that is that Nehemiah was +emphatically a man of prayer. In every trouble, in each anxiety, in all +times of danger, he turned to God. Standing behind the king's chair, +Nehemiah prayed; in his private room in the Shushan palace, he pleaded +for Jerusalem; and all through his rough anxious life as a reformer and +a governor, we find him constantly lifting up his heart to God in short +earnest prayers. When Tobiah mocked his work, when the Samaritans +threatened to attack the city, when the people were inclined to be angry +with him for his reforms, when he discovered that there were traitors +and hired agents of Sanballat inside the very walls of Jerusalem, when +he brought upon himself enmity and hatred because of his faithful +dealing in the matter of the temple store-house, when he had to +encounter difficulty and opposition in his determination with regard to +the observance of the Sabbath, and when he still further incensed the +half-hearted Jews by his prompt punishment of those who had taken +heathen wives, and by his summary dismissal of Manasseh; in all these +times of danger, difficulty, and trial, we find Nehemiah turning to the +Lord in prayer. + +There was one prayer of which he seems to have been especially fond, +three times over does Nehemiah ask God to remember him. + +'Think upon me, my God, for good,' v. 19. + +'Remember me, O my God,' xiii. 14. + +'Remember me, O my God, for good,' xiii. 31. + +Can it be that this prayer was suggested to him by the words of his +friend, the prophet Malachi? Can it be, that as he and Nehemiah took +sweet counsel together, and spoke together of the Lord they loved, +Malachi may have spoken those beautiful words which we find in chap. in. +16, 17, of his prophecy, in order to cheer and encourage his +disheartened and unappreciated friend:-- + +'They that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord +hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before +Him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon His name. And +they shall be Mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up +My jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that +serveth him.' + +Can we wonder that Nehemiah longed to know that his name was in that +book of remembrance of which his friend Malachi spoke, and that he often +turned the desire into a prayer, pleading with God, 'Remember _me_, O my +God?' + +It is a very touching prayer. Nehemiah evidently felt that others did +not value his work, nay, that Borne even condemned him for it. The +people, instead of being grateful to him for his reforms, found fault +with him, misunderstood him, and reproached him. + +But God knew, the Master did not blame him. He saw that all Nehemiah +did had been done for His glory and for the good of his nation. And to +the Master whom he served Nehemiah appealed. Away from the fault-finding +people, he turned to the merciful God. + +Remember Thou me, O God, for good; others blame me, but it is Thy praise +alone that I crave, wipe not _Thou_ out my good deeds, spare _Thou_ me +in the greatness of Thy mercy. + +There is no pride or boasting in this prayer. Is it not the very prayer +of the penitent thief, 'Lord, remember me?' Look carefully at the +wording of it, and you will notice, as Bishop Wordsworth so beautifully +points out, that it is humble in its every detail. Nehemiah does not +say, publish to the world my good deeds, but wipe them not out. He does +not say, reward me, but remember me. He does not say, remember me for my +merit, but according to the greatest of Thy mercies. + +So Nehemiah passes away from our sight with that prayer on his lips, +'Remember me, O my God, for good.' + +And was the prayer heard? Was Nehemiah remembered? Did God, has God +forgotten His faithful servant? Surely not, for 'The righteous shall be +had in everlasting remembrance.' + +Remembered by God, and remembered for ever, entered in the great book of +God's remembrance, of which he had so often thought, and of which +Malachi had written. + +The day is coming when we shall see Nehemiah the cup-bearer. In God's +great day of reward, when one after another of His faithful servants +shall appear before Him, we shall hear the response to Nehemiah's +prayer. + +'Remember me, O my God,' said Nehemiah, long years ago, as he toiled on, +unthanked and unblessed by man. + +And we shall hear the Lord answer, 'Well done, good and faithful +servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.' + + +THE END. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The King's Cup-Bearer, by Amy Catherine Walton + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE KING'S CUP-BEARER *** + +***** This file should be named 12248.txt or 12248.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/2/2/4/12248/ + +Produced by Joel Erickson, Michael Ciesielski, Marit Henningsen and +the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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