[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 ofOriental costume, is walking towards the city gate. Above him stretchesthe deep blue sky of the East, about and around him stream the warm raysof the sun. It is the month of December, yet no cold biting wind meetshim, 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 thecapital of the kingdom of Persia. Its name is Shushan, the City ofLilies, and it is so called from the fields of sweet-scented irisflowers which surround it. It is built on a sunny plain, through whichflow two rivers, --the Choaspes and the Ulai; he sees them both sparklingin the sunshine, as they wind through the green plain, sometimes flowingquite close to each other, at one time so near that only two and a halfmiles lie between them, then wandering farther away only to returnagain, as if drawn together by some subtle attraction. 

Then, in the distance, beyond the plain and beyond the rivers, thegreat Rab-shakeh sees mountains, for a high mountain range, abouttwenty-five miles from the city, bounds the eastern horizon. He has goodreason to love those high mountains, which rise many thousands of feetabove the plain, for even in the hottest weather, when the heat inShushan would otherwise be unbearable, he can always enjoy the coolingbreezes which come from the everlasting snow-fields on the top of thatmountain range, and which blow refreshingly over the sultry plainbeneath. 

The City of Lilies is a very ancient place. It was probably builtlong before the time of Abraham. We read in Gen. Xiv. Of a certainChedorlaomer, King of Elam, who gathered together a number ofneighbouring kings, and by means of their assistance invaded Palestine, and took Lot prisoner. This Chedorlaomer probably lived by these veryrivers, the Choaspes and the Ulai, and Shushan was the capital city ofthe old kingdom of Elam over which he ruled. 

Later on the City of Lilies was taken by the Babylonians. They had theirown capital city, the mighty Babylon, on the Euphrates. But although itwas not the capital, still Shushan was a very important place in thatfirst great world-empire. We find Daniel, the prime minister, staying inthe palace of Shushan, to which he had been sent to transact businessfor the King of Babylon, and it was during his visit to the City ofLilies that God sent him one of his most famous visions. In his dream hethought he was standing by the river Ulai, the very river he could seefrom the palace window, and before that river stood the ram with the twohorns and the strong he-goat, by means of which God drew out before hiseyes a picture of the future history of the world. 

But the great Babylonian empire did not last long. Cyrus the Persiantook Babylon, Belshazzar was slain, the great Assyrian power passedaway, and the second great world-empire, the Persian empire, was builtupon its ruins. 

What city did the Persian kings make their capital? Not Babylon, withits mighty walls and massive gates, but Shushan, the City of Lilies. They chose it as their chief city for three reasons; it was nearer totheir old home, Persia, it was cooler than Babylon because of theneighbouring mountains, and lastly, and above all, it had the best waterin the world. The water of the river Choaspes was so much esteemed forits freshness, its clearness, and its salubrity, that the Persian kingswould drink no other; they had it carried with them wherever they went;even when they undertook long warlike expeditions, the water of theChoaspes was considered a necessary provision for the journey. 

The City of Lilies, in the days of the Rab-shakeh, was a perfectfairy-land of beauty, surrounded as it was by fruit-gardens andcorn-fields; the white houses standing out from amongst dark palm trees, and the high walls encircled by groves of citron and lemon trees. As theRab-shakeh walks along the air is scented with their blossoms, and withthe sweet fragrance of the countless Shushan lilies, growing beside themargin of the sparkling rivers. 

Above him, in the midst of the city, stands his lordly home. It may wellbe a magnificent place, for it is the palace of the greatest king in theworld, the mighty King of Persia. The palace in which the Rab-shakehlives is not the old palace in which Daniel stayed when he visitedShushan; it is quite a new building, built only forty years before bythe great Ahasuerus, the husband of Queen Esther. It was to celebratethe opening of this gigantic palace that the enormous and magnificentfeast 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 theview from its windows of the green plain, of the shining rivers, of thegardens filled with fruit trees and flowers, and of the snow-cladmountains in the distance, was magnificent in the extreme. In the centreof the palace was a large hall filled with pillars, one of the finestbuildings in the world, and round this hall were built the grandreception rooms of the king. 

The ruins of Shushan, the City of Lilies, were discovered by Sir FenwickWilliams in the year 1851, and the bases of the very pillars whichsupported the roof of the great Rab-shakeh's splendid home may be seenthis very day on the plain between the two rivers. 

But who was this Rab-shakeh, and how came he to live in the mostglorious palace in the world? He was a Jew, a foreigner, a descendant ofthose Jews whom Nebuchadnezzar took captive, and carried into Assyria. Yet, although one of an alien race, we find him in one of the highestoffices of the Persian court, namely, the office of Rab-shakeh. 

This word Rab, so often found in the Bible, is a Chaldean word whichmeans Master. Thus, in the New Testament, we find the Jewish teachersoften addressed by the title Rabbi, Master. But the title Rab was alsoused in speaking of the highest officials in an Eastern court. Threesuch 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 andresponsible one. It was the duty of the man who held it to take chargeof the king's wine, to ensure that no poison was put into it, and topresent it in a jewelled cup to the king at the royal banquets. It was aposition of great trust and power; great trust, because the king's liferested in the cup-bearer's keeping; great power, because whilst thePersian monarchs, believing that familiarity breeds contempt, keptthemselves secluded from the public gaze, and admitted very few to theiraugust presence, the cup-bearer had access at all times to the king, andhad 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 soimportant a post. But King Artaxerxes knew his man. He felt he couldtrust him fully, and he was not disappointed in his confidence, for thegreat Rab-shakeh served a higher Master than the King of Persia, he wasa faithful servant of the God of Heaven. 

The Rab-shakeh's name was Nehemiah, a name chosen by his parents, not asa fancy name or as a family name, but chosen for the same reason whichusually influenced Jewish parents in the selection of names for theirchildren, because of its beautiful meaning. Nehemiah meant _The Lord myComforter_. 

What a sweet thought for Hachaliah and his wife as they called theirboy in from play, or as they put him in his little bed and took leaveof him for the night, '_The Lord is my Comforter_. ' Life in sunnyShushan was surely no brighter than life in our more clouded land; theyhad their times of sorrow as well as their times of joy, they had theirtemptations, their cares, their anxieties, and their trials, just as wehave. How blessed for them in one and all of these to be reminded wheretrue comfort was to be found, so that they might turn to God in everytime of grief with the name of their little son on their lips, 'The Lordis my Comforter. '

What do _we_ know of Nehemiah? Can we say from our heart, 'The Lordis _my_ Comforter?' I take Him my every sorrow, I tell Him my everytrouble. He understands it, and He understands me, and He comforts me asno other can. The Lord is indeed my Comforter. 

So the little Nehemiah had grown up an ever-present reminder in hisparents' home of the comfort of God. 

How many children Hachaliah had we are not told, but Nehemiah hadcertainly one brother, Hanani. There had been some years before this aparting in Hachaliah's family. Hanani, Nehemiah's brother, had leftShushan for a distant land. Twelve years had passed since all the Jewsin Shushan had been roused by the news that Ezra the scribe was goingfrom Babylon to Jerusalem, and that he was calling upon all who lovedthe home of their forefathers to go with him, and to help him in thework he had undertaken. Bad news had been brought to Babylon of thestate of matters in Palestine; those who had returned with Zerubbabelwere not prospering, either in their souls or their bodies, and Ezra, shocked by what he had heard, determined to go to Jerusalem that hemight reform the abuses which had arisen there, and do all in his powerto rouse the people to a sense of their duty. A brave company had setforth 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. Itis possible that Nehemiah himself was at that time too young to go; itis also probable that Hachaliah, the father, having been born andbrought up in Shushan, was hard to move. So Hanani set forth alone, andthe brothers were parted. 

Twelve long years, and in all probability no news had reached the familyin Shushan of the absent Hanani. A journey of five months lay betweenthem and Jerusalem; and in those days, when all the conveniences weenjoy were unknown, they would not only never expect to meet again, butthey would also never anticipate the pleasure of even hearing any newsof each other, or of holding the slightest communication. 

But as the Rab-shakeh walks to the gate of Shushan, on the day on whichthe story opens, he spies a caravan of travellers coming along thenorthern road. They have evidently come a long way, for they are tired, exhausted, and travel-stained. The mules walk slowly and heavily undertheir burdens, the skin of the travellers is burnt and cracked by thehot 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 astonishmentthat it has come from Jerusalem, the city of cities, as he had beentaught to believe it, and, to his still greater surprise, he findsamongst the travellers his long-lost brother Hanani. What had broughtHanani back from Jerusalem we are not told; he may have wished once moreto see his old father Hachaliah; but we can well imagine the joy withwhich he would be welcomed by all, and not the least by his brotherNehemiah. 

As they walk together through Shushan to the palace, the Rab-shakeh asksanxiously after Jerusalem. Has Ezra's work been successful? How arematters progressing? Are the people more in earnest? Is Jerusalemthriving?

But the travellers have a dismal tale to tell. Affairs in the Holy Cityare about as bad as it was possible for them to be. 

Neh. I. 3: 'They said unto me, The remnant that are left of thecaptivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach:the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof areburned with fire. '

In other words, things are just where they were twelve years ago; thepeople are miserable and depressed, beset with countless troubles; thecity itself is still an utter ruin, just as Nebuchadnezzar left it. Thetemple, it is true, is built at last, but nothing more is done; thewalls 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 theplace where they used to stand. 

The Rab-shakeh's heart is very heavy as he goes to his rooms in theroyal palace. What terrible news he has heard! Jerusalem is still, after all Ezra's efforts to restore it, a desolate ruined city. Nehemiahis full of sorrow, sick at heart, overwhelmed with disappointment andtrouble. 

But he remembers his own name and its warning, Nehemiah, _The Lord ismy Comforter_. At once, without a moment's delay, he goes to hisComforter. He weeps, he mourns, he fasts, and he pours out all his sorrowto God. As a child runs to his mother, and pours into her ear his griefor his disappointment, so Nehemiah hastens to his God. 

We walk through a splendid conservatory, the pride and glory of anobleman's garden; we admire the flowers of all shades of colour; rareblossoms from all parts of the world, ferns of every variety, palms, andgrasses, and mosses, and all manner of natural beauties meet our eye atevery turn. What is that plant standing in a conspicuous place in theconservatory? It is a beautiful azalea, covered with hundreds of purewhite blossoms. But there is so much else to see in that conservatorythat we scarcely notice it as we pass by. Nor are we at all surprised tosee it there; it is just the very place in which we should look for sucha plant. Nor are we astonished to find it so flourishing and so full ofbloom, for we know that everything in that conservatory is calculated toimprove its growth, the atmosphere is just what it should be, not toodry or too damp, it has exactly the right soil, the proper amount oflight, the most carefully regulated heat; it has in fact everythingwhich 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 ofLondon we see a similar sight. In one of the closest, most filthy courtswe see, in a garret window, a white azalea full of flowers, pure as theuntrodden snow. 

Now indeed we are surprised to see it, for it is in the most unlikelyplace; there is nothing to favour its growth, the air is foul, the lightis dim, everything is against it, yet there it stands, a marvel ofbeauty! And we look at it and say, 'Wonderful!'

Surely we have even now seen the white azalea in the garret. For whereshould we expect to find a man of God? Dwelling in the holy temple inJerusalem, surrounded by everything to remind him of God breathing inthe very atmosphere of religion, with godly people all around him, witheverything to help him to be holy and pure, no one would be astonishedto find a man of God in such a place as that. 

But here is Nehemiah the Rab-shakeh, living in a heathen palace, in themidst of a wicked court, surrounded by drunkenness, sensuality, and allthat is vile and impure, breathing in the very atmosphere of sin, yet wefind him a plant of the Lord, pure as the azalea, a man of faith, a manof prayer, a holy man of God. With everything against him, with nothingto favour his growth in holiness, he is a flourishing plant in thegarden of the Lord. So it ever is. The plants of God's grace oftenthrive in very unlikely places. There was a holy Joseph in the court ofPharaoh, a faithful Obadiah in the house of wicked Jezebel, a righteousDaniel in Babylon, and saints even in Caesar's household. 

Are we ever tempted to say, I cannot serve the Master faithfully? If Iwere in another position, if my home life were favourable to my becomingdecided for Christ, if I had different companions, different occupation, different surroundings, then indeed I would grow in grace, and bringforth the fruit of a holy life. But as I am, and where I am, it is asimple impossibility; I can never, under existing circumstances, livenear 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 issufficient for thee. ' 'As thy day so shall thy strength be. '

Even in most unlikely and unfruitful soil God can make His plants togrow and flourish. Where I am, and as I am, and with exactly the samesurroundings as I now possess, God can bless me, and give me grace toserve and to glorify Him. If I do not become a flourishing plant, it isnot my position that is to blame, it is because I will not seek thatgrace which the Lord is ready to give me. 'Ye have not, because ye asknot. 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 andbarred, but strange lurid fires were lighted in every street, a stiflingodour of burning pitch and sulphur filled the air, and from time to timecame the heavy rumble of wheels, as a terrible cart, with its awfulload, 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 closedhouses of the street. 'Bring out your dead, bring out your dead!'Then, one door after another was hurriedly opened, and from theplague-stricken houses one body after another was brought out, and wasthrown hastily into that awful dead cart. 

_Bring out your dead_! what a solemn, terribly solemn cry! How itmust have filled with awe and dread all who heard it! And if that callwere repeated, if the holy angels of God were to go through the lengthand breadth of our land, and, stopping before each house, were to cry tothose within, 'Bring out your dead, bring out your dead, ' not your deadbodies, but your dead souls; bring out all in your house who are notalive unto God, who are dead in trespasses and sins, how many wouldhave to be carried out of our houses? Should we ourselves be leftbehind? Are we alive or dead?

The angels have not yet come to sever the dead from the living, but thetime for that great separation is drawing daily nearer, when the Son ofman shall send forth His angels, and they shall gather out of Hiskingdom all things that offend; all the loathsomeness of death, anddecay, 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 inthe time of the plague, but into a furnace of fire, there shall bewailing and gnashing of teeth. 

Surely, then, it is worth while to find out whether our soul is alive ordead. What test then shall we use? How shall we settle the matterclearly and definitely?

There is one thing, and one thing only, which proves that a man haslife. A man apparently drowned is brought out of the water. He does notspeak, or see, or move, or feel. He is rubbed and warmed, but no sign oflife 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 hismouth, watch it carefully, does it move? A crowd of anxious bystandersgather 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 theunmistakable sign of life. 

How then shall I know if my soul lives? Does it breathe? That is theall-important question. But what is the breath of the soul? The breathof 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 theLord met him and gave him life. What then is the first thing we findSaul doing? 'Behold he prayeth. ' As soon as he is alive, he breathes, heprays. 

Here then is the test for us to apply to our own souls. Do I knowanything of real prayer? Do I love to hold communion with my God? Am Iever 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 aweariness, and know not what it is for my heart to hold unseenintercourse with my Lord, then indeed I am dead in sin, having nobreath, 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 hisprivate apartments in the palace, and began to plead with God. He feelsthat all the trouble that has come upon his nation has been richlydeserved, so he begins with a humble confession of sin. 

'Let Thine ear now be attentive, and Thine eyes open, that Thou mayesthear the prayer of Thy servant, which I pray before Thee now, day andnight, for the children of Israel Thy servants, and confess the sins ofthe 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 yearsago to leave home and comforts behind them, and to return with Ezra toJerusalem?

Then Nehemiah pleads God's promises to His people in time past, and endsby 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 beforehe does anything further. 

The next step was not an easy one. He had determined to speak to thegreat Persian monarch--to bring before him the desolate condition ofJerusalem, and to ask for leave of absence from the court at Shushan, inorder that he might go to Jerusalem, and do all in his power to restoreit to something of its former grandeur. 

It is not surprising that Nehemiah dreaded this next step. The Persiankings had a great objection to being asked a favour. Xerxes, the husbandof Queen Esther, when on his way to Greece with his enormous army, passed through Lydia in Asia Minor. Here he was feasted and entertainedby a rich man named Pythius, who also gave him a large sum of money forthe expense of the war, and furnished five sons for the army. After thisPythius thought he might venture to ask a favour of the Persian monarch, so he requested that his eldest son might be allowed to leave hisregiment, in order that he might stay at home to be the comfort andsupport of his aged father. But, instead of granting this very naturalrequest, Xerxes was so much enraged at having been asked a favour, thathe commanded the eldest son to be killed and cut in two, and then causedhis entire army to file between the pieces of the body. 

Artaxerxes, the king whom Nehemiah served, was considered one of thegentlest of Persian monarchs, and yet even he was guilty of acts ofsavage cruelty, of which we cannot read without a shudder. For example, when he came to the throne, he found in the palace a certain eunuchnamed Mithridates, who had been concerned in his father's murder. Hecondemned this man to be put to death in the most horrible and cruelway. He was laid on his back in a kind of horse-trough, and stronglyfastened to the four corners of it. Then another trough was put overhim, leaving only his head and hands and feet uncovered, for whichpurpose holes were made in the upper trough. Then his face was smearedwith honey, and he was placed in the scorching rays of the sun. Hundredsof flies settled on his face, and he lay there in agony for many longdays. Food was given him from time to time, but he was never moved oruncovered, and it was more than a fortnight before death released himfrom his sufferings. 

It was the very king who had put one of his subjects to this death ofawful torment before whom Nehemiah had to appear, and of whom he had tomake a request. No wonder, then, that he dreaded the interview, and thathe 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 wasnot 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 andhis cause in the Lord's hands, Neh. I. 11. 

Then, attired in his official dress, the Rab-shakeh sets forth for thestate apartments of the palace. The central building of that magnificentpile in which the king held court was very fine and imposing, as may beseen to-day from the extensive ruins of Shushan. In the centre of it wasthe Great Hall of Pillars, 200 feet square. In this hall were no lessthan 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 coolnesseven in the hottest weather. There was no room on the hot south side ofthe palace, but on the west was the morning room, in which all themorning entertainments were held, whilst the evening banqueting hall wason the eastern side. By this arrangement the direct rays of the sun werenever felt by those within the palace. Then, on the cool northern sidewas the grand throne room, in which the king sat in state, and throughwhich a whole army of soldiers, or an immense body of courtiers, couldfile without the slightest confusion, entering and leaving the room bystone staircases placed opposite each other. The steps were only fourinches in depth and sixteen feet wide, and were so built that horsemencould easily mount or descend them. 

Into one of the grand halls of the palace Nehemiah the cup-bearerenters. The pavement is of coloured marble, red, white, and blue;curtains of blue and white, the Persian royal colours, drape the windowsand are hanging in graceful festoons from the pillars; the fresh morningbreeze is blowing from the snow-clad mountains, and is laden with thescent of lemons and oranges, and of the Shushan lilies and Persian rosesin the palace gardens. 

There is the royal table, covered with golden dishes and cups, andspread with every dainty that the world could produce. 

There is the king, a tall, graceful man, but with one strangedeformity--with hands so long that when he stood upright they touchedhis knees, from which he had received the nickname of Longimanus, thelong-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-garmentis purple and white, his trousers are bright crimson, his shoes areyellow, and have long pointed toes. On his head is a curious high capwith a band of blue spotted with white. He is moreover covered withornaments: he has gold earrings, a gold chain, gold bracelets, and along golden sceptre with a golden ball as its crown. 

The king is sitting on a throne, in shape like a high-backed chair witha footstool before it. The chair stands on lion's feet, and the stool onbull's feet, and both are made of gold. 

By the king's side sits the queen; her name was Damaspia, but we knowlittle more of her in history, except that she died on the same day asher husband. Behind the king and queen are the fan-bearers, andfly-flappers, and parasol-bearers, who are in constant attendance ontheir royal majesties, and around are the great officers of thehousehold. 

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 queenor the royal children were allowed to sit at the king's table, which isprobably the reason why Nehemiah mentions the fact that the queen wassitting by him. Perhaps he hailed the circumstance as a proof that theking was in good humour that day, and would therefore be more likely tolisten to his petition. But no one who was not closely related to theking was allowed to sit at the royal table, even the most privilegedcourtiers sat on the floor and ate at his feet. 

The feast has begun, and it is time for the Rab-shakeh to present thewine to the king. He takes the jewelled cup from the table in the king'spresence, he carefully washes it, then he fills it with a specially rarewine, 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 theLebanon not far from Damascus, named Helbon. Then Nehemiah pours alittle wine into his left hand and drinks it, and then, lightly holdingthe cup between the tips of his fingers and thumbs, he gracefullypresents it to the great monarch. 

Artaxerxes glances at his cup-bearer as he rises from his knees, and atonce notices something remarkable in his face. Nehemiah is pale andanxious and troubled; his whole face tells of the struggle going onwithin, and the king cannot fail to perceive it. Turning to theRab-shakeh he asks: 'Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art notsick? 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 itwas actually a crime, proscribed by law, for any one to look sad ordepressed in the presence of a Persian king. However heavy might be hisheart, however sorrowful his spirit, he must cross the threshold of thepalace with a smiling face, and show no signs in the king's presence ofthe trouble within. But Nehemiah's face has betrayed him. What will theking do? Will he dismiss him from office? Will he degrade him from hishigh position? Will he punish him for his breach of court etiquette? Orcan it be that this is a heaven-sent opportunity in which he may makehis request? He answers at once:

'Let the king live for ever: why should not my countenance be sad, whenthe city, the place of my fathers' sepulchres, lieth waste, and thegates thereof are consumed with fire?'

And the king, quite understanding from Nehemiah's speech that he wantssomething from him, asks immediately:

'For what dost thou make request?'

Oh, what a critical moment! How much depends on Nehemiah's answer tothis unexpected question! What shall he say? What dare he propose? Thewhole 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'sanswer is given. Only a moment, and yet great things have been done inthat short time. 'I prayed, ' says the Rab-shakeh, 'to the God ofHeaven. '

Did he then rush away to his own apartment to pray? Did he kneel down inthe midst of the banqueting hall and call upon his God? No, he spoke noword aloud, he did not even close his eyes. The king saw nothing, knewnothing of what was going on; yet a mighty transaction took place inthat short time between the silent man, who still stood holding the cupin his hands, and the King of Heaven. 

We are not told what the prayer was, perhaps it was only, 'Lord, helpme. ' But quick as lightning the answer came. His fear fled, wisdom wasgiven him to answer, and his heart's desire was granted. 

How often we hear the complaint, 'I cannot pray long prayers, like thegood people I read of in books. I lead a busy active life, and when workis done my body is weary and exhausted, and I find it impossible to prayfor any length of time, and sometimes I fear that because I cannot offerlong prayers I cannot therefore be the Lord's. ' But surely it is notlong prayers that the Lord requires. Most of the Bible prayers are shortprayers, the Lord's pattern-prayer is one of the shortest. It is theheathen who think they will be heard for their much speaking. Nehemiah'swas a true prayer, and an answered prayer, yet it was but a moment inlength. 

Nor are uttered words necessary to prayer. The followers of Baal criedaloud, thinking their much shouting would reach the ear of their god, but Nehemiah speaks not, does not even whisper, and his prayer is heardin heaven. Surely now-a-days, when there are some who seem to think thatmuch noise, that loud shouting, that the uplifted voice must needspierce the sky, it is well for us to be reminded that God heeds nolanguage, hears no voice, but the language of the soul, the voice of theinnermost 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, butthe posture of the heart. Reverence there must be, but such reverence ascomes from the inner sanctuary of the soul, and which only finds outwardexpression in the body. Nehemiah stood with the jewelled cup in hishands, yet Nehemiah's prayer was heard. 

So we see that heartfelt prayer--prayer which is prayer indeed--may beshort, silent, and offered in a strange place and at a strange time, andyet be heard and answered by God. 

Let us try to grasp the full comfort of this thought, for we live in aworld of surprises. We rise in the morning, not knowing what the day maybring forth. We are walking on a road with many turnings, and we neverknow what may meet us at the next step!

All of a sudden we find ourselves face to face with an unexpectedperplexity. What shall we do? What course shall we take? Here is thelittle prayer made ready for our use--

 Lord, guide me. 

Then, at the next turn, comes a sudden temptation. Unjust, cruel wordsare spoken, and we feel we must give an angry reply. Let us stop onemoment 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 oncewe 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 movefrom our place. In the office, the workshop, the schoolroom, the placeof business, the railway carriage, the street, wherever we may be and inwhatever company, the short silent prayer may be sent up to the God ofheaven. 

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 shallgive us even a faint idea of its size?

It has been calculated that about 100, 000, 000 stars can be seen from ourworld 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 supposethat 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 shallpass through the centre of each of them. How long will our string haveto be if it is to hold the 100, 000, 000 oranges? It will have to be noless than 6, 000 miles long, and our 100, 000, 000 oranges will stretch ina straight line from England to China. 

One hundred million stars, and of all these God is King. But these arebut as a speck compared with His vast universe. Each telescope that isinvented, which enables us to see a little further into space, discoversmore and more worlds unseen before. Who can even guess how many stilllie beyond, unseen, unnoticed, unheard of? The regions of space areendless, 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 willhave 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 thePsalmist--

'When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and thestars which Thou hast ordained, what is man, that Thou art mindful ofhim? and the son of man, that Thou visitest him?'

Yet that quaint old saying of John Flavel the Puritan is right, 'The manwho watches for Providence will never want a Providence to watch. ' Inother words, he who trusts his concerns to a higher power, he who putshis cause in the Lord's hands, will never be disappointed. The God whorules 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 inthat universe. 

St. Augustine used to say, 'Lord, when I look upon mine own life, itseems Thou hast led me so carefully and tenderly, Thou canst haveattended to none else; but when I see how wonderfully Thou hast led theworld and art leading it, I am amazed that Thou hast had time to attendto such as I. '

How much more must we wonder at God's loving care, when we look beyondthis tiny world to the countless millions of worlds in the universe!

Nehemiah was watching for Providence. He had taken his case to God, hehad 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 thegreat Persian king does not refuse his request, but (prompted, it maybe, by the queen who was sitting by him) he asks: 'For how long shallthy journey be? and when wilt thou return?'

'And I set him a time. ' How long a time we are not told. Nehemiah didnot return to Persia for twelve years; but it is probable that he askedfor a shorter leave of absence, and that this was extended later on, inorder to enable him to finish his work. 

Cheered and encouraged by the king's manner, feeling sure that God iswith him and is prospering him, Nehemiah asks another favour of theking. The Persian empire at that time was of such vast extent, that itreached from the river Indus to the Mediterranean, and the Euphrates waslooked upon as naturally dividing it into two parts, east and west. Nehemiah asks, ch. Ii. 7, for letters to the governors of the westerndivision of the empire, that they may be instructed to help him andforward 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. ). Thereal word which Nehemiah used was paradise--the king's paradise. Thederivation of the word is from the Persian words Pairi, round about, andDeza, a wall. Up and down their empire, in various places, the Persiankings had these paradises--parks or pleasure grounds--surrounded andshut off from the neighbouring country by a high fence or wall. Theseparadises were places of beauty and loveliness, where the king and hisfriends 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 forHis people? Did He not say to the thief on the cross, 'To-day thou shaltbe with Me in Paradise?' It was a new name taken by our Lord from theseparadises of the Persian kings, and given by Him to that new place whichHe went to prepare for His people, even the Garden of the Lord, thepleasure ground of the King of kings, the place to which His people gowhen they die. There they enjoy His company, and see His face, and walkwith Him and talk to Him, waiting for that glorious day when they shallpass from the garden of the King into the palace itself. 

We are not told where this particular paradise was, of which Asaph wasthe keeper, but probably it was the place which the kings of Judah hadalways made their pleasure ground. This was at Etam, about seven milesfrom Jerusalem, where Solomon had fine gardens, and had made large lakesof water, fed by a hidden and sealed spring. 

Solomon himself twice used the word paradise of his gardens, and theseare 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 askedthe king to give him an order for it, that he might deliver to thekeeper. 

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 templeplatform, and commanded and protected the temple courts. (2) He requiredwood for the gates of the wall, and (3) for 'the house that I shall enterinto, ' i. E. For my own dwelling-house. 

All is granted--the royal secretaries are called, and are bidden towrite the required instructions to the governors beyond the river, andto Asaph, the bailiff of the forest. Nehemiah takes no credit to himselfthat 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 answerto a direct prayer, he recognises the fact that it is God's doing, andnot 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 hismercies, he had seen the good hand of his God, and he had taken thosewords, '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 nevereven 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'scompanions, had repeated it to him? Can it be that in order to cheer andencourage his brother when he undertook the difficult task of speakingto the king, he told him how Ezra was always repeating these words, andhow he found them a sure refuge in time of need? If so, how gladly wouldNehemiah hasten to his brother when his duties in the palace werecompleted, to tell him that Ezra's motto has held good again, for 'theking granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me. '

'The good hand of my God. ' What blessed words! Let trouble come, ortemptation come, or death itself come, I will not fear. The good hand ofmy God is over me. None can pluck me from that hand. 'All my times arein 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 goodhand of my God! But the same hand is against them that do evil. I musteither be in the hand, or have the hand raised against me! Which shallit be?

All is ready now, the preparations are ended, and Nehemiah, accompaniedby his brother Hanani, and by a royal escort of soldiers, sets forth onhis long journey. Jerusalem, the City of David--how often he had dreamtof it, how earnestly he had longed to see it! Now, at last, his desireis to be granted. The travellers could not sing, as they rode slowlyover the scorching desert, 'Our feet shall stand within thy gates, OJerusalem, ' for the gates of the city were burned with fire, and only ablackened space showed where each had stood, but they may have joinedtogether in that other psalm, which was probably written about thistime, 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 tosee her in the dust. '

There is no misadventure on the journey, they travel safely under thecare of the king's guard; but surely Nehemiah saw a dark cloud on thehorizon as he handed in his letters to the governors beyond the river. One of these was Sanballat, the satrap or governor of Samaria. His namewas an Assyro-Babylonian one, so that he was probably descended fromone of the Babylonian families settled in Samaria, and it signifies 'TheMoon God gives life. ' His native place was Horonaim in Moab, andSanballat was by nation a descendant of Lot. 

With the Samaritan governor was his secretary Tobiah, the servant or thefeud slave, a man also descended from Lot, for he was an Ammonite, andstanding evidently very high in Sanballat's favour. 

It was probably Tobiah who read Artaxerxes' letter to his master, andvery black and gloomy were both their faces as they heard the news itcontained. 

At the court of Sanballat was a friend of his, Geshem the Arabian, thehead or chief of a tribe of Arabs, which we find, from the ancientAssyrian monuments recently discovered, had been planted in Samaria bySargon, King of Assyria. This man Geshem was therefore a Bedouin, adescendant of Esau. 

These three, Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem, cannot conceal their disgustthat anyone has been sent from Persia to look after the welfare ofJerusalem. So far they have trampled the Jews under foot as much aspossible, and the Jews have been powerless to resist them. But now hereis a man come direct from the court at Shushan, with letters from theirroyal master in his hand, and with orders to rebuild and fortifyJerusalem. 

From that moment Sanballat and his friends became Nehemiah's bitterenemies, determined to thwart and to oppose him to the utmost of theirpower. 

At length the wearisome journey is over, and Nehemiah arrives inJerusalem. He tells no one why he has come; but, worn out with thefatigue he has undergone, he goes quietly to the house of a friend, probably to that of his brother Hanani, and for three days he reststhere. Then, on the third night after his arrival, when all Jerusalem isasleep, he rises, mounts a mule or donkey, and, with a few faithfulfollowers, steals out to explore for himself the extent of the ruin, tosee how things really were, what was the state of the walls, and howmuch had to be done to put them into good repair. 

Stealing out of the city on the south side, at the spot on which inbetter days the Valley Gate had stood, a gate which was so calledbecause 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 hecould see the heaps of rubbish, and the work of the fire which haddestroyed the gates 150 years ago. How sad and forsaken it all looked inthe moonlight, as he turned '_towards_ the Dragon's well' (seeRevised Version). The site of this Dragon's Well is very uncertain, butit is generally identified with Upper Gihon. It is sometimes confoundedwith the Virgin's Fount, called by the Arabs the Mother of Steps, becausethere are twenty-seven steps leading down to it, and the descent is verysteep. This is the only spring near Jerusalem, and its water is carriedby an underground passage to the Pool of Siloam. It is an intermittentspring, suddenly rising and as suddenly falling, at irregular intervals. Two explorers, Dr. Robinson and Mr. Smith, were just about to measurethe water, when they found it suddenly rising; in less than five minutesit had risen a foot, in ten minutes more it had ceased to flow, and hadsunk to its former level. 

The common people believed in olden time, and believe still, that adragon lies within the fountain, concealed from view; that when he isawake he stops the water from flowing, but that he finds it impossibleto keep awake always, and when he falls asleep the water flows. 

How eagerly those with Nehemiah would point out each object to him! Wecan picture Hanani walking by his side, showing him all the differentobjects, to himself so familiar, to Nehemiah so well known by name, butso strange by sight. 

Coming down the Valley of Hinnom they reach the Dung Gate, the gateoutside which lay piles of rubbish and offal, swept out of the city, andall collected together by this gate and left to rot in the valley. 

Here he examines in the moonlight the masses of fallen stonework, thesmall portions of wall still standing, and the gap where the gate usedto stand before it was burnt. 

Then on he went until he came to the Gate of the Fountain, opposite theKing's Pool, or Pool of Siloam, which watered the king's garden. But atthis south-east corner the rubbish was so great that the mule he wasriding on could not proceed. Pile upon pile of stone, heap upon heap ofbroken fragments of what had once been so magnificent, lay so thicklymassed together that it was of no use attempting to ride further. SoNehemiah dismounted, and probably leaving his mule with some of hiscompanions by the Gate of the Fountain, he went on foot a littlefurther. Going up the Kedron valley he examined the eastern wall, whichwas in much better condition than the rest; and then, turning to thewest, he came back to the rest of the party and returned with them tothe Valley Gate. 

Now Nehemiah has seen the work before him, and has realised that it isboth vast and difficult. He is ready now to put his scheme before thepeople of Jerusalem. He finds the city governed by no single man, but bya kind of town council. He now summons a meeting of these rulers, and healso invites the nobles and the working men to be present. Then he makeshis appeal:

'Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and thegates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wallof Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach. '

Then, to cheer them on to make the effort, he tells them how God hashelped him up to that point; he tells them what the good hand has donefor 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 risesand joins in the cry, 'Let us rise up and build. ' Happy Nehemiah to findsuch ready help, to find those he speaks to willing at once to fall inwith his scheme, and to aid him in his work. 

It is to be feared that had he lived in our more cautious andcalculating days, Nehemiah would have had many a bucket of cold waterthrown 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 isimpossible to undertake such a task. Look at the south-east corner, whowill ever be able to clear away the heaps that have accumulated there?'

Another would have been sure to grumble at the expense, would have askedhow they, poor down-trodden Jews as they were, could ever afford to givetime or money to such a vast undertaking?

A third would have risen with a long face, and would have asked, 'Whatwill Sanballat say if we rebuild the wall? What will Tobiah do? Whatwill Geshem whisper? Now indeed we have no open rupture with thegovernors, but who can tell what the result of our taking action in thismatter will be? Surely it is better to let well alone. '

A fourth would have given as his opinion, that what had served for 150years would surely last their time. True, Jerusalem was forlorn anddefenceless, but they had grown accustomed to it now. It struckNehemiah, 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 wasno need surely to make a disturbance about it or to run into any riskabout it. 

A fifth would have suggested, with some warmth, that surely oldinhabitants of the city were better judges of its requirements than astranger, and that it was for the town council to propose such a schemeif they saw the necessity for it, and not for a new-comer who had beenless than a week in Jerusalem. 

These, and countless other objections, might have been raised, had themeeting been called in our lukewarm days. 

But the Jerusalem committee did not act thus, they did not fillNehemiah's way with difficulties and his soul with discouragement. Aplain 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 onthe efforts of others for good. As 'iron sharpeneth iron, so a mansharpeneth the countenance of his friend. ' Let us ever be ready with theword of encouragement, with the helpful hand, with the cheering spiritof hope. There is work for us amongst the ruins of God's fair world, andthe labourers are few. 

Let us then rise and build, each of us in earnest, each of usencouraging his brother, each of us looking beyond the discouragementsof 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 calledCommemoration Day. On that day, in the middle of the service, in eachcollege chapel a list of honours is read out, a list containing thenames of all those who, in times gone by, gave money or help to thatcollege. The bodies of those whose names are read have many of themcrumbled to dust long centuries ago, but their names are rememberedstill, remembered for what they have done; and that they may never beforgotten, they are publicly read aloud, year by year, on the greatCommemoration 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 morethan 2000 years, but whose names are not forgotten; they stand out fairand clear in the Book of God, all are entered on the great list ofhonours, and are remembered for what they have done. 

Where shall we find God's great honour list? It is the list of all thosewho responded to Nehemiah's appeal, and who rebuilt the walls ofJerusalem. In Neh. Iii. We have a list of their names, not one isomitted. There those names have stood for 2000 years; there they willstand to the end of time. Brave men, noble men were those Jews, who, assoon as the scheme was laid before them, cried, 'Let us arise andbuild;' and who not only responded by word of mouth, but who at once setto work to do what they had promised. 

Let us take a walk round the walls of Jerusalem and watch the buildersat work. We will begin where they began, ver. 1, at the Sheep Gate onthe east side of the city. As we stand by the gate we see beneath us theKedron valley, and beyond it the slopes of the Mount of Olives. Close byus, but inside the city, is the sheep-market, where the sheep and lambsare sold to those who wish to sacrifice in the temple, and near thismarket is the pool where the sheep are washed before being led up intothe temple courts. This is the pool mentioned in John v. 2, where inlater times lay the impotent man waiting to be healed. 

Who are these who are busily engaged repairing the Sheep Gate and thewall beyond it; they are the priests, who have left their work in thetemple courts close by, and who, with their loins girded and their longwhite tunics turned up, are leading, as it was right they should, thevan of Nehemiah's effort. 

Heading these priests, and superintending their work, is Eliashib thehigh priest. The meaning of his name is _God restores_, a grand namefor the man who began the restoration of the Holy City. This Eliashib wasthe grandson of the high priest Jeshua, who had returned withZerubbabel. He is honourably mentioned by Nehemiah as leading the way inthis work; but, sad to say, though he earnestly built the wall roundthe city, Eliashib was afterward the one who let sin come within thosevery 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 theycome from. We find they are men of Jericho, the city of palm trees, fourteen miles away in the Jordan valley. They are the descendants ofthe 345 men of Jericho who returned with the first detachment of Jews inthe time of Cyrus. This piece of the wall has been allotted to thembecause it faces their own city Jericho; they are building at the veryspot 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 solitaryman is working. His name is Zaccur. He can only have a small piece ofthe wall allotted to him, for we are close now upon the Fish Gate, whereother builders are at work, the sons of Hassenaah. Possibly this Zaccurwas a man of no importance, for we never hear of him again; probably hisshare of the work was only a small one, yet it was well and faithfullydone, and his name stands fast in God's honour list, and will standthere while the world shall last. 

We have come now to the Fish Gate, on the north side of the city. Closeby us is the fish-market, for through that gate comes all the fish soldin Jerusalem. Men of Tyre are there with baskets of fish from theMediterranean, and Galilean fishermen with fish from the great inlandsea, on which in later times the apostles toiled for their daily bread. 

Three men, who were probably well-known citizens, are repairing thethree next pieces of the wall, their names are Meremoth, Meshullam, andZadok. We will notice one of these three men, Meshullam, for we shallhear more of him presently. If Meshullam's name is honourably mentionedhere as one of the builders of Jerusalem, we shall find it verydifferently mentioned as we go on with Nehemiah's story. 

Passing these three men, we come to a part of the wall which is beingbuilt by the inhabitants of Tekoa, a small village not far fromJerusalem, whence came the wise woman whom Joab sent to King David. Whatis the matter at this part of the wall? The work does not get on as itshould. They seem to have no leaders, these people of Tekoa, and to havea long stretch of wall, and but few hands to build it. We ask how thisis, 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 pulledtheir necks from under the yoke, and have stubbornly refused to goforward. So have these nobles of Tekoa stood aloof, too proud to workside by side with the common people of the village, or too idle to joinin anything which requires continuous effort; they have left theirpoorer neighbours to bear the burden alone, and to do it or not as theyplease. 

We are now passing the Old Gate, on the north of the city, the DamascusGate of modern days, from which goes the great northern road to Samariaand Galilee. 

The men of Gibeon and Mizpah, whose villages lay near together, we findnext on the wall, working side by side as neighbours should, andbuilding the part of the wall which faced their own homes, two villagesstanding on the hills about five miles from the northern gate. 

Coming round the city we find ourselves passing the Gate of Ephraim andthe Broad Wall. Here we see no workmen, for that part of the wall doesnot need repairing. Uzziah, King of Judah, had built a strong piece ofwall here, about 200 yards long, and the Chaldeans had not been able todestroy it with the rest of the city. This wall was twice the thicknessof the rest, and was always called the Broad Wall. 

Near this wall we find men of two different trades working, goldsmithsand apothecaries. Trades in the East are almost always hereditary, passing down from father to son for many generations. Thus thesegoldsmiths and apothecaries were joined together in family guilds orunions, and came forward together to the work. The apothecaries were thespice makers, important persons in the East, where spices are so largelyused in cooking, and where so many sweet-smelling and aromatic spicesare employed in embalming the dead. 

Then, passing on, we see the tower which protected the furnaces or brickkilns, in which the bricks were made which had been used in rebuildingthe houses of the city. So unsettled was the country, that it issupposed it was found necessary to erect a tower for the defence ofthese 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 wellworthy of our notice. This part of the wall deserves our earnestattention, for here are actually young ladies engaged in the work, standing, trowel in hand, toiling away side by side with the otherworkmen. Who are these girls? They are the daughters of Shallum, theruler of the half part of Jerusalem (ver. 12) (or rather of the countryround Jerusalem). Shallum was evidently a wealthy and influential man, but he did not withdraw from the work, like the nobles of Tekoa, and soanxious are his daughters that the Lord's work should be done, that herewe find them toiling away by their father's side. God noticed the effortmade by these young ladies of Jerusalem, and did not forget to noticethem in His great honour list. 

Passing on, we come to the part of the wall which Nehemiah had examinedin his moonlight ride. We see the Valley Gate, the Dung Gate, and theGate of the Fountain, opposite the Pool of Siloam. This part of the cityhas suffered much from Nebuchadnezzar's work of destruction, and thework of rebuilding it is therefore very heavy. But close to thesouth-east corner, at the place where Nehemiah's mule stumbled and wasunable to proceed, the builders have a stiff piece of work indeed. Thepiles of rubbish are so many and so deep, there is so much to be clearedaway before they can commence building, that we find accordingly thepiece given to each man to repair is not great, and that many hands aremaking the labour light. 

We notice, too, that most of those who are working in this part of thecity are repairing that bit of the wall which is immediately oppositetheir own houses. No less than six times we are told that the builder'sown house was close to the part of the wall he built. 

One man we cannot help watching as we turn round towards the easternwall. His name is Baruch, and there is something about him whichattracts our attention at once. He works as if he were working for hislife, he does not lose a moment; whoever is absent, Baruch is always athis post; whoever is idle, Baruch is ever hard at work, early in themorning and late at night, when the hot sun is scorching the city andwhen the night dews are falling, Baruch is always busy, toiling away onthe wall with all his might and main. Ver. 20 tells us he 'earnestlyrepaired. ' 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 bettertranslated '_another_ piece. ' Having finished his own portion, inanother part of the wall, Baruch has come to the rescue at thesouth-east corner, where the rubbish is deepest and the work is hardest. Baruch therefore receives the mark of distinction on God's list ofhonour. Round the corner, on the eastern wall, one builder we cannotpass without notice, for he is an old white-headed man. His name isShemaiah 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 withEzra, twelve years before; now here is the old man himself, determinednot 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 themerchants; and now, as we pass them, we find ourselves again at theSheep Gate, at the very spot from which we started in our walk round thecity. 

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. Frommorning till night, day after day, the trowels are kept busy, and thework goes on, and already, as we watch, we begin to see the gaps filledup and the ruin of many years repaired. 

It was the work of the Lord, a grand work, a glorious work, which thosebuilders of Nehemiah were doing, and God noticed and marked, and put onHis 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 isstill 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 entersthe name of each in a register, His great list of honour, kept not inearth, but in heaven. 

Is my name then on God's honour list? Am I working for Him? Am I to befound at my post, faithfully carrying out the work He has given me todo?

Looking at the walls of Jerusalem, surely the Lord would have us learnthree 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 withoutexception. Do we not see people of all classes at work--rich men andpoor men, people of all occupations, priests, goldsmiths andapothecaries, and merchants? men of all ages, the young and strong, andthe old and white-headed? those from all parts of the country--men ofJericho, and Gibeon, and Mizpah, side by side with inhabitants ofJerusalem? people of both sexes, men and women? The goldsmith did notsay, 'I don't understand building, therefore I cannot help. ' Theapothecary did not object that it was not his trade, so he must leave itto the bricklayers and masons. Old Shemaiah did not say, 'Surely an oldwhite-headed man like myself cannot be expected to do anything. ' The menof Jericho did not complain that they were fourteen miles from theirhome, and that therefore it would be inconvenient for them to help. Thedaughters of Shallum did not say, 'We are women, and therefore there isnothing for us to do. '

But all came forward, heartily, willingly, cheerfully, to do the work oftheir Lord. 

There is only one exception, only one blot on the page, only one darkspot on the register. The nobles of Tekoa, for 2000 years their nameshave stood, enrolled as the shirkers in God's grand work. 

Who then are to work for God? Every one of us, whoever we are, whateveris our occupation, whatever our place of residence, whatever our age, whatever our sex, the motto in God's great workshop remains thesame--'_To every one his work_, ' his own particular work, to be doneby him, and by no one else. 

_Where then shall we work_? Imitate Nehemiah's builders; those livingin the city built each the piece of wall before his own door, those livingoutside built the part of the wall facing their own village, whilst thepriests built the piece nearest to the temple. Let us then, as God'sworkers, begin at home, working from a centre outwards; our own heartfirst, 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 itreacheth to the furthest corner of God's great workshop, to theuttermost parts of the earth. 

_How then shall we work_? Like Baruch, the son of Zabbai, hot withzeal, on fire with earnestness and energy. Baruch did not saunter roundthe walls to watch how the other builders were getting on; he stuck to hispost. Baruch did not work well one day and lie in bed the next, hepersevered steadily and patiently. Baruch did not work as if he weretrying to make the job last as long as possible, idly pretending towork, but dreaming all the time, but he worked on bravely, earnestly, unceasingly, till the work was done. So let us work while it is calledto-day, for the night cometh when no man can work. 

It was no easy work those Jerusalem builders had. Outdoor work in theEast is always hard and heavy; it is no light matter to stand for hoursin the scorching sun without a particle of shade, toiling on at heavyand unaccustomed work. But the builders bravely endured, and werestedfast in the work, and they have their reward. Their names stand onGod's honour list, not even the most insignificant amongst them isomitted. 

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 oftemptation often tempt you to throw up the work? Think of Nehemiah'sbuilders. Hold on, cheer up, work well and bravely, remembering that thereward is sure. We read of certain people who lived at Philippi whosenames were written in heaven. Who were these? (Phil. Iv. 3. ) St. Paultells us; they were his fellow-labourers, the workers of God in thatcity. 

No human hand, no hand of angel or archangel, enters the names on thatregister, for it is the Lamb's book of life. None but the Lamb can openit, none but He can write in it, none but He will read its contents inthe ears of the assembled universe. 

What an honour, what a wonderful joy, what a glorious reward it will beto 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 workingdays 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 aripple is to be seen; it is smooth as polished silver, shining like amirror, and peaceful as the still lake amongst the mountains. On the seais a boat, floating along as quietly and as gently as on a river. Theman in the boat is having an easy time, as he rows out to sea, almostwithout an effort. 

But what is that in the far distance? It is a black cloud, rising fromthe sea. In a little time the wind begins to moan and sigh, white linesare seen on the distant water, a storm is coming, and coming bothswiftly and surely. The man in the boat at once rouses himself andprepares for action; it was an easy thing to go forward when all wasstill, 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 smoothlyand easily, the king had granted his request fully and freely, Asaph hadgiven him the wood from the royal paradise, the committee, composed ofthe leading men in Jerusalem, had at once fallen in with his scheme, thepeople, great and small, men and women, old and young, had responded tohis appeal, the walls were being rebuilt, the trowels were busy, therubbish was being cleared away, and all was bright, cheerful, andencouraging. As Nehemiah walks round the city directing the builders, dressed, as a Persian governor, in a flowing robe, a soft cap, and witha 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 amind to work, and Nehemiah for some time went peacefully on his way, asthe man in his boat rowed easily along in the still, untroubled water. 

But what is that dark cloud rising north of Jerusalem? What is thatmoaning, muttering sound in the far distance? Can it be a storm coming, a terrible storm of opposition and difficulty? Surely it is, for we seeNehemiah rousing himself, and preparing to row his frail boat throughtroubled waters. 

Signs of the approaching storm had indeed been seen by him, before thefirst stone had been placed on the city wall. No sooner had he revealedhis plans to the people of Jerusalem, no sooner had they responded, 'Wewill arise and build, ' than something had occurred which might well makeNehemiah feel uncomfortable. A messenger had appeared at the northerngate, bearing in his hand a letter, written on parchment, and addressedto the Tirshatha, or governor. Nehemiah opened the roll, and found itcontained an insulting message from Sanballat, the governor of Samaria, a message which was evidently expressed in very scornful and unpleasantwords. 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 thestandard of rebellion against Persia? Our master, the king, may bedeceived by you, but I, Sanballat, see through your hypocrisy and yourwicked designs. 

Nehemiah's answer was clear and to the point. Three things he would haveSanballat 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 ordo. 

'We His servants will arise and build. '

(3) It is no business or concern of yours. You, Sanballat, have nothingwhatever 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, andto leave Jerusalem and the Jews to me and to their God. 

No answer came back to Nehemiah's letter, and perhaps he and hiscompanions fondly dreamed that this was an end to the matter, that thestorm had blown over, and that Sanballat, when he saw that they weredetermined, 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, andthe goldsmiths and the apothecaries, the daughters of Shallum, earnestBaruch, and white-headed Shemaiah, are all at their post, when suddenly, as they look up, they see an unexpected sight. A great crowd ofSamaritans is gathered together outside the northern wall, and isstanding still, staring at them, and watching their every movement asthey build the wall. 

Sanballat the governor is there, Tobiah the secretary stands by hisside, his chief counsellors have come with him, as have also theofficers of his army. Dark and thick the storm is gathering, and surelythe 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 hearddown the line of workers, and by Nehemiah as he stands among them. Heknows that voice well; it is the voice of Sanballat the governor. Inscoffing disagreeable words he is speaking to his companions, but he istalking about the builders, and is talking for their benefit too, thatthey may feel the full sting of his sarcastic words. 

'What do these feeble Jews?' A poor weak, miserable down-trodden set ofmen; what can _they_ do?

'Will they fortify themselves?' Do they fondly dream they will everfinish their work, and fortify their city?

And how long will it take to build walls like these? Do they think itwill be done directly? 'Will they sacrifice? Will they make an end in aday?' Do they expect to offer the sacrifice at the commencement of theirwork, and then the very same day to finish it?

Why, they have not even the necessary materials. Where will they gettheir stone from? Are they going to do what is impossible, to makegood, solid building-stone out of the heaps of rubbish, the crumblingburnt masses which are all that remain of the old walls?

'Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which areburned?'

Then when Sanballat had done speaking, there follows the loud coarsesneer of Secretary Tobiah. Why if a fox (or jackal) tries to get overtheir miserable wall, even his light foot will break it down. 

'Even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break downtheir stone wall. '

We can picture to ourselves the burst of laughter with which this speechwould be hailed by the bystanders, the officers and courtiers ofSanballat. 

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 ofquick feelings and of a sensitive nature. He was not one of those menwho are so thick-skinned that hard speeches are not felt by them. He wasmoreover a man of great power and spirit. He must have felt muchinclined to give Tobiah the bitter retort he so richly deserved, or tocall 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 orto his friends. He remembers that this is God's work, not his; and hetherefore complains to God, not man:

'Hear, O our God; for we are despised: and turn their reproach upontheir 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 hiswork again, and the people follow his example; they take no notice ofthe jeering company below, but they build on in silence, all the quickerand the more carefully for the scoffs of their enemies. 

Sanballat and Tobiah soon tire of laughter and mockery, when they see itis of no avail; they move off discomfited, and the work goes on asbefore. 

Satan, the great enemy of souls, is the same to-day as he was inNehemiah's time. He never lets a good work alone; he never permitsChrist's servants to row in smooth water, but immediately he sees workdone for the Master, at once he stirs up the storm of opposition. 

The young man who is careless about eternity, who is living simply toplease self, has an easy time; he will not come across even a ripple ofopposition, his sea will be smooth as glass. But let that young man bearoused, be awakened, be converted to God, let the good work of gracebe begun in his soul, and at once Satan will stir up the storm ofdifficulty and opposition. Very often it begins, just as Nehemiah'sstorm 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 wehave a spirit within us, it is not true that laughter cannot hurt. Surely it stings, and cuts, and wounds the sensitive soul, just as heavyblows sting, and cut, and wound the body. Satan knows this, and he makesfull use of the knowledge. 

The man who sets out for heaven will scarcely fail, before he has gonemany steps, to come across a Sanballat. He will have his taunt and jestall ready. 'What is this I hear of you? Have you turned a saint? Isuppose you are too good for your old companions now; you are going toset the whole world to rights. ' Or, if the words are unspoken, Sanballathas the shrug of the shoulders, and the scornful gesture, which are justas hard to bear. Nor must the man who has his face heavenwards besurprised 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; thevery first thing that comes to vex him, the very first temptation, however small, will be sufficient to overturn the wall of goodresolutions, and his religious professions will lie low in the dust, andwill be shown to be nothing but rubbish. '

It is well to be prepared for Sanballat and Tobiah, for any day we maycome across them. How shall we answer them? Let us follow in Nehemiah'sfootsteps, let us turn from man to God. He hears the taunt, even as itis 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, andthe work goes on prospering; the gaps are being filled up, and alreadythe wall is half its intended height (iv. 6), for the people had a mindto 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 perhapsthe 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 laughterand mockery, are going to take stronger measures, and have agreed toresort to force. Dark secret plots are being formed to gather an armytogether, and to come suddenly upon the defenceless builders and killthem at their work. 

All the surrounding nations are invited to join Sanballat in hisenterprise. Not only the Samaritans in the north, but the men of Ashdodfrom the west, the Arabians from the south, and the Ammonites from theeast, are gathering together against Jerusalem. Psalm lxxxiii. Issupposed by many to have been written at this time, and describes thegreat 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 thelittle boat needs a careful hand at the helm. He has a double receiptagainst this new opposition--a receipt which may be summed up in the twowords 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 againstthem day and night. '

But the billows rose higher. Three mighty waves came sweeping on, andthreatened to swamp Nehemiah's frail vessel. 

(1) The builders grew discouraged and tired. The cry was raised insidethe city, 'We had better give up attempting to work, the rubbish is toodeep, it will never be cleared away, the men who are carrying it awayare worn out, we cannot build the wall, it is of no use to try anylonger. '

Ver. 10: 'And Judah said, The strength of the bearers of burdens isdecayed, and there is much rubbish; so that we are not able to build thewall. '

(2) News was brought in from all sides, that any day, any night, at anymoment, a sudden attack might be expected, for their enemies wereboasting loudly to all they met that they were confident of taking thebuilders 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 workto cease. '

And not only was there discouragement inside the city and threateneddanger without, but the number of hands was lessened upon the city wall, for (3) men arrived from different parts of the country, saying that itwas absolutely necessary that their brethren who had come up to work onthe wall should at once return home. They were needed to guard theirfamilies and their homes from the approaching foe. Ten times overNehemiah received deputations of this kind (ver. 12); and the spirits ofthe builders sank lower and lower. 

But Nehemiah, like a true leader, rises to the occasion, and does notallow himself to be cast down. He did not make light of the difficultieshe saw around him, but he manfully faced them, and in the hour of trialhis people did not desert him. 

One day, ver. 14, looking towards the north, Nehemiah suddenly saw theenemy coming. But all was ready; the weapons were laid where they couldbe taken up in a moment. No sooner is the alarm given than the workceases, and the whole company of builders is changed into an army ofsoldiers, and swords, and spears, and bows are to be seen on the wallsinstead of trowels and hammers. Nehemiah had carefully arranged theposition which each man was to occupy; he drew up his soldiers aftertheir families, probably giving to each family the part of the wallnearest to their own house, that they might feel that they were fightingfor their homes, their wives, and their children. Then when all were putin readiness Nehemiah called upon them to be brave in the defence oftheir city, and not to fear the foe. 

'Be not ye afraid of them: remember the Lord, which is great andterrible, 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, asthey had boasted they would, they find they are expected, and will meetwith a warm reception if they advance farther. They are afraid to makethe attempt; God guards the faithful city, and Sanballat and his alliedforces withdraw discomfited. No sooner has the enemy beaten a retreatthan 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. Eachbuilder worked with a sword hanging by his side; each porter held a hodin 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 offaithful servants or slaves; on these he could thoroughly rely. Hedivided them into two parties, half worked at the building, filling upthe gaps left by those who had returned home; the rest stood behindthem, guarding the weapons, the shields, and the spears, and the bows, and the swords which were laid ready for immediate use. By Nehemiah'sside stood a trumpeter, ready to blow an alarm at the first sight orsound of the enemy. 

For, says Nehemiah, 'I said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and tothe rest of the people, The work is great and large, and we areseparated upon the wall, one far from another. In what place thereforeye hear the sound of the trumpet, resort ye thither unto us: our Godshall fight for us. '

So the work and the watching went on all day long, and when the sun setover the Mediterranean, and the stars came out in the quiet sky, anddarkness 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 thewalls were requested by Nehemiah to stay in the city all night, in orderto increase the strength of their force. As for the governor himself andthe little body of faithful servants, they gave themselves hardly anyrest, either by night or by day. They were almost always on duty, notone of them even undressed all that long time of watching; if they laiddown to sleep, they laid in their clothes, ready at any moment for theattack of the enemy (chap. Iv. 28). 

Thus, day by day, the work grew and the walls rose higher, strong linesof defence once more encircled the city, and the prayer of the captivesin Babylon, offered so earnestly and amongst many tears, was alreadyreceiving an abundant answer. 

'Do good in Thy good pleasure to Zion, build Thou the walls ofJerusalem. '

The scene changes. Nehemiah and his workmen fade away; the walls ofJerusalem become dim and obscure, and, in their place, we see comingout, as in a dissolving view, other figures and another landscape. Wesee the Master, Christ Jesus, standing in the midst of His countlesslabourers and workmen, the great company of His faithful servants. Wenotice that each one is working busily at the special work the Masterhas given him to do, we see that this work is very varied, no twolabourers have exactly the same task. But in one respect we notice thatall the Master's servants are alike, they all carry a sword, for it isnot possible for any one to be a worker for Christ without also being atthe 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 willcome against us, to hinder and to oppose us. 

Let us, then, be prepared for their attack. Let us set a watch againstthem. Satan and his forces always watch for our weakest point. Let usfind out what that point is. What is the weak part of our defences? Isit selfishness? Is it pride? Is it prayerlessness? Is it temper? Is itan 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. Davidhad his weak spot, and he knew it: unguarded, hasty words were evercoming out of his mouth, but he found out the weak point in hisdefences, and there he set a strong and powerful guard. He called uponGod 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 uslay down the sword of the Spirit, or the shield of faith. Never for amoment let us put off our armour, for we never know when the next attackmay come. The unguarded moment is the moment for which Satan alwayswatches, and which he knows only too well how to use. 

Above all, let us pray, for the watching and the fighting will be of noavail unless we ask and obtain strength from on high. 'Our God shallfight for us, ' cried Nehemiah to his discouraged men. But they hadprayed day and night for the help which bore them safely through. 'Yehave 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 whichresounds through the streets of the city, and which is echoed by thesurrounding hills. What can be the matter? What can be the cause of thismournful wail?

There was a great cry in Egypt on that awful night, when there was not ahouse 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'sblessing, the great cry of disappointment. 

There arose a great cry in the council chamber of Jerusalem, when theApostle 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 terroror 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 deeperones of men, and we notice also, that, although the cry is one of sorrowand distress, there is a deep undertone of anger and complaining. 

Who are crying, and what is the cause of their distress? Who arecrying? An excited mob of men and women, standing in the streets ofJerusalem. Look at them well, surely we know some of their faces. Is itpossible, can it be, that we recognize some of those whom we saw workingso happily and cheerfully on the walls? What a change, what a terriblechange in their faces!

What is the cause of their distress? What can have happened to move themso deeply? Have the Samaritans returned to attack the city? Are thewalls on which they have spent so much labour overturned and laid low inthe dust? No, all without is peaceful, there is no sound of war in thestreets, and the hills around stand out brightly in the sunshine, andare 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 tostill the shrill cries, that his voice may be heard, and as he watchesthe people rocking to and fro, as Easterns do when moved by sorrow, hemay well feel downcast and disappointed, for a city divided againstitself cannot stand, and as Nehemiah listens to the cry, he clearly seesthat, at that moment, Jerusalem, the city he loves best on earth, isindeed 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; itwas a cry of the poor against the rich, a cry like that which was raisedall over France at the time of the French Revolution, a cry for bread. 

Nehemiah listens carefully to the cry and complaints of the people, andas he does so he feels sure they are not raised without cause. There isundoubtedly great and distressing poverty in the city, and he finds thatthis may be traced to three principal causes. 

(1) The King of Persia had only allowed the returned captives a verysmall tract of country to live in. The rest of the land was filled up bythe Samaritans, the Arabians, the Edomites and other nations who hadsettled in Palestine whilst the rightful owners were in Babylon. Consequently, as their families increased, the Jews found this narrowstrip of country was not sufficient to maintain them, and, as is alwaysthe case, over-population and over-crowding was followed by greatpoverty. 

(2) Then there had evidently been a severe famine, which had madematters worse, for there had been numbers of mouths to feed and barelyanything to feed them on. No country is more subject to famine thanPalestine, for the harvest there is entirely dependent on the rainfall. There are but few springs, there is no river but the Jordan, and thatruns in a deep ravine; the whole fertility of the country hangs on theamount 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 earthare there such fervent prayers for rain, prayers which are offered byTurk, Jew, and Christian alike, as there are in Palestine to this veryday, if the rainy season is passing away and a sufficient quantity ofrain 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, thepoor man had to be ready for a visitor, and this visitor never receiveda very hearty welcome. Once a year there arrived at his door an officialsent by the King of Persia. He was the tax-collector, sent to collectthe tribute which had to be paid yearly to their master, the greatsovereign at Shushan. Whatever else went unpaid, that tribute must bepaid; 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 wereso poor. 

But the great cry in the streets of Jerusalem was not merely a cry ofsuffering and distress; it was an angry complaining cry; it was the cryof those who felt that others were to blame for their sorrows. 

As Nehemiah walks amongst the weeping crowds, and as he talks to thepeople one by one, he finds that there are no less than three sets ofcomplainants. 

(1) There are the utterly poor people, those who have no private meanswhatever, but who are entirely dependent on the work of their hands andon the wages they get for that work. These come to Nehemiah and pour outtheir 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 thePsalm, 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 fourarrows), and when bread is scarce and work bad, it needs faith to trustthe children which the Lord has given to His care, and to feel sure thatHe who sent them will send the bread to feed them. 

'Now, ' say these overburdened parents to Nehemiah, 'we cannot let ourchildren 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 upcorn for our families lest they should die, and the consequence is wehave run very heavily into debt' (ver. 2). That was the first class ofcomplainants. 

(2) But amongst the weepers Nehemiah found a second class, those who hadonce been somewhat better off, and had, in happier days, owned a littleproperty, and had some means of their own, but who, at the time of thelate famine, had got into difficulties. 'I, ' said one, 'had a littlefarm in a village near Jerusalem. ' 'I, ' said another, 'was the owner ofa nice little vineyard or oliveyard on the hill side, ' 'I, ' said athird, 'built a house in the city on my return from captivity, and hopedto leave it to my children. ' 'But so terrible was our distress in thefamine, ' say these men, 'that we were obliged to borrow money of ourneighbours the rich Jews in Jerusalem. They were willing to lend themoney, but they required security for it, and we were compelled topledge or mortgage our little property to these men, and now times arestill bad, and we see no hope whatever that we shall be able to buy ourlittle possessions back again' (ver. 3). 

(3) But the shrillest cries of all came from the third class ofcomplainants. These were men who, up to a certain point, resembled thesecond class. They had once possessed a little property, but in the timeof famine they had parted with their lands, their houses, and theirvineyards like the rest. But the story of the third class did not endhere, these had since then got into still worse difficulties. Thetax-collector had come round to collect the tribute for Artaxerxes, andhe had demanded immediate payment. They had, however, nothing to givehim. What could they do? They were obliged once more to borrow money oftheir 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, whatsecurity did these nobles require for their money? The poor people hadalready lost their houses and their vineyards, there was nothing left tothem but their children, and actually the son or the daughter waspledged or mortgaged to the rich money-lender. If the heavy interest isnot paid, at any moment the child may be seized, and carried off to thenoble's house to be brought up as a slave. 'Nay, ' cry some of themothers in the crowd, 'our case is worst of all; some of our daughtershave 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 totheir tale, I was very angry. ' But surely it was wrong of Nehemiah to beangry. Is not anger a bad thing? Is it not one of the works of thedevil, which we are bidden to lay aside?

Yet what says St. Paul? 'Be ye angry, and sin not. ' So it is possible tobe angry, and yet to be sinless. And we read, Mark iii. 5, that, in thesynagogue at Capernaum, the Lord Jesus looked round on the hard-heartedPharisees with anger; and in Him was no sin. 

Nehemiah was very angry, yet Nehemiah sinned not in being so, for itwas anger at sin, anger at the wrongdoing which was bringing disgrace onhis nation, anger at the conduct which was offending God and doing harmto God's cause. It was righteous anger against the cruelty andselfishness of those who, in those hard times, had profited from thepoverty and distress of their poor fellow countrymen. 

For some time Nehemiah did nothing, but he carefully turned the matterover in his mind. He says, 'I consulted with myself, ' or as it is in themargin, 'My heart consulted in me. ' We can picture him pacing up anddown, saying again and again, What shall I do? What is the wisest courseto take? How can this great evil be stopped? Doubtless, too, he tookthis trouble, as he had taken all his other anxieties and cares, andlaid 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 exactusury, every one of his brother. '

And thereby they had broken the law, for no Jew was allowed to takeinterest, or increase, of another Jew, much less to exact usury: seeExod. Xxii. 25; Ezek. Xviii. 8, 17. 

The Hebrew was to look upon every other Hebrew as his brother, and totreat 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 whowas in trouble. With regard to the mortgaging of land, it does not seemthat these rich men had actually broken the law, such pledges wereallowed, provided that the property mortgaged was returned in the yearof jubilee. But, whilst they had not broken the letter of the law, theseJews had certainly acted in a hard, self-seeking way, showing nosympathy 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 fromthe people over whom he ruled, as other governors did, and as hispredecessors 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 taxationof the people in their hands. A certain fixed sum was to be sent to himevery year from the province; and whatever the governor could grind orsqueeze out of the people, over and above this stated amount, went intohis own pocket and formed his salary. Jerusalem now-a-days rings withmany a cry of distress caused by the unjust means used by the pacha toincrease his stipend by putting fresh burdens on the people. The formerJewish governors had made as much as forty shekels a day, or £1, 800 ayear out of the people in their province. But when Nehemiah came toJerusalem, he found the people so poverty-stricken and oppressed that hewould not take a single penny for himself. It is probable that hissalary as cup-bearer had been continued, and on this he lived and kepthis household going all the time of his government. Not only so; notonly did Nehemiah pay all his private expenses, but he kept open housefor the people of Jerusalem; every day 150 of the rulers and chief mendined with him, besides all the visitors to Jerusalem, Jews from othercountries, strangers from foreign nations who were staying but a shorttime in the city, all of whom were invited to the governor's house, andsat 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 forall this Nehemiah took not a penny from his province, so touched was heto the heart by the poverty of the people. Not only so, but all the timethe walls were being built he toiled away, and allowed all his householdservants to work both night and day, and yet looked for no payment orcompensation, ver. 16. Then besides all this, Nehemiah had been mostgenerous in the time of the famine; he had supplied the poor people withmoney and with corn, and yet he had firmly refused to allow them topledge or mortgage their lands, much less their children, ver. 10. 

And Nehemiah tells us the secret of his consistent conduct; he tells uswhy he differed so much from the governors who went before him. A strongpower 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 havebeen in vain. They seem to have given no answer, to have taken nonotice of his appeal, and to have given him no reason to think thatthey intended to change their conduct. 

So he set a great assembly against them. He called a monster meeting ofall the inhabitants of Jerusalem, rich and poor, for he felt that iftheir conduct was publicly exposed and condemned, they might possibly beashamed to continue it. 

Nehemiah's speech at the meeting was very much to the point. He firsttried to shame the nobles by reminding them that whilst he, ever sincehis return, had been spending his money in buying back those Jews whohad been sold into slavery to the heathen round, they on the other handhad actually been doing the very opposite, bringing their fellowcitizens 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 ourGod?' Ought ye not to be careful in your conduct, kind, and just, andgenerous 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 willjudge your God by what you are. You make a profession of religion, youclaim to have high motives; but if they see you grasping, greedy, hard, like themselves, what will they think of your religion? Surely they willsay, 'These Jews are no better than ourselves, their religion cannot beworth much. '

Now, says Nehemiah, remembering all this, bearing in mind the disgraceyou are bringing upon the name of Jew, I call upon you at once to giveup this practice of mortgaging and pledge-taking. Not only so, but Ibid you restore at once the vineyards and the oliveyards, the fields andthe houses, you have taken from these poor people. I bid you also returnthe interest they have paid you (the eighth part of the money), and Icall upon you, in every way you can, to undo the evil you have donealready, and for the future to do unto others as you would they shoulddo 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 ofthe tunic, which was used as a pocket. Eastern-like, Nehemiah used asign to show what will happen to any man who shall break the promise hehad just made. God will cast him forth as a homeless wanderer, emptiedof all his possessions, all his ill-gotten wealth. He shall be void orempty, 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 ofjoy, 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 theworld read. In other words, those who will not read the Biblethemselves, judge the religion of Christ simply by the Christians theyhappen to come across. This is not a fair way of judging; it surelycannot be right to condemn Christianity itself, because some of thosewho profess it are not what they ought to be. 

Let us picture to ourselves an island in the Pacific Ocean, where noEuropean has ever been seen. A large ship is wrecked not far from thisisland, and three men are able to make their escape in a boat, and toland upon its shore. The men belong to three different nations--one is aFrenchman, another is a German, and the third is an Englishman. Thepeople 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 totake them away. 

What return do the three men make for their kindness? The Frenchman isgrateful, and willing to make himself useful in any way he can: heamuses the children and helps in the work of the house, and does all hecan to make return for the hospitality he is receiving. The German isvery clever with his fingers, and spends his time in teaching thenatives 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 whenhe will have to leave them. But the Englishman is a man of low tastesand bad morals. He spends his time in drinking the spirit he finds onthe island, in quarrelling with the inhabitants, and in ill-treatingtheir children; there is not a soul on the island who does not rejoicewhen the ship bears him away, never to return. 

Soon after this, news is brought that a small colony from Europe isanxious to settle on that island, and to trade with the inhabitants. The commercial advantages of this step are laid before the natives, andleave is asked for the party of traders to land. One question, and onequestion only, is asked by the inhabitants. Of what nation are thesecolonists? The answer is brought back, They are English. At once thewhole island is up in arms. They shall not land, they cry, we will nothear of it; we know what English people are, we have had plenty of theEnglish. Had they been French or Germans we would have given them ahearty welcome, but we never wish to see an Englishman again. 

But surely that was not fair, it was not right to judge a whole nationby one bad specimen. Nor is it right to judge the followers of Christin that way. I know a man, says one, who is hard and grasping andself-seeking, and that man makes a religious profession, therefore Iwill have nothing to do with religion. I know a Christian who isbad-tempered; I know a Christian who is not particular about truth; Iknow a Christian out of whose mouth come bitter, unkind words; I know aChristian who is unpleasant in his manner; I know a Christian with whomI should be sorry to do business; I know a Christian who is alwaysmournful and miserable. These are your Christians, are they? Then do notask 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 orthree bad ones, am I therefore to throw all the rest away? And becauseone Christian, or several Christians, disgrace their Master, and actinconsistently, am I therefore to condemn Christianity itself? Am Itherefore to cut off my own soul from all hope of safety?

But, remembering this, bearing in mind that many eyes are on us, thatour conduct is being read, our ways watched, our actions weighed, ourmotives sifted, Christian friends, let us walk carefully. Do not let usbring disgrace on our Master, do not let us hinder others and be astumbling-block[1] in their way; do not let us give the world a wrong ideaof Christ. 

We are not half awake, we are not half careful enough; let us walkcircumspectly, not as fools, but as wise. Let us, whenever we have beentempted to any inconsistency, be able to take up Nehemiah's brave noblewords, '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 couldnot do that piece of sharp practice, I could not stoop to that deceit, Icould not disgrace my Master, because in my heart was a principleholding me back from sin, the fear of the Lord. I feared to grieve theOne who loved me, and that fear kept me safe. 'So did not I, because ofthe 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 stillremained, we should see her to-day standing in exactly the same attitudein 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 inhis garden; and whilst doing so he suddenly came upon a buried city, acity which had been lost to the world for 1800 years. The undergroundcity was no empty place; it was peopled with the dead, and these werefound in the very attitude and position in which death had overtakenthem, standing, sitting, lying, just as they had been on that awful daywhen Mount Vesuvius sent out terrible showers of ashes, destroying themall. 

Very various were the positions of the dead in that buried city. Manywere in the streets, in the attitude of running, trying to make theirescape from the city gate; others were in deep vaults whither they hadgone for safety, crouching, in their fear of what might fall upon them;others were on staircases and flights of stone steps leading to theroof, in the attitude of climbing to a place where they hoped the lavamight not bury them. Two men were found by the garden gate of a largeand beautiful mansion. One was standing with the key in his hand, ahandsome ring on his finger, and a hundred gold and silver coinsscattered round him. The other, who was probably his slave, wasstretched on the ground, with his hands clutching some silver cups andvases. These men had evidently been suffocated whilst trying to carryoff the money and treasure. 

But one man in that buried city deserves to be remembered to the end oftime. 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 toremain. 

And how was he found? Standing at his post, with his hand still graspinghis sword, faithful unto death. There, by the city gate; whilst theearth shook and rocked, whilst the sky was black with ashes, whilstshowers of stones were falling around him, and whilst hundreds of men, women and children brushed past him as they fled in terror from thecity, 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, hewas 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 starton the Christian course, so difficult to persevere; so easy to enlist inthe 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 isfaithful unto death (and no one else) who shall receive the crown oflife. 

Who then amongst us are faithful, true and unmoved? Who amongst uscan stand firm in spite of Satan's efforts to lead us aside? Whocan hold on, not for a week only, but still faithful as the weekschange into months, and the months into years, faithful unto death?About 100 years before the time of Nehemiah, there lived a wise oldChinaman, 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, saidConfucius, 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 toboil. 

So, said Confucius, is it with numbers of my fellow-men: they are oneday hot and eager, boiling over with zeal in some particular cause; butthe next day they have cooled down, and they take no interest in itwhatever. 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, manycopper-kettle-boiling-water Christians, hot and earnest in the work ofGod one moment, but in the next they have cooled down, and are ready toleave the work to take care of itself. 

But Nehemiah was no copper-kettle-boiling-water man, he comes before usas a man faithful to his post, standing firm to his duty, a man whom noone could draw from his work, or cause to swerve from what he knew to beright. 

The Samaritans have made a mighty effort to stop Nehemiah's great work, the building of the walls of Jerusalem. They began with ridicule; butthe builders took no notice of the shouts of laughter, but built on asbefore. Then they tried to stop the work by force; but they found thewhole company of builders changed, as by a magic wand, into an army ofsoldiers, ready and waiting for their attack. Now the news reaches them, chap. Vi. 1. , that the walls are progressing, that the gaps are filledup, the different pieces are joined together, and that nothing nowremains but to put up the gates in the various gateways. 

They feel accordingly that no time is to be lost; they must, in some wayor 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 anddeceit. So they send an invitation to Jerusalem, begging him to meetthem in a certain place, that there they may settle their differences bya friendly conference. 

Sanballat is to be there as the head of the Samaritans, Geshem as thehead of the Arabians, and Nehemiah as the head of the Jews; and surely, meeting in a friendly way, and embued with a friendly spirit, nothingwill be easier than quietly and peacefully to confer together, and thento 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--calledelsewhere the Plain of Sharon. There in later days stood Lydda, theplace where St. Peter healed Aeneas; there stood Joppa, from which Jonahembarked; there, at the present day, may be seen fields of melons andcucumbers, groves of orange and lemon trees, and fields of waving corn. Nehemiah would have a journey of about thirty miles before he reachedthe appointed meeting-place. 

Sanballat's proposal sounded very fine and even very friendly, but itwas a trap. His real desire was to tempt Nehemiah from behind the wallsof Jerusalem, to entice him to a safe distance from his brave friendsand companions, and then to have him secretly assassinated. Who thenwould ever hear again of the power of Jerusalem? Who then would ever seethe gates put in their places?

Is Nehemiah moved from his post of duty by Sanballat's message? Does heleave his work at once, and set off for the Plain of Ono? Look at hisdecided answer. 

'I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should thework cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?'

God's work would be done better, and with more success, if all Hisworkmen were like Nehemiah. But, alas! many who call themselves workersfor God are ready to run off from the work at every call, everyinvitation, every appeal from the world, the flesh, or the devil. I amdoing 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, Ifeel idle, or the weather is too cold to go out, or the sun shines sobrightly I should like a walk instead, I must leave my work to othersto-day. 

I am doing a great work; but I love my own ease, or pleasure, orconvenience, better than I love the work, these must come first and thework must come second. 

So speak the actions of many so-called workers, and thus it is that somuch Christian work is a dead failure. 

But, says Nehemiah, 'I am doing a great work, so that I cannot comedown: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down toyou?'

Let us remember his words, let us inwardly digest them, and the verynext time that we are tempted to give up work for God and to run off tosomething else, let us take care to echo them. 

But Sanballat is determined not to be beaten, he will try again and yetagain. Four times over he sends Nehemiah a friendly invitation to afriendly 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 inhis hand. The insult is in the form of a piece of parchment; it is aletter from Sanballat, an 'open letter, ' ver. 5. 

Letters in the East are not put into envelopes, but are rolled up like amap, then the ends are flattened and pasted together. The Persians makeup their letters in a roll about six inches long, and then gum a pieceof paper round them, and put a seal on the outside. But in writing topersons of distinction, not only is the letter gummed together, but itis tied up in several places with coloured ribbon, and then enclosed ina bag or purse. To send a letter to such a man as Nehemiah, not onlyuntied and unenclosed, but actually not even having the ends pastedtogether, was a tremendous insult, and Nehemiah, who had beenaccustomed to the strict etiquette of the Persian court, knew this well. 

But Sanballat probably sent this open letter not only with the intentionof insulting Nehemiah, but also in order that every one whom themessenger came across might read it, and that the Jews in Jerusalem andits neighbourhood might be frightened by its contents, and mighttherefore 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 gossipabout Nehemiah. 

People's tongues were busy 2, 000 years ago, just as people's tongues arebusy 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 wasthis: 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 tellany one, and I will tell you a secret. You would never believe it, youwould never guess it; but what do you think? As soon as those walls arebuilt and those gates are finished, you will hear news. There is goingto be a king in Jerusalem, and his name is Nehemiah. As soon as ever hehas a strong city in which to defend himself, he is going to rebelagainst Persia. Nay, he has already paid people inside Jerusalem topretend 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 thegossips' tongues in the land. And now what will be the result? If theKing of Persia hears of it, and it is sure to reach his ears sooner orlater, it will go badly with you, Nehemiah. The best thing you can do isto consent to meet me, and we will talk the matter over and see what canbe 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 ordeceitful friendships; will he be frightened from his duty by gossip?No, he cares not what they say, nor who says it. He simply sendsSanballat word that there is not a vestige of truth in the report, nordoes he intend to take any notice of it. 

'There are no such things done as thou sayest, but thou feignest themout of thine own heart. '

Over the entrance to one of our old English castles these words arecarved in the stonework:--

 THEY SAY. WHAT DO THEY SAY? LET THEM SAY. 

These words are well worth our remembering. It is not pleasant to betalked about, especially if the words spoken about us are untrue, but itwill 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; peoplewill talk, and their talk will chiefly be of their neighbours. 

_What do they say?_ Do you answer like the Psalmist, 'They lay to mycharge things I knew not?' They speak unkindly, untruly, unfairly. Never mind, _Let them say. _ You cannot stop their mouths, but you canhinder yourself from taking notice of their words. Let them say, forthey will have their say out, but they will end it all the sooner if youtake no notice of it. 

Let us try for the future to be thick-skinned, and when Gashmu's tongueis whispering, and whenever some busybody like Sanballat repeatsGashmu's words to us, let us act as Nehemiah did. Let us take no noticeof the repeated tittle-tattle. 

Yet, although we may practically ignore the gossiping tongue, if we arenaturally sensitive and highly strung we cannot help feeling some stingfrom the unkind or untrue speech. Poor Nehemiah, unmoved though he wasby the gossip, yet feels it necessary to remember the meaning of hisname, 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 nouse trying himself to move Nehemiah, for Nehemiah is thoroughly on hisguard against him. If he reaches him at all, he must do so throughothers, 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 hershame be it spoken) is bribed by Sanballat to give herself out as aprophetess, and to be the bearer of messages to Nehemiah, pretendingthat those messages were sent to him by God. Nor is Noadiah the onlyone who is bribed by the Samaritan governor to pretend the gift ofprophecy. 

One day, Nehemiah is sent for to the house of one of these people whoprofess to be able to prophesy. He is a young man of the name ofShemaiah, whose family had returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel, butwho 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 tocome to see him. Nehemiah does so, and finds him shut up, his doorsbarred and bolted, his house barricaded like a fortress. He admitsNehemiah, and seems, as he does so, to be in a great state of fear andterror. 

Then he whispers a dreadful secret in his ear. He tells Nehemiah thathis life is in immediate danger, that there is a plot set on foot bySanballat to murder him that very night, and that this plot has beenrevealed to him by God. He tells him that he feels his own life, as oneof Nehemiah's best friends, is also in danger, and therefore he proposesthat 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 thetable of showbread. There, having carefully closed the folding doors offir-wood, they may hide till daybreak, and those who were coming toassassinate Nehemiah will seek him in vain. 

Shemaiah gives this advice as a direct message from God, but Nehemiahsaw through it. He felt sure God could not have sent that message, forGod cannot contradict His own Word. And what said the Word? It wasclearly laid down in the law of Moses that no man, unless he was apriest, might enter the Holy Place; if he attempted to do so, deathwould be the penalty. 

'The stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death. ' So Nehemiahbravely 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 apriest--as I am, could go into the temple and live? for that is thebetter translation. In other words, if I, Nehemiah, who am not a priest, should break the clear command of God, by crossing the threshold of thetemple, 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 hisGod might desert him. The sentinel stood unmoved at his post, Nehemiahgoes on steadily with his work. Should such a man as I flee? And infifty-two days after its commencement, in less than two months, the wallwas 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 conquerthe Romans. No elephants had ever before been seen in Italy; and whenthe two armies met, and the huge animals advanced with their dark trunkscurling and snorting, and their ponderous feet shaking the earth, thehorses in the Roman army were so terrified that they refused to move, and Pyrrhus won an easy victory. After the battle was over Pyrrhuswalked amongst the dead, and looked at the bodies of his slain foes. Ashe did so, one fact struck him very forcibly, and it was this, theRomans did not know how to run away. Not one had turned and fled fromthe field of battle. The wounds were all in front, not one was woundedin the back. 

'Ah, ' said Pyrrhus, 'with such soldiers as that the whole world wouldbelong to me. '

Soldiers of Christ, let us be brave for the Master. Let the language ofthe heart of each in the Lord's army be that of Nehemiah, 'Should such aman as I flee?' Nay, I will not flee, I will not desert my post, I willstand my ground, bravely, consistently, perseveringly, unto death. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

The Paidagogos. 

The Tarpeian Rock was the place where Roman criminals who had beenguilty of the crime of treason were executed. They were thrown headlongfrom this rock into the valley below, and perished at its base. The rocktook its name from a woman named Tarpeia, who has ever been a disgraceto her sex, and whose name was hated in Rome, for she was a traitress toher country. For a long time the war had raged between the Romans andthe Sabines. The Romans were at last compelled to shut themselves up intheir 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 notbeen for the treachery of Tarpeia, the governor's daughter. She lookeddown from the fortress into the Sabine host, and she noticed that, whilst with their right arms the Sabines held their swords, on theirleft arms were hung massive golden bracelets, such as Tarpeia had neverbeheld before. One day, leaning over the precipice, she managed towhisper into the ear of a Sabine soldier her treacherous plan. She waswilling in the dead of night to unlock the gate of the fortress, and toadmit the Sabines, provided that they promised on their part to give herwhat they carried on their left arms. Tarpeia's proposition was agreedto, and that night the governor's daughter stole the keys of thefortress from her father's room, and admitted the enemy. 

But the Sabines had too much right feeling to let her treachery gounpunished. She stood by the gate, hoping to receive the bracelets, buteach Sabine soldier, as he entered, threw at her head his massive ironshield, which he also carried on his left arm, until she was crushed tothe ground, and buried beneath a mass of metal. They had fulfilled theirpromise, but in a way the treacherous Tarpeia did not expect. When shewas quite dead, they took up her body, and threw it over the rock whichever after bore her name, as a warning to traitors. 

Treachery within the camp, those in league with the enemy in the verymidst of the citadel, those who whilst pretending to be friends aresecretly conspiring to hinder and annoy. Surely such a state of thingsis 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 thenI could have borne it. Neither was it mine adversary that did magnifyhimself against me; for then I would have hid myself from him. But itwas 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 camenearer home, when he found that in Jerusalem itself, amongst those whomhe had loved and for whom he had sacrificed so much, there were actuallyto be found traitors, then indeed Nehemiah's soul was stirred to itsvery depths. 

He discovered to his horror that letters, secret, treacherous letters, were constantly passing from Tobiah the secretary to some of hisso-called friends in Jerusalem. Nay more, he discovered that theseletters were diligently answered, and that a quick correspondence wasbeing kept up by Tobiah on the one side and these treacherous Jews onthe other. 

Worse still, Nehemiah found that many of those round him were acting asspies, watching all he did, taking note of every single thing that wenton in Jerusalem, and then writing it down for Tobiah's benefit. And inspite of this, these Jews had the audacity and the bad taste when theymet Nehemiah in the street, or sat at his table, or came across him inbusiness, to harp constantly upon one string--the goodness, andperfections, 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 inJerusalem. Tobiah himself had obtained a Jewish girl for his wife, thedaughter of one of Nehemiah's helpers--Shechaniah, the son of Arah. 

Not only so, but Meshullam, one of the wealthiest men in the city, oneof the most earnest builders on the wall, one who had worked sodiligently 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 ofhis having a chamber in the temple, this man, Meshullam, so well spokenof, and so much esteemed in Jerusalem, had actually forgotten himself sofar as to let his daughter marry the son of the secretary, Tobiah. Wecannot excuse Meshullam by suggesting that his daughter may have beenspoilt or wilful, and may have married in spite of her father'sdispleasure, for, in the East, marriages are entirely arranged by theparents, and Meshullam's daughter probably had no choice in the matter. 

Seeing then that there are enemies without, and half-hearted friendswithin, Nehemiah feels it necessary, so soon as the walls are finishedand the gates set up, to do all he can to make Jerusalem secure andstrong. Solomon had appointed 212 Levites to be porters or gate-keepers, to guard the entrances to the temple. Ever since his time there had beenan armed body of Levites, kept always at hand, to guard the treasures ofthe temple, and to keep watch at the gates. From these Nehemiah selectsthe keepers for his new gates. Surely these Levites will be faithful, and they have had some experience in watching, inasmuch as they have forso 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 momenthe might be recalled to Persia, at any moment he might have to leavehis important work in Jerusalem, that he might stand again as cup-bearerbehind the king's chair. He felt that he must therefore appoint deputiesto guard the city for him, so that all might not hang upon the fact ofhis presence in the city. 

Whom did Nehemiah choose for this post of enormous trust? One was hisbrother Hanani, the very one who had come to see him in Persia. Why, hewould never have even thought of doing this great work, if it had notbeen for Hanani; and he felt he could thoroughly trust him, and relyupon 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 whyhe 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 fearedGod above many, and therefore Nehemiah knew that he would be kept safeand free from sin. 'So did not I, ' he had said of himself, 'because ofthe fear of God; that fear held me back from sin, ' and he felt sure itwould be the same with Hananiah. He feared God, and therefore he couldbe depended upon. 

These two rulers, Hanani and Hananiah, planned out the defence of thecity. They divided the wall amongst all the men in Jerusalem, holdingeach man responsible for the safety of that part of the wall which laynearest to his own house. Then, by Nehemiah's orders, they saw that theguards took care that the gates were not only carefully closed everynight, but that they were kept closed till the sun was hot, that is, till some hours after sunrise. These orders were most necessary, seeingthat 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 themonths. The Jews say that God made the world in the month Tisri, and init 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, orthe day of blowing. On that day trumpets or horns were blown all daylong 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 allgathered together, and stood by the water-gate, in a large open spacesuitable for such a gathering. This gate is supposed to have beensomewhere at the south-east of the temple courts, and to have taken itsname from the fact that through it the temple servants, the Nethinimsand 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 ourchurches, but such an one as is to be seen in the synagogues ofJerusalem, a pulpit as large as a small room, and capable of holding alarge number of persons. 

The pulpit by the water-gate was a raised platform, made for thepurpose. In it stood Ezra the scribe, and beside him stood thirteen ofthe chief men of Jerusalem. Meshullam was there; but one man wasconspicuous by his absence. Eliashib, the high priest, who shouldsurely have been found taking a principal part in the solemn service ofthe 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 understandanything having been brought there, that they might listen to all thatwent on. 

It was early in the morning, soon after sunrise, when the great companymet together. The blowing of the trumpets ceased, and there was broughtout by a Levite an old roll of parchment. What was it? It was the Bookof the Law, the Bible of Nehemiah's day, consisting of the five books ofMoses. 

Slowly and reverently Ezra unrolled the law in the sight of all thepeople; and they, sitting below, watched him, and as soon as the bookwas opened they stood up, to show their respect and their reverence forthe Word of God. 

Then the reading began, and the ears of all the people were attentive tothe book of the law. For no less than six hours Ezra read on, from earlymorning until midday, yet still the people stood, still the peoplelistened attentively. There was no stir in the crowd, no one asked whattime 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 thatsome of them had forgotten the old Hebrew, or had been brought up fromchildren to talk the Chaldean tongue. Thus many of Ezra's words andphrases were quite unintelligible to them. So the Levites acted asinterpreters; and besides explaining the words, they also opened outthe meaning of what was read. 

'The Levites caused the people to understand the law: and the peoplestood in their place. So they read in the book in the law of Goddistinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand thereading. '

And at the end of six hours there came tears--there was not a dry eye inthe crowd--men and women alike wept like children. There was Ezra in hispulpit, 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 usthe 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 theruler beside it, and you will soon find out its crookedness. 

You build a wall. How shall you tell if it be perpendicular? Bring theplumb-line, put it against it, and you will soon find out where the wallbulges. 

You take up a drawing of wood, and hill, and tree; how shall you know ifit be correctly sketched? Put beside it the master's copy, look from oneto another, and you will soon discover the mistakes and imperfections ofthe pupil. 

Take the perfect law of God, lay it beside your own life, as thesepeople did, you will find out exactly what they found. You will findthat you are a sinner, that you have left undone what ought to have beendone, that you have done what ought not to have been done, and that youyourself are full of sin. 

'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thymind, 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 thatday. And with the knowledge came tears, bitter, sorrowful tears, as theythought of the past. Each man, woman, and child amongst them was readyto 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 anAustrian Jew, and he worked amongst the large Jewish population inJerusalem. That man had been brought up to a very curious occupation. For years he had maintained himself in a very strange way. His businesswas this--to take children to school every morning, and to bring themhome 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 backand some in his arms, he chastised with a stick those who were inclinedto 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 thereby just such a man as that, a man who was paid by his parents to drivehim 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, heremembered his old Paidagogos, and he used him as an illustration. Hesaid, in his epistle, that that boy-driver was like the law of God; justwhat the Paidagogos had done for him, that also the Word of God haddone. That man had driven him to the school of the Rabbi, the law of Godhad driven him to the school of Christ. 'The law was our schoolmaster tobring us unto Christ. '

The word schoolmaster does not mean the man who teaches, but it is thisvery word Paidagogos or Boy-driver. 

How, then, does the law of God drive us to Christ? Because it makes usfeel 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, itmust be by learning in the school of Christ, by learning to know Him asour Saviour, our atonement, our all in all. 

Lord, save me, or I perish, for I cannot save myself! All myrighteousness is as filthy rags, I myself am full of sin. There is nohope 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 nodifficulty in answering that question, surely there has never beenanyone to compare with Samson in wonderful feats of strength! Did he notalone and unaided rend a young lion in two, as easily as if it had beena 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 topof a high hill? Did he not overthrow an enormous building by simplyleaning on the huge stone pillars that held it up? We see trials ofstrength and feats of strength nowadays, we may have seen a man whocould with one blow of the sword cut a sheep in two, we may have seenanother who, by the mere power of his fist, could snap an iron chain, yet what modern Samson, strong and powerful and mighty above his fellowsthough 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 alldepends upon the kind of strength of which we are speaking. If we meanbodily strength, mere physical force, then undoubtedly Samson was thestrongest man. 

But is bodily strength the only kind of force or power a man canpossess? 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 havein common with the brutes, nay, it is strength in which the brutes cansurpass us. Take the strongest man who ever lived, give him the mostpowerful limbs, the strongest back, the greatest strength of muscle, what is that man compared with an elephant? The mighty elephant has morepower in one limb than the man has in his whole body. Bodily strength isthen, 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 easilysurpass us in it. 

A stronger man than Samson, where shall we find him? Come to the SenateHouse in Cambridge, look at that man hard at work on the examinationpapers. Look at him well, for you will see that man's name at the headof the list when it comes out. Look at his broad forehead, his quickeager eye, his earnest face. That man is the strongest man in England:strong, not in bodily strength, he would do but little on the footballfield, 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 inbrain. That man's memory is simply perfect, his powers of reasoning arefaultless, his grasp of a subject is enormous, he is a giant inintellect. 

Here then we have another kind of strength, mental strength; andinasmuch as the mind is vastly superior to the body, and inasmuch aspower 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 thatthe student is stronger than Samson, because he is strong in a superiorkind of strength. 

But there is a stronger than he, and it is a woman. She is weak anddelicate, and has certainly no bodily strength; she knows very little, for she is a poor, simple country girl; she has no mental strength, butshe is stronger than Samson, stronger than the Cambridge student, because she is endued with a strength far superior to bodily or mentalstrength--she is strong in soul. 

A great crowd of people was gathered on the shore that day in the countyof Wigton in Scotland. There lay the wooded hills and the heatherymoors, and the quiet sea dividing them like a peaceful lake. Twoprisoners, carefully guarded, were brought down to the shore, one was anold woman with white hair, the other was a young and beautiful girl. Twostakes were driven into the sand, one close to the approaching sea, theother much nearer to the shore. The old woman was tied to the stakenearest to the sea, and the young girl to the other. The tide was outwhen they were taken there, but they were told that, unless they woulddeny the Master whom they loved, unless they would renounce the truth ofGod, there they must remain, until the high tide had covered them, andlife was extinct. 

The old woman was questioned by her murderers. Would she renounce herLord? Never; she could not deny the faith of Christ. So they left her toher fate, and the sea rose. Silently, quietly, stealthily it crept on, till her arms, her shoulders, her neck were covered, and then soon afterthe wave came which carried her into the presence of her Lord. Then theypleaded with the girl, they tried to make her change, they used everyargument likely to move her, but all in vain. She was strong in soul, strong and mighty, so strong that death itself could not make herflinch. Still the sea crept on, still the water rose, and still theytried to make her deny her Lord. But, strong in spirit, the girl heldbravely on. Higher and higher came that ever-encroaching water, and soonher head was covered, and she thought her sorrows were ended, but hertormentors brought her out of the water, rubbed and warmed her, andbrought 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 wasdragged back, wet and dripping as she was, once more to be chained tothe stake, and to lay down her life a second time. But the Lord was withher, and she was faithful to the end. 

That girl was strong in soul, strong in the highest, noblest form ofstrength; she could say No when tempted to do wrong, she was faithfulwhen sorely tried. But Samson was weak as water, he had no strength ofsoul; a woman's pretty face, a woman's coaxing word, was quitesufficient to overthrow all the strength of soul he possessed. He couldresist no temptation that came across his path; he was an easy prey tothe tempter. 

Oh! that we were all strong, strong in this highest, grandest form ofstrength, mighty giants in spirit!

But do you say, How can I obtain this strength, by what means can Iacquire it? I feel I need it. I am often led astray; I listen to thevoice of the tempter, I give way to my besetting sin. I want to breakoff from it, but I cannot; I want to leave the companions who areleading me wrong, but I have not the strength to do it. How can I becomestrong?

Here, in the story of Nehemiah, we find the answer. Let us come again tothe water-gate, at the south-east of the city. There is the huge pulpitof 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 forsin that their hearts are broken, they feel they have left undone somuch that ought to have been done, they have done so much that theyought not to have done, that they are crushed with sorrow, and the tearswill come. 

But hush, who are these passing amongst the weeping crowd? There isNehemiah the Tirshatha, or governor, there is Ezra the scribe, and theyare followed by a company of Levites. They call to the people to stopcrying, and to rejoice. Is not our God a God of mercy? Is there notforgiveness with Him? If sin is confessed and forsaken, will He notpardon it? Dry your tears then, and, instead of crying, rejoice. Bemerry and glad that God is willing to forgive, nay, that He has forgivenyou. 

Cheer up, for this day is holy unto the Lord; it is a feast day, thejoyous Feast of Trumpets. Mourn not, nor weep. Do not imagine that Godlikes you to be miserable; He wants you to be happy. You have owned yoursin, you have repented of your sin; now let your hearts be filled withthe 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 thisyear's grapes. Go home and enjoy yourselves to the full; but do notforget those who are worse off than yourselves, remember those poorpeople who have suffered so much from the late famine, who have paidtheir last penny to the tax-collector, who have lost their all in thesehard times. Let them enjoy themselves too to-day. Eat the fat and drinkthe sweet, but do not forget to send portions to them for whom nothingis prepared. Remember the empty cupboards, and the bare tables, and thehouses 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 lovesus to be happy. He likes us to rejoice; He does not want us to go aboutwith long faces and melancholy looks. A long-faced Christian is aChristian who brings disgrace on his Master. 

Then as we meet, year by year, round the happy Christmas table, and sitdown to our Christmas dinner, let us remember that God loves us to behappy; but let us also remember that in the midst of all our joy Hewould have us unselfish. He would have us send portions to them for whomnothing is prepared. Is there no one whom we can cheer? Is there nodesolate home into which we can bring a ray of light? Is there nosorrowful heart to which we can bring comfort? And what about theportions? Is there no poor relative, or neighbour, or friend, with whomwe can share the good things that have fallen to our lot?

Our own Christmas dinner will taste all the better if we have helpedsome one else to happiness or comfort, our own festal rejoicing will betenfold more full of merriment and real joy, if we have helped to spreadthe festal joy into dark and gloomy places. 

'Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions untothem 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 ofstrength, of strength of soul. The joy of the Lord, that joy which comesfrom 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; howcan I grieve Him? How can I pain Him by yielding to temptation? How canI ever risk losing the joy of my heart by going contrary to His will? Iam 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 withinthe reach of all. Bodily strength some of us can never attain. We areborn with weakly bodies, we have grown up delicate and frail, we couldno more transform ourselves into strong, powerful men, than we couldmake ourselves into elephants. 

There was a man who lived in Greece long before Hezekiah, who wasdetermined to make his nation the strongest nation on earth; he wasresolved that it should consist of mighty giants in strength, and thatnot one delicate or weak man should be found amongst them. But what didLycurgus find himself obliged to do in order to secure his end? He wascompelled to have every infant carefully examined as soon as it wasborn, and if a child had the least appearance of delicacy, he took itfrom its mother, and sent it to some lonely cave on the hill-side, whereit was left to die of cold and hunger. He found that it was not possibleto turn a puny delicate child into a strong man. 

Bodily strength then is beyond the reach of many men; weak they wereborn, weak they live, and weak they will die, nothing will alter orimprove them. 

Nor can strength of mind be attained by many. They were born with nopower of memory, no aptitude for learning, no gift for study; you mayteach them, and labour with them, and they may work hard themselves, butno application can instil into them what was not born in them; they cameinto the world with second-rate intellects, and they will die with thesame. 

But, thank God, the highest form of strength, strength of soul is, inthis respect, not like strength of body or strength of mind. No one isborn with it, we are all by nature weak as water, an easy prey forSatan; but there is not one of us who may not acquire this spiritualpower. If we will take the lost sinner's place, and claim the lostsinner's Saviour, we shall be filled by that Saviour with joy, joybecause sin is forgiven, and with the joy will come the strength ofsoul. 

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 tothe state, and they were trained and brought up with this one object inview, to make them strong and powerful men. They were taught to bearcold, wearing the same clothing in winter as in summer; they weretrained 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 tomake the strength that was in them grow and increase. And it waswonderful how, by means of practice, the strength did grow. 

We are told of one man, who in the public games carried a full grown oxfor a mile, and we are told that he accomplished this by graduallyaccustoming himself to the weight. He began when the ox was a tiny calfto carry it a mile every day, and the increase of weight was so gradualthat he did not feel it; his arms became used to the weight, and as theox grew bigger, he at the same time grew stronger. 

Strength of body then grows and increases in proportion to our use ofit. 

So, too, does strength of mind. Here is a boy, born with good abilitiesand with an intelligent mind. Take that child, and shut him off fromevery possibility of using his mind; never teach him anything, neverallow him to look at a book or a picture, keep him shut off fromeverything that might tend to open his mind, tell him nothing, bring himup as a mere animal, and soon he will lose all his powers of mind, andbecome an imbecile. But, on the other hand, teach him, train him, educate him, let his mind have full scope and exercise, and his mentalpowers 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 makesyou 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 theSon of God, unto _a perfect man_' (or as R. V. Has it, a _full-grownman_) 'unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ. '

Now we are but children in spiritual strength, then we shall be giantsin 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, onChristmas morning in the year 1890, speaking gaily and joyfully of theChristmas feast, when suddenly there came a change. The merry pealceased, and was followed by the quiet sorrowful sound which alwaysspeaks of mourning and death, a muffled peal. News had reached theringers that the Archbishop of York, who had been known and respected inthe 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 thetable 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 therecomes 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 theLord 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 aredown in the dust mourning and weeping. 

Just such a change as this, a change from the gay to the solemn, fromjoy to mourning, from feasting to fasting, comes before us in the Bookof Nehemiah. 

Look at Jerusalem, as we visit it in imagination to-day, and take abird's-eye view of the city. The whole place is mad with joy. They arekeeping the gayest, the merriest, the prettiest feast in the whole year, the Feast of Tabernacles. It was a saying amongst the Jews, that unlessa man had been present at the Feast of Tabernacles he did not know whatjoy was. And in Nehemiah's time this feast was kept more fully and withmore rejoicing than it had been kept for a thousand years; no one hadever 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 foreight days; whilst the whole city was lighted up, and glad music wasconstantly heard, and the people feasted, and laughed, and made merry. 

It was the 22nd day of the month Tisri when the Feast of Tabernacles wasended, 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, andlilac robes, the smart, many-coloured turbans have all been laid by;there is not a sign of one of them. We see instead an extraordinarycompany of men, women and children making their way to the open space bythe water gate. They are covered with rough coarse sackcloth, a materialmade of black goats' hair and used for making sacks. Every one of thecompany is dressed in this rough material; not only so, but the robe ofeach is made like a sack in shape, so that they look like a crowd ofmoving sacks, and on their heads are sprinkled earth and dust and ashes. 

The rejoicing has turned into mourning, the feast into a fast. A greatsense of sin has come over the people; they feel their need offorgiveness, and they are come to seek it. 

The meeting seems to have assembled about nine o'clock, the time of themorning sacrifice. For a quarter of the day, for three hours, they readthe law of God, for three hours more they fell prostrate on the ground, and confessed their sin. Their prayers were led by Levites, standing onhigh scaffoldings where everyone could see them, where all could hearthem as they cried with a loud voice to God. 

Then just at the time of the evening sacrifice, at three o'clock in theafternoon, the Levites called to the kneeling multitude and bade themrise, 'Stand up and bless the Lord your God for ever and ever: andblessed be Thy glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing andpraise. '

Then the Levites went through the history of God's wonderful goodness toHis people, to Abraham in Egypt, in the wilderness, in the land ofCanaan; everywhere, and at all times He had been good to them, againand again He had delivered them. But they--what had they done?

'Thou hast done right, but we have done wickedly. Neither have ourkings, our princes, our priests, nor our fathers kept Thy law, norhearkened unto Thy commandments.... For they have not served Thee. 'Therefore, as a natural consequence and result, 'Behold, we are servantsthis day. '

They would not serve God, they would not be His servants, so they hadbeen made to serve someone else; they had, as a punishment for theirsin, 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 andthe good thereof, behold, we are servants in it. And it yieldeth muchincrease 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 theprovince 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, andcan 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 theuse 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 weintend 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 serveand glorify God. 

Then a long roll of parchment was brought out, on which the covenant waswritten, and one by one all the leading men in Jerusalem came forwardand 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. InBabylon 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 theseals were each fastened to the parchment by a separate string. In thisway 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 ofNehemiah, the governor, setting a good example to the rest. He isfollowed by Zidkijah, or Zadok, the secretary. Then come the names ofeighty-two others, heads of families, all well-known men in Jerusalem. Each one fastened his seal to the roll of parchment containing thesolemn 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 toobserve and do all the commandments. What need after that to enter asingle other article in the covenant? If a man walks in God's law hecannot go wrong; if he keeps all God's commandments, what more can berequired?

But they were wise men who drew up that solemn covenant. They knew andunderstood the human heart. Is it not a fact, that whilst we are allready to own that we are sinners in a general sense, we are slow to ownthat we are guilty of any particular sin? We do not mind confessing thatwe are miserable sinners, but we should indignantly deny being selfishor 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 inthe 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 theirsons choose heathen wives. 

(2) They engaged to keep the Sabbath, and not to buy and sell on theholy day; and they promised that if the heathen people round came to thecity 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 yearas a year of Sabbath. The Sabbath year had in times past been a greatblessing to the land. The one work and occupation of the Jews wasagriculture, farming of all kinds. Every seventh year God commanded thatall work was to stop; there was to be a year's universal holiday, thatthe nation might have rest and leisure to think of higher things. Yetthey did not starve in the Sabbath year, for God gave them double cropsin the sixth year, enough to cover all their wants until the crops ofthe eighth year were ripe. All that grew of itself during the seventhyear, all the self-sown grain that sprang up, all the fruit that cameon the olives, and the vines, and the fig-trees, was left for the poorpeople to gather; they went out and helped themselves, and comfort wasbrought to many a sad home, and cupboards which were often empty duringthe six ordinary years were kept well filled in the Sabbath year. Butthis command of God had been neglected by the Jews; it needed more faithand 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 theservice of God. They agreed to pay one-third of a shekel each yeartowards the temple service, and to bring by turn the wood required forthe sacrifices, beside giving God, regularly and conscientiously, thefirst-fruits of all they had. 

This was the solemn covenant to which were fastened so many seals, thiswas 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 offtheir 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? Whowill put his seal to the document, and promise to serve and obey theMaster who died for him? Will you?

Is it not right, is it not wise to pull up at times and to look at ourlife, at what it has been, and at what it might have been? What aboutprayer? Has it been always earnest, heartfelt, true? What about ourBible reading? Has it been as regular, as profitable as it might havebeen? Do we not feel we have come short in the past, and that we shouldlike to do better in the time to come?

What about sin, that besetting sin of ours, so often indulged in, solittle fought against? Are we going on like this for ever, beaten bysin, overcome and defeated? Should we not like to leave the old carelessdays behind, and for the future to fight manfully against the world, theflesh, 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 ourtime and our talents? Do we not feel we should like to do more for theMaster in time to come?

It is a good plan to get alone and quiet for a time, and taking a pieceof paper, to write down all we feel has been wrong in the past, all wemean to do in the future. Then let us sign our name to it, put the dateat the bottom, fold it carefully up, put it away, let no one see it butGod, it is a covenant between us and Him. He will give us grace to keepit if we only ask Him. 

Will you try this plan this very night? Then you will open your eyesto-morrow morning with the recollection, 'I am the Lord's; I have givenmyself to Him; I am His now by my own agreement; I am pledged to Hisservice. '

Lord, make me faithful, keep me humble, keep me prayerful, give me graceand courage and strength!

For 'better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldestvow 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 heartof many a Jew in olden time. 

We all love our native land, our dear old England, yet none of us loveit as the Jews loved Jerusalem. We have only to open the Book of Psalmsto 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, inthe mountain of His holiness. Beautiful for situation, the joy of thewhole earth, is Mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of thegreat King, ' Psalm xlviii. 1, 2. 

'Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem. Jerusalem isbuilded as a city that is compact together. Whither the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem; they shallprosper that love thee. Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity withinthy palaces, ' Psalm cxxii. 2-4, 6, 7. 

These are just samples of countless expressions of love and devotionfor Jerusalem, their happy home. And all the time of the captivity inBabylon the Jews were longing to be once more in Jerusalem! Oh, to seethe city of cities again; oh, to tread once more the streets of the holyJerusalem! They could not even think of their far-off home withouttears. 

'By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when weremembered Zion. If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forgether cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roofof my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy, ' Psalmcxxxvii. 1, 5, 6. 

Yet, strange to say, although the Jews were longing for the Holy Cityall the time they were in captivity, when they did return to theirnative land, and it was possible once more to live in Jerusalem, theyseem to have preferred any other place before it. It was the mostdifficult thing to get any of them to consent to take up their abode inthe capital. 

Nehemiah found himself face to face with this difficulty when he hadfinished the repairs of the city. The rubbish was cleared away, thewalls were built, the gates were set up, the fortresses werestrengthened, but the city itself was nowhere. Here and there houseswere scattered about, here and there was a group of buildings, butinside the walls were many great empty spaces, large pieces ofunoccupied ground. 

The walls had been set up on the old sites, and were about four miles incircumference. It was a large space to fill, and, as Nehemiah lookedround, he saw that whilst the city was imposing from without, it was abare, miserable place inside. 

'The city was large and great; but the people were few therein, and thehouses were not builded. '

Not only so, not only was the city unsightly, but there were not enoughinhabitants to protect the walls. In case of an attack, what would bedone? Four miles of wall was a long space to guard and defend, how couldmore hands be secured? It was absolutely necessary that Jerusalem shouldhave a larger population. 

Yet Nehemiah found that no one wished to move from the country placesround, and to come into Jerusalem. Every town, every village in Judeawas more popular than the capital. They had rather live in sultryJericho than on the mountain heights of Jerusalem; they preferred stonyBethel to the vine-clad hills of the City of God; they had rather livein the tiny insignificant village of Anathoth than in the capitalitself. 

Why was this? Why had the Jews of Nehemiah's day such an objection toliving in Jerusalem? Why, after longing for Jerusalem all the time ofthe captivity, did they shrink from it on their return?

The reason was this. Jerusalem had become the point of danger. All roundthe returned captives were enemies. The Samaritans, the Moabites, theAmmonites, the Edomites, and a host of others were ready at any momentto pounce down upon the Jews. In case of an attack from their unitedforces, what would be the mark at which all these enemies would aim?What place would have to bear the whole force of the attack? Jerusalemitself. They would pass by Jericho, Bethel, and Anathoth, as placesbeneath their notice, but they would all make for Jerusalem. To live inthe capital was consequently to live in constant danger and in constantfear. So it is not to be wondered at that they avoided it, and that theysettled down in the villages and left the capital to take care ofitself. 

Nehemiah sees that steps must be taken to put a stop to this state ofthings. In order to bring about the end he had in view, he first took acensus of the whole nation, and then he required each town and districtto send a tenth of its people to live in Jerusalem. 

But of whom was the tenth to consist? How should the number of those whowere to migrate to the capital be chosen? It was done by lot; they drewlots who were to go and who were to stay. This was probably done in theusual Jewish way, by means of pebbles. The people of a village would bedivided into tens, then a bag would be brought out containing ninedark-coloured pebbles and one white one. The ten men would all draw fromthe bag, and the man who drew the white pebble would be the one who wasto remove to Jerusalem. By this means the capital would be provided withabout 20, 000 inhabitants, and would be in a condition to defend itselffrom attack. 

No doubt there was much grumbling, and there were many groans andcomplaints when the lots were drawn, and those who drew the white stonefound 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 forthemselves and their children, the vineyards which their own hands hadplanted, 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 allthese which had been so dear to them and move at once into the city inwhich they would be in constant danger. 

But there were certain brave volunteers. Besides those on whom the lotfell, a certain number came forward and offered to go of their own freewill and choice to live in the capital. They would break up theircountry homes, and for love of their country and love of Jerusalem wouldmove into the Holy City. The post of danger was the post which mostneeded them, and they were not afraid to go to it. Brave, noble men andwomen, no wonder that we read that blessings were called down upon themby the rest of their countrymen. 'And the people blessed all the menthat willingly offered themselves to dwell at Jerusalem, ' Neh. Xi. 2. 

But those brave Jews, who are mentioned here with so much honour, arenot the only ones who of their own free will and choice have gone withopen eyes to the point of danger. 

Fourteen thousand pounds arrived in the course of a few days at acertain house in London, the office of the Church Missionary Society. One person sent £5, 000 with no name, only a day or two afterwardsanother sent a second £5, 000, whilst £4, 000 was contributed in smallersums. 

For what purpose was this immense sum of money sent? It was forwarded tothe 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 haddiscovered in the heart of Africa, a country inhabited by a nationclothed and living in houses, and reigned over by a king of someintelligence named Mtesa. Dr. Stanley had talked to this man, he hadshown him his Bible, and told him something of Christianity, and in thisletter in the _Daily Telegraph_ Dr. Stanley stated that King Mtesa wasready and willing to receive Christian teachers, if any were prepared togo out to his kingdom of Uganda. 

The result of that letter was, that in a few days no less than £14, 000was sent to the Church Missionary Society, in order that they might havethe means to establish a mission by the shores of the Victoria Nyanza. Acommittee meeting was accordingly held, and the Society declaredthemselves ready to take up the work. 

The money was forthcoming, but a great difficulty stared them in theface. Where were the men? Who would be found willing to go to such aplace as the heart of Africa? The climate was most trying and dangerousfor Europeans, the food was bad and scanty, and, worst of all, thecountry was so unsafe that all who went must go with their life in theirhands, feeling that at any moment they might be attacked and murdered bythe natives. 

Would any offer for such a post of danger? Would any be found willing tovolunteer 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. Eightnoble 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 todwell' in Uganda. 

A meeting was held in the Church Missionary Society's house, to bid themfarewell and to pray for a blessing on their work. Then each of theeight volunteers was asked to say a few words to the friends who weretaking leave of them. Mr. Mackay, the young engineer, was the last tospeak. 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 tosay. I want to remind the Committee that within six months they willprobably 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 shouldstart for Central Africa and all be alive six months after? One of us atleast--it may be I--will surely fall before that. But what I want to sayis this, when the news comes do not be cast down, but send some one elseimmediately to take the vacant place. '

Mr. Mackay was not wrong. One of the eight, the builder, died as soon ashe landed in Africa. The seven others set off for the interior to findthe country of King Mtesa. Two of these, Mackay the engineer, andRobertson the blacksmith, were taken so ill with fever that they werecompelled to go back to the coast. 

It was a long wearisome journey, of from four to five months, from thecoast to Victoria Nyanza; for a little way they were able to go in aboat which they had brought with them from England, but after a shortdistance they were obliged to leave the river, and, taking their boat topieces, to carry it with them through the tangled forest. When theyarrived at a place named Mpwapwa, it seemed such a good field formissionary labour that one of their number, Mr. Clark, was left to beginmissionary work there, whilst the rest pressed forward to Uganda. 

The great lake at last came in sight, and they were cheered by the sightof its blue waters. But, when they arrived on its shores, the navalofficer and the doctor were both very ill; for thirty-one days they hadbeen carried by the porters, being quite unable to walk, and only a fewmonths after their arrival at the south end of the lake the young doctordied. He was worn to a skeleton, and suffered terribly. The three whoremained buried him by the side of the lake, and put a heap of stonesover 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 leftto carry on the work. But that very same year, in December, a quarrelbroke out between two tribes living at the south of the lake. A mannamed Songoro, who had been friendly to the missionaries, fled to themfor protection. They were at once surrounded by a party of the natives, and, on refusing to give up Songoro to his enemies, Lieutenant Smith andMr. O'Neill, together with all the men who were with them, weremurdered on December 7. 

Only two days before, Lieutenant Smith had written a letter to a friendin England, in which were these words:

'One feels very near to heaven here, for who knows what a day may bringforth?'

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 himselfto fill up the vacant places. Some have fallen, some still remain, labouring on. 

The people blessed the men who willingly offered themselves for the postof danger. Should we not bless them too? Should we not day by day calldown blessings on the brave noble missionaries? Should we not pray forthem, that strength and courage may be given them? Should we not helpthem 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 hadbravely held on to his work. He had never had a holiday, he had nevercome home to see his friends. The Secretary of the Church MissionarySociety wrote at last, urging him to come to England for rest andchange. His answer to this letter arrived ten days after the sorrowfultelegram 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 thetime 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, andsurely _God_ blessed them too, for 'God loveth a cheerful giver. ' He whogives to God grudgingly, or because he feels obliged to do so, hadbetter never give at all, for God will not receive the offering. Themoney must be willingly given, the service must be cheerfully rendered, the post of danger must be readily occupied, or God will have nothing todo with it. 

The only giver whose gifts He can receive is the cheerful giver, the onewho willingly offers himself. 

To be comfortable is the great aim of our lives and our hearts bynature. But sometimes God calls us to be uncomfortable, to leave thecosy home, the bright fireside, the comparative luxury, and to go forthto the post of danger, or difficulty, or trial. 

God grant that we may be amongst the number of those who go forth with asmiling 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 armiessurrounded the city, when famine was killing the Jews by hundreds, andwhen every day the enemy seemed more likely to take the city, a strangething happened. Some priests were watching, as was their custom, in thetemple courts at dead of night. They had passed through the BeautifulGate, crossed the Court of the Women, and had ascended the steps leadinginto the inner court, which was close to the Temple itself. Suddenlythey stopped, for the earth shook beneath them, whilst overhead came anoise as of the rushing of many wings, and a multitude of voices washeard saying, again and again, the solemn words, 'Let us depart, let usdepart. '

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 socalled? Not because of its inhabitants, for, instead of being holy, manyof them were sunk in wickedness and impurity. Jerusalem was called theHoly City simply because of one inhabitant; it was the dwelling-placeof God, and His presence there made it what no other city of the earthwas, 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, ' Psalmcxxxv. 21. 

So wrote the Psalmist, and he was right. God had chosen Jerusalem as Hishome on earth, His abiding-place, His dwelling; and so long as _He_remained there, Jerusalem and all its surroundings was holy. Themountain on which it stood was the Holy Mountain; the city itself wasthe Holy City; the courts of the temple were the Holy Place, the templeitself was the Most Holy Place, whilst the inner sanctuary, in whichGod's glory appeared, was the Holy of Holies. 

But at the time of the siege of Jerusalem, God was leaving the city, itwas no longer to be His dwelling-place, and consequently it was nolonger to be called the Holy City. And therefore it was that the holyangels cried aloud to one another, Let us depart, for it is a holy cityno longer, God has deserted it; it is His no more. 

But in Nehemiah's day, Jerusalem, in spite of her sins, was still theHoly City. We find her twice called so in his book, Neh. Xi. 1, 18, andinasmuch as it was the Holy City, God's home on earth, His specialproperty, His constant dwelling-place, Nehemiah felt it was only rightthat, as soon as the city was finished, as soon as all within its wallswas set in order, the city and all it contained should be dedicated tothe service of that God to whom it belonged. 

Accordingly, as we visit Jerusalem in thought, we find the people busilypreparing for a great and glorious day; they are going, by means of agrand and imposing ceremonial, to dedicate the city to God. 

It is nearly thirteen years since the walls were finished and the gatesset 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 peopleto put the finishing touch to their work by laying it at the feet oftheir King?

The Tirshatha had probably two good reasons for the delay. In the firstplace, there was much to do inside the city after the walls and gateswere finished; the city itself had to be rebuilt, strengthened, and putinto order. Then he probably dare not attempt such a grand celebrationwithout special leave from Persia. If he made a great demonstration ofany kind, it would be easy for the Samaritans to put their ownconstruction upon it, and to write off at once to Persia to accuse himof setting up the standard of rebellion. It was, therefore, advisable toobtain direct permission for such a step from Artaxerxes himself. Nowthe city is in order, the necessary precautions have been taken, andNehemiah feels that there is nothing to hinder the holding of the solemnceremonial of the dedication of the Holy City to God. 

Who are these men who are arriving by companies at all the differentgates of Jerusalem? They are the Levites, coming up from all parts ofthe country to the service of dedication. They are carrying with themvarious musical instruments--cymbals, trumpets, psalteries andharps--old instruments used by King David, and some of them evidentlyinvented 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 andShushan. We read, in the Book of Daniel, of the cornet, the flute, thesackbut, the dulcimer; all these instruments were familiar to the Jewsof Nehemiah's day. But we do not find one of these newly inventedinstruments in use at this grand service. They cling to the oldinstruments, used in the first temple, dear to their hearts as beingconnected with King David, and as having been used by their fathersbefore them, ver. 27. 

Not only the musicians, but the singers are called together from thevalleys 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 agreat sprinkling. The priests and the Levites purified themselves, andpurified the people, and the gates, and the wall. 

A red heifer (see Num. Xix. ) was led by one of the priests outside thecity. There she was killed, her blood was caught in a basin, and wassprinkled seven times before the temple. Then her flesh was burntoutside the city, and the ashes were carefully collected and mixed withwater. This water was put into a number of basins, and the priests andLevites went with it up and down the city, sprinkling it first onthemselves, then on the men, women and children in the city, andafterwards on the wall, and the gates, and all that was to be dedicatedto God. 

All were to be made pure before they could be used in God's service. TheGreat 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 youcannot 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 theMaster's use, fit for the service of God? Thank God, we have a betterway of cleansing than by washing in the ashes of a heifer. 

'For if the ashes of an heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth tothe 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 beginsthe service of the living God; all works before that are dead, works ofno avail, utterly worthless and good for nothing, in the Master'sestimation. 

When all was ready and the purification was complete, the great companyof the musicians met in the temple courts. The blast of the priests'trumpets was heard on one side, and on the other the sweet melodioussongs of the white-robed minstrels. 

When all were in order they marched to the Valley Gate, on the westernside of the city. Here Nehemiah divided them into two companies, inorder that they might make the circuit of the city, walking in gayprocession on the top of the new walls. One company was to go north andthe other south, walking round the city until they met on the otherside; whilst all the people stood below, watching the progress of thetwo processions, each of which was formed of singers, nobles andpriests, who were dressed in white and flowing robes. 

It must have been a grand and imposing sight, as the bright Eastern sunstreamed on the dazzling white of their fine linen, and made theirinstruments glitter and shine. Then there was the sound of gloriousmusic, which seemed to encircle the city in a wave of rejoicing andsong. Everyone made merry that day, and no wonder; it was a day to beremembered. 

The order of each procession was as follows. First and foremost went aband of musicians with their various instruments. Then followed a smallcompany of princes, the finest men in the nation, arrayed in all thebrilliance of Eastern costume, and bringing up the rear were sevenpriests, bearing trumpets. Each procession had a leader, Nehemiahconducted one, and Ezra the scribe the other. 

Ezra's procession proceeded southward, and then eastward. They passedthe Dung Gate, whence was swept out the refuse of the city. Then theycame to the Fountain Gate, opposite to the Pool of Siloam, and here theydescended by steps in the Tower of Siloam. They probably came down inorder that they might dedicate the buildings over the Pool of Siloam andthe Dragon Well, and then they climbed to the top of the wall again, bythe steps that went up to that part of Jerusalem called the City ofDavid. From thence Ezra's procession moved on to the eastern wall, wherethey were to meet the other party. 

Nehemiah's company, on leaving the Valley Gate, turned northward, passedthe Tower of the Furnaces, went across the Broad Wall, which was almostthe only piece of the old wall still standing, passed the Gate ofEphraim, the Old Gate, the Tower of Hananeel, the Tower of Meah, theSheep Gate, and so down to the temple, and the gate named the PrisonGate, because it opened upon a street leading to the court of theprison. 

Then, somewhere near the Water Gate, the two processions met, andmarched together into the court of the temple, the two bands now joiningtogether in a united glorious strain, whilst the two companies ofsingers formed again one enormous united choir, and filled the templecourts with their harmonious song. 

'So stood the two companies of them that gave thanks in the house ofGod, ' xii. 40. 

Not a voice was silent, there was no idle person in the choir. Headed bytheir 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 thathappy day. For, as the priests offered great sacrifices, the rejoicingwas both universal and tremendous. 'For God had made them rejoice withgreat 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 weepsover her children and will not be comforted, Hagar lifts up her voiceand weeps over her son, Naomi weeps as she comes back to her desolatehome, Hannah weeps as she kneels in the tabernacle court, the widowweeps as she follows her only son to the grave, and the company of womenweep as Jesus of Nazareth is led out to the cross. 

So many women's tears, so very few women's smiles; so much mourning andlamentation, so very little happiness and rejoicing. But, on this day ofdedication, the wives were as merry and glad as the husbands, and eventhe children took part in the general joy. 

It is interesting to notice that the Book of Psalms was the nationalsong-book of the Jewish nation, a large number of the Psalms having beencomposed for special occasions, in order to commemorate certainmemorable days in the history of the nation. 

One Psalm, namely Psalm cxlvii. , was probably composed in the time ofNehemiah, 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 ourGod; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely. 

Ver. 2: 'The Lord doth build up Jerusalem: He gathereth together theoutcasts 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 hathblessed thy children within thee. '

There follows in the Psalm a curious mention of snow and ice. Thededication of the city took place late in the year, and probablyJerusalem was white with snow as the singers in their white robes wentround the walls, the snow being a glorious emblem of the purificationwhich had just taken place. White as snow, --white in the blood. 

Vers. 16-18: 'He giveth snow like wool: He scattereth the hoar frostlike ashes. He casteth forth His ice like morsels: who can stand beforeHis cold? He sendeth out His word, and melteth them. He causeth His windto 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, writtenwhilst they were in captivity, a hundred years before this time. 

For what had Daniel declared? He had foretold that his nation shouldreturn from captivity, and that Jerusalem should be restored. 

'The street shalt be built again, and the wall, even in troubloustimes. '

Nehemiah's work was evidently revealed to Daniel, and he was also toldsomething about Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the other troublers of theJews. 

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, onlya limited and stated time must then elapse before the Christ, theSaviour of Israel, shall appear (Dan. Ix. 25). 

No wonder then that the joy of Jerusalem was heard afar off that day, asthey thought of the good days that were coming. The word of the livingGod had come true, the street was built, the wall was built, now theyhad only to wait for the fulfilment of the rest of the prophecy, forthe coming of their own Messiah and King. 

We should all like to have stood in Jerusalem on that joyous dedicationday, and watched the glorious procession entering the temple on MountZion. 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 willbe as a flame of fire, on His head will be many crowns, His name will beKing of kings and Lord of lords. He will be followed in the processionby the armies of heaven, on white horses, clothed in fine linen, cleanand white (Rev. Xix. )

Coming down to earth, His feet shall stand in that day on the Mount ofOlives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and then passing throughthe Golden Gate, the King and His followers will enter Jerusalem. 

Then again Jerusalem will become the Holy City, for from that day thename of the city shall be 'The Lord is there, ' Ezek. Xlviii. 35. 

So soon as the Lord, who deserted Jerusalem, returns to her, she mustbecome once more the Holy City. Even upon the bells of the horses andthe 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 beautifulgarments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no morecome into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean. '

Then again, in that glad day, the joy of Jerusalem shall be heard afaroff, 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 ofweeping 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 withthe King of Glory on Olivet? Shall we pass within the gate into thecity? It all depends upon whether we are sprinkled, made pure, washedwhite in the blood of the Lamb. Only those who were purified could takepart in Nehemiah's procession; only sprinkled ones, cleansed by Christ, will be allowed to join in the song of rejoicing, when the Lord comes toreign in Jerusalem gloriously. 

If we are indeed His redeemed ones, let us keep the blessed hope of thatday ever before us. Let it cheer us as we are tossed to and fro on thewaves 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 outclear in the distance, the air is laden with the scent of orange andlemon groves, and the sweet fragrance of thousands of lilies. Nehemiahthe Tirshatha is once more in Shushan; his feet are treading again, asin days gone by, the streets of the capital of Persia. 

It is thirteen years since he left the City of Lilies with his brotherHanani, in order that he might go to Jerusalem, and do his utmost toimprove the ruined and desolate city. He has returned with his workaccomplished. The walls are built, the gates are set up, the bare spacesin the city have been built over, the whole place has been stronglyfortified, the people have been brought back to their allegiance to God, and, as the topstone of his work, he has seen, just before his departurefor Persia, the city and all it contained dedicated to the service ofthe Great King. 

Very glad, very thankful is Nehemiah, as he enters once more theglorious palace on the top of the hill, and stands before his masterArtaxerxes, the long-handed, to give in his report of all he has donesince the king gave him leave to return to his native land. 

Nehemiah finds himself once more surrounded by luxury and refinement andbeauty. What is Jerusalem compared with Shushan? Surely, now his work isaccomplished, he will settle down to a life of ease in Persia, where hemay dwell free from fear or anxiety or care, eating the dainties fromthe king's table, and partaking of all the pleasures of an Easterncourt. After the rough life he has led during the last thirteen years, after the perils he has undergone, and the difficulties he hassurmounted, he may surely retire, now that his work has been so happilyaccomplished, and spend the remainder of his life in peace and comfort. 

But no; Nehemiah's heart was in Jerusalem, he preferred Jerusalem abovehis chief joy. All the time he had been absent he had been hungering fornews, and receiving none; there were no posts across the vast deserts, nor did he live in these luxurious days when the heartache of anxietymay be relieved and set at rest by a telegram. What had been going on inhis absence? Were the Samaritans quiet, or had Sanballat and Tobiahtaken the opportunity afforded by his absence, and invaded Jerusalem?And the people; how were they? Were they keeping the solemn covenantwhich had been sealed in his presence? Were they continuing to serve andobey the Heavenly King? All this, and much more, Nehemiah longed tohear. 

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 Iunto the king, and after certain days obtained I leave of the king. 

'After certain days. ' This is a common expression in the Bible for ayear. The same Hebrew word is translated a whole year in many otherpassages, _e. G. _ Lev. Xxv. 29, Num. Ix. 22. Thus we may safely concludethat a year was the length of time that Nehemiah was absent fromJerusalem. 

As soon as he had received the king's permission, Nehemiah left thelovely City of Lilies behind, and set out once more across the desertfor Jerusalem. Probably no one there knew when he was coming, or whetherhe was coming at all. When Nehemiah left the city he possibly had noidea that he would be allowed to return, but expected that his royalmaster would again require his services as Rab-shakeh in the palace ofShushan; nor was it likely that any news had reached the city of thepermission given him to return. Suddenly, one day, a small cavalcade ofcamels, mules, and donkeys arrived at the northern gate, and the newsspread through the city that Nehemiah the governor had returned. Wasthis intelligence received with unmixed joy and thankfulness, or werethere 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 thecity, to see and to inquire how all has been going on in his absence. Hegoes up to the temple, and no sooner has he entered the gate leadinginto the outer court, than he notices that the whole appearance of theplace is changed. The temple enclosure looks empty and deserted; a fewpriests in their white robes are moving about, but where is the companyof 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 cannotsee one of them. And, not only does he miss those Levites, whose duty itwas to attend upon the priests, but he misses also the temple singers;the sons of Asaph and their companions are nowhere to be seen. Thetemple choir has entirely disappeared, and the services have accordinglylanguished. As Nehemiah looks round the whole place appears to himquiet, empty, and dismal. Nothing seems to be going on, all isapparently at a standstill. 

Nehemiah feels sure that something is wrong, and the further he goesinto 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 templeitself. 

Into the temple Nehemiah cannot pass, for none but the priests may enterthe Holy Place and Holy of Holies. But round the temple building therehad been erected an out-building or lean-to which surrounded the templeon three sides, and which was made up of three stories, each containinga number of rooms, some smaller, some larger. Just such an out-buildingas 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 asimilar lean-to against the outer walls. 

In these rooms or chambers were kept all the stores belonging to thetemple. The corn, and wine, and oil belonging to the priests andLevites; the first-fruits and free-will offerings brought by the peoplefor the temple service; and the meat-offerings, which were cakes madeof fine flour, salt, and oil. One of these cakes was offered twice aday, at the morning and evening sacrifice, besides on many otheroccasions, and with several other sacrifices; so that it was necessaryto have a number of them always ready for use. In these chambers wasalso stored the frankincense, of which a large quantity was used everyday, for a handful of it was burnt on the altar of incense both morningand night. This frankincense was very costly; it was brought on camels'backs from Arabia, where it was obtained by making incisions in the barkof a tree which grew in no other country. Out of these incisions oozedthe gummy juice of the tree, and from this was made the frankincense. Itwas very rare, and could only be obtained occasionally, and therefore itwas important to store it carefully in the temple. 

Nehemiah wonders if the stores of the temple are in good condition, andhe throws open the door of one of the chambers, to see if its contentsare plentiful and well-stored. As he does so, he starts back in dismay. The whole place is altered, utterly and completely transformed. Thesmall rooms have all been thrown into one vast chamber, the partitionwalls have been removed, the corn, the wine, the oil, the frankincense, and all the other stores are nowhere to be seen, they have all beencleared away; the vessels in use in the temple, the knives for cuttingup the sacrifices, the censers for incense, the priests' robes and othergarments have all disappeared. There is not one single thing to be foundwhich ought to have been found there, and this chamber of the temple, instead of being a useful and necessary store-house, has become morelike one of the grand reception rooms of the King of Persia, aluxurious drawing-room, fit for the palace of a king. Gay curtains coverthe walls, costly furniture is set in order round the large room, thesoftest of divans, the most comfortable of cushions, the most elaborateornaments and decorations surround Nehemiah on all sides, as he standsamazed and disconsolate in their midst. 

Nehemiah calls one of the priests, and inquires the meaning of thisextraordinary change in the building. He is told, to his horror, thatthis grand reception room has actually been made for the use andconvenience of Tobiah the secretary. Tobiah the heathen, Tobiah, who hadmocked them as they built the walls, and who had done all that was inhis power ever since to annoy and to hinder Nehemiah and his helpers. This splendid apartment has actually been made and fitted up, in orderthat Tobiah may have a grand place in which to dwell, and in which toentertain his friends whenever he chooses to pay a visit to Jerusalem. 

What an abominable thing is this, which the poor governor hasdiscovered! For was not this Tobiah an Ammonite, a Gentile? and as suchNehemiah knew perfectly well he had no right to set his foot in theCourt of the Women, or the Court of Israel; much less then had he theright to enter the temple building. 

Where is Eliashib the high priest? How is it that he has not put a stopto this proceeding? Nehemiah finds, to his dismay, that Eliashib hasactually been the very one who has had this chamber prepared. The veryman who was responsible for the temple, and who had, by his office, theright and the power to shut out from the holy building all that wasevil, had been the man to introduce Tobiah the heathen, with markedhonour, into the temple itself. 

Eliashib had begun well. Earnestly and heartily he had helped inbuilding the walls; he had actually led the band of workers, and hadbeen the very first to begin to build, chap. Iii. 1. 

But Eliashib had a grandson named Manasseh, and this young man had madewhat he thought a very good match. Priest though he was, he had marriedthe daughter of Sanballat, the governor of Samaria, a heathen girl, whowas rich and possibly good-looking, and whose father was the mostpowerful man in the country, but who did not fear or own the God ofIsrael. And the grandfather, so far from forbidding the marriage, seemsto have connived at it and sanctioned it. 

Nay, he seems not only to have allowed himself to be allied withSanballat the governor, but also with Tobiah the secretary, chap. Xiii. 4. In what way he was connected by marriage we are not told, butinasmuch as both Tobiah and his son had married Jewish wives, one orboth of these may have been closely related to the high priest, chap. Vi. 17, 18. So the friendship with the Samaritans had grown; Eliashibhad probably visited Samaria, and had been made much of and royallyentertained by Sanballat and his secretary; and in proportion as hisfriendship with the heathen had grown warm, his love and earnestness inthe Lord's service had grown cold. 

In the latter part of the Book of Nehemiah we never find Eliashib comingforward as a helper in any good work. Ezra stands in the huge pulpit toread the law of God, thirteen of the chief men in Jerusalem stand byhim to help him, but Eliashib the high priest, who surely should havebeen 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, andthey knew, that he was not keeping it himself?

Nehemiah draws up a covenant between the people and their God, in whichthey promise to obey God and keep His commandments. No less thaneighty-four seals are fastened to that document, but not one of thoseseals bears the name of Eliashib. 

How could he engage to keep that covenant, one article of which was apromise to have nothing to do with the heathen, when at the very time hewas living on the most friendly terms with both Sanballat and Tobiah?

Then comes the grand service of dedication, when the city and all itcontained was devoted to God. Not a single mention is made of Eliashibin the account of the services of the day. Many priests are mentioned byname, but the high priest, who, we should have expected, would havetaken a prominent part in the proceedings, is never heard of throughout. 

Eliashib's connection with the heathen had made him cold and remiss inthe service of God. It is no wonder then that so soon as Nehemiah wentaway, and the restraint of his presence was removed, Eliashib did worsethan ever, and at length actually entertained Tobiah in the templeitself. 

But poor Nehemiah had not come to the end of his painful discoveries. Heinquired next what had become of all the stores of corn and winebelonging to the Levites, all the tithes which the people wereaccustomed to bring to the temple for their support, and which, in thatsolemn covenant, they had so faithfully promised to supply. Since thesestores have been removed from the place which was built on purpose toreceive them, Nehemiah wishes to know what new store-house has beenprepared for them. But the governor finds, to his sorrow and dismay, that no sooner was his back turned upon Jerusalem, than the people hadceased to bring their tithes and their contributions for the house ofGod. 

It was not surprising then that Nehemiah found the temple so deserted. How could the Levites serve, how could the choir sing unless they werefed? They could not live on air, no food was provided for them; whatcould they do but take care of themselves? In order to save themselvesfrom utter starvation, they had been driven to leave the temple, and togo to their fields and small farms in the country, which they had beenaccustomed to cultivate only at such times as they were not engaged inthe work of the temple (Num. Xxxv. 2). Now they were compelled to resortto these fields, as a means of keeping themselves and their familiesfrom beggary. No wonder then that few were found ready to help in thetemple services. 

The first Sabbath after Nehemiah's arrival, he sets out, with an anxiousheart, to see how it is kept by his fellow-countrymen. In the solemncovenant the people had promised carefully to observe the day of rest. They have broken their word in the matter of the tithes; have they kepttheir promise with regard to the Sabbath?

Nehemiah, as he walks through the city on the Sabbath day, finds aregular market going on in the streets. He is horrified to find that allmanner of fruit and all kinds of food are being bought and sold, as onany other day of the week. Wine, and oil, and merchandise of all kindsis being bargained for, and the streets are filled with the noisy criesand shouts of the sellers and purchasers. 

Going on to the Fish Gate, Nehemiah finds that a colony of heathenTyrians have come to live there, in order that they may hold afish-market close to the gate. The fish was caught by theirfellow-countrymen in Tyre and Sidon, and was sent down to Jerusalemslightly salted, in order to preserve it from corruption. Nehemiah findsthat these Tyrians are doing a grand traffic in salted fish, especiallyon the Sabbath day. The Jews loved fish, and always have loved it. Howthey 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 pieceof fish; and, therefore, on the Sabbath, the Tyrians found they did morebusiness than on any other day. 

As Nehemiah leaves the city by the Fish Gate, he meets donkeys and mulesbringing in sheaves of corn, or laden with paniers containing figs, andgrapes, and melons; he meets men laden with all kinds of burdens, andwomen bringing in the country produce that they may sell it in thestreets of Jerusalem. 

Then, passing on into the fields, he notices that work is going on asusual. They are tilling the ground, gathering in the corn, pruning thevines, and standing bare-footed in the winepresses to tread out thejuice of the grapes. 

So the promise about the Sabbath has been kept no better than the otherpromise; the covenant has been totally disregarded. 

Turning homewards, Nehemiah discovers that the remaining article of theagreement has also been broken. For, as he passes through the streets, and listens to the children at play, he finds that some of the littleones are talking a language he cannot understand. Here and there hecatches a Jewish word, but most of their talk is entirely unintelligibleto him. On inquiring into the reason of this, he is told that thesechildren have Jewish fathers but Philistine mothers, and that they arebeing brought up to talk the language and learn the religion of theirheathen parent. They are making for themselves a strange dialect, amixture of the two languages they have spoken; it is half Jewish, halfPhilistine. 

'Their children spake half in the speech of Ashdod, and could not speakin the Jews' language, but according to the language of each people, 'xiii. 24. 

Poor Nehemiah must have been filled with sorrow and bitterdisappointment, as he found Jerusalem and its people in such adisgraceful condition. He had left the holy city like the garden of theLord, he comes back to find the trail of the serpent all over hisparadise. They did so well whilst he was there, they wandered to theright 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 hisfeelings, for they have gone through the same. 

The young King Joash 'did that which was right in the sight of the Lordall the days of Jehoiada the priest. ' But as soon as the old man was inhis 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 areunder good and holy influence, and who do so badly when that influenceis removed. 

The young man, with the anxious, careful mother, who does so well aslong as she lives, and who wanders from the right path as soon as she istaken from him; the young woman, who, whilst living under her parents'roof, sheltered and guarded by wise restrictions from all that wouldharm her, seems not far from the Kingdom of God, but, who, leaving homeand becoming her own mistress, drifts into frivolity and carelessness;the man or woman who, when removed from good and holy influence, fallsaway from God and goes backwards; all these are followers of Joash, allthese 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 standfirm so long as they are under the care and influence of others? TheMaster 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 reachedfrom the floor to the ceiling, and spread its branches abroad in alldirections. It stood well and firmly; it had all the appearance ofgrowing; it held its head erect, and seemed as likely to stand as any ofthe trees outside in the garden. 

But our tree only stood for a time. So long as the heavy weights andprops which held it up remained, so long as the strings, which weretightly tied to nails in the wall, were uncut; just so long the treeremained upright and unmoved. But the very instant that the props andsupports were taken away our tree came down with a crash. 

What was the reason of its downfall? Why did the trees in the gardenstand unsupported, and yet this tree fell so soon as its props wereremoved?

The answer is clear and simple. The trees in the garden had each of thema root, our Christmas tree had no root. Having no root, it wasimpossible for it to stand alone. 

There is, alas, plenty of no-root religion now-a-days. We see around ustoo many whose godliness is dependent on their surroundings and theircircumstances. They mean well, they try to do right, but there it ends. They have no root; the heart is unchanged, unconverted, unrenewed. Theirreligion is merely a surface religion. 

So they for a time believe, for a time do well, for a time appear to betrue 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 deepenough. I myself must be made new if I am to grow in grace; my heartmust 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 aroundthem, amongst those under their influence, a great deal going on whichis downright evil. You call upon them to put a stop to it, and to do allin their power to prevent it. 

But what do they say? They tell you they will go gently and quietly towork; but they do not like to hurt other people's feelings, or to treadupon their prejudices. They have no objection to try gradually, quietly, and gently, to turn the tide of evil into a good and holy channel, butthey hate and abominate anything in the shape of strong measures. 

And yet there are cases where nothing short of strong measures will beof any avail. Here is a man who has a diseased hand. For some time thedoctor has been trying gentle remedies: the poultice, the plaster, thefomentation, have all been tried. But now the doctor sees a change inthe appearance of the hand. He sees very clearly that mortification issetting in. No poultice, no plaster, no fomentation will be of any availnow, nothing but the knife, nothing but cutting off the limb will savethe man's life. What a foolish doctor he would be, who should refuse insuch a case to take strong measures!

The great reformer, Martin Luther, looked around him, and what did hesee? The whole civilized world a slave at the feet of one man, the Popeof Rome, obeying that man as if he were God; believing every word thatcame from his mouth, following carefully in his footsteps as he led themastray. 

Luther feels nothing will do but strong measures. He will not go gentlyand 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 willanswer the purpose. His strong step consisted in the making of abonfire. On December 10, 1520, as the students of the great Universityat Wittenburg came to the college, they found fastened to the walls anotice inviting them and the professors, and all who liked to come, tomeet Martin Luther at the east gate of the college at nine o'clock thefollowing 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 aletter from the Pope to Luther, telling him that if he did not recantfrom all he was teaching in less than sixty days, the Pope would givehim 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. Fromthat 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 agreat effort to force himself to take it. He says: 'When I burnt thebull, it was with inward fear and trembling, but I look upon that actwith more pleasure than upon any passage of my life. ' For Luther felt, and felt rightly, that the glorious Reformation would never have beenbrought about unless he had used strong measures. 

Nehemiah was the Martin Luther of his age, the great reformer of hisnation, 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 forTobiah the Ammonite. 

(2) The people had refused to pay tithes or contributions to the templeservice, and the Levites had consequently all left the sanctuary. 

(3) The Sabbath day was desecrated and profaned; trade went on as usualboth within and without the city. 

(4) So common had marriage with heathen people become, that even thevery children in the street were chattering in foreign languages. 

Four evils, all of them very serious and deep-rooted, all calling forinstant reformation at his hand. 

How does Nehemiah go to work? Does he shrink from giving offence, orhurting 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. Theoffending members must be cut off, that the whole body may be saved. 

He begins first with the temple. Going into the inner court, and takingwith him a band of his faithful servants, he throws open the door of thegreat store-chamber and begins his work. Indignantly he bids hisservants to clear out all Tobiah's goods, nay, he himself gives ahelping hand, and leads them in the work. The grand divans, the elegantcushions, the elaborate mats, the bright-coloured curtains are alldragged out and cast forth outside. And then, when the great chamber isempty he has it thoroughly cleaned and purified and put in order, toreceive again the temple vessels and stores. 

A strong measure certainly, but a very necessary one. If Nehemiah hadstopped to think what Tobiah might happen to say the next time he cameto Jerusalem, or if he had held back because he was afraid of hurtingthe feelings of Eliashib the high priest, the sin would never have beenstopped, the temple would never have been cleansed. 

St. Paul tells all those who are Christ's, that they themselves areGod's temple. 

'Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of Goddwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall Goddestroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. '

Ye are the temple of God, you yourself God's dwelling-place. Examinethen 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, orrather 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 topray 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 templein the secret chambers of which is to be found cherished sin. 

In such a case nothing but strong measures will avail. That sin must begiven 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 asecond 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 itmay cause. Amputation, however much agony it may entail, is necessary ifmortification has set in. 

'If thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: forit is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and notthat thy whole body should be cast into hell. And if thy right handoffend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable forthee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole bodyshould be cast into hell. '

The first evil has been dealt with and cleared away, Tobiah and hisgoods have been cast out of the temple. Nehemiah now passes on to thenext 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 paymentof what was due from them for the temple service. 

Again Nehemiah takes strong measures. He calls together the rulers, asthe leaders and representatives of the rest, and he gives them verystrongly his mind on the subject. No smooth words or gentle hints willdo. He tells us, 'I contended some time with them' (that is, I reprovedthem and argued with them), 'and I said, Why is the house of our Godforsaken?'

Then, without waiting for a response to his appeal, he sends round toall the Levites and singers, bidding them with all haste to come up tothe temple and to take up their work again. And the people, seeing hewas determined, and that there was no possibility of his allowing thematter 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 theoil unto the treasuries. '

And, in order to prevent such a thing ever happening again, Nehemiahappointed treasurers to look after the temple stores. Eliashib the highpriest had been the store-keeper before, xiii. 4, but he had shownhimself unworthy of his office. Four men are accordingly chosen tocollect the stores, and afterwards to deal them out to the priests andLevites. One is a priest, one a Levite, one a layman of rank, and thefourth a scribe, ver. 13. Nehemiah tells us why he selected these fourmen. 'They were counted faithful, ' and as faithful men they could bethoroughly depended upon. 

Now, having set the temple in order, Nehemiah proceeds to fight thebattle with regard to the observance of the Sabbath. 

Again he uses strong measures. He once more speaks strongly and hotlyto the nobles, for they had led the van in Sabbath desecration. Theyliked the freshest fruit and the daintiest dishes for their Sabbathfeast, and they had, therefore, encouraged the market-people to go onwith 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 looseobservance of the fourth commandment. 

Nehemiah reminds the nobles that the destruction of Jerusalem, theoverthrow of that very city which they were taking so much trouble torebuild, had all been brought about through desecration of the Sabbathday. 

For what message had Jeremiah brought their fathers?

'If ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the Sabbath day, and not tobear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbathday; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devourthe palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched. '

God's word had come true. Their fathers, despising the warning, hadcontinued to break the Sabbath, and Nebuchadnezzar had burnt anddestroyed the very gates through which the Sabbath burdens had beencarried. What safety, then, could they hope for now, how could theyexpect to keep their new gates from destruction, if they followed in thefootsteps of their fathers, and did the very thing that God, by themouth of Jeremiah, condemned?

'Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said unto them, Whatevil thing is this that ye do, and profane the Sabbath day? Did not yourfathers thus, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us, and uponthis city? yet ye bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning theSabbath. '

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 toshut 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 nowNehemiah orders them to close the gates on Friday evenings, so soon asthe shadows began to lengthen and the day was drawing to a close. Theywere also, in future, to be kept shut the whole of the Sabbath, so thatno mules, or donkeys, or camels, or other beasts of burden, might beable to enter the city on the holy day. 

The little gate, inside the large gate, by means of whichfoot-passengers might enter and leave the city, was left open, in orderthat people living in the country villages round might be able to comeinto the city to attend the temple services. But at this smaller gateNehemiah took care to place some of his own trusty servants, and gavethem strict instructions to admit no burdens, no parcel, no goods of anykind 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 notlose their large profits without a struggle. Accordingly, what do wefind them doing? They were refused admittance into the city, so they setup their stalls outside the walls. If the Jerusalem people could not buyof them, because of that strait-laced, narrow-minded Nehemiah, stillthe country people who came in to attend the temple services couldpurchase at their stalls on their way home. They might thus maintain acertain amount of their Sabbath business, and secure at least a portionof their Sabbath gains. Not only so, but surely many Jews from the cityitself, as they strolled through the gates on the day of rest, mightpass by their stalls, and, in the conveniently loose folds of theirrobes, many, even of these inhabitants of Jerusalem, might conceal apomegranate, or a melon, a piece of fish, or a bunch of grapes, ahandful of figs, or a freshly-cut cucumber, and might easily escapedetection by Nehemiah's servants, standing at the gate. 

Nehemiah, seeing this state of things, feels that once again strongmeasures are required. He must make a clean sweep of these traders atonce. So, going out to them, he gives them warning that they will bearrested and imprisoned the very next time that they come within sightof the city on the Sabbath day. 

'So the merchants and sellers of all kind of ware lodged withoutJerusalem once or twice. Then I testified unto them: Why lodge ye aboutthe 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 thestrict observance of this rule. His own servants had guarded the gatesin the first emergency, now he bids the Levites to take their place, andto do all in their power to enforce and to maintain the sanctity of theholy day. 

Surely we need a Nehemiah now-a-days, we need some of his strongmeasures to stop the growing disregard of the Sabbath, which is creepingslowly but surely like a dark shadow over this country of ours. We needa man who will not be afraid of being called strait-laced, ornarrow-minded, or peculiar, or Jewish, or Puritanical, but who willspeak his mind clearly and decidedly on such an all-important point, and who will not hesitate to use strong measures to put down theSabbath-breaking and the utter disregard of God's law, which isthreatening 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 giveit to Him, or do I spend the best of its hours in bed? Am I careful notto please myself on the Lord's Day, or do I think it no shame to amusemyself on that day as I choose, by travelling, by light reading, or byany other means that I have within my disposal? Am I anxious to dedicatethe day wholly and entirely to God, setting it apart entirely for Hisservice, and looking upon it as a foretaste of the great and eternalSabbath that is coming?

And, if I myself keep and reverence God's Sabbath, do I see that thoseover whom I have influence are doing the same? Am I anxious that mychildren, my servants, the visitors who come to see me, all who are inmy home on the Lord's Day should do the same? Do I help them by everymeans in my power? Do I strive that in my home at least God shall haveHis due?

And if in my home the Sabbath is observed, what am I doing with regardto it outside, in my own town, or village, amongst my acquaintances, companions, and friends? Am I doing all I can, using all the influenceGod 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 glorymay not depart, that her sun may not go down because of desecration ofthe Sabbath day? The old promise holds good still; it is true ofindividuals, of families, and of nations. 

'If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure onMy holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour Him, not doing thine own ways, nor findingthine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own word: then shalt thou delightthyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high placesof 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 allpitied the man, alone on a desert island, alone without a friend, without a single companion, never hearing any voice but his own, beingable to exchange thoughts with no one, alone, solitary, desolate. 

Yet after all, in one respect, Robinson Crusoe was to be envied, for hewas shut off from one of the greatest temptations which besets us inthis world, a temptation which comes across the path of each of us, andfrom which it is by no means easy to escape. Of that temptation, Robinson Crusoe on his desert island knew nothing. He did not findhimself ever tempted to one of the most common of sins. Robinson Crusoewas never tempted to keep bad company, for the simple reason that therewas 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 inolden time there was many a lonely cave, many a shady retreat on thehill-side, which was inhabited by one of these hermits. 

Who then were these hermits? They were men who were so much afraid offalling into the snare of keeping bad company, that they refused to keepany company at all, men who so dreaded being led astray by their fellowmen, that they shut themselves off from all intercourse with the humanrace. 

It was not a right nor a wise thing to do, and these hermits found thatsin followed them even to their quiet lonely caves; yet it is scarcelysurprising that they dreaded evil companionship, and did all they couldto avoid it, seeing as they did how much misery it had brought into theworld. 

For what was the oldest sin? What was the very first sin that enteredinto this fair earth of ours? Some say it was pride, or selfishness, orhard thoughts of God. But surely it was no other sin than this, thekeeping of bad company. 

There was Eve in the garden. God had provided her with company; He hadgiven 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 walkedwith Eve under the trees of the garden, walked and talked with her as acompanion 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 mustoften have been warned by God and the holy angels. And the consequencewas that Eve lost paradise, became a sinner, and brought sin and all itsattendant miseries into the world. We should never have had our wearybattle with sin if Eve had not kept bad company. 

Nor was Eve the last of those who have brought trouble on themselves andothers by the same sin. 

If the descendants of Seth had not kept bad company and made friends ofCain's wicked race, the flood would never have swept them away. IfSamson had not gone into bad company he would never have lost hisstrength, and have had to grind blindly and miserably at the mill. IfSolomon had not kept bad company idolatry would never have ruinedJerusalem. If Rehoboam had not kept bad company the kingdom of Israelwould never have been divided; and again, and again, both in the historyof the past and in the story of the present, we see men and women ledastray by keeping bad company. 

We have already seen Nehemiah taking strong measures to put down threeof the great glaring evils which he found in Jerusalem on his return. Wehave now to see him battling with this dreadful curse and snare--badcompany. If the other three evils needed strong measures, Nehemiah feelsthere is a tenfold need to take decided steps in this fourth andall-important matter. 

For what does he find as he walks through the streets of Jerusalem? Hediscovers that the inhabitants of the holy city are fast becomingforeigners and heathen. He hears the very children in the street talkinga language he cannot understand. 

So common has marriage with heathen foreigners become, that Nehemiahsees clearly that unless something is done to put a stop to it the nextgeneration will grow up utterly un-Jewish in language, appearance, anddross, and worse still, heathen in their religion, kneeling down toidols of wood and stone, and carrying on in Jerusalem itself all thevile customs and abominations of the heathen. 

'If the girls are pretty and nice, and if the men like them, why shouldnot they please themselves?' So the Jerusalem folk had talked inNehemiah's absence. They quite forgot to what it was all leading. Theyshut their eyes to the danger of keeping bad company, they thought onlyof what was pleasant and of what they liked, they quite forgot to askwhat was right, and what was the will of God. 

Nehemiah, as governor of Jerusalem, summons into his presence, andcommands to appear before him in his judicial court, every man inJerusalem who had married a foreign heathen wife. 

When all were assembled:

(1) He contended with them, _i. E. _ he rebuked and argued with them, ashe 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 nameof God, the judgments of God on those who broke his law. 

(3) He smote certain of them. That is, he had some of them publiclybeaten. Nehemiah called upon the officers of the court to make anexample of some of the principal offenders by inflicting corporalpunishment upon them. 

(4) He plucked off their hair, _lit_. , He made them bald. The Hebrewword, _marat_, which is used here, means to make smooth, to polish, topeel. The word hair is not expressed in the original. 

We are surely not to suppose that Nehemiah, with his own hands, eitherstruck these men or made them bald. What he did was simply this. He, asthe head magistrate, inflicted a judicial punishment upon them, adouble punishment. 

(1) They were beaten. 

(2) They were made bald. 

We read (Matt, xxvii. 26) that Pontius Pilate took our Lord and scourgedhim; but we surely do not imagine that the Roman governor with his ownhands inflicted the scourging, but we understand it to mean that he gavethe order for the punishment to the Roman soldiers. Just so, Nehemiahthe governor commanded these offending Jews to be beaten and made baldby the officers of the court. 

One of the most flourishing trades in an Eastern city is the trade ofthe barber. This may easily be seen by walking through the streets of anEastern town, and noting the numerous barbers at work, some in theirshops, which are open to the street, and others outside on thedoorsteps, or in some shady corner. Especially in the evening are thesenumerous barbers busy; when the work of the rest of the city is drawingto 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; aman in the East would think it a terrible disgrace if he was obliged tobe shorn of his beard. 

The beard is considered a very sacred thing; it is thought a greatinsult even to touch a man's beard, and if you want to make any man anobject of scorn and ridicule, you cannot do so better than by shavingoff his beard. This was the way in which the Ammonites insulted David'sambassadors (2 Sam. X. 4, 5). And we read that they stopped at Jerichotill 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 isit that keeps him so busy? The barber in the Eastern city shaves not theman's chin, but his head. It is a very natural custom in hot, dustyclimates, where the head is always kept covered, both indoors and out ofdoors. It is also a very ancient custom, for even in the old Egyptianhieroglyphics we find pictures of barbers shaving the head. And we findthat in these modern days, Egyptians, Copts, Turks, Arabs, Hindoos, andChinese, all shave the head. But there is one great exception to thisrule. A barber would find no work in a purely Jewish city, for not onlydo the Jews wear beards, but they also never shave their heads as theirEastern neighbours do. The only ones amongst the Jews who were allowedto have shaven heads were the poor outcast lepers. Hence the shaven headwas to them a sign or symbol of uncleanness and of excommunication. Theylooked upon a man with a bald head very much as we look upon one whosehair is cropped very suspiciously close, and whom we therefore imaginemust have been in gaol. 

Thus it came to pass that 'Bald-head' became a common term of reproachand insult. Elisha, the holy prophet, goes up the hill, wearing a thickturban 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 hehad been bald, could these children have seen it, since his head iscovered; but they wish to annoy and to insult the holy man, so they cryafter him, 'Go up, thou bald head, go up. '

They simply use a common term of reproach. To have a bald head wasamongst the Jews a sign that a man was cut off from his nation, that hewas counted as a Gentile and an outsider, and therefore to call a man 'abald head' was equivalent to calling him a Gentile dog and an outcast. 

Now Nehemiah inflicts this very punishment on these Jews who havemarried heathen wives. He commands them to be made bald, as a sign ofshame and disgrace. It was a very significant and appropriatepunishment. They had thrown in their lot with the heathen Gentiles, letthem then become Gentiles, let them be branded with their mark, letthem, by being made bald, be stamped as those who are no longer citizensof Jerusalem, but who have become outcasts and foreigners. 

Then, when this was done, Nehemiah calls them to him, and makes themtake a solemn oath before God, that from that time forth they will neverfall into the same sin again:

'I made them swear by God, saying, Ye shall not give your daughters untotheir sons, nor take their daughters unto your sons, or for yourselves. '

Then he reminds them how dreadful the consequences of the same sin hadbeen to no less a person than their great and glorious King Solomon, thewisest of men, the beloved of his God. Even Solomon had been drawn asideinto sin by his love of heathen foreigners, or outlandish women, asNehemiah calls them, women living outside his own land. If he fell, ifhe the wisest of men, if he the beloved of his God, was led astray, wasit likely that they could walk into the very same trap, and escape beingcaught and ensnared by it?

'Did not Solomon King of Israel sin by these things? Yet among manynations was there no king like him, who was beloved of his God, and Godmade him king over all Israel: nevertheless _even him_ did outlandishwomen cause to sin. Shall we then hearken unto you to do all this greatevil, 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 onlyinsisted, and insisted very strongly, that no more such marriages shouldtake place. For he knew that if the custom was continued it would leadto ruin, shame, and disgrace, and he was therefore perfectly right totake strong measures to put a stop to it. 

One man he saw fit to make an example of in a still more decidedway--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 ofTobiah's entrance into the temple, and of the friendly feeling thatexisted between Eliashib and the Samaritans. 

Here was Manasseh, a priest, living in the temple itself, dressed in thewhite robe, and taking part in the service of God, yet all the timehaving a heathen wife, and allowing heathen ways in his household. Manasseh's wife was actually Sanballat's daughter; and so long as he andshe remained in the temple precincts, Nehemiah felt they would never befree from Sanballat's influence. 

Accordingly we read:

'I chased him from me. '

Nehemiah banished him from the temple and from Jerusalem, and Manassehwent away with his wife to her father's grand home in Samaria. 

No doubt Nehemiah was far from popular in Jerusalem that night. Therewere many who thought he had been too severe, too narrow, tooparticular. And doubtless there were many who, if they had dared, wouldhave rebelled against his decision. But Nehemiah had done everything; hehad taken all these strong measures, not to please men, but to pleaseGod. If the Master praised him, he cared not what others might say ofhim. 'Lord, what wilt _Thou_ have me to do?' was the constant prayer ofNehemiah's heart; and though the work was oftentimes unpopular anddisagreeable, 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'sdays is still to be seen; the same temptation which beset thoseJerusalem Jews, besets us even in these more enlightened days. 

We all love company. There is in us a natural shrinking from being aloneand desolate. That feeling is born in us; we inherit it from our firstfather Adam. 'It is not good for the man to be alone, ' said the Lord inHis tenderness and His pity. 

But a choice lies before us, a choice of friends. Our relatives aregiven 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 wedo not sufficiently consider that upon that choice may hang oureternity. Heaven with all its brightness, hell with all its darknessand misery, which shall be for me? The answer may hang, it often doeshang, on the choice of a friend. 

For there are only two divisions in this world of ours, only twocompanies, only two flocks. The kingdom of darkness and the kingdom oflight, the Lord's people and those who are none of His, the sheep andthe goats. From which division, from which company, from which flockshall I choose my friends?

'Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers, for whatfellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communionhath light with darkness?'

Especially careful should we be in that nearest and dearest offriendships, 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 sacredtie, whilst knowing all the time that the one who is to be dearer to usthan life itself is outside the fold? No blessing can surely rest onsuch a marriage. Jesus cannot be an invited guest at that marriagefeast. For clear and unmistakable is the trumpet call of the greatCaptain of our salvation:

'Come out from among them, and be ye separate, said the Lord, and touchnot the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father untoyou, 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 oldbooks will fetch! Those who are so fortunate as to obtain possession ofa book which is four or five hundred years old may put their own priceupon it, for some antiquarian will be sure to purchase it. 

But how modern, how very far from being ancient, the oldest of ourEnglish books, printed in the most primitive black letter, appears, whenit is laid side by side with that curious old book which travellers, visiting the little village of Nablus, are shown this very day. Well maythe old white-headed man who has charge of that book bring it out withpride, 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 goatskins, twenty-five inches broad, and about fifteen feet long. The skinsare neatly joined together, but in many places they have been torn andrather clumsily mended. The roll is kept in a grand silver-gilt case inthe form of a cylinder, embossed and engraved. On this case are carvedrepresentations of the Tabernacle, of the ark, of the two altars, ofthe trumpets, and of the various instruments used in sacrifice. Acrimson satin cover, on which inscriptions are worked in gold thread, isthrown over this precious book. 

This old manuscript is written in Hebrew, and is said by the Jews to bethe work of a man whose name has already come before us in Nehemiah'sstory. We saw that Eliashib, the high priest, had a grandson namedManasseh, that Manasseh married the daughter of Sanballat, the Samaritangovernor, and that Nehemiah felt very strongly that the temple wouldnever be cleansed, nor God's blessing rest upon them as a nation, solong as one of their own priests had a heathen wife, and was in constantcommunication with Sanballat. Accordingly he chased Manasseh from him, he made him at once leave the temple and his high position there; andManasseh, in disgust and indignation, went off to Samaria to hisfather-in-law, Sanballat, taking his heathen wife and family with him. 

Now it is that very Manasseh who was, according to the Jews, the writerof the Samaritan Pentateuch, that old copy of the Books of Moses. TheSamaritans themselves declare that it is far more ancient; that it waswritten soon after the Israelites entered the land of Canaan, by thegreat-grandson of Aaron; whilst some scholars think it is far moremodern than some other copies of the Pentateuch which have beendiscovered; 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 tohave his revenge. He and his father-in-law were resolved not to beoutdone by the Jews. They in Samaria would build a grand temple, just asthe Jews had done in Jerusalem. One hill was as good as another, so theythought; 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 onthe very hill where 1000 years before, in the time of Joshua, theblessings of the law had been read, whilst the curses were pronouncedfrom the hill on the opposite side of the valley, Mount Ebal. 

Here then, on Gerizim, the mount of blessing, rose the new temple, whichwas built with one object in view, that it might outvie in splendour theone in Jerusalem. When it was finished, Manasseh was made the rival highpriest, and was able to do what he liked, and to exercise his authorityin any way he pleased in his father-in-law's province. 

Nor was Manasseh the only priest in the Gerizim temple; many otherrunaway priests joined him, all who were angry with Nehemiah, all whowere offended or touchy, all who thought themselves injured in any way, all who had been found fault with for Sabbath-breaking or for any othersin, left Jerusalem for Samaria--chose the temple of Mount Geriziminstead 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 uptogether, 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 tolead nominal Christians to throw up religion altogether, for he seesthat it would be of no use to do so. He knows we have a conscience, heknows that conscience is often busy, he knows that we fully believe thatsome day we must die, and that after death will come the judgment, andhe sees therefore that we shall not be satisfied without some kind ofreligion. So Satan tries to tempt us to the Gerizim temple. Serve God byall means, he cries, but serve the world too. Go to church, say yourprayers, have a fair polish of Sunday religion; it is decent, it isrespectable, it is what is expected of you. But yet, at the very sametime, serve the world, please yourself. Take part in any pleasure thatattracts you, live as you please, enjoy yourself to the full. Let thelust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life havetheir 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. Byno means throw overboard religion altogether, but let it have its properplace, 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 orSatan, Jerusalem or Gerizim, God or the world?

For centuries after the time of Nehemiah, these Samaritans continued asource of annoyance to the Jews, tempting all who were disaffected andlawless to come to Gerizim, and vexing and troubling the Jews in everypossible way. No one who was travelling up to the rival temple was evermade welcome in Samaria, or treated as he passed through with theslightest show of hospitality. As our Lord and His disciples journeyedup 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 theymight find refreshment and shelter on their way. But we read, 'They did not receive Him, because His face was as though He would go toJerusalem. '

Sometimes they carried this antagonism to such a degree that they wouldeven waylay and murder the temple pilgrims who were on their way throughtheir country, and the poor travellers were compelled to take a muchlonger route to Jerusalem, crossing the Jordan, and journeying on theeastern side until they came opposite Jericho, and then ascending by thelong, winding, difficult road from Jericho to Jerusalem. 

Once, in order to mortify the Jews, the Samaritans were guilty of a verydreadful insult. The Passover was being kept in Jerusalem, and it wascustomary in Passover week for the priest to open the temple gates justafter midnight. Through these opened gates, in the darkness of thenight, stole in some Samaritans, carrying under their robes dead men'sbones and bits of dead men's bodies, and these they strewed up and downthe cloisters of the temple, to make them defiled and unclean. 

But perhaps the most trying thing which the Samaritans did was to put astop to a very old and very favourite custom of the Jews. For a longtime those Jews who lived in Jerusalem had been accustomed to let theirbrethren in Babylon know the very time that the Passover moon rose inJerusalem, so that they and their absent friends might keep the feasttogether at the very same time. They did this in a very curious andinteresting way. As soon as the watchers on the Mount of Olives saw themoon rising, they lighted a beacon fire, other fires were alreadyprepared on a succession of hilltops, reaching all the way fromJerusalem to Babylon. As soon as the light was seen on Olivet the nextfire was lighted, and then the next, and the next, till in a very shorttime those Jews who sat by the waters of Babylon saw the signal, andjoined in the Passover rejoicing with their friends hundreds of milesaway in Jerusalem. It showed them that they were not forgotten, and ithelped them to join in the prayer and the praise of those who were intheir father-land. 

But the Samaritans annoyed the Jews and spoilt this beautiful oldcustom, by lighting false fires on other mountains, on wrong days, andat wrong hours, and thus confusing those who were watching by thebeacon-fires. After a time, so many mistakes were made by means of thesefalse signals, that the Jews were compelled to give up the system ofbeacon-fires altogether, and to depend on the slower course of sendingmessengers. 

We have now come to the end of Nehemiah's story, and we have, at thevery same time, come to the end of the history of the Old Testament. Forif all the historical books were arranged chronologically, Nehemiah'sbook would come the very last in the series. Nothing more is told us inthe Book of God of this world's history, until St. Matthew takes up thepen and writes an account of the birth of the expected Messiah. Yetbetween the Book of Nehemiah and the Gospel of St. Matthew there is aninterval of 400 years, years which were full of interest in Jewishhistory, but of which we are told nothing in the Bible story. 

There was one prophet who lived in the time of Nehemiah, and whose bookis a commentary on the book of Nehemiah. The prophet Malachi was livingin Jerusalem at this very time, and if we look at his book we shall seethat mention is made of many things of which we are told in the Book ofNehemiah. For instance, if we turn to Mai. Iii. 8, 9, 10, we shall findthe very words which the prophet spoke to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, at the time when the temple store-house was empty, and when the peoplehad ceased to bring their tithes and offerings, and to give God the dueproportion of their possessions. 

'Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed Me. But ye say, Wherein have werobbed Thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse; for yehave robbed Me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into thestorehouse, that there may be meat in Mine house. '

Thus, if we read the Book of Malachi carefully, we shall find much thatthrows light on Nehemiah's history; and we can easily imagine how muchthe prophet's sympathy and help must have cheered and strengthened thegreat reformer in his trying and difficult work. 

What became of Nehemiah, the great cup-bearer, the faithful governor ofJerusalem, we do not know. Whether he returned to Persia and took up hisold work in the palace, standing behind the king's chair in his officeof Rab-shakeh, or whether he remained in Jerusalem, guarding hisbeloved city from enemies without and from false friends within, we arenot told. Whether he died in the prime of life, or whether he lived to agood old age, neither the Bible nor profane history informs us. 

But although we know nothing of Nehemiah's death, we know much of hislife. We have watched him carefully and closely, and there is one thingwhich we cannot fail to have noticed, and that is that Nehemiah wasemphatically a man of prayer. In every trouble, in each anxiety, in alltimes of danger, he turned to God. Standing behind the king's chair, Nehemiah prayed; in his private room in the Shushan palace, he pleadedfor Jerusalem; and all through his rough anxious life as a reformer anda governor, we find him constantly lifting up his heart to God in shortearnest prayers. When Tobiah mocked his work, when the Samaritansthreatened to attack the city, when the people were inclined to be angrywith him for his reforms, when he discovered that there were traitorsand hired agents of Sanballat inside the very walls of Jerusalem, whenhe brought upon himself enmity and hatred because of his faithfuldealing in the matter of the temple store-house, when he had toencounter difficulty and opposition in his determination with regard tothe observance of the Sabbath, and when he still further incensed thehalf-hearted Jews by his prompt punishment of those who had takenheathen wives, and by his summary dismissal of Manasseh; in all thesetimes of danger, difficulty, and trial, we find Nehemiah turning to theLord 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 hisfriend, the prophet Malachi? Can it be, that as he and Nehemiah tooksweet 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 hisdisheartened and unappreciated friend:--

'They that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lordhearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written beforeHim for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon His name. Andthey shall be Mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make upMy jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son thatserveth him. '

Can we wonder that Nehemiah longed to know that his name was in thatbook of remembrance of which his friend Malachi spoke, and that he oftenturned the desire into a prayer, pleading with God, 'Remember _me_, O myGod?'

It is a very touching prayer. Nehemiah evidently felt that others didnot value his work, nay, that Borne even condemned him for it. Thepeople, instead of being grateful to him for his reforms, found faultwith him, misunderstood him, and reproached him. 

But God knew, the Master did not blame him. He saw that all Nehemiahdid had been done for His glory and for the good of his nation. And tothe Master whom he served Nehemiah appealed. Away from the fault-findingpeople, he turned to the merciful God. 

Remember Thou me, O God, for good; others blame me, but it is Thy praisealone that I crave, wipe not _Thou_ out my good deeds, spare _Thou_ mein the greatness of Thy mercy. 

There is no pride or boasting in this prayer. Is it not the very prayerof the penitent thief, 'Lord, remember me?' Look carefully at thewording of it, and you will notice, as Bishop Wordsworth so beautifullypoints out, that it is humble in its every detail. Nehemiah does notsay, publish to the world my good deeds, but wipe them not out. He doesnot say, reward me, but remember me. He does not say, remember me for mymerit, 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 Godforgotten His faithful servant? Surely not, for 'The righteous shall behad in everlasting remembrance. '

Remembered by God, and remembered for ever, entered in the great book ofGod's remembrance, of which he had so often thought, and of whichMalachi had written. 

The day is coming when we shall see Nehemiah the cup-bearer. In God'sgreat day of reward, when one after another of His faithful servantsshall appear before Him, we shall hear the response to Nehemiah'sprayer. 

'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 faithfulservant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord. '

THE END.