N
E H E M I A H
CHAP. I.
Here
we first meet with Nehemiah at the Persian court, where we find him, I.
Inquisitive concerning the state of the Jews and
Jerusalem, ver. 1, 2. II. Informed of their deplorable
condition, ver. 3. III. Fasting and praying thereupon (ver. 4), with a
particular account of his prayer, ver. 5-11. Such is the rise of this great
man, by piety, not by policy.
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Nehemiah's
Distress.
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B.
C. 445.
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1 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah.
And it came to pass in the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year, as I was in
Shushan the palace, 2 That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he
and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had
escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.
3 And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in
the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of
Jerusalem
also is broken down, and the gates
thereof are burned with fire. 4 And it came to pass, when I heard
these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and
fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven,
What a tribe Nehemiah was of does nowhere appear; but, if it be true (which we
are told by the author of the Maccabees, 2 Mac. i. 18) that he offered
sacrifice, we must conclude him to have been a priest. Observe,
I. Nehemiah's station at the court of Persia. We are here told that he was in
Shushan the palace, or royal city, of the king of Persia, where the court
was ordinarily kept (v. 1), and (v. 11) that he was the
king's cup-bearer. Kings and great men probably looked upon it as a piece
of state to be attended by those of other nations. By this place at court he
would be the better qualified for the service of his country in that post for
which God had designed him, as Moses was the fitter to govern for being bred
up in Pharaoh's court, and David in Saul's. He would also have the fairer
opportunity of serving his country by his interest in the king and those about
him. Observe, He is not forward to tell us what great preferment he had at
court; it is not till the end of the chapter that he tells us he was the
king's cup-bearer (a place of great trust, as well as of honour and
profit), when he could not avoid the mentioning of it because of the following
story; but at first he only said, I was in Shushan the palace. We may
hence learn to be humble and modest, and slow to speak of our own
advancements. But in the providences of God concerning him we may observe, to
our comfort, 1. That when God has work to do he will never want instruments to
do it with. 2. That those whom God designs to employ in his service he will
find out proper ways both to fit for it and to call to it. 3. That God has his
remnant in all places; we read of Obadiah in the house of Ahab, saints in
Caesar's household, and a devout Nehemiah in Shushan the palace. 4. That God
can make the courts of princes sometimes nurseries and sometimes sanctuaries
to the friends and patrons of the church's cause.
II. Nehemiah's tender and compassionate enquiry concerning the state of the
Jews in their own land, v. 2. It happened that a friend and relation of
his came to the court, with some other company, by whom he had an opportunity
of informing himself fully how it went with the children of the captivity and
what posture Jerusalem, the beloved city, was in. Nehemiah lived at ease, in
honour and fulness, himself, but could not forget that he was an Israelite,
nor shake off the thoughts of his brethren in distress, but in spirit (like
Moses, Acts vii. 23) he visited them and looked upon their burdens. As
distance of place did not alienate his affections from them (though they were
out of sight, yet not out of mind), so neither did, 1. The dignity to which he
was advanced. Though he was a great man, and probably rising higher, yet he
did not think it below him to take cognizance of his brethren that were low
and despised, nor was he ashamed to own his relation to them and concern for
them. 2. The diversity of their sentiments from his, and the difference of
their practice accordingly. Though he did not go to settle at Jerusalem
himself (as we think he ought to have done now that liberty was proclaimed),
but conformed to the court, and staid there, yet he did not therefore judge
nor despise those that had returned, nor upbraid them as impolitic, but kindly
concerned himself for them, was ready to do them all the good offices he
could, and, that he might know which way to do them a kindness, asked
concerning them. Note, It is lawful and good to enquire, "What
news?" We should enquire especially concerning the state of the church
and religion, and how it fares with the people of God; and the design of our
enquiry must be, not that, like the Athenians, we may have something to talk
of, but that we may know how to direct our prayers and our praises.
III. The melancholy account which is here given him of the present state of
the Jews and Jerusalem, v. 3. Hanani, the person he enquired of, has
this character given of him (ch. vii. 2), that he feared God above
many, and therefore would not only speak truly, but, when he spoke of the
desolations of Jerusalem, would speak tenderly. It is probable that his errand
to court at this time was to solicit some favour, some relief or other, that
they stood in need of. Now the account he gives is, 1. That the holy seed was
miserably trampled on and abused, in great affliction and reproach,
insulted upon all occasions by their neighbours, and filled with the
scorning of those that were at ease. 2. That the holy city was exposed and
in ruins. The wall of Jerusalem was still broken down, and the gates
were, as the Chaldeans left them, in ruins. This made the condition of the
inhabitants both very despicable under the abiding marks of poverty and
slavery, and very dangerous, for their enemies might when they pleased make an
easy prey of them. The temple was built, the government settled, and a work of
reformation brought to some head, but here was one good work yet undone; this
was still wanting. Every Jerusalem, on this side the heavenly one, will have
some defect or other in it, for the making up of which it will required the
help and service of its friends.
IV. The great affliction this gave to Nehemiah and the deep concern it put him
into, v. 4. 1. He wept and mourned. It was not only just when he
heard the news that he fell into a passion of weeping, but his sorrow
continued certain days. Note, The desolations and distresses of the
church ought to be the matter of our grief, how much soever we live at ease.
2. He fasted and prayed; not in public (he had no opportunity of doing
that), but before the God of heaven, who sees in secret, and will
reward openly. By his fasting and praying, (1.) He consecrated his sorrows,
and directed his tears aright, sorrowed after a godly sort, with an eye
to God, because his name was reproached in the contempt cast on his people,
whose cause therefore he thus commits to him. (2.) He eased his sorrows, and
unburdened his spirit, by pouring out his complaint before God and leaving it
with him. (3.) He took the right method of fetching in relief for his people
and direction for himself in what way to serve them. Let those who are forming
any good designs for the service of the public take God along with them for
the first conception of them, and utter all their projects before him; this is
the way to prosper in them.
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Nehemiah's
Prayer.
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B.
C. 445.
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5 And said, I beseech thee, O LORD
God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for
them that love him and observe his commandments: 6 Let thine ear
now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy
servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of
Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we
have sinned against thee: both I and my father's house have sinned.
7 We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the
commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy
servant Moses. 8 Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou
commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter
you abroad among the nations: 9 But if ye turn unto me, and
keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the
uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and
will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there.
10 Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed
by thy great power, and by thy strong hand. 11 O Lord, I beseech
thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the
prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee,
thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was
the king's cupbearer.
We have here Nehemiah's prayer, a prayer that has reference to all the prayers
which he had for some time before been putting up to God day and night, while
he continued his sorrows for the desolations of Jerusalem, and withal to the
petition he was now intending to present to the king his master for his favour
to Jerusalem. We may observe in this prayer,
I. His humble and reverent address to God, in which he prostrates himself
before him, and gives unto him the glory due unto his name, v. 5. It is
much the same with that of Daniel, ch. ix. 4. It teaches us to draw
near to God, 1. With a holy awe of his majesty and glory, remembering that he
is the God of heaven, infinitely above us, and sovereign Lord over us, and
that he is the great and terrible God, infinitely excelling all the
principalities and powers both of the upper and of the lower world, angels and
kings; and he is a God to be worshipped with fear by all his people, and whose
powerful wrath all his enemies have reason to be afraid of. Even the terrors
of the Lord are improvable for the comfort and encouragement of those that
trust in him. 2. With a holy confidence in his grace and truth, for he keepeth
covenant and mercy for those that love him, not only the mercy that is
promised, but even more than he promised: nothing shall be thought too much to
be done for those that love him and keep his commandments.
II. His general request for the audience and acceptance of all the prayers and
confessions he now made to God (v. 6): "Let thy ear be
attentive to the prayer, not which I say (barely saying
prayer will not serve), but which I pray before thee (then we are
likely to speed in praying when we pray in praying), and let they eyes be
open upon the heart from which the prayer comes, and the case which is in
prayer laid before thee." God formed the eye and planted the
ear; and therefore shall he not see clearly? shall not he hear
attentively?
III. His penitent confession of sin; not only Israel has sinned (it was no
great mortification to him to own that), but I and my father's house have
sinned, v. 6. Thus does he humble himself, and take shame to
himself, in this confession. We have (I and my family among the rest) dealt
very corruptly against thee, v. 7. In the confession of sin, let
these two things be owned as the malignity of it--that it is a corruption of
ourselves and an affront to God; it is dealing corruptly against God,
setting up the corruptions of our own hearts in opposition to the commands of
God.
IV. The pleas he urges for mercy for his people Israel.
1. He pleads what God had of old said to them, the rule he had settled of his
proceedings towards them, which might be the rule of their expectations from
him, v. 8, 9. He had said indeed that, if they broke covenant with him,
he would scatter them among the nations, and that threatening was
fulfilled in their captivity: never was people so widely dispersed as Israel
was at this time, though at first so closely incorporated; but he had said
withal that if they turned to him (as now they began to do, having
renounced idolatry and kept to the temple service) he would gather them
again. This he quotes from Deut. xxx. 1-5, and begs leave to put God in
mind of it (though the Eternal Mind needs no remembrancer) as that which he
guided his desires by, and grounded his faith and hope upon, in praying this
prayer: Remember, I beseech thee, that word; for thou hast said, Put
me in remembrance. He had owned (v. 7), We have not kept the
judgments which thou commandedst thy servant Moses; yet he begs (v.
8), Lord, remember the word which thou commandedst thy servant Moses;
for the covenant is often said to be commanded. If God were not more mindful
of his promises than we are of his precepts we should be undone. Our best
pleas therefore in prayer are those that are taken from the promise of God,
the word on which he has caused us to hope, Ps. cxix. 49.
2. He pleads the relation wherein of old they stood to God: "These are thy
servants and thy people (v. 10), whom thou hast set apart for
thyself, and taken into covenant with thee. Wilt thou suffer thy sworn enemies
to trample upon and oppress thy sworn servants? If thou wilt not appear for
thy people, whom wilt thou appear for?" See Isa. lxiii. 19. As an
evidence of their being God's servants he gives them this character (v.
11): "They desire to fear thy name; they are not only called by
thy name, but really have a reverence for thy name; they now worship thee, and
thee only, according to thy will, and have an awe of all the discoveries thou
art pleased to make of thyself; this they have a desire to do," which
denotes, (1.) Their good will to it. "It is their constant care and
endeavour to be found in the way of their duty, and they aim at it, though in
many instances they come short." (2.) Their complacency in it. "They
take pleasure to fear thy name (so it may be read), not only do their duty,
but do it with delight." Those shall graciously be accepted of God that
truly desire to fear his name; for such a desire is his own work.
3. He pleads the great things God had formerly done for them (v. 10):
"Whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, in the days of old.
Thy power is still the same; wilt thou not therefore still redeem them and
perfect their redemption? Let not those be overpowered by the enemy that have
a God of infinite power on their side."
Lastly, He concludes with a particular petition, that God would prosper
him in his undertaking, and give him favour with the king: this man he
calls him, for the greatest of men are but men before God; they must know
themselves to be so (Ps. ix. 20), and others must know them to be so. Who
art thou that thou shouldst be afraid of a man? Mercy in the sight of this man
is what he prays for, meaning not the king's mercy, but mercy from God in his
address to the king. Favour with men is then comfortable when we can see it
springing from the mercy of God.
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