mh_parser/vol_split/16 - Nehemiah/Chapter 1.xml

<div2 id="Neh.ii" n="ii" next="Neh.iii" prev="Neh.i" progress="92.59%" title="Chapter I">
<h2 id="Neh.ii-p0.1">N E H E M I A H</h2>
<h3 id="Neh.ii-p0.2">CHAP. I.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Neh.ii-p1">Here we first meet with Nehemiah at the Persian
court, where we find him, I. Inquisitive concerning the state of
the Jews and Jerusalem, <scripRef id="Neh.ii-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Neh.1.1-Neh.1.2" parsed="|Neh|1|1|1|2" passage="Ne 1:1,2">ver. 1,
2</scripRef>. II. Informed of their deplorable condition, <scripRef id="Neh.ii-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Neh.1.3" parsed="|Neh|1|3|0|0" passage="Ne 1:3">ver. 3</scripRef>. III. Fasting and praying
thereupon (<scripRef id="Neh.ii-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Neh.1.4" parsed="|Neh|1|4|0|0" passage="Ne 1:4">ver. 4</scripRef>), with a
particular account of his prayer, <scripRef id="Neh.ii-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Neh.1.5-Neh.1.11" parsed="|Neh|1|5|1|11" passage="Ne 1:5-11">ver. 5-11</scripRef>. Such is the rise of this great
man, by piety, not by policy.</p>
<scripCom id="Neh.ii-p0.1_1" osisRef="Bible:Neh.1" parsed="|Neh|1|0|0|0" passage="Ne 1" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Neh.ii-p0.2_1" osisRef="Bible:Neh.1.1-Neh.1.4" parsed="|Neh|1|1|1|4" passage="Ne 1:1-4" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Neh.1.1-Neh.1.4">
<h4 id="Neh.ii-p1.7">Nehemiah's Distress. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Neh.ii-p1.8">b. c.</span> 445.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Neh.ii-p2">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 <i>certain</i> 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 <i>are</i> in great affliction and reproach: the wall of
Jerusalem also <i>is</i> 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 <i>certain</i> days,
and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Neh.ii-p3">What a tribe Nehemiah was of does nowhere
appear; but, if it be true (which we are told by the author of the
Maccabees, <scripRef id="Neh.ii-p3.1" osisRef="Bible:2Macc.1.18" parsed="|2Macc|1|18|0|0" passage="2 Mac. i. 18">2 Mac. i. 18</scripRef>) that he offered sacrifice, we must
conclude him to have been a priest. Observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Neh.ii-p4">I. Nehemiah's station at the court of
Persia. We are here told that he was <i>in Shushan the palace,</i>
or royal city, of the king of Persia, where the court was
ordinarily kept (<scripRef id="Neh.ii-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:Neh.1.1" parsed="|Neh|1|1|0|0" passage="Ne 1:1"><i>v.</i>
1</scripRef>), and (<scripRef id="Neh.ii-p4.2" osisRef="Bible:Neh.1.11" parsed="|Neh|1|11|0|0" passage="Ne 1:11"><i>v.</i>
11</scripRef>) that he was <i>the king's cup-bearer.</i> 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 <i>the king's
cup-bearer</i> (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>I was in Shushan
the palace.</i> 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.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Neh.ii-p5">II. Nehemiah's tender and compassionate
enquiry concerning the state of the Jews in their own land,
<scripRef id="Neh.ii-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:Neh.1.2" parsed="|Neh|1|2|0|0" passage="Ne 1:2"><i>v.</i> 2</scripRef>. 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, <scripRef id="Neh.ii-p5.2" osisRef="Bible:Acts.7.23" parsed="|Acts|7|23|0|0" passage="Ac 7:23">Acts vii.
23</scripRef>) he <i>visited them and looked upon their
burdens.</i> 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, <i>asked concerning them.</i> 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.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Neh.ii-p6">III. The melancholy account which is here
given him of the present state of the Jews and Jerusalem, <scripRef id="Neh.ii-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:Neh.1.3" parsed="|Neh|1|3|0|0" passage="Ne 1:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>. Hanani, the person he
enquired of, has this character given of him (<scripRef id="Neh.ii-p6.2" osisRef="Bible:Neh.7.2" parsed="|Neh|7|2|0|0" passage="Ne 7:2"><i>ch.</i> vii. 2</scripRef>), that he <i>feared God above
many,</i> 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, <i>in great affliction and reproach,</i> insulted
upon all occasions by their neighbours, and <i>filled with the
scorning of those that were at ease.</i> 2. That the holy city was
exposed and in ruins. <i>The wall of Jerusalem was</i> still
<i>broken down, and the gates</i> 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.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Neh.ii-p7">IV. The great affliction this gave to
Nehemiah and the deep concern it put him into, <scripRef id="Neh.ii-p7.1" osisRef="Bible:Neh.1.4" parsed="|Neh|1|4|0|0" passage="Ne 1:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>. 1. He <i>wept and mourned.</i> It
was not only just when he heard the news that he fell into a
passion of weeping, but his sorrow continued <i>certain days.</i>
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
<i>fasted and prayed;</i> not in public (he had no opportunity of
doing that), but <i>before the God of heaven,</i> who sees in
secret, and will reward openly. By his fasting and praying, (1.) He
consecrated his sorrows, and directed his tears aright, <i>sorrowed
after a godly sort,</i> 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.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Neh.ii-p0.3" osisRef="Bible:Neh.1.5-Neh.1.11" parsed="|Neh|1|5|1|11" passage="Ne 1:5-11" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Neh.1.5-Neh.1.11">
<h4 id="Neh.ii-p7.3">Nehemiah's Prayer. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Neh.ii-p7.4">b. c.</span> 445.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Neh.ii-p8">5 And said, I beseech thee, <span class="smallcaps" id="Neh.ii-p8.1">O Lord</span> 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, <i>If</i> ye transgress, I
will scatter you abroad among the nations:   9 But <i>if</i>
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,
<i>yet</i> 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 <i>are</i> 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.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Neh.ii-p9">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,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Neh.ii-p10">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, <scripRef id="Neh.ii-p10.1" osisRef="Bible:Neh.1.5" parsed="|Neh|1|5|0|0" passage="Ne 1:5"><i>v.</i>
5</scripRef>. It is much the same with that of Daniel, <scripRef id="Neh.ii-p10.2" osisRef="Bible:Neh.9.4" parsed="|Neh|9|4|0|0" passage="Ne 9:4"><i>ch.</i> ix. 4</scripRef>. 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 <i>the great and terrible
God,</i> 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 <i>keepeth covenant and mercy for
those that love him,</i> 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 <i>love him and keep his commandments.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Neh.ii-p11">II. His general request for the audience
and acceptance of all the prayers and confessions he now made to
God (<scripRef id="Neh.ii-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:Neh.1.6" parsed="|Neh|1|6|0|0" passage="Ne 1:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>): "<i>Let
thy ear be attentive to the prayer,</i> not which I <i>say</i>
(barely <i>saying</i> prayer will not serve), but which I
<i>pray</i> before thee (then we are likely to speed in praying
when we pray in praying), and let <i>thy eyes be open</i> upon the
heart from which the prayer comes, and the case which is in prayer
laid before thee." God <i>formed the eye</i> and <i>planted the
ear;</i> and therefore shall he not see clearly? shall not he hear
attentively?</p>
<p class="indent" id="Neh.ii-p12">III. His penitent confession of sin; not
only Israel has sinned (it was no great mortification to him to own
that), but <i>I and my father's house have sinned,</i> <scripRef id="Neh.ii-p12.1" osisRef="Bible:Neh.1.6" parsed="|Neh|1|6|0|0" passage="Ne 1:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>. Thus does he humble
himself, and take shame to himself, in this confession. <i>We
have</i> (I and my family among the rest) <i>dealt very corruptly
against thee,</i> <scripRef id="Neh.ii-p12.2" osisRef="Bible:Neh.1.7" parsed="|Neh|1|7|0|0" passage="Ne 1:7"><i>v.</i>
7</scripRef>. 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 <i>dealing corruptly against God,</i>
setting up the corruptions of our own hearts in opposition to the
commands of God.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Neh.ii-p13">IV. The pleas he urges for mercy for his
people Israel.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Neh.ii-p14">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, <scripRef id="Neh.ii-p14.1" osisRef="Bible:Neh.1.8-Neh.1.9" parsed="|Neh|1|8|1|9" passage="Ne 1:8,9"><i>v.</i> 8, 9</scripRef>. He had said indeed
that, if they broke covenant with him, he would <i>scatter them
among the nations,</i> 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 <i>turned to him</i> (as now they began to do,
having renounced idolatry and kept to the temple service) he would
<i>gather them again.</i> This he quotes from <scripRef id="Neh.ii-p14.2" osisRef="Bible:Deut.30.1-Deut.30.5" parsed="|Deut|30|1|30|5" passage="De 30:1-5">Deut. xxx. 1-5</scripRef>, 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: <i>Remember, I beseech thee, that
word;</i> for thou hast said, <i>Put me in remembrance.</i> He had
owned (<scripRef id="Neh.ii-p14.3" osisRef="Bible:Neh.1.7" parsed="|Neh|1|7|0|0" passage="Ne 1:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>), <i>We
have not kept the judgments which thou commandedst thy servant
Moses;</i> yet he begs (<scripRef id="Neh.ii-p14.4" osisRef="Bible:Neh.1.8" parsed="|Neh|1|8|0|0" passage="Ne 1:8"><i>v.</i>
8</scripRef>), Lord, <i>remember the word which thou commandedst
thy servant Moses;</i> 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
<i>word on which he has caused us to hope,</i> <scripRef id="Neh.ii-p14.5" osisRef="Bible:Ps.119.49" parsed="|Ps|119|49|0|0" passage="Ps 119:49">Ps. cxix. 49</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Neh.ii-p15">2. He pleads the relation wherein of old
they stood to God: "These are <i>thy servants and thy people</i>
(<scripRef id="Neh.ii-p15.1" osisRef="Bible:Neh.1.10" parsed="|Neh|1|10|0|0" passage="Ne 1:10"><i>v.</i> 10</scripRef>), 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 <scripRef id="Neh.ii-p15.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.63.19" parsed="|Isa|63|19|0|0" passage="Isa 63:19">Isa. lxiii.
19</scripRef>. As an evidence of their being God's servants he
gives them this character (<scripRef id="Neh.ii-p15.3" osisRef="Bible:Neh.1.11" parsed="|Neh|1|11|0|0" passage="Ne 1:11"><i>v.</i>
11</scripRef>): "<i>They desire to fear thy name;</i> 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.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Neh.ii-p16">3. He pleads the great things God had
formerly done for them (<scripRef id="Neh.ii-p16.1" osisRef="Bible:Neh.1.10" parsed="|Neh|1|10|0|0" passage="Ne 1:10"><i>v.</i>
10</scripRef>): "<i>Whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power,</i>
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."</p>
<p class="indent" id="Neh.ii-p17"><i>Lastly,</i> He concludes with a
particular petition, that God would prosper him in his undertaking,
and give him favour with the king: <i>this man</i> he calls him,
for the greatest of men are but men before God; they must know
themselves to be so (<scripRef id="Neh.ii-p17.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.9.20" parsed="|Ps|9|20|0|0" passage="Ps 9:20">Ps. ix.
20</scripRef>), and others must know them to be so. <i>Who art thou
that thou shouldst be afraid of a man? Mercy in the sight of this
man</i> 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.</p>
</div></div2>