that there is hope in Israel for him; that great backsliders have been healed, and great sinners have been pardoned; therefore there is yet hope; "for there is mercy with the Lord that he may be feared.'

Ver. 44. "All these had taken strange wives."]-About one hundred and thirteen in all are here named who had married strange wives, and some of them, it is here said, had children by them, which implies that not many of them had; God not crowning those marriages with the blessing of increase, whether the children were turned off with the mothers, as Shechaniah proposed, doth not appear, it should seem not; but however, it is likely, that the wives that were put away, were well provided for according to their rank. One would think this grievance was now thoroughly redressed, yet we meet with it again, Neb. xiii. 22. and Mal. ii. 11. for such corruptions are easily and insensibly brought in, but not without great difficulty purged out. The best reformers can but do their endeavour, but when the Redeemer himself shall "come to Sion, he shall effectually turn away ungodliness from Jacob."

Spiritual Exposition

OF THE

BOOK OF

NEHEMIAH.

SCRIPTURE KEY.

THE book of Ezra gives us a particular account of the return of the Jews out of the Babylonish captivity, and of their building the temple and the altar: and this book sets forth the happy fruits of it under the direction of Nehemiah, by whom the city of Jerusalem was repaired, and the walls rebuilt in which respects Nehemiah was raised by God to be a great blessing to his people. His name, in the Hebrew, The rest of the Lord, or, the consolation of the Lord, which the Lord accomplished by him, for he caused the people to return and rest in their own land, and thereby to rest in the promise of God to them: and he was likewise a great comfort to them after their mournful captivities, in encouraging them to build the walls and repair the city, and directing them in the worship of the house of God: in which respects he acted as a father and governor in Israel; therefore he is called the Tirshatha, Neh. viii. 9. which signifies a governor, or dispenser; in the Chaldee, The king's legate, or ambassador.

This book was written by Nehemiah himself, who was constituted governor of Judea, by Artaxerxes, king of Persia, wherein he relates divers memorable passages concerning his government, particularly bis sympathy with the

people of God, chap. i. and his authority to build Jerusalem, and the commission he had obtained from the king to go thither, chap. ii. Secondly, his building of the wall of Jerusalem, notwithstanding the opposition he met with, chap. iii. iv. Thirdly. His redressing the grievances of the people, chap. v. Fourthly, his finishing the wall, chap. vi. Fifthly, the account he took of the people, chap. vii. Sixthly, the religious solemnities of reading the law, fasting, and praying, and renewing their national covenants, which he called the people to, chap. viii. ix. x. Seventhly, the care he took for the replenishing of the holy city, and the settling of the tribe of Levi, chap. xi. xii. Eighthly, his second return from Persia, when he reformed many abuses, and especially takes care for the strict observation and sanctification of the sabbath, chap. xiii. Some call this the second book of Ezra, not because he was the penman of it, but because it is a continuation of the history of the foregoing book, to which it is connected.

The chief design of this book is to set forth the faithfulness of God in fulfilling his promises to his people in their distresses and tribulations, in reviving their hope, and strengthening their faith in his word and promise in the opposition they met with from their adversarics. See the key to the book of Ezra.

CHAPTER I.

Here we first meet with Nehemiah at the Persian court, where we find him, (1.) Inquisitive concerning the state of the Jews and Jerusalem, ver. 1, 2. (2.) Informed of their deplorable state, ver. 3. (3) Fasting aud praying thereupon, ver. 4. with a particular account of his prayer, ver. 5-11. Such is the rise of this great man, by the favour of God for the good of his people, and the fulfilment of his promise to them.

VER. 8-11. "O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine car be attentive to the prayer of thy servant."]-Our best pleas in prayer are taken from the promises of God: he pleads the relation whereon of old they stood to God; these are thy servants and thy people," ver. 10. whom thou bast 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 Isaiah Ixiii. 19.

As an evidence of their being God's servants, he gives them this character, ver. 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 notes, first, 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. Secondly, their complacency in it: they take pleasure to fear thy name, so it may be read; not only to do their duty, but do it with delight. Those shall graciously be accepted of God that truly desire to fear his name; for those desires are God's own work.

He pleads the great things God had formerly done for them, ver. 10. "whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power," in the days of old, and thy power is still the same, wilt thou not therefore still redeem them, and perfect their redemption. They shall not be overpowered by the enemy that have a God of infinite power on their side.

CHAPTER II.

How Nehemiah wrestled with God and prevailed, we read in the foregoing chapter; now here we are told how like Jacob he prevailed with men also, and so found that his prayers were heard and answered. (1.) He prevailed with the king to send him to Jerusalem with a commission to build a wall about it, and grant him what was necessary for it, ver. 1-8. (2.) He prevailed against the enemies that would have ob. structed him in his journey, ver. 9-11. and laughed him out of his undertaking, ver. 19, 20. (3.) He prevailed upon his own people to join with him in this good work; viewing the desolations of the wall, ver. 12-16 and then gaining them to lend every one a hand towards the rebuilding of them, ver. 17, 18. Thus did God own him in the work to which he called him.

VER. 10. "When Sanballat, the Horonite, and Tobiah, the servant, the Ammonite, heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly."]-When the Lord raiseth up his servants for his honour and glory, and lays the welfare of his people near their hearts, then Satan raiseth up enemies against them; for it grieves the wicked to see the righteous prosper.

Ver. 20. "Then answered I them, and said unto them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his

servants will arise and build: but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial in Jerusalem."]-Note, an humble dependence upon the power of the God of heaven encourages the servants of the Lord to go forwards in his work in the face of every adversary. Observe, Nehemiah did not at first tell the rulers what he came about, because he would not seem to do it for ostentation, and that if he found it impracticable, he might retreat the more honourably: upright humble men will not sound a trumpet before their alms, or any other their good offices. But when he had viewed and considered the thing, and probably felt the pulse of the rulers and people, he told them "what God had put into his heart, even to build up the walls of Jerusalem." Observe, first, how fairly he proposed it to them; "ye see the distress we are in," how we lie exposed to the enemies that are round about us, how justly they reproach us, as foolish and despicable, how easily they make a prey of us whenever they have a mind. "Come, therefore, and let us build up the wall." He doth not undertake to do it without them. It could not be the work of one man; nor doth he charge and command imperiously, though he had the king's commission, but in a friendly brotherly way exhorts and excites them to join with him in this work. He produced the king's commission, told them how readily it was granted, and how forward the king was to favour his design, in which he saw the hand of God "good upon him." It would encourage both him and them to proceed in an undertaking which God had so remarkably smiled upon.

CHAPTER III.

Saying and doing are often two things; many are ready to say, "Let us rise up and build," who sit still and do nothing; like that fair-spoken son who said, "I go, sir, but went not," the undertakers here were none of those. As soon as they had resolved to build the wall about Jerusalem, they lost no time, but set about it presently. Let it never be said we left that good work to be done to-morrow, which we might as well have done to-day. This chapter gives an account of two things, (1.) The names of the builders which are recorded here to their honour, for they were such as herein discovered a great zeal for God and their country; both a pious and a public spirit; a great degree both of industry and courage, and what they did was fit to be thus largely registered, both for their praise, and for the encouragement of others to follow their example. (2.) The order of the building; they took it before them, and ended where they began. They repaired, (1.)