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Nehemiah
Chapter Five
Nehemiah 5
Chapter Contents
The Jews complain of grievances. (1-5) Nehemiah redresses
the grievances. (6-13) Nehemiah's forbearance. (14-19)
Commentary on Nehemiah 5:1-5
(Read Nehemiah 5:1-5)
Men prey upon their fellow-creatures: by despising the
poor they reproach their Maker. Such conduct is a disgrace to any
but who can
sufficiently abhor it when adopted by professing Christians? With compassion
for the oppressed
we should lament the hardships which many in the world are
groaning under; putting our souls into their souls' stead
and remembering in our
prayers and succours those who are burdened. But let those who show no mercy
expect judgment without mercy.
Commentary on Nehemiah 5:6-13
(Read Nehemiah 5:6-13)
Nehemiah knew that
if he built Jerusalem's walls ever so
high
so thick
or so strong
the city could not be safe while there were
abuses. The right way to reform men's lives
is to convince their consciences.
If you walk in the fear of God
you will not be either covetous of worldly
gain
or cruel toward your brethren. Nothing exposes religion more to reproach
than the worldliness and hard-heartedness of the professors of it. Those that
rigorously insist upon their right
with a very ill grace try to persuade
others to give up theirs. In reasoning with selfish people
it is good to
contrast their conduct with that of others who are liberal; but it is best to
point to His example
who though he was rich
yet for our sakes became poor
that we
through his poverty
might be rich
2 Corinthians 8:9. They did according to
promise. Good promises are good things
but good performances are better.
Commentary on Nehemiah 5:14-19
(Read Nehemiah 5:14-19)
Those who truly fear God
will not dare to do any thing
cruel or unjust. Let all who are in public places remember that they are so
placed to do good
not to enrich themselves. Nehemiah mentions it to God in
prayer
not as if he had merited any favour from God
but to show that he
depended upon God only
to make up to him what he had lost and laid out for his
honour. Nehemiah evidently spake and acted as one that knew himself to be a sinner.
He did not mean to claim a reward as of debt
but in the manner that the Lord
rewards a cup of cold water given to a disciple for his sake. The fear and love
of God in the heart
and true love of the brethren
will lead to every good
work. These are proper evidences of justifying faith; and our reconciled God
will look upon persons of this character for good
according to all they have
done for his people.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on
Nehemiah》
Nehemiah 5
Verse 2
[2] For
there were that said
We
our sons
and our daughters
are many: therefore we
take up corn for them
that we may eat
and live.
Many —
Which is in itself a blessing
but to us is turned into a curse.
Take up — We
are forced to take up corn
upon unreasonable terms.
Verse 3
[3] Some also there were that said
We have mortgaged our lands
vineyards
and houses
that we might buy corn
because of the dearth.
The dearth —
Which might happen
both from the multitude of the people in and near
Jerusalem
from their work
which wholly took them up
and kept them from
taking care of their families
and from the expectation of their enemies
invasion
which hindered them from going abroad to fetch provision
and the
people round about from bringing it to them.
Verse 5
[5] Yet
now our flesh is as the flesh of our brethren
our children as their children:
and
lo
we bring into bondage our sons and our daughters to be servants
and
some of our daughters are brought unto bondage already: neither is it in our
power to redeem them; for other men have our lands and vineyards.
Our flesh — We
are of the same nature
and religion with them
though they treat us as if we
were beasts or Heathens.
Bondage — We
are compelled to sell them for our subsistence.
Daughters —
Which was an evidence of their great necessity
because their daughters were
more tender
and weak
and unfit for bond-service
and more exposed to injuries
than their sons.
Redeem —
Which we are allowed to do
Exodus 21:7-11
but have not wherewith to do it.
Verse 7
[7] Then
I consulted with myself
and I rebuked the nobles
and the rulers
and said
unto them
Ye exact usury
every one of his brother. And I set a great assembly
against them.
Exact —
Which was against the plain and positive law of God
Deuteronomy 23:19
20
especially in this time of
publick calamity.
I set — I
called a publick congregation
both of the rulers and people
the greatest part
whereof were free from this guilt
and therefore more impartial judges of the
matter
and represented it to them
that the offenders might be convinced
and
reformed; if not for fear of God
or love of their brethren
yet at least for
the publick shame and the cries of the poor. Ezra
and Nehemiah were both good
and useful men; but of how different tempers? Ezra was a man of a mild tender spirit
and when told of the sin of the rulers
rent his clothes and wept: Nehemiah
forced them to reform
being of a warm and eager spirit. So God's work may be
done
and yet different methods taken in doing it; which is a good reason why
we should not arraign the management of others
nor make our own standard.
Verse 8
[8] And I said unto them
We after our ability have redeemed our brethren the
Jews
which were sold unto the heathen; and will ye even sell your brethren? or
shall they be sold unto us? Then held they their peace
and found nothing to
answer.
We — I
and my brethren
and predecessors
have used our utmost interest and power
both with the kings
of Persia
that our brethren might be redeemed from bondage
and with
particular persons in Babylon
and Persia
whose bond-slaves the Jews were
and
who would not part with them without a price.
Be sold — Do
you expect that we should pay you a price for them
as we did to the
Babylonians?. Or
must we use as much importunity to solicit you for their redemption
as we did to their enemies?
Verse 9
[9] Also
I said
It is not good that ye do: ought ye not to walk in the fear of our God
because of the reproach of the heathen our enemies?
Reproach —
Who are round about you
and observe all your actions
and will reproach both
you for such barbarous usage of your brethren
and religion for your sakes.
Verse 10
[10] I
likewise
and my brethren
and my servants
might exact of them money and corn:
I pray you
let us leave off this usury.
Brethren — In
office; these who are employed with me in the government of this people.
Servants — In
my name
and for my use.
Exact — As
a just recompense for our pains and care for the publick good
to which we
wholly devote ourselves
even to the neglect of all our private concerns. But I
freely remit my own right
and therefore you also ought to do so
seeing I lay
no burden upon you
but what I am willing to bear a part of upon my own
shoulders.
Verse 11
[11]
Restore
I pray you
to them
even this day
their lands
their vineyards
their oliveyards
and their houses
also the hundredth part of the money
and
of the corn
the wine
and the oil
that ye exact of them.
Also —
Also require not: which is to be supplied out of the next verse
where it is
expressed in their grant of this desire.
Hundredth part —
Which they required every month for the use of their monies or goods
according
to the custom then used.
Verse 12
[12] Then
said they
We will restore them
and will require nothing of them; so will we
do as thou sayest. Then I called the priests
and took an oath of them
that
they should do according to this promise.
Require —
For the hundredth part.
Priests — As
witnesses; that the oath being taken before the priests
who acted in God's
name
the oath might make the more deep and durable impression upon their
consciences.
Verse 13
[13] Also
I shook my lap
and said
So God shake out every man from his house
and from
his labour
that performeth not this promise
even thus be he shaken out
and
emptied. And all the congregation said
Amen
and praised the LORD. And the
people did according to this promise.
My lap —
The extreme parts of my garment
which I first folded together
and then shook
it and scattered it asunder. This was a form of swearing then in use.
Verse 14
[14] Moreover
from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah
from the twentieth year even unto the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes the
king
that is
twelve years
I and my brethren have not eaten the bread of the
governor.
Twelve years —
Not that he continued so long together at Jerusalem
but he so long governed
Jerusalem by himself when present
and in his absence
by a deputy.
The bread —
That allowance which by the laws of God and nations
and of the king of Persia
the governors might require.
Verse 15
[15] But
the former governors that had been before me were chargeable unto the people
and had taken of them bread and wine
beside forty shekels of silver; yea
even
their servants bare rule over the people: but so did not I
because of the fear
of God.
The former —
Not Ezra
who was no governor
nor Zerubbabel
but others between him and
Nehemiah
whom he forbears to name.
Beside
… —
Which they required of the people every day to defray their other expenses.
Their servants —
Ruled them with rigor and cruelty; which fault of the servants is charged upon
their masters
because they did not restrain them. He had an awe of God's
mercy
and a fear of offending him. Those that truly fear God
will not dare to
do any thing cruel or unjust. And this is not only a powerful
but an
acceptable principle both of justice and charity.
Verse 16
[16] Yea
also I continued in the work of this wall
neither bought we any land: and all
my servants were gathered thither unto the work.
I continued —
Overseeing
directing
and encouraging the workmen
which was my whole
business; and this at my own cost.
Bought — Of
our poor brethren
whose necessities gave abundant opportunity of enriching
myself with good bargains.
Verse 17
[17]
Moreover there were at my table an hundred and fifty of the Jews and rulers
beside those that came unto us from among the heathen that are about us.
Rulers —
Not only Jews of the inferior sort
for whom meaner provisions might suffice
but also their rulers
for whom better provision was fit; who resorted to him
upon all occasions
to give him notice of the enemies designs; or to receive
his orders.
Verse 18
[18] Now
that which was prepared for me daily was one ox and six choice sheep; also
fowls were prepared for me
and once in ten days store of all sorts of wine:
yet for all this required not I the bread of the governor
because the bondage
was heavy upon this people.
Required not —
But bore it out of my own estate: which was very considerable
his office in
the Persian court being a place of great profit.
Verse 19
[19]
Think upon me
my God
for good
according to all that I have done for this
people.
According — As
I have done thy people good for thy sake
so do me good for thine own sake; for
thou art pleased
and hast promised graciously to reward us according to our
works
and to mete to men the same measure which they meet to others.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Nehemiah》
05 Chapter 5
Verses 1-19
Verses 1-13
And there was a great cry of the people.
The friend of the poor
I. The complaint
of the poor. It is sometimes alleged the poor have a morbid disposition to
complain of their indigence and sufferings; and this may be true of certain
classes of them. The ignorant and vicious
the idle and intemperate
are prone
to bewail their hardships in querulous words. They complain bitterly of the
miseries of their lot
and perhaps charge those with having a hard heart who do
not give them the relief they desire. They try thus to excite the pity of the
benevolent
or to extort the gifts of charity which they do not deserve. But it
is altogether different with the industrious and pious poor. The poor of the
children of Judah are manifestly brought to the very extremity of suffering
before they disclose their sorrowful circumstances; and when they are compelled
to make them known
it is in language remarkable for dignified sobriety and
true pathos. The complaint of these poor Israelites unveils their varied load
of sorrow.
1. Some complained of the extent of their necessities. “We
our sons
and our daughters
are many: therefore we take up corn for them
that we may
eat
and live.” The calls of hunger were many; the means of supply
on their
own inheritance
were small; and they required to purchase corn for bread from others.
Their straits
too
were increased by the present dearth. It is one of the many
glories of the religion of the Bible that it makes a benevolent care of the
poor a paramount duty in all who have it in their power to relieve their
necessities
and enforces this duty by threatenings for its neglect
and by
promises of reward for its observance.
2. Some of the poor here also complain of the severity of public
burdens. They were still subject to the Persian king
and to secure the
continuance of his favour to Jerusalem they had made every possible effort to
pay his tribute. Their more wealthy countrymen met this tax without abridging
their home comforts
but the burden was heavy on the poor.
3. The sorrows of the poor were in this case deepened by the thought
that they were occasioned by the ungenerous conduct of their own brethren. “Yet
now our flesh is as
the flesh of our brethren
our children as their children: and
lo
we bring
into bondage our sons and our daughters to be servants
neither is it in our
power to redeem them.” They possessed a common relation to the covenant
inheritance. They had left the land of their exile animated with the same
faith
and embarked in the same enterprise. Many of them had quitted comforts
in that foreign land
out of love to Jerusalem
and were now enduring the first
trials of returned captives. They had laboured
too
by their united
endeavours
to restore the city of their fathers
instead of seeking every man
his own things in the care of his patrimonial inheritance. It might have been
expected that
thus labouring for a common object
they would have shared a
common sympathy
and been free from the grasp of selfishness.
4. How mysterious are sufferings like these
especially of the poor
people of God engaged in His service. We do not wonder that those Jews who
remained in the land of idols
after they were free to return to Judah
might
suffer adversity. They despised the Lord’s goodness in offering deliverance
from exile
and preferred ease in a strange country to spiritual blessings in
the holy land. It is not wonderful though they might be visited with trials in
providence
and be made to read their sin in their suffering. But here those
endure affliction who willingly left the land of the heathen
and they are involved
in deep trouble while doing a service to the city of God. Shall we think that
they disprove either the wisdom or goodness of God’s providence to His people?
Do they not rather show His thoughts to be far above our thoughts
and His
procedure in carrying out His great plan to be too high for us to understand?
Do they not clearly indicate that He tries the faith of His servants in the
very moment of accepting their love
and rewards their affection
not in the
comforts of earth
but in the glories of immortality? It is thus that the world
in which we dwell is still a place of weeping
where the poor and needy pour
out their tears in floods. Thousands of righteous ones languish in poverty
or
are persecuted for their fidelity to the truth of God.
II. Nehemiah’s
expostulation with the nobles. The promptitude with which he listens to the
complaint of the poor does honour to his heart
and the courage with which he
proceeds to redress their wrongs sheds a lustre on the justice of his
administration. The cry of the lowly for relief from distress or opposition is
often disregarded
yea
proves the occasion of augmenting their misery. And in
his very first step for reform of these abuses in Judah he evinces again the
self-reliance of a great mind. “Then
” says he
“I consulted with myself.” To
this
indeed
he was shut up by his peculiar and trying circumstances.
1. He “rebuked the nobles
and the rulers
and said unto them
Ye
exact usury
every one of his brother.” To see the full force of this charge
it must be borne in mind that the Israelites were forbidden in the law of Moses
to lend money to the poor on interest. With strangers
or perhaps with the
rich
they might trade in this way; but this is the law interdicting such a
practice with their poor brethren:--“If thou lend money to any of My people
that is poor by thee
thou shalt not be to him an usurer
neither shalt thou
lay upon him usury.” This
then
is a grave charge against the nobles of
violating the Divine law; and it falls on ears not accustomed to such plain
words. Men of rank and affluence seldom hear this language of remonstrance
addressed to them
and they can ill bear such reflections on their honour. But
no earthly station exempts wrong-doers from just reproof; and Nehemiah’s zeal
for God
as well as his love to His people
inspires him with faithfulness.
True kindness to them
not less than compassion for the lowly objects of their
exactions
prompted his faithful expostulation. The reproof here was administered with
firmness
yet it was accompanied with the prudence of wisdom
adopting a course
fitted to fortify remonstrance
and to secure its desired effect. “I set
” says
he
“a great assembly against them.” What was the object of this concourse? We
cannot suppose that the servant of God intended
through this means
to overawe
the nobles by numbers
or to constrain them to a decision contrary to reason.
He appears rather to have convened this assembly to allow the free expression
of sentiment on the evil complained of
and to bring all under the salutary
influence of public opinion. In no free community can public opinion be set at
defiance with either justice or safety. It may
indeed
be sometimes corrupted
by designing men
and it may for a season be swayed by impulses perilous to the
common-weal. It requires
then
to be corrected and regulated by the power of
truth. But a healthful public opinion
wisely formed
rightly guided
freely
expressed
is the bulwark of national liberty
and an essential condition of
the progress of mankind.
2. Nehemiah addressed to the rulers of Judah persuasive argument. The
arguments he employed are threefold. He first of all pleads the efforts already
made to redeem Judah from captivity. And on this ground he asks if it is right
they should be again sold into bondage. “We after our ability have redeemed our
brethren the Jews
who were sold unto the heathen; and will ye even sell your
brethren?” This appeal reminds believers in Christ of their duty
not to come again into
bondage to sin. “Stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made you free
and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” Nehemiah
moreover
pleads the exposure of the common cause to the reproach of the enemy as a
reason for the nobles ceasing their oppression. “Also I said
It is not good
that ye do: ought ye not to walk in the fear of our God because of the reproach
of the heathen our enemies?” This is a powerful argument for watchfulness and
consistency in all who love Zion. Many are jealous for their own reputation
and quick to wipe off any reproach from themselves
while they have little care
for the honour of God. Nehemiah
once more
appeals to his own conduct as an
example of a generous spirit to his poor brethren. He
too
might have exacted
money and corn
but he freely surrendered his private rights for the sake of
the public good. It is not in a boastful spirit that he thus refers to himself
and the course of self-denial he pursued. Perhaps
also
he wishes to suggest
that he gained far more in enjoyment than he gave up in substance. The powerful
and persuasive appeal was crowned with complete success. The result of this
appeal also proves the power of religious motive in remedying social evils.
These often grow and spread in face of all arguments deduced from considerations
of humanity and justice. But here
in Jerusalem
religion pours the oil of love
on the troubled waters; she addresses a winning appeal to open hearts
and at
once the grasp of oppression is relaxed. If any great social evils are allowed
to prevail where religion is professed
it is only by neglecting or denying its
power. Christianity will either destroy every iniquity that abounds in a land
or itself will decline and depart from a people who will not hear its voice
to break off
their sins by righteousness.
III. Nehemiah’s
testimony to his own disinterested conduct. (W. Ritchie.)
Brave compassion
Now Nehemiah
as we have seen
was a business man--a man of great
energy and prudence; and it would not have been strange if he had postponed the
consideration of the complaints thus brought before him. He might naturally
enough have been afraid lest
by now finding fault with the nobles and rulers
he should alienate them from himself
and thus hinder the completion of his
great enterprise. And so he might have said to these poor people
“You see that
my hands are full of work; I cannot attend to this matter now--one thing at a
time. No doubt you have a grievance
but let us get the wails finished first
and then I will see what can be done.” It is thus that many men of business act
in daily life. Their very energy leads them to brush aside everything that
threatens to interfere with their present work. They cannot bear interruptions
and are so eagerly bent on reaching their end that they cannot pause to do good
on their way. But Nehemiah was more than a mere man of business; he was a man
with a tender heart. (T. C. Finlayson.)
A great schism averted
I. That social
injustice may exist even amongst fellow-workers in a great and good cause.
II. That social
injustice
if not corrected
will undermine the stability of any cause
however
righteous.
III. That social
injustice should be regarded by all good men with feelings of righteous
indignation.
IV. That social
injustice
whenever discovered
should be calmly
yet promptly
dealt with.
V. That
conciliatory appeals are sometimes more efficacious than coercive measures in
dealing with social injustice. (Homiletic Commentary.)
The accusing cry of humanity
I. The unending
struggle. Wealth and poverty
knowledge and ignorance
brain and brawn
capital
and labour--when in all ages have not these come into collision?
II. Elements of
bitterness in this struggle.
1. On the side of the oppressors there is power (Nehemiah 5:7).
2. The oppressed are the brethren of the oppressors.
3. They were engaged in a common cause.
III. Light in
dareness.
1. Christ cams to proclaim the brotherhood of humanity.
2. Signs of the times. The teacher is abroad. Society is tending towards
redress. (Homiletic Commentary.)
Verses 3-5
We have mortgaged our lands.
The miseries of debt
I. Mental unrest.
II. Social
degradation.
III. Family ruin.
IV. A disregard of
a Divine command: “Thou shalt not steal.” Application--
1. Christians should set the world an example.
2. Watch the beginnings of extravagance.
3. In small things as well as in greater act on Christian principle.
(Homiletic Commentary.)
The blessing and curse of mortgages
The history of the mortgage would be the history of the domestic
social
financial
political
and ecclesiastical progress of all ages. It will
be useful if I can intelligently and practically speak of the mortgage as a blessing
and as a curse. There is much absurd and wholesale denunciation of borrowing
money. If I should request all those who have never asked a loan to rise
there
would not out of this audience be one get up unless it were some one who had
acted so badly at the start that he knew no one would trust him. At the
inception of nearly all enterprises
great or small
a loan is necessary. Years
ago an Irish man landed with fifty cents in his pocket on the Battery
asked
the loan of one dollar from an entire stranger
and now is among the New York
princes. A mortgage is merely borrowed strength of others to help us in crises
of individual or national life on the promise that we will pay them for the
help rendered. But what is true in secularities is more true in ecclesiastical
affairs. If churches had not been built till all the money could be raised
tens of thousands of our best churches would never have been built
and
millions of those who are now Christians on earth or saints in heaven would
never have been comforted or saved. The old Collins’s line of steamers went
into bankruptcy
but that does not change the fact that they transported
hundreds of passengers in safety across the sea; and if all the churches in
Christendom to-morrow went down under the thump of the sheriff’s hammer
that
would not hinder the fact that they have already transported thousands into the
kingdom
and have done a stupendous good that all earth and hell can never
undo. All consider it right to borrow for a secular institution. Is it not
right to borrow for a religious? It is safer to borrow for the Church than for
any other institution
because other institutions die
but a Church seldom.
When the Israelites of my text wanted to rebuild their homes
and wanted to
borrow money for that purpose
the mortgagers did well to let them have it
though I wish they had not asked twelve per cent. But after a while the
mortgage spoken of in the text ceased to be a blessing
and became a plague. It
had helped them through a domestic and ecclesiastical crisis
but now they
could carry it no longer
and they cried out for rescue. If a blessing lies too
long
it gets to be a curse. At the first moment the farmer can get the
mortgage off his farm
and the merchant the mortgage off his merchandise
and the
citizen the mortgage off his home
and the charitable institution the mortgage
off its asylum
and the religious society the mortgage off its church
they had
better do it. I have heard people argue the advantage of individual debts and
national debts and Church debts; but I could not
while the argument was going
on
control my risibilities. It is said that such debts keep the individual and
the Church and the State busy trying to pay them. No doubt of it. So rheumatism
keeps the patient busy with arnica
and neuralgia keeps the patient busy with
hartshorn
and the cough with lozenges
and the toothache with lotions; but
that is no argument in favour of rheumatism
or neuralgia
or coughs
or
toothache. Better
if possible
get rid of these things
and be busy with
something else. (T. De Witt Talmage.)
Verse 7
Then I consulted with myself.
Precipitate anger avoided
But
though very angry
he nevertheless “consulted with himself.”
Even righteous indignation is often too precipitate in its expression
and
vents itself in a
fuming and storming which does little or no good. But the fervid feeling of
Nehemiah was blended with practical wisdom. He took counsel with himself as to
what was best to be done. (T. C. Finlayson.)
And I set a great assembly
against them.
An assembly convoked against sinners
I wish to show impenitent sinners how great an assembly may be set
against them. That so large a majority of mankind are on the side of
irreligion
tends powerfully to preserve a majority on that side
for a large
proportion of the youth in each successive generation will enlist under the
banner of the strongest party. The same circumstance operates to weaken the force and prevent the success
of those means and arguments which God employs for the conversion of sinners.
When the man who neglects religion looks around him and sees wealth
rank
power
and influence all ranged on his side
he secretly says
“I must be
right
I must be safe. If I fare as well as the great mass of my
fellow-creatures
I shall fare well enough.” This being the case
it is
important that sinners should be made to see what a great assembly may be set
against them. Among those who are against them
we mention--
I. The good men
now in the world. God has not a servant
Jesus Christ has not a friend on earth
who is not against you. Their example is against you
their testimony is
against you.
II. All the good
men who have ever lived in the world
the spirits of just men made perfect.
III. All the writers
of the old and new testaments. With one voice they cry
“Woe to the wicked! it
shall be ill with him
for the reward of his hands shall be given him.”
IV. The Holy
Angels.
V. The Lord Jesus
Christ. Every doctrine which He promulgated
every precept which He enjoined
every threatening which He uttered
every action of his life
is against you.
Christ meets all the impenitent
and says
“Except ye repent
ye shall all
likewise perish.” He meets the unbelieving
and says
“He that believeth not
shall be damned.” He meets all the unholy
and says
“Without holiness no man shall see the Lord.”
He meets all the unregenerate
and exclaims
“Verily
verily
I say unto you
Except ye be born again
ye cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.”
VI. God the Father.
(E. Payson
D. D.)
Witnesses against you
Some persons are deaf to the voice of justice until it is repeated
loudly by thousands of their fellow-men. The silent voice of principle and
right they will not hear
and the
gentle rebuke of some one faithful friend they will despise; but when
righteousness enlists public opinion on its side
when many are seen to be its
advocates
then these very persons will show that they have relics of
conscience left
and they yield to right demands because they see them not only
to be just
but to be popular. This is the main point with those of the feebler
sort
and we turn the scale if
like Nehemiah
we “set a great assembly against
them.” I set a great assembly against--
I. The
unconverted.
1. The great assembly of all the godly that are upon the earth. They
all testify against you.
They cannot bear to think of that which awaits you. Holy
Whitfield
when he began to touch upon that subject
would
with the tears
streaming down his cheeks
cry
“The wrath to come! the wrath to come!” It was
too much for him. He could but repeat those words and there cease.
2. All the inspired writers of the Bible.
3. The departed saints.
4. The whole company of the angels.
5. God Himself. “The face of the Lord is against them that do evil
to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.”
6. Jesus Christ
the Son of God.
II. Those who say
that sin is a very pleasnt and profitable thing. Oh
what an assembly it would
be if I could bring up from the hospitals the wretches who are suffering an
earthly hell from their sins I Go over the casual ward
enter the union-house
spend an evening in a low lodging-house
and sit down and hear the tales of
sons of ministers
of sons of gentlemen
of sons of noblemen
of men that once
were merchants
traders
lawyers
doctors
who have brought themselves down by
nothing else than their own extravagance and sin to eat the bread of pauperism.
III. Those who say
that true religion makes people miserable. I have suffered as much of bodily
pain as most here present
and I know also about as much depression of spirit
at times as any one;
but my Master’s service is a blessed service
and faith in Him makes my soul
leap for joy. I would not change with the most healthy man
or the most wealthy
man
or the most learned man
or the most eminent man in all the world
if I
had to give up my faith in Jesus Christ. It is a blessed thing to be a
Christian and all God’s people will tell you so. By the living saints that do
rejoice
and by the dying saints who die without a fear
I set an assembly
against the man who dares slander true religion by saying that it does not make
men happy. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Verse 9
Ought ye not to walk in the fear of our God
because of the
reproach of the heathen our enemies?
Jealousy for the honour of God
There was much good sense and Christian wisdom in the reply which
was once given to a dignitary of our Church by a simple rural pastor. The
latter had said to the former
“If you act so
what will the people say?” The reply
was
“Do you care what the people say?” The rejoinder of the plain man was
“I
care as little as any man what the people say; but I care a great deal what the
people have a right to say.” How just the distinction! Human opinion ought to
have no weight with us when it contravenes duty; but it ought to weigh much
with us when we incur its censure by the violation of duty. The ungodly will judge
chiefly of Christianity by those who profess it
and be largely won or
scandalised by the manner in which it is adorned or disgraced by them. (Hugh
Stowell
M. A.)
Verse 10
Let us leave off this usury.
Wise rebuke
He did not stand on a pedestal and look down on them with scorn
and contempt; he rather placed himself alongside of the offenders
that he
might lift them to a higher level. Let us learn from this beautiful example how
best to rebuke and restore an erring brother or sister. (W. P. Lockhart.)
Verse 15
But so did not I
because of the fear of God.
A motto for a manly life
I. The
self-regulative power of a manly motive. “The fear of God”; “the love of
Christ”; “religious principle”; “conscience”; “the sense of duty”; “the
instinct of right
” are all variations of expressions of the same motive.
II. The courage to
be singular is here implied.
III. Applications of
this principle to the commonplace life of all men.
1. To himself a man must say
“No!”
2. To the world a man must say “No!”
3. This is the motto for youth.
IV. The simplicity
and directness of this life-motto
V. This motto is
our guide in doubtful matters. (Homiletic Commentary.)
The fear of the Lord
I. Wholesome
self-restraint. There is always a temptation to run with the multitude. It was
particularly so with Nehemiah.
1. His superiors were evil. A man is fain to follow his employers or
masters.
2. His surroundings were evil. A person gets his tone from his
surroundings.
3. His temptations were to evil. He would have gained the applause of
his fellows by sinning.
4. He was singular in his convictions
also almost alone in an
idolatrous land.
II. An all-powerful
motive. “Because of the fear of the Lord.” All the more powerful because
unseen--the mightiest forces are those the eye cannot trace. The fear of the
Lord is--
1. A safe guide. It is sure to be right.
2. A powerful incentive. He has power to cast into hell
and He will
reward.
3. A plain directive. The wayfaring man
though a fool
shall not err
therein. Men who are independent in their purpose of rectitude are
earth’s
true nobility. Learn to stand alone for the cause of truth. (Homilist.)
Nehemiah’s master principle
The religion of the Bible is not a sickly plant which requires the
forcing-house to keep it alive. It is a hardy tree which flourishes best in the
open field. The servant of God anywhere is the servant of God everywhere. Few
notions have done more mischief than the imagination that godliness belongs to
the closet and sanctuary
the cloister and the cell
and that it is too
ethereal to be interfused into the occupations of secular life. To refute such
fallacies nothing is more effectual than holy example. Example shows what can
be done
and at the came time points out the way in which it may be
accomplished. For those occupied in the busy pursuits of the world there is no
more appropriate example in the Scriptures than that of Nehemiah.
I. His ruling
motive. The whole tenor of his conversation bespoke the supremacy of the fear
of God in his soul. This chapter contains an impressive exercise of this
principle. Of those returned from the captivity
many were destitute and
distressed; their poverty made them a prey to their richer brethren. Nehemiah’s
predecessors were most rigorous in their exactions
and failed to let mercy
temper justice. Nehemiah
on the contrary
not only refrained from oppression
but did not even require his dues. Had he not disclosed the principle which
actuated him
we might have filled up the blank in this way: Because of the
promptings of generosity; or because of my high sense of honour; or because of
the patriotism that fired my breast; or because of the compassion which melted
my heart. Thus
however
spake not Nehemiah
but he said
“So did not I
because of the fear of God.” This gave the character of godliness to his
conduct; this transmuted what would otherwise have been no better than fair
tinsel into the fine gold of the sanctuary.
II. The nature of
the fear of God. The fear of God in the Old Testament is equivalent to the love
of God in the New. The former indicates the severer aspect of the one economy
as compared with the more gracious aspect of the other. What viewed in one
light is love viewed in another is godly fear. They are but different aspects
of the same principle. If there be genuine love of God
there cannot fail to be
s holy fear of offending Him. This fear is therefore the beginning of wisdom;
the guardian of holiness; the seal of adoption. What need there is for this
principle to pervade the mercantile world! Examined in the light of Scripture
the morals of that world
even in our own favoured land
would be found to be
fearfully faulty. Along with much that is honourable and of good report among
our merchant princes
if you penetrate into the recesses of commerce
you will
frequently detect a low and shifting standard of equity--you will discover that
a thousand practices are connived at and pass current in business which when in
the balances of the sanctuary are found utterly wanting.
III. The salutary
effects of the fear of God. It gives to mercantile morality--
1. Intrinsic worth.
2. Strength.
3. Stability.
4. Universality.
(a) It will keep a man undefiled amid the defilements of public life
like the pure stream that is said to pass through the salt lake and yet retain
its freshness. It is a safeguard against the tone
the spirit
and the
practices of business
and it will prevent compliance with the expedients
manoeuvres
and subterfuges of trade.
(b) A trying ordeal for a godly tradesman is to be reputed soft and
behind the age because he will not overreach his neighbour. When he sees
competitors prospering by doubtful expedients
or hears them glorying in their
equivocal gains
his reflection and joy will be
“So did not I
because of the
fear of God.”
(c) It will restrain from the unhallowed indulgences of worldlings
(d) It will guard against the desecration and profanation of the
ordinances of the Lord’s Day. (Hugh Stowell
M. A.)
Uprightness in dealing
If you wish to apply a touchstone to character
take this
as the most searching--the exercise of those graces which a man is most tempted
to neglect
and the eschewal of those iniquities which a man is most tempted to
indulge. He who can stand this test is sterling in the sight of God. Consider--
I. Some great
principles which ought to obtain in mercantile transactions.
1. A Christian tradesman ought to love his neighbour as himself.
2. “Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you
do ye even so to
them.” This is a code of morals condensed into a sentence.
3. You must be faithful in the little
even as in the great.
II. Some of the
less obvious deviations from these principles which pass current in the
mercantile world.
1. How common is it for men to defraud society by idleness and
self-indulgence!
2. By selfish extravagance
or rash speculations
what numbers
subject themselves to liabilities which their resources do not warrant
or
plunge into debts which they have no prospect of discharging!
3. How diversified the deceptions practised in trade for the purpose
of taking advantage of the purchaser! (Hugh Stowell
M. A.)
The fear of God
A few principles
realised in the heart
will generate this
blessed fear. Let us consider--
I. God’s majesty
and this will provoke the fear of reverence.
II. God’s
providence
and this will induce a fear of dependence.
III. Our advantages
and this will induce a fear of diffidence.
IV. Our obligations
and this will induce a fear of gratitude and love. (J. M. Randall.)
The fear of God a real principle of life
It puts a difference between the world and the servant of
God--
I. As it regards
choice.
II. As to service.
III. As to WORSHIP.
IV. As to affliction.
The worldly man will fret and murmur; not so the godly.
V. As to the
practical conduct of daily life. (J. M. Randall.)
So did not I
I. Let me put the
main principle that lies here in these words: nothing will go right unless you dare to be
singular. “So did not I.” How soever common the practice
howsoever innocent
and recognised the source of gain
the multitude that approved it
and adopted
it
was nothing to me. Everything will be wrong where a man has not learnt the
great art of saying
“No.” Resolute non-compliance with common practice should
be exercised--
1. In the field of opinion. If we are building on traditional
opinion
we have really no foundation at all. Unless the word received from
others has been verified by ourselves and changed
as it were
into part of our
own being
we may befool ourselves with creeds and professions to which we
fancy that we adhere
but we have no belief whatsoever.
2. In the daily conduct of life. There are many beckoning hands and
enticing voices that seek to draw us away. Sturdy resistance is necessary--
II. Consider that
you cannot resist the evil around you unless you give yourselves to God. No man
will ever for a lifetime resist and repel the domination of evil unless he is
girded about with the purity of Jesus Christ
as an atmosphere in which all
poisonous things fade and die
and through which no temptation can force its
way. The only means for steadfast resistance is a steadfast faith in Jesus as
our Saviour.
1. In Christ we have an all-sufficient pattern. The one command which
contains the whole of Christian duty
the whole law of moral perfectness
attainable by man
is--“Be ye imitators of God
as beloved children
and walk
as Christ walked.”
2. That fear of God which is all transfused and mingled with the love
of Him
gives us next an all-powerful motive. Love delights to please; fear
dreads to disobey.
3. The fear of God strengthens us for resistance
because it gives us
an omnipotent power within ourselves whereby we resist. “The law of the Spirit
of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” (A.
Maclaren
D. D.)
Resistance to evil
Nehemiah is an illustrious example of a courage that is within
reach of us all
a courage that dares to be true when truth is unpopular
and
to do that which is right when right is scorned. Like some unfailing river
which defies the heat and the drought of the longest summer because its sources
lie on the margin of perpetual snow
this courage in its noblest form is
independent of circumstances because it has its spring in the presence of God.
I. Why should we
dare to stand alone
and to say to evil
“So will not I”?
1. Because in the end it is the safest course. Life is a probation
and an education. None of us can escape temptation. It moulds and tests our
character and fits us for service. There are but two courses open--compliance
or resistance. Many a man makes shipwreck on the very verge of manhood for the
want of courage to say
“No
” and of the resolution to stand alone.
2. It is the manliest course. What do we think of one out on a wide
sea in an open boat who
when the storm gathers and the waves run high
drops
his oars
fastens up his helm and lets himself drift. He is the brave man who
undaunted by the dark sky and the angry waves
toils at the oar and makes for
the land. And he who
caught by sudden and sharp temptation
allows himself to
drift helplessly with the tide
excites only scorn and compassion
while he
who
like Nehemiah
faces the temptation in the strength of God
and cries
“So
will not I
” is a true man
a real hero
and a worthy follower of Jesus Christ.
3. It is the wisest course. We escape thereby the consequences of
sin
and the very temptation we resist becomes the means of strengthening our
character.
II. The secret of this
courage “So did not I
because of the fear of God.” In the realisation of the
Divine presence Bishop Latimer forgot his fear of the King of England
and
spoke brave and strong and faithful words of warning and remonstrance. In the
fear of God lived Lord Lawrence
the great British Pro-Consul as he has been
called
who saved India in the day of mutiny
and his marble in Westminster
Abbey tells us “He feared man so little because he feared God so much.” (F.
J. Chavasse.)
Singularity
1. Our text contains the regulative spring of a noble life. The words
mean most to the young. Will the coming generation prefer conscience and
convenience and make God the pole-star of their life? Every one of us is
important to God
and the consciousness of this is the parent of virtue and the
inspiration of heroism. God wants us. When Augustine was in disquiet of mind
he said
“Soul
what aileth thee?” And he seemed to hear a Divine voice within
answer
“Look above.” Turning upward and noting the stars looking down on him
he said
“Stars
can you tell me the meaning of my unrest?” And the stars
whispered
“Look above.” Remembering the angel-hosts of God marshalled for
service or watchfulness
Augustine cried
“Ministers of God
can ye minister to
a restless mind? “And they chanted
“Look above.” “Maker of all things
” said
the reverent though unabashed inquirer
“tell me the meaning of this
unsatisfiedness?” And God responded
“I have made thee for Myself
and thy soul
can find no rest till it find rest in Me.” When Samuel Webster was asked
as he
sat at dinner
what was the most formative influence that entered his life
he
replied
“The greatest influence that ever touched my life was the sense of my
responsibility to God.”
2. Doing right means sometimes being unfashionable. A business man
died the other day. Writing to his travellers
he was accustomed to add a
sentence like “Go straight.” He knew that both right and wrong doing were
contagious. Dr. Bushnell said to a young man who was consulting him as to the
calling he should pursue
“Grasp the handle of your being.” Your taste or
fitness is as a handle to your faculties. Find your course and go right ahead
in the teeth of opposition
in spite of the stings of sarcasm or the bitterness
of temporary forsakenness. Remember Him who said
“I am alone; and yet I am not
alone
because the Father is with Me.”
3. The power of numbers is magical
and we are so often bidden to do
as others do. Said an avowed and educated infidel to a Christian apologist.
“Let the final issue be what it may
the majority is against you
and I go with
the majority.” But the world has not always been saved by majorities.
Reformers
statesmen
saints
singers
prophets
priests
believers in God and
duty--these have been the saviours of society.
4. It is a moment of moral victory when a young man dares to say
“I
cannot afford it.”
5. A man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of things that he
possesseth
nor in the outward success of his noblest efforts; it does consist
in his harmony of conscience with the fear of God
in the peace that is born of
obedience. Whitfield and a companion were much annoyed one night by a set of
gamblers in a room adjoining that in which they slept. Their clamour and their
horrid blasphemy so excited Whitfield that he could not rest. “I will go and
reprove their wickedness
” said he. His companion remonstrated in vain. His
words of reproof were apparently powerless. His companion asked him
“What did
you gain by it?” “A soft pillow
” he said
and soon fell asleep. Duty looks upward;
duty implies God. Jesus Christ incarnated duty. Duty is the minister of heaven.
This prayer was found in the desk of a schoolboy after his death: “O God
give me
courage to fear none but Thee.” (John H. Goodman.)
The fear of God
I. What it is to
fear God.
1. In general it is a passion of the soul whereby a man doth flee
from imminent evil.
2. In particular it is--
II. That a man who
fears God will not do as others do.
1. In the matter of their choice (Matthew 14:7-8; Hebrews 11:25).
2. In the matter of their worship (Joshua 24:15).
3. In their business calling.
4. In what they are entrusted with.
5. In their refreshments.
6. In their afflictions.
7. In their right and propriety.
Lot would not let Abraham have his right
though it was his right
yet Abraham
because he feared God and for peace sake
gives up his right.
III. What is there
in this fear of God that should balance the soul
and cause it not to do as
others do. A man that fears the Lord--
1. Has different ends from others.
2. Has a tenderer conscience.
3. Has different restraints.
IV. What is the
issue and consequence of the fear of the Lord?
1. God deals well with the man who fears Him (Psalms 112:6-8).
2. God will delight in him.
Conclusion: If you would fear the Lord in truth--
1. Be humbled for the want of it.
2. Ask God to fulfil His promise
“I will put My fear into their
hearts.”
3. Observe what that is that is nearest and dearest to you
and give
it up.
4. Worship God according to His own appointment.
5. Take heed of sinning when you have the opportunity.
6. Labour to strengthen your love to God.
7. Live much in and study much upon dependence wholly upon God. H a
man be upon a high tower
and another holds him from falling by the hand only
he will certainly be very fearful of offending him that holds him so.
8. Use the world as not abusing it. Deal with men as in the presence
of God.
9. Labour after more communion with Him. We used to say
“Too much
familiarity breeds contempt”; but here it is not so
for by familiarity and
communion with God we shall have more sweetness and more delight in His ways
more strength in His service
more comfort in our afflictions. (W. Bridge.)
The fear of God the touchstone
I. That in the
Christian religion it is the motive that gives worth to the action.
II. Nehemiah here
ascribes his own conduct to the motive from which every action must spring that
obtains the approval of God. He might have displayed the same absence of self
on quite a different principle.
1. Patriotism.
2. Desire for popularity.
But his refusal of the emoluments of office was “because of the
fear of God.” This is a kind of summary of character which includes the various
features of spiritual excellence. It is a Divinely implanted principle which makes
Christ the motive and God the end of every particular of conduct. The man that
fears God labours to act up to the measure of the revelation with which he is
favoured; to appropriate the privileges
to act upon the motives
and to
perform the duties of the dispensation beneath which he is placed. A fear such
as this cannot subsistunless there be a consciousness that “now are we the sons
of God.” It may have been through “the terror of the Lord” that we were first
brought to serious thoughts
earnest resolutions
and fervent supplications
yet when we have felt somewhat of the consciousness of danger there will be a
thousandfold more motive to us to strive after holiness
in the love and grace
exhibited on Calvary.
III. Some prominent
instances of this general truth. No action can be approved in God’s sight which
may not be traced to His fear.
1. Attention to the outward duties and forms of religion may arise
from
the custom of society
the mere force of habit
compliance with the
wishes of friends
or the desire of setting an example to others
without there
being the slightest vestige of vital Christianity.
2. When we tell the man
of high morals and unflinching integrity and high generosity
but who is a
stranger to Christ
that he can no more be saved in his present condition than
one of the worst profligacy
we are not representing morality
integrity
and
generosity as things to be dispensed with by the inheritor of the kingdom of
heaven; we are simply affirming that they are of worth only as fruit of a
Divinely implanted principle
and that if they have any other origin
they may
indeed be beneficial to society
but they cannot promote salvation. Who knows
not that there is in many men a kind of philosophical sense of the beauty and
dignity of virtue
a native repugnance to what is gross and dishonourable
and
a fine sympathy with suffering
which will go far to the producing what is
regarded as exemplary in character
although there may be at the same time an
utter ignorance
and even contempt
of the doctrines of Christianity? We must
be good on good principles. (Henry Melvill
B. D.)
Principle
I. The guiding
principle of Nehemiah’s conduct--the fear of God.
1. The fear of God
as a principle of action
is at once simple and
potent. Look at the machinery in some of your mills. You have there a forest of
shafts
an army of wheels
a perfect maze of cunningly invented instruments
requisite for carrying out the various processes of manufacture. But how simple
and how mighty the power which moves and controls the whole machinery--the
power of steam! How immensely superior to any other motive power as yet brought
into general use! What steam is in this relation
so is the fear of God to
morals. The religious principle in its influence on this complicate mechanism
termed man
and on these intricate and bewildering human affairs
has a simple
efficacy not only unsurpassed
but with which no other principle can vie.
2. The superiority of this principle appears also in its
wide-reaching sphere of action. This sphere comprises every thing great and
small that relates to human conduct. It embraces life in all its aspects. We
cannot thus speak of other principles of action which men acknowledge. Take
public opinion
for instance. If it be this which influences us in the course
we pursue our morality may prove a very precarious thing. A life regulated by
the opinion of one’s fellow-creatures is likely to be well-ordered only so far
and for so long
as it shall be under the public eye; whereas the fear of God
affects us as truly in the gloom of night as in the brightness of meridian day;
affects us as really when remote from the city’s hum and the crowded mart as it
would in the midst of them; affects us as powerfully in mountain solitudes and
on watery wastes as when the gaze of assembled thousands is upon us. “The
morality
” says a writer previously quoted
“the morality that is based upon
self interest or the opinion of men
will not endure the severest tests. For
what if a man should be beset by a temptation so great as to buy over his
supposed self interest
and render it in his view more profitable to defraud
than to be honest?
II. The operation
of this principle as seen in the chapter before us. It impelled Nehemiah to
rectify abuses. Nehemiah discharged a disagreeable duty with all fidelity. “I
rebuked the nobles
and the rulers
and said unto them
” etc. Hitherto the fear
of God has acted on Nehemiah as an impelling principle. We come now to the
incident with which the text stands immediately connected
and we see the
operation of this principle as a restraining force. “So did not I
because of
the fear of God.” It held Nehemiah in check. (T. Robson.)
An ancient Nonconformist
The words that I have read are a little fragment of his auto
biography which deal with a prosaic enough matter
but carry in them large
principles. When he was appointed governor of the little colony of returned
exiles in Palestine
he found that his predecessors
like Turkish pashas and
Chinese mandarins to-day
were in the habit of “squeezing” the people of their
government
and that they requisitioned sufficient supplies of provisions to
keep the governor’s table well spread. It was the custom. Nobody would have
wondered if Nehemiah had conformed to it; but he felt that he must have his
hands clean. His religion went down into the little duties of common life
and
imposed upon him a standard far above the maxims that were prevalent round
about him.
I. The attitude to
prevalent practices. That non-compliance with customary maxims and practices is
the beginning
or
at least
one of the foundation-stones
of all nobleness and
strength
of all blessedness and power. Of course
it is utterly impossible for
a man to denude himself of the influences that are brought to bear upon him by
the circumstances in which he lives
and the trend of opinion
and the maxims
and practices of the world
in the corner
and at the time
in which his lot is
cast. But
on the other hand
be sure of this
that unless you are in a very
deep and not at all in a technical sense of the word “Nonconformists
” you will
come to no good. It is so easy to do as others do; partly because of laziness
partly because of cowardice
partly because of the instinctive imitation which
is in us all. Men are gregarious. A great many of us adopt our creeds and
opinions
and shape our lives
for no better reason than because people around
us are thinking in a certain direction
and living in a certain way. Now
I ask
you to take this plain principle of the necessity of non-compliance and apply
it all round the circumference of your lives. Apply it to your opinions. There
is no tyranny like the tyranny of a majority in a democratic country like ours.
“What everybody says”--perhaps--“is true.” What most people say
at any given
time
is very likely to be false. Truth has always lived with minorities. If
you have honestly thought out the subject to the best of your ability
and have
come to conclusions diverse from those which men like me hold dearer than their
lives
that is another matter. But I know that very widely there is spread the
fashion of unbelief. So many influential men
leaders of opinion
teachers and
preachers
are giving up the old-fashioned
evangelical faith
that it takes a
strong man to say that he sticks by it. It is a poor reason to give for your
attitude
that unbelief is in the air
and nobody believes those old doctrines
now. An iceberg lowers the temperature all round it
and the iceberg of
unbelief is amongst us to-day
and it has chilled a great many people who could
not tell why they have lost the fervour of their faith. On the other hand
let
me remind you that a mere traditional religion
which is only orthodox because
other people are
and has not
verified its beliefs by personal experience
is quite as deleterious as an
imitative unbelief. It is no excuse for shady practices in your trade to say
“It is the custom of the trade; and everybody does it.” Nehemiah might have
said: “There
never was a governor yet but took his forty shekels a day’s worth”--about
£1
800 of our money--“of provisions from these poor people
and I am not going
to give it up because of a scruple. It is the custom
and because it is the
custom I can do it.” “Oh
” but you say
“that involves loss.” Very likely!
Nehemiah was a poorer man because he fed all these one hundred and fifty Jews
at his table
but he did not mind that. It may involve loss
but you will keep
God
and that is gain. Do not be tempted to follow that multitude to do evil.
Unless you are prepared to say “No I” to a great deal that will be pushed into
your face in this great city
as sure as you are living you will make shipwreck
of your lives.
II. The motive that
impels to this sturdy non-compliance. NOW
my point is this
that Jesus Christ
requires from each of us that we shall abstain
restrict ourselves
refuse to
do a great many things that are being done round us. I need not remind you of
how continually He spoke about taking up the cross. I need not do more than
just remind you of His parable of the two ways
“Enter ye in at the strait
gate
for strait is the gate.” Just because there are so many people on the
path suspect it
and expect that the path with fewer travellers is probably the
better and the higher. But to pass from that
what did Jesus Christ mean by His
continual contrast between His disciples and the world? Society is not
organised on Christian principles; we all know that. And until it is
if a man
is going to be a Christian he must not conform to the world. “Know ye not that
whosoever is a friend of the world is an enemy of God?” I would press upon you
that our Christianity is nothing unless it leads us to a standard
and a course
of conduct in conformity with that standard which will be in diametrical
opposition to a great deal of what is patted on the back
and petted and
praised by society. Now
there is an easy-going kind of Christianity which does
not recognise that
and which is in great favour with many people to-day; and
is called “liberality” and “breadth
” and “conciliating and commending
Christianity to outsiders
” and I know not what besides. Well
Christ’s words
seem to me to come down like a hammer upon that sort of thing. Society does not
think much of these trimmers. It may dislike an out-and-out Christian
but it
knows him when it sees him
and it has a kind of hostile respect for him which
the other people will never get.
III. The power which
enables us to exercise it. “The fear of God
” or
taking the New Testament
equivalent
“the love of Christ
” makes it possible for a man
with all his
weakness and dependence on surroundings
with all his instinctive desire to be
like the folk that are near him
to take that brave attitude
and to refuse to
be one of the crowd that runs after evil and lies. Christ will enable you to
take this necessary attitude because
in Himself He gives you the example which
it is always safe to follow. The instinct of invitation is planted in us for a
good end
and because it is in us examples of nobility appeal to us. He makes
it possible for us
because we have the strongest possible motive for the life
that He prescribes. As the Apostle puts it
“Ye are bought with a price
be not
the servants of men.” There is nothing that will so deliver us from the tyranny
of majorities
and of what we call general opinion and ordinary custom
as to
feel that we belong to Him because He died for us. Jesus Christ being our
Redeemer is our Judge
and moment by moment He is estimating our conduct
and
judging our actions as they are done. The servant of Christ is the master of
all men. “All things are yours
whether Paul
or Apollos
or Cephas--all are
yours
and ye are Christ’s.” (A. Maclaren
D. D.)
Fear expels fear
How often we see fear expel fear. The fear of being burnt will
nerve a woman to let herself down by a water-pipe from the upper storeys of a
house in flames. The fear of losing her young will inspire the timid bird to
throw herself before the steps of a man
attracting his notice from them to
herself. Oh! for that Divine habit of soul which so conceives of the majesty
and power
and love of God
that it does not sin against Him
but would rather
brave a world in arms than bring a shadow over His face. (F. B. Meyer.)
The Christian in commerce
It is a noble sight to see a man
moved simply by religious
considerations
departing from customs sanctioned by society; going against the
tide of opinion and practice; foregoing worldly profits; deaf to the pleas that
satisfy the multitude
meekly asserting a spiritual independence; silently
rebuking the sinfulness and servility of the times; only careful of acquitting
himself to God
and realising his ideal of moral integrity. He is like a spring
in an arid desert. He is like a star shining brightly amid dark clouds. Our
subject is
“The Christian in commerce.” The Christian tradesman must assume
the attitude of Nehemiah. His principles must take the form of reform and
opposition. Consider--
I. What
Christianity requires of a man in his deaings with his fellow-men.
1. The most rigid adherence to the principles of moral integrity in
commerce.
(a) All positive misrepresentations.
(b) All the arts by which one thing is palmed off for another.
(c) All deficient scales and measures.
(d) All pretences
when unfounded
of special bargains
etc.
(e) All promises which cannot be or are not meant to be kept.
And on the
part of the purchaser it condemns all pretences--
(a) That what is wanted is not wanted.
(b) That it has been purchased more cheaply elsewhere.
(c) That it is very inferior to what it really is. “It is naught
it
is naught
saith the buyer
but when he is gone his way he boasteth.”
2. The exercise of love and kindness in commerce. This will preserve
from exclusive dealing
etc.
3. That a man should preserve his soul in peace and patience in
commerce.
4. That commerce should be consecrated and elevated by the spirit of
holiness.
II. Why this
conduct is necessary in commerce.
1. Commerce is a most important part of our life.
2. Commerce is a most influential part of our life.
3. Commercial holiness is imperatively required by the character and
temper of the times
(A. G. Morris.)
Verse 16
Neither bought we any land.
Nehemiah an example of unworldliness of mind
The people of God maintain a certain unearthly peculiarity
throughout all their relationship to earth; they do not become assimilated to
the crowd through which they hold the tenor of their way. Like that limpid
stream of which we are told that
entering a salt and bituminous lake
it
clears its way through the uncongenial waters
untainted and uncommingled
so
that it issues forth below as pure as when it entered
so the current of God’s
people
passing through the dead sea of this world
does not blend with its
waters
but speeds on undefiled to the clear ocean in heaven. Consider how this
unworldly spirit will tell on your every-day course.
I. It will
restrain you from intimacy
though you cannot avoid intercourse
with the
ungodly.
II. You will be
distinguished from the world by the moderation with which you will form your
plans and prosecute your undertakings.
III. You will show
“another spirit” in the friendships which you form and the associations which
you choose.
IV. You will be
restrained from that greediness of gain which
more than ever
characterises
the world in this present age.
V. You will have a
large and open hand for the claims of god
the service of his church
and for
the relief of the poor and needy.(Hugh Stowell
M. A.)
Verse 19
Think upon me
my God.
The saint’s support
I. The person
petitioned.
1. General title: “God.”
2. Special relation:
“My.”
II. The point
prayed for. Lessons:
1. God the support of His saints.
2. Peculiar God to believer: “My.”
3. God hath remembrancers.
4. God is soonest drawn to His own.
5. Prayer proper for one’s own good.
6. Works may be pleaded before God.
7. Man’s works are the rule of God’s reward.
8. Everything well done shall be rewarded.
9. Good done to God’s people is most acceptable. (Wm. Gouge.)
The remembrance of good deeds a pillow of rest for a good man
I. Life’s review
will be a review of the whole of life.
II. Life’s reward
will be rendered according to its deeds. (Homiletic Commentary.)
──《The Biblical Illustrator》