in administering the word of consolation to others; perhaps "thy words have upholden him that was falling, and thou hast strengthened the feeble knees," and you may have thought that it would be easy to apply the same remedy to your own heart, "but now it is come upon thee and thou faintest; it toucheth thee and thou art troubled."* Oh! no; we must depend wholly and unreservedly on the strength which is offered us from above; we must take unto us the whole armour of God, laying aside as unsafe and cumbersome, any of our own providing: the means are given unto us, but the hand which directs them, and the arm which renders them effective, are from on high. But again I ask, why is your strength small? "Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?"

Ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full."+ Can language frame a license more unlimited, a bounty more munificent? Pray, then, for what strength you require, and strength, equal to your day, shall be given you. But once more I ask, why is your strength small? Are not these rich, exceeding rich promises given to you, and to you are are not these glorious offers made? Undoubtedly, because they are universal; the winds convey them to the four quarters of the globe, and heralds of mercy, with an unlimited commission, are commanded to bear them "to every creature ;" so that none, to whom they come, can say, that they are excluded. Do I say truth in this? Yes; because

none are excluded, save those who exclude themselves! the faithless and unbelieving are they who do so; the weak and faint-hearted do so; they who rest their hopes partly in heaven, and partly on earth, do so; and to these their strength is small; it is no wonder, consequently, that they should faint in the hour of adversity.

Finally, take this as a test; if you find your affliction too heavy for you, so that you seem ready to sink under it, be assured that the declaration of Solomon is true, and your strength is small, either misplaced, i. e. on a wrong foundation, or you have not applied, with all earnestness and unreserved sincerity, for the fulfilment of the promise to be manifested in your behalf, "as thy days, so shall thy strength be."* Make then this discovery the ground of renewed application: remember that one, greater than Solomon, has said, "My grace is sufficient for thee." You have therefore all that the most faithless and fearful can desire; cry earnestly and unceasingly for a total surrender of yourself into the hands of God, since the assurance is, that "all things" shall not only be made to work individually, but shall "work together for good” to the people of God. It is to those, and those only, who love the Lord, and delight themselves in Him, that the promise, with which I will conclude, belongs (for none other come under the description here given,) "He giveth power to the faint, and to them that have no might, He increaseth strength."§

* Deut. xxxiii. 25.

+ II Cor. xii. 9. § Isaiah xl. 29.

Rom. viii. 28.

I.

XV.

NEHEMIAH II. 4.

THEN THE KING SAID UNTO ME, FOR WHAT DOST THOU MAKE REQUEST? SO I PRAYED TO THE GOD OF HEAVEN.

NEVER can we be thankful enough to God, for the various ways in which He has been pleased to convey instruction to us by His word; we have in it not only direct precepts, plain admonitions, clear and explicit rules for our conduct, and express promises for our encouragement, but also, in the lives of the most eminent of His servants, there are given to us indirect precepts, admonitions, rules, and promises. By these we learn much for surely the scripture biography is not transmitted to us for the purpose of being read, wondered at, and so forgotten, as a tale that is told. No; when we have a history before us, 'the original speakers and actors need not be even remembered. We are alone in our closets with God; we are in devotion before Him; this is a portion of His word; what have we individually to do with it? what does it say to us? in what man

ner does it reach our case? what use can we make of it, or what good derive from it ?'*

With this feeling let us approach the words before us; and let us do so in earnest prayer unto God, that they may prove unto us, as He purposes them to be, words of instruction, encouragement and direction.

They are the words of Nehemiah, whom the Jews were wont to regard as one of the greatest men of their nation; and indeed there is something truly grand and noble in the whole of his history. He was of the royal family of David, but at the time here spoken of, one of the captive Jews in the Persian Court. In consequence of his excellencies, he was chosen to fill the confidential and honourable office of cup-bearer to the Persian king, Artaxerxes: though, doubtless, he lived in ease and honour, yet so great was his love for the ordinances of religion, and so great his desire to see the pure worship of the God of his fathers restored to its former dignity and solemnity, by the rebuilding of Jerusalem, and the restoration of the temple, that he could not enjoy either. Grieved then in heart, he was, as might be expected, sad in his countenance; "wherefore, as he bare wine unto the king, the king said unto him, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick?" Though sore afraid, knowing the enmity of the king towards his God and the people of his God, yet he

* Scripture Reader's Guide, p. 86.

plainly and openly told him the truth, saying, "Why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire ?" Let this be remembered for our encouragement, that the misery and distress of his country, had been made by Nehemiah, a subject of earnest prayer, weeping and fasting; and here, in answer, an opening was made, a bright beam began to dawn upon him; for he says, "then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request?" I do not venture to assert that Nehemiah was astonished at this address of the king; for why should we be astonished and surprised if we receive that which we ask for? He was probably confounded at the goodness of Almighty God in thus designing to make him the honoured instrument of His intended benefit to His ancient people: he might also be astonished, at seeing the king receive so favourably the recital of his griefs, and manifest so much condescension and good-will towards him, as to ask him what he would wish to do in respect of them. But it was the will and purpose of Him, by whom "kings reign, and princes decree justice,"t to make Artaxerxes likewise instrumental in His design of mercy and relief.

Now, I pray you, mark well the conduct of Nehemiah. The words, " So I prayed to the God of heaven," teach us these three things:-First, We

See Nehemiah i. 4-11.

+ Prov. viii. 15.