: and Tobias was a servant, and yet crept into great authority, as the other was. These two points may well agree to the papists, and all enemies of God's truth; for they will lurk privily, until time serve them to shew their cruelty, and then they will rage fiercely and so will slaves and servants, that come to authority from base degree. Salomon saith, "There Prov. xxx. be three things that trouble the world," whereof the first is "a servant when he cometh to be a ruler:" for then he waxeth so proud and cruel, that he forgetteth what he was, he disdaineth all men but himself. The papists are bastardly born of spiritual whoredom, serve the pope as slaves in all his superstitions: they come of Agar the bond woman, and not of Sara the free woman; and therefore hate the true children of God, which believing the promises of God are saved, and they will be saved by their own works, contrary to the scripture; and so grieved when they see any thing prosper with them, that for very malice and envy they pine away; as these two wicked imps do here shew themselves, because they would not see Jerusalem restored. As the building of this Jerusalem had many enemies, so the repairing of the heavenly Jerusalem by the preaching of the glorious gospel of Christ Jesus hath many more. The malice and envy of worldlings against all those that set up the kingdom of Christ, and pull down the pride of man's heart, is so great that it can never be satisfied. If malice had not blinded these men, what harm was it to them to see the Jews do well, and God worshipped there? The Jews never went about to invade or conquer their country; and yet they could not enjoy their own country without much trouble of these envious people. Envy ever disdaineth to see other do well, and specially such as live well and serve the Lord Christ, and is glad of other men's mischief and harm, for then they think none shall be able to withstand their pleasures and devices. The people of Canaan, when Josh. ii. they heard of Josua and the Israelites coming with so great courage to possess their country, were so dismayed, that their courage melted away like wax at the fire. Herod and all Jerusalem were astonied, when they heard tell that new king Christ, being but a child, was born; and yet the angels sung for joy. When our Saviour Christ was Joh. xvi. 1 Cor. x. Psal. cxii. : crucified and buried, his disciples were sad, and the Jews rejoiced but when Christ had conquered death, and was risen again, then the disciples were glad, and the Jews were sad. Thus one thing worketh diversely in divers men. Nehemiah was glad that he had found such favour with the king to build Jerusalem; Sanballat and his fellows were as sorry that any should do it. The gospel hath foretold that it should so fall out with the worldlings and the godly: the one shall rejoice, when he seeth God's glory flourish; and the other shall be grievously tormented in conscience. "The world shall be glad," saith St John, "but ye shall weep; and yet this your sorrow shall be turned into joy:" for God will not see his servants overwhelmed with trouble, but he will deliver them. David, describing at large the manifold blessings that God poureth on them that fear him, in the end of the psalm saith, "The ungodly shall see it, and it shall grieve him; he will gnash with his teeth, and pine away for malice; but the desire of the ungodly shall perish." There cannot be a greater grief to an ill man, than to see a good man do well. When there was a question moved before king Frederic among his physicians, what was best to make the sight clear, and some said fennel, some saladine, some glass, some other things, as they thought good; Actius Sincerus, a nobleman standing by, said he thought envy was the best when every man either laughed or marvelled at his saying, he yielded a reason, and said, "Envy maketh any thing that she seeth to appear better than it is; for the envious man thinketh another man's corn to be better than his own, and another man's cow to give more milk, and the least good thing that a good man hath seemeth great in his eye, that cannot see other thrive, and espieth diligently with great grief the smallest things the good man doeth; and that is," said he, " to make the eye sight clearest, when every small thing shall be best espied." Envy is worse than any poison of other beasts. The snake, the adder, the toad, have deadly poison in them, wherewith they hurt others, and yet it hurteth not themselves: but envy is so poisonful a thing, that it killeth him that hath it first, and hurteth not other: for he fretteth with himself, he fumes, he pines away to see others do well; he eateth not, nor sleepeth quietly, nor can be merry until he see some mischief fall on the good man: and as the canker eateth and consumeth hard iron and brass, so malicious envy with fretting consumeth out envious stomachs. When Sanballat and Tobias, hearing but of Nehemiah's coming into the country, and that he had found such favour with the king to build Jerusalem, were thus grieved with malicious envy to see the Jews do well; what sundry attempts they made afterwards to overthrow that building, the residue of this book will declare. How the envious papists, disdaining to see God's gospel take place in any country, do rage, fret, fume, pine away for sorrow and anger; how they have blooded and bathed their hands in their brethren's blood, and yet cannot be quiet, the world seeth it too well, good men lament it, justice crieth vengeance, and God will revenge it. v. 11. And I came to Jerusalem, and I was there three days. The Text. 12. And I rose in the night, I and a few men with me, and told no man what God had put in my heart to 13. And I went forth at the valley gate in the night, and 14. And I passed over to the well gate, and to the king's fishpool, and there was no room for the beast under me to pass. 15. And I went up in the night by the brook, and I considered the well; and coming back I came by the valley gate, and returned. Nehemiah hath now done with the court, and is come to Jerusalem, which he so much desired: he was weary of the noise and solemnity of the court, and thought he should live more quietly in his country; but it falleth out clean contrary for his trouble and danger is double to that it was afore; and he cometh from the court to the cart, and from a pleasant life to a careful. After his long journey he resteth himself and his company three days, knowing [PILKINGTON.] 22 the weakness of man's body to be such, that it cannot continually endure labour, but must be refreshed with ease and rest. Thus must good men in authority not overlay their servants with continual labour, but let them have reasonable time of rest for God made the sabbath day, that both man and beast might rest, and not be oppressed with continual toiling such a consideration he had of man's weakness. We do not read of any great solemnity that the Jews used to welcome him withal, being their countryman, and coming from the court so honourably, with such a band of men to conduct him, and being in so great favour with the king: it is like, if that there had been any such thing, it would have been declared, as well as his estate was in the court afore. It was but a hard beginning, to have Sanballat and Tobias, two of the greatest men in the country, to lower so at his coming, and no greater rejoicing made of his countrymen, for whose sake he took all those pains: but nothing can discourage him; on forward he goeth with his purpose. These three days, though he rested with his body, his mind was not yet quiet: he was still devising how he might best and speedily go about his building; how he might open to his countrymen the cause of his coming; how he might persuade them to join with him in that work; and to declare unto them the king's commission and good will toward him, and what favour he found in the court. For they might well doubt, if they should enterprise so great a work without the king's licence, they might run into great displeasure, seeing they had so many enemies in the country about them, that with all their might had sought the hinderance of that building so many years. They themselves had lien so long in despair, followed their own business, sought their own gains, and cared not for building their own city, nor sought any ways how to do it; they had almost so far forgotten their God, oppressed the poor, and fallen to so great wickedness, as appeareth hereafter, that they had no care of religion in the most part of them. After that Nehemiah had how this work should be 12. And I rose in the night. thus long debated with himself, taken in hand, he could not sleep, but riseth in the night, taketh a few of his men with him on foot, and he himself on his mule, and rideth round about Jerusalem, vieweth the walls, in what place they were worst destroyed, and how they might most speedily be repaired. If he had taken his view in the day-time, every man would have stood gazing on him, wondering what he went about, and have hindered it; and not unlike, some would have been offended at him, and his enemies round about would, as much as they durst or could, have stopped his enterprise. The night therefore was thought to be the quietest time to do this in, and he is content to break his sleep for the furtherance of this great good work. A good example for all men, and especially for those that be in authority in the commonwealth, as Nehemiah was now, and for those that have the charge of God's church committed unto them, not to be idle, even in the night season to break a sleep, yea, watch all night, if need be, to set forward the building of God's house and city. The physician will watch with his patient all night, if need be the good captain will not sleep all the night long, though he have set his watch afore; but he will sometimes at the second watch, sometimes at the third, arise and see whether his watchmen be fallen on sleep, and what they do, or whether any enemies draw near or no: SO should every Christian privately for himself break his sleep, lift up his mind unto the Lord, call upon him by faithful prayer, call for mercy at his fatherly goodness, commend himself and all God's people to his gracious protection, desiring that all stumbling-blocks, which be hinderers of his glory, may be taken away; but specially those that be negligent to watch a whole night in prayer, devising what ways God's glorious name, gospel, and religion may best be increased, his kingdom enlarged, Christ glorified, and antichrist confounded. David saith, he "rose at midnight Psal. cxix. to give praise" unto the Lord's blessed name. Our mortal enemy, Satan, never sleepeth night nor day, but continually "goeth about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour;" and if we had not as good a watchman to watch for our safety when we sleep, we should be swallowed up every hour. Behold," saith David, "he neither slumbereth nor sleepeth, Psal. cxxi. that is the watchman of Israel." All praise be to that merciful God, which taketh such care for his miserable people, and watcheth when we sleep, that our enemy devour us not suddenly! |