not the true God and religion, knoweth none at all, although he make himself every day a new God and a new religion, and the more the worse.

13. And I went forth. In these next verses is nothing but the way described, by which he went to take the view of the walls, how they were pitifully destroyed, and how they might best and most speedily be repaired. The gates of cities have their names on some occasion outwardly given, as the north-gate and the east-gate, because it goeth northward or eastward: sometimes of them that builded them, as Lud-gate and Billings-gate, of Lud and Billinus: sometimes of things that are brought in or carried out of the city by them, as the fish-gate, the dunghill-gate, &c. This gate that he goeth out at first is called the " valley-gate, because the way into the valley of Josaphat, which lay afore it eastward, betwixt it and mount Olivet, was through it. This valley was called Josaphat's by reason of a noble victory that God gave Josaphat there. Divers people joined 2 Chron. xx. themselves together against Josaphat; but God so ordered the matter, that one of them killed another, and Josaphat, looking on, after the slaughter came and took all their riches and spoil, and he delivered without any stroke giving. The dragon's well" had its name of some venomous serpent lying there: the "dunghill-gate," because the filth of the city was carried out that way: the "well-gate" and "king's fish-pool," because there was great plenty of water ponds, watering places, &c.

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"The brook" he speaketh of is thought to be Cedron, which is spoken of in the gospel, John xviii.

Nehemiah, when he had viewed all the walls, returned in at the same gate that he went out at: but in some places he found so great store of rubbish of the broken walls, that he could not pass on horseback; so miserably were they torn and overthrown, and all the gates that should be shut were burned to ashes. O righteous God and miserable people! God of his mercy foretold them by his prophets, that if they fell from him and served other gods, these mischiefs should fall on them: but they, blinded in their own affections, believed it not. O stony heart, learn here how vile a thing sin is in God's sight: for not only the man that doeth sin is punished, but the earth, the country, the stones, the walls,

Psal. cvii.

the city, trees, corn, cattle, fish, fowl, and all fruits, and other things that God made for man's necessity, are perished, punished, and turned into another nature for the sin of man: yea, and not only worldly things, but his holy temple, law, word and religion, the ark of God, the cherubims, the pot with manna, the mercy seat, Aaron's rod, with all the rest of his holy jewels, were given unto the wicked Nabuchadnezzar's hand for the disobedience of the people: and God will rather suffer his open enemies to enjoy his wonderful benefits than his flattering friends. When Adam had sinned, the earth, which afore was decked with all good fruits, brought forth weeds to punish them withal. For the wickedness of Sodom God not only cruelly destroyed the people in it, but to this day that pleasant ground, which afore was like paradise, is now barren, full of filthy mire, slitch, tar, &c., and the air of it so pestilent, as divers do write, that if any birds fly over it, it killeth them. The whole country of Jewry, a plentiful land, "flowing with milk and honey” of his own nature, by the disobedience of the people became a barren land, as David teacheth in his psalm, "The Lord turneth a fruitful ground into a barren for the wickedness of the dwellers in it." Jerusalem was not only destroyed now thus piteously by the Babylonians, but afterwards by Vespasian the emperor, and had "not one stone left standing on another," and the Jews driven out of it, who now live scattered through the world, abhorred of all good men, and under God's heavy rod, for crucifying the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and their continual despising of him.

Let every man therefore learn reverently in the fear of God to live for sin will not only be punished with everlasting death in the world to come, but even in this life man himself is plagued, and all things that should serve or pleasure him shall be turned to his destruction, because he would not serve his God as he ought to do. What can

be a more righteous judgment of God, than so to order things, that no creature of God shall serve a wretched man, which will not serve nor fear the Lord, his God and Creator? Sin is so vile in God's sight, that he will punish those innocent, unsensible, and unreasonable creatures, as the stones in the wall, the house wherein thou dwellest, the

earth whereby thou livest, which never sinned, for the sin of thee, wretched man. O consider how God abhorreth sin and disobedience of his word, that he could never be pacified, but by the death of his own dear Son Christ Jesus for thy sins! O miserable man, consider thy wretched state! Thy sins pulled thy Lord Christ from heaven to hell, from joy to pain; thou causedst him to be whipped, and hanged on a tree, thrust to the heart with a spear, by his blood to save thee thou causedst him to die, that thou mightest live. If thou shouldst deal thus with another man thy fellow, what wouldst thou think thou hadst deserved? And when thou hast thus misused thy Lord and Christ, the Son of God, crucifying him again, and yet continuest in sin, contemning his commandments, "treading the Son of God Heb. x. under thy feet, and esteeming the blood of his eternal testament as a profane thing," how canst thou look up unto him, how canst thou hope for mercy? Wicked men are so horrible in God's sight, that the angels in heaven abhor them, the creatures on earth disobey them, good men fly their company, and devils in hell pull them unto them: and yet malice hath so blinded them, that they cannot turn unto the Lord.

But whatsoever there is in us, O God, forget not thou thyself; shew thyself a God still, though we forget thee. As thou lovedst us when we were thine enemies, so love us still now, whom thou hast made thy friends, and bought so dearly; and turn us, good God, that we may love thee. Remember, O Lord, whereof we be made from the earth we came, on the earth we live, and delight in earthly things; unto the earth we shall return: thou canst not look for heavenly things to come from so vile a matter; this earthly nature cannot be changed but by thy heavenly Spirit: deal not with us therefore, O Lord, in justice as we deserve, but in thy great mercy, which is our sure salvation, and let thy manifold mercy devour our manifold misery, that our manifold sins be not laid to our charge. Gracious God, forgive us as our misery is endless, so is thy mercy, and much more large than we can think.

As we see God deal in his anger with this city, for the sin of the people that dwelled in it, so he will deal with all

obstinate breakers of his law in all ages and places, without respect of persons. The walls of the city may well be compared to the magistrates, which both defend the people from their enemies, and also govern the citizens within; as the walls keep out other from invading, so they keep in the inhabitants from straying abroad: and the gates of the city may well be compared unto the ministers, which open the door of life to all penitent persons by the comfortable preaching of mercy promised in Christ, and shut heaven gates against all reprobate and impenitent sinners, by terrible thundering of his vengeance, threatened to such in his word. The walls are destroyed, and the gates burned, when the rulers and ministers do not their duty, but care for other things. And as this wretched people had justly, for their disobedience, neither walls left to keep out the enemy, nor gates to let in their friends, but all were destroyed; so shall all godless people be left without godly magistrates to govern them, and live in slavery under tyrants that oppress them, and also without comfortable ministers to teach them, and be led by blind guides that deceive them, and so "the blind lead the blind, and both fall into the ditch," to their utter and endless destruction. They be not worthy to have either magistrate or preacher, that will not obey laws nor believe the word. This Osee, the prophet, foretold them should fall on them, saying, "the people of Israel should sit many days without a prince, without sacrifice and image, without the ephod and teraphim, and yet in the end they should return unto their God." But they feared not these threatenings then, no more than we do now: yet as they fell on them then, so will they fall on us now.

After that Nehemiah had thus diligently viewed the walls, and the breaches of them, he was more able to render a reason, and talk with the rulers how they might be repaired. A good rule for all those that have any charge committed to them, that they should first privately consider the things they have to do themselves, and then shall they be more able to consider who giveth best counsel for the doing of it. Rashly to enter on it, a wise man will not, nor open his mind to others, until he have advised himself privately first what is best to be done: and so shall he be best able both

to render a reason of his own doings, and also to judge who giveth best advice.

v. 16. The magistrates knew not whither I went, or what I The Text. did; and to the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the rulers,

and the rest of the workmen, I told nothing hitherto.

17. And I said unto them, Ye know the misery that we be

in, how Jerusalem is wasted, and her gates burned in
the fire: come, and let us build the walls of Jerusalem,
that we be no more a reproach.

18. And I told them of the hand of my God, that it was

gracious toward me, and also the king's word that he
spake unto me; and they said, Let us rise and build:
and they strengthened their hands to good.

Nehemiah not only, like a godly zealous man, is diligent to set forward this work, but also, like a very wise man, sheweth in his doings the chief properties of him that hath weighty matters committed unto him. He that hath great matters to do must be faithful and trusty, and also secret, and keeping counsel close, as the poet saith, Fide et taciturnitate est opus'. And where every sort must be made privy in such a work, hitherto he had opened it to never a one.

17. And I said unto them. After Nehemiah had thus long kept his purpose secret, and diligently viewed the walls, how great the breach was, how it might be best and speedily repaired, and was able to talk with all sorts, and render a reason of his doings to every one, both high and low in authority, to the common sort of the Jews, to the workmen, priests and rulers; he now propoundeth the matter unto them all; and in few words, after he had declared the misery that they were in, and how that famous city lay open to all enemies to invade, to their great shame, exhorteth and encourageth them to fall to the building of the walls, and live no more in such shame and reproach, as they had done, but recover their old estimation again; for he had found favour both in God's sight and the king's.

There be two kind of reasons to persuade a man to do any thing: the one is, if he declare how hurtful and shameful [Terence, Andr. 1. i. Fidelity and secresy are necessary. ED.]