But as they

charge, by men of such authority as they were. were not ashamed so unjustly to accuse God's people, so Nehemiah steppeth forth, as boldly answereth for them all, and defendeth their doings. A worthy example for all those that be in authority to follow: they have not the sword committed unto them in vain; they ought to defend, both by word and deed, in their well doings those that be committed unto them. Their duty is not to suffer God's enemies to invade or hurt, slander or blaspheme, those that they have charge over, but draw the sword, if need be, to drive away such wolves, and punish such wicked tongues. It is not, as we commonly say, when any danger or persecution ariseth for the doctrine, or that the ministers are untruly reported of, Let the preachers defend it, it is their duty and vocation; we are not learned, it belongeth not to us; our care is for the commonwealth only. Religious magistrates will neither do so nor say so they will not suffer, as much as in them lieth, the church, religion, doctrine, nor the ministers to be ill spoken of, reviled, defaced, nor overrun. They be mouths, to speak for God's people, as Moses was unto Pharao: they be hands to fight for them; they be rulers to defend the good, and punish the evil. Jephthah, when the Ammonites fought against Israel, defended the cause in disputation by words, and after in battle with sword. The good king Ezechias, when he received the blasphemous message and letters from Rabshakeh against God, his temple, people and religion, he seeketh by all means to defend them all, and encourage the people not to fall away from their God in that great danger. When Holofernes railed on God and his people, Achior and Judith defend them, and she cutteth off 1 Sam. xvii. his head. When the great giant Goliah reviled the people of God, and provoked them to fight with him hand to hand, if they durst, for the victory, none was found that durst do it; but poor David, with no strong weapons, but his sling and a few stones, killed that lusty champion, and delivered Num. xvi. his people. When Dathan, Korah, and Abiram, with their fellows, railed against Moses and Aaron, God's true ministers, Moses, committing the revenge of it to the Lord, warned the people to depart from their company, lest they perished with them by that strange death and straightways the earth

Judg. xi.

2 Kings xviii.

opened, and swallowed up them and their goods and tents where they dwelt, quick into hell. Nay, women were not spared; for Mary, Moses' sister, was smitten with a leprosy for [Numb. xii.] railing on Moses her brother, God's lieutenant over them.

As the magistrate therefore both with word and sword must defend God's cause, his religion, temple, people, ministers and doctrine; so must the preacher and those that be learned, with their pain, prayer, preaching, and all other means that they can: yea, if our goods or lives were required for the defence of it, no state of man ought to refuse it. For this end are we born and live, to glorify our God and set forth his praise: for this purpose are all things given us, and therefore must not be spared, but spent and bestowed, when his glory requireth. For this cause Esaias the prophet gave his body to be sawn in sunder with a saw of iron. For this cause Jeremy was cast into a dungeon of Jer. xxxviii. mire and filth, Daniel into the lions' den: St Paul pleadeth his cause oft in chains at Jerusalem and at Rome, afore Festus, Felix, and Agrippa; and our Lord and Master Christ Jesus, afore Annas, Caiaphas, Pilate and Herod : John Baptist lost his head for this quarrel; and no good man will think any thing too dear to spend in Christ his Master's cause. For this cause Tertullian, Ireneus, Justinus, Athanasius, Chrysostom, Nazianzenus, have written great books against the heathens which railed on our religion. What infinite number of martyrs have stood stoutly and given their lives in the same quarrel! He that hath seen any learning can better tell where to begin than where to make an end of reckoning; the number is so infinite: and our late days have given sufficient proof thereof, under that bloody butcher Bonner, that the most ignorant, if he will open his ears and eyes, might hear and see great plenty.

But alas! the fiery fagots of those days were not so grievous then, as the slanderous tongues be now in our days. Nebuchadnezzar made a law, "that if any did blaspheme the Dan. iii. God of Sidrach, Mesach, and Abednago, he should be slain,

and his house made a dunghill.” Moses made a law, that every Levit. xxiv. blasphemer should be stoned to death. Seeing God and princes have made such strait laws against such lewd railers, good rulers should see some correction done, and not with silence

Psal. cxv.

to suffer ill men to talk their pleasure on God's city, religion, and ministry. While others possibly made courtesy to speak and answer these busy braggers and quarrellers, Nehemiah steppeth forth boldly, defendeth this cause stoutly, answereth their false accusation truly, encourageth the people manfully to go forward with their work, despiseth their brags, and telleth them plainly, that they "have no part nor right, nor are worthy to be remembered in Jerusalem."

The effect of Nehemiah's answer was, that the God of heaven had given them good success hitherto in moving the hearts of king Cyrus and Darius first to the building of the temple, and now of Artaxerxes to restore the city; they were his servants and worshipped him, and he stirred them up to this work; for of themselves they were not able to do such things. They served no idols nor false gods, they needed not to be ashamed of their Master, the God of heaven was their Lord, and they his people, he was their master and they his servants; he their king and they his subjects: they would go forward with their work, they must have a city to dwell in to serve their God, who would defend them in this their well doing these men had no authority to stop or forbid them to work, they had nothing a [to] do in Jerusalem, nor any authority; they would not obey them, but with all diligence apply this work until it be finished. The apostles, when they were forbidden, preached and would not obey, but said, they must obey God that bade them. Thus must all they that take God's work in hand, confess it to come from God, and that he blesseth their doings, that all the praise may be his, and that they of themselves be weak and unable to do such things without his special grace and assistance.

All good men in such enterprises will say with David, "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give all the glory." If these wicked men had had any worldly shame or fear of God in them, they would have quaked and trembled as the good men rejoiced to have God on their side to further them; so they, when they heard the God of heaven named to be against them, and that it was his doing, they would have forsaken their idols, and have furthered this building, or at least have sitten still and not hindered it. For who is able to withstand his will, or hinder that he

will have forward? The devils in hell quake and tremble at the naming and considering of God's majesty; but these wicked imps not only now, but sundry times, as appeareth hereafter in this book, most cruelly, spitefully and craftily go forward in their old malice, and by all means seek the overthrow of this building. So far worse is a devil incarnate in an ill man, than by himself in his own nature. When the devil will work any great mischief, he taketh commonly one man or other, angel or creature, to do it by, knowing that he shall do it more easily that way than if he should attempt it by himself. How is every murder, false witness, whoredom, robbery, &c. committed, but when the devil stirreth up one man against another? Let every good man therefore take heed unto himself, how he yieldeth unto sin: for in that doing he maketh himself a slave to the devil, and his instrument to work by. One devil will not offer that villainy to another devil to make him his slave; but if he can bring man unto it, there is his rejoicing. Take heed therefore, O man.

In that they confess themselves to be "the servants of the God of heaven," it is as much to say as, they wrought not for themselves, nor at their own appointment, nor for their own profit: they wrought for their master's cause, and for his glory. Good servants in all their doings will seek their master's profit and praise, not their own: they live not for themselves, but all the profit of their doings returneth to their masters. If they take any thing to themselves more than their master giveth them, they be thieves unto him, they do him no true service. Let all the builders of God's house therefore, whether they be rulers in the commonwealth, as Nehemiah was now, or of the learned sort in the ministry, or elsewhere, not only confess in words that they be servants to the God of heaven, but most humbly, simply, and boldly shew it in their deeds, that they seek their master's praise and glory, the common profit of their country, and not their own; that they work for him, and not for themselves; and that they serve him not for any worldly respect, or gain, or honour, but uprightly for conscience sake serve and obey him, yield all praise to his glorious name, taking nothing to themselves, and being not afraid to go forward in his building for any braggers, knowing that all the pride of man's

heart, which setteth up himself against the God of heaven, is vile and vain; and that their God will defend his servants, and confound his foes.

It is no rebellion against princes to do that which God commandeth for princes themselves are bound, as well as other meaner degrees, to serve the Lord God of heaven with all their might and main; and unto the same God they must make account of their doings, as all other must. For this building they had the king's commission, and therefore it was no treason to do it. It is more glorious to be called God's servants, than to have all the titles of honour and dignity that the world can give. He that serveth the Lord truly is master of sin, hell, death, and the devil, and by the assistance of God's Holy Spirit shall not be overcome of them, but shall overcome and conquer them: which is greater honour than any worldly prince can give. The woman that had an evil spirit in her confessed Paul and his fellows to be the servants of the mighty God, and that they taught them the way of salvation." See then, how devils are afraid of God's servants. Paul in all his epistles rejoiceth in nothing more than terming himself an apostle and servant of Christ Jesus. The Holy Ghost told Paul, that in every city, where he should come, there were chains and troubles ready for him; but he said, he "cared not for them, for his life was not dear to him, so that he might run his race, and testify the glorious gospel of God." Be not ashamed therefore of thy master; for our Saviour Christ saith, that "whosoever denieth him afore men, he will deny him afore his Father in heaven." Worldly masters will not cast away their faithful servants, but maintain them as they may; and thinkest thou that God will forsake his servants? Thinkest thou a mortal wretched man to be more loving to thee than the eternal God and merciful Father, that made thee, feedeth thee and defendeth thee, when man cannot help thee?—yea, loveth thee better than thou lovest thyself, and stayeth thee from running from him, when thou wouldst willingly seek thine own destruction wilfully. Stand to boldly, forsake him not cowardly. Polycarpus, an old man, when he should suffer martyrdom, was advised by some to have pity on his old age, and not so stiffly to stand. Nay," saith he, "I have served my