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all our doings and prayers, which may be in shewing his justice. In the Lord's prayer we say, Hallowed be thy name:" we desire not God only that he would direct both every man in his doings to set forth his glory, that his name may be hallowed; but also that he would stay, confound, and take away all hinderers of the same, with all their devices and subtle practices; that, all stumbling-blocks being taken away, his name may be sanctified in all nations. So prayed David, "O my 2 Sam. xv. God, make the counsel of Achithophel to seem foolish." So in the commandments, the affirmative is included in the negative, and the negative in the affirmative; as, "Thou shalt not kill:" wherein we are not only forbidden all cruelty, but are commanded to relieve, succour, and help, by all means that we may. Nehemiah hateth not the men, but their wickedness: so we learn to put a difference betwixt the man and the sin of man, and pray for mercy to the one, and justice to the other. Man is God's good creature, and to be beloved of all sorts: sin is of the devil, and to be fled of all sorts. And it is a great difference, whether we pray for revenging our own private quarrel, which may not be in any case; or it be for God's cause and glory, which we would seek the furtherance of by all means we may.

6. Then we builded the wall. This verse declareth what they got by this short prayer. The people's heart was encouraged to go forward with this work, insomuch that they repaired all the breaches of the wall, and joined it all together, as though it were one whole sound wall, and never had been defaced afore. Prayer is a sovereign salve for all sores; for it will heal not only the wounds of the body and soul, but also hard stony walls. This is the common practice of all good men, when they be scorned for the Lord's sake, to turn themselves unto humble prayer, commit the cause unto the Lord, who will justly revenge his own quarrel, when he thinketh good. David, when he had complained unto God how the "judges did Psal. Ixix. mock him, and the drunkards and minstrels sang their songs against him" to make them merry withal, and could find no remedy, he saith thus, after that he was sore grieved at them, "But I, O Lord, made my prayer unto thee;" and then the Lord comforted him. Likewise king Ezechias getteth him to the temple, when Rabsachis had railed against 2 Kings xv.

The Text.

the living Lord, and written blasphemous letters: he read the letters in the sight of God, falleth to prayer, and desireth the Lord to help him in that extremity; and his God delivered him.

This prayer of Nehemiah is not long; for God regardeth not so much the length of our prayer, as the earnest hearty desire of the mind, with an humble submission of himself to the Lord's good will and pleasure, repenting earnestly for his offences, and faithfully hoping without mistrust for the Lord's comfortable assistance, when and as he shall think good. By this prayer they obtain at the Lord's merciful hand boldness. to go forward with their building, and to contemn their proud mocks and brags: they finish the whole length and the height of the wall, in despite of their enemies: and the people were not weary of working, but the more they wrought, the more desirous they were to work still; for the good success that they had in building hitherto did encourage them to go forward with it, and they doubted not but that God was with them, and therefore feared no other. Let us learn therefore at these good men's examples, to be bold and constant in well doing, and not to fear every brag and blast of wind. Let us be as a lusty horse, that goeth through the street, and careth not for the barking of every cur that leapeth forth, as though he would bite him: so let us not be afraid of the barking curs, nor look backward, but go on forth, not changing with every tide; and the mighty Lord will strengthen our weakness with good success to finish his building: for so have all good men done from the beginning.

v. 7. It came to pass that when Sanballat and Tobias, the Arabians, the Ammonites and the Azdodites heard tell that a salve was come on the wall of Jerusalem, and that the breaches of it began to be stopped up, they were very wroth.

8. And they conspired all together to go and besiege Jerusalem, and to make a scattering in it.

9. But we prayed unto our God, and set a watch by them day and night in their sight.

10. And Judas said, The strength of the bearers is decayed,

and there is much mortar, and we are not able to build on the wall.

11. And our enemies said, They shall not know nor see till we come into the middle of them, and we shall slay them, and make the work to cease.

As good men go forward with God's work, so the wicked swell for anger, increase in malice against them, and, by all means possible, not only by themselves go about to overthrow all their good enterprises, but they seek all the partakers that they can get, and will refuse no kind of man, be he never so ill, to join with them, so they may obtain their purpose, and hinder the Lord's building. Sanballat and Tobias afore thought with their bitter scoffs, big words, and haughty looks to have dashed these poor souls out of countenance, and made them to leave building: but now, when they see they were not afraid, but wrought more lustily, they make other devices; they will fight for it, they gather a great company of neighbours, as ill as themselves, and will set upon them, kill them, and overthrow their building. Such a thing is malice once earnestly in man's mind conceived, and specially for religion, that it so blindeth a man, that he seeth not what he doeth, nor what will follow of his doings. He that falleth from God wandereth in darkness, and cannot tell what he doeth, where he is, nor whither he goeth; but the farther he stirreth, the farther he is out of the way, and the more darkness he is in; for "God is light," "the way, truth, and life," and he that hath not God for his guide cannot find the true way to everlasting life. Let every man therefore, that will walk uprightly in the fear of God, take heed how he once give place to any wickedness for if the devil get a little entrance into thee, he will draw thee clean away with him, if God be not more merciful to hold thee. When the devil tempted Eve, he appeared in likeness of a serpent,-to teach us, that as the head of the serpent is the greatest part of the body, and wheresoever the head getteth in, the whole body followeth easily; so the devil, if he once enter into man's heart, he will creep into all parts, and never cease, until he possess the whole man, and bring him to everlasting death with him and destruction in this world, as he did with Judas, entering into him first by little and little,

James i.

but after that Jesus Christ "had given him the sop," he did so fully possess him, that straightways he betrayed his master, the Lord of life, into the hands of wicked men, to be put to most vile death, and all for greediness of a little money.

Sanballat by the help of Tobias had now gotten a great band of soldiers, of others, and specially of Arabians, Ammonites and Azdodites, to fight for him against these sely souls, and for no other quarrel, but because they heard say that they had repaired all the breaches of the walls of Jerusalem. Their foolish madness appeareth the more, because they rage so fiercely for only hearing how well the work went forward, as though that had been the greatest fault that they could have committed. Wisdom would have tried, whether such tales had been true, afore they had believed them: but anger is so hot an affection, that it cannot abide to be ruled by reason. There is no difference betwixt an angry man and a mad man, but that anger lasteth but for a time, and continueth not still, as madness doth. Ira furor brevis est, "Anger is a short madness," saith the poet; and again,

Impedit ira animum, ne possit cernere verum:

Anger letteth the mind, that it cannot see the truth." St James therefore biddeth, "Let every man be swift to hear, but slow to speak, and slow to anger: for the anger of man worketh not the righteousness of God." And though anger ought to be suppressed in all things, that it grow not to any extremity, yet is it most chiefly to be holden down when any correction is to be executed. Tully teacheth well, Qui iratus accedit ad pœnam, nunquam mediocritatem illam tenebit, quæ est inter nimium et parum1: "He that punisheth when he is angry cannot keep that mean, which is betwixt too much and too little." Theodosius the emperor, when he had caused a great number to be slain in his anger at Thessalonica, and for his rashness in so doing was excommunicated by Ambrose, bishop of Milan, after that he knew his fault and openly confessed it, made a law that no execution should be done on any offender, whom he judged to die, afore thirty days were expired, that he might have so long time to con[1 De Officiis, Lib. 1. cap. 25. ED.]

Lib. ii.

sider in, whether he had judged rightfully. God grant every [Ruffin.] man a diligent care to foresee that he do nothing in his cap. 18. anger unadvisedly, but with patient modesty may do all things in the fear of God!

Tobias was an Ammonite, of the seed of Ammon, whom Lot begat of his own daughter in his drunkenness; and as Gen. xix. they were ever utter enemies to the Jews, though they were near kinsmen, the one being come of Abraham, the other of Lot his nephew, so now, having such a man of authority their countryman to be their captain, as Tobias was, they were more easily drawn to join with them, that by this occasion they might more easily revenge old quarrels against the Jews more bitterly. The Arabians were their next neighbours, a wild mountain people, living much by robbery, and therefore easily brought to such a mischief. The Azdodites were one corner of the Philistines, their old enemies, and would rather run to such a mischief unbidden, than tarry for any calling for. So we may see, how readily one wicked man will be drawn to help another, and how the wickedness of one will infect another that will give ear unto it. But good men are oft left to themselves, without help or comfort at man's hand, as the Jews were here now; and the church of God hath been from the beginning subject to such dangers, and shall be to the end, that God's glory may more evidently shine in defending of it, in despite of all their foes.

The metaphor, or kind of speech that is used here, when he saith, "a salve was come on the walls of Jerusalem," is taken from chirurgeons, who, when they heal wounds, join the flesh together again which afore was cut in sunder: so the new breaches of the walls, which afore lay gaping open, were now joined together and made sound, as though it were one whole sound wall. And as it was such a grief to these wicked men, to hear tell only that the walls went well forward in repairing; so is it at this day the greatest grief that God's enemies can have, when they hear tell that re

[ Lege sanxit in posterum, ut sententiæ principum super animadversione prolatæ in diem tricesimum ab executoribus differrentur; quo locus misericordiæ vel, si res tulisset, pœnitentiæ non periret. Auctores Hist. Eccles. Lib. x1. (Ruffini 11.) cap. 18.—It was done at Ambrose's suggestion. See Theodoret. Eccles. Hist. Lib. v. cap. 18. ED.]