Nehemiah 9

Nehemiah 9:1-3

We have here, 1. A solemn feast observed, vers. 1—3. 2. The prayer offered, and the solemn refutation made on that occasion, vers. 4—38.

1. NOW in the twenty and fourth day of this month, the children of Israel were assembled with fathing, and with tacks, clothes, * and teeth upon them. 2. And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers, and stood and * conferred their sins, and * the inquisites of their fathers. 3. And they stood up in their place, and * read in the book of the law of the LORD their God, and fourth part of the day, and another fourth part they conferred, and worshipped the LORD their God.

v. 1—3 4. Chap. 1.

Their fault of gladness is here succeeded by a day of solemn humiliation. Whilst we are rejoicing in the confidence of God’s reconciliation, we still need to remember our own evil ways, and abhor ourselves.

1. Every outward expression of sorrow bespoke the inward affliction of their fouls for sin, whilst they appeared in the courts of the temple, as penitents before God. Nate, There are seasons, when, without ostentation, we may appear unto men to fall.

2. They put away their strange wives, in token of the sincerity of their humiliation. Some had kept them probably in secret, unfulfilling the former reformating, or had since relapsed into the same evil. Nate, As long as allowed sin is harboured, communion with God is impossible, and the appearance of repentance but hypocrisy.

3. They spent the whole day in religious exercises. Three hours they spent in hearing God’s law, and as many in prayer and confession; and this probably both morning and afternoon. Nate, The more we are convictant in God’s word, the more deeply shall we see cause to lament over the evil of our fallen hearts.

4. Then stood up upon the stairs of the Levites, Jehuas, and Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Cheuani, and cried with a loud voice unto the LORD their God. 5. Then the Levites, Jehuas, and Kadmiel, Bani, HaShabiah, Sherebiah, Hasfiah, Shebaniah, and Pethaiah, fail, Stand up, and blest the LORD your God for ever and ever; and blessed the thy glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise. 6. Thou, even thou art LORD alone, thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens with all their hoft, the earth and all things that are therein, the seas and all that in therein, and thou preserved them all, and the hoft of heaven worshipped thee. 7. Thou art the LORD the God, who didst should Abram, and broughteth him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, and gaveth him the name of Abraham, 8. And foundeth his heart faithful before thee, and made a covenant with him, to give the land of the Canamites, the Hittites, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Jebusites, and the Girgaftites, to give it, I say, to his seed, and hath performed thy words, for thou art righteous: 9. And didst see the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heardeth their cry by the Red sea: 10. And shewedth signs and wonders upon Pharaoh, and on all his servants, and on all the people of his land: for thou kneweth that they dealt proudly against them: so didst thou get thee a name, as it is this day. 11. And thou didst divide the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land, and their persecutors thou shewedth into the deep, as a stone into the mighty waters. 12. Moreover thou leddoth them in the day by a cloudy pillar; and in the night by a pillar of fire, to give them light in the way wherein they should go. 13. Thou cameth down also upon mount Sinai, and spakeeth with them from heaven, and gaveth them right judgments, and true laws, good statutes, and commandments. 14. And madeeth known unto them thy holy Sabbath, and commandeeth them precepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses thy servant: 15. And gaveth them bread from heaven for their hunger, and broughteth forth water for them out of the rock for their thrift, and promisedeth them that they should go in to possess the land, which thou hadst sworn to give them. 16. But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments. 17. And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them: but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, flow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsoledeth them not. 18. Yes, when they had made them a molten calf, and said, This is thy god that brought thee up out of Egypt, and had wrought great provocations: 19. Yet thou in thy manifold mercies, forsoledeth them not in the wilderness: the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to show them light, and the way wherein they should go.

Vox. I.

20. Thou gavest also thy good Spirit to instruct them, and withheldeth me thy manne from their mouth, and gaveeth them water for their thrift. 21. Yes, if every years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing; their clothes waxed not old, and their feet swelled not. 22. Moreover, thou gavest them kingdoms and nations, and didst divide them into corners: so they possessed the land of Siloan, and the land of the king of Heibbon, and the land of the king of Bethan. 23. Their children also multiplied thou as the stars of heaven, and broughteth them into the land, concerning which thou hast promised to their fathers, that they should go in to possess it. 24. So the children went in and possessed the land, and thou fuddeeth before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canamites, and gaveeth them into their hands, with their kings, and the people of the land, that they might do with them as they would. 25. And they took strong cries and a fat land, and possessed houses full of all goods, wells digged, vineyards, and olive-yards, and fruit-trees in abundance, so they did eat, and were filled, and became fat, and delighted themselves in thy great goodness. 26. Nevertheless they were disobedient, and rebelled against thee, and cast thy law behind their backs, and flew thy prophets which testified against them, to turn them to thee, and they wrought great provocations. 27. Therefore thou deliveredst them into the hand of their enemies who vowed them: and in the time of their trouble, when they cried unto thee, thou heardeth them from heaven; and according to thy manifold mercies thou gaveeth them favours, who saved them out of the hand of their enemies. 28. But after they had rest, they did well again before thee: therefore lefteth thou them in the hand of their enemies, so that they had the dominion over them: yet when they returned, and cried unto thee, thou heardeth them from heaven, and many times didst thou deliver them, according to thy mercies: 29. And testified against them, that thou mightest bring them again unto thy law: yet they dealt proudly, and hearkened not unto thy commandments, but sinned against thy judgments (which if a man do, he shall live in them) and withdrew the shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not hear. 30. Yet many years didst thou forbear them, and testified against them by thy Spirit in thy prophets: yet would they not give ear: therefore gaveeth thou them into the hand of the people of the lands. 31. Nevertheless, for thy great mercies take, thou didst not utterly consume them, nor forsake them; for thou art a gracious and merciful God. 32. Now therefore our God, the great, the mighty, and the terrible God, who keepeth covenant and mercy; let not all the trouble seem little before thee, that hath come upon us, on our kings, on our princes, and on our priests, and on our prophets, and on our fathers, and on all thy people, since the time of the kings of Asfyria, unto this day. 33. Now, be it, thou art just in all that is brought upon us: for thou hast done right, but we have done wickedly: 34. Neither have our kings, our princes, our priests, nor our fathers kept thy law, nor hearkened unto thy commandments, and thy testimonies wherewith thou didst testify against them. 35. For they have not served thee in their kingdom, and in thy great goodness that thou gaveeth them, and in the large and fat land which thou gaveeth before them, neither turned they from their wicked works. 36. Behold, we are servants this day, and for the land that thou gaveeth unto our fathers, to eat the fruit thereof, and the good thereof, behold we are servants in it. 37. And it yielded much incense unto the kings whom thou hast set over us, because of our sins: also they have dominion over our bodies, and over our cattle, at their pleasure, and we are in great distress. 38. And because of all this, we make a true covenant, and write it; and our princes, Levites, and priests feel unto it.

Nehemiah 9:4-38

The congregation being assembled, we have here the names of the chief persons employed to lead the devotions of the people, and to be engaged in the word of God, together with the prayer which was probably occupied by Ezra an abovocation; and as to great a number of people could be sincerely

6 O Supposed Babam Chaff

supposed capable of hearing in one congregation, they might be divided into several, each with a Levite at their head; and yet thus uniting in the same humbling confession and supplication, with one voice as well as one heart glorifying God.

1. They open their prayer with solemn admiration, to the self-existent Jehovah, the great creator and preferred of all, the only worthy object of worship in heaven and earth, and wholly transcendent excellencies and unutterable glories infinitely exceed all the prairies that men or angels can offer, v. 5, 6.

2. They recite, with deep gratitude, the manifold mercies this great and gracious God had bestowed on them from the days of old, particularly the call and election of Abraham their great progenitor, and the performance of the covenant established with him and his seed. Abraham was by grace enabled to be faithful, and God had rewarded that fidelity in the accomplishment of all his promises to him and his potterity. Out of Egypt had God also wonderfully delivered them, to the confusion and destruction of their enemies: through the wilderness had he led them safe from danger; never forsook them amidst their multiplied provocations; provided them liberal supplies for all their wants; and by daily miracles, fed and guided them in the way to the promised land, v. 9—12, 13—14. On Sinai he descended to promulgate his law, so holy, just, and good, to institute his gracious ordinances, particularly the Sabbath; the distinguishing token of his separation of them to himself, v. 13, 14. Before them the Cananines, though so mighty and numerous, had been expelled, and their rich land given them to possess, where every earthly blessing abounded, v. 22, 25. There they forsook God, and provoked him with their iniquities, yet his patience endured: he sent them warnings, he received them whenever they turned to him: he multiplied his pardon, he railed them up judges to deliver them from their enemies, and recover them from their backslidings: yea, though after all they had proved hardened and rebellious, yet to that day God had not utterly forsaken them, for his mercy endured for ever, v. 26—31. All these instances of the divine goodness, which they deserved the most thankful acknowledgments, aggravated the evil of their sins; yet the past experience afforded them present hope, if they should, as now, seek to the God who is ever ready to pardon, merciful and gracious. Nate, (1.) The goodness of God is the great argument to lead us to repentance. (2.) In the midst of our deepest humiliations, we should never forget to mention the mercies for which we are indebted. (3.) Without some views of God’s rich grace, the sense of our sins would be ready to sink us into despair.

3. Amistst their thankful acknowledgments, they intersperse their abiding confession, as every mercy they had received aggravated the guilt of their sins. From the beginning, the proud hearts of their fathers were too stubborn to bear in humble obedience: ingratitude, distrust, discontent, rebellion, idolatry, impudent opposition to God’s prophets, contempt, persecution, murder; and repeated relapses into the like abominations, after repeated vows, and repeated deliverances: all these things had marked the black catalogue of their father’s crimes; nor were they less culpable. We have done wickedly, v. 33. and joined in the like provocations, the effects of which they were now suffering, just returned from the house of their prison, and still bearing the galling yoke of servitude upon their necks. v. 36, 37. Nate, (1.) True penitents search out the aggravations of their sins, and seek not to exculpate themselves, but to justify God. (2.) Pride is at the root of all our evil. (3.) When we follow our father’s sins, it is just in God to vide their iniquities upon us. (4.) As the service of God is perfect freedom, revolt from it will bring the soul into the most abject Savory.

4. They put up a word of petition, v. 32. so short, as if they were afraid to ask for mercy, who were conscious how little they deserved it; acknowledging the righteousness of God in all they had suffered, only they presume to beg that he would look upon their affliction, and say at last, it is enough. God, as the great and terrible God, might justly utterly destroy them; but as the merciful covenant-keeping God, v. 32. there was yet hope, and they were emboldened to pray. Nate, (1.) The deepest and most dejecting views of our sins must not drive us from God in defpondence, but to him in humble prayer. (2.) Remember me in mercy, is all a sinner can say for himself. (3.) The covenant established with our glorious head Christ Jesus, affords hope, when every thing within and without us preaches despair.

5. As the conclusion of their prayer, they profess their solemn return to God; in writing renew their engagements to be faithful, and the princes, priests, and Levites subscribe the bond, as a testimony against themselves, and promise to their utmost to be observed by the people. Nate, True penitents not only confide their sins, but through God’s grace purpos, and are enabled to renounce them.