Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1899-11-02
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
"A scholarly Exposition Of the Lesson
Thoughts worthy Of Calm Renec-
tion-Haif an Hours study Of the
ecripturss-Time Wen Spent.


The subject of the lesson for Nov. B
is "Nehemiah's Prayer The text is
,Neh. l: Ill. The temporary enthusiasm
aroused by the preaching of Haggai and
Zechariah in the years 520-516 b. G. re-
suited In the rebuilding of the temple,
but did not last long. There followed a
long period. of extreme weakness and de-
preston, during which the Jews were
harassed by surrounding nations, We're
left without competent leaders, allowed
the defenses of their city to fall out Of
repair, neglected the services OF the tenn
pie, and, in short, passed into an almost
DESPERATE state.
or the history of Jerusalem and the
surrounding Jewish colony between the
time of Zerubbabel and the time of Ezra
we have slight record. In 458 B. G. oc-
CURED Ezra's journey to Jerusalem, and
the beginning Of his work Of reform,
about which we studied two weeks ago.
Ezra's work was largely moral and re-
igious. His first great step was to bring
an. immediate stop to the demorafzing So
,cial customs that had arisen, and to for
bid inter-marriage with the heather. But
there remained a large work for prac-
tical man; man of affairs;a man accus-
toned to command. So it came about
that thirteen years after Ezra came to
Jerusalem, Nehemiah, learning OF the sad
state of his brethren at Jerusalem, came
to add his talents and his energy to their
forces. His character is one of the finest
in the Old Testament, and as we study
In following lesson a typical story Of
one of his great achievements, we shall
RI aA
of mind, his patience, and his faith. This
lesson deals merely with his prayer to
God when he first learned how badly
things were going at Jerusalem, but in
the teaching of the lesson it will be best
to include also the answer to his prayer,
viz: his favorable audience with Arta-
! xerxes and the permission given him to
60 to Jerusalem.
Explanatory.
The name Nehemiah means Compass
sion of Jehovah" He was young man
holding a high Office at the court of Ar
taxerxes at Susa or Shushan, the prin-
cipal capital Of the Persian Empire. The
title "cupbcarer' hardly conveys an ade-
quate idea of his office. The cupbearer
at an oriental court had to taste each cup
of wine that was prepared for the king
in order to guard against the ever-pres-
ent danger of poisoning, but this was
merely an incidental feature of his posi-
ton. He was in intimate personal rela-
tons with the king, a member of his
household, and frequently he was the
trusted adviser of his sovereign. 1.-THE
month Chisleu' was about December in
the year 445 b. G.
The visit Of Hanani, Nehemiah's broth
err, with other Jews to Nehemiah re-
minds one strongly of the coming Of Jo-
seph's brethren to Egypt. That they
were kindly received and their message
needed was to be expected of Jew, for
whatever may be true of other nations,
the Jew never loses his loyalty to his
own race. The eager inquiry of Nehe-
miah concerning the Jews that had es-
capped, which were left of the captivity,
and concerning jerusalem" seems to
show that it had been some time, perhaps
several years, since any news had come
from Jerusalem to Persia.
Nehemiah's prayer is in many ways
model. 1t is worth while to study it
rather carefully as an admirable exam
pie of that reverence, simplicity and earn
estness which characterize the best pray
ers of the Old Testament. They are a
standing rebuke to us modern Christians
who approach the Lord in careless
mood, without preparation either spirit
ual or intellectual, and voice our prayers
to the ruler of the universe in poorly
chosen and poorly arranged sentences,
which we would not think of employing
in a sermon, political speech or a news
paper article. The theory that it is ir-
ravaranf IN pt,ona 20 for provar ie diraptly
contrary to the explicit teaching of both
the Old and the New Testament. Let
us see how Nehemiah prayed.
First, he had something to pray for. He
was in trouble. He had just heard bad
news. He 'sat down and wept, and
mourned certain days, and tasted, and
prayed before the God of heaven" He
did not attempt to approach God without
that humiliation of heart which is so es-
sential to true prayer.
Secondly, he addresses God with rever-
ence. He was not familiar with the AL
mighty Nehemiah began with an as
cription of majesty and justice and of
mercy. He said. 20 Lord tod Of heav-
en-, the great and terrible God, that keep
eth covenant and mercy for them that
love him and observe his command
ments." This is the union of fear and
confidence which is the best kind of rev.
erence.
Thirdly, Nehemiah asked God to hear
him pray. This was not a vain petition.
1t is quite true that God knows our
wants before we ask him, but it is also
true that only by earnest petition is
earnest desire made emphatic
Fourthly, the prayer included confess
sion Of sin, and in this confession Nehe-
miah included himself with his people.
He came to confess the sins of the chill
dren Of Israel, which we have siuned
against thee; both l and my fathers
house have sinned." There is many a
pulpit prayer to-day in which the speak
err seems to hold himself aloof from his
people and prays as il he alone were ex-
empt from most Of their frailties. The
intercessory type of prayer is, on rare
occasions, appropriate when uttered by
men of long and tried Christian charac-
ter, but ordinarily when pastor and peo-
pie come before the throne of God they
are just about on the same level, and il
there is any confession to be uttered, no
distinctions need be made.
Filthy. Nehemiah reminds the Lord
of gracious promises made long before.
He quotes the assurance made to Moses,
relying fully upon the faithfulness Of Je-
hovah to fulfill these promises. There Is
no doubt in his mind or in his words no
suggestion that a word of the Lord once
ft~t-.