The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1917-11-30
God. and that He is stin a very pres
ent help in trouble.

GOQ, ana IlaI he Is Sllll d very pres
ent help in trouble.
Wanted-A Hard Job.
In. that atmosphere of sycophancy,
it must have been a surprise to Ar
taxerxeS to find T. at this cup bearer
petition was not for a promotion or
for larger income, or for some IN
creased honor, but rather for nara
job that meant first of all renuncla-
ton. Nehemiah told him how Jul
dab, the capital of his heart, was iaio
waste. Then he asked that he him
self be sent to rebuild it. He could
have petitioned for royal commits
ION = investigate and to issue neces-
sary commands. nehemiah, oWeVer,
was -ot that sort of man. Had ne
been, the Sunday schools of the world
would not today be studying about
him. He was send me" man, and
that is why his place in history Is
fixed.
With oriental reverence for the
memory and graves of his ancestors,
he portrayed the plight of the city
of his fathers sepulchres, and the
kings answer was sympathetic All
the necessary letters and privileges
were given to Nehemiah, ana ne Went
forth upon his long journey by the
Tigris-Euphrates valley until he could
come again to Jerusalem, the city OF
Zion.
This was man who did not depu-
tie his work. He was not afraid TO
attempt things for himself. He
wanted personal knowledge of condi-
tions before he went ahead He was
no needless agitator, to enter into de-
nunciations and appeals without first
being sure of the facts. Slipping as
unostentatiousiy as possible into the
city, making known his purposes to
nobody, Nehemiah himself went out
in the midnight darkness to traverse
the heaps of rubbish which had once
been the walls of Jerusalem. He was
commander-in-chief who first in
/ spected the battlefield in person
What thoughts must have thrilled MIN,
as he rode about that city now in
ruins, so eloquent with the deeds of
his fathers!
The Man Who Can Work With Men.
The psychological explanation of
successful achievement in a common
cause is what is known on the ath-
letic field as team work" To solid
| fly the sentiment of many until it be-
comes the sentiment of one is to in
sure success. Nehemiah said, Come,
| let us build" He identified himself
with the least of the returned exiles.
| The plenipotentiary from Persia's
! court made common cause with the
poorest and humblest carrier of
stone He heartened the people with
| a vision of what might be, and fired
their hearts with a resolution to do a
common work in unison.
! 1t has been proved many times that
the first step ma successful building
enterprise lis not a raising of money,
but the Welding into unity of the
purposes of all who are interested.
A common mind in the people is the
first requisite Nehemiah did this.
He interested all the people, and even
made use of the ratings and taunt-
ings of enemies to solidify. the city's
sentiment.
| Good work Anglers bad men. That
is why the enemies of Nehemiah,
about whom we shall hear more later,
i,
OF Nehemiah. Yet despite discou--
agement and fear and real hardships,
the people stood together with their
great leader. Happy is the man who
can SO inspire with a vision his fell
low-workers that they may stand fast
! to their original purpose. Harry Koop-
man has said:
when 1 am dead
May this with truth be said.
On the rude stone that marks my lowly
That, spite of doubt and indeefsion,
In spite of weakness lameness, blind
Hearts treachery and fate's unkindness,
Neglect of friends and score of foes
Stark poverty and all its woes,
The bodys ills that cloud the mind,
Still thru my earthly course l went,
Not disobedient
Unto the heavenly vision
Warning and Working.
Every real man must work. every
real man must fight. The danger is
that he will let the fighting inter-
people for fighting. He divided the
| labor among the watchers and the
workers Every man who bore y a
trowel bore also a sword. The fear of
a foe was not permitted to drive the
workers from the wall. While they
! watched, they worked. The works
the thing. No war is good war, no
fighting is good fighting, that deters
a man from carrying out his first
life purposes.
Like a good general, with such a
battlecry as the Texans have in RE
/ member the Alamo, Nehemiah fired,
/ his followers with the war cry, Re
member the Lord, who is great and
your sons and your daughters. your
wives, and your houses" He made
men of them by rallying them to the
great allegiances. He let the men
/ fight over against their own home
steady. He grouped them by families,
so that anxiety would not distract
them from their work. AN the strong
human considerations were brought
| to bear. in carryinS out this great
patriotic and religious enterprise.
Always the leader set an example of
/ fidelity, toiIing thru long weeks with
out once removing his clothes.
Thus it came to pass that as the
wall was rising layer by layer there
was being builded in the community
| a still greater defence in the hearts
of the people who were being stout
ened and fired with renewed patriot
ism and religious devotion The bull
warks of a city are in the souls of its
citizens That was the great wall
that Nehemiah built.
Captains of Their Own Souls.
Terse Comments on the Uniform
Prayer Meeting Topic of the Young