The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1917-11-30

I. futU sLu6 prleStS anu Otner leaders MS
/ plans. Enthusiasm was awakened, all
classes were aroused, the work of the
building Of the wall Of the city was
Igapportioned among the people, and
so6h half Of the wall was completed
FOR the people had q mind to work"
!. The Wrath Of the Enemy, w. 20.
THE progress OF the work kept up
1he anger Of Sunballat the Toronto
a i bis friends who formed IN alll-
/ Zee to hinder the wall being built
WV. q, ~. When God begins to work
through his people, Satnn is aroused
and tries to interfere. It is no sign
That Christian is out of the will
of God when opposition is felt. The
,nemy will always be on hand to try
70 hinder whenever real work for
God is going forward. Dead formal
christianity runs smoothly and with
lendly inonotony and Satan lets 1t
( hlohe, but as soon as some results Of
real work are seen, opposition is at
pnce felt. Thus 1t was when God
sent his Son into the world, and so
Il has been in every movement for
God In the church, and so 1t will be
\ lnsthe Individual Christian life. From
the next verse (0) we would almost
think that Nehemiah had heard our
Lords Injunction to watch and pray"
Many do much watching and fail ;
many DO much praying and fail; but
none ever turns to watching and pray
Ing without finding victory. Prayer
ulone means sloth; watching alone
means pride; but watching and pray
Ing victory.
II. Internal Opposition, w. 10-14.
sanbnllat aud his friends were not
the only ones Nehemiah had to con.
lend with. Among those that worked
IN the wall were some shirkers and
Rgrtimblers. They had become discour-
Aged in the work and began to say
they could never complete It ". 10Y.
If Satan fails to hinder the work
from the outside, he will attempt to
:reate dissatisfaction on the inside.
gnternal confusion of the church Is
Who're to. be dreaded than open oppose
ition from known enemy. Dissension
,1nd confusion in the church can usu.
ally be traced to workers becoming dis
cournged. The plot Of the enemy to
make a surprise attack was dis.
cogered by the Jews who lived out.
side the city. They reported 1t not
once, but ten times, with the sueges-
ition that the work on the wall be
|stopped, and safety sought by lcnv-
ling the city altogether wv. II, 12).
!When the .encmy's open opposition
falls and encouragement has been
ltrfed, an attempt Is made to bring fear
upon the workers. But the Bible is
full Of eShortntlons for Christians to
"fear not" Could these workers on
the walls Of Jerusalem have seen the
|unseen,ait would have made little diff
lfefences to them whether the enemies
were numbered by tens or thousands,
and could Christians today realize that
God Is for them, NIL opposition would
ibe as nothing. q Cor. 1913; Rom.
% :31 Phil. :13). Nehemiah at once
lproceeded to allay the fears (13.
l14)s Armed forces were arranged
about the walls to guard against the
reported surprise attack. The warrl.
ors were placed so that in the event
lof battle they would be protecting
their own particular families. Then
Nehemiah made short speech of en-
couragement to the people, the heart
,of which was Remember the Lord
(which Is great and terrible" Remem-
sbering him would drive the fear away.
They who are on the Lords side are
already victors even before the bat
tile has begun. Someone said to n
great general before certain bat
tie began: 81 hope the Lord is on our
side" The reply was: "I trust we
hre on the Lords SIDE" When this Is
true. there need be no fear whether
the enemies be few or many. Nehe-
mihh then exhorted them to fight for
their families and their homes. This
fwo-fold secret Of the victory is pre-
scented to us over and over in this book
" Nehemiah, and nowhere is so prom
tnent as In this lesson. Victory for
lhe Christian depends on two things:
I'VE must trust in the Lord as though
kn depended on him. and we must
work ana fight as though NIL depended
IN us. This is the secret Of the sue.
sess Of Nehemiah.
III. The Progress of the Work, wv.
t21). The speech of Nehemiah hav.
ng quieted the fears of the people and
The enemy having heard that their
,lans were known and that God had
thought their counsel to nought, all
Ne neople returned to the work with
,rswed enthusiasm ind purpose (l5).
Share was Encouragement Of forces
621). Half Of the people worked;
ilf, full armed, stood guard. A trum.
etet was beside Nehemiah, so that at
he Mtst alarm from outside all the
nfkers and warriors could be called
the threatened spot. Then they
TENT ahend with building of the wall.