A godly patriot's sorrow.
Israel was both a nation and a Church; a sacred nation representing and embodying the kingdom of God on earth. Hence such men as Nehemiah may be regarded as examples either of patriotism or of zeal in the service of God and his Church. The latter aspect of their character is most suitable, as a rule, for exhibition in the pulpit. Viewing Nehemiah in this light, observe—
I. HIS SECULAR POSITION. Prosperous, rich, occupying high office in the court of the Persian monarch, he nevertheless felt a deep interest in the condition of his brethren at Jerusalem. His worldly good fortune did not quench the flame of his piety or deaden his sympathies with God's people. Rather was he the more impressed with a sense of his obligation to aid them; which he was willing and even eager to do at the cost of much trouble, self-denial, pecuniary expense, and even peril to himself. An example to the rich and influential, who are not always the most ready to serve Christ and his people.
II. THE INTEREST HE DISPLAYED IN THE WELFARE OF ISRAEL. Shown by—
1. Inquiry as to their condition. Concern for the prosperity of the Church of Christ will prompt to similar inquiries when like opportunities present themselves.
2. Sorrow over their calamities. Public-spirited men have sorrows which others escape. Blessed are such sorrows. There is often much in the state of religion to grieve zealous Christians: coldness, indifference, inconsistencies, divisions, errors, opposition, reproach; "broken walls" through which the Church's foes enter to injure, to scatter, and destroy. These evils must awaken sorrow in the godly, on account both of the dishonour they do to God and the damage they inflict on men.
3. Prayer for their deliverance. Genuine interest in the welfare of the Church cannot but express itself in prayer. The weakest can pray; the most powerful need to begin, continue, and end their plans and labours for the good of God's people with prayer.
4. Determination to assist them, if possible (verse 11). It is a worthless sympathy which only prays when it has power to help. That which is real will move the hands as well as the feelings and the lips.
From the whole let us learn to recognise and thankfully acknowledge God's care for his Church in the care he awakens in the hearts of such as are able to render her valuable service. Especially let us be grateful for and to the Lord Jesus, who from an incalculably loftier position than Nehemiah's regarded us in "our low estate" with love and pity, and came down to save us by the sacrifice of himself.