I please God to bless us together
this evening as we meditate in his word. Let's turn to the book
of Nehemiah and chapter 1 and we'll read verse 4. Although the verses carry on,
but we'll just read the fourth verse. So the book of Nehemiah
chapter 1 and reading verse 4. And it came to pass when I heard
these words that I sat down and wept and mourned certain days
and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. We should be very thankful that
we have in the Word of God many prayers to instruct us and direct
us how we should pray. And we read together that prayer
of Ezra and the prayer here of Nehemiah. And one thing is very
evident in both those prayers. When they prayed to God, they
prayed to God as the Great God, the Almighty God. Not someone
who was just on their level, but someone who was far superior
to them. And therefore, they came and
prayed with a right spirit. And as we follow those prayers
through, we see that there was confession, and then we also
see that they were able to come and to ask God to remember the
promises that he had made and upon which they desired the Lord
would continue to bless in that way. So we have this over, the
picture really, an overriding picture of how we today should
pray to our God. Now, Nehemiah, as we read together,
He found what the situation was like existing back in Jerusalem
because he asked them concerning the Jews and they had escaped
which were left to the captivity and concerning Jerusalem and
he was told the remnant that are left to the captivity there
in the province are in great affliction and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem also is
broken down and the gates thereof are burned with fire. And if we perhaps think of it
in the day in which we live, in the current situation, with
regard to the Church of God, you know this is so, it's a picture
isn't it really? Because we're told here, the
remnant that were left were of the captivity, there in the province
are in great affliction and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem also is
broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire. Well, the
true church to God today is indeed in great affliction, because
we see everything which is going on around us, and it's really
very distressing to bear witness to the scene which we observe. Of course, we haven't got a physical
wall of Jerusalem broken down, but we see the blessings that
we've enjoyed, freedom of worship, and without any difficulty, gradually
being eroded, so that we are forced to be careful what we
say in certain situations. Well, what was the effect of
all these things upon this man, Nehemiah? Did he just pass it
off? Did he just say, well, I've got
to get on with my own work, and that's a very sad situation,
and I'm sorry to hear it, but I'm just going to carry on with
what I'm doing as the King's cut bearer. Well, that wasn't
the case. And you see, it's an example
to us today, as we see not only our nation, but also the Church
of God in a very low state and often unconcerned state and often
lukewarm state. And we observe those who come
and go without any true desire for spiritual life, they're just
satisfied with an outward profession without any inward possession. Well, what was the response then
of Nirmaya? When he heard the situation,
He sat down and wept and mourned certain days and fasted and prayed
before the God of heaven. It wasn't just something which
was transient and of little import to him. It was very concerning. And he sat down and wept and
mourned. It's a good thing, isn't it?
What a blessing if God gives us that spirit of mourning. Perhaps because of our own position,
perhaps because of the Church of God, perhaps because of our
nation, to have a true spirit of mourning like this man. He wept and he mourned, and we're
told certain days. It wasn't just a one-off few
minutes. It was a continual concern. And there was the effect of it
on him, sitting down and weeping. And then he fasted. He fasted,
and we don't do much fasting these days, do we? Perhaps we
don't do any fasting these days. When it's scriptural, we shouldn't
think it's not, because if we don't spend so much time eating,
we don't get so tired, and we're more alert, and we have more
time to pray. Nothing wrong in fasting. And so here we have this picture,
they mourned certain days and fasted, and of course then the
vital thing, and prayed before the God of heaven. And prayed
before the God of heaven. And he, in his prayer, he poured
out his heart before his God. It was true prayer, it was prevailing
prayer. It wasn't just a form of words,
it wasn't just vain repetition. It was true prayer. And what
a blessing in our lives is that God grants us times of true,
pervading prayer. And how did he come? He came earnestly. He came earnestly. And he said, I beseech thee,
O Lord God of heaven. That meant he really needed and
really wanted the Lord to hear his cry. It was urgency about
it, wasn't there? There was a depth in it. It wasn't
something trivial. And he wasn't going to go and
forget what he prayed, was he? Here he was praying from his
heart. What a good thing it is when
the Holy Spirit enables us to pray from our heart, not just
from our head, from our heart. And so here he came. And he,
I beseech thee, O Lord God of heaven. And he then describes,
and it's always good when we come in prayer to recognize who
we are approaching. Who we are approaching. He says,
the great and terrible God that keepeth covenant and mercy for
them that love him and observe his commandments. It's addressing
God in a right way, in a holy way, in a reverent way. It's
not addressing the great God as somebody just like ourselves. It's the great God. So he says
here, I beseech thee, O Lord God of heaven, the great and
terrible God, that keepeth mercy and covenant and mercy for them
that love him and observe his commandments. The very clear
inference here is that if we are blessed with God's love in
our heart, and the result is of our love to the Lord, that
we would desire that he may be in our heart's estimation as
high and lifted up as that great God and that wonderfully compassionate
God who is so condescending to come and to look upon us And
not only that, but to die in our place, in our stead, so that
all our sins might be forever washed away. It's a great blessing,
isn't it, to have a situation like that. Well, then this man
of God tells us, that keepeth covenant of mercy for them that
love him and observe his commandments. And he says then, Let thine ear
now be attentive. And this was spoken in a very
right way. It wasn't any demanding way. Let thine ear now be attentive,
and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy
servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night. He wanted God to truly hear his
prayer. I suppose we might think, well,
of course, we want God to hear our prayers. But whether it really comes from
our heart, such a desire, or whether it's just something which
we realise we should say, and the Holy Spirit moves us to come
like this, desiring the Lord would indeed hear that thou mayest
hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now,
day and night, for the children of Israel, thy servants, and
confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned
against thee, both I and my Father's house have sinned. He doesn't
exclude himself. And I'm sure when the Spirit
moves us, we won't exclude ourselves. Because we will know that we're
guilty. The fault lies with us, as much as it does with anyone
else. And we'll therefore be concerned that the Lord will
be gracious to us individually. And of course, in a far greater
extent, to the Church and also to our nation. So he says, both
I and my Father's house have sinned. He doesn't then brush
over it as a small statement, and think, well, that's enough,
I'll just confess my sins. You see, we can very easily come
in our prayer, can't we? And we get to the end of our
prayer and we pray that our sins might be, that the Lord will
forgive our sins. But you know, it's a very kind of situation
which doesn't often have much meaning to it. It's just a traditional
statement. Here was a man praying to his
God. And he goes on, therefore, and
explains something of the sinfulness. And he says, we have dealt very
corruptly against thee. Not something we like to admit,
is it? What a good thing when the Holy Spirit shows us how
we stand before our Holy God we've dealt very corruptly against
thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments,
which thou commandest thy servant Moses." Well, I know, of course,
we don't have the ceremonial law to keep today. But nonetheless,
there are very many things which the Word of God sets before us
that we should keep, and that we should do, and that we should
be concerned to follow the gracious and blessed example laid down
for us in the Word of God. God's given us a guide, a wonderful
guide, a perfect guide, and we should not therefore look beyond
it. We should realise that in the Word of God we have set before
us everything that we need. direct us in how we should pray
and what we should pray for and how we should confess our sins
and how we should bow down before God and how we should desire
therefore to come honestly to God with confession. I'm sure it's one of the things
which is not done very well today and that's confession. Now we
have a want list And we pray for God to do this and do that.
Do we confess? And confess our sins and confess
our failure in honouring our God. Confess our failure in bowing
down to that great and glorious Saviour. Confess our sins in
failing to desire and to meditate. upon what he has done, on his
great and glorious work which he completed at Calvary. These things should be uppermost
in our hearts because Christ is exalted our hearts estimation
when by a spirit we have a view of the cost of our salvation
and the amazing love of the glorious Savior to such unworthy sinners
and as we do come and confess our sins it then sets the scene
really because it's then that we see how really bad we are
how really we don't deserve any mercy and you have wonderful
to remember the Lord is a merciful God. And therefore then, Nehemiah
comes and he speaks to the Lord in this way, Remember, I beseech
thee. Again he uses this word, I beseech
thee. He really wanted God to remember. Remember, I beseech thee, the
word that thou commandest thy servant Moses saying, If ye transgress,
I will scatter you abroad among the nations, but if ye turn unto
me and keep my commandments and do them, though there were of
you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet would
I gather them from thence, and I will bring them unto the place
that I have chosen to set my name there. we can come to our
God and remind him of his word, of his promises, of his faithfulness,
of his goodness. And of course Hosea in his day
knew what the situation was and how hard were the hearts of men
and yet you see we should be thankful that we have a record
in the Prophecy of Hosea and the last chapter the first verse
and the second verse he says Oh Israel Return unto the Lord
thy God For thou has fallen By thine iniquity and we shouldn't
think That we are outside That verse we should think we're inside
that verse and come and pray like this Oh Israel and Return
unto the Lord thy God, for thou hast fallen by thy iniquity.
And he says then, take with you words, and turn to the Lord. Say unto him, take away all iniquity,
and receive us graciously, so will we render the calves of
our lips, so they will come and give thanks for what the Lord
has done. We're encouraged come to the
Lord. We're encouraged to pray unto
him and may we indeed turn to him again in all honesty and
not just passing things away. And Moses when he addressed the
children of Israel, he addressed them on many occasions as you
may well remember, but in the early chapters especially directed
them to that which was right and to that which is wrong and
concerned that they would do that which is right and that
which is wrong and he tells us he says when thou art in tribulation
well I expect we would say well I know what that is well I hope
we do because the word of God promises we shall when thou art
in tribulation and all these things that come upon thee even
in the latter days, if thou turn to the Lord thy God, and shalt
be obedient unto his voice. And this is beautiful. For the
Lord thy God is a merciful God. He will not forsake thee, neither
destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers, which
he swear unto them. For ask now of the days that
are past, which were before thee since the day that God created
man upon the earth, and ask from the one side of heaven unto the
other. The Lord is ready to hear. And
my friends, we must, I'm sure, examine ourselves and realize
how we fail, really, in a prevailing prayer. and fail really in turning
unto the Lord and truly seeking His face and seeking for His
mercy. Well, we've spoken about Moses.
I suppose we can just turn just quickly to the Psalms. Psalm 89, we have a wonderful
word there which is encouraging indeed to the people of God,
and it tells us this. For the Lord is our defense. And the Holy One of Israel is
our King. Of course, referring to none
other than the Lord Jesus Christ. Then thou spakest in vision to
thy Holy One and saidst, I have laid help upon one that is mighty. I have exalted one chosen out
of the people. The Lord's laid help upon one
that is mighty. Now we can come to that one,
that one who does provide all the help we can ever want and
ever need. Remember the Lord's laid that
help upon that one who indeed is mighty. We must always remember
The great favour it is that we can approach unto the Majesty
on High through the Lord Jesus Christ as our intercessor. Again, David in the 12th Psalm,
he commences by this, Help, Lord. Well, that's a prayer, isn't
it? Help, Lord. For the godly man ceaseth. For
the faithful fail from among the children of men. They speak
vanity every one with his neighbours, with flattering lips and with
a double heart do they speak. The Lord shall cut off all flattering
lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things." See these words
are very important, they're very relevant aren't they? And we
need to examine ourselves whether we are a flatterer or whether
we say proud things. who have said with our tongue,
will we prevail? Our lips are our own, who is
Lord over us? For the oppression of the poor,
for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the Lord,
I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him. And
then David says this, the words of the Lord are pure words. Everything
in God's word is pure. So different to us, isn't it?
as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O Lord.
Thou shalt preserve them from this generation forever. And so, Nehemiah, praying to
his God, seeking that Lord would remember those things that he'd
said, and to be able to come and confess and say, If ye turn
unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them, though there were
of you cast out into the uttermost parts of the heaven. You know,
the Lord's commandments are not grievous. Some people think,
well, I don't want to do that, that's just too difficult. When
the Lord touches our heart, with his love, when we view what
he has done, for us as hell-deserving sinners, then surely our concern
is to do that which he sets before us and to honour him because
of his love and to return that love by desiring to keep his
commandments which are not grievous. There is the answer of a good
conscience. On the other side, there's a
guilty conscience. Actually, we have one or the
other, don't we? Either a guilty conscience or a good conscience.
But if ye turn unto me and keep my commandments and do them,
though there were of you cast out into the uttermost parts
of heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring
them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there.
Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed,
by thy great power and by thy strong hand." And of course that
refers to the whole Church of God, who have been redeemed,
redeemed by the precious blood of Christ. Isn't that precious?
Isn't that wonderful to think of? The whole Church of God have
been redeemed with the precious blood of Christ, whom thou hast
redeemed by thy great power and thy strong hand." Well, in one
sense, of course, that was natural to the natural Israel, but also
to spiritual Israel. And today we are amongst spiritual
Israel. And so may we have the wonderful
evidence in our hearts that we are amongst those who have been
redeemed by the great power. And it is great power, because
the power is such as to raise the dead to life. That's the
power of God. And that's the power of God which
is exerted on our behalf, to raise us from death to life.
What a wonderful consideration it is. And to think then, the
blessed Lord came and gave his life and died upon that cross
at Calvary. These things and this situation
will have an effect upon us, as we may be concerned to walk
in a right way, in accordance with those who have gone before.
And in the second chapter of Nehemiah, when Nehemiah came
and came before the king, you may remember, he came before
Artaxerxes, and we're told, now I had not been before time sad
in his presence. The king noticed, and the king
said, why is thy countenance sad? seeing they are not sick. This is nothing else but sorrow
of heart." Now that touches, doesn't it? Whether in this situation
we have sorrow, we desire to confess because we know it in
our heart. We're moved by the Holy Spirit
to bow down before our God and to desire that we might be blessed
with true prayer, prevailing prayer, and to come to our God
and to pour out our heart in a similar way to that example
set before us in these two prayers. But of course there are so many
more. The Psalms, as we know, I read
the 12th Psalm, that's a prayer of David. The Psalms are full
of prayer, wonderful examples for us to follow and to seek
therefore that you and I might be lively and healthy in our
souls and be found a true follower of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ. And what did he do? How did he
spend his nights? Praying to his father. What an
example. Praying to his father. That he
might be strengthened. And of course his father heard
those prayers. Let us then be found a praying
people. A people that know their God.
And the people that find prayer is a wonderful outlet, a wonderful
blessing, a wonderful relief, and a wonderful encouragement,
as we are, by the grace of God, able to draw near to God. And
as James says, draw near to God and he will draw near to you. It came to pass when I heard
these words that I sat down and wept and mourned certain days
and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. Amen.