CHAPTER THE SIXTH. B.C. 519. Darius finds the decree a Great and on the history 1-5. (1) Darius, i.e. D. Hystaspes.a house. . rolls, or books. laid up, lit. "made to descend." (2) Achmetha, city, however, of this name, the Ecbatana of Atropatene, and tions on the rocks the most ancient capital of Northern Media, and recently of Behistûn. identified by Colonel Rawlinson in the remarkable ruins of These treasure Takht-i-Soleiman. Yet as everything tends to show the attach-chambers ment of Cyrus to his native city, the Atropatenian Ecbatana. Hence many of rather than to the stronger capital of Greater Media, Colonel the anc. Rawlinson is inclined to think that he deposited there, in his ders have been var or fortress, the famous decree relating to the Jews, along raius by Layard, with the other records and treasures of his empire. 6-10. (6) now, here begins the order of Darius to Tatnai. be.. thence, from your suspicions and hindrances. (7) let.. alone, save in the way of helping. let.. Jews, Zerubbabel. (8) moreover, in addition to this decree of Cyrus, or in enforce- ment of its spirit. (9) let.. fail, without the omission of a day, without abatement of a single jot. (10) pray.. life," these heathen men had some belief in Jehovah, and in the power Sermon on the king's accession.-We propose to consider the words before us-I. As the desire of a heathen prince. 1. It was a just and reasonable; 2. It was a wise and political desire. II. As the duty of a Christian people-1. It is your duty, the discharge of which is to your interest; 2. To the performance of which we have an especial call; 3. To obey which we are under a special obligation. Learn-(1) From the example of this underground. cylin- admitted to wor- ship the one True Idolatry is a denial of God.—Every act of idolatry, by the worship of anything that is not God, is a denial of the true C. Simeon, M.A. God, even by those who profess to believe in the true God. This is evident, not only from the general language of Scripture, which teaches us that men may know God, but Him," and may believe in God, and yet, by neglect of domestic duties, "deny the faith, and be worse than an infidel;" but particularly by that remarkable passage of Job xxxvi. 28. We deny, therefore, the God that is above, and consequently both the Father and the Son, not only by avowed atheism and deism, or Socinianism, but by acts of worship, such as kissing the hand, and bowing the knee in prayer to images, relics, saints, or angels, or d Bp. Burgess 11-15. (11) that.. word, etc., a warning to the meddling the penalty Samaritans. hanged,a lifted up, i.e. crucified. dung hill, of disobedi- b draught-house. (12) God.. there, Darius regarded Jehovah as a local deity. (13) so.. speedily, suggestive of the power of the despotic monarchs of the time. (14, 15) finished, etc., decree of Darius, received in 4th yr. of his reign, B.C. 518.4 Artaxerxes, The subserviency of a faithful ministry to the erection of God's stroy thee, and "And being set up" (v. 11).-Lud. de Dieu observes that there house is no proper construction in the words which we render, and being set up; he would therefore translate them, after the Seventy, "and standing, let him be beat upon it," or "whipped," as the manner was among the Persians and other nations. Among the Jews, they who were beaten did not stand, but lay down (Deut. xxv. 2). If a greater punishment be here meant, then he makes the first words refer to the wood, and the latter g Burder. to the man. "And from above, let it fall upon him;" that is, the stake being lifted up, shall be stuck into his body, and come out at his fundament. This was a cruel practice among the Eastern people, and is yet continued there.9 16-18. (16) rest.. captivity, sons of the transportation. kept joy, those who wept at the foundation must have The building completed.-I. The temple finished. The Jews The different effects of the same events.-How different is the B.C. 519. 19-22. (19) and.. month,a i.e. the month after the temp. was finished. (20) purified, 2 Chr. xxx. 15. (21) all.. themthe passover selves, by undergoing the indispensable rite of circumcision. is observed (22) for.. joyful, the cause of their prosperity rightly traced. turned.. them, the hearts of all in God's hands. A true Church.-What magnificent churches we have for the wealthy. They occupy expensive corner plots; they are built of granite or fine stone, painted with costly and exquisite taste; they are upholstered with the softest and sleepiest of cushions, and when they are finished, these words are cut on the portal "The poor have the Gospel preached to them." I often think of the wag who saw such an inscription over such a door, and who with a piece of chalk wrote underneath, "Yes, but not here." Now, I do not believe that this is exactly the form of Christianity which the Master would approve of if He were to come into this city. Not that I doubt that rich men need preaching. I think that Christ, instead of occupying this splendid pulpit, would stand out yonder on the steps, and get the crowd about Him— the rich and the poor in the same audience. Now I am told that rich men like to be exclusive. They have elegant houses, and they want to worship God elegantly. I don't believe it. Wealth is sometimes purse-proud and conceited; but the great majority of rich men in this city would be glad to see sitting by his side the clerk on a small salary, and the carpenter and the mason. Given good behaviour and cleanliness, it is a good thing to have a silk gown in one pew and a calico one in another.d-The Church to care for the whole man.-You know that there is a newfangled modern doctrine, that the Church is bound to take care of its own subjects, and not go out of itself to meddle with other subjects. That is, in my judgment, as if the sun should take counsel with itself, and say, "Here am I, a splendid old sun, and I have got to take care of my light: everything depends on me, and it will not do for me to compromise myself, and go into that deep valley, into that dark cave, or into that obscure thicket. My business is to keep bright, and take care of myself." What kind of a sun would it be that should talk thus? But you will find ministers and churches talking in the same way. They say, "It is the business of the Church to take care of religion." Did Christ die for religion, or did He die for man? I had always supposed that the business of the Church was to take care of men. Suppose a mother should say, "My business is to take care of maternal and filial love, and not of my children!" She would exhibit the same wisdom that you see in churches and ministers when they declare that it is their business to take care of religion. Why, it is the most hideous form of selfishness out of hell-this attempt of a great moral institution, that is set to be the light of the world, and the teacher of men in every visible relation in life, and that is ordained to lay the law of God on thought and feeling and conduct, to draw back from its great work, and say, "It is not our business to take care of these things." It is a fundamental apostasy. It is egregious recreancy. And that dark-lantern Church that shines on nothing outside, and only on that which is inside of itself, does not belong to Christ. Who owns it, I do not pretend to say !e a Ex. xii. 6. 6 ix. 11. "Surely the where one day's church is a place truce ought to be allowed to the dissensions and mankind."Burke. animosities of c Pr. xxi. 1. d Hepworth. There is the same difference between the Church and religion that there is between the hand and the soul. The hand is important, and I do not propose to cut it off; but if it is a choice between the hand and the soul, I know which I should choose. Now, seminaries, and churches, and Christian insti tutions of all kinds, are feet with which reli gion walks. They are hands with which it helps itself. They are instruments which God employs in carrying when a comparison is made between institu it forward. But tions or ordinances, and the things which they serve, there is no question which is superior. e H. W. Beecher. B.C. 457. Ezra goes up to Jerusalem Betw. this cp. period of 58 yrs., during wh.reigned Xerxes (who suc. Darius), fr. B.C. 486-465., X and the last is a was suc. by Arta xerxes Longi manus. In this interval the Bk. of Esther a Killed at Rib falls. lah, 130 yrs. bef. 2 Ki. xxv. 18-21. b vv. 21-26. with God is a every one hangs about the court doth not king; all that medole with holy duties, and, as it were, hang about speak with the CHAPTER THE SEVENTH. 1-6. (1-5) Ezra (helper), see intro. son of Seraiah," grandson, or great-g.son. (6) this Ezra, he speaks of himself in 3rd person: see vv. 27, 28. went.. Babylon, authorised by the king. and.. scribe, quick in understanding, and bold in expressing, the meaning of the law. and.. request, his zeal in wishing to go, and the kindness of the king, to be both noted. The setting out of Ezra.-We are once more reminded-I. Of the unchangeableness of God's purposes of mercy. II. Of the ease with which great obstacles are overcome, when God arises in the greatness of His strength. III. That God proceeds on the principle of vindicating His own name, and is not affected alone by the characters of men. IV. Of our journey home to the heavenly Jerusalem, and our safety on the march. Trusty servants.-A proprietor of a large business house selected for his cashier one whom he could trust. "Here is the safe," he said; "in it are the books of the establishment, which contain "Communion all needed information regarding our business and mode of mystery to most; Working. In the morning I will give you the key, and show that you the combination of its wards, which will open the safe without delay." The cashier had no thought of entering upon his duties without the key in his hand, and the necessary knowledge concerning it in his head. Just so ought the Christian to do his Master's will; but it takes some of us a long time to learn the necessity of common sense here. Jesus has said: "If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.' We must use this key of prayer, if we would succeed in any work the Lord places before us. It is certainly very simple, yet we waste time, and sin against God, by trying in vain to open the safe in some way of our own. Oh, how much of unbelief is there in all we do! How much it grieves the Almighty Father, when we pretend to rely upon His arm, and are all the time trying to make our own weakness answer the purpose! the court of heaven, hath not communion with God; it is only the new creature enjoys God's pre sence in ordinances, and sweetly con verses with Him, as a child with a father."-T. Wat son. his arrival at Jerusalem a 1st and 2nd temps. destroyed on the month Ap. Some say on the same day, see Zech. viii 19; Allen's Judaism, 401. 7-10. (7) went up, etc., see ch. viii. (8) fifth month, the month Ab. It was the end of July. which.. year," B.C. 458. (9) began.. up, etc., hence a journey of 4 mos. Caravans travel slowly, esp. such as this, with poor people, women, and children, etc. (10) for Ezra, etc., this shows us the reason of his request. The Christian ministry.—The text points out some indispensable qualifications for an able minister of the New Testament. I. Devotedness to God's Word. 1. The minister is called to this; it is the indispensable requirement of his office; 2. Its inexhaustible riches require profound and constant research; 3. Prayer is b See Browne, Or absolutely necessary for the right understanding of the Scriptures. do Sæcorum 380; II. Personal religion. 1. Without this, all other qualifications Pusey on Dan. 165, will prove unavailing; 2. Its influence on the minister's own "Ezra's reigning desire had been heart and life is necessary to his success; 3. Its power over to study the Di- others. III. Public instruction. 1. Its subjects: Scripture, vine law-its God in Christ, sin, salvation; 2. Its spirit: dependent on principles, instiDivine aid, faithful, bold; 3. Its manner: simple, unaffected, tutions, privileges, and re- earnest, practical, affectionate.-Man's duty in relation to God's redemptive truth.-I. He has to learn it-1. With devout earnestness; 2. With persevering diligence. II. He has to practise it. 1. The doing of it is essential to a thorough understanding of it; 2. The doing of it is necessary, in order to be really benefited by it. III. He has to preach it. 1. Life preaching is most intelligible; 2. The most incontrovertible; 3. The most constant. 4. The most Christ-like. Here is a work for us all to do. Learn -Practise, preach the Bible. The last can only be done by those who have accomplished the first and second.c Holy courage.-Bernard de Palissy, a native of Agen, in France, was a maker of earthenware, at Saintes, and distinguished himself by his knowledge and talents. He composed a number of scientific and practical works, which have been repeatedly republished; and the last edition, in 1777, is enriched with notes by the celebrated Faujas de St. Fonds. This able and worthy man was a Calvinist, and the French king, Henry III., said to him one day, that "he should be compelled to give him up to his enemies, unless he changed his religion." "You have often said to me, sire," was the undaunted reply of de Palissy, "that you pitied me; but as for me, I pity you, who have given utterance to such words as, I shall be compelled. These are unkingly words; and I say to you in royal phrase, that neither the Guises, nor all your people, nor yourself, are able to compel a humble manufacturer of earthenware to bend his knee before statues." Bernard was a man of humour, as well as of courage; he would sometimes say, alluding to his trade, and his trust in Providence, "My only property is heaven and earth." 11-13. (11) now.. letter, written in Caldee. (12) king of kings, prob. an Orientalism = great and powerful prince: but many of his tributary princes still retained the title of kings. (13) I.. decree, etc., this was a royal permit. a free conduct. None were to be compelled to go, and none to be hindered who desired to go. Postage of letters.-The postage of letters, so essential to the purposes of commercial intercourse, and which now forms so important a branch of the public revenue, was first established in the short reign of Richard the Third. The plan was originally formed in the reign of his brother, Edward, when stages were placed at the distance of twenty miles from each, in order to procure Edward the earliest intelligence of the events that passed in the course of the war with the Scots; but Richard commanded in the expedition, and it was principally cwing to his sagacity and talents that the merit of the post ought to be attributed, particularly as during his reign it was established over the principal part of the kingdom. The revenue of the Post Office in the reign of Queen Anne was only £60,000; in 1761, it was £142,000; in 1769, £300,000; in 1794, 445,600; in 1800, £745,000; in 1806, £1,108,840; and in 1813, £1,414,224. About the year 1730 to 1740, the post was only transmitted three times a week from Edinburgh to London; and one day it brought but a single letter, which was for Sir William Pulteney, the banker; in 1790, the letters from Edinburgh averaged twelve hundred daily. The remittances from Scotland to the Post Office in the ten years preceding 1770 only averaged £9,500 but from the year 1790 to 1800, the annual average amounted to £51,500. The Twopenny Post Office was established in 1683. It was originally planned |