James Smith, 1859
 

"So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height — for the people worked with all their heart!" Nehemiah 4:6

A great object was to be accomplished. The walls of Jerusalem had been broken down, and were in heaps. The city lay waste, the gates had been burned with fire, and desolation had laid its seal upon her palaces, her sacred places, and her forsaken streets. The chosen city was in ruin. Her children had been taken captive, and were exiles in a land of strangers, of idolatry, and of bondage. Alas for Jerusalem! Oh! daughters of the sacred city, take your harps, and sit down by the waters of Babylon, and weep over the desolation of your beloved Zion!

But some of the servants of God were stirred with zeal to see the walls rebuilt, and the beauty of Jerusalem restored, and the glory of the temple once more revealed, and they returned to their places, and called upon the people to set themselves about this great work. The appeal of these leaders was heard. They assembled with their weapons and tools — one half working, and the other half watching for defense; while those who were on the wall worked with one hand, and those who bore burdens worked with one hand, holding a weapon in the other. With one consent they united in the labor of restoring Jerusalem to her former beauty.

"The people worked with all their heart!" The zeal and enthusiasm was not confined to a few priests or rulers. The hope of seeing the beloved Zion shine again in its glory was not confined to a few leaders, but it animated every heart. The people were united in the effort. It was a great work. Union, strength, mutual encouragement, and relief, were required to carry it forward and complete it. Every man was needed at his post of duty, to perform his allotted task. There was something for all to do. They were equal to the demand made upon them. They were all at work, and they strengthened their hands for its accomplishment.

It was a great work. They were building the walls of their beloved city — they were once more endeavoring to restore the beauty of Zion. The hands of the idolater and world-worshiper had destroyed it; the feet of the alien had trodden it down. Its loveliness had long lain in desolation, and the songs that had been sung there were heard in mournful cadences along the banks of the far off rivers, where the captive daughters wept when those who had laid the holy places waste, called on them for songs. But now Zion was to rise again from the dust. It was a good work, and worthy of all their zeal.

There was an emergency. The time and the labor, as well as the object, admitted of no delay. Great effort, industry, and promptitude, were required to ensure its completion. The difficulty of the work itself was great, but there were many extraordinary obstacles.

They had strong prejudices to contend against. They were surrounded and watched by wily and dangerous enemies, who would resist their work by all the means in their power. They were compelled, therefore, to work under arms, in a state of preparation for instant defense, in case of attack. Not only their Zion, but their own persons were in danger. They were compelled to keep watch over their own lives, and allow no sudden surprise of the enemy to find them unprepared.

They wore an appointed armor. They used the weapons which were the best calculated for service in the hour of peril. They were ready to fall into line, and rally at the sound of alarm, and give battle with tried armor — whenever the hour should come. These weapons were a reliance to them. Not only the command of God, and the honor of His name — but the purpose in which they were engaged, made them strong; and, relying upon these, they could trust their weapons in the day of battle.

So should it be now with every church and every Christian. "The people worked with all their heart!" Christian people should now be of the same mind. We have a beloved Zion to beautify and adorn. We are surrounded with spiritual enemies. We must work, and yet bear our arms in our hands — to be ready, clothed with the whole armor of God, to resist the attacks of every foe, and to continue at the post of duty until Zion shall put on her strength, and conflict shall cease in victory!