EXTRACTS

Passing on to Nehemiah 11, what you see is that there was a great reluctance on the part of the people to live in the city. In the light of the facts presented I cannot understand a godly man living in the country. A spiritual man would want to be at Jerusalem. That is where the divine interests are. And a spiritual man today lives, as it were, in the assembly. He is an

‘inhabitant’ of it. If through forgetfulness he sits at his fireside on a cold night, reading it may be a good book, while the saints are gathered in the light of the assembly in the meeting-room in his locality, he would feel unhappy as the fact came to his mind; he would say, I should be there; I should be with the saints. The elements of Jerusalem are not here at my fireside, they are where the saints are met; Hanani is there and Hananiah is there; Nehemiah is there; the doorkeepers are there; the Levites are there; the singers are there; and, more than all, God is there. Thus no Christian can afford to be absent as the saints are assembled together. The brother I have spoken of puts away his book and puts on his boots, and wends his way like one of the flock to the place where his brethren are assembled; and God would watch every footstep he made. They are all precious. The Lord has pleasure in “the footsteps of the flock”.

Now chapter 11 says, “the princes of the people dwelt in Jerusalem”. That is to their credit.

And “the rest of the people cast lots, to bring one of ten to dwell in Jerusalem”; to bring them—there was reluctance. You get one out of ten. I may picture a large family of

today—the meeting time is arriving and one says, I was present at the last meeting, that is enough for this week. Another thinks the same way, and another satisfies himself with a different excuse, and so they influence each other, and but few go. What does heaven think of that? Our chapter says, “And the people blessed all the men that willingly offered themselves to dwell in Jerusalem”. That is to say, the assembly is everything to them. The assembly is the great object of interest to God. We all should be there characteristically. The men that willingly offer themselves to dwell in Jerusalem are blessed. These men were thoroughly in fellowship, as we say. They were not occasional visitors. Then we read—“these are the chiefs of the province that dwelt in Jerusalem”, verse 3, and we have a list of them in this chapter. I would like to know them all. Heaven lists those who are characteristically of the assembly today. You do not want to be left out of that list. Many, alas! are nominally in fellowship who are not on that list. The Lord would stir us all up as to this solemn matter.

J. Taylor (Vol. 69, pp.294, 295)

I have been thinking lately of the many bases there are for prayer. One is the will of God.

“My Father, if it be possible let this cup pass from me; but not as I will, but as thou wilt”, Matthew 26: 39. That is one principle. Another principle or basis for prayer is promise. If God has made a promise, He will stand by it; go to Him with the promises; He is ready to listen to you. Another basis for prayer is God’s love for His people. He regards an appeal to Him on account of His love to them. Yet another basis for prayer is the sovereign counsel of God; God will listen to prayer based on that. I mention these things so as to help us in our prayers; that we may not be rebellious. We must pray with intelligence as to His will.

J. Taylor (Vol. 48, p.535)

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