I. A SERIOUS DELINQUENCY. The law of the sabbath (Exodus 20:8-11; Exodus 31:13-17; Numbers 15:32-36) was openly defied. Husbandmen were treading their wine-presses and were bringing corn into the city, and were lading asses on that day of sacred rest (ver. 15); all kinds of fruit were also carried in and sold (ver. 15). Tyrian traders were allowed to bring in and sell their fish and "all manner of ware" (ver. 16). The sacred character of the day was set at naught, and was fast disappearing. Persian rulers, Samaritan neighbours, Phoenician traders, had prevailed over Jewish principles, and the sabbath was most seriously threatened. There needed -

II. A VIGOROUS REFORM. Nehemiah set himself to change the whole aspect of affairs. He

(1) remonstrated energetically - he "contended with the nobles of Judah" (ver. 17), charging them with bringing this about - "What evil thing is this that ye do?"- by their guilty connivance, and prophetically threatening them with the wrath of God for their sin (ver. 18);

(2) caused the gates to be shut some time before, and to remain shut till some time after, the commencement and conclusion of the sacred day (ver. 19): he set his own servants (some of his own retinue), on whom he could most reckon, to see that this order was impartially carried out;

(3) not only obliged those who came to sell to remain outside all the day, but threatened to apprehend them if they did this again (vers. 20, 21); and

(4) enlisted the sympathy and aid of the Levites, that, when he was recalled and his own servants were withdrawn, they might maintain what he now instituted. These energetic measures succeeded; they had an immediate effect (ver. 21), and they appear to have had a permanent influence, as, from this time, we have reason to think that the Jews became scrupulous, even to a fault, on this question of sabbath observance. Nehemiah's reform was admirable and effective because -

(a) It was bold and impartial. He confronted and reproached the nobles as well as the traders and salesmen.

(b) It was energetic and full of action. He used magisterial rights; not exceeding his authority, but using it, and acting in harmony with the powers of his commission and the law of God.

(c) It was anticipative of future wants. He prepared for a time when he would not be there, and when other men like-minded would be prepared to continue his work (ver. 22). Concerning the observance of the sabbath or the Lord's day by ourselves, we may remark that it is -

I. OBVIOUSLY THE WILL OF GOD THAT WE SHOULD KEEP IT. We know that -

1. It was sanctified from the very beginning of our race (Genesis 2:2, 3).

2. It was included in the religious and moral statutes given by God to Moses, as if it belonged to that which is permanent and perpetual (Exodus 20.).

3. It was insisted upon by the prophetic voice, and declared to be decisive of national prosperity or decline (Jeremiah 17:19-27; Isaiah 58:13, 14) - the prophets being the upholders of the moral in preference to the formal and ceremonial.

4. It was declared by the Lord Jesus Christ to be "made for man" (Mark 2:27).

5. It was continued in the shape of the Lord's day after the resurrection (Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2; Revelation 1:10); these incidental notices pointing to a general apostolical observance.

II. MANIFESTLY REQUISITE FOR BODILY AND SPIRITUAL WELFARE.

1. Bodily; for man and beast live longer and work better with than without it.

2. Spiritual; for without the spiritual refreshment and revival of sabbath services, more especially in these days of absorbing work and care, the light of life would burn even more dim and faint, until it went out into darkness. All those who hate (spiritual) death may well love and guard and use it well. Our duty in regard to it is -

(1) To avail ourselves of the bodily rest it brings, and to see that others have the same advantage - our children resting from their lessons, servants (domestic and public) resting from their toil.

(2) To make it a day of special spiritual privilege, including

(a) worship-drawing nigh to God;

(b) instruction - enlightenment, edification, the "beholding the beauty of the Lord and inquiring in his temple;" and

(c) inspiration - fresh determination, invigorated resolution that as for us and our household we will serve the Lord Christ. - C.

1. The devil turns the blessing into a curse. When God created man He endowed him with the power of choice, made his will free, so that he might choose good and evil. The creature was thus endowed with an inestimable blessing. The devil, by the subtlety and force of temptation, turned man's dignity against himself and effected his ruin, and through successive generations he has sought to turn the blessing into a curse.

2. Man often turns the blessing into a curse. Physical strength, intellectual endowments, social position, wealth, opportunities for usefulness — things good in themselves — are often transformed by man's depraved nature into instruments and occasions of evil. Of all the plots and assaults of the devil, all the mischievous purposes of wicked men, all the disasters of life, all the forms of evil we may have to encounter we may say, "Howbeit our God turned the curse into a blessing."

I. GOD HAS TURNED THE CURSE OF SIN INTO A BLESSING. The existence of sin is an awful and mysterious fact, permitted by God for wise and gracious issues. We can conceive of no greater curse. It separated man from God. It destroyed his original righteousness. It cut him off from happiness. It brought upon him condemnation and death. God comes to man in this state with the blessings of His grace.

1. The fall of man furnished an occasion for the exercise of the restoring grace of God. Sin prepared the way for salvation. "Paradise Regained" is more than "Paradise Lost."

2. The curse of sin has supplied an opportunity for such an exhibition of the character and glory of God as we nowhere else behold. God's brightest glory shines in the method of man's salvation. God in Christ is more glorious far than God in creation. In the Saviour of the world we have the most perfect manifestation of God.

3. Throughout the earth, following in the track of the destroyer, God bestows the blessings of His great salvation. God is still "in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself."

II. God turns sorrow into a blessing.

1. Sorrow is a teacher. Sorrow seems sent for our instruction as we darken the cages of birds when we would teach them to sing. As the night brings out the stars, so trouble reveals to us many truths that would otherwise remain unseen. It clears our visions, so that we get new views of God and ourselves, of truths and duty, of this world and the next.

2. It awakens thoughtfulness.

3. Under this gracious ministry and discipline the noblest characters have been perfected. Poets, it is said, "learn in suffering what they teach in song." Sorrow is one of the best nurses of godliness. Some plants thrive better in a poor than in a rich soil; so some virtues come to speedier and fuller perfection in grief than in gladness. When spices are crushed, then they emit their odours. After the diamond is ground and polished On the wheel, its facets flash with lustre. It is said that when growers of roses want to develop the bloom of a favourite tree in special richness and beauty they sometimes deprive it for a season of light and moisture. In this condition its leaves fall off. But while this process is going on, and the tree is almost leafless, a new life is springing, from which come in due season a tenderer foliage and a choicer and more abundant bloom. This suggests some of the sweet uses of sorrow,

4. In the gracious arrangements of God sorrow is often succeeded by joy,

5. God is preparing the way for the extinction of sorrow on the earth.

III. GOD TURNS THE CURSE OF DEATH INTO A BLESSING. To the Christian man death ceases to be the king of terrors, and becomes a friend to call him home, He delivers him from the infirmities of the flesh, the corruptions of sin, the temptations of Satan, and the sufferings and troubles of life. Death is the gate of life. In conclusion —

1. The subject teaches us the benevolence of God.

2. Learn the loving confidence you may cherish in God. Let us learn to imitate God. Let us endeavour through life to turn the curse into a blessing.

(William Walters.)